Within contemporary Scotland there are two distinct language systems which may be considered to be threatened with extinction. These are the Germanic system of Scots, decended from the Northumbrian dialect of Old English, and the Celtic system of Gaelic, one of the languages of the Goidelic branch of Celtic. Both systems are dominated by English, in the written form and through the spoken forms of Received Pronunciation and Standard Scottish English. The common ancestry of Scots and English, both being derived from dialects of Old English, suggests that the form of domination in this relationship could be distinguised from the influence of English on Gaelic. This is paralleled in the distinction made between the processes of 'language suicide' (ie the gradual assimilation towards a similar system) and 'language murder' (ie the displacement of one language by another). This is considered in terms of register and domain. Interference is analysed within various registers and domains in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and orthography. Further studies assess the extent of usage for Gaelic in the Isle of Lewis and Scots in Banffshire. The main conclusion that is drawn from the study is that the broad distinction between language suicide and language murder has some validity, but the process of language death, as evidenced by Scots and Gaelic, is more complex than that. In both languages there is evidence of assimilation towards English through interference in the system, and of displacement in terms of the number of speakers and the domains in which the languages are used. Assessment of the state of Gaelic reveals that, despite an apparent increase in the number of speakers, there is evidence of greater English dominance amongst present day speakers, who use English in more situations and include more English features in their Gaelic. A similar picture is found for Scots.

Thugadh sùil mhionaideach air cleachdadh susbaint le ochdnar cloinne da-chànanaich (aois 3 agus 4) bho dhiofar theaghlaichean stèidhichte ann am Barraigh agus Glaschu. Chaidh sgrùdadh a dhèanamh air dòigh a rinn pàrantan roghainnean a thaobh cànan na susbaint (eadar a' Bheurla agus a' Ghàidhlig) nuair a bha iad a' taghadh susbaint dhan chuid cloinne. Rannsaicheadh mar a bha poileasaidh cànain nan teaghlaichean agus cleachdaidhean susbaint ag obrachadh còmhla. Chaidh leabhraichean-latha susbaint a lìonadh air cleachdaidhean susbaint na cloinne agus chaidh agallamhan a chumail le pàrantan. Tha an rannsachadh a' sealltainn nach do chleachd a' chlann uile susbaint Ghàidhlig uile gu lèir mar a dh'fhaodadh iad agus gun robh diofaran ann eatorra. Chaidh fada a bharrachd susbaint Bheurla na susbaint Ghàidhlig a chleachdadh am measg na cloinne air fad. Chuir cuid de theaghlaichean luach air susbaint mar ghoireas poileasaidh cànain agus iad ga cleachdadh airson cothroman cànain-a-steach sa Ghàidhlig adhbhrachadh agus bha cuid ann nach do chleachd susbaint Ghàidhlig sam bith. Thug iomadh factar buaidh air roghainnean susbaint agus tha na factaran sin air an sgrùdadh. Tha na diofaran a nochd ann an cleachdadh susbaint air an cnuasachadh ann an co-theacsa poileasaidh chànain theaghlaich. Cha robh poileasaidh cànain làidir a thaobh cleachdadh na Gàidhlig a-staigh daonnan a' ciallachadh gun robh susbaint Ghàidhlig air a cleachdadh. Thugadh molaidhean seachad do luchdpoileasaidh cànain agus luchd-poileasaidh nam meadhanan Gàidhlig air leasachaidhean a dh'fhaoidte dèanamh gus cleachdadh susbaint Ghàidhlig a neartachadh.

