New Gaelic videos online!

The Stòras Beò nan Gàidheal project has successfully met its target of producing 15 hours of new online community-based recordings of Scottish Gaelic, all fully transcribed! The collection comprises 31 videos of Gaelic speakers from four different islands in the Outer Hebrides talking about a wide range of subjects, including their upbringing in the islands and how they perceive things have changed during their lifetime. This project is led by the Language Sciences Institute (LSI) of the University of the Highlands and Islands, with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and Soilllse, and is supported by Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Foras na Gaeilge. Irish partners are in the process of gathering together a parallel collection of recordings from the Irish Gaeltacht areas.

You can read more about the project on the LSI website here, or you can use the table below to go directly to the videos (on YouTube), with accompanying Clilstore transcripts and summary descriptions (in “Unit Info”).

South Uist	Benbecula	North Uist	Lewis
Tòmas MacDhòmhnaill (1)	Eairdsidh Caimbeul	Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill (1)	Pàdruig Moireach
Tòmas MacDhòmhnaill (2)	Ailig Mac a’ Phì (1)	Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill (2)	Iain Greumach (1)
Hughena NicDhòmhnaill (1)	Ailig Mac a’ Phì (2)	Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill (1)	Iain Greumach (2)
Hughena NicDhòmhnaill (2)	Màiri Robasdan (1)	Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill (2)	Seònaid Mhoireach (1)
Alasdair Mac Asgaill	Màiri Robasdan (2)	Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill (3)	Seònaid Mhoireach (2)
Catrìona Nic an t-Saoir (1)	Seonag Smith (1)	Aonghas MacPhàil (1)	Christine Primrose (1)
Catrìona Nic an t-Saoir (2)	Seonag Smith (2)	Aonghas MacPhàil (2)	Christine Primrose (2)
	Seonag Smith (3)	Gina NicDhòmhnaill (1)
		Gina NicDhòmhnaill (2)

If viewers see resemblances in style to the earlier Saoghal Thormoid project, these are by no means coincidental! Stòras Beò nan Gàidheal builds on previous Island Voices experience of bringing this kind of recording practice into the community, in a way that is maximally user-friendly, and feels as natural as possible. Not every recording has a fully professional polish in technical terms, and the editing has been deliberately light-touch, but arguably that gives viewers a closer picture of genuine interaction in actual practice. The project will now pause its recording work in order to review and evaluate its progress to this point. This is not an end, but hopefully a beginning…