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CEUT Reflections 4
Here’s the fourth of our series of blogposts by Mary Morrison, with help from Archie Campbell and Zsuzsanna Ihar, in which she reflects on the Aire Air Sunnd project led by Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath. As with her previous posts, comments are welcome!
Mary writes:
Cafaidh Gàidhlig agus Feasgar Dimàirt.
‘Even the sheep and cows seemed to know who we were.’
During February and March the wellbeing and Gaelic groups have spent an interesting time sharing our thoughts about the place of North Uist, based on the key findings of the CEUT 2023 Community Survey. We have tried to explore further the unspoken, deeper meanings lying beneath our concerns, in order to provide more pressing evidence to convince potential funders of the urgency of our bids for the refurbishment of Sgoil Chàirinis, as a Gaelic, heritage and wellbeing community centre.
The common concern underlying these activities is our attempt to define CEUT’s role in so far as it may contribute to the local communities’ sense of wholeness, robustness and cheerfulness. The project wants to encourage some form of cultural shift, using the aspects of our place that are our greatest assets to fortify the island’s biological, environmental and human wellbeing. The wisdom inherent in vernacular voices and local practices may be best suited to reach the centres of power and exert some influence?
The ideas developed during Feasgar Dimàirt will also be incorporated into a community mural, (or separate panels of such a wall hanging) to celebrate the unique heritage and resilient Gaelic culture of North Uist – a collaborative visual legacy for the project, and a way of combining a wide range of the communities’ artistic and storytelling talents. We are grateful to our partners here, Caraidean Uibhist and Sgoil Uibhist A Tuath for collaborating so willingly in this placemaking effort.
To begin the process of mural shaping we discussed what made us most happy about living on North Uist. The listening was intent, the group itself seemed at home, offering respect, calmness and space to put complex ideas and feelings into words, at our own pace, often qualifying and refining these.
Our recurring ideas:
- the magic or spell of the place, the land and its unique, unchanged qualities
‘Clarity of the light’, ‘changing colours of the water’, ‘layers of colours of the sand the seaweed and the sea as it stretches to infinity’, ‘poetry of creation’, ‘the sound of the sea’, ‘roaring like traffic’, ‘mindfulness’, ‘losing yourself’, ‘birdlife”, ‘walking for ever without a destination’, ‘the capacity of the environment to change so suddenly’, ‘peace and beauty’, ‘a constant surprise’.
- identity, family and ancestors – especially for our indigenous dwellers
Gaelic method of reciting of the male members of a family tree, sloinneadh, all the precious ‘connections to the local community’, heritage of knitting, peats, creel and rope making, weaving, families widening out but often returning, ‘recognising our closeness to other cultures‘, ‘confidence in new life’, growth – babies of all species- keeping the ceilidh culture and the songs going, the ‘friendliness’ of the community.
- placemaking, local names, wells and the need to map, signpost and mark these
‘Views that have remained unchanged from what our ancestors saw’, noticing the changes in coastline, species, disappearance of Gaelic, wells, standing stones and their stories, some urgency to preserve. ‘Getting more sentimental as I grow older’. Mention here of milestones, waymarks trails, mapping the area for future generations and visitors, with the stories attached to them.
- and for settlers or returners, the profound sense of suddenly belonging, feeling at home and enriched by the place
‘Last night the tide was very high, I went out and stood, just watching it.
I suddenly felt so glad to be living.’
‘Glad to be here’
‘Coming from a dry, hot and dusty area, the silence, nothing, the sound of the sea was astonishing.
‘Even the sheep and cows seemed to know who we were’
The Cafaidh Gàidhlig sessions were also held in Sgoil Chàirinis over February and March. Smaller numbers here made these more intimate occasions and provided Gaelic speakers with an opportunity to speak freely in an informal setting. Games and learning activities, including the new Gaelic version of Scrabble and a beginners’ Gaelic lesson were available each morning.
Gaelic speakers were able to engage fully in profound conversations without having to give way to English. What was noticeable, to a learner was the ‘comfort’ of the speakers, the remarkable concentration on listening to each other, the lack of interruption, the implicit natural respect in turn taking, the quality of engagement, agreement and reinforcement for each speaker, the rapidity of the flow of cadence and expression, together with the ease and frequent hilarity of the discussion. To a learner, it felt like a privilege to be included so fully within the ‘cosmos’ of the language as it is spoken naturally, something that lessons rarely capture.
