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Economics and the Gaelic Arts - From Enemy to Ally? A’sireadh na firinn - Searching for the truth Douglas Chalmers Cultural Business Group Glasgow Caledonian University. Issue 1 : Acknowledge a problem exists!. Recognised link between Jobs, people and language:
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Economics and the Gaelic Arts - From Enemy to Ally? A’sireadh na firinn - Searching for the truth Douglas Chalmers Cultural Business Group Glasgow Caledonian University
Issue 1: Acknowledge a problem exists! • Recognised link between Jobs, people and language: • “Without jobs, no people, without people no language” • But big problem of ‘jobs at all costs’ approach: • ‘Little attention was devoted to the potentially deleterious effect of industrialisation on the use of Gaelic. It is now becoming increasingly apparent that the economic development of these communities does not necessarily overcome linguistic decline, and in certain circumstances may even be responsible for its acceleration’(O’Cinneide, Keane and Cawley - referring to the Irish experience)
Issue 2: Don’t just ‘throw money at the problem’ • “Any language policy that provides money, but avoids sincere commitment to boosting the image of the language is therefore likely to fail”Francois Grin, 1990 • The Challenge: • Is there an economic approach which can help • rather than hinder?
Scotland the patient vs Gaelic the patient • The MacPherson report • “Despite some significant successes, beneath a façade of well-being introduced by palliative measures, Gaelic is a critically ill patient on life support….the prognosis is bleak” • “initiatives have tended to be uncoordinated and haphazard, driven without guidance of theory or the control of planning. Resources have been allocated unevenly, with some fields receiving disproportionate funding and others being severely neglected”
