Talking Points

Discussions

In the last few weeks of the University of the Highlands and Islands project Mediating Multilingualism, international partners in universities in India and Jamaica discussed themes of common interest with UK-based community language speakers, after watching brief extracts from the final session of Saoghal Thormoid, in which Norman Maclean talks specifically about Gaelic. These “Talking Points” discussions, held in English, were recorded and placed on the Island Voices YouTube channel.

The table below gives links to all the discussions, together with the associated clips of Norman in conversation.

Topic	Recorded Discussion	Norman Maclean Extract
Language Endangerment: Gaelic Trajectory?	Talking Points 1	Saoghal Thormoid 1
Language Hierarchies: English Ascendancy?	Talking Points 2	Saoghal Thormoid 2
Language Contact: Bilingual Balance?	Talking Points 3	Saoghal Thormoid 3

(In the recorded discussions the introductory Gaelic remarks by Norman are subtitled in English. On the freestanding clips from Saoghal Thormoid, the YouTube Closed Captions option will give viewers the choice of following his comments with same language Gaelic subtitles, or automatic translation into other languages using the Settings wheel. Written translations into English are also provided in the YouTube video description.)

Extracts and Blogposts

Subsequently, the following series of posts was shared on the Island Voices blog. Each post includes one or more selected video extracts from the discussions, focusing on the various participants. The blogposts from the Interpreter, the Poet, and the Teacher also feature (or link to) significant additional writing.

The Linguists

The Interpreter

The Poet

The Teacher

Comments and questions are actively encouraged on the International Island Voices “MOOT“!