This thesis explores the measurement of adult second language (L2) oral proficiency in Scottish Gaelic (henceforth Gaelic). Gaelic is a minority language in Scotland, and is currently the object of a major effort to reverse language shift. Adult L2 users of Gaelic have been identified as key agents in this effort, but some weaknesses in adult Gaelic language-in-education policy are making it difficult for adult L2 users to fulfil this role. One such weakness is the absence of an empirically-derived means of assessing proficiency in Gaelic, through which adult L2 users and their teachers can assess their progress. This project aims to address this weakness. Data from two tasks — an interview and a narrative — performed by adult L2 users of Gaelic are analysed from the perspective of the complexity, accuracy, and fluency framework, as the three main dimensions of proficiency. Data are also analysed for Communicative Adequacy, using raters’ judgements. These data provide the first examination of Gaelic L2 proficiency from the perspective of second language acquisition (SLA) research. Adult L2 users of Gaelic have a wide range of learning experiences and motivations for learning the language. This study also explores these experiences and motivations, and discusses how these relate to proficiency. Results show that individuals’ Gaelic language skills interact in complex and unpredictable ways, depending on the nature of the task being performed. There is some evidence that the interview task encourages complexity and fluency, while the narrative task encourages accuracy at the expense of complexity. Results also show that the Communicative Adequacy rating scale developed for this project is valid and reliable, but that assessments of proficiency are subjective, to a large extent. Finally, the results confirm that adult L2 users of Gaelic draw on a vast range of experiences and are motivated in many different ways to learn the language. The outcomes of the project contribute to existing scholarship on the experiences and motivations of adult L2 users of Gaelic, confirming previous findings. The results also confirm previous findings in second language acquisition research that complexity, accuracy, fluency, and Communicative Adequacy in an L2 interact in complex ways, and that these interactions can be mediated by different task conditions. Finally, the outcomes of this exploratory research serve as the basis for future, more large-scale research into the acquisition of Gaelic as a second language by adults.

Tha an tràchdas seo a’ coimhead air buidheann de dhàin fhada a nochd aig toiseach an fhicheadaimh linn. Cha deach cus ùidh a shealltainn sna dàin seo bho sgrùdairean Gàidhealachadh sa chiad dol a-mach. Bho chrìoch an fhicheadamh linn, tha ùidh air nochdadh sna dàin seo a-rithist, gu h-àraidh An Cuilithionn, Aeòlus agus Balg agus Mochtàr is Dùghall. Ach ’s e an tràchdas seo a’ chiad sgrùdadh domhain air a’ bhuidheann seo de dhàin nan aonar. Gus an rannsachadh seo a dhèanamh thèid corpas a lorg am measg leabhraichean agus irisean bhon àm, agus na co-chruinneachaidhean a chaidh fhoillseachadh nas anmoiche. Thèid taghadh a dhèanamh a tha a’ riochdachadh prìomh fheartan nan dàn seo. Thèid rannsachadh a dhèanamh air cuid de dh’eisimpleirean bhon 18mh agus 19mh linn ann an Caibideil 2. Air sgàth ’s an uidhir de shurbhaidhean nas fharsainge a tha ri fhaotainn de litreachas na Gàidhlig, seallaidh an sgrùdadh sin air feartan sònraichte. Chìthear mar a chleachd bàrdachd Mhic Mhaighstir Alasdair cruth a’ chiùil mhòir gus gnè-sònraichte ùr de dhàin fhada a chur air bog ann an 1751. Ghabhar sùil mar an ceudna air Uilleam MacDhùn-Lèibhe air tàilibh a bhuaidh air Somhairle MacGill-Eain, agus gu robh amasan nàiseantach agus socio-cànanachais an Ìlich ri fhaicinn anns a’ mhòr-chuid de bhàird a’ chorpais cuideachd. Seallaidh Caibideil 3 air na bàird fhèin, gu h-àraidh na beachdan aca agus na ceanglaichean eatorra. Bha iad seo ri fhaicinn ann an saoghal litreachais agus poilitigs. ’S e prìomh amas na h-anailisean (Caibideilean 4-10) tuigse nas fheàrr fhaighinn an dà chuid air na dàin fhèin agus air ceistean teòiriceil a tha a’ buntainn ris a’ chorpas. ’S e an dàrna amas barrachd dhòighean-obrach teòiriceil a chleachdadh sa Ghàidhlig gus bruidhinn air litreachas na cànaine. Stèidhicheadh na h-anailisean air na feartan a bha ri fhaicinn anns gach dàn, a leithid iar-phlanntachais ann am Mochtàr is Dùghall, air neo air coimeasan a bha gus tuigse nas fheàrr a thoirt seachad air a’ chorpas shlàn. Bidh na h-anailisean seo a’ dearbhadh cuid de na ceanglaichean cudromach a th’ aig litreachas na Gàidhlig ri litreachasan Eòrpach eile, air uairean airson a’ chiad uair. Tha an co-dhùnadh a’ tilleadh do sealladh nas fharsainge air a’ chorpas. Chìthear gu bheil buidheann sònraichte de dhàin ri fhaicinn bhon chiad leth den fhicheadamh linn, dàin nach deach a sgrùdadh còmhla riamh. Tha na dàin seo ceangailte ann am meud, cuspairean, iomraidhean agus amasan nam bàrd. Leasachaidh tuigse nas fheàrr air na dàin seo an t-eòlas a th’ againn air bàrdachd na Gàidhlig, gu h-àraidh sna bliadhnaichean nuair a bha na nua-bhàird a’ nochdadh an toiseach.

