July 2, 2020
The results of Soillse’s Islands Gaelic Research Project have been published in book form.
The book, ‘The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community: A Comprehensive Sociolinguistic Survey of Scottish Gaelic’, is available from the Gaelic Books Council.
Evaluating the research, the authors’ main findings show that the language is in crisis, and that within remaining vernacular communities of Scotland, the social use and transmission of Gaelic is at the point of collapse.
The authors urge a radical new approach to vernacular Gaelic revitalisation and propose a new agenda and strategy for Gaelic revitalisation in the islands. They argue for a dynamic language-in-society model that is based on a community development trust for the Gaelic-speaking community and is under the direct control of the community.
The writing team of Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, Gòrdan Camshron, Pàdruig Moireach, Brian Ó Curnáin, Iain Caimbeul, Brian MacDonald and Tamás Péterváry has also compiled a bilingual research digest of the findings and recommendations.
Additional statistical data not included in the full book is also available online via these webpages of the UHI Language Sciences Institute.