Misplaced Pages

#260739

102-490: Glen Affric ( Scottish Gaelic : Gleann Afraig ) is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland , some 15 miles (25 kilometres) west of Loch Ness . The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor public road reaches as far as the end of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, but beyond that point only rough tracks and footpaths continue along

204-682: A Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature . Much of the area forms part of a European Union Special Protection Area for golden eagles, and is also classified as an EU Special Area of Conservation . Glen Affric was proposed for inclusion in a national park by the Ramsay committee, set up following the Second World War to consider the issue of national parks in Scotland, and in 2013

306-459: A bothy at Athnamulloch, by the edge of Loch Affric, that is used to house volunteers. After nearly seventy years of management to encourage restoration of the area, biodiversity has improved and Glen Affric now supports birds such as black grouse , capercaillie , crested tit and Scottish crossbill , as well as raptor species such as ospreys and golden eagles . Glen Affric is also home to Scottish wildcats and otters . The bogs and lochs of

408-492: A diminutive ending. Most bothies are ruined buildings which have been restored to a basic standard, providing a windproof and watertight shelter. They vary in size from little more than a large box up to two-storey cottages. They usually have designated sleeping areas, which commonly are either an upstairs room or a raised platform, thus allowing one to keep clear of cold air and draughts at floor height. No bedding, mattresses or blankets are provided. Public access to bothies

510-400: A peat bog near Glen Affric, it is dated to approximately 1500–1600  AD making it Scotland's "oldest-known true tartan", having been preserved in the bog for over 400 years. In January 2024, a group of tartan experts announced that they had recreated the tartan, with the assistance of dye analysis, carbon-14 dating and a detailed study of the original cloth fragment. Most of the glen

612-579: A sleeping bag , and to carry out all rubbish. Three miles (five kilometres) east of the hostel is the Strawberry Cottage mountaineering hut, maintained by the An Teallach Mountaineering Club, described by The Scotsman as "one of the best-equipped huts in the country". Glen Affric is also the starting point for routes to the summits of Munros to the south and west of the glen, although these can also be accessed from

714-442: 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

816-598: A bothy as “the apartments in a garden allotted for the residence of under gardeners”. These came in a variety of sizes. An advertisement from 1880 notes “two in bothy”. At the other end of the scale was “The Royal Bothy” at Frogmore (near Windsor castle ) with accommodation for 24 gardeners, and of sufficient interest to be listed in Scientific American Building Monthly. A more recent summary mentions intermediate sized bothys housing three to six gardeners. Bothy quality varied as well as

918-524: 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

1020-823: 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

1122-717: 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 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

SECTION 10

#1732773198261

1224-489: 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

1326-586: 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

1428-573: A little of the money that is spent upon dog-kennels were employed in erecting decent habitations for journeymen gardeners, gentlemen would receive a higher rate of interest for money laid out in such a way, than they do from much of their wealth that is sent out in other directions. Having local accommodation for gardening staff was not just a convenience but a necessity. The twelve gardeners in Baron Rothschild's bothy in France not only worked

1530-566: A more gradual transition between woodland and mountain heath with an intermediate zone of shorter, more twisted trees and low-growing shrubs. At the western end of the glen the National Trust for Scotland aims to encourage the growth of other tree species such as birch and rowan to complement the pinewood lower down the glen. The charity Trees for Life have also planted extensively in Glen Affric, in areas once grazed by deer. They own

1632-805: 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

1734-610: 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

1836-536: 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

1938-625: 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

2040-490: 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

2142-629: Is classed as an indigenous language under 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",

SECTION 20

#1732773198261

2244-586: Is either on foot, by bicycle or boat. Most have a fireplace and are near a natural source of water . A spade may be provided to bury waste. There are thousands of examples to draw from. A typical Scottish bothy is the Salmon Fisherman's Bothy, Newtonhill , which is perched above the Burn of Elsick near its mouth at the North Sea . Another Scottish example from the peak of the salmon fishing in

2346-502: Is exempt from council tax and from legislation requiring registration for letting purposes. The etymology of the word bothy is uncertain. Suggestions include a relation to both "hut" as in Irish bothán and Scottish Gaelic bothan or bothag ; a corruption of the Welsh term bwthyn , also meaning small cottage; and a derivation from Norse būð , cognate with English booth with