This thesis explores the social realities of working in a minority language labour market through a case-study of the Gaelic language in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  In this study, the ‘Gaelic labour market’ refers to a group of jobs for which knowledge of Gaelic is a condition of employment. By conceptualising language as situated in social practices, this study draws on in-depth interviews with people who work in this labour market, to research the ways in which personal identities, values and meanings associated with the language can be asserted, formed and contested through working practices.  The research found a multiplicity of motives for working in the Gaelic labour market which included both ‘mercenary’ and ‘crusading’ elements.  Gaelic language practice in the Gaelic labour market is not necessarily stable or habitual, but is contested practice given that there is no single ideology of language which workers bring to bear on upon their working situations. Whilst for some participation in the Gaelic labour market profoundly affected how they identified with the language, for others this involvement had little consequence for their identity.  The dominant outcome was one of ambivalence over what membership of the Gaelic labour market meant and in which ways it could have implications for how workers lived their lives.  The results show how the labour market is one space through which different ideologies of the language are contested, as well as being a contested concept in and of itself.

Gaelic in Scotland has been undergoing language shift, with both a decline in the number of speakers and domains in which the language is routinely used. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act of 2005 aimed to secure the status of the language and under its provision required public authorities based in Scotland to prepare Gaelic language plans. This thesis explored the interplay of these formal language management initiatives and linguistic practices in Stornoway, the largest settlement in the Western Isles, the last remaining heartland of the language in Scotland. Linguistic soundscape surveys collected data in real time and in situ in ten different public spaces, both with and without statutory Gaelic language plans, to assess how, when, and by whom, and for what purpose Gaelic was used. This data was supplemented by eleven language use diaries of bilingual Gaelic/English speakers residing in Stornoway. This quantitative data was used to evaluate individual linguistic practices and how these varied across the different domains of communication, including closed domains not covered by the linguistic soundscape surveys. The findings of this study indicate that Gaelic was not used as extensively as might statistically be expected, but that the language makes a significant contribution to the linguistic soundscape of the community, especially in interactions involving participants over the age of 60 and in private domain interactions. Bilingual Gaelic / English speakers use Gaelic in circumstances where they do not have to (re-)negotiate Gaelic as an accepted linguistic norm. This was especially the case in social networks and closed domains such as places of work or education. Gaelic was used to a lesser extent in public domain interactions, and only where members of staff used Gaelic in the linguistic soundscape of that particular space.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2008. / Title from web page (viewed on July 1, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

The study of place-names containing personal names is a neglected field in onomastics, despite being of great significance in various areas of name-studies. At its core, this thesis will begin to bridge the gap between the study of place-names and personal names, both practically and theoretically. The first step is to introduce a formally accepted terminology for the study of these names. Here, the term used to describe a place-name containing a personal name is anthropo-toponym. The acknowledgement of such a term would aid and indeed encourage future studies of anthropo-toponyms, both in Scotland and elsewhere. The study is approached through a close investigation of name material from the Isle of Lewis. The toponyms in question are characterised by two