You would be wrong to assume that everyone participating in A’Togail na Gàdhlig had prior experience speaking Gaelic. In fact, participants' Gaelic fluency varied a lot. Some had taken Gaelic language classes 2-3-times / week as well as more intensive study at the Gaelic College, while others had as little as 2 or 3 Gaelic classes under their belt. Some even less than that.
Andrea Moore, is one of those participants who started the program as a relative beginner.
“I didn’t have very much Gaelic when I came so I’m pleased that my Gaelic is better than someone else’s now."-- Meaning mine :)
"We’ve had a ceilidh every Wednesday, so this is the third one. During the first one, I was hiding in a corner and I didn’t want to talk to anyone, because I didn’t know how to. And now It’s nice to be able to invite people in, offer them some tea, have a little chat, and have it not be stressful.”
When I asked Andrea about the things that motivated her to undertake this immersion experience she had this to say:
“Gaelic is my heritage. Before Gaelic I had learned 7 languages. Of all of them that I’ve learned this is the one that’s meant the most.”
That desire to reach within themselves and connect with family roots was echoed by Bradley Murphy. Bradley is a musician who has recently returned to Cape Breton after living in Montreal.
“I always wanted to learn Gaelic because my grandmother spoke it, but she didn’t really pass it onto her kids. She only spoke it to her sisters when no one wanted the kids to know what they were talking about. Unfortunately, that stopped it from being passed on. However, they still lived a Gaelic life. When my grandmother passed away two years ago I felt that I missed something. There was a way of life that I was missing.”
Emily MacDonald, and Shay MacMullin both host/facilitate the event, and we talked about the motivation that makes people juggle work, school, family and living commitments in order to pursue A’Togail na Gàdhlig.
“I can’t speak for everyone in the group, but I know for some of the people in the group were born and raised in Cape Breton and they want to stay here. Gaelic is part of their culture and I think for them, getting the language ties a lot of those things together,” said Shay.
However, the Gaelic Immersion experience is not something that should only draw people with Gaelic ancestry. I asked Emily how she would promote this kind of experience to someone with no ancestral connections to the culture. Her response spoke to the benefits of being exposed to different cultures:
“When you learn about a new culture, you are learning more about yourself. It makes you think about who you are and where you came from. How are we similar and how are we different? It helps solidify who we are.”
By this point in the evening the sounds of the ceilidh taking place outside of the English room were becoming harder to ignore. You could hear tunes starting up and the rhythmic stamp of a step dance session starting to build steam. Underneath it all there was the happy sound of people talking and swapping stories. Before we left the English room to join the fun, Shay added one last thing:
“I don’t think I can emphasize enough the commitment that these people are making. We said on day one that we’re going to live like a family and people really are. It’s a really lovely and supportive group. People are really tuned into each other’s needs. We all cook together and clean together. We all contribute together. It’s a rare and beautiful opportunity.”
Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!
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