ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores some of the apparent ambivalences over Gaelic and Gaelic renaissance policies. Through a focus on various Gaelic developments, he highlights the different positions which local people adopt and the concerns and cultural notions which inform these. There are a number of contextual changes that have largely occurred since around the mid-1950s which appear to play a part in the declining use of Gaelic. However, these alone cannot fully explain the shift. Also important in helping shape language use and transmission from one generation to another are local notions about children's language learning. The children themselves certainly seemed to perceive the domains of Gaelic use in the school as more defined than the teachers or Project leaders would have liked.
