Gaelic Crisis book free pdf download

  Posted May 19, 2026 from 2024 Forum post

The book, The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community (2020), by Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, Gòrdan Camshron, Pàdruig Moireach, Brian Ó Curnáin, Iain Caimbeul, Brian MacDonald and Tamás Péterváry - has been made available as a free download by Aberdeen University.

Here: https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/th83m2602#description

You can still purchase a hard-copy from www.gaelicbooks.org.

Also, you can still read chapter summaries, the appendices, reference lists, and other study-related information at the University of the Highlands and Islands, here:

https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/res-themes/humanities-and-arts/language-sciences-institute/publications/the-gaelic-crisis-in-the-vernacular-community/

The book describes the findings of a multi-year study by a group of academics (and native speakers) about the actual status of Scottish Gaelic where it continues to be spoken as a community language, as well as the importance of maintaining vernacular communities in saving minority languages. This research is grounded in the team's and others decades of experience in minority culture and sociology, and language planning. The main author previously completed similar work in Irish Gaelic and continues to present the findings to groups concerned with saving minority languages (several presentations are available on YouTube). The recommendations are supported by rigorous statistical analysis of the data collected. But you can avoid the statistics and get a good overview of the study, findings, and recommendations by focusing on the chapter introductions and conclusions along with chapter 9 which presents a model for the revival of the Gaelic Vernacular Community.

Edit to add (02Sep2024, 2 more links added)::
Here are some related presentations by Conchúr Ó Giollagáin and team members on minority language protection:

Conferència en anglés Conchúr Ó Giollagáin (2023) (English starts at about 4 minutes in.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l80Un_sxSDw&t=319s

The State of Gaelic in Scotland & Ireland (2018) -- St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-oQvllDU

Presentations at the Soillse 2022 conference on Rooting Minority Language Policy in the Speaker Community

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOku8VJ3RjvKr2yxYEH34yhpGZGlzJHAw

New Insights on the Vernacular Gaelic Communities in the Islands (2021)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSCw-PtDy8
The Crisis in Late-modern Ethnolinguistic Diversity from the Gaelic Perspective (2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS1zSnVZrj8&t=21s
One Year On: The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community - Edge UHI Seminar (2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzvhkh6Ltfc

This one is hosted on the University of the Highlands and Islands website -
A New Societal Perspective on Minority Language Protection (2024)
https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/res-themes/humanities-and-arts/language-sciences-institute/news/talk-on-minority-language-protection.html

 

 May 30, 2025

Guthan nan Eilean Shortcuts page to Conversational Clips added

Island Voices / Guthan nan Eilean has added a Shortcuts page with links to YouTube, CliStore, and their blog page for a list of short Scottish Gaelic conversational clips with native speakers.
https://guthan.wordpress.com
https://guthan.wordpress.com/shortcuts/
The list is grouped by the name of the principal speaker or interviewer.

The clips on YouTube have accurate Scottish Gaelic transcripts added (see the YouTube transcript link in description) to make it easy to follow along with the speaker(s).

From @GuthanVoices on X/Twitter.
https://x.com/GuthanVoices/status/1927362736268222558

Great for listening practice.

 

 27 March 2025 presentation by lead author of the Gaelic Crisis Study

Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin (University of the Highlands and Islands) is doing a zoom and in-person seminar on -

 “Language Dynamics in Society: A New Analytical Framework for Ethnolinguistic Vitality” 

Sponsor:  University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS) https://www.wales.ac.uk/cawcs

 

Date:    27 March 2025, 17:00

Email:          cawcs@wales.ac.uk       to register

In-Person:    In the Centre’s Seminar room

Celtic Seminars calendar:

https://www.wales.ac.uk/cawcs/cawcs-news-events/celtic-seminars-spring-term-2025

Ethnolinguistic vitality is described by Martin Ehala as “a group’s ability to maintain and protect its existence in time as a collective entity with a distinctive identity and language. It involves continuing intergenerational transmission of a group’s language and cultural practices, sustainable demography and active social institutions, social cohesion and emotional attachment to its collective identity. High-vitality groups are capable of collective action to secure the group’s interests in its intergroup setting, while low-vitality groups lack agency and are prone to assimilation.”  (Ehala, M. (2015). Ethnolinguistic vitality. In K. Tracy, C. Ilie, & T. Sandel (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118611463.wbielsi046)

