109-680: The Gulf of Corryvreckan (from the Gaelic Coire Bhreacain , meaning 'cauldron of the speckled seas' or 'cauldron of the plaid'), also called the Strait of Corryvreckan , is a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba , in Argyll and Bute , off the west coast of mainland Scotland . It is possible for tourists to visit the site by way of boat trips from local harbours or sightseeing flights from Oban Airport. Strong Atlantic currents and unusual underwater topography together produce
218-442: 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
327-549: 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,
436-515: 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
545-805: 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
654-541: 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
763-489: 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
872-577: 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
981-786: 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
1090-489: A particular bishop who ran into the "whirlpool of Corryvreckan". However, Adomnan says that this whirlpool was near Rathlin Island , suggesting perhaps either his geography was mistaken (although several other Irish sources of that time period agreed with Adomnan) or alternatively that originally a different place was known as the whirlpool of Corryvreckan and later ages gave this name to the current Corryvreckan, perhaps believing it
1199-469: A particularly intense tidal race in the Corryvreckan channel. As the flood tide enters the narrow area between the two islands it speeds up to 8.5 knots (16 km/h) and meets a variety of seabed features, including a deep hole and a rising pinnacle. These features combine to create whirlpools , standing waves and a variety of other surface effects. The Corryvreckan is the third largest whirlpool in
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#17328441254651308-514: A period of three days. When she is finished with the washing, the cloth is pure white, and becomes the blanket of snow that covers the land. The Cailleach occupying the whirlpool was described as "the fiercest of the Highland storm kelpies " by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor . Another legend surrounds Norse king Breacan. In various stories, Breacan moored his boat near the whirlpool to impress a local princess, or alternatively to flee from his father across
1417-544: 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
1526-600: 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
1635-536: 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
1744-622: A six-year contract for the service in 2008 providing it as a subsidised "lifeline" service. There is an ongoing investigation on how the transfer was handled between the Environment Minister and the new owners. Rathlin is of prehistoric volcanic origin, having been created as part of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province . The island was owned by Rev Robert Gage who was also the island's rector. He had two daughters, Adelaide in 1832 and Dorothea in 1835. Adelaide
1853-741: A song called "Corryvreckan Calling". The Ardbeg distillery on the island of Islay produces a cask-strength whisky named Corryvreckan. There is also a pub named after the gulf, located near to the harbour in Oban. Waterlog , a book by Roger Deakin , prominently features the Corryvreckan whirlpool as a driving force behind the book's premise—a wild swimming and bathing journey through Britain. The Scottish death metal band Hand of Kalliach produced an album Corryvreckan in 2024. Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,
1962-605: 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
2071-478: A week from April to September, with minibus tours and bicycle hire also available. The island is also popular with scuba divers , who come to explore the many wrecked ships in the surrounding waters. Richard Branson 's hot air balloon crashed near Rathlin Island in 1987. On 29 January 2008, the RNLI Portrush lifeboat Katie Hannan grounded after a swell hit its stern on breakwater rocks just outside
2180-694: 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
2289-490: 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
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#17328441254652398-462: Is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland . It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point . As of the 2021 Census there are 141 people living on the island. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island of Northern Ireland, with a steadily growing population of approximately 150 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off
2507-406: Is drowned, "an awful warning to all fickle maidens". The words were adapted and set to music for piano and orchestra by Learmont Drysdale in the 1890s, and in 1939 Ruth Gipps set the poem to music for clarinet and piano. The poet John Leyden , was an enthusiastic collector of old folklore. He compiled a poem, "The mermaid", based on a gaelic traditional ballad called Macphail of Colonsay and
