The Linguist

SPRING 2024 The Linguist 33 SECTION HEADER OPINION & COMMENT RISING FROM THE ASHES The Lady of Cornwall at the Gorsedh Kernow, a celebration of Cornish culture established in 1928 by Cornish language activist Henry Jenner … Celtic languages must be preserved and education is key Drawn to the Irish language due to my own family history (and, admittedly, the movie Brooklyn), I embarked on a personal mission to research the history of Celtic languages in the UK and the impact of education policies on them. The Insular branch of the language family (i.e. that originating in Britain) includes the Brythonic languages Breton, Cornish and Welsh, and the Goidelic languages Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx. Despite notable fights for revival, there has been a sharp fall in speakers over the last few hundred years. Government-imposed substrata for this decline are wide ranging and cover several centuries, with politicians often attempting to eliminate Celtic languages from the education systems in their native lands. Major events include the Act of Uniformity of 1549 1 and the Scottish Civil War, 2 as well as more targeted language policies. A brief look at some of these developments can shed light on the situation today and remind us how valuable education is when it comes to retaining languages. Welsh: the Treachery of the Blue Books Cast your mind back to 1847, if you will: there is disquiet in Wales. Three English- speaking lawyers have just published a report on the state of education in Wales, which will come to be known as 'The Treachery of the Blue Books' (Brad y Llyfrau Gleision) after a satirical play. Schools are blindsided by its conclusions, which are damning of the Welsh people, and begin to push an English-only education. In this way, the Blue Books are instrumental in the decline of Welsh, as English becomes the most widely spoken and taught language in Wales. Years of activism follow, but it isn't until 1967 that the first of the Welsh Language Acts is passed to address the issue. In 1993, the second Welsh Language Act gives Welsh equal legal and political footing with English in Wales. In recent decades, the Senedd has increased Welsh-medium schooling, and the language has been promoted through prevalent media channels throughout the UK. Irish: a declining populace Across the water, Irish has faced similar challenges. 3 In 1831, the formation of Ireland's national school system decimates the teaching of Irish. Then comes the famine of the 1840s. So many Irish speakers die that an inquest is held to determine why there is a higher mortality rate in areas where they live. Many of the survivors are displaced; 2 million people leave to escape the famine and the decline in Irish speakers continues into the 1900s. Another mass migration happens in the aftermath of World War II. Opportunity in Ireland is scarce, causing 16% of the population to leave, including a large number of Irish speakers. Couple this with a growing indifference to the language and Irish finds itself in sharp decline. This is met by revival efforts and activism, which finally bear fruit in 2003 with the Official Languages Act, seeking In my opinion… LUCY BARTHOLEMEW @CIOL_Linguists to improve the standard of Irish language teaching throughout Ireland. A Coimisinéir Teanga (language commissioner) is appointed and, in 2010, a 20-year strategy is introduced with the aim of having 250,000 people speaking Irish daily by 2030. This leads to a 17.4% increase in Irish-medium schools outside the Gaeltacht (regions where the predominant language is Irish), according to Ireland's Department of Education. Tipping the scales Scottish Gaelic is spoken daily by just 1.1% of the Scottish population, Irish by 2% of the Irish population and Welsh by 15% of the Welsh population, although a larger proportion have some knowledge of these languages. For example, among Irish citizens, 40% can speak some Irish 4 – a 6% increase since 2016. The arguments to preserve Celtic languages are less economic than cultural. "Languages are conduits of human heritage," explains Rachel Nuwer, 5 making revival efforts an THE LADY OF CORNWALL CC BY 3.0

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