91-452: Clan MacFarlane ( Scottish Gaelic : Clann Phàrlain [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ ˈfaːrˠl̪ˠɛn] ) is a Highland Scottish clan . Descended from the medieval Earls of Lennox , the MacFarlanes occupied the land forming the western shore of Loch Lomond from Tarbet up-wards. From Loch Sloy , a small sheet of water near the foot of Ben Vorlich , they took their war cry of Loch Slòigh . The clan
182-633: A Northumbrian chief, was said to have fled to Scotland from the devastation caused by the Harrying of the North by William the Conqueror , and later received control of the Lennox district from Malcolm III of Scotland , though alternative theories state that the original Earls of Lennox may have been of Gaelic descent. These two views are not mutually exclusive, as what is now southern Scotland and northern England had, in
273-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both
364-549: A Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since the eighth century. For the first time,
455-515: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as
546-805: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and
637-532: A charter of confirmation by Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox , also dated in 1395. Iain Mac Pharlain, in 1420, received confirmation to his lands of Arrochar. Not long after, the ancient line of the Earls of Lennox died with the execution of Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox, by James I of Scotland in 1425. After the earl's death it seems that the MacFarlanes claimed the earldom as heirs male. This claim, though, proved disastrous and
728-541: A dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under
819-489: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write
910-577: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore
1001-786: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that
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#17328441252691092-544: A process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute
1183-600: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in
1274-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to
1365-433: A supposed armigerous clan . Clan MacFarlane claims descent from the original Earls of Lennox, though the ultimate origin of these earls is murky and has been debated. The nineteenth-century Scottish antiquary George Chalmers , in his Caledonia , quoting the twelfth century English chronicler Symeon of Durham , wrote that the original Earls of Lennox descended from an Anglo-Saxon – Arkil , son of Egfrith . This Arkil,
1456-605: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of
1547-694: Is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into
1638-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in
1729-801: Is best known today is the philological milestone An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (1896). MacBain published a critical edition of the Book of Deer and contributed entries on the Picts in Chambers's Encyclopaedia , articles for magazines and newspapers and reviews for the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness (1880–1903). He was responsible for two popular textbooks, Gaelic Reader and, together with John Whyte, How to Learn Gaelic . MacBain
1820-519: Is little history attributed to the clan. In the mid sixteenth century, Donnchadh Mac Pharlain of Mac Pharlain, appears to have been a steady supporter of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox . In 1544, Mac Pharlain led three hundred of his men, and joined Lennox and Glencairn at the Battle of Glasgow Muir , where they were narrowly defeated. The Mac Pharlains were affected by the forfeitures that followed, though were saved by their very powerful friends, and
1911-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,
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#17328441252692002-810: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic", the language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to
2093-714: The History of the Mathesons by his former teacher Alexander Mackenzie; contributed to an edition of Ewan MacEachen 's Gaelic Dictionary ; and was editor for Celtic Magazine (1886–1888) and Highland Monthly (1889–1902). Many individual papers were published in the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness and Transactions of the Inverness Field Club . His first book was Celtic Mythology and Religion , which appeared in 1885 (reprinted 1917). The work for which he
2184-548: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates
2275-659: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,
2366-516: The shirtes of mayle , with bows and two-handed swords ; and being joined with the Scottish archers and shotte, did much avayleable service in the streyghts , marishes , and mountayne countries". At Irwine in 1545, a bond of manrent was granted to Hugh, Master of Eglinton to Duncan, uncle of the Laird of MacFarlane. Later in 1547 the clan suffered grievously at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh , in which
2457-759: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides. However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,
2548-421: The 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and
2639-587: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of
2730-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had
2821-407: The 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that the putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned
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2912-559: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and
3003-588: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this
3094-599: The Earl. The MacFarlane clansmen are said to have acted as light troops, and as guides to the Earl's main force. The sixteenth century, English chronicler , Raphael Holinshed described this MacFarlane force as follows: "In these exploytes the Erle had with him Walter McFarlane of Tarbet, and seven score of men of the head of Lennox, that spoke both Irishe and the English Scottish tongues very well, light footmen very well armed in