2616-622: Is named after Robert the Bruce, also known as Robert I of Scotland : it was here that he was said to have seen the legendary spider which is described as inspiring Bruce to continue his fight for Scottish independence. The island is also the northernmost point of the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . In 2008-09, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency of the United Kingdom and
2725-411: 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,
2834-416: Is now a commercial activity. The island had a population of over one thousand in the 19th century. Its current permanent population is around 125. This is swollen by visitors in the summer, with most coming to view the cliffs and their huge seabird populations. Many visitors come for the day, and the island has around 30 beds for overnight visitors. The Boathouse Visitors' Centre at Church Bay is open seven days
2943-539: Is part of the Causeway Coast and Glens council area, and is represented by the Rathlin Development & Community Association. Rathlin is part of the traditional barony of Cary (around the town of Ballycastle ), and of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council . The island constitutes a civil parish and is subdivided into 22 townlands : Rathlin Island is labelled as The_Glens_B1 Data Zone according to
3052-413: Is similar to a stone axe factory found at Tievebulliagh mountain on the nearby mainland coast. The products of these two axe factories, which cannot be reliably distinguished from each other, were traded across Ireland; these were the most important Irish stone axe sources of their time. In 2006, an ancient burial was discovered when a driveway was being expanded by the island's only pub, dating back to
3161-478: Is sometimes believed, formally classified by the Royal Navy as unnavigable, the nearby Grey Dogs, or Little Corryvreckan, are classified as such. The Admiralty's West Coast of Scotland Pilot guide to inshore waters calls it "very violent and dangerous" and says "no vessel should then attempt this passage without local knowledge". Experienced scuba divers who have explored the waters have described it as "potentially
3270-485: Is visited by birdwatchers , with a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve that has views of Rathlin's bird colony . The RSPB has also successfully managed natural habitat to facilitate the return of the red-billed chough . Northern Ireland's only breeding pair of choughs can be seen during the summer months. The cliffs on this relatively bare island stand 70 metres (230 ft) tall. Bruce's Cave
3379-732: The Annals of Ulster . The pillaging of the island's church and burning of its buildings took place in 795. In 1306, Robert the Bruce sought refuge upon Rathlin, owned by the Irish Bissett family . He stayed in Rathlin Castle , originally belonging to their lordship the Glens of Antrim . The Bissetts were dispossessed of Rathlin by the English, who were in control of the Earldom of Ulster , for welcoming Bruce. In
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3488-810: 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
3597-563: The Marine Institute Ireland undertook bathymetric survey work north of Antrim, updating Admiralty charts (Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey Project). In doing so a number of interesting submarine geological features were identified around Rathlin Island, including a submerged crater or lake on a plateau with clear evidence of water courses feeding it. This suggests the events leading to inundation – subsidence of land or rising water levels – were extremely quick. Marine investigations in
3706-548: 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
3815-659: 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,
3924-494: The harbour on Rathlin while trying to refloat an islander's RIB . The lifeboat was declared beyond economical repair and handed over to a salvage company. The world's first commercial wireless telegraphy link was established by employees of Guglielmo Marconi between East Lighthouse on Rathlin and Kenmara House in Ballycastle on 6 July 1898. In July 2013, BT installed a high-speed wireless broadband pilot project to
4033-421: The hydroids Tubularia indivisa and Sertularia cupressina and the bryozoan Securiflustra securifrons . The most exposed areas are covered by the barnacles Balanus crenatus and B. hameri . The area is currently being considered for Special Area of Conservation status. Part of Powell's and Pressburger's 1945 film I Know Where I'm Going! was set at Corryvreckan. They filmed in Corryvreckan and
4142-759: 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 ,
4251-444: The skerry of Eilean Mòr (south of the whirlpool) when boating in the gulf. Orwell's one-legged brother-in-law, Bill Dunn, was the first person to swim the gulf. Minke whales and porpoises swim in the fast-moving waters and only the most resilient plants and corals thrive on the seabed . Soft corals such as Alcyonium digitatum can be found in hollows and other sheltered locations. The central pinnacle supports dense mats of