main linguistic layers, Old Norse and Scottish Gaelic, both of which have been included here. Although this material is partially an exercise in investigating the characteristics and properties of anthropo-toponyms, it also sheds considerable light on the social and linguistic history of Lewis place-names. Additionally, the study draws on a considerable amount of comparative evidence. This is primarily collected from the comprehensive survey of The Place-Names of Fife by Simon Taylor with Gilbert Márkus (2006-12). However, when studying the Norse dimension further, material from Landnámabók, one of the key sources for the medieval settlement of Iceland, has also been included. One of the most significant proposals made in this thesis is the concept of using a variant of the name-semantic approach, previously discussed by Peder Gammeltoft (2001a) in a Scottish context. At its core, this means that rather than emphasising the etymology of individual place-name elements, the motivation for coining is emphasised. It will become evident that using this approach makes it possible to view anthropo-toponyms in a different light. Through this method, we find that there is considerable variety to be found within the name-material, particularly when we look at the social and cognitive factors at play when place-names are coined and transmitted. Place-names that, on the surface appear to be relatively homogenous, can prove to be the opposite. For example, names such as Creagan Iain Ruaidh, Geodha Bean, Mhurchaidh, Stac Dhomhnuill Chaim and Tigh Mhaoldònuich, which are all coined in a comparable social Gaelic setting in the early modern period, appear to represent motivations relating to a birth, a drowning, the abode of a notorious outlaw, and the temporary hideout of a sheep thief respectively. By emphasising these micro-narratives, it is possible to shed light on the name material from a new perspective and to provide a greater understanding of the process of coining place-names.

This thesis deals with the topic of compounding in Scottish Gaelic, in particular the relationship between marked adjective + noun compounds (e.g. deagh oidhche ‘good night’) and their unmarked noun + adjective alternatives (e.g. oidhche mhath, literally ‘night good’). The first part of the thesis surveys the relevant linguistic literature on compounding, with a specific focus on compounding in Celtic languages, and the research question for the investigation is specified as follows: in which circumstances do Gaelic speakers use the marked adjective + noun constructions in contrast to the umarked alternatives? The investigation itself consists of two experimental studies. The first of these is a corpus study using a 2.5 million word, mainly 20th century subcorpus of Corpas na Gàidhlig, a 19 million word corpus of Scottish Gaelic texts covering a range of genres, dialects and historical periods. In the course of this study, all phrases in which these adjectives occurred were collected and analysed. To annotate data the freeware AntConc concordance package was used, followed by a statistic analysis of the annotated phrases. A range of hypotheses were developed as a result of the corpus study, for example: (a) the role of conceptuality, subjectivity and emphasis in the use of preposed adjectives as opposed to their plain counterpart; (b) the religious register of ma(i)th good; and (c) the role of contrast in the use of attributive plain adjective aosta compared with the highly productive use of the preposed adjective seann- to convey the meaning ʻold’. The second experimental study involved interviews with native speakers, with the aim of providing further evidence relating to these hypotheses. 10 interviews were conducted with native speakers of Gaelic, mainly applying pictures and translations of the relevant adjectival phrases, investigating the meaning, stress pattern and hyphenation of these, as well as the default adjectives in loan words or with tangible nouns (e.g. vehicles, animals), etc. This combined methodology revealed various factors that influence the choice between marked adjective + noun and unmarked noun + adjective constructions, including: (a) dialect (with the overall use of preceding adjectives in South Uist, but the preference for math ʻgood’ in Lewis); (b) register (ma(i)th in religious texts); (c) conceptualisation in the vocabulary (by the preceding adjectives deagh- ʻgood’ and droch- ʻbad’ qualifying abstract concepts, whereas the plain adjectives math ʻgood’ and dona ʻbad’ tangible and countable nouns); (d) pragmatic factors such as the emphatic nature of deagh- as opposed to math; and (e) grammatical factors (see the use of deagh-/droch- in subjunctive clauses, particularly in time expressions).

