August 8, 2019
Chuireadh leabhar ùr leis an Dr Stiùbhart Dunmore, neach-chompàirt Shoillse (a b’ àbhaist cuideachd a bhith na oileanach dhotaireil aig Soillse) am follais an-diugh, 8mh Lùnastal 2019. ’S e Revitalisation in Gaelic Scotland an tìotal a th’ air an leabhar, a thàinig a-mach le Clò Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann (https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-language-revitalisation-in-gaelic-scotland.html).
Togaidh an sgrùdadh cudromach seo air an rannsachadh PhD aig Dunmore, a thug sùil air buaidh an fhoghlaim tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig am measg na feadhna a thàinig tron t-siostam sna ciad bhliadhnaichean a bha e ri fhaotainn ann an Alba, bhon a thòisich FTMG ann an 1985. Stèidhichte anns an t-sòisio-chànanachas agus ann an sòiseòlas a’ chànain, bheirear sùil san leabhar aig Stiùbhart air cleachdaidhean cànanach agus beachdan cànain am measg 130 inbheach a fhuair an cuid foghlaim tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig sa bhun-sgoil. Seach gu bheil na ciad oileanaich a thàinig tro FTMG a-nis nan 20an is 30an a dh’aois, tairgidh an leabhar seo sgrùdadh puingeil fa chomhair bhuaidh an t-siostaim sna ciad bhliadhnaichean a bha e ann, agus air na bhios an dàn do ghlèidheadh is ath-bheòthachadh na Gàidhlig an Albainn san àm ri teachd.
Taisbeanaidh an leabhar aig Dunmore deasbad agus analais domhain de dh’agallamhan airson guthan shean sgoilearan FTMG a chur am follais mu choinneamh nan dàimhean a th’ aca ris a’ Ghàidhlig san latha an-diugh. A thuilleadh air a sin, chithear gu soilleir mar a tha adhbharan is tuigsean eachdraidheil, ideòlasach is pearsanta a’ bualadh air, is a seasamh air cùlaibh nan dàimhean sòisio-chànanach seo. Bidh an leabhar seo a’ sealltainn son a’ chiad turais gu dè a’ bhuaidh a th’ air a bhith aig FTMG san fhad-ùine, agus e a’ tairgsinn mholaidhean do luchd-phoileasaidh is luchd-iomairt, a bhios a’ feuchainn ri mìon-chànanan am brosnachadh ’s ath-bheòthachadh gu h-eadar-nàiseanta.
Molaidhean:
“With Scottish Gaelic in decline for almost a millennium, Dunmore’s book fills a crucial gap in our understanding of the long-term social and linguistic outcomes of Gaelic medium education. It will inform policy makers and activists in Scotland and worldwide, where revitalization efforts are underway to create new speakers and domains through schooling.”
– An t-Oll. Emerita Suzanne Romaine, Oilthigh Oxford
“Dunmore’s study reports at a time when the fortunes of Gaelic are challenged by formidable social, economic and political changes in wider society. The recently improving provisions of infrastructure, cultural support, and new opportunities for the language come at a very late stage in its history, and had they been implemented much earlier, they might, in all fairness, have given the language and its speakers a much firmer base on which to maintain its culture and place in what I have called ‘runaway language-shift’. This will call for its own study of external forces. What Stuart Dunmore has provided here, however, is the corresponding, penetrating and long called-for study of the internal motivations and attitudes of the new ex-GME generation, in which, importantly, we hear the actual voice of that generation itself. I am delighted to commend this study as an essential read for all those interested in the future prospects of Gaelic in Scotland, and to language planners and policymakers in particular.”
– An t-Oll. Kenneth MacKinnon, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain / Oilthigh Exeter