Remembering Gaelic in Scotland’s Modern Culture

Hear a Scotsman share about Scottish culture and Scottish Gaelic translation. More specifically about the historic divide and differences between mainland Scotland culture and history knowledge and the more remote Scottish Highland and Hebrides Islands where things like Scottish Gaelic language has remained woven into daily life and regional culture. This travel podcast episode is a is a rare treat that combines a personal story and also a brief audio lesson in Scottish Gaelic translation. For the Scottish Gaelic audio lesson, you’ll hear specific examples going back to city names in Scotland that were named originally in Gaelic and have certain meaning, but in today’s English speaking world we just think of that as the name of that city, without realizing the Gaelic roots and significance of why the city has that name. By personal story, you will hear in James voice his concern over the loss of Gaelic in Scotland over time, coming from a person who grew up speaking Scottish Gaelic. Today, James humorously refers to his Scottish language ability as speaking all three languages of Scotland; Scottish Gaelic, Scottish English, and BBC English (as he is speaking in this podcast, which is how he shares stories with tourists when guiding in Scotland). About the Guest Host: As a boy, James grew up in the island highland area, which is steeped in clan tradition and things like wearing the kilt, bagpipe music, the seriousness of Gathering of the Clans, and of course speaking Gaelic. When he was young, his family moved to the mainland of Scotland, and it wasn’t until then that he realized how differently he grew up, starting with the language that he spoke. Through James’s voice you will learn about some Scottish Gaelic that lives on today through things like city names, whether or not modern Scotsmen and visitors realize the Gaelic translation of the city names they speak. … QUOTES: “So, I do worry about the loss of certain things within the language.” “As the language changes, people just think it’s the name of something rather than having a meaning.” “Inver, in the Gaelic language means, at the end of water.” “So, it was a way of not just naming places, but giving them a description so that when people were traveling they could see it and they would find it.” “I worry that, through that, we'll lose, forget, why things were named and what they were called.” “Portree… it's called Port, as in harbor, and Ree as in the old Gaelic for king.” “I don't want them to be forgotten for that. For more detailed show note transcription of this travel podcast episode, please visit www.amidlifetraveler.com #travel, #travelpodcast, #visitscotland, #gaelic, #scottishgaelic, #scottishhistory, #scotland, #scotlandculture, #inverness, #portree, #alnwick, #learnaboutscotland