Social usage of Scottish Gaelic in modern Glasgow

Abstract

Glasgow is a city of great cultural importance and demographic focus for speakers of Scottish Gaelic, with a long history of migration from Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland to Glasgow characterising the relationship between language and city. This relationship continues to the present day, with a substantial portion of Census-reported Gaelic speakers living in and around Glasgow. This constitutes a challenge for language revitalisation, the theory of which has traditionally considered urban environments to be a site of language shift away from minority languages. Despite this, the reality of Gaelic’s presence in Glasgow, and the city’s demographic pull on Gaelic speakers, must be engaged with to effectively inform policy and language revitalisation efforts. This thesis develops a high-level understanding of the contemporary social usage of Gaelic in Glasgow. For reasons of scope and practicality under the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, research was focused on non-employment related, public usage of Gaelic, examining the spaces within which Gaelic speakers meet to determine the contexts in which Gaelic is spoken in Glasgow, and the factors which govern that usage. This research is underpinned by theoretical principles not only in reversing language shift, but also in urban sociolinguistics. Economic, structural and ecolinguistic theories allow for an understanding of Glasgow’s importance and function regarding Gaelic, while sociolinguistic theories of usage motivation and sociological theories of the social network and community of practice drive analysis of the personal interactions which constitute the social patterns of Gaelic usage in Glasgow. Through ethnographic observation, analysis of data shared by City of Glasgow Council and Glasgow University, and interviews with a range of Gaelic speakers who live and work in Glasgow, this research yields insights into the usage of Gaelic across a variety of social contexts in the city. In particular, the social networks and usage opportunities present in the arts sector and Glasgow University are highlighted as anchor points for Gaelic in a predominantly Anglophone city. The now-diminished role which Gaelic plays in religious contexts is explored, and this thesis contains potentially the last ethnographic observations of St Columba Gaelic Church and the “Highland Cathedral”. In addition, findings relating to the social experiences of Gaelic speakers in the city and the roles and social dynamics of “Gaelic” pubs, Glasgow Gaelic School and the Island associations are presented. Beyond providing a broad range of data and analysis which may inform policy and provide avenues for future, closer research, the primary findings of this thesis highlight the great importance of social connections in facilitating and motivating the usage of Gaelic in an urban environment. The social networks which make up the fabric of Glasgow’s Gaelic world and their relationship with Gaelic are influential in the prevalence of spoken Gaelic in any given setting. This phenomenon underpins the variety in the practices and experiences of Gaelic as a social language in Glasgow. It is intended that both the findings and theoretical contributions of this thesis will contribute to future developments in the study and understanding of Gaelic in Glasgow and in other urban environments