A'bhiast as mutha ag ithe na beiste as lugha.

By

Ross Brannigan

My interest in the subject

• Language is the very medium through which we transmit information, and construct power relations

• Who controls language controls the debate

• Language teaches us about the history of our societies, and the societies in which they belong

“For those of us engaged in minority language media studies, the increasing dominance of English means that the experience of marginalisation and exclusion that was imposed on minority language speakers by national language groups is now being experienced by national language groups themselves” (Hourigan, 2007: 256)

Language as culture• Mountains

• Ben Lomond – Beacon Mountain• Carn Mor Dearg – Great Red Peak• Buachaille Etive Mor – Great Herdsman of Etive• Meall a' Bhùiridh – Hill of the Bellowing

• Gaelic term of endearment • M’eudail…

• Many words for brown to distinguish between cattle

My cattle

Scots Gaelic lingo bingoWhat are some of the common words used in relation to Scots Gaelic?

“Truth is, large parts of this country have never spoken Gaelic or have long forsaken it and it has fallen prey to the natural process of competition that is history.” 09.17am“Nah. What I want to see is the nats throwing the kitchen sink at their daft attempts to recreate gaeldom in the central belt and the borders.” 7.43pm“Gaelic isnt dying as a community language its already dead.” 11.18pmWhy G

aelic

is dyin

g

a dea

thAllan Massie: Gaelic will

only be a hobby

language

The state of Scots Gaelic media• BBC Alba

• Reach 2015/16• Amongst Gaelic-speaking community: 73.6% (+1%)• Amongst aged 16+ across Scotland: 15% (-1.2%)

• Funding• Broadcasting Act 1990 created the Gaelic Broadcasting Fund worth £8.5m• Budget not increased to reflect inflation, so is now 30% less than in the 90s• Osborne axed £1m investment in 2015

• Programming• 4.2 hours a week, seeking to make it 10 hours

• BBC Radio nan Gaidheal• Programming

• 70hrs a week vs 155hrs a week for BBC Radio Scotland – grown, but still not fully standalone

• Reach• 72.4% in 2010/11 or 67,583 of Gaelic speaking community

• Budget• Still remains an issue, and will continue to as English increases its dominance

over minority languages

“BBC Alba is not simply showcasing the Gaelic language – it is at the centre of a quiet cultural reseeding of an area that Lowland Scotland has long ignored. Now is the time to let BBC Alba spread its wings a little further.” (McKenna, 2016)

This begs the question…Why should the UK and Scottish governments continue to support Scots Gaelic media?

In light of new developments in the field of minority language media, new policies and attitudes, and changes in the Gaelic population.

Cormack’s four reasons for minority language media1) The symbolic role for language communities2) The boost in local economies, and providing sustainable

employment3) Media creates a public sphere within the community4) The role of representation for small minority language and

wider external community

Where does

my research fit

in?

• “although relevance of media to minority languages is generally accepted, ‘the actual effects of specific media is still under-researched’ and ‘the specific cultural role of the different media…is…not thoroughly known’ (Grin & Moring, 2003: 17)” (Cormack, 2007: 52)

• Cormack wrote, in 2004, advocating greater research and development in the field of minority language media studies.

• Since then, very little has developed in the field, and many case studies focus on Catalonia, Basque, Welsh and Irish Gaelic

Key Authors• Cormack, M.

• Former Stirling University lecturer

• Now co-ordinates BA Gaelic and Media Studies at UHI

• Anderson, B.• Imagined Communities

• Fishman, J.• Reversing Language Shift

• McLeod, W.• Professor of Gaelic at Edinburgh

University

Methods• Textual Analysis• Secondary texts• Policy documents

• Interviews• Policy stakeholders• Campaigners• Scholars

Cormack, 2007

• “[The media] must encourage people to not give up the minority language and, further than that, actively encourage them to go out and speak the language. This is a new task for the media and its difficulty should not be under-estimated.” (p.63).

References• Bunting, M. (2016) Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey. Granta Books: London.• BBC (2016) BBC Scotland Annual Review 2015/16. Available at: http://

downloads.bbc.co.uk/scotland/aboutus/management_review_2015_2016.pdf• BBC (2014) Annual Report 2013/14: Expenditure. Available at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/2014/executive/finances/procurement.html• Cormack, M. (2007). The Media and Language Maintenance. In: M. Cormack & N. Hourigan (eds.) Minority Language Media:

Concepts Critiques and Case Studies. Multilingual Matters Ltd.: Celevedon. Pp.52-68.• Cormack, M. (2004) Developing minority language media studies. Mercrator Media Forum 7. pp. 3-12• Guyot, J. (2007) Minority Language Media and the Public Sphere. In: M. Cormack & N. Hourigan (eds.) Minority Language Media:

Concepts Critiques and Case Studies. Multilingual Matters Ltd.: Celevedon. Pp.34-51• Hourigan, N. (2007) Minority Language Media Studies: Key Themes for Future Scholarship. In: M. Cormack & N. Hourigan (eds.)

Minority Language Media: Concepts Critiques and Case Studies. Multilingual Matters Ltd.: Celevedon. Pp.248-265• McKenna, K. (2016) BBC Alba must not be allowed to wither for lack of cash. The Guardian. Available at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/11/bbc-alba-not-allowed-to-wither-lack-of-funds• McLeod, W. (2016) Gaelic: hostility, continuity and recognition. Available at:

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2016/10/27/gaelic-hostility-continuity-and-recognition /• McLeod, W. (2006) Gaelic in Contemporary Scotland: Contradictions, Challenges and Strategies. Available at: http://

www.arts.ed.ac.uk/celtic/poileasaidh/MCLEODCATALAN2.pdf• O’Connell, E. (2007) Translation and Minority Language Media: Potential and Problems: An Irish Perspective. In: M. Cormack & N.

Hourigan (eds.) Minority Language Media: Concepts Critiques and Case Studies. Multilingual Matters Ltd.: Celevedon. Pp.212-228• Stewart, A. (2009) Tradition and Modernity in Scottish Gaelic Language Media. Final Reports of EFS student participants. Paper 3.

http://scholarworks.umass.edu/efsp_field_rpts/3