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I've read a lot about the situation with various forms of Gaelic as spoken
throughout Britain and Ireland, and I have a close friend who was involved
with the political movement which revived Welsh. This is my impression:<br>
<br>
Welsh is doing very well--it is being passed on to the young, it is being
used in all levels of society, even as the medium of instruction for university
programs, and the number of native speakers is actually increasing. It is
often cited as one of the greatest success stories in terms of revitalizing
an indigenous language. Of course, there are still questions as to its long-term
survival, but, at this point, there is no possibility that it will be extinct
in 40 years, and it is reasonably possible that it will actually be doing
better in 40 years. There are generations of children growing up as native
speakers of Welsh--even if it suddenly stopped being passed on to children
tomorrow, (unlikely considering the currently situation) it would not become
extinct for quite a bit longer than 40 years. David Crystal, one of the
best-known and most respected linguists in the world, is from Wales, and
he, among many others, reports the reality that Welsh is being passed on
to the younger generations. He often cites Welsh as an example of how a
traditional language can remain viable in the modern world. <br>
<br>
The situation with Irish and Scottish Gaelic is much less secure. It is
my impression that many in Ireland are able to speak Irish Gaelic to some
level, as it is a required subject for all in school, but I believe that it
is still declining as a native language, and that, at any rate, the situation
is not nearly as good as that of Welsh. <br>
<br>
Scottish Gaelic has an even weaker position, since it is not required that
everybody in Scotland study it. The reason for this is that, in much of Scotland,
the traditional language was/is Scots, an English-related language, and not
Gaelic, which was historically mostly spoken in the Highlands. <br>
<br>
If the article in question was about Scottish Gaelic, I would find it believable,
if it was about Irish Gaelic, less so, and if it was about Welsh, then the
writer has been misinformed. <br>
<br>
<br>
Keola Donaghy wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="midfc.000f4a09004d73073b9aca007b78318a.4d730c@leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu">
<pre wrap="">Mahalo David, yes it appears that is where the article is, and apparently
they were referring to Scottish and Welsh Gaelic, not Irish. It is on the
nature.com website, but requires a subscription for access to the full
article.
There is a short piece on the Cornell website on the report, but still not
the whole report:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/03/9.11.03/language_death.html">http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/03/9.11.03/language_death.html</a>
Keola
Indigenous Languages and Technology <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU"><ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU></a> writes:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">It appears the report might be in the journal "Nature." Probably the
current issue. Although there might be another report behind that one.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
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Keola Donaghy
Hawaiian Language Curriculum and Technology Coordinator
Native Hawaiian Serving Institution Program
University of Hawai'i at Hilo
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:keola@leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu">keola@leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~nhsi">http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~nhsi</a>
Kualono <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/">http://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/</a>
=======================================================================
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