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96-471: Newton Mearns ( Scottish Gaelic : Baile Ùr na Maoirne [ˈpalə ˈuːɾ nə ˈmɯːrˠɲə] ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire , Scotland . It lies 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire , 410 feet (125 m) above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stretching from Whitecraigs and Kirkhill in
192-506: A Catholic church, two synagogues , and a mosque . In November 2023 the minister and "the vast majority of elders & many in the congregation of Maxwell Mearns Castle Church" ceded from Maxwell Mearns Parish Church (on theological grounds) to form Newton Mearns Free Church, in the process of affiliating with the Free Church of Scotland. The town is home to around 25% of Scotland's entire Jewish community . Newton Mearns contains
288-442: 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
384-564: 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,
480-539: A Scottish author best known for his BBC radio plays, who grew up in the town and studied at Mearns Castle High School. 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
576-407: A Scottish retirement community. Farming continues to be important to the south of Mearns Cross and stretching to Fenwick and Eaglesham Moors. A major Bleach Works and textile finishing centre was constructed at Netherplace . The empty building was demolished in 2016 after it was the source of a major fly infestation across Newton Mearns and Clarkston. The site where the building was is visible from
672-524: 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
768-823: 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
864-489: 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
960-586: 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
1056-438: A meaningful change" would be made to the party's handling of such complaints. In July, Oswald emailed the victim to say that she "fully appreciated that this is a difficult time for you" but also threatened him with disciplinary action unless he decided to "cease and desist from sending such further emails with immediate effect". She continued: "Should you choose to continue to do so, despite the terms of this communication, then it
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#17327903896681152-805: 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
1248-422: A new leader and new deputy pick up the baton," she said. "And [the party will] have my support to do that." In January 2023, she was one of a number of Scottish politicians who drew media attention and criticism after being photographed smiling in front of a sign reading 'Decapitate TERFs' and a drawing of a guillotine at a Glasgow rally. The sign was reported to Police Scotland. Fellow MSP Murdo Fraser described
1344-410: A number of complaints about the new divisions, the former was renamed Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North , in a move to keep Neilston an integral part of the council. The current councillors for the areas are as follows: Newton Mearns is primarily a residential area, with most of its inhabitants travelling by car or public transport to Glasgow for employment and shopping. However, there are
1440-405: A number of parks, including Broom/Broomburn Park, Mearns/Shawwood Park, Crookfur Park & Parklands Country Club, and the town is adjacent to Rouken Glen Park with its boating pond, gardens and leisure facilities. There are numerous golf clubs, a golf academy, a tennis club, bowling club and rugby club. A public swimming pool and leisure centre is located at Eastwood Park in nearby Giffnock, and
1536-630: A number of small businesses in the area, as well as an indoor shopping center . The Avenue Shopping Centre is the main large retail centre in Newton Mearns. It comprises a total of 44 stores, currently including two supermarkets, three banks, nine clothing stores, food shops, restaurants and a library. The line of the main shopping area in the Avenue runs the course of the old Mearns Main Street. There are also shopping units and restaurants at Broom on
1632-549: 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
1728-610: 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
1824-536: 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
1920-625: 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
2016-683: Is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician first elected as the Member of the UK Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015 ; she was unseated at the 2017 snap election but subsequently re-elected at the 2019 election . She served as the deputy leader of the SNP parliamentary party from 2020 to 2022, as well as Chairman and Business Convener of the Scottish National Party from 2018 to 2023. In July 2020, Oswald became
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#17327903896682112-490: 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
2208-411: 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,
2304-454: Is only fair to put you on notice that this could be treated as misconduct and make you subject to further action under a disciplinary process. It is, of course, very much hoped that will not be necessary." On 2 December 2022, the day after Ian Blackford announced he would be stepping down from his role as SNP Westminster leader, Oswald announced that she would be stepping down as deputy Westminster leader as well. "It seems sensible to me that
2400-405: Is served by two local train stations , Patterton and Whitecraigs which run trains to Glasgow Central station amongst others. Mearns has nine primary schools and four high schools , including one Private school : The neighbouring town of Giffnock has the local Roman Catholic high school of St Ninians High School . Newton Mearns has four Church of Scotland churches, a Baptist church,
2496-518: 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 the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In
2592-637: The 2015 general election . During her campaign, she was criticised for sending letters to Conservative voters asking for their support to beat Labour. Oswald stated that her letters served to contrast voter values with negative campaign tactics from the Conservatives that focused on keeping the SNP out of power. She won the seat with a majority of 3,718 votes, unseating the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party , Jim Murphy , who had held
2688-538: 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 the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which