 University of the Highlands and Islands Language Sciences Institute 

The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community  

https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/res-themes/humanities-and-arts/language-sciences-institute/publications/the-gaelic-crisis-in-the-vernacular-community/

 

March 31, 2025:  A recording of the presentation has been added on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5LkQ_mqgbA

Language Dynamics in Society:  A New Analytical Framework for 

Ethnolinguistic Vitality by Conchúr Ó Giollagáin (UHI) 

- for theUniversity of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS)

YouTube Account:  Y Ganolfan Geltaidd / CAWCS  @yganolfangeltaiddcawcs4231

 

Digital Museum Recordings for International Mother Language Day

 For anyone interested in current work related to supporting Scottish Gaelic in Scotland ---

 On February 21, 2021  there was a Digital Museum (@_DigitalMuseum, Facilitator: @Jibunnessa) Event for International Mother Language Day.   There were speakers from around the world in 4 sessions.   The session recordings are available now and links are posted on the Island Voices – Guthan Nan Eilean website (guthan.wordpress.com) at this link:

 https://guthan.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/mother-languages/

 The third session includes Gordon Wells and Conchúr Ó Giollagáin from Soillse (www.soillse.ac.uk) speaking about Scottish Gaelic.   Conchúr gives a short presentation on the work behind the recent book, “The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community” (book available at gaelicbooks.org).   Gordon talks about the Island Voices/Guthan nan Eilean project and website.   Conchúr appears about 15 minutes into the session, after the introductions, and Gordon speaks after that.  

 To see the recording, click the third link on the page.  You may need to register for the on-demand recording, but after that the session opens right up.

 The Island Voices website also has many recordings with transcripts of native Scottish Gaelic speakers talking about their lives and experiences.  For example, one set of these recordings can be found at this link:

 https://guthan.wordpress.com/series-one/

 “The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community” is available at this link:

https://gaelicbooks.org/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1688

 

Videos for parents from The Highland Council Gaelic Team

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

“Spòrs agus Seinn Còmhla ri Ellen” :  “Fun and Sing along with Ellen”

Scottish Gaelic learners are really very fortunate to have all the Scottish Gaelic resources that are available on the internet.   Many thanks to all the Gaelic speakers that make them available to us.   Whatever you are looking for in learning assistance, I’m pretty sure it will be available to you.   

Here is another new set of short videos.   These are from The Highland Council (Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd) Gaelic Team.   Each is a tiny bit of Gaelic vocabulary and a children’s song in Gaelic.   They are intended for non-Gaelic speaking parents of young children entering Gaelic Medium Education.  The main narration is in English.   The last video is all the songs performed and the words shown on the video.

Link to the main article at the Highland Council.   Gaelic appears first.   Scroll down for English.  

Here is the list of YouTube video links:

 

Gaelic for Parents -Spòrs agus seinn còmhla ri Ellen - 1. Introduction

2. Cuir siabann air do làmhan – Washing Hands

3. Madainn mhath –Getting Up and Getting Ready in the Morning

4. Tha ’n t-acras orma-nis - Eating

5. Tha thu sgìth aghaoil - Getting ready for bed

6a. Dè an leabhar a tha thu ag iarraidh - Storytime (Part 1)

6b. Dè an leabhar a thathu ag iarraidh - Storytime (Part 2)

7. Cuir do cheann sìosair a’ chluasaig – Time to Sleep

8. Seinneamaid còmhla -Singalong

© 2020

New set of Scottish Gaelic Videos for Learners

August 2021 - 3rd update.   A Gàidhlig Gu Leòr padlet with links to slides (pdf) for all the videos is here:  https://padlet.com/gaidhligguleor/esgoiln5

March 2020 - 2nd update.  Links below added for the 21 lessons posted on YouTube by  Gàidhlig Gu Leòr.   At the bottom of the list is the video called "How to nail the National 5 Gaelic (Learners) Writing Exam and Assignment".  I like this one because it includes a "Grammar Grid".   

