Demand for Gaelic Arts

28 November 2006

The Demand for Gaelic Arts: Patterns and Impacts - a 10 year longitudinal study

The report in full

Recording of the launch on Google Video and pictures from the event

GAELIC ARTS HAVE A KEY ROLE IN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL

The great majority of people in the Western Isles and Skye and Lochalsh believe that the Gaelic arts play a pivotal role in the regeneration and development of the Gaelic language. Whilst the central purpose of Gaelic artistic activity is to entertain and enlighten, a new survey identifies a wide range of impacts on personal and community attitudes and behaviours.

The ‘Big Survey’ or ‘Rannsachadh Mòr’ is the largest ever survey into Gaelic and the arts receiving a total of 1,250 responses after being sent to 1 in 4 houses in the Western Isles and Skye and Lochalsh. The study confirms an important link between the Gaelic arts and language survival, with 80% of respondents of the opinion that the growth and development of the Gaelic arts are essential to Gaelic language maintenance. The study also found that 77 % of those surveyed see the Gaelic arts as a major motivation for young people to learn and develop their Gaelic, and that a third of those people surveyed who have children of school age said that Gaelic artistic activities had boosted their willingness to opt for Gaelic Medium Education.

The study follows a similar piece of research, undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian, in 1996 and the findings are especially valuable in that they can be benchmarked against previous results, allowing comparison on changes in attitudes and behaviours over the last 10 years. One key development which has taken place over this time is the growth in the belief that the regeneration of Gaelic language arts and culture is essential for the future economic development of areas surveyed, with 70% of respondents across all socio-economic groupings now of this opinion.

The research was commissioned by Pròiseact nan Ealan (the Gaelic Arts Agency) on behalf of the Gaelic Arts Strategic Development (GASD) Forum. The survey was carried out by Professor Alan Sproull and Dr Douglas Chalmers from Glasgow Caledonian University’s Business.