110-670: Trotternish ( Scottish Gaelic : Tròndairnis ) is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland , spanning in length from Portree to Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres (20 miles), and contains landmarks such as the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing . The summit of The Storr , overlooking the Old Man,
220-442: 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
330-524: 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
440-823: 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
550-717: 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
660-545: 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
770-586: 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
880-488: A lower-tier district within the Highland region, covering most but not all of the mainland part of the pre-1975 county. The Ross and Cromarty lieutenancy area , which prior to 1975 had been the county, was redefined in 1975 to be the Ross and Cromarty district plus the neighbouring Skye and Lochalsh district. The registration county and lieutenancy area therefore have slightly different definitions. Notable differences are that
990-755: 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
1100-610: 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
1210-521: A single-tier council area in 1996. The Outer Hebrides parts of the county became part of the Western Isles , which since 1998 has used only the Scots Gaelic version of its name, Na h-Eileanan an Iar . The pre-1975 county boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county. There was a local government district called Ross and Cromarty from 1975 to 1996, which was
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#17327730565331320-536: 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
1430-625: 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
1540-625: A two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts for most of Scotland. A single-tier structure of island areas was used for Orkney , Shetland and the Western Isles . The mainland of Ross and Cromarty became part of the Highland Region , whilst the Outer Hebrides parts (the landward district of Lewis and burgh of Stornoway ) became part of the Western Isles. The part of Ross and Cromarty which went to
1650-490: 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
1760-471: Is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland . In modern usage, it is a registration county and a lieutenancy area . Between 1889 and 1975 it was a county . Historically, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were separate counties, with Cromartyshire comprising a number of disconnected tracts of land scattered across Ross-shire. The two counties shared a sheriff from 1748, and were both included in
1870-629: 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",
1980-411: 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,
2090-424: Is the highest point of the peninsula at 719 m above sea level. The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as a National Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is a Special Area of Conservation . Dinosaur footprints have been found at An Corran , which is also a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC. The ruins of the 14th–15th-century Duntulm Castle stand at
2200-530: Is the largest island of the Outer Hebrides and the third largest in the British Isles after Britain and Ireland. Harris is in Inverness-shire . Due to its flatter, more fertile land, Lewis contains three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles, and the largest settlement, Stornoway . The only other island in the Outer Hebrides that is in the county of Ross and Cromarty and was inhabited at
2310-488: The 2011 census was Great Bernera , which is linked to Lewis by a bridge. Ross and Cromarty also included some small and now uninhabited islands, including the remote Flannan Isles to the west of Lewis. About 71 kilometres (44 miles) north of the Butt of Lewis lie North Rona and Sula Sgeir , a remote group of islands which were included within Ross and Cromarty. The county also includes numerous smaller islands closer to
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#17327730565332420-592: The Glenelg peninsula which is shared with Inverness-shire. The eastern part ( Easter Ross ) is generally flatter, and consists of towns, villages and farmland bordering the Moray Firth . In the north Dornoch Firth separates the county from Sutherland. In the north-east can be found the hammerhead-shaped Tarbat peninsula; across Cromarty Firth lies the Black Isle (actually a peninsula not an island). To
2530-573: The Neolithic (dated to around 3500 BC) and Bronze Age (dated to between 2560 and 2150 BC) periods and a copper-alloy pin from the Late Bronze Age /Early Iron Age being found, as well as more modern 19th-20th century materials. Its Mesolithic occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand, Applecross , on the mainland coast of Wester Ross where tools made of a mudstone from An Corran have been found. Surveys of
2640-555: 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
2750-637: The Outer Hebrides . 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
2860-426: 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
2970-708: The Ross and Cromarty constituency from 1832. They were formally united into a single county called Ross and Cromarty in 1889. The mainland part of the county had a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth , and a coast to the west onto the Minch . Much of the mainland is sparsely populated, including parts of the Northwest Highlands mountains. The mainland's principal towns are all on the east coast, including Dingwall (the county town), Alness , Cromarty , Fortrose , Invergordon and Tain . The largest settlement on
3080-688: 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,
3190-528: The Scottish crown from 1098, having previously been under Norwegian overlordship. It was initially included within the shire of Inverness following its incorporation into Scotland. By the mid-13th century there were sheriffs based at Cromarty and Dingwall, both within the province of Ross, but each appears to have had only a small area of jurisdiction around those towns, rather than the larger territories usually given to sheriffs. The Sheriff of Inverness
