Bun is Bàrr - Root & Branch Intergenerational Learning in Gaelic Nova Scotia (A Short Documentary)

[@carolynmacdonald7024]

This is lovely. I just wish that Gaelic had been preserved in PEI as well, since now I am trying to learn it with basically no clue what the dialect sounded like and our old words and turns of phrase in my home community are pretty well lost. So that saddens me deeply and I really wish people had had the foresight to preserve it, and had seen the value in it. I have words here and there and am trying to piece it together but... It's basically lost. For God's sake don't let it happen in Cape Breton too! It is SO SO SPECIAL!

[@luissantiago8446]

The humility of these people matches their native language. Both are equally beautiful. This lilting and poetic language should not go quietly into the night. God bless those committing themselves in keeping this culture alive for us to enjoy!

[@roddiemacinnis4358]

These native speakers have helped me so much in my road to becoming fluent in Gaelic, and I would also like to say Rest In Peace to the producer of this film Jim Watson, Dia bi math ghut , (God be good to you)

[@roddiemacinnis4358]

Ps I still have the tea towel you gave me Mary

[@roddiemacinnis4358]

A few of them yes

[@marconatrix]

Sìth air 'anam.

[@debbiecameron6574]

My father who passed away in June of 2023, was a fluent Gaelic speaker. My mother was not even though she was Scottish so she took Gaelic lessons learning to speak, read and write the language. My dad taught us kids a few things in Gaelic but I wish he had taught it to us from birth! The reason given as to why Gaelic wasn’t passed down throughout the years was because the government had forbade people to speak anything but English! Now there were some who didn’t listen to this order such as the Mic Macs and Acadians! That is why many of them still have young ones speaking their language and why Gaelic people are in jeopardy of losing the language! My dad quite often was asked to attend little assemblies where people were learning to speak Gaelic and he enjoyed doing that a lot! My parents visited Scotland twice and explored where their ancestors are from! All the signs that are the names of places on Cape Breton Island are in both English and Gaelic which is nice to see! 🦋

[@noghd2560]

I think that the difficulties and massive change in the 20th century caused Gaelic to skip a generation (the post-war baby boomer generation) but in Scotland there is a big renaissance in interest for the language and culture from the young now.

[@charlesdesmoulinsdefalaise3884]

Brilliant. It is so important to maintain the Scottish language and culture alive.

[@andrewmacdonald1897]

A very moving video, I'm 60 years old and an urge has developed in me to learn Gaelic.im trying! I'm mostly Scottish in make-up but live and grew up in West London. It's fantastic to see the level of interest in Cape Breton. Would be great if there was Scottish Gaelic enclave in W London!😊

[@Louisianish]

Tapadh leat! This warms my heart so much! I have a lot of ancestors from old Acadia in Nova Scotia (mainly Port-Royal and Grand-Pré), so I’ve always been well aware of Acadian history, and I learned my grandparents' dialect of French here in Louisiana...but it wasn’t until after I went to Scotland last year and got interested in Gaelic (especially after I discovered I have Scottish ancestors) that I realized there were still Gaelic speakers on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia! When my wife and I were in Scotland, we stayed with a couple on the Isle of Skye who is raising their children speaking Gaelic. Even in Scotland, it isn’t an every day occurrence to meet entire families that speak the language. I’m well aware that they exist, but like French in Louisiana, it’s becoming less and less common. I had a great conversation with the family we stayed with about the importance of using and passing on your heritage language to the next generation. Both Acadian French and Cape Breton Gaelic deserve to be preserved, promoted, and passed on to the next generation in communities throughout Nova Scotia where those languages are spoken. Sadly, Cape Breton Gaelic is even more endangered and less protected than Acadian French in the province. I know there’s a Gaelic College in Cape Breton, but are there any Gaelic immersion schools for children there?

[@bigfootlil]

Kinda wild they pronounce it ‘Gay-lic’ as in Irish, where we in Scotland pronounce it ‘Gah-lic’. Really interesting how it’s developed the other side of the pond.

[@maranathasos3381]

I am principally an Irish language student and what i observe is that because we weren’t allowed to continue our Gaelic that technology and modern constructs left us behind. linguistically. So, for example, I can understand much of Irish when i read it, NOT because i am adept at Irish but because so many of the words are just English words with Irish spelling/suffixes. This grieves my spirit. I am 7th generation Scottish diaspora and 4th generation Irish diaspora. I am old now and i may never realize my heart’s yearning to fully apprenticed back into my culture and people. Nevertheless i will continue to hold my people’s banner high till my last breath. Mo ghrá agus mo thiomantas go léir do mo theaghlach Albanach agus Éireannach. ❤️

[@fusion-music]

Nicely filmed and edited. Great to see the enthusiasm for Gaelic outside Scotland. Perth, in Perthshire, Scotland, have a festival this October for Gaelic. The story of oppression is very evident in the Gaelic story.