Areas discussed included:
- people’s experiences of attending school away from Uist and living in school hostels and all that that entailed in terms of displacement and Gaelic use
- broader discussion of the use of the Gaelic language in the Uist community
- the urgency of what we can do to ensure that Gàidhlig has a future as a viable community language
- recognition that we need to make people aware that the language is here, and to use it in as many contexts as possible (for example, a young woman who works in a local supermarket told us that it is quite normal for her to use Gaelic in her encounters with customers, but less so in other settings)
- we recognise the use of Gaelic depends heavily on the context. Discussion of the importance of parents of those in Gaelic-medium education using Gaelic in the home and socially
- recent research has shown that Gaelic has been losing its ‘domains’ of use in the public sphere, but also in social life, particularly amongst the young.
- use of digital, Gaelic and bilingual mapping for waymarking walks to local heritage sites
There followed a discussion about activities which would promote Gaelic and provide a greater presence for the language in the community.
- one man present had provided crofting life experiences in the past
- CEUT has organised summer walks to sites of interest over the past few years. The walks have been led by Gaelic speakers and delivered primarily in Gaelic. People have commented on how much they enjoyed listening to the information being presented in Gaelic, even if they didn’t understand all, or indeed, any of it. An English ‘crib sheet’ was always available .
- the valuable interviewing and recording work which has taken place over the years, preserving people’s language, knowledge and experience. This work is very much ongoing and can be found on Guthan nan Eilean. It can also also be enriching for both interviewer and interviewee
- The observation was also made that the register of Gaelic language used depends heavily on context and setting
A discussion followed as to what may be done to ensure that Gaelic has a viable future as a living community language in the face of many challenges. The most pressing being the lack of Gaelic use among the young, for whom English tends to be the default language, even for those attending Gaelic-medium education.
Members of both groups expressed a wish for the two activities to continue and we are hoping these will become monthly CEUT events, keeping up the momentum, closeness and energy the pilot events have inspired. We have recorded the speakers who have led the discussions so far and still have more to record, especially the evening talk on Coastal Erosion with Stuart Angus in the final week in July.
As Michael Newton states in ‘Warriors of the Word’:
‘As the Gaelic sense of place is one in which communal history is embedded in the placenames attached to landscape features, it depends to a great degree upon understanding the language in which the placenames were coined’.
Talk on Tormod
Island Voices Co-ordinator Gordon Wells was delighted to be invited to speak to the University of Arizona Celtic Linguistics Group recently (14th October) about Island Voices, with specific reference to Norman Maclean’s notable contribution to the project. Gordon’s presentation is available online, and includes lots of Island Voices screenshots with live embedded links so that anyone interested can explore the site further.
Here’s the abstract for the talk:
“Gordon’s presentation samples and contextualises some of the multi-faceted mainly Gaelic contributions by the multi-talented creative icon, Norman Maclean, to the “Guthan nan Eilean/Island Voices” online language capture and curation project. These include Norman’s final “Saoghal Thormoid” (“Norman’s World”) series of videoed conversations, recorded in April 2016, in which Norman spoke reflectively of his memories and impressions of bilingual life in Glasgow and the Hebrides from the middle of the Twentieth Century onwards. In addition to offering a vivid first-person voiced and experiential account of Gaelic life over a tumultuous period for the language, the Island Voices adherence to basic linguistic principles also pays dividends in relation to some initially unpredicted spin-off applications. These are discussed in conclusion.”
And here’s the recording of the talk on YouTube, including follow-up comments and questions from the group. Many thanks to the Celtic Linguists of Arizona!
And in a new departure for Island Voices, if you can’t find the time to watch the video, there is a Twitter thread which you can follow to get a quick slide-by-slide commentary on the main points. These also link back to the online PDF, and so to all the embedded webpages referenced if you want to dig deeper into the material at any point.
Talking Points le Tormod et al
Sna seachdainnean mu dheireadh aig a’ phròiseact Mediating Multilingualism aig Institiùd Rannsachaidh Cànain Oilthigh na Gàidhealtachd ‘s nan Eilean thàinig na com-pàirtichean eadar-nàiseanta sna h-oilthighean ann an Alba, Diaimeuga, agus sna h-Innseachan còmhla airson cuspairean san robh ùidh aca uile a dheasbad cuide ri luchd-labhairt às an Rìoghachd Aonaichte aig a bheil cànanan coimhearsnachd. Chleachd iad pìosan a-mach à Saoghal Thormoid airson na deasbadan (a chaidh a chumail sa Bheurla) a thòiseachadh. Chaidh na còmhraidhean seo a chlàradh, agus tha iad a-nis ri fhaighinn air sianal YouTube Guthan nan Eilean.
