Scotland’s sweeping landscapes, enchanting lochs, and highlands and islands filled with Celtic folklore have long been an attraction to both locals and visitors from around the world. The English language can only describe this breathtaking scenery and lifestyle in so many words: it’s hard to fully encapsulate the feeling Scotland evokes. Scottish Gaelic and the nation’s beauty have intertwined over the centuries, developing an inherently poetic language and a catalogue of metaphors and phrases that lose their magic in translation to English.
In 11th century Scotland, Gaelic speakers covered a large part of the nation – while an exact number of Gaels in this period is unknown, their presence is evident from dated maps with Gaelic labels like Inbhir Nis (Inverness – mouth of the River Ness), Obar Dheathain(Aberdeen – mouth of the River Don) and more centrally, Dùn Èideann (Edinburgh – fort of Eiden). While these names are no longer used by the masses, their English translations and current names derived from them provide a clear link to our ancestors.
Following a period of political upheaval and cultural unrest in the 17th century under the rule of King James VI of Scotland, Gaelic began its recession. The Statutes of Iona, implemented under James’ rule in 1609, were designed to eradicate the Gaelic language and Highland way of life. The sixth statute outlined that “Every gentleman in the Islands would send his oldest son to school in the Lowlands; they would stay there until they could speak, read and write English”, if there was no son, a daughter would be sent in their place.
“I think there is more of a sense of community (than in English). To me it signals familiarity and a sense of sharing something.”
While it remains unclear to this day if this was an act against Gaels themselves or an attempt to unite the people, he believed to be a little civilised to “totally barbaric” with the rest of Scotland. It is undeniable that Gaelic language education suffered following the implementation of English education. By the 1881 census, the number of Gaelic speakers had fallen from 300,000 to 250,000 in just a century.
However, emigration from Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, known as Gaidhealtachdregions, in the 18th century led to Gaelic speakers in urban towns like Edinburgh and Glasgow connecting with one another, and establishing lowland Gaelic communities. This defied King James’ plans to wipe out such lifestyle and spread highland culture across the nation – and the globe.
This pattern of connection with ancestors and fellow Gaels is emblematic of the language and Gaelic culture. The language’s key values have shaped this cultural normality of openness and shared experience in Gaidhealtachd communities. The sense of connection with others and collaborative practice is widespread, valuing community over individualism.
For native Gaelic speakers moving from Gaidhealtachd regions to the central belt, this sense of connection with fellow speakers follows. Speaking to a native speaker from the Isle of Lewis, now living in Edinburgh, this is the case, “In Edinburgh when someone speaks Gaelic, I immediately feel a sense of connection with them and if I don’t know them, I want to know more and make a connection.” According to the 2022 census, there are an estimated 4,628 Gaelic speakers in the capital. “In Lewis speaking Gaelic is normal but it still strengthens the connection I feel with someone in terms of community and sense of familiarity.”
However, it’s not just this deeper sense of connection and community that Gaelic and Celtic life brings in its representation of the raw Scottish experience: many of its phrases and words carry a deeper meaning, and some don’t even have a direct English translation.
By wearing our emotions, it allows us to detach and form our own identity as if we were swapping out outfits.
The feeling of homesickness is a universal experience, whether you’ve moved away from home, across the world or simply gone on holiday and longed for your own bed. Sometimes it’s a deep sadness or melancholy like tùirse describes other times you experience cianalas. The phrase has no direct translation; it describes a more full on feeling of homesickness, a yearning, longing or pull for home or more the places and people who have moulded you into the person you are.
It provides a deeper and more insightful feeling of nostalgia, reaching deep into the soul and plucking out your emotions. It captures the human experience of that longing and search for where you belong, one that you travel the world or country to find, jumping job to job only to find the place where you truly belong is the place you started in.
Emotions are an essential part of the human experience and Gaelic understands that, rather than swallowing you whole, they become something you can just shrug off, truly wearing your heart on your sleeve. These feelings are described in the same way as clothing, following the structure “Tha brògan orm” meaning I am wearing shoes, the clothing item is replaced with the feeling. “Tha (an t-)eagal orm” in English translates to “I am afraid” but literally, “fear is on me”.
This gentle description takes away from the negativity of being defined by your emotions or your struggle as many of us feel we are, letting our lives be taken over by feelings of sadness, anger and anxiety. By wearing our emotions, it allows us to detach and form our own identity as if we were swapping out outfits.
However, taking another perspective, Gaelic allows you to deeper express and connect with your emotions rather than shrugging them off, “Tha gaol agam ort” translates to what we know as “I love you” but in Gaelic this expression of love allows richer, more meaningful expression “My love is on you”.
Despite the sense of community and connection remaining with the move, there are some changes for native speakers away from Gaelic communities. When asked about expressing emotions, the response showed a shift to English, “Previously Gaelic but now I use English much more than Gaelic and that day to day familiarity means I am more used to speaking English.” Although there are some changes in daily life, many Gaelic speakers making the move remain fluent and enjoy these opportunities to speak and meet with other speakers in their new communities.
The number of Gaelic speakers isn’t just a statistic. Their decline erases a whole new world of expression and culture lost in translation. To lose Gaelic is to lose the true raw Scottish experience in the emotion, community and history that becomes part of us. Scotland’s identity is based on pride and tradition – but this is arguably a facade when our own language is at risk of extinction.