The Grammar Grid is summary tables for the grammar topics that Gaelic learners should be familiar with if they are taking this exam in Scotland.  It is also useful for people outside of Scotland.   I made screenshots of each portion of the grid and ask myself whether I can describe each category and its topics, and then write sentences that illustrate each topic.   The video also includes information on how the testing works, sample topics for the required writing, and some sentence patterns that are important to know.   So the next question is whether I can write whole paragraphs that might be worth high marks if I were in Scotland myself.   I haven't gotten that far yet.

September 2019 - There is a new set of Scottish Gaelic videos for learners on YouTube by  Gàidhlig Gu Leòr.   Gàidhlig Gu Leòr has previously posted short, funny videos on Scottish Gaelic vocabulary and topics.   Each of the new videos is about 20-30 minutes long.   In each video, the title topic is covered in detail with information for how to talk about the topic, describe yourself, friends, and family, and have short conversations (for example, about the weather).   The narration is in English and the Gaelic vocabulary used has an English translation included.  The videos include stopping points to answer questions, write a short paragraph about the topic, or translation practice.  Follow-up slides with answers are then shown.   Keep checking back to the Gàidhlig Gu Leòr main page for new videos as they are posted.

Here are the titles:

eSgoil N5 Lesson 1 – Names and Greetings

eSgoil N5 Lesson 2 – How are you?  How is the weather?

eSgoil N5 Lesson 3–Where do you live?Where are you going?Where are you from?

eSgoil N5 Lesson 4 – Mo Sgìre – Talking about the place you live.

eSgoil N5 Lesson 5.1 – Numbers, Age

eSgoil N5 Lesson 5.2 – Colours and Clothes

eSgoil N5 Lesson 6.1 – A bheil Gàidhlig agad?  Language Difficulties, Pets

eSgoil N5 Lesson 6.2 – The Family

eSgoil N5 Lesson 7 – Present and Past Tense of “Bi”, Time

eSgoil N5 Lesson 8 – Likes and Dislikes, Talking Education

eSgoil N5 Lesson 9 – Biadh agus Deoch – Saying what you want and will have

eSgoil N5 Lesson 10 - Work
eSgoil N5 Lesson 11 - Skills & Abilities, Directed Writing
eSgoil N5 Lesson 12 - The Verb 1 - Root Orders & Commands
eSgoil N5 Lesson 13 - Regular Past Tense Verb
eSgoil N5 Lesson 14 - Irregular Past Tense Verb 
eSgoil N5 Lesson 15 - Regular Future Tense Verb
eSgoil N5 Lesson 16 - Irregular Future Tense Verb
eSgoil N5 Lesson 17 - Health and Feumaidh mi ... ...
eSgoil N5 Lesson 18 - Holidays, Comparatives, Superlatives 
eSgoil N5 Lesson 19 - Technology, Direct Object with Verbal Noun
eSgoil N5 Lesson 20 - Perfect Tense, and Preceding Adjectives
eSgoil N5 Lesson 21 - Jobs 2 - nam/nad, If and Conditionals 
eSgoil N5 Writing Exam, Assignment, and Grammar Grid

The narrator makes reference to the Ceumannan books.   These are a set of books used in Gaelic Education in Scotland.   Soundfiles and pdfs for all the Ceumannan levels are available online on the Storlann website here:  https://www.storlann.co.uk/ceumannan/index.html.  

For example, here is the link for the Ceumannan 1 book:  https://www.storlann.co.uk/ceumannan/leabhar1/modalan/downloadables/Ceumannan1-combined.pdf

Copies of the first four books can also be purchased from  the Gaelic Books Council in Glasgow, Scotland.   Search on "ceumannan".

©2019