3185-538: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained
3276-652: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for
3367-744: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of
3458-601: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider
3549-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of
3640-695: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as
3731-611: The Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in
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3822-591: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan
3913-800: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has
4004-589: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at
4095-517: The age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending the early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in
4186-458: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in
4277-581: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on
4368-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of
4459-427: The chief obtained a remission for his lands. After the defeat, the Earl of Lennox was forced to flee to England , and married a niece of Henry VIII , and afterward returned to Scotland with a huge force supplied by the English king . For fear of further repercussions, the chief of the clan did not personally support Lennox, but instead sent a relative, Bhaltar MacFarlane of Tarbet , with four hundred men, in support of
4550-419: The chief, Duncan was slain along with many of his men. The clan, led by Duncan's son, Andrew, fought under the Regent James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , against the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots , at the Battle of Langside in 1568. The clan's part in the battle is related to by Holinshed: "In this battayle the vaiancie of an Hie-land gentle-man named M'Farlane, stood the Regent's part in great steede; for in
4641-419: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,
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#17328441252694732-439: The clan can be considered an Armigerous clan. The surname MacFarlane , and other variations of the name, are Anglicisations of the Gaelic patronymic Mac Pharlain , meaning "son of Parlan". The Gaelic Parlan or Parthalán is likely a Gaelicisation of the Latin Bartholomaeus . In Moncreiffe's opinion the name was linked with Partholón of Irish mythology , writing: " Par-tholon or 'Sea-Waves' appears in Irish mythology as
4823-411: The clan left and settled in Ireland , as part of the force of their superior the Earl of Lennox when he took up his 3000-acre landholding during the plantation (resettlement) of Ireland in the reign of James VI , and the leading representative of this branch, McFarland of Hunstown House, from Dublin , made claims (unsuccessful) to the chiefship of the clan. Today the chiefship of the clan is dormant, and
4914-403: The clan were tried and convicted of such acts, with some being pardoned and others executed. Many others were removed to Aberdeenshire and Strathaven in Banffshire , where they assumed the names M'Caudy , Greisock , M'James and M'Innes . Some to fled to Ireland, and with the famine there, emigrated further to America where the surname would evolve to McFarland. The last clan chief, in
5005-450: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that
5096-422: The crest of a "demi-savage proper , holding in his dexter hand a sheaf of arrows, and pointing with his sinister to an imperial crown, or , with the motto, This I'll defend ", by the Earl . The crest bestowed on the MacFarlane chief alludes to the defence of the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland, as Mary was seen as rebellion against the Crown. Nothing is known of Andrew's son, though his grandson, Walter MacFarlane
5187-471: The death of the last chief. Gille Chriosd's son, Donnchadh, also obtained charters for his lands from the Earl of Lennox, and appears in the Ragman Rolls as "Dunkan Makilcrift de Leuenaghes" ( Duncan son of Gilchrist of Lennox ). Donnchadh's grandson was Parlan (or Bartholomew), from whom the clan takes its name from. There is no contemporary evidence of this Parlan or his elided father, only centuries-retrospective assertions that private documentation existed at
5278-444: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of
5369-409: The direct male line, William Macfarlane, 20th Clan Chief, was born in 1813 and died without issue in 1866. The heir of line then passed to his sister, Jane Watt MacFarlane, who was born in 1817 and who married a Mr James Scott and settled in Sunderland, England. A successful draper, she died in 1887 leaving several children. A current clan chief could be found from one of their descendants. Several of
5460-415: The entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there
5551-401: The family of the chief were murdered, with the clan's fortunes reduced severely. The destruction of the MacFarlanes would have been inevitable but for an Anndra MacFarlane, who married Barbara, daughter of John Stewart, Lord Darnley , who had been created Earl of Lennox in 1488. Skene claimed that even though Anndra Mac Pharlain, through his marriage, had saved the clan from destruction, he still
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#17328441252695642-431: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,
5733-518: The first to take possession of Ireland after the flood ". The following names are considered, by the International Clan MacFarlane Society, to be associated with the clan. Note that the prefixes Mac , Mc , and M' are interchangeable. Many of the associated names listed are claimed by other clans. MacFarlaine Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,
5824-404: The hottest brunte of the fight, he came in with three hundred of his friends and countrymen, and so manfully gave in upon the flanke of the queen's people, that there was great cause of the disordering of them". After the battle, the clan also boasted of capturing three standards of the Queen's army, which were preserved as trophies for a long time afterwards. For his clan's aid, Andrew was awarded
