Tuesday 15 September 2020

Colaisde na Gàidhlig

 On a non-radio related topic, I have been spending more time this summer interested in my Scottish heritage.  My family, on my mother's side, comes from Scotland with a hint of Wales and Ireland thrown in for good measure.  My family comes from Nova Scotia and is chock full of MacDonalds, Masons, MacIntoshs, Frasers and Smiths.  In the north-eastern part of Nova Scotia there is a large portion of the population with Scottish ancestry and many had Gaelic spoken in their homes until very recently.  Cape Breton Island is part of Nova Scotia slightly to the north-east.  Nowadays it is connected by the Canso Causeway but before its construction in the early 1950s the Scottish culture was thriving on this little island. Even now there are homes where Gaelic is spoken.  The music and culture that was brought from Scotland hundreds of years ago is still celebrated and, to a certain extent, lived.


In Cape Breton there is a college called The Gaelic College whose purpose is to promote and spread the culture so it is not lost.  This week I begin Beginner Level 1 of Gaelic language.  It is a 28 week course offered through Zoom classes with exercises and group work and 1 on 1 practise with class mates.  I am very excited to begin learning.  I had been using the site Duolingo for a month or 2 to learn and I did learn a lot of the basics but it isn't the same as proper instruction from a real person.

I will post my progress.

Tapadh leibh (Thank you)


Scott 72/73





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