2448-411: 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,

2550-515: Is popular with hillwalkers, as it provides access to many Munros and Corbetts . The north side of the glen forms a ridge with eight Munro summits, including the highest peak north of the Great Glen , Càrn Eige 1,183 m (3,881 ft). The three Munros at the western end of this ridge, Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan 1,151 m (3,776 ft), Mullach na Dheireagain 982 m (3,222 ft) and An Socach 921 m (3,022 ft), are amongst

2652-547: The Kintail area. Corbetts accessible from Glen Affric include Sgùrr Gaorsaic, Càrn a' Choire Ghairbh and Aonach Shasuinn. The Affric Kintail Way is a 70 km (43 mi) long route from Drumnadrochit on the shore of Loch Ness to Morvich in Kintail via Glen Urquhart and Glen Affric. The route is suitable for both walkers and mountain bikers, and can usually be walked in four days. Shorter waymarked trails are provided in

2754-555: 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

2856-426: The Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and 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

2958-688: 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,

3060-786: 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 ,

3162-692: The 1890s is the fisherman's bothy at the mouth of the Burn of Muchalls . A further example is the Lairig Leacach Bothy in Lochaber, not far to the east of Fort William . Because they are freely available to all, the continued existence of bothies relies on users helping look after them. Over the years, the Mountain Bothies Association has developed a Bothy Code that sets out the main points users should respect: The Gardeners Chronicle of 1906 rather grandly defines

Glen Affric - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-601: 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

3366-404: 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

3468-484: The 6-till-6 day shift in 1880, but every day one of them was the “night guard” to look after the forty different fires. Another article notes that the gardeners had to be up every 4 hours at night to note the temperatures. Bothy life seems to have been varied, with some of the flavour of a student residence. In some cases gardeners were fined for being untidy, and forbidden to sing. Another ex-bothy resident recalled gardeners arriving with heavy heart, having left home for

3570-815: The Baroness Tweedmouth, was born Lady Fanny Spencer-Churchill, the daughter of the 7th Duke of Marlborough , and died at Glen Affric Lodge in 1904. Known in the highlands as the Lady of Glenaffric and Guisachan, she was reported to be a "lover of the golden retriever dog". The Duke and Duchess of York are reported in The Graphic , 25 September 1897 to have visited the Guisachan Estate in Strathglass, including Glen Affric Lodge. Lady Tweedmouth's nephew Winston Churchill also came to visit

3672-569: 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

3774-594: 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

3876-538: 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

3978-684: 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

4080-762: 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

4182-619: 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

Glen Affric - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-416: 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

4386-726: 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

4488-716: The Scottish Campaign for National Parks listed the area as one of seven deemed suitable for national park status, however as of 2019 no national park designation has occurred. In September 2016 Roseanna Cunningham , the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform , told the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish Government had no plans to designate new national parks in Scotland and instead planned to focus on

4590-540: 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

4692-826: 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

4794-589: 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

4896-463: 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

4998-603: 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

5100-625: 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

5202-568: 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,

SECTION 50

#1732773198261

5304-450: 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

5406-499: 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

5508-485: 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 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

5610-493: The early 15th century, Lord Lovat had passed the lands to his son Thomas who in turn passed it on to his son, William, who was recorded in Burke's Landed Gentry Scotland as William Fraser, first Laird of Guisachan. In 1579, Thomas Chisholm, Laird of Strathglass , was imprisoned for being a Catholic. By the 18th century, the title deeds of Glen Affric had been a source of feuding, with the Battle of Glen Affric taking place in 1721. Dudley Marjoribanks, later Lord Tweedmouth

5712-448: 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 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

5814-456: The eighth century. For the first time, 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

5916-441: The estate in 1901, and amused himself learning how to drive a car in the grounds. Clan Marjoribanks' ownership ended with Edward’s son, Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks , who became 3rd Lord Tweedmouth in 1909. He and his wife had two daughters, but no male heir. For the next few years, until 1918, the estate was owned by the family of Newton Wallop, 6th Earl of Portsmouth (1856–1917). Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness owned

6018-404: The estate throughout the 1920s and 30s. The entire property, then consisting of 22,000 acres (8,900 ha), had been sold by 1936 to a Mr Hunter. It was he who resold the Glen Affric deer forest to the west and a large area of grazing land to the Forestry Commission. Lady Islington acquired the Guisachan portion of the estate in 1939 but let the property go to ruin. In 1962 the Guisachan estate

