Today marks one year since a study was published warning that Gaelic was at risk of collapse within a decade.
The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community was compiled by researchers from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Language Sciences Institute and Soillse, a multi-institutional research collaboration.
It was said to be the most comprehensive social survey on the state of Gaelic communities ever conducted.
The findings seemed to set alarm bells ringing. But 12 months on, what has changed?
According to the report’s author Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, not a whole lot.
Mr Ó Giollagáin, professor of Gaelic research at UHI, believes there is still an impasse between Gaelic bodies and island communities over language decision-making.
He said there is need for “root and branch reform” and that new thinking and alternative views on a way forward should be considered.
‘The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community’ was published on July 2 last year.
Researchers studied the use of the language in the Western Isles, in Staffin in Skye and in Tiree. In these areas, Gaelic speakers could total just 11,000, most of them over 50.
The report warned Gaelic will collapse as a viable community language within a decade unless a radical new approach is taken to revitalise it.
Campaigners say Gaelic-speaking communities have been ignored and marginalised by policy makers and called for more local decision-making.
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