Language Revitalisation in Gaelic Scotland: Linguistic Practice and Ideology

Gaelic-medium education (GME) has been offered in Scottish primary schools since 1985. Situated within the interrelated disciplines of sociolinguistics and sociology of language, this book explores the language use and attitudinal perceptions of a sample of 130 adults who received GME at primary school. As the first students to have received a bilingual education are now in their late 20s and 30s, this volume offers a timely examination of the long-term outcomes of the system in its earliest years, and of the future prospects for Gaelic language maintenance and revitalisation in Scotland. The book presents in-depth discussion and analysis of narratives in order to demonstrate former Gaelic-medium students’ present-day relationships to the languages they speak, offering fascinating insights into the possible reasons — historical, ideological and personal — for these relationships. This book presents the first open assessment of the outcomes of Gaelic-medium education in Scotland, and offers suggestions for individuals and policymakers seeking to revitalise languages internationally.