Gaelic language not dead, just ‘sleeping,’ says government official
Posted Feb 29, 2016 02:51:16 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia government official says the traditional Scottish language isn’t dead — it’s just sleeping.
The number of native Gaelic speakers in the province has been declining for decades.
But Frances MacEachen, a community development officer with the province’s Department of Gaelic Affairs, says organizations that promote Gaelic culture are helping to awaken a new generation’s interest in the past.
The department has announced more than $40,000 for projects run by nine non-profit organizations in Nova Scotia dedicated to the advancement of everything Gaelic.
Among the 17 projects is a Gaelic playgroup offered through the Inverness Development Association.
The department’s website says nearly one-third of Nova Scotians can trace their roots to Gaelic-speaking migrants who settled in the province starting in the late 1700’s from the Islands and Highlands of Scotland.