5915-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In
6006-437: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where
6097-478: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. Alexander MacBain Alexander MacBain (or Alexander Macbain ; 22 July 1855 – 4 April 1907)
6188-477: The late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so the word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in
6279-427: The leading figures in a Gaelic intellectual circle which met in Inverness and Edinburgh. The group included both older members, such as Alexander Nicolson , Alexander Carmichael and Donald Mackinnon , and a younger generation which included Father Allan MacDonald , William J. Watson , George Henderson and Kenneth McLeod. MacBain never married. On 4 April 1907, he died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Stirling . He
6370-400: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and
6461-619: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of
6552-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on
6643-434: The number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland,
6734-687: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through
6825-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in
6916-551: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in
7007-401: The post-Roman and early Mediaeval era, been a flux of Gaelic, Brittonic, Scandinavian and Germanic ethnicities. Clan MacFarlane claims its descent from the original line of the Earls of Lennox, through Gille Chriosd, brother of Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox , who received in charter, "de terris de superiori Arrochar de Luss", the lands of Arrochar which the MacFarlanes held for centuries until
7098-459: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in
7189-454: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there
7280-574: The region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly,
7371-583: The time of the Macfarlane attempt to claim the defunct earldom of Lennox. Maolchaluim Mac Pharlain, the son of Parlan, was confirmed the lands of Arrochar and others, and "hence Maolchaluim may be considered as the real founder of the clan". Maolchaluim, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Donnchadh, who obtained by charter the lands of Arrochar, dated in 1395 at Inchmurrin . Donnchadh seems to have married Christian, daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Loch Awe, as stated in
7462-711: Was Alexander Mackenzie . As a teenager, he taught for half a year at the Dunmullie School in Boat of Garten (1870–71), attended Baldow School in Badenoch, was employed by the Ordnance Survey in Scotland and Wales (1871–74) and returned to Baldow School for another term. Having obtained a bursary, MacBain was accepted at Old Aberdeen Grammar School (1874) and subsequently studied at King's College, Aberdeen (1876), where he graduated with an MA in philosophy. In July 1880, MacBain
7553-497: Was a Scottish philologist, best known today for An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (1896). MacBain was born 22 July 1855 at Balguish, Glenfeshie (modern-day Badenoch , Inverness-shire) and grew up in poverty. His parents, John MacBain and Margaret McIntyre were not recorded as married when his birth was registered 9 August 1855. A native Gaelic speaker, he learned English at Insh General Assembly school, five miles from Kingussie, in Badenoch (1863–1870), whose teacher
7644-598: Was a staunch supporter of the King. In his time, he was twice besieged in his house, and his castle of Inveruglas was later burned down by English forces. The clan was denounced by the Government in 1594, to have committing theft, robbery, murder, and tyranny. Later, in 1624, after the Battle of Glen Fruin when the MacFarlanes and their friends the MacGregors killed about 80 members of Clan Colquhoun and their allies, several members of
7735-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that
7826-461: Was appointed rector of Raining's school, Inverness , which had just become the secondary school for the entire highlands . Raining's school became part of the High Public School in 1894–95, for which MacBain continued to work until his death. He was made Legum Doctor at Aberdeen University in 1901 and received his pension in 1905. During the last two decades of his life, MacBain was one of
7917-536: Was buried in his home district Badenoch, in the Rothiemurchus churchyard. MacBain was involved in a substantial amount of editorial work. He worked together with Rev John Kennedy to publish the numerous transcripts which the late Rev Dr Alexander Cameron (d. 1888) had made from texts found in manuscripts. The result was the two volumes of Reliquiae Celticae (1892–94). He also published an annotated edition of W. F. Skene 's The Highlanders of Scotland (1902) and of
8008-486: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from
8099-506: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced
8190-474: Was noted for the night time cattle raiding of neighbouring clan lands, (particularly those of Clan Colquhoun), and as such a full moon became known locally as "MacFarlane's Lantern". The ancestral lands of the clan were held by the chiefs until they were sold off for debts, in 1767. Since 1866 the chiefship has been dormant, no one having claimed or obtained rematriculation of the Chief Arms, making Clan MacFarlane
8281-498: Was refused the chiefship of the clan. Skene also showed that even his son, Sir John MacFarlane, assumed the subordinate designation of "Capitaneus de Clan Pharlane" ( Captain of the clan ). Though Alexander MacBain , in a later edition of Skene's work, pointed out that Capitaneus was really Latin for Chief . From this period on the clan appears to have loyally supported the Stewart Earls of Lennox, and for several generations there
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