Making space for Gàidhlig
February 10, 2023
Guests: Donalda McComb, Robert Pringle
Host: Iain MacLeod
It can be challenging, both for Gaelic learners but also fluent speakers, to stay in the language. For generations when non-Gaelic speakers have been present in Gaelic social spaces, Gaelic speakers have often defaulted to English to accommodate them, and learners frequently switch to English when they reach the edge of their vocabulary or comfort.
In this visit, Iain MacLeod spoke with Donelda McComb of South Uist, who recently retired as Principal at a Gaelic Medium (Immersion) School in Glasgow, Scotland (ages 3-18); and Robert Pringle, an electrician, farmer and Gaelic speaker and advocate from West Bay, Cape Breton. They discussed the need to centre Gaelic in both individual conversations and by creating spaces for the language’s use, and suggested strategies for doing so in both personal and community domains.
What we heard
The conversation with the guests began in Gaelic.
Iain asked Donelda and Rob to introduce themselves and to take us to the time when they first heard Gaelic and English.
Donelda grew up in a Gaelic-speaking family in South Uist, and first heard English on records or on TV. She said seven of the nine children in her family went to school speaking Gaelic, but her youngest brother spoke English by the time he went to school, such was the impact of English TV. She has always had a career in Gaelic-medium education (immersion), yet would never have expected that it would be in Glasgow where the first Gaelic-medium school would be and where she would become principal, rather than in the Highlands or Islands.
Robert returned home to West Bay, Cape Breton, after spending time in Korea and Alberta. He doesn't intend to live anywhere else now. He first heard Gaelic from his grandmother, when he used to visit her as a young boy at the manor in Port Hawkesbury. He teaches Gaelic in his community and is attending StFX University again.
Then the discussion turned to English.
Iain explained the shifting to English is a common occurrence in places where Gaelic is spoken, even when only one person is an English speaker. This, plus Gaelic learners' own tendency to quickly resort to English when they come close to their limit in Gaelic, makes it difficult to stay with and learn the language.
Donelda said there is a politeness that Gaels feel, not wanting to exclude people. She said Gaels just accepted it and got used to living in two worlds. Switching to English happened in South Uist and in the Gaelic-medium school she led. When someone came into the room who didn't speak Gaidhlig – a visiting school psychologist, for example – the conversation changed to English. It's the reality of running a Gaelic-medium school, she said. Although they have strong values and goals for Gaelic only, they need services and support from people who don't speak the language.
However, on further reflection she said: "That's how we felt. But we don't know how the person felt, because we very readily went into English. Maybe we should have had a wee step back from that. But that's very difficult to do in that circumstance. It's a challenge."
Rob picked up on this point and said historically there are reasons for switching to English. For him personally it is because he doesn't want someone to feel uncomfortable, but he also questions whether that discomfort is real.
"I am working on changing that. . .to keep using it is more important than someone's discomfort, because that is not even really a thing. I haven't established that the person is uncomfortable, and if they are, jeez I can go to Toronto or New York City and go to any corner, or neighbourhood where there are languages I don't speak. . .I am not going to go up and say, hey guys, speak English. That would be rude. "
Rob said Gaels lost their courage with regard to their language, in the face of so much opposition.
"There has been some internalised shame around that. I want to change that. We all gotta want to change that. It's not warranted."
Donelda's way to change attitudes has been to ensure that future generations have the educational choice she didn't, and to build back confidence in the language. She said when she first started her career 80 percent of the children came from Gaelic-speaking homes, and now 80 percent don't.
At the school they let parents know that they expect them to learn Gaelic alongside their children. Parents organized what became an oversubscribed Saturday morning Gaelic club, where they learn Gaelic while their children are cared for. Some parents become stalwarts and take classes, some don't. There are many reasons parents put their kids in Gaelic-medium education. She proudly states that they never had to advertise for students, the school's reputation spoke for itself.
While Donelda spoke about the challenges and triumphs of working for Gaelic within a system, Rob focused on the realities of using Gaelic in community and with other speakers in the province. He sees a core group of learners in the province and beyond pushing for more Gaelic spaces. He said it can be as easy as using Gaelic whenever you can.
"I drop sentences at the store. I say little greetings to people who may not speak Gaelic. I do it with affection and with joy. And they are, like, ‘what is this silly guy on about?’"
He admits it takes effort and courage and that have to don the "Gaelic mantle."
"It feels unnatural at times, but as a learner in Nova Scotia you have to don this thing. You have to put it on. It was taken away from us, it was unnaturally removed."
It's important to stay the course.
"I feel a sense of obligation to do that because it was not fair what happened to Gàidhlig . . . As a linguistic expression of planet earth it was poorly treated. "
He said speaking Gaelic is good for you.
"It's good for me. I found that it is a healing exercise. It's a mental discipline that has untold benefits for me, personally. I can't tell my accountant that, but I know this to be very true. There's evidence in my own life."
Donelda continues: "From my own experience in Glasgow, the authority and the government have a lot to do with the raising of the profile of Gàidhlig . And I suppose the Gàidhlig Language Plans that have been introduced across Scotland have helped to some degree."
Having support and commitment from the local council meant funding for schools and signage in areas of the city where it was never before. Combined with strong support from parents, she said it has made Gaelic-medium education the success that it is in Scotland.
"I know I am very much promoting Gàidhlig-medium education, and why shouldn't I? It has been a success in creating the next generation of Gaelic speakers and bringing other people to learning the language. . . but you need other people on the ground who will develop things in arts and culture. That's important as well. It shouldn't be seen as a school thing. It's people you need . . . alongside the Gaelic plans."
She said young people are their greatest asset in Scotland.
"People who have been through Gàidhlig-medium education will be the standard bearers as we continue to keep this language going. And I would hope that within the education they received that they have. . . a pride of having two windows on the world and opportunities they will encounter as a result of learning this other language."
On a personal level, Rob said that Gaelic has helped him build a stronger sense of self, and that he has fallen in love with Nova Scotia and its history in a new way. He said the belief that one has to go out west to find success is one that "drives me right to the core."
"What if we just said no, that's absolutely incorrect. There is stuff right here, and shout it from the rooftops . .. There's lots here, and Gàidhlig has helped me see that clearly."
What we said
Some of our comments were shared in the chat stream during the conversation with the guests. Then, in the breakout rooms, we all responded to the stories we’d heard, and shared our own reflections. When we returned to the main room, we wrote some highlights and themes in the chat stream. Read all our comments.