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Minority language conference from Gaelic research group Soillse offers free places to islanders

A view of Castlebay on the island of Barra.
bARRA. o: Iain Caimbeul

Gaelic research group Soillse is preparing to host a conference that will see academics from across Europe come together with Western Isles locals.

Soillse, a collaboration between Scotland’s top universities, has announced a conference to be held at the end of August in Stornoway.

Entry to the Rooting Minority Language Policy in the Speaker Community conference is free for people living in the islands.

The conference’s programme features a wide variety of talks and discussions on endangered languages and how to preserve them.

It will be held across three days from the 29th to the 31st of August at the Caladh Inn, Stornoway’s largest hotel.

Academics will be making the journey from mainland Scotland – and beyond.

Minority languages from throughout Europe will also be represented, with talks on both the Netherlands’ West Frisian language and the new support for learning the Occitan language in France.

‘Voice of the community’

But, although the conference has an international reach, the Soillse team is keen to keep it rooted in the local community.

They hope that, by offering free tickets to island residents, they can encourage as many people to come as possible.

Iain Caimbeul says that government funding of Gaelic resources has stagnated over the last decade.

As well as free entry, islanders can apply for a travel bursary to help cover the costs of getting to the conference.

This is because, according to the UHI’s Iain Caimbeul, the conference is intended to be as much about “the voice of the community” as it is about research from academics.

Mr Caimbeul says that Soillse holding the conference in Stornoway was the obvious choice, with the Western Isles having one of the “strongest [Gaelic] communities”.

‘The numbers are actually pretty dire’

Panel discussions and debates will open the floor for local people to share their concerns about the state of Gaelic preservation.

It’s a topic that is only becoming more urgent. “The numbers [of Gaelic speakers] are actually pretty dire,” said Mr Cambeuil, who believes that the Scottish Government is at a “cross-roads” when it comes to the future of Gaelic.

In its 2022 manifesto, the SNP once again stated its support for “the continued development of Gaelic Medium Education”.

But Mr Cambeuil said that, if the government is “really serious” about protecting Gaelic, its policies need “to move beyond the classroom”.

Language teaching is only one part of the issue, he says. The survival of Gaelic is also tied to the housing crisis and the Western Isles’ ongoing transport issues.

‘The heart and soul of Scotland’

He also noted that the Scottish Government’s spending on Gaelic resources has barely changed in over a decade.

Ultimately, there are no easy answers. But Soillse, Mr Caimbeul says, would like to see the Scottish Government treat Gaelic less as just fuel for “nice big headlines”.

“It’s who we are,” he said.

“It’s the heart and soul of Scotland.”

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