6120-438: The first breed of golden retrievers at kennels near Guisachan House. He put the retrievers to good use at the shooting parties he hosted when at Glen Affric Lodge. The retrievers were sent to other estates when, for some months of the years 1870–71, he leased the Glen Affric Estate to Lord Grosvenor. In 1894 Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth had inherited the Glenaffric and Guisachan estates from his father. His wife,

6222-421: The first time, but regretful years later on leaving the bothy. In “A bothy Yuletide” he describes how, despite the necessity for two gardeners to remain on duty over the holiday to bank up the fires, the others accompanied them on their rounds and “the sound of Christmas carols mingled strangely with the rattle of the shovel”. Bothies are usually owned by the landowner of the estate on which they stand, although

SECTION 60

#1732773198261

6324-431: 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,

6426-400: The glen provide a habitat for many species of dragonfly, including the rare brilliant emerald . In 2019 an elm tree in Glen Affric, christened the " Last Ent of Affric " was named Scotland's Tree of the Year by the Woodland Trust . Glen Affric, also written Glenaffric, was part of the lands of the Clan Chisholm and the Clan Fraser of Lovat from the 15th to the mid 19th centuries. By

6528-404: The glen, alongside the removal of other non-native trees such as rhododendron . Some commercial forestry continues in order to maintain forest cover and to benefit local people financially, and considerable areas of non-native conifers are expected to remain in the forest over the next few decades. Forestry and Land Scotland (successor body to the Forestry Commission) aims to encourage regrowth of

6630-812: The glen, and the mountains on either side, are a popular destination for hikers, climbers and mountain bikers. Glen Affric is listed in the Caledonian Pinewood Inventory, and contains the third largest area of ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland. Due to the importance of this woodland it has been classified as a national nature reserve since 2002, and holds several other conservation designations. The pinewood consists predominantly of Scots pine , but also includes broadleaved species such as birch , rowan , aspen , willows and alder . The forest floor hosts many plant species typically found in Scotland's pinewoods, including creeping ladies tresses , lesser twayblade , twinflower , and four species of wintergreen . Many nationally rare or scarce species of lichens grow on

6732-406: The glen. Often described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland, Glen Affric contains the third largest area of ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland, as well as lochs , moorland and mountains. The area is a Caledonian Forest Reserve, a national scenic area and a national nature reserve , as well as holding several other conservation designations . The forests and open landscapes of

6834-479: 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

6936-420: 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 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

7038-474: The language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland, 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

7140-437: 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

7242-500: 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. Bothy In Scots law, bothies are defined as: "a building of no more than two storeys which— Any such building

7344-592: The lower and central parts of the glen. The National Trust for Scotland has owned the 37 km (14 sq mi) West Affric Estate, which covers the upper part of the glen, since 1993. As of 2019 the main private landowner is the North Affric Estate with 36 km (14 sq mi) of land on the north side of Loch Affric centred on the baronial Affric Lodge. Since 2008 this land has been held by David Matthews, father-in-law of Pippa Middleton . The Guisachan area of Glen Affric, which lies to

7446-680: The lower parts of the glen, taking walkers to viewpoints and attractions such as the waterfalls at Plodda and the Dog Falls . The glen is part of the Affric/Beauly hydroelectric scheme , constructed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board . Loch Mullardoch, in the neighbouring Glen Cannich , is dammed, and a 5 km (3.1 mi) tunnel carries water to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, which has also been dammed. From there, another tunnel takes water to Fasnakyle power station, near Cannich . As

7548-459: 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

7650-734: 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

7752-532: 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

7854-481: The new laird, had much enlarged the house, using Scottish architect Alexander Reid who designed many buildings on Tweedmouth's vast Glen Affric Estate, including an entire village— Tomich —and the Glen Affric Hunting Lodge, described in appearance as "castle-like" . Tweedmouth had enjoyed shooting rights over much of Glen Affric since 1846, and, following his acquisition of the estate he initiated

7956-695: 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

8058-459: 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

8160-560: 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

8262-401: The pinewood by reducing deer numbers, thus minimising the use of fencing, which can injure black grouse and capercaillie which collide with the wires. The long-term aim is to provide a network of forest habitats, with corridors of new forest linking existing woodland, interspersed with open areas. Management of the reserve also seeks to establish a 'treeline transition zone', in which there is

