Handout distributed at Lìon Gaelic Learners Conference, Edinburgh, 11/12/98
© 1998 Alasdair MacCaluim
For more details about the Gaelic learners survey, see the accompanying lecture “Có a tha ag ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig agus Carson?”
Response rate:
The Gaelic learners questionnaire was given out to all 1107 CLI members. 413 questionnaires were returned. (240 from Scotland, 173 from elsewhere). CLI members: 37% (same both within and outwith Scotland) – this is not a bad response rate for a postal questionnaire, especially for one which took a long time to fill in. It also must be remembered that many CLI members are not learning Gaelic – there are many “fellow travellers” – people who have tried and failed to learn Gaelic and people who are interested in Gaelic but are not learning it. There are also some members who are native speakers.
Age of sample:
Average age = 49 for the sample in Scotland. 47 Outwith Scotland.
Age of respondents in Scotland:
Gender of sample:
| Entire sample | = | 62.8% Male, 37.2% Female |
| Scottish sample | = | 62.9% Male, 37.1% Female |
| sample outwith Sc. | = | 62.5% Male, 37.5% Female |
Qualifications of Scottish Sample:
| NO FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS | 6.7% | TEACHERS’ CERT/NURSING QUALIFICATION | 7.2% |
| BASIC VOCATIONAL/SCOTVEC | 0.4% | FIRST DEGREE | 19.8% |
| O’GRADES/STANDARD GRADES O LEVELS OR EQUIVALENT | 5% | POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE/PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA | 22.4% |
| HIGHERS/A’ LEVELS OR EQUIVALENT | 11.4% | HIGHER DEGREE | 18.1% |
| ONC/OND | 1.3% | OTHER | |
| HNC/HND OR EQUIVALENT/ Dip HE or Equivalent | 8.4% |
Voting Preference of Scottish Sample:
| Conservative | 6% | Scottish Green Party | 4% |
| Labour | 14% | Scottish National Party | 60% |
| Liberal Democrat | 12% | Other Party | 2% |
National Identity as stated by Scottish Sample:
| SCOTTISH NOT BRITISH | 46.8% |
| MORE SCOTTISH THAN BRITISH | 32.1% |
| EQUALLY SCOTTISH AND BRITISH | 13.3% |
| MORE BRITISH THAN SCOTTISH | 0% |
| BRITISH NOT SCOTTISH | 2.3% |
| OTHER | 4.6% |
% of the sample living in the Highlands and Lowlands:
| The Highlands (Western Isles, Highland Council area, Argyll and Bute, Highland Perthshire) |
74 (31%) |
| The Lowlands | 159 (68%) |
Total raised or living in the Highlands
and Islands (as defined above): 86 (37%)
Total living in the Western Isles (8) and
Skye (6):
14 (6%)
Total not living in or not raised in the
Highlands and Islands*:
147 (63%)
Gaelic in the learners’ families?
Do or did any of your parents or grandparents speak Gaelic?
| YES: 31.7% | NO: 68.3% | ||
| Parents: | YES: 18.5% | NO: 81.5% | |
| Grandparents: | YES: 28% | NO: 56.9% | Don’t Know: 7.5% |
See also table of reasons for learning (page 4), reason (F).
Ability of Scottish sample in spoken Gaelic:
| None | 2.9% |
| Basic | 38.8% |
| Intermediate | 33.75% |
| Advanced | 10% |
| Fluent | 15% |
If you are not already fluent in Gaelic,
how fluent do you wish to become?
| I WOULD LIKE ENOUGH GAELIC TO UNDERSTAND SIMPLE SENTENCES/ CONVERSATIONS | 4.2% |
| I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ENOUGH GAELIC TO HELP ME WITH A HOBBY OR INTEREST | 2.9% |
| I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME FLUENT IN READING AND WRITING GAELIC | 5.5% |
| I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME FLUENT IN SPEAKING GAELIC | 14.3% |
| I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME FLUENT IN SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING GAELIC | 72.6% |
OTHER (Please state ________________________________________________________________________) |
Do you expect to ever reach the level of fluency indicated
above?
| Yes | 42.3% |
| No | 31% |
| Have done | 12.6% |
| Hopefully | 5.9% |
| Maybe | 6.3% |
| Other | 0.9% |
| Don’t know | 0.9% |
For how long, roughly, have you been
learning Gaelic?
7. Please rate the importance of each of the
following to your decision to learn Gaelic by ticking the appropriate boxes. (Scottish
sample)
8. Which of the reasons (A-Q) mentioned in question 7 (above) was the most important to your decision to learn Gaelic? Please write down only one reason.
REASON |
VERY IMPORTANT |
QUITE IMPORTANT |
NOT IMPORTANT AT ALL / NOT APPLICABLE |
MAIN REASON |
| (A) I would be able to enjoy Gaelic music better | 22.4% | 54.4% | 23.2% | 4% |
| (B) I would be able to understand Gaelic T.V | 29.1% | 47.4% | 23.5% | 0.1% |
| (C) I would be able to understand Gaelic literature | 45.4% | 47.5% | 7.1% | 5.3% |
| (D) I would be helping to keep Gaelic alive | 70.3% | 24.1% | 5.6% | 31.6% |
| (E) I live in a Gaelic speaking area | 7.7% | 9.5% | 82.9% | 0.8% |
| (F) Adult members of my family can/could speak Gaelic | 10.9% | 10% | 79.1% | 4.4% |
| (G) Gaelic would be useful for my hobbies or interests (e.g place names,tracing ancestory) | 24% | 36.7% | 39.3% | 5.7% |
| (H) Gaelic would be useful in present/future employment | 13.7% | 23.4% | 62.8% | 1.3% |
| (I) As a Scot/someone living in Scotland, I feel that I should speak Gaelic | 46.3% | 39.4% | 14.4% | 11.5% |
| (J) As a Highlander/ Islander /someone living in the Highlands and Islands I feel I should speak Gaelic | 24.7% | 14.1% | 61.2% | 3.1% |
| (K) Gaelic would help me get closer to my roots | 29% | 29.9% | 41.1% | 6.2% |
| (L) I did not feel like a complete Scot without a knowledge of Gaelic | 32.2% | 27.4% | 40.4% | 7.1% |
| (M) My children are in Gaelic medium education | 8% | 3.1% | 85.3% | 1.8% |
| (N) I have Gaelic speaking friends | 22.6% | 32.6% | 13.5% | 3.1% |
| (O) I am interested in languages | 23.3% | 41% | 35.7% | 3.6% |
| (P) I want to live in the Highlands/in Scotland | 14.2% | 17.4% | 68.3% | 1.8% |
| (Q) I like to visit the Highlands/Islands | 26.7% | 35.2% | 38% | 1.3% |
| (R) Other Reasons | 15% | 4.17% | 80.8% | 6.2% |
If you stated that hobbies or interests were important in your decision to learn Gaelic, please list them here (from entire sample):
| music/singing | 55 | ancestry | 21 |
| placenames | 51 | visiting Highlands/Islands /travelling | 19 |
| hill walking/mountaineering | 48 | Gaelic culture/folklore | 13 |
| Scottish/Highland History | 43 | languages | 13 |