Bheir an clàr shìos ceanglaichean ris na deasbadan gu lèir, cuide ris na bhidiothan le Tormod MacGill-Eain a’ bruidhinn.
| Cuspair | Còmhradh Clàraichte | Earrann à Saoghal Thormoid |
| Cànanan ann an Cunnart | Talking Points 1 | Saoghal Thormoid 1 |
| Cànanan air an Rangachadh | Talking Points 2 | Saoghal Thormoid 2 |
| Cànanan Taobh ri Taobh | Talking Points 3 | Saoghal Thormoid 3 |
Faodar criomagan às na h-earrannan ann an Saoghal Thormoid fhaicinn an seo, airson blasad beag fhaighinn dhe na beachdan aig Tormod fhèin.
| 1. Gaelic Trajectory? | 2. English Ascendancy? |
| 3a. Bilingual Balance? | 3b. Homecoming Postscript |
Agus ma tha ceistean agad, no ma tha thu airson puingean a thogail air-loidhne sna deasbadan seo, faodaidh tu pàirt a ghabhail sna còmhraidhean a bhios a’ dol ann am MOOT Guthan nan Eilean! Rud nach bi a’ tachairt a h-uile latha… Siuthad! Carpe diem!
Shantiniketan Presentations
Island Voices co-ordinator Gordon Wells’s “lightning tour” of India concluded with a session in the Bhasha Bhavana (Languages Building) of the world-famous Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan. Wearing hats from both Guthan nan Eilean and Soillse (for which he is the project manager), Gordon Wells delivered a summary of the overall Island Voices project while highlighting the partnership with Soillse, particularly in relation to Saoghal Thormoid.
Conchúr Ó Giollagáin’s talk. (Click to enlarge.)
CFEL publications. (Click to enlarge.)
Like the previously visited Jadavpur University in Kolkata, Shantiniketan also hosts a Centre for Endangered Languages, another link in a chain that connects many different parts of India. Soillse Director, Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, who also spoke in all three venues on the tour, is keen to develop dialogue and links between Irish and Scottish Gaelic interests and Indian efforts and initiatives to protect and promote linguistic diversity. In his talks on Irish and Scottish Gaelic culture and demography he noted in particular the striking disparity in international academic attention and resources devoted to India, with its rich mix of languages and cultures, in comparison with, for example, Western Europe which has far less linguistic variety.
The speakers, hosted by Profs Kailash Pattanaik and Abhijit Sen. (Click to enlarge.)
Both visitors certainly found Shantiniketan an inspiring venue to complete their tour, where they were warmly received by faculty members, research scholars, and students, and treated to a fascinating tour of the campus, as well as Rabindra Bhavan, which houses the Rabindranath Tagore museum.
Rabindranath Tagore’s house. (Click to enlarge.)
A PDF of Gordon’s presentation with live links can be viewed here.
Talking with Magaidh Smith
Facebook turns up gems sometimes! A reply to a post in the “Scottish Gaelic Speakers Unite!” group led Gordon Wells to uncover a new (to him) Gaelic treasure trove – the online world of Magaidh Smith. Old classmates from the early days of Ceòlas, they met again this week, this time in Glasgow, when Gordon was able to quiz Magaidh on what she’s been up to in more recent years, including traditional tales, drama, poetry and local history. She’s not been idle!
Clearly, Magaidh’s work chimes nicely with the Guthan nan Eilean orientation towards capturing local voices and providing them with a wider platform. We’ll be watching this space closely!
http://www.magaidhsmith.co.uk/
In the meantime here’s a table of Magaidh’s Soundcloud recordings of stories from local Lewis tradition.
| Story | Description | Links |
| S daor a cheannaich mi fiadhachd | MacAulay men at Loch Langabhat and the landmark Clach Bhess | Magaidh’s blog post Soundcloud |
| An Seann Fhiadh | Deer hunting at Loch Langabhat on the border of Lewis and Harris in days gone by. Who was the wee wizen man? | Soundcloud |
| Fir Mhealista | Mealista men who went to gather a cargo of wood for roof timbers. A love story and what is extant of a dream song. | Soundcloud |
| Sabaist Mhor Wick | Circa 1870 when the herring fishing was booming a large number of fishing boats were in Wick Harbour when a fight broke out. This account includes details of men from Lochs who were in the fracas. | Soundcloud |
| Ishbal Nighean Dhomhaill Ban | The love Story of Ishbal nighean Dhomhnaill Ban an t-Struim who herded the cattle in Uig and Calum MacAmhlaigh from Harris. | Magaidh’s blog post Soundcloud |
STOP PRESS UPDATE – 15/04/19. Island Voices now has a Magaidh Smith page with a full collection of her online recordings, all supplemented with Clilstore transcripts. Check it out!
