Gaelic was discouraged at school in Salen, Loch Sunart and w...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1968.252.B3
Original Tape ID
Summary
Gaelic was discouraged at school in Salen, Loch Sunart and was associated with the lower social class.
Alasdair Cameron went to school at Salen, Loch Sunart, four miles from his home. The registration parish boundary between Strontian and Acharacle was marked by a burn [stream] which ran past his house. There were about eighteen children at the school. There were more English-speakers than Gaelic-speakers. The landowner in Ardnamurchan kept two yachts in Salen Bay, and the skipper and the engineer lived there. The skipper and the mate were Gaelic speakers, but their children were not fluent. It was the same with the doctor's children. The engineer came from Greenock and was an English speaker. Gaelic was more or less prohibited in school. Alasdair and his Gaelic-speaking schoolmates of the 'common class' spoke Gaelic in the playground, but the toffs spoke only English.
Item Subject/Person
Cameron, Alasdair
Item Location
County - Argyllshire
Parish - Ardnamurchan
Village/Place - Salen
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair