114-572: Cromarty ( / ˈ k r ɒ m ər t i / ; Scottish Gaelic : Cromba , IPA: [ˈkʰɾɔumpə] ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland . Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth , it is 5 miles (8 km) seaward from Invergordon on the opposite coast. In
228-664: A "chance to catch up on life admin." On 13 June 2018, Blackford was ejected from the House of Commons after almost all sitting Scottish National Party MPs chose to walk out of the House of Commons . Blackford had raised a question to Prime Minister Theresa May regarding the issues of no Scottish MP being given time to debate the Scotland-related areas of the EU Withdrawal Bill the previous night and also wanting
342-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both
456-522: A Gable End, Scottish Gaelic Short films, Animation workshop, photographic exhibition and late night Pizza and Film screenings. In recent years, as elsewhere in Scotland, coastal rowing has become a major activity, and there are three skiffs based in Cromarty, which take part in competitions across Scotland. The Cromarty Community Rowing Club also hosts its own regatta in the summer. The town made
570-470: A MP, Blackford has also worked part-time for funeral planners Golden Charter Trust Limited. Between April 2020 and March 2021 he was paid £38,967 by the company; from December 2015 to April 2020, he was paid £3,000 per month by Golden Charter Trust. In September 2020 Blackford announced that his association with the company would end in a "timely manner" in March 2021. He previously earned an additional £1,000
684-508: A Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since the eighth century. For the first time,
798-555: A booklet of traditional words and phrases. In addition, the Highland Council had produced a digital booklet on the dialect. This states that the thou forms were still in common use in the first half of the 20th century and remained in occasional use at the time of publication. Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,
912-524: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as
1026-823: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and
1140-482: A circlet richly chased from which are issuant four thistle leaves (one and two halves visible) and four pine cones (two visible) Or, and in an Escrol below the Shield this Motto "Meane Well, Speak Weil, and Doe Weil". Cromarty is architecturally important for its Georgian merchant houses, such as Forsyth House, built by William Forsyth , that stand within a townscape of Georgian and Victorian fisherman's cottages in
1254-551: A dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under
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#17327731897721368-486: A direct route North from the Black Isle. Cromarty has a small primary school named Cromarty Primary School with around 50 students. The University of Aberdeen Department of Zoology Lighthouse Field Station is based in Cromarty. The small community is also known for being a hub of creative activity, with several arts venues, local artists and a small cinema. The Cromarty Arts Trust, which restored several buildings in
1482-400: A full independent investigation and was suspended from the House of Commons for two-days over his unwanted sexual advance to a junior SNP colleague in 2016. Following this, a video emerged of Blackford encouraging SNP MPs to provide Grady with "full support" This comment was met with backlash from across the political spectrum and Blackford faced calls to resign. On 25 June 2022, Grady left
1596-489: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write
1710-586: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore
1824-494: A month serving as chairman of Commsworld - a telecoms business in which he owned circa £70,000 worth of shares. He employs his stepson as a Senior Caseworker. After his stepson was awarded a £7,500 pay rise, the issue of MPs hiring their relatives was the subject of a leader comment in The Scotsman : "[T]he issue here is the inference of nepotism. While Ian Blackford may be within his rights to raise his relative's wages,
1938-805: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that
2052-549: A process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute
2166-610: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in
2280-425: A sexual harassment allegation regarding SNP MP Patrick Grady . The man alleged that after reporting the incident, Blackford invited him to an "ambush" meeting at which Grady was present, and where he claims he felt obliged to accept an apology from Grady. Blackford denies the meeting occurred as described. The SNP stated it would be investigated. In June 2022, Grady apologised for the behaviour in parliament after
2394-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to
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#17327731897722508-475: A telecoms company, until 2019. The sale of the business to Lloyds Development Capital at this time is reported to have made Blackford a seven-figure sum. He was previously the chairman of the Glendale Trust, an organisation responsible for a community-owned estate on Skye , which made an approach to Highland Council to bring a historic pier under community control. Under his chairmanship, support
2622-625: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of
2736-719: Is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into
2850-415: Is a sea port , and its economy was closely linked to the sea for most of its history. Fishing was the major industry, with salmon stations around the surrounding coast, and boats going out to catch herring. Other trade was also by boat: Cromarty's connections to surrounding towns were largely by ferry, while Cromarty boats exported locally-grown hemp fibre , and brought goods such as coal. The Cromarty Firth
2964-545: Is a Scottish politician and investment banker who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 2015 to 2024 . Originally from Edinburgh , he previously worked as an investment banker and has been involved in various business ventures since. He was the national treasurer of
3078-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in
3192-559: Is an outstanding natural harbour, and was an important British naval base during the First World War and the Second World War . HMS Natal blew up close by on 30 December 1915 with a substantial loss of life. On the 26th of January 1940, HMS (Previously RMS) Durham Castle , while being towed to Scapa Flow hit a mine layed by U-Boat U-57 11 nautical miles to the east of the town. Cromarty gives its name to one of
3306-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,
3420-406: Is one way of overcoming travel time and in the absence of air links. Following the 2007–2008 financial crisis , he made calls for Scotland to have its own financial regulator, to protect society from irresponsible practices. Blackford has also suggested that a zero rate of capital gains tax could help Scotland to attract investment. Following the electorate's decision to reject independence at
3534-596: Is within the Highland council area, the successor to the Highland region which superseded the local government county of Ross and Cromarty in 1975. Since the local elections in 2017 , its councillors, for the Black Isle ward, have been Craig Fraser (SNP), Gordon Adam (Liberal Democrats) and Jennifer Barclay (Independent). Community Council The Cromarty and District Community Council consists of seven members, elected for four-year terms. Three of these members are elected annually to serve as chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Its coat of arms, granted in 1988, are based on
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3648-661: The Cromarty Rose . The Cromarty Rose was sold in 2009 and replaced for the 2011 season by a new four-car ferry called the Cromarty Queen , which continued the service from 2011 to 2014. After a year with no ferry in 2015, new operators, Highland Ferries, were awarded the ferry contract and re-commenced the regular service between Cromarty and Nigg with the Renfrew Rose running from June to September, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, once again offering
3762-574: The 2015 general election . The campaign attracted national attention because of its acrimony; Blackford objected to being called a "well-funded banker" and confronted incumbent MP Charles Kennedy in his office. Liberal Democrats accused Blackford of dog whistling about Kennedy's struggles with alcoholism. Leaflets were distributed telling voters "Why bottle it? Make a Change!", but the SNP denied responsibility for their distribution and condemned them. Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell labelled
3876-837: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic", the language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to
3990-555: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates
4104-464: The Paisley 1997 by-election but again he was unsuccessful; the contest had the lowest turnout at a by-election in Scotland for thirty years. Blackford had been treasurer of the SNP and during this time he began to be viewed as a critic of the party leader, Alex Salmond . Blackford was removed from the post in 2000 via a vote of no confidence, after he had tried to impose financial controls to tackle
4218-688: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,
4332-631: The freeholders of Cromartyshire elected one Member of Parliament to one Parliament, while those of Nairnshire elected a Member to the next. In 1832 the town of Cromarty was separated from the county, and became a parliamentary burgh , combined with Dingwall , Dornoch , Kirkwall , Tain and Wick in the Northern Burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Known also as Wick Burghs ,
4446-400: The referendum on 18 September 2014, Blackford argued that Scotland should consider the constitutional change offered by the main unionist parties. He was the author of a report which had explored options for the banking sector in Scotland, had the country voted to become independent. In January 2015, it was announced that Blackford would be the SNP candidate for Ross, Skye and Lochaber at
4560-786: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides. However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,
4674-477: The 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and
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4788-601: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of
4902-518: The 2001 census, it had a population of 719. The name Cromarty variously derives from the Gaelic crom (crooked), and from bati (bay), or from àrd (height), meaning either the "crooked bay", or the "bend between the heights" (referring to the high rocks, or Sutors, which guard the entrance to the Firth ), and gave the title to the Earldom of Cromartie . In 1264, its name was Crumbathyn . Cromarty
5016-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had
5130-407: The 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that the putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned
5244-569: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and
5358-708: The Commons Lucy Powell of the Labour Party said, "Although it might be a low bar, as I am sure the whole House can agree, he is definitely the most popular Member of this House from the Scottish National Party." Blackford's contributions in the Commons were often greeted with theatrical groans from Conservative MPs—many of whom left as soon as he got to his feet —and one journalist, Esther Webber, remarked that his questions gave people
5472-465: The Cromarty and Resolis Film Society, which organises a Film Festival every December. Guests of the 2008 festival included Kirsty Wark , Donald Shaw and Karen Matheson , Janice Forsyth , David Mackenzie and Michael Caton-Jones . Each guest selected five of their favourite films, one of which was shown during the weekend. In addition to the Favourite Films, there is an outdoor screening on
5586-594: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this
5700-588: The East Kirk, an important example of a medieval kirk in the Scottish vernacular, restored in the 2000s by the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust. Historically most travel to Cromarty would have been by ship: ferries connected the town with Invergordon , and Cromarty's post continued to arrive by boat into the 20th century. The historic ferry route between Cromarty and Nigg was served until 2009 by Britain's smallest vehicle ferry ,
5814-538: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained
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#17327731897725928-684: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for
6042-762: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of
6156-619: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider
6270-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of
6384-442: The House in a debate on Partygate , and refused to qualify his remarks to state that the misleading was "inadvertent". Blackford, an investment banker, described himself as "just a simple crofter with 10 acres" in the 2018 Westminster Budget debate. He was mocked by other MPs, with Anna Soubry remarking that the house belonging to the "simple crofter" was valued at somewhere in the region of £500,000. In addition to his work as
6498-726: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as
6612-631: The Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in
6726-454: The Liberal Democrats, and who represented Cromarty until 2015, as the MP for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (1983–1997), Ross, Skye and Inverness West (1997–2005) and then Ross, Skye and Lochaber. In the Scottish Parliament , Cromarty has been represented since 2016 by Kate Forbes , an SNP politician and former Cabinet Secretary for Finance in the Scottish Government , as part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency. Prior to 2011, it
6840-429: The SNP from 1999 to 2000. Blackford became the SNP Westminster leader after Angus Robertson lost his seat at the 2017 snap general election . He stepped down from the role in December 2022 and was replaced by Stephen Flynn . Blackford was born in Edinburgh and educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh . Blackford worked as an analyst with NatWest Securities, before moving to a managerial role. The company
6954-445: The SNP whip; it was restored six months later by Blackford's successor. Blackford announced his intention to stand down from leadership of the SNP Westminster group on 1 December 2022, ahead of the group's AGM. He denied being forced out by SNP MPs. His successor, Stephen Flynn , was elected on 6 December . On 6 June 2023, Blackford announced that he would step down at the 2024 general election and following his final speech in
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#17327731897727068-428: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan
7182-581: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has
7296-589: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at
7410-466: The age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending the early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in
7524-408: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in
7638-400: The arms of Urquhart of Cromarty, with a mural coronet placed in the middle of the boars’ heads, signifying a town, and the motto is that of the Urquharts. The official blazon is: Or, three boars' heads erased Gules, armed and langued Azure, in the centre of the shield a mural coronet of the Second. Above the Shield is placed a mural coronet suitable to a statutory Community Council, videlicet:-
7752-413: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on
7866-438: The campaign, "far and away the most despicable I encountered in all my years in UK politics." However, Blackford said he was "proud" of the campaign and claimed there was "absolutely no issue" between himself and Kennedy before his death in June 2015. He received 20,119 votes and 48.1% of the vote, defeating Kennedy by 5,124 votes. Blackford was re-elected in 2017 with a smaller share of the vote but an increased majority. He
7980-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of
8094-477: The chamber to immediately have a vote on the motion to sit in private. Blackford was irate in asking the question and was instructed numerous times by Speaker John Bercow to resume his seat so the Prime Minister could answer his question. Blackford refused to do this, claiming that "Scotland's voice [was] not being heard". Eventually, Bercow used Standing Order 43 to eject Blackford from the chamber, which Blackford complied with, followed by almost every SNP MP. This
8208-568: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,
8322-570: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that
8436-435: The constituency was a district of burghs . It was represented by one Member of Parliament. In 1918, the constituency was abolished and the Cromarty component was merged into the county constituency of Ross and Cromarty . Following a boundary change in 1983, the sitting MP, Hamish Gray (Conservative and Unionist Party) was defeated by Charlie Kennedy ( SDP , later Liberal then Liberal Democrats ), who would go on to lead
8550-499: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of
8664-582: The entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there
8778-560: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,
8892-538: The first translator of Rabelais into English. In the nineteenth century, Cromarty was the birthplace and home of Hugh Miller, a geologist, writer, journalist and participant in the Disruptions in the Church of Scotland. Among his works was a collection of local folklore, such as the legend, dating from around 1740, that a Cromarty man named John Reid was granted three wishes from a mermaid , and that he used one of
9006-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In
9120-502: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where
9234-491: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. Ian Blackford Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961)
9348-532: The late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so the word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in
9462-510: The local vernacular style. It is an outstanding example of an 18th/19th century burgh, "the jewel in the crown of Scottish Vernacular Architecture". The cottage with crow-stepped gables in Church Street, in which the geologist Hugh Miller was born (in 1801), is now the only remaining thatched building in Cromarty, with most houses having switched to slate roofs. To the east of the burgh is Cromarty House, built by George Ross in 1772 on
9576-459: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and
9690-734: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of
9804-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on
9918-539: The news in October 2012 when Bobby Hogg, the last speaker of the traditional local North Northern Scots dialect, died. This was referred to on HeraldScotland as a dialect of the Scots language , although a report on BBC Radio 4 said that the dialect had been strongly influenced by the English spoken at the local naval base and that it was one of the few areas in Scotland to exhibit H-dropping . Hogg had previously compiled
10032-434: The number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland,
10146-695: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through
10260-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in
10374-560: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in
10488-463: The party's overdraft. However, the limits for expenditure which he set were not adhered to. Blackford's reputedly hard line over financial matters had led to a breakdown of trust between him and the national executive and at one point he even threatened to sue party leader, Alex Salmond, for defamation. A profile in Holyrood magazine opined that, "Blackford's mistake was firstly, in underestimating
10602-588: The popularity of Salmond and the size of his power base and secondly, in committing the cardinal sin of washing the party's dirty washing in public and not keeping it 'within the family'." His opinion of Salmond mellowed after his election to Westminster and in August 2018 he said: "I don't hate Alex. He has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today... So we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Alex." Blackford has argued for better telecommunication infrastructure for rural areas, noting that video-conferencing
10716-417: The practice of hiring relations has to come to an end because it does nothing to dissuade a distrusting public that MPs - post expenses scandal - only ever look out for themselves." Blackford was married to Ann Yeoman. Blackford and Yeoman separated in 2023 after Blackford began a relationship with Kim Lyons, a married woman who he has known since childhood. He is a supporter of Hibernian F.C. Blackford
10830-466: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in
10944-460: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there
11058-587: The region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly,
11172-690: The rocks along the coast. Cromarty is in the UK Parliament constituency of Ross, Skye and Lochaber , represented since 2015 by Ian Blackford , ex-Leader of the SNP group in Westminster. Following the Act of Union in 1707, the British parliamentary constituency of Cromartyshire was created, replacing the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency. also called Cromartyshire . Paired as an alternating constituency with neighbouring Nairnshire ,
11286-621: The sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast . Cromarty Castle was the seat of the Urquharts, who were the hereditary sheriffs of Cromarty. The town was a royal burgh, and the ferry to Nigg was on the royal pilgrimage route north to Tain . In 1513 James IV of Scotland went on a pilgrimage and stayed in Cromarty Castle for 1 night. Until 1890, it served as the county town of Cromartyshire . The site of