8364-466: 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

8466-524: The putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned 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

8568-460: 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

8670-535: The region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, 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

8772-482: The remaining pines were less than 100 years old. Initially the Commission, which was tasked with increasing the total amount of tree cover without reference to the species used, reforested the area with non-native species such as Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine , as well as Scots pine from local seed stocks. Since the 1980s management priorities have changed, and non-native conifers have been felled and removed from

8874-567: The remotest hills in Scotland, and are often climbed from the Scottish Youth Hostels Association hostel at Alltbeithe. The hostel is only open in the summer, and can only be reached by foot or by mountain bike via routes of between 10 and 13 km (6.2 and 8.1 mi) starting from lower down Glen Affric or from the A87 at Loch Cluanie or Morvich . The dormitories are unheated and hostellers are required to bring

8976-399: The rivers in this scheme are important for Atlantic salmon , flow in the rivers is kept above agreed levels. The dam at Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin has a Borland fish ladder to allow salmon to pass. In addition to being a national nature reserve , Glen Affric is a Caledonian Forest Reserve, a National Scenic Area , and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The NNR is classified as

9078-452: The size. Frogmore, in 1903, had not only lavatories and dining room, but included a sick room and reading room. However at the other extreme one author in 1842 reported: The bothy is commonly a little lonely shed placed on the north side of the north wall of the kitchen-garden; that small apartment has often to be kitchen, breakfast-room, dining-room, parlour, bed-room, dressing-room, and study, for men that deserve better accommodation. If

9180-507: The south of the main glen, is also in private hands, now forming three separate estates. Wester Guisachan Estate covers 38 km (15 sq mi) of land to the south of Loch Affric, whilst the Hilton & Guisachan Estates, owned by Alexander Grigg, lies further east and covers 17 km (6.6 sq mi). The final portion of the Guisachan Estate, which is in the ownership of Nigel Fraser, consists of 7 km (2.7 sq mi) at

9282-498: The trees of Glen Affric. Scots pine trees first colonised the area after the last Ice Age , 10,000 to 8,000 years ago. Currently the oldest trees in the area are the gnarled "granny" pines that are the survivors of generations of felling . Although felling ceased many years ago, regrowth was hampered by unnaturally high populations of sheep and deer, and in the early 1950s the Forestry Commission found that very few of

9384-648: The two existing national parks. Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic , 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

9486-589: The very east of the glen. In this area lies the Conservation village of Tomich. As with all land in Scotland, there is a right of responsible access to most of the land in the glen for pursuits such as walking , cycling , horse-riding and wild camping . These rights apply regardless of whether the land is in public or private ownership, provided access is exercised in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code . Glen Affric

9588-481: 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 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

9690-558: Was a rich Liberal MP who took a long lease on shooting rights over much of Glen Affric in 1846 and, by 1856, had acquired ownership of the Glen Affric Estate from "Laird Fraser" whose family had built the original Guisachan Georgian manor house around 1755. The estate held over 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) at the time of its transference from the Clan Chisholm to Lord Tweedmouth. By the 1860s, Lord Tweedmouth, as

9792-399: 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

9894-537: Was bought by a descendant of the Frasers of Gortuleg. In 1990, this later generation laird wrote a booklet concerning his Fraser ancestors who had once owned Guisachan— Guisachan, A History by Donald Fraser . Provost Robert Wotherspoon was recorded as owning Glen Affric Estate in 1951, having purchased it in 1944 and selling the "majority of its ground to the Forestry Commission" in 1948. His son, Iain Wotherspoon

9996-612: Was bought by the Forestry Commission in 1951. Although the House of Commons recorded that the Commission was considering returning at least some of its Glen Affric landholdings to private ownership in the early 1980s, the majority of the glen continues to form part of Scotland's National Forest Estate . The Forestry Commission's successor body, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the largest single landowner in Glen Affric, holding 176 square kilometres (68 sq mi) of

10098-728: 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 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

10200-531: Was listed as living at Glen Affric Lodge in 1958. In April 2023, a fragment of cloth known as the "Glen Affric tartan" went on display at the V&;A Dundee museum, on loan from the Scottish Tartans Authority . The tartan, which measures 55 cm × 42 cm (22 in × 17 in), contains faded colours including green, brown, red, and yellow. Discovered in the early 1980s in

10302-491: 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

10404-510: 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

#260739