Language Revitalisation in Gaelic Scotland: Linguistic Practice and Ideology

Do adults who were educated through a minoritised language continue to speak it, years after concluding their studies? The school is viewed by policymakers as a crucial site for language revitalisation in such diverse contexts as Hawai’i, New Zealand and the Basque Country. In Scotland, Gaelic-medium education (GME) is seen as a key area of language development, regarded by policymakers as a strategic priority for revitalising Gaelic, and maintaining its use by future generations of speakers. Yet theorists have insisted that school-based policy interventions are inadequate for realising this objective in isolation, and that without sufficient support in the home and community, children are unlikely to develop strong identities or supportive ideologies in the language of the classroom. For the first time, this book will openly assess outcomes of Gaelic-medium education in Scotland using mixed methods, and offer suggestions for individuals and policymakers seeking to revitalise languages internationally.