4360-581: The 16th century, the island came into the possession of the MacDonnells of Antrim . Rathlin has been the site of a number of massacres. On an expedition in 1557, Sir Henry Sidney devastated the island. In July 1575, the Earl of Essex sent Francis Drake and John Norreys to confront Scottish refugees on the island, and in the ensuing massacre , hundreds of men, women and children of Clan MacDonnell were killed. Also in 1642, Covenanter Campbell soldiers of
4469-472: 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
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4578-501: The 17th century. It is not known if the 1722 parish church of the established Church of Ireland preached locally in Gaelic, English or both, although the Church of Ireland had already translated the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Gaelic, which were used in Ireland and Scotland. Initially English was confined to trading with outsiders and amongst a small but growing number of newcomers during
4687-413: The 18th century, most islanders continued to speak Gaelic. Nevertheless knowledge and use of English increased and expanded on Rathlin until English eventually replaced Gaelic as the common community language probably some time in the middle of the 19th century. Gaelic persisted for a few decades as a family language amongst some islanders until they too switched to English. The last native Gaelic speakers on
4796-411: The 18th century. A 19th-century British visitor to the island found that they had an unusual form of government where they elected a judge who sat on a "throne of turf". In fact, Robert Gage was the "proprietor of the island" until his death in 1891. Gage held a master's degree from Trinity College, Dublin , but he spent his life on the island creating his book "The Birds of Rathlin Island". Tourism
4905-587: 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
5014-404: 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
5123-407: 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
5232-514: The 7th century, Adomnán mentions "Rechru" and "Rechrea insula", which may also have been early names for Rathlin. The 11th century Irish version of the Historia Brittonum states that the Fir Bolg "took possession of Man and of other islands besides – Arran, Islay and 'Racha'" – another possible early variant. Rathlin was the site of the first Viking raid on Ireland, according to
5341-539: The Argyll's Foot were encouraged by their commanding officer Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck to kill the local Catholic MacDonalds, near relatives of their arch clan enemy in the Scottish Highlands Clan MacDonald . They threw scores of MacDonald women over cliffs to their deaths on rocks below. The number of victims of this massacre has been put as low as 100 and as high as 3,000. On 2 October 1917,
5450-559: 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
5559-508: The Corryvreckan whirlpool. Seeking to focus his main energies on completing a novel destined to become the dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-Four , Orwell had fled the distractions of London in April 1947 and taken up temporary residence on the isolated island of Jura in the Inner Hebrides . On the return leg of an August boating day trip to nearby Glengarrisdale , Orwell seems to have misread
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#17328441254655668-588: 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
5777-538: 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
5886-652: 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
5995-744: 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
6104-551: 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
6213-416: 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
6322-695: 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
6431-410: 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
6540-405: The Mermaid of Corrivrekin. The story states that this MacPhail was carried off by a mermaid and they lived together in a grotto beneath the sea where they had five children, but eventually he tired of her and escaped to land. Writing in the 7th century Adamnan called Corryvreckan " Charybdis Brecani". In Adomnan of Iona 's Life of St Columba , the saint supposedly has miraculous knowledge of
6649-430: The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. As of the 2021 Census it is the smallest Data Zone. On Census day (21 March 2021) there were 141 people living in Rathlin Island. Of these: The Irish language (also known locally as Gaelic) was spoken on Rathlin Island for most of the last 2,500 years, prior to being gradually replaced within the community by English through a process of language shift that started in
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#17328441254656758-428: 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
6867-581: 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
6976-589: 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
7085-466: 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
7194-408: 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
