ABSTRACT
As I complete this manuscript I am sitting in my study in Sutherland, close to the northwestern tip of Scotland, looking out to a loch and mountains. Korea seems a very long way away. Yet Koreans are not alone in wanting to preserve their heritage. Here I can reflect on a very different rural idyll that today involves the reclamation of Gaelic, not just as a language but as a distinct and unique culture. Sixty years ago, as Europe emerged from the turmoil and destruction of World War II, Gaelic was rejected in schools as the language of those who were backward and inferior, and it was assumed that mastery of English was the way to get on in what was championed as a new world. Today, things are changing. People are clamouring for Gaelic classes, and the local primary school won a raft of prizes at this year’s Mod, the nationwide festival of Scottish music. Until a year ago, road signs were solely in English, but all are now being replaced with bilingual signs. A ceilidh brought in the New Year, and Burns’ Night is just around the corner.
