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Countries can make language learning a requirement for immigration when they’re already attracting a large number of immigrants; it’s not uncommon to see work p

Countries can make language learning a requirement for immigration when they’re already attracting a large number of immigrants; it’s not uncommon to see work permits in rich European countries list fluency in the official language as a requirement. This naturally reduces the level of immigration, but that might be an acceptable trade off if you’re already an attractive country. But is Scotland really attracting enough immigrants to make that a requirement? If a country isn’t already an attractive spot for immigration, such requirements would effectively bring immigration to a complete and utter stop.

corty 6y ago
The other question would be, would that really change anything? There are only few speakers of Gaelic among the natives, you may hear it on the hebrides, but the rest only speaks English or Scots. Teaching immigrants Gaelic that they will immediately be unable to use is pointless.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  If Scotland was attractive for immigrants, it would do a lot. Such a requirement would reduce immigration, but it would also rapidly increase the population of Gaelic speakers. That being said, I find it highly unlikely that there is a country that both has a country with a dying language with enough demand for immigration that immigrants would be willing to revitalize the local language. That combination seems possible, but highly improbable.
GordonS 6y ago
Fluency in Gaelic would be a pointless requirement thought, since the point is that very few locals speak Gaelic. Gaelic is only really spoken on the west coast, and even then very sparsely and mainly by older people. I don't like the idea of a language dieing out, but realistically I don't see Gaelic going any other way; any opportunity for a Gaelic renaissance has long since past. Disclaimer: I'm Scottish
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  I think Gaelic has finally fallen below the necessary threshold for survival; all that remains is for the last native speakers to age out of the population. There are a couple of languages that have or are going through this process on mainland Europe, including Occitan, Bavarian, and Franconian. The creation of the modern nation state and globalization have been very hard on non-major languages.
  - GordonS 6y ago
    I agree - it was on borrowed time since the 1600's when it was forbidden, and we were apathetic in modern times. A few futile efforts were made, which never seemed serious even in their conception. Scots Gaelic is all but dead. Realistically, it would be a very tough sell to try to cling on any longer - as you mentioned, globalisation has taken a toll on languages. Personally, my father spoke basic Gaelic, and his parents spoke it as a second language to English, so I don't feel particularly sentimental about it.
    - ashtonkem 6y ago
      The only chance Gaelic has is the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom. You occasionally see old languages come roaring back when a group of people is split back out from a larger political entity that they’d joined. This basically happened to modern Czech in the 1800s, with the elites rushing to revive a language that had been losing out locally to German. But that ... is a much bigger ball of wax than just Gaelic.

corty 6y ago

The other question would be, would that really change anything? There are only few speakers of Gaelic among the natives, you may hear it on the hebrides, but the rest only speaks English or Scots. Teaching immigrants Gaelic that they will immediately be unable to use is pointless.

ashtonkem 6y ago
If Scotland was attractive for immigrants, it would do a lot. Such a requirement would reduce immigration, but it would also rapidly increase the population of Gaelic speakers. That being said, I find it highly unlikely that there is a country that both has a country with a dying language with enough demand for immigration that immigrants would be willing to revitalize the local language. That combination seems possible, but highly improbable.

GordonS 6y ago

Fluency in Gaelic would be a pointless requirement thought, since the point is that very few locals speak Gaelic. Gaelic is only really spoken on the west coast, and even then very sparsely and mainly by older people. I don't like the idea of a language dieing out, but realistically I don't see Gaelic going any other way; any opportunity for a Gaelic renaissance has long since past. Disclaimer: I'm Scottish

ashtonkem 6y ago
I think Gaelic has finally fallen below the necessary threshold for survival; all that remains is for the last native speakers to age out of the population. There are a couple of languages that have or are going through this process on mainland Europe, including Occitan, Bavarian, and Franconian. The creation of the modern nation state and globalization have been very hard on non-major languages.
- GordonS 6y ago
  I agree - it was on borrowed time since the 1600's when it was forbidden, and we were apathetic in modern times. A few futile efforts were made, which never seemed serious even in their conception. Scots Gaelic is all but dead. Realistically, it would be a very tough sell to try to cling on any longer - as you mentioned, globalisation has taken a toll on languages. Personally, my father spoke basic Gaelic, and his parents spoke it as a second language to English, so I don't feel particularly sentimental about it.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    The only chance Gaelic has is the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom. You occasionally see old languages come roaring back when a group of people is split back out from a larger political entity that they’d joined. This basically happened to modern Czech in the 1800s, with the elites rushing to revive a language that had been losing out locally to German. But that ... is a much bigger ball of wax than just Gaelic.