Wednesday 17 February 2016

Divided We Fall


Whether it is the Daily Fail spewing its hateful diatribe and labelling it as news, or a misty-eyed romantic overlooking inconvenient facts that get in the way of their interpretation of a historical event, there will always be bias and one-sidedness when it comes to any kind of reporting of fact.

Right now my studies are plunging me into the fascinating history of Scotland and of the Gaelic Language and Culture. It's interesting to know a few facts about what has happened, and also more than a little depressing to see that, over the past few hundred years or so, the people who have mistreated the Scottish people the most have mainly been their fellow countrymen. The English are of course 'The Auld Enemy' despite the good ones (we'll ignore those), and the French are 'The Auld Alliance' as long as we gloss over the bits when the bad guys - 'The Auld Enemy' - were called upon to help rid Scotland of the French regent and stop all these pesky French blokes being appointed to high office. But as I say, we'll move on from such inconvenient facts to the present day.

Most people who know of Scottish Gaelic have also heard of 'Outlander', a series of fictional books dramatised for the screen by an American production company. As part of 'Outlander' is set in 18th Century Scotland, Gaelic is spoken. This has proved to be a massive boon for the Gaelic language, which is doing its very best to ride that wave and promote awareness.

One of the great challenges to face in the light of Outlander is to convince the curious that Gaelic is still very much a modern, living, breathing language. Many references to Gaelic link it to the past, as if it only serves a purpose in the interpretation of history and doesn't offer much for today or tomorrow.

It is not just the raising of Gaelic awareness and the demonstration that Gaelic is very much a living language today that are the battles many people fight on an almost daily basis.

One of the reasons I keep this blog is promote tolerance and understanding between those of us learning Gaelic, and those who speak it 'bho thùs' (native speakers). Us learners need to understand that, for many reasons and in many cases, you can't just normally bound up to a Gaelic speaker you don't know and expect them to speak Gaelic with you straight away. After a lifetime of only speaking Gaelic with close friends and family, this sudden surprise may come as quite a shock. Likewise, native speakers need to understand that most learners would be in seventh heaven to share a bit of craic with a native speaker - with the learner widening their vocabulary and improving fluency, and the native speaker maybe understanding a bit more about what motivates people to learn this beautiful and complex language, and helping encourage new speakers to keep Gaelic alive.

There are many, many other people who work tirelessly to promote Gaelic and spread the love whenever they can.

That is why I am absolutely fuming about the people who produce Outlander promoting their wares by launching a series of 'Speak Outlander' videos, to teach the viewers a word or two of Gaelic. In essence, it sounds like a good idea.

However, the picture above is a screen shot from the very first video. It says:

'Sassenach (sic) - Outlander or foreigner; more specifically an English person; usage generally derogatory'


Now, my understanding of 'Sassenach' (or even 'Sasannach') was actually that it simply meant somebody from England, none of this 'foreigner' or 'derogatory' business. So I asked a couple of respected folk in the Gaelic world - Adhamh o' Broin included - to ask where this 'derogatory' usage came from. And indeed, if the Gaelic word used to describe me is a derogatory one, then what is the non-derogatory Gaelic word for someone from England?

Of course, in modern context, 'Sasannach' isn't derogatory at all. Maybe it was back in the 18th Century, but it isn't today, at least not in Gaelic (although maybe in Scots).

It's a pity, then, that the first Gaelic word that many thousands of people are learning is actually being presented with its 18th century meaning and not its 21st century meaning. Is that made clear? Of course it isn't. After all, you should never let the facts get in the way of a bit of cheap promotion.

The irony is, this is in danger of turning more people against Gaelic than attracting them to it. There are enough obstacles for the learner to overcome as it is, and it is this kind of covert racism that has me wondering why I am bothering to learn Gaelic at all.


Saturday 6 February 2016

Media Tart - Gaelic meets Caravan




For many years I have kept a blog about my travels and caravanning-related rambling called  'Adventures with my Airstream (and other stuff).' More recently I started this blog about the ups and downs of learning Scottish Gaelic, 'Confessions of a Scottish Gaelic Learner.'

I never thought in my wildest dreams that the two subjects would cross over and I'd end up writing the same entry for both blogs.

Yet... here it is!

My love of Scotland is no secret to anyone. After many Airstream trips to the Outer Hebrides, each one affirming my love for and connection with the place just a little bit more than before, I decided in 2013 to start learning a little bit of Gaelic in order to try to come to terms with and understand my connection a little better.

Alongside my Gaelic course at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, I maintained a good relationship with the Caravan Club of which I have been a member all my adult life, and for whom I have worked on an occasional freelance and sometimes voluntary basis for over 10 years.

As my friends will testify (the very few I have left, that is), when I am passionate about something I don't shut up about it. Therefore it was only a matter of time before I was gabbling away excitedly to all my pals in the caravan industry about the wonders of Gaelic, and the profound richness it has brought to my life.

And so it was that I was invited by the Caravan Club to speak at the Scottish Caravan, Motor Caravan, and Holiday Home show this weekend. To keep a Gaelic theme, the fabulous singer and all-round Lovely Lady Joy Dunlop was invited along as the headline act to sing in Gaelic and add glamour and - er - joy to the procedings.

Nobody knew how this would go down as the worlds of Gaelic and Caravanning have never been brought together like this before. This was a chance to tell the Gaels and the rest of Scotland that the caravanning sector is worth £700 million to the economy of Scotland, and members staying on Caravan Club Sites alone spend £35 million per year outwith the site, i.e. on meals and days out, and that 70% of those visitors come from outwith Scotland. This was also a chance to bring Gaelic to the one million plus people (over 360,000 member families) in the Caravan Club.

Even before the event, the media circus started and I was interviewed about my Airstreaming and Gaelic for the Scottish Sunday Mail (Daily Record) which you can read by clicking here. 

The day before the show opened was an exciting day as I appeared on the Kaye Adams Programme on BBC Radio Scotland. That was a fantastic interview, and you can listen to it by clicking here and scrolling to approx 2:52. 

Finally, the opening of the show by Joy and myself went down very well indeed. Joy thrilled the crowds with her delightful singing and warm and bubbly personality, while I gabbled away excitedly about everything that is great about touring Scotland in a caravan or motor caravan.

You can see a great video of the event made by the Caravan Times team by clicking here. 

Not everyone in Scotland nor every Gaelic speaker is going to be fond of caravans. Neither is every caravanner going to be fond of Gaelic. However, bringing the two worlds together can only help in the promotion of mutual awareness, respect, and understanding, and that can only be a good thing.