Conclusion
Devolution has been a major development for Scottish politics by which parties can consider solutions to problems that are distinctly in line with Scottish values.
This development has also provided a range of new opportunities for Gaelic and its’ continued revival, but the nation’s political actors have not yet capitalised on them.
With Gaelic’s relative position as a “valence issue” in national politics (Hepburn, 2014: 14), particularly in light of major political and economic events such as the financial crisis of the late 2000s and, of course, the debate over independence – this has meant that Gaelic has been minimised in its’ priority in the Scottish Parliament thus far.
Cross-party support for Gaelic has been a blessing and a curse, as the general goodwill of parties has ensured that the issue is given tokenistic consideration in Parliament but the lack of political debate over the issue has meant that legislation has passed without enough political scrutiny which could have produced measures of real benefit to the Gaelic community. Public and civic society groups have tried to lobby for real, impactful change, but their efforts have fallen on deaf ears.
Figures show that major expansions in funding for Gaelic have come alongside new legislation for Gaelic, namely the Broadcasting Act 1990 and the Gaelic Language Act 2005. Funding has increased more steadily in the post-devolution era, showing the Parliament’s renewed commitment to the language as a Scottish issue. This has been crucial in expanding institutions that have been vital in the Gaelic community, most notably in education and broadcasting and entrenching them further into public life.
The Scottish Parliament’s creation has created a new avenue through which Gaelic could now be afforded status and protection in the way of rights for speakers, but this has been lacking from legislation. In particular, the symbolic creation of the Gaelic Act of 2005 is particularly weak in its provision of rights for the language’s speakers, which fails to deliver the “secure status” that Gaelic civil society had hoped to gain from devolution.
Gaelic has taken on a larger presence within Scottish public life in the post-devolution era than it has had in generations, with important advances in Gaelic-medium Education and the establishment of a Gaelic media framework contributing massively. Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s slow but steady progress in requiring public authorities to create Gaelic language plans has also shown signs of institutionalising Gaelic within the wider Scottish community. However, the decline of Gaelic’s language base is still continuing and efforts to stall it have not proved to be as successful as hoped as of yet and this will be key in effecting a real revitalisation of the language.
Devolution has brought a new era of Gaelic policy making to Scotland, but not quite a resurgent revitalisation. Gaelic is still in serious jeopardy and despite the decline of the language being softened of late there is still a long way to go before the goal of “secure status” for Gaelic is fully achieved.
Gaelic’s revitalisation, and even survival, requires strong support from Scotland’s political parties who advocate and debate new legislation that provides far more rights for Gaelic speakers and responsibilities for Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Only then can it really be said that devolution has delivered a new era for Gaelic and that secure status has been achieved for it through the Scottish Parliament.
But as we know, Gaelic speakers are accustomed to long political struggles, and they shall continue on in their quest for their language’s cause.
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