7303-653: The area have also identified new species of sea anemone , rediscovered the fan mussel (the UK's largest and rarest bivalve mollusc – thought to be found only in Plymouth Sound and a few sites off the west of Scotland) and a number of shipwreck sites, including HMS Drake , which was torpedoed and sank just off the island in 1917. Species of algae recorded from Rathlin, such as Hypoglossum hypoglossoides (Stackh.) Coll. et Harv. , Apoglossum ruscifolium (Turn.) J.Ag. , Radicilingua thysanorhizans (Holm.) Papenf. and Haraldiophyllum bonnemaisonii (Kylin) Zinova , were noted by Osborne Morton in 1994. Maps showing
7412-443: The armoured cruiser HMS Drake was torpedoed off the northern Irish coast by German submarine U-79 . She steamed into Church Bay on Rathlin Island, where, after her crew was taken off, she capsized and sank. On 27 January 1918, the RMS Andania was hit amidships by a torpedo from German submarine U-46 captained by Leo Hillebrand. The ship immediately took a list to starboard and began to sink. Attempts were made to tow
7521-413: 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
7630-625: 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
7739-419: 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,
7848-420: The coast of Northern Ireland. The reverse-L-shaped Rathlin Island is four miles (six kilometres) from east to west, and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4 kilometres) from north to south. The highest point on the island is Slieveard, 134 metres (440 feet) above sea level. Rathlin is 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 nautical miles (29 kilometres) from the Mull of Kintyre , the southern tip of Scotland 's Kintyre peninsula. It
7957-558: 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
8066-494: 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
8175-693: The distribution of algae all around the British Isles, including Rathlin Island, are to be found in Harvey and Guiry 2003. Details and notes of the flowering plants are to be found in Hackney. The island has been settled at least as far back as the Mesolithic period. A Neolithic stone axe factory featuring porcellanite stone is to be found in Brockley, a cluster of houses within the townland of Ballygill Middle. It
8284-530: The early Bronze Age , ca. 2000 BC. Genomic analysis of DNA from the bodies showed a strong continuity with the genetics of the modern Irish population and established that the continuity of Irish population dates back at least 1000 years longer than had previously been understood. There is also an unexcavated Viking vessel in a mound formation. Rathlin was probably known to the Romans, Pliny referring to "Reginia" and Ptolemy to "Rhicina" or "Eggarikenna". In
8393-567: 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
8502-545: 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,
8611-469: The group tried to disembark, leaving Orwell, his two companions, and his three-year-old son stranded on the uninhabited outcrop with no supplies or means of escape. They were rescued only when passing lobstermen noticed a fire the party had lit in an effort to keep warm. Orwell completed a first draft of Nineteen Eighty-Four about three months after the Corryvreckan incident, with the final manuscript not finished until late 1948. The McCalmans have recorded
8720-412: The gulf. In both stories Breacan was swept into the whirlpool, and his body dragged ashore later by his dog. Breacan may be named after the whirlpool, or its current name may be a Gaelic pun on his name. Charles Mackay 's poem "The Kelpie of Corrievreckan" tells the story of a young woman who leaves her lover for a sea kelpie. She discovers too late that the kelpie lives at the bottom of the sea and she
8829-479: 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
8938-440: The island died in the 1950s and 1960s. The local dialect shows many features typical for Scottish Gaelic and not found in other dialects of Ireland, e.g. forming plurals with -(e)an Irish pronunciation: [ənˠ] , use of the interrogative có (standard Irish cé ), it uses the object pronouns e, i for subjects of finite verbs, etc., thus it is sometimes treated as a dialect of Scottish Gaelic rather than Irish. It
9047-495: 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
9156-702: 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. Rathlin Island Rathlin Island ( Irish : Reachlainn , pronounced [ˈɾˠaxlən̠ʲ] ; Local Irish dialect: Reachraidh , Irish pronunciation: [ˈɾˠaxɾˠi] ; Scots: Racherie )
9265-527: 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
9374-486: The local tide tables and steered into rough seas that drove his boat near to the whirlpool. When the boat's small engine suddenly sheared off from its mounts and dropped into the sea, Orwell's party resorted to oars and was saved from drowning only when the whirlpool began to recede, and the group managed to paddle the distressed craft to a rocky outcrop about a mile (2 km) distant from the Jura coastline. The boat capsized as