Skol-Veur C’houezelek Bro-Skos
Teul-film berr evit an deskidi diwar-benn Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Skol-Veur C’houezelek Bro-Skos.
Film aithriseach goirid ann am Breatnais airson luchd-ionnsachaidh mu dheidhinn Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.
Short Breton documentary about Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland’s Gaelic College.
While you watch and listen you can read a transcript here with online dictionary access to every single word on Clilstore Unit 7207: http://multidict.net/cs/7207
Many thanks to Fañch Bihan-Gallic for the latest “Other Tongues” addition to our Sharing Gaelic Voices theme! Fañch is also a keen Gaelic scholar, with an interest in the informal learning of the language. And outside his formal studies he is an active member of the Misneachd campaign group.
Sealladh Eòrpach air Saoghal Thormoid
Mar a tha fios againn, bha Tormod MacGill-Eain gu math dèidheil air cànain. Bha Gàidhlig agus Beurla aige bho thùs, agus chòrd e ris a bhith ag ionnsachadh feadhainn eile cuideachd – Eadailtis, Frangais, agus Gearmailtis nam measg. Tha sinn air a bhith a’ cluinntinn cuideachd, o chionn treiseag a-nis, mu dheidhinn nan ‘Gàidheileamailteach’ a tha ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig thall sa Ghearmailt, mar eisimpleir sna clasaichean air an ruith le Mìcheal Klevenhaus aig Acadamaidh na Gàidhlig sa Ghearmailt.
Ann an seachdain Latha Eòrpach nan Cànan, sgrìobh Stefanie Linzer thugainn mu dheidhinn clas san robh i fhèin, far an robh iad a’ cleachdadh Saoghal Thormoid mar stuth-ionnsachaidh. Nach e a bhiodh toilichte agus fios aige gu bheil daoine fhathast cho dèidheil air a bhith ag èisteachd ris – mar a tha sinne aig Guthan nan Eilean gum bi daoine a’ cur na clàraidhean a rinn sinn gu feum! Seo am pìos a sgrìobh Stefanie, le molaidhean glic aice aig an deireadh. Nach math a rinn i!
Gum biodh Latha Eòrpach nan Cànan sona againn uile!
Mar phàirt den chlas Ghàidhlig againn ann am Bonn san Lùnastal 2018, chaidh sinn tron chiad agallamh a rinn Gordon Wells còmhla ri Tormod Mac Gill-Eain. ‘S e “Saoghal Thormoid: Diluain – Sinnsireachd” a th’ air, is dh’innis Tormod dhuinn mu a bheatha is a theaghlach. Chan eil fhios agam an cuala mi Gàidhlig na b’ fheàrr a-riamh.
Ach aig an aon àm feumaidh mi aideachadh gun robh mi a’ faireachdainn caran gòrach a bhith ag èisteachd ris an duine ainmeil seo o chionn ‘s nach do thuig mi ach glè bheag den agallamh aig an toiseach. Bha e cianail doirbh. Le deagh adhbhar cha tug an tidsear an teacsa dhuinn ro làimh an dùil gun leasaich sinn na sgilean againn agus bha sinn uile den bheachd gum b’ e dùbhlan mòr a bha seo. Chaidh faighneachd dhinn dè bha sinn air tuigsinn is cha tàinig mòran às, ach chruinnich sinn còmhla na bh’againn. An uair sin chaidh sinn tron agallamh a-rithist is mhothaich sinn gun do rinn sinn adhartas. Gu fortanach fhuair sinn uile an teacsa às dèidh sin is leis an teacsa nar làimh, dh’fhàs cnag na cùise gu math soilleir a bhith ag èisteachd ris an agallamh is ga leughadh aig an aon àm.
Fhuair sinn tòrr a-mach mu bheatha Thormoid: a theaghlach, a’ Ghàidhlig san teaghlach, a shaoghal nuair a bha e òg is san fharsaingeachd cò leis a bha e. Bha sinn uile den bheachd gum b’ e duine laghach comasach, spòrsail a bh’ ann, fear a bha moiteil às a bheatha gun a bhith mòr às fhèin. A bharrachd air sin dh’ionnsaich sinn an t-uabhas: faclan ùra is abairtean nam measg. Chanainn gun robh sinn fortanach gun robh cothrom a chlàraidh ann fhathast is mholainn an sreath airson luchd-ionnsachaidh ann an saoghal na Gàidhlig. Gabhaibh an cothrom is na caillibh ur misneachd mura tuig sibh a h-uile sìon sa bhad.
