r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	Happy_Wafer_1407
Comment	Yes, as I used to before I knew any better.. but PLENTY native speakers work there who are experts on the language. The pish-ripping comes from a historical and systematic shaming of the language, which oppressed the communities who spoke it so much that speaker numbers reduced, which in turn left us with a lasting sense of being isolated and special and needing to protect and maintain the language, much of which is a valid need. The language has been mostly passed down orally and many people, including my father's generation, spoke it- they didn't really write it. To this day, his Gaelic spelling and grammar is weak even though it's his first language. So when SMO came along and started teaching people grammar and some needful new words in accordance with modern times (i.e. created the word 'ball-coise' instead of simply using 'football'), this felt like a threat. Having our own word in Gaelic where we had previously had to use a word in another language felt like a threat. My dad feels it is more authentic to ask his pals 'Am faca tu football a-raoir?' I disagree. We probably both have a point. Anyway, people started massively overestimating how SMO 'changed' the language, when in reality it was simply the addition of a few words. They did not change anything- they added. And only nouns and adjectives etc, nothing that would interfere with the integrity of a sentence- no tenses. The GOC also standardised spelling which I understand felt like an attack but again- we really had no need for both grave and acute accents as thry didn't effect different pronunciations, so it made sense to just have one. However, this slightly modernised Gaelic exists very comfortably with the fireside Gaelic of my father and his generation. SMO includes ancient songs and poetry, which is the main literature of Gaelic, rather than books, in its Gaelic courses. There's no lack of authenticity. Catriona Macintyre from Uist, Alec Valtos from Skye and plenty other native speakers born and brought up in the language but who also WRITE it, are working for SMO and believe in what it does. People who slag it are usually not speaking from a place of real understanding of what it does.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/14jd7w1/has_anyone_actually_learned_fluent_gaelic_while/jpp6qg0/
Created	Tue 27th Jun 2023 10:02am
Status	normal ()

Yes, as I used to before I knew any better.. but PLENTY native speakers work there who are experts on the language.

The pish-ripping comes from a historical and systematic shaming of the language, which oppressed the communities who spoke it so much that speaker numbers reduced, which in turn left us with a lasting sense of being isolated and special and needing to protect and maintain the language, much of which is a valid need.

The language has been mostly passed down orally and many people, including my father's generation, spoke it- they didn't really write it. To this day, his Gaelic spelling and grammar is weak even though it's his first language.

So when SMO came along and started teaching people grammar and some needful new words in accordance with modern times (i.e. created the word 'ball-coise' instead of simply using 'football'), this felt like a threat. Having our own word in Gaelic where we had previously had to use a word in another language felt like a threat. My dad feels it is more authentic to ask his pals 'Am faca tu football a-raoir?' I disagree. We probably both have a point.

Anyway, people started massively overestimating how SMO 'changed' the language, when in reality it was simply the addition of a few words. They did not change anything- they added. And only nouns and adjectives etc, nothing that would interfere with the integrity of a sentence- no tenses. The GOC also standardised spelling which I understand felt like an attack but again- we really had no need for both grave and acute accents as thry didn't effect different pronunciations, so it made sense to just have one. However, this slightly modernised Gaelic exists very comfortably with the fireside Gaelic of my father and his generation. SMO includes ancient songs and poetry, which is the main literature of Gaelic, rather than books, in its Gaelic courses. There's no lack of authenticity.

Catriona Macintyre from Uist, Alec Valtos from Skye and plenty other native speakers born and brought up in the language but who also WRITE it, are working for SMO and believe in what it does.

People who slag it are usually not speaking from a place of real understanding of what it does.