2784-468: 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, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In
2880-638: 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 the 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In
2976-599: The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland to have Newton Mearns re-allocated to its control. As a result of the introduction of the Single Transferable Vote system for Scottish local council elections, it was planned that, in time for elections taking place in and after 2007, the town would be divided into two multi-councillor wards: Liboside and Newton Mearns North and Newton Mearns South . However, due to
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3072-492: 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
3168-552: The Pollock Castle site, and history in 2000. The castle appears to be noted by Pont's sixteenth-century map. The castle was demolished and rebuilt as a large stately house 1686 by Sir Robert Pollok. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1882 (after remaining empty for some while) and then rebuilt again shortly after in the Scottish Baronial style. It was finally abandoned in the 1940s and fell into ruin. Some of
3264-772: The Pollocks (whose name is perpetuated in the nearby Glasgow housing estate of Pollok ) to the Maxwells of Caerlaverock around 1300. It then passed to the Maxwells of Nether Pollok in 1648 and then the Stewarts of Blackhall in 1660. A new turnpike road from Eastwood Toll, now the main Ayr Road, was constructed in 1832. By the end of the 18th century quarrying had developed and more importantly numerous textile mills and finishing works became established availing themselves of
3360-688: 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,
3456-706: 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
3552-566: The University of Glasgow graduating with an MA(Hons) in 1995. Oswald became active in the Scottish National Party during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , serving on the committee of her local Women for Independence group where she was responsible for local food bank collections. On 30 January 2015, it was announced that Oswald was selected as the SNP candidate for the East Renfrewshire constituency at
3648-695: The West of Scotland Football League having previously been among the leading clubs of the Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region . Local team (albeit playing home matches in Govan ) St Cadoc's Y.C. joined the West of Scotland setup in 2020 and quickly rose through the divisions, finishing above both Pollok and Arthurlie in 2023–24 . Newton Mearns also has an amateur football club, Newton Mearns Rovers AFC; Established in 1962,
3744-547: The World Uyghur Congress publicly thanked her for her support. In June 2022, Oswald's colleague, Patrick Grady , was found to have inappropriately touched a teenage member of SNP staff at Westminster and was suspended from the Commons. Grady's victim alleged that the "bullying" he received after he made the complaint was worse than the harassment itself, and emailed colleagues to say that he had "no faith that
3840-786: 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 ,
3936-601: 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
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4032-404: 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
4128-407: 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
4224-723: The Ayr Road, shopping units and restaurants at Broomburn on the Mearns Road, and shopping units and restaurants at Crookfur on Harvie Avenue. The newly constructed Greenlaw Village close to the M77 at Crookfur Road also has two supermarkets, a hotel, smaller shops and a number of restaurants. The 120 homes in the Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate have been fitted with smart technology and sensors, giving residents control of heating, lighting and doorbells using Amazon Alexa , its first use in an assisted living setting for
4320-569: 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
4416-594: 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
4512-538: 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
4608-684: 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
4704-762: 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
4800-619: 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
4896-416: 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
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#17327903896684992-726: 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
5088-631: 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
5184-408: The M77 motorway. Traffic through the town's A77 or Ayr Road was reduced significantly after the M77 motorway extension opened in 1997. Transport links improved further in May 2006 with the opening of the Glasgow Southern Orbital dual carriageway, and its connection to the M77. As well as minor and major roads, the town has bus links with the centre of Glasgow , Kilmarnock , and Ayr . The town
5280-406: The SNP's deputy leader at Westminster, before announcing in December 2022 that she would be standing down from the position. She has been SNP Spokesperson for Women and Equalities since February 2021. Oswald was born in Dundee to Helen and Ed Oswald. Her mother, Helen, was Provost of Angus Council . She grew up in Carnoustie where she attended Carnoustie High School . She studied history at
5376-428: 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
5472-581: 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
5568-589: 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
5664-466: 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
5760-408: 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
5856-446: The assessment of support and financial information available to him in his role as party Treasurer. Chapman had stood down from this role in the wake of a probe regarding £600,000 'missing' independence campaign funds being investigated by Police Scotland . Oswald has repeatedly spoken out about China's reported repression in the House of Commons. In September 2021, Uyghur leaders honoured her for her continued work on their cause, and
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#17327903896685952-413: 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
6048-625: 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
6144-419: 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,
