A Geography of Language: Gaelic-Speaking in Perthshire, 1698-1879

Abstract

To be anything more than a narrative of distributional shifts, the geographical study of languages and their change over space and time should investigate the social processes underlying language usage as well as the spatial extent of language areas. Studies of the changing geography of the Celtic languages within Great Britain have provided much insight into the nature and patterns of language shift over space and time and the social processes acting to change the extent of languages. The paper focusses upon the Gaelic language in the Scottish county of Perthshire for the period 1698 to 1879 and examines in detail the relationships between the spatial decline of the Gaelic-speaking area and the social processes of language change. Through analysis of several sources, the retreat of Gaelic Perthshire in that period is examined by parish and within particular parishes. The social and spatial decline of Gaelic is seen to be the result of educational policy, lack of Gaelic-speaking clergy and other related factors and was apparent in the varying use of Gaelic or English for particular social purposes by certain sections of the population. It is argued in conclusion that a 'geography of language' should seek to explain spatial patterns of language in terms of social usage and the changing patterns of usage over time, and should not concentrate upon one to the exclusion of the other.

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