Language policy and prospects: Metalinguistic discourses on social disruption and language maintenance in a transatlantic, minority community

Abstract

Language activists, teachers and policymakers in Scotland and Nova Scotia often allude to the role that new speakers may play in ensuring the future maintenance of Scottish Gaelic on either side of the Atlantic. In many ways, globalisation and greater digital connectivity have mitigated the effects of physical distance between Gaelic speakers on either side of that ocean, whilst simultaneously cementing the dominant position of English. Meanwhile, second language teaching is increasingly utilised to create new cohorts of speakers, as intergenerational transmission continues to decline. Based on five years of ethnographic research in Scotland and Canada, this paper examines six new speaker narratives concerning future prospects for language revitalisation in each country. Challenging sociodemographic circumstances in the remaining Gaelic-dominant communities contrast with current discourses concerning the language's future prospects. In particular, I consider Nova Scotian new speakers' relative sense of optimism for the future of their language in the province.