9483-571: The main port of the island, Church Bay, with the mainland at Ballycastle, six nautical miles (eleven kilometres) away. Two ferries operate on the route – the fast foot-passenger-only catamaran ferry Rathlin Express and a purpose-built larger ferry, commissioned in May 2017, Spirit of Rathlin , which carries both foot passengers and a small number of vehicles, weather permitting. Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd won
9592-453: 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
9701-723: 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
9810-532: 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
9919-450: The most dangerous dive in Britain". In Scottish mythology the hag goddess of winter, Cailleach Bheur , uses the gulf to wash her great plaid , and this ushers in the turn of the seasons from autumn to winter. As winter approaches, she uses the gulf as her washtub, and it is said the roar of the coming tempest can be heard from as far away as twenty miles (thirty kilometres), lasting for
10028-471: The nearby (but less fierce) waters at Bealach a' Choin Ghlais ('the pass of the grey dog'). The footage obtained there was then used in back projections with the actors in a replica boat rocked on gimbals while buckets of water were thrown at them. Model shots of the whirlpool were made to give a medium view of the boat being drawn into Corryvreckan. In mid-August 1947, the author George Orwell nearly drowned in
10137-434: 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,
10246-687: 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
10355-459: 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
10464-503: 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
10573-497: The power of all sailing and rowing, with infinit dangers, callit Corybrekan. This stream is aught myle lang, quhilk may not be hantit bot be certain tyds." In 1820, the world's first passenger paddleship, the PS Comet , was wrecked at nearby Craignish Point due to the strong currents in the area. In the late 1940s, writer George Orwell and his three-year-old son (who lived at Barnhill in northern Jura) were briefly shipwrecked on
10682-459: 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
10791-461: The prow, he lifts up his hands to heaven and blesses the turbulent, terrible seas. Yet the Lord terrifies him in this way, not so that the ship in which he sits should be overwhelmed and wrecked by the waves, but rather to rouse him to pray more fervently that he may sail through the peril and reach us here." In 1549, Dean Monro wrote of "Skarbay" that between it and "Duray": "ther runnes ane streame, above
10900-454: 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
11009-574: 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,
11118-528: The ship but it sank after a few hours. The passengers were saved, but Andania' s sinking killed seven crew members. The wreck is lying at a depth of between 175 and 189 metres. The island has been represented on the Islands Forum by the Rathlin Development and Community Association since 2022. In 1746, the island was purchased by the Reverend John Gage. Rathlin was an important producer of kelp in
11227-473: The world, and is on the northern side of the gulf, surrounding a pyramid-shaped basalt pinnacle that rises from depths of 70 to 29 m (230 to 95 ft) at its rounded top. Flood tides and outflow to the Firth of Lorne in the west can drive the waters of Corryvreckan to waves of more than 30 ft (9 m), and the roar of the resulting maelstrom can be heard 10 mi (16 km) away. Although not, as
11336-749: Was a botanist who wrote a book concerning the island's flora and fauna. She visited Dorothea in Germany after she married his Serene Highness Albrecht, Prince of Warbeck and Pyrmonte. Adelaide was buried in Ramoan Churchyard in Ballycastle in 1920 and her book on Rathlin is now lost. Rathlin is one of 43 Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland . It is home to tens of thousands of seabirds , including common guillemots , kittiwakes , puffins and razorbills – about thirty bird families in total. It
11445-399: 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
11554-542: 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
11663-567: Was nevertheless mutually intelligible with dialects of the Irish mainland in the Glens of Antrim . The features shared with Irish dialects are typically retentions that were lost in Scotland between the 17th and 20th century rather than innovations common with Irish, e.g. retention of eclipsis of p, t, c, f (but not b, d, g ) after some words ending in a consonant (eg. nar bpeacaidh 'our sins', nar bpiúr 'our sister', seacht bpont 'seven pounds'). A ferry operated by Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd connects
11772-506: 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
11881-423: Was the one that Adomnan and others had written about in the 8th century. Adomnan wrote: [15] Of the peril of the holy bishop Cólman moccu Sailni in the sea near Rathlin island: Likewise, another day, while St Columba was in his mother church, he suddenly smiled and called out: "Cólman mac Beognai has set sail to come here, and is now in great danger in the surging tides of the whirlpool of Corryvreckan. Sitting in
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