3300-658: The Wick burghs constituency and the Inverness burghs constituency . Constituency boundaries were altered in 1918, by the Representation of the People Act 1918 , and the Ross and Cromarty constituency acquired the boundaries of the county of Ross and Cromarty, including the former parliamentary burghs, but minus Stornoway and Lewis , which became part of a new constituency, the Western Isles constituency . In 1983,
3410-722: 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 ,
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3520-547: The 'mainland' - Cromarty Bridge in the north-west and the Kessock Bridge in the south-west. At the tip of the peninsula a ferry provides access to the Tarbat peninsula. The Skye Bridge links Kyle of Lochalsh to the isle of Skye. Various buses operated by Stagecoach Group link the major towns of the east coast, with the 61 bus connecting Ullapool to Inverness. The latter route is also served by Scottish Citylink in
3630-400: The 105-metre (344-foot) cliffs. The Quiraing is a spectacular series of rock pinnacles on the eastern side of the main spine of the peninsula and further south is the rock pillar of the Old Man of Storr . Trotternish is also known for its Middle Jurassic aged rocks (c. 174–164 million years old), which yield a variety of fossils including dinosaurs. These are strictly protected by law by
3740-514: The 1840s as the main courthouse for Ross-shire and had also served as the meeting place for the commissioners. Kenneth Smith Mackenzie, already the lord lieutenant and a major landowner in the county, was also appointed the first convener of the county council. The act also led to a review of boundaries, with exclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. The main exclaves in
3850-601: 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
3960-404: 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
4070-569: 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
4180-536: The Black Isle was made an exclave of Nairnshire on account of being owned by the Forbes family. The small shire of Cromarty (which still just covered that town and its immediate vicinity) retained its independence. Cromartyshire was significantly enlarged in the late 17th century to gain numerous separate tracts of land scattered across Ross-shire which were owned by George Mackenzie, Viscount of Tarbat , who owned
4290-594: 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
4400-540: The English language version of the area's name from Western Isles to Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Scots Gaelic for 'Western Isles'), to be used in both English and Gaelic contexts. The western part of the county of Ross and Cromarty, also known as Wester Ross , is typified by its mountainous Highland scenery, especially the Torridon Hills which includes such peaks as Beinn Eighe and Liathach . The highest point in
4510-538: 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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4620-684: 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
4730-762: 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
4840-564: 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
4950-469: The Highland region was split between three lower-tier districts . As part of the 1975 reforms, the last lord lieutenant of the county of Ross and Cromarty, Alexander Francis Matheson, became lord lieutenant of the new Ross and Cromarty lieutenancy area , which was defined as the combined area of the new Ross and Cromarty district plus the Skye and Lochalsh district. The Ross and Cromarty District Council
5060-416: 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
5170-726: 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
5280-706: The Isle of Lewis had not been in Ross but was included in Ross-shire on account of being owned by Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Seaforth , a major landowner in Ross. Conversely, an area north of the River Beauly including Beauly and Kilmorack had been in Ross but was excluded from Ross-shire on account of being owned by Clan Fraser of Lovat , based in Inverness-shire. Likewise the Ferintosh estate on
5390-624: The Skye Nature Conservation Order 2019. Dinosaurs known from Trotternish include theropods , sauropods , thyreophorans, and possible ornithopods . Many of Skye's dinosaur body fossils and footprints can be viewed at the Staffin Museum in Ellishadder , Staffin. The most accessible shoreline localities to view dinosaur footprints include Duntulm , Brother's Point, and An Corran. The north-eastern part of
5500-610: 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
5610-581: 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
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#17327730565335720-589: 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
5830-406: The Year. The main road in Trotternish is the A87 , which runs between Portree at the southern end of the peninsula and Uig on the northwest coast. Uig marks the northwestern terminus of the A87, with its southeastern terminus being the junction with the A82 at Invergarry , to the north of Fort William . The A855 road also links Portree and Uig, taking a route along the eastern coast and around
5940-408: 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
6050-404: The area between the two shores of the Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with potentially Mesolithic deposits. The ruined Duntulm Castle stands on a promontory at the northern end of the peninsula, near the hamlet of Duntulm . During the 17th century it was the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Sleat , and is a scheduled monument . The castle is believed to stand on
6160-410: The area prior to the act had been the many parts of Cromartyshire scattered across Ross-shire, which were resolved as a result of the two counties merging into one. After the merger, there still remained an exclave of Nairnshire at the Ferintosh estate on the Black Isle , whilst the parish of Urray straddled Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty. Ferintosh was transferred to Ross and Cromarty, and
