The language was once spoken across much of Scotland (Alba). Shakespeare’s MacBeth would have plotted murder in Gaelic, and Robert the Bruce would have rallied the Gaelic-speaking clans to his banner through his mother’s native language. The history of Gaelic and its speakers, the Gaels (Gàidheil), since their arrival from Ireland sometime before the 6th century, is one of rapid increase and success followed by gradual decrease and decline. Today less than 60,000 people in Scotland speak Gaelic. However, recent events offer hope for the future, and with a Gaelic Language Act and the establishment of a Gaelic Language Board (Bòrd na Gàidhlig), the language finally has the official recognition and support it needs.

Modern Gaelic speakers can be found across the globe, with learners cropping up in Russia, America, Australia, Germany and countless other corners of the globe. Canada still retains a lively Gaelic community in Nova Scotia, and cultural and educational landmarks in Scotland such as the advent of the new Gaelic Television Channel and the establishment of dedicated Gaelic schools are helping to turn things around.

Gaelic is not simply a language of the rural Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Thousands and thousands of Gaelic speakers can be found in Glasgow and Edinburgh and other Scottish towns and cities. Gaelic may be a minority language, but its speakers are not a minority. They might be one of many Scots, one of many Germans, one of many Canadians, or one of many Europeans and they are all Gaelic speakers. So what about Gaelic then? It’s a people, a vision, an understanding, a choice, an opinion, a heritage, a culture, a history, a future, a song, a thought, a prayer, a life, an oath and the many other things that through language make up our world. Here is Gaelic, and here is the world.