Welsh language inspires new Gaelic campaign in Scotland
A scheme in Wales aimed at spreading pride in the language has inspired a similar move by Scotland’s Gaelic development board.
Bòrd na Gàidhlig launched the #cleachdi hashtag at the Royal National Mod 2019 in Glasgow.
The new #cleachdi campaign is similar to the Welsh Language Commissioner’s “Iaith Gwaith”, or “Welsh at Work”, scheme, which is used in Wales to show that a service is available in Welsh.
The Welsh Language Commissioner Aled Roberts travelled to the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow to give his backing to #cleachdi.
Roberts said: “Iaith Gwaith is well established in Wales, and is a valuable resource for organisations, businesses and charities to show customers that a service is available in Welsh.
“In recent years, it has evolved and been used more widely in ways ranging from an engineering company creating a vinyl version on hard hats to health boards creating a magnetic version to be used on beds to show which patients wish to be treated in Welsh.
“I am confident that #cleachdi will have the same positive benefit for Gaelic and Gaelic speakers.”
Bòrd na Gàidhlig is urging Gaelic speakers and learners to include #cleachdi alongside #useit and #gaidhlig on social media, email signatures or by wearing the symbol on stickers, showing their pride in the language.
Public sector bodies with Gaelic-speaking staff can order badges, posters and more by contacting Bord na Gaidhlig.
Shona MacLennan, Bòrd na Gàidhlig chief executive officer, said: “More and more people want to use and learn Gaelic and this initiative is a very positive and easy to use means to encourage more people to use more Gaelic in more situations.
“We will be joining all those who speak the language in displaying our pride at letting others know we are Gaelic speakers. We think #cleachdi is the perfect way to do this. So let’s #useit and put #gaidhlig firmly on the map.”
This isn’t the first time Welsh has inspired the Gaelic language – the National Mòd was founded in 1892 after a delegation from An Comunn Gàidhealach visited the Eisteddfod and undertook to set up a festival along similar lines in Scotland.
Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail is being held in Glasgow from October 11 – 19. It will feature more than 200 competitions in Gaelic music and song, sport, art and drama.
Around 57,375 people speak Gaelic in Scotland, according to the last census.
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Great to see….pob lwc!! 🙂
Being a 1st language Welsh speaker who lives in Wales and lives in a Welsh speaking town I think this is a fabulous idea it’s important to keep your language alive and think Gaelic should be taught in all the schools in Scotland . As we know children are like sponges and pick up language quickly. We have 2 lovely Syrian refugee children who go to our local Welsh medium school and speak Welsh fluently ,so if all the children in Scotland were taught the same then the language would thrive . Pob lwc am y dyfodol, Good luck for… Read more »
As an Englishman, living in England and learning Welsh, I think Welsh should also be taught in England. Wales sees far more visitors from England than, for example, Germany does, yet many schools teach German as a foreign language. Welsh has the advantage of being easier to learn than German, with less reliance on conjugation and no confusing set of cases to worry about. And, unlike German television, viewers in the UK can access S4C on Freeview and online at no cost. The disadvantage of Welsh is a shortage of teachers in England, I suppose. Keeping our native languages not… Read more »
If England was full of people like you, nationalism would find it almost impossible to get off the ground. Embracing the cultures would be a major unifying factor, whereas the reality is often indifference or outright hostility.
Completely agree Steve, I think English, Gaelic, Cymraeg should all have an equal footing with each other throughout the whole of UK. This would be a true way of celebrating our British heritage.
Cytuno! There’s lots of good Scots Gaelic stuff on YouTube for learners, as well as an excellent documentary on Highlanders narrated by Sean Connery. It also seems that the Gaelic female patronymic nic has made a comback. If Scotland can bring about a revival of the Gaelic language, all power to their elbow. They won’t regret it.
Ardderchog! Excellent!
As a native Welsh speaker living in London I believe there’s a real opportunity to heighten the awareness of both Welsh and Gaelic – a lot of people don’t even know these languages exist, which is shocking and more should be done to educate the whole of the UK before we loose these languages forever!
Pob lwc, good luck promoting!
Excellent news. Gaelic (and Welsh) need to be seen not as niche languages of Scotland and Wales, but as languages of the whole of Great Britain. As Brits it should be in our interest to keep these languages alive!
I think it is great news that there is a new initiative to encourage the use of Gaelic. Anything that helps preserve this beautiful and ancient language is to be commended and supported. I agree with some of the other comments that Gaelic and Cymraeg should be used more and taught more throughout the UK. I would also include Cornish, Irish, Manx and Cumbric too, even though they have smaller numbers of speakers. All of these languages are an important part of our Celtic heritage and we should be proud of them and do all we can to preserve them.
That sounds great, but there aren’t really any records for Cumbric let alone people who can speak it. And Welsh is close to it anyways.
Forcing kids to do cymraeg at school is the reason language activists claim the language is growing, in truth the welsh language is in terminal decline restricted to ever fewer western pockets.
Funny how the language activist claims the language is growing one day then screams its demise the next when the wind blows another way.
On yer bike Jacques boy!!! 😉
David, I think it’s the troll who was calling himself “Norm” a couple of months ago. I assumed he’d been sectioned, or found a hobby, but the use of certain expressions is exactly the same.
Then explain the boom in Welsh language music and the increase in Welsh language publications. Explain the success of Welsh on DuoLingo at SaySomethingInWelsh.com. Explain why Englishmen like me, living in England, are learning the language. Welsh is not in decline, it’s doing well, but that doesn’t mean more can’t be done.
“Funny how the language activist claims the language is growing one day then screams its demise the next when the wind blows another way”.
The number of speakers is increasing in the anglophone areas (including the area that you recently claimed was “more like Cheshire than Caernarfon”) but is decling in the Bro Gymraeg owing to population transfer, unaffordable housing for locals, no jobs for locals, and, of course, unregulated tourism.
Forcing kids to learn Cymraeg? Like we force them to do Math, Science and English? Give me a break ?
Schools in Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Bristol would be doing their children a great favour if they offered Welsh classes, economically, socially and culturally. As for further into England, there are lots of other languages people may like to learn that are more relevant, it does depend where you live and who you are.
The Irish have been bankrolling their language for 100 years and it is still declining.The core Welsh first language community is declining because of a poor birth rate. We are fortunate to have the language divide in wales as it will prevent a defection from Labour to Plaid Cymru as in Scotland.
Really? There are many. many reasons why Welsh isn’t flourishing as it could, and partially this is a seeming lack of joined up thinking that realises that people eventually leave school. For 80% of those in South East Wales this effectively means they stop speaking Welsh, for there are very few places where Welsh can be spoken in real, everyday life in South East Wales. Even dealing with councils or other bodies who have some kind of obligation to provide services in Welsh regularly fail to provide a service equal to that provided to English speakers -and yet we are… Read more »
I’m learning Gaeilge, a sister Gaelic language, and I love it. The language is so rich and lyrical, it’s made for bards and poets. What I love the most is to see the world through this language makes the mundane so beautiful, what a valuable gift ❤️