Tha an tràchdas seo na eachdraidh chultarach air Ìle, eilean ann an ceann an iar-dheas na Gàidhealtachd, le cuideam air 1890 gu 1960. Tha e ag amas air cultar Gàidhlig nan Ìleach a chur na cho-theacs sòisealta, le bhith a’ beachdachadh air an t-suidheachadh anns an nochdadh cuid de na gnèithean cultarach a bu chudromaiche, agus air na daoine a bha an sàs ann a bhith gan cumail suas. Tha e airson an dàimh eadar cultar agus an comann-sòisealta nas fharsainge a sgrùdadh, le a bhith a’ smaoineachadh air cultar mar dhòigh air coimhead air an t-saoghal, agus mar phàirt bhunaiteach den t-saoghal sin. Tha obair a’ Mharxaich Eadailtich, Antonio Gramsci, a’ toirt buaidh mhòr air an rannsachadh, agus ’s ann air ceistean a thaobh cumhachd, clas agus gnè a thathas gu tric a’ cnuasachadh. ’S e prìomh amas na h-obrach atharrachadh taobh a-staigh a’ chultair a thuigsinn anns an àm-sgrùdaidh shònraichte seo, nuair a b’ urrainnear fhathast bruidhinn air ‘coimhearsnachd Ghàidhlig’ ach far an robh a’ Bheurla a’ sìor fhaighinn làmh an uachdair. ’S ann air trì prìomh chuspairean a tha an rannsachadh: beul-aithris, bàrdachd agus creideamh. Tha caibideil air cruinneachadh beul-aithris Eachainn MhicGillEathain agus Iain Òg Ìle (1859-1862) rud beag ron phrìomh àm-sgrùdaidh, agus tha seo a’ coimhead air obair a’ chruinneachaidh fhèin, àite nan seann sgeulachdan ann an Ìle, agus air na sgeulaichean Ìleach. Thathas an uair sin a’ gluasad gu cruinneachadh beul-aithris Elizabeth Kerr a bha stèidhichte ann am Port Sioba, san Roinn Ìlich, eadar mu 1893 agus 1910, agus a’ sireadh fiosrachadh air cuimse eadar-dhealaichte a’ chruinneachaidh seo agus na tha toraidhean na beul-aithris ag innse mun chomann-shòisealta. Anns a’ chaibideil air bàrdachd san 20mh linn, thathas a’ faighinn a-mach mun cheathrar bhàrd mu dheireadh a bha foillsichte, air na bha aca ann an cumantas agus àite romansachais agus impirileis nan cuid obrach. Às dèidh seo, tha caibideil air òrain anns na clàraidhean-fuaim Ìleach a rinn Sgoil Eòlais na h-Alba eadar 1953 agus 1969. Thathas a’ beachdachadh air na fiosraichean, air na seòrsaichean òran a bha rim faotainn – agus nach robh – agus làthaireachd òrain nam bàrd Ìleach foillisichte. Bithear cuideachd a’ toirt cunntas air buaidh mhòr a’ Chomuinn Ghàidhealaich anns an eilean. Mu dheireadh, anns a’ chaibideil air creideamh tha ceist oirnn mu dè cho eadar-dhealaichte ’s a bha suidheachadh a’ chreideimh ann an Ìle an taca ri ceàrnaidhean Gàidhealach eile, thathas a’ cleachdadh staitistig airson obrachadh a-mach dè cho cudromach ’s a bha gach buidheann-eaglais, a bharrachd air fianais beul-eachdraidh airson smaoineachadh air àite a’ chreideimh ann am beatha dhaoine.