Le Steafanaidh Linzer
Ceòlas Course
Ceòlas have announced flexible availability on a four-week Gaelic immersion course starting on 20th August. Details can be found on their Immersion Courses page.
“Research by Soillse (G Wells, 2011) also shows the Uist community as a particularly supportive and encouraging environment for Gaelic language learning.”
Gathered and Shared – Poems and Music
Many thanks to Loriana Pauli for sending Island Voices this new offering – a podcast she and fellow Uist-based students on the UHI BA in Applied Music made with the help of local poet Pauline Prior-Pitt. Originally broadcast by An Radio, we’re delighted to post the link here. It’s a nice mix of poetry and music, English and Gaelic.
In this short programme Loriana Pauli, Chloe Steele, Angharad Whittle, Peter Davidson, and Jordan Neill have put together images in words and music of some aspects of Uist’s working life and traditions.
Looking Back on Island Voices
Series 1 of the Island Voices videos first came out on DVD in 2007. The project has grown a lot since then in various ways. Everything is now online (instead of DVD); Series 2 (Outdoors, Generations, Enterprise) added greatly to the number of videos created by project staff; and community members and groups have got involved in creating learning materials themselves. Perhaps the one thing that hasn’t changed is that the greatest emphasis is still placed on trying to base any recordings that come out of the project on real island life. That can still be seen even in the latest series “Sgeulachdan Thormoid” and “Saoghal Thormoid”, in which the project recorded stories and conversations from Norman Maclean in his final years, after he’d settled back in Uist.
Support for learners
Island Voices started (with help from the European Union) as a scheme for giving simple support in using new technology to learners and teachers. So, from the start the project has been about developing skills in community members in creating and sharing learning materials. As there generally tends to be more material for beginners (particularly in Gaelic) than there is for people who want to progress on to fluency, the project placed an emphasis on more advanced materials – with a mixture of documentary clips and interviews with community members speaking naturally. That’s the kind of material available in Series 1 and 2, with additional support available through Clilstore which gives you an online transcript alongside the film itself.
Made by the community
After those series, the project changed its way of working. It wasn’t project staff who created the new materials, but community members themselves. You can see examples on the “Bonnie Prince Charlie” or “The Great War” pages – series that were created in collaboration with Stòras Uibhist and Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath – in which people like Tommy MacDonald, Mary Morrison and others made their own recordings for sharing on the project website. In this way the project obtained new stories at a level even closer to the community, and new people got a chance to get involved in the work and to develop skills.
Social media and other languages
The project started online on WordPress (for a central website) and YouTube (for the films). But then the Facebook page was added, to help with sharing information about what was happening in the project and in the community. There is also a Twitter account, and overall there are well over 3,000 followers now, who are spread across the world. From the beginning the project worked bilingually with English and Gaelic. But as things have grown and developed, other languages have appeared, such as Irish, Welsh, Basque and others. Once people start learning a new language, they may naturally develop an interest in bilingualism, and how you can use different languages together.
Norman Maclean
Perhaps Norman Maclean was among the quickest to appreciate this, and he was also one of the readiest people to record Gaelic stories and other materials. After returning to Uist he did some pieces for Series 2 to begin with. He also got involved in the Storytellers and Great War pages. But his “pièces de résistance” were the series he made towards the end of his life. The project was very fortunate to get the opportunity to record his voice while he still had the ability to tell his own stories in his own style (“Sgeulachdan Thormoid”), and then to relate his thoughts and memories of Gaelic life in Glasgow and the Islands in a collection of long conversations (“Saoghal Thormoid”). All these recordings are now available on the website under the title “Dìleab Thormoid”. There can be no doubt that this is a very special resource that will keep advanced learners and other researchers very busy in the years to come.
Natural spoken language
Although Island Voices was established for the benefit of learners, it has always sought to capture and curate the natural language of people in the community. Emphasis was placed on Gaelic – or English – as it is spoken, though there is also written support for those who wish it or may find it useful. In this way project users get a taste not just of the languages and how they are really used today, but also of the local island way of life in the multilingual, multicultural world in which we all live.
Island Voices Videos
Island Voices - Guthan nan Eilean 