Table of Contents

Scottish Gaelic in the United Kingdom

Language designations:

Language vitality according to:

Linguistic aspects:

Language standardization:

Demographics

Language Area

Scottish Gaelic speakers in Scotland based on the census from 2011

Gaelic is spoken mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It is a Celtic language closely related to Irish and Manx, and more distantly related to Welsh, Breton and Cornish.

Map shows the proportion of respondents in the 2011 census aged 3 and above who stated that they can speak Scottish Gaelic. Map was created by SkateTier, and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Speaker numbers


Language and education legislation

History of language education:

Gaelic-medium primary education was first introduced in the traditional heartlands of the language in the mid 1970's, and soon followed in the wake of Gaels who had migrated to urban and Lowland areas. Due to strong support from Scottish parents for Gaelic medium education, additional Gaelic-medium schools were opened, and in 1999/2000, 59 Gaelic-medium schools existed throughout Scotland. 2)

European legislation:

The European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages

Scottish Gaelic is covered under Part III of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. Download the Council of Europe report 2013 about the United Kingdom or the UK report from 2018.

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The Gaelic language is also covered by the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. You can read the latest reports of the UK and the Council of Europe here.

National legislation:

Gaelic Language Act 2005:

Every five years, Bòrd na Gàidhlig makes a National Gaelic Language Plan.


Education in practice

According to the census from 2011, 2500 children will be learning Gaelic in 2012 and 2013, opposed to 24 children in 1985.4). In 2007 MacCaluim (2007) estimated that about 700 learners obtained fluency.

For primary education, in 2018-2019 there are:

For secondary education, in 2018-2019 there are:


Learning resources and educational institutions


Mercator's Regional Dossier

Read more about Gaelic language education in Mercator's Regional Dossier (2018).

1)
2011 census, General Register Office for Scotland
2)
Edwards, Vic, ‘Education and the Development of Early Childhood Bilingualism’, in Voces Diversae: Lesser-Used Language Education in Europe, ed. by Dónall Ó Riagáin, Belfast Studies in Language, Culture and Politics, 15 (Belfast: Cló Ollscoil na Banríona, 2006)
3)
Scottish Parliament. (2005). Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Retrieved from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2005/7/contents.
4)
Goalabre, Fabienne, ‘Immersion Education and the Revitalisation of Breton and Gaelic as Community Languages’, in Policy and Planning for Endangered Languages
5)
Bòrd na Gàidhlig. (n.d.). Primary Education. https://www.gaidhlig.scot/bord/education/primary-education/.
6)
Bòrd na Gàidhlig. (n.d.). Secondary Education. https://www.gaidhlig.scot/bord/education/secondary-education/.