[@andaimhineach4131]

Is brea liom seo!. Bualadh bos!

[@ivandinsmore6217]

The old man Mickey and the old Lady Anna have beautiful accents. They sound more Irish than American. A truly beautiful culture and language.

[@DoctorFurioso]

They're Nova Scotian so not American one way or another.

[@ivandinsmore6217]

@@DoctorFurioso Most people in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada sound like Americans.

[@richardconnelly7141]

we emigrated to canada from glasgow scotland in 1966,I was 7 and my brother was11,we would come home from school and my mother noticed we were picking up the canadian accent and her having a strong glasgow accent berated us and said stop talking that canadian crap and talk in your good scottish tongue so when we came home we always would speak in our glasgow accent ,to this day my brother and i can switch on or off our accents to either canadian or glasgow,wish we had been gaelic speakers

[@andrewjennings7306]

What did she expect to happen if she brought her young kids to Canada?

[@WillowMallabar]

If it's any consolation, Glaswegians haven't spoken Gaelic in a thousand years. This language is native to the Highlands and Islands, not the central belt of Scotland. Your ancestors, if your family had been natively Glaswegian, would have spoken Scots (as opposed to Scots Gaelic) which is a language much more closely tied to English - arguably an English dialect.

[@richardconnelly7141]

@@WillowMallabar Glaswegians were or are people who live in glasgow some of my family came from skye and perthshire and northern ireland who settled in glasgow im sure if you went back 200 years there were many people from the highlands who spoke gaelic who moved to glasgow for work,its been said that the Glaswegian dialect was a mixture of gaelic,northern irish and old scots,some of the slang i believe are gaelic words,as for scots you might be referring to old scots which i think was the dialect of robert burns

[@rabby-u]

Gle mhath!

[@shanemccann5885]

A real Cape Bretoner doesn’t mow a lawn! Hughie and Allen#1

[@marconatrix]

Bha sin gu math inntinneach, tapadh leibh uile ... agus bliadhna mhath ùr dhuibh :-)

[@josephalvarez805]

Tha gu dearbh; tha sin inntinneach!

[@josephalvarez805]

Tha mi ag ionnsachadh ghaidhlig gach latha. tapadh Leibh gu mor!

[@marconatrix]

@@josephalvarez805 'S e ur beatha, a chàraid :-)

[@josephalvarez805]

@@marconatrix madainn mhath. ciamar a tha sibh fhein? tha gu math an-diugh. tha beagan ghaihlig agam.

[@josephalvarez805]

@@marconatrix gabh mo leisgeul. what does charaid mean in scottish?

[@philstevens9914]

Look up Julie Fowlis "A Ghaoil, Leig Dhachaigh Gum Mhathair Mi" This girl will move your oul with her music.

[@ivandinsmore6217]

Interesting names - Mary and Vince McKinnon and Carmen MacArthur. My grandmother's maiden name was MacKinnon and her cousins were called MacArthur. Maybe I am a Gael too!

[@maranathasos3381]

Hi. I assume Dinsmore is your surname. I have copied the following information from the web: “Dinsmore, is a surname with Scottish and Welsh origins. It is a toponymic surname derived from the lands of Dundemore in Northern Fife, Scotland with origins in the 12th century. Another surname derived from the same location is Dunmore. Other spelling variants include Densmore and Dunsmore.” Your blood should be crying out to you. 🥰

[@ivandinsmore6217]

@@maranathasos3381 I think it is.

[@wickedone6476]

I'd love to see Gaelic both Irish and Scottish become as common in America today as it was in the isles in the 1500s and before.

[@karliikaiser3800]

Is it Gàidhlig you are talikng about? Because Gaelic reminds me more on Irish: Gaeilge.

[@lukerankin4681]

I've been dabbling in Gaelic a little bit as it is interesting and I came upon this video. Then I saw the name Duncan Rankin. Maybe We're related?

[@thomasnesmith5684]

How can I become apart with of this program

[@djarankin]

Thomas, this is a program run by the Office of Gaelic Affairs in Nova Scotia. You can contact them here: gaelic.novascotia.ca/contact-us

[@francesmaceachen3262]

Hi Thomas. We have an application process. This program is for Nova Scotia residents. Do you live in Nova Scotia?

[@PRoche-ym8fe]

Record as much as you can... all the words and phrases, especially for things no longer being used. The Irish Folklore Commission did that in the 20s and 30s... they also recorded the native speakers of Manx which has greatly assisted their revival. Many places in Ireland are now recording all the names for every field etc in their areas. An Irish fellow named Manchán Magan is publishing books that explore words and phrases he learned from native speakers as they relate to their environment. I am optimistic that with recent interest the languages can be saved and passed on to the next generation... ó ghlúin go glúin.