6240-480: The club competes in the Caledonian Amateur Football League . Newton Mearns has a Freemasons ' lodge, Lodge Newton Mearns No 1706, that meets in the Fairweather Hall on Barrhead Road. Newton Mearns was briefly mentioned in John McGrath's play Little Red Hen (1975, first publ. London: Pluto 1977, p. 34). More recently, the town appeared as the setting for the thriller novel Aztec Love Song (Weathervane Press 2009, ISBN 978-0-9562193-2-9 ) by Marty Ross ,
6336-450: 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
6432-444: 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
6528-446: The early 20th century, with the introduction of improved roads and railways to the area, it gradually became a growing commuter suburb of Glasgow . In the 1930s, between speculative and local authority housing ventures, a further 6,000 houses were added to the area and after a lull during the war years, in the 1950s, house building began again in earnest. Unfortunately, the old core village suffered neglect during and after World War II and
6624-415: 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
6720-431: 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,
6816-479: 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
6912-502: 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
7008-509: 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. Kirsten Oswald Kirsten Frances Oswald (born 21 December 1972)
7104-532: 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
7200-459: 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
7296-734: 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
7392-532: 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
7488-465: The northeast to Maidenhill in the southeast, to Westacres and Greenlaw in the west and Capelrig/Patterton in the northwest. It is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation . Its name derives from being a new town of the parish of Mearns (from Scottish Gaelic maoirne , meaning a stewartry). Until the 20th century, the land around Newton Mearns was primarily agricultural. Ownership passed from
7584-537: The numerous rivers and lochs for water supply. The 1893 'Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland' describes it as "pleasantly situated on a rising ground 410 feet above sea-level". It also reveals that it was a ' burgh of barony ' which bestowed the right to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs. However, the Gazetteer also describes the village as being only a "single street on the Glasgow and Kilmarnock highroad". From
7680-695: 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
7776-459: 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
7872-560: 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
7968-466: 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
8064-460: 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
8160-587: 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,
8256-588: The ruins were dynamited in the 1970s and a large prefabricated house erected on the castle foundations. The prefabricated house was removed and the site cleared in the early 1990s, and the castle was again rebuilt in 2003, in the Scottish Adam style . Some of the original foundations and castle walls remain. At national level, Newton Mearns forms part of the Eastwood constituency (since renamed to its original name of East Renfrewshire ), and historically, it
8352-634: The seat in the 2019 general election . Newton Mearns forms part of the Eastwood constituency in the Scottish Parliament . The seat was held by Labour's Ken Macintosh from 1999, when the parliament reconvened, until 2016. In 2016, Jackson Carlaw MSP, won the seat for the Conservatives . Following the breakup of Strathclyde Regional Council in 1996, Newton Mearns became part of the new East Renfrewshire Council area. On several occasions, Glasgow City Council has applied to
8448-470: The seat since Labour's victory 18 years earlier ; Murphy resigned from the Scottish Labour leadership on 13 June 2015. At the 2017 general election , Oswald lost her seat to Paul Masterton of the Conservatives , who won with a majority of 4,712 votes. In 2018 she was elected Chairman and Business Convener of the SNP, replacing Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay . She
8544-420: The sign as "clearly a hate crime and a public order offence". Oswald later tweeted that the sign, which she described as "horrific", had "not been there when I joined the demo". Oswald married Davinder Bedi in 2002; they have two sons. The family moved to East Renfrewshire in 2008. Bedi did not campaign for his wife during the 2015 election campaign, and joined Scottish Labour after the election. Oswald
8640-709: The swimming pool and sports centre at Eastwood High School is open to the public. Between Mearns and Barrhead lie the former reservoirs and water runs of the Gorbals Water Works, pioneered in the 19th century, before the building of the Loch Katrine Water Works. The reservoirs and surrounding parklands now form the Dams to Darnley Country Park . The biggest football clubs near Newton Mearns are Pollok F.C. ( Newlands , southern Glasgow) and Arthurlie F.C. ( Barrhead ), both of which are members of
8736-399: 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
8832-486: Was all but derelict by the 1960s. It was purchased and turned into a shopping centre which was later to become 'The Avenue at Mearns' in 1990. Historical buildings in the area include the 15th century Mearns Castle , Greenbank House owned by the National Trust for Scotland (just inside neighbouring Clarkston ) and the 1813 Mearns Kirk. Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) undertook work on
8928-554: 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
9024-510: 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
9120-659: Was one of Scotland's safest Conservative seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom . From the 1997 general election , when Barrhead and Neilston were added to the constituency, until 2015 the seat was held by Labour . In the 2015 election it was gained represented by the SNP 's Kirsten Oswald , but in 2017 general election it was gained by the Conservative Paul Masterton . Oswald regained
9216-528: Was selected by the SNP to contest the East Renfrewshire seat in the 2019 general election , where she was re-elected with a majority of 5,426 votes or 9.8%, larger than her 2015 majority. On 7 July 2020, she was elected deputy leader of the SNP in the House of Commons , succeeding Kirsty Blackman . In May 2021, Oswald said that she fundamentally disagreed with her colleague Douglas Chapman on
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