6270-401: The barony of Cromarty. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 , the government passed the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 , returning the appointment of sheriffs to the crown in those cases where they had become hereditary positions, as had been the case for the Sheriff of Cromarty . The scope for a major landowner or clan chief to control the office of sheriff, which had been
6380-413: 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
6490-625: 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
6600-419: 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,
6710-408: The commissioners of supply for the two counties were directed to work together on delivering some functions, notably relating to prisons. The county of Ross and Cromarty was created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , covering the combined area of the two former counties of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire. The new county came into being on the passing of the act on 26 August 1889, from when
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#17327730565336820-450: 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
6930-543: The county is Càrn Eighe at 1,183 metres (3,881 feet). The west coast of the mainland onto The Minch and Inner Sound (opposite Skye ), is heavily indented with sea lochs and peninsulas. From north to south the chief of these are the Coigach peninsula, Loch Broom , the Scoraig peninsula, Little Loch Broom , Gruinard Bay, Rubha Mòr peninsula, Loch Ewe , Rua Reidh/Melvaig peninsula, Loch Gairloch , Loch Torridon , Applecross peninsula , Loch Kishorn , Loch Carron , Lochalsh peninsula, Loch Long , Loch Duich and
7040-448: The county was officially called Ross and Cromarty, the names 'Ross County Council' and 'Ross-shire County Council' were both also used for its county council in the media. Ross and Cromarty County Council built itself a new headquarters at County Buildings in Dingwall in 1965. Local government was reformed in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with
7150-444: 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
7260-430: 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
7370-448: 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
7480-456: 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
7590-431: 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,
7700-479: 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
7810-420: 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
7920-585: 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
8030-502: 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
8140-522: 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. Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( Scottish Gaelic : Ros agus Cromba ),
8250-457: The major cause of Cromartyshire being separated from Ross-shire, was therefore greatly reduced. From 1748 the government merged the positions of Sheriff of Ross and Sheriff of Cromarty into a single position. Despite sharing a sheriff from 1748, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire remained legally separate counties. They retained separate Commissioners of Supply (established in 1667), and from 1794 each appointed their own lord-lieutenants . From 1860
8360-459: 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
8470-734: 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
8580-532: 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
8690-509: The new council areas. The lieutenancy areas continue to be defined as they had been in 1975 despite the abolition of the districts on which they were based. The boundaries of the historic county of Ross and Cromarty (as it was following the 1891 boundary changes) are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county . In 1998 the Western Isles Council formally changed
8800-426: The northern end of the peninsula. The three major settlements on Trotternish are Portree, generally regarded as the capital of Skye, Uig , a ferry terminus, and the township of Staffin . Trotternish is the strongest Gaelic-speaking area of Skye. Trotternish is underlain by basalt , which provides relatively rich soils and a variety of unusual rock features. The Kilt Rock is named after the tartan -like patterns in
8910-533: The northern end of the peninsula: the two roads thus combine to encircle Trotternish. A minor road also crosses the peninsula, passing between Uig and Staffin via the Quiraing. Portree is the terminus for Scottish Citylink buses from Glasgow Buchanan bus station and Inverness , with some services continuing on to Uig. Uig serves as the ferry terminal for Caledonian MacBrayne services to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist , providing links with
9020-695: 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
9130-459: 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
9240-504: 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
9350-608: The parts of Urray in Inverness-shire were transferred to the Inverness-shire parish of Kilmorack . These boundary changes (and others to eliminate exclaves in parish boundaries) took effect in 1891. Despite the creation of Ross and Cromarty in 1889, the Royal Mail used 'Ross-shire' as the name of the postal county for the mainland part of Ross and Cromarty, including the parts which had been in Cromartyshire. Postal counties were officially discontinued in 1996. Although
9460-514: The peninsula around Quiraing is designated as the Trotternish National Scenic Area , one of the forty such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area covers 7,919 ha in total, of which 6,128 ha is on land, with a further 1789 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide level , and covering
9570-419: The presentation of statistics. Following the 1891 boundary changes, the county of Ross and Cromarty contained the following civil parishes: The Kyle of Lochalsh railway line traverses the county west–east, terminating at Inverness . The Far North Line goes north–south along the east coast, connecting Inverness in the south with Thurso and Wick in the north. The Black Isle is connected by bridge to
9680-550: The previously separate commissioners of supply for each former county merged into a single body, and the last Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire , Kenneth Smith Mackenzie , became the first Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty . The act also established elected county councils, which came into effect in 1890, taking over most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). The new Ross and Cromarty County Council held its first official meeting on 8 May 1890 at Dingwall Sheriff Court , which had been built in