[@seannicholson9388]

Dia toileach

[@Ar-Tir]

What’s the song played at the end?

[@staceymaclean6548]

Na Horo Hoireanann. It'sa milling or waulking song in praise of the MacDonalds. You can search it on Tobar an Dualchais by the title. Perhaps rare in Scotland but well known in Cape Breton, especially amongst those of mainland Scottish descent.

[@Ar-Tir]

stacey maclean thank you so much

[@JM-gu3tx]

How about Gaelic learning videos for the rest of us who don't live in Nova Scotia?

[@davidcheater4239]

Check out duolingo. www.duolingo.com/learn

[@wickedone6476]

Thá sin glé mhath , go raibh míle math agaibh.

[@joshuamacleod2729]

Why is the word Gaelic spoken as "Gaylic" in Canada but in Scotland the word is pronounced as "Galick". Also, isn't the Scottish way of pronouncing more accurate? Just curious. I am not able to speak it myself, but it is a beautiful language. I'm not sure but I assume my ancestors spoke it. Best wishes from the United States :)

[@frasermcrobert3727]

Neither way of pronunciation is 'more accurate'. The Gaelic word for the language, 'Gàidhlig' is closer to the common pronunciation in Scotland, but the Canadian pronunciation is used in Ireland too.

[@julieumpherson9594]

I think it's just that in Canada we tend to say "Gaylic" when speaking in English, because otherwise no one would know what you meant. But if you are speaking in Gàidhlig, then you would pronounce it "Galick" (you can hear that's what Mickey does in the video). It's just that in Canada, most English people wouldn't recognize the word if you didn't pronounce it "Gaylic" and would ask you to repeat yourself. In Scotland the word is much more recognized with the English speaking crowd because it's a smaller country and a fairly popular topic throughout. Although there is a slight difference in pronouncing the Gaelic word between Canada and Scotland - we tend to say it more like the word "garlic" without the "r", whereas in Scotland it sounds much more like "Gallic".

[@psychicvacuum83]

I recently heard an interview of Àdhamh Ó Broin who also says that it's fine to say "gaylick" because the pronunciation "Galick" is how it's called in the language itself. So just the same, you shouldn't have to say "I speak Español & Deutsch" instead of saying "I speak Spanish & German".

[@mikem9001]

" isn't the Scottish way of pronouncing more accurate?" Not necessarily. Even today there are different dialects of Gaelic in Scotland, and in the past there were many more. The Gaels of Cape Breton may well have preserved valid pronunciation which their ancestors brought over from Scotland, two+ centuries ago. One of the problems with standardizing a language (as has happened to both Gaelic and Irish) is that older valid forms and dialects may be lost, and we lose part of the richness of the language.

[@hamfan1355]

Are you kidding me? There are a host of different pronunciations, even within Scotland. I’ve heard gay-lick, gA-lick, Gil-ge, goo-lick. Regional dialect doesn’t mean you aren’t speaking the same language.

[@cigh7445]

Too much English in this video. I came here to hear what their dialect sounded like!

[@daumoro]

They speak English without Scottish accent which means Gaelic is their second language.

[@andaimhineach4131]

This is in Canada. Not Alba.

[@marconatrix]

Out in the Hebrides etc. in Scotland they do have a 'Gaelic accent' often even when speaking English. It's quite unlike what you probably think of as a 'Scots accent' and indeed could be mistaken for Irish by outsiders. Over in Alba Nuadh they presumably learn the local form of Canadian English as their *Second Language*, so what you say actually proves the opposite of what you claim ... ach sin mar a tha e ;-)

[@haniyyahn]

What do you consider a second language? In Canada, lots of communities have a situation in which you have a home language which you've learnt since you were a baby and then there is the (dominant) outside language that often you've learnt in school and use to communicate with people outside of your community. As an urban Canadian listener, what you expect with fluency is that the person is able to switch from one language to another as the situation warrants and have it be flawless. This happens with French speakers in Ontario, for example. The elder, Mickey when he speaks English has an accent that's very different from the younger people's English accent. He recounted that he learnt English when he was 6 or 7 and started going to school. The Hebrides are isolated, geographically and culturally, even though some of these villages in Nova Scotia are far-flung they'd hardly be cut off from the rest of Canadian society which is English-dominant.

[@marconatrix]

@@missengineer2782 'Seadh, sin mar a tha e uaireannan ;-)

[@luissantiago8446]

@@marconatrix This observation has indeed been made by many who encounter the Scottish Gaelic spoken in the western Islands. The fact that it resembles Irish in their pronunciation. One would tend to think that outsiders who are used to hearing heavy Scottish accents by Scots speaking English or Scots for that matter, would expect the inhabitants who continue to speak Gaelic in the Highlands or western Islands to also have a heavy Scottish accent. This is yet another proof that Scotland has more then one language.