Description
Language planning for Scottish Gaelic has had significant state support since the passing of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and its subsequent implementation, a period which McLeod terms the ‘institutionalisation’ of Gaelic language policy. Since 2006, 57 public bodies – including the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament - have developed Gaelic language plans, with an aim to support the promotion of the Gaelic language, Gaelic education and culture. However, as a minoritised language (spoken by 1.3% of the population in Scotland in 2021), public support for the language is important Fürst (2023), both in terms of support for public spending on language planning initiatives and in terms of interest in, and engagement with the Gaelic language and culture. This presentation draws on data from two large-scale surveys of public attitudes (1000+ participants ) from 2012 and 2021, and uses Gazzola’s (2023) policy cycle model as an analytical frame to longitudinally evaluate the success of Gaelic policy initiatives in terms of public support for the language and culture. People were asked about their exposure to, and knowledge of Gaelic, about their attitudes to Gaelic signage and Gaelic speaking, their views about the relationship of Gaelic to cultural heritage, about Gaelic in Scottish education, about public spending on Gaelic, and about the future of Gaelic.The findings show there to have been an increase in the proportion of adults in Scotland with exposure to Gaelic public signage, and with knowledge of the Gaelic language over the last decade. There has also been a shift towards more positive attitudes regarding the language in a range of areas, including views on Gaelic education, the reported importance of Gaelic to people’s cultural heritage, public spending on Gaelic and the future of Gaelic. Three factors were found to be associated with such positive attitudes to Gaelic – those who have had greater exposure to Gaelic, those with a greater knowledge of the language and younger people. These findings will be discussed in relation to other research from Scotland and on language attitudes internationally. The presentation will conclude with policy and practice implications, both for Gaelic in Scotland, and for the promotion of other minoritised languages through language policy and planning initiatives.
References:
Fürst, G. (2023) ‘Intergroup relations and attitudes: conceptualisation, measurement, and relevance for language policy and planning.’ In Gazzola et al. (Eds) The Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. London: Routledge.
Gazzola, M. (2023) ‘Language Policy as Public Policy’ in Gazzola et al. (Eds.) Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations in Language Policy and Planning. Switzerland: Palgrave Pivot
McLeod, W. (2020) Gaelic in Scotland: policies, movements, ideologies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
| Period | 24 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Bilingualism Matters Research Symposium |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Edinburgh, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |