Centuries ago Scottish Gaelic was the language of the nation but after years of gradual decline the dialect is now only spoken by around one per cent of the population – usually those living in more isolated communities.
Recent efforts have been made to revive the language with the government’s Gaelic Language Plan aiming to bring it back into the mainstream. But one Scot has taken it into her own hands to help this effort by showcasing the ancient Celtic language to the world via social media.
Lauren Smith, of Aberdeen, posts videos on Instagram to her 111,000 followers, nearly double the amount of actual Gaelic speakers, giving quick and simple lessons for anyone wanting to discover the historic language. In her latest video. Lauren goes over the term “where is?”.
Posting on her @laurenrhiannon page, she said: “This is a good one to know for so many situations! And then you just finish it with the name of the thing or place that you are looking for!” The content creator runs a regular series and has posted lessons on saying hello, goodbye and on a whole host of different foods. She also produces seasonal lessons to give you the words you may need for each holiday.
Here are some phrases to get you started
- “Alba gu bràth” (Scotland forever)
- “Go n-éirí an bóthar leat” (May your journey be successful)
- “Céad míle fáilte” (A hundred thousand welcomes)
- “Madainn mhath” (Good morning)
- “Feasgar math” (Good afternoon)
Her efforts have been recognised with Lauren being shortlisted as Scottish Influencer Of The Year Finalist in 2024. There is hope introducing the language to a younger generation may be the key to keeping the Gaelic alive for generations to come.
Gaelic’s decline has become the concern of UNESCO who have stated that the language is “endangered” with efforts to maintain the language far behind some of Britain’s other languages. Efforts to save the Welsh language have had much more success in recent years.
In the 2021 census, 17.8 per cent of the population in Wales could speak Welsh, which equates to around 538,300 people – seven times less than the around 70,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers. Although if the language is to survive it needs many more Laurens.
The dialect is considered to be at risk of dying out unless significant action is taken to preserve it, with some studies suggesting it could disappear within a decade without radical changes to promote its usage in the home and daily life.