TO celebrate the Year of Young People, every week in 2018 The National is giving a platform to young Scots. This week, 26-year-old Alasdair Lewis Laing
I WAS born and raised in one of those places in Scotland where Gaelic never had anything to do with anything or anyone: Dollar. A village where 20% of the population is born outwith Scotland. A village where not even Scots is spoken frequently, despite it being bang in the middle of the Central Belt. A village where there is more of a connection with French, through our twin village La Ville-aux-Dames, than anything ostensibly Scottish.
However, here I am 26 years later about to embark on a new career in Gaelic journalism with the BBC. It’s hasn’t been easy, learning something new never is, but it has been worth it – especially knowing the little part I have played is helping safeguard Gaelic in the long run.
Rewind 13 years and I was getting ready to choose my school subjects. I was one of the lucky ones who attended a school where Gaelic was actually an option, but unfortunately for me it wasn’t to be – the teacher was leaving. It was then that I decided that if I were ever to learn it, I’d have to do it the hard way. By myself.
What I didn’t expect, however, was the torrent of disparagement, mocking and indifference I’d receive, primarily from teaching staff it must be said.
“Gaelic will never get you anywhere,” I was told repeatedly.
“You should focus on French instead,” my language teachers told me.
“Gaelic is dead and was never spoken here,” I heard on a daily basis from friends.
Thankfully, I never was very good at listening at school … It is nothing more than a national embarrassment that this is the attitude people, and educated ones at that, hold towards one of our official languages. The fact that having reasoned conversations about Gaelic seems to induce rage within even the most level-headed individuals worries me greatly.
Gaelic faced almost 100 years of state suppression. In 2018, we should all be in a place where we can be proud of our national languages and cultures. Cultural ignorance is something that should no longer be encouraged.
Language is not about politics, race or superiority – it’s something that everyone can enjoy and partake in. My life would be totally different if it were not for Gaelic. I wouldn’t have met my husband, for one thing. I guess now is the time to thank those who were ignorant for strengthening my resolve to learn more.
Gaelic may not have had anything to do with Dollar, but we are not merely defined by the places we grew up. Gaelic belongs to all of Scotland, and by extension, all of us who live here wherever that may be. Gaelic is what you make of it – an annoyance on road signs you can’t read, or the language of friendships, love and career. Only you can make that choice. Gabhaibh an cothrom!
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