9790-466: 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
9900-524: 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
10010-460: 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
10120-535: 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
10230-413: The registration county (being the pre-1975 county) had a population of 77,382 at the 2011 census . The lieutenancy area (including Skye but excluding Lewis and Kincardine) had a population of 67,253. Parishes existed from medieval times. From 1845 to 1894 they had parish boards and from 1894 to 1930 they had parish councils. They have had no administrative functions since 1930, but continue to be used for
10340-409: The registration county includes the Isle of Lewis and Kincardine , which are not in the lieutenancy area, whereas the lieutenancy area includes the Isle of Skye , which is not in the registration county. The lieutenancy area is 8,019 square kilometres (3,096 square miles) in extent. The mainland part of Ross and Cromarty broadly corresponds to the ancient province of Ross . This area was claimed by
10450-761: The seas to the east of the peninsula). The entire length of the Trotternish escarpment is protected as a Special Area of Conservation under the Natura 2000 programme, and classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature . A Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC at An Corran in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland. The site continued to be used over many millennia with human bones radiocarbon-dated to
10560-422: The site of a prehistoric broch or dun known as Dun David , or Dun Dhaibhidh , although no archaeological evidence has been found for this predecessor. The castle was built in the 14th and 15th centuries, when the area was subject to feuds between the rival MacLeod and Macdonald clans, and was abandoned around 1732, when Sir Alexander MacDonald built a new residence, Monkstadt House, 5 miles (8 kilometres) to
10670-413: The south-east Beauly Firth forms the border with Inverness-shire. The county contains numerous lochs, some of which have been enlarged to use as reservoirs. The larger inland lochs are: The county of Ross and Cromarty includes the northern parts of the Outer Hebrides , in particular the Isle of Lewis . Lewis is not an island on its own but forms part of the larger island of Lewis and Harris , which
10780-597: The south. Between 1750 and 1772, Flodigarry , north of Staffin, was the home of Flora MacDonald , the Jacobite made famous by her part in Prince Charles Edward Stuart 's escape after his defeat at Culloden . She later moved to Kingsburgh on the southwestern coast of Trotternish, and it was here that Boswell and Johnson met her during their tour of the Western Isles in 1773. Johnson, who held Jacobite views when younger, commented that she
10890-418: The summer, continuing on to Glasgow. Various independent bus companies link the smaller towns of Wester Ross, though online information is limited. A ferry connects Stornoway on Lewis with Ullapool on the mainland, taking about three hours. The county contains one airport - Stornoway - which provides passenger flights to destinations within Scotland as well as London Southend . The name Ross and Cromarty
11000-681: The west coast of the mainland. Only three were inhabited at 2011, being Dry Island in Loch Gairloch , the Isle of Ewe in Loch Ewe , and Tanera Mòr in Loch Broom . The Isle of Skye and several of its smaller neighbouring islands form part of the Ross and Cromarty lieutenancy area, but they form part of the registration county and historic county of Inverness-shire. The main economic activities in Ross and Cromarty are crofting , fishing and tourism . The parishes which make up
11110-464: The west coast was the village of Ullapool . The county also covered parts of the Outer Hebrides , principally the Isle of Lewis , including the town of Stornoway . The neighbouring counties were Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since then, the mainland has been part of the Highland region, which became
11220-481: 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
11330-485: Was a woman of "soft features, gentle manners, and elegant presence". In terms of number of speakers, Trotternish is the strongest Gaelic-speaking area of Skye. In the 2001 census, 61% of the population returned as Gaelic speakers, there are Gaelic-medium units in the Staffin and Kilmuir primary schools, and the area is the focus of one of Comunn na Gàidhlig 's Gaelic development initiatives, Lasair . In 2010, Comunn na Gàidhlig named Staffin as their Gaelic Community of
11440-399: 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
11550-570: Was based at the former county council's headquarters at County Buildings in Dingwall. Throughout the district's existence from 1975 to 1996, a majority of the seats were held by independent councillors. Further local government reforms in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with single-tier council areas . The former Highland region became one of
11660-727: Was first used for the Ross and Cromarty county constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1983. As created in 1832, the constituency merged two former county constituencies : the Ross-shire constituency and the Cromartyshire constituency , and it elected a Member of Parliament to represent the counties of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire , minus their parliamentary burghs , Dingwall , Tain and Fortrose , which were represented as components of
11770-728: 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
11880-491: 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
11990-510: 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
12100-413: Was therefore still responsible for most of Ross. The position of Sheriff of Dingwall did not endure. After a couple of abortive attempts, the rest of Ross was eventually separated from Inverness-shire in 1661, being given its own Sheriff of Ross and becoming Ross-shire. The interests of landowners led to some variations in the 1661 definition of Ross-shire from the old province of Ross. In particular,
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