11400-409: The secret Intelligence and Security Committee , which scrutinises the work of Britain's intelligence agencies. On 25 April 2019 it was reported that he had "stood down" from this role, to be "replaced by Stewart Hosie". Blackford announced his revised frontbench team on 7 January 2020, following the 2019 general election. In April 2021, an SNP staff member complained about Blackford's handling of
11514-480: The site of the former Cromarty Castle, which he demolished. Ross also built several other notable buildings in Cromarty: a seven-bay brewery, at the time the biggest in the Highlands, of which two bays remain (now used as a residential arts and training centre); Cromarty Courthouse , now a museum; a hemp factory, converted into housing in the 1970s; the harbour, designed by John Smeaton ; and a new chapel just outside
11628-566: The town to hold services in Gaelic for the many Gaelic-speaking workers who moved to Cromarty in the period, later used by Polish soldiers during the Second World War . While the Gaelic chapel is now ruined, its graveyard is still active as Cromarty's cemetery, and the town's war memorial and a monument to Hugh Miller are situated next to it. Other buildings of note in Cromarty include the Stevenson Lighthouse, built in 1846, and
11742-414: The town's mediaeval burgh dating to at least the 12th century was identified by local archaeologists after winter storms in 2012 eroded sections of the shoreline. A community archaeology project, which began in 2013, is investigated the remains of roads and buildings at the site on the eastern edge of the present town. Cromarty was the birthplace of Sir Thomas Urquhart , the polymath Royalist most famous as
11856-661: The town, including the Brewery and the Stables, organises a programme of arts and music events, including concerts and gigs, an annual Crime and Thrillers weekend, a Harp Weekend and stone letter carving and silver working courses, while the Cromarty Group of artists hold an annual exhibition of their work. Other local community groups include the Cromarty History Society, which holds regular lectures, and
11970-573: The wishes to marry a woman named Helen Stuart. The burgh is noted as a base for viewing the local offshore sea life . These include one of the most northerly groups of bottlenose dolphins . Cromarty, along with Chanonry Point just round the coast, is one of the best places in Europe to see these animals close to the shore. The predominant local stone is the Old Red Sandstone about which Hugh Miller wrote. Many fossils can also be found in
12084-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that
12198-603: Was appointed non-executive chairman of the Edinburgh-based telecommunications firm Commsworld in 2006, having joined the board as a non-executive director in 2005. He is a trustee at the Golden Charter Trust. In 2013, he helped explain the business case for not closing a primary school in Milngavie when East Dunbartonshire Council had proposed closure. Blackford was the chairman of Commsworld plc,
12312-592: Was bought by BT Alex. Brown , and Blackford was a managing director. After further integration into Deutsche Bank AG in 1999, Blackford ran Deutsche Bank's equity operations in Scotland and the Netherlands. Following 20 years in the financial industry, he left to do independent consultancy work, forming an investor relations company called First Seer in 2002. In 2005, Blackford joined the Dutch food and biochemicals company CSM as an investor relations manager. He
12426-554: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from
12540-510: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced
12654-577: Was part of the Ross, Skye and Inverness West Constituency. As well as the constituency MSP, Cromarty is represented by seven additional-member MSPs , elected across the Highlands and Islands Region . Since the 2017 Westminster election (when Douglas Ross resigned to take up a seat at Westminster), these have been John Finnie ( Green ), Maree Todd (SNP), David Stewart and Rhoda Grant ( Labour ), Jamie Halcro Johnston , Edward Mountain and Donald Cameron ( Conservative ). Local Authority Cromarty
12768-483: Was re-elected at the 2017 general election . On 14 June 2017, he was elected as leader of the SNP Westminster Group, succeeding Angus Robertson who had lost his seat. Upon election, he chose not to take a £33,000 increase to his salary Robertson had taken, instead sending that money to staff wages. On 19 July he was appointed a member of the Privy Council . Additionally, he has served as a member of
12882-591: Was secured for establishing a heritage centre in 2010. He had also been a member of the FlySkye group, campaigning to bring commercial air services back to Skye. Blackford stood as the SNP candidate for the Ayr constituency at the 1997 general election , but finished in third place behind Sandra Osborne of the Labour Party . Later during the same year, he stood as the Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate in
12996-568: Was the first time that any such incident as this had ever occurred during Prime Minister's Questions. The incident was broadcast on live television on the BBC and Sky News . On 31 January 2022, Blackford was ordered to withdraw from the House of Commons for the remainder of the sitting day, by the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle , under Standing Order 43 (grossly disorderly conduct), after he repeatedly stated that Boris Johnson had misled
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