by Emily McEwan | Mar 14, 2018 | All Posts, Religion, Songs
The 23rd Psalm, the one that starts “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” is a passage from the Bible that many Christians find comfort in. Recently a blog reader from Cape Breton asked me where to find a Gaelic version of Psalm 23. I realized that if you are...
by Emily McEwan | Feb 14, 2018 | All Posts, Awareness, Nova Scotia
Here’s a list of free online resources for exploring Gaelic in Nova Scotia. Some of the resources are good for Gaelic language learning, some for learning songs or folklore, and some for history and research projects. I decided to compile this list because...
by Emily McEwan | Sep 14, 2017 | All Posts, Government, Language Learners, Minority Languages, Nova Scotia
I gave a presentation about Nova Scotia Gaelic identities five years ago at the Atlantic Canada Studies conference at UNB in Saint John. That paper was intended to be a jumping-off point for a research project. Unfortunately neither research funding nor an...
by Emily McEwan | Jun 21, 2017 | All Posts, Language Learners, Minority Languages, Nova Scotia, Religion, Songs
So-called “Celtic” weddings in English are very popular these days. Actually getting married in a Celtic language is rare, however. Wedding planning in English is complicated enough, but incorporating Gaelic language revitalization into your nuptials when Gaelic is no...
by Emily McEwan | Apr 26, 2017 | All Posts, Design, Linguistics, Tattoos
The Ogham writing system is a topic that comes up occasionally in connection with Gaelic and Irish tattoos, so I want to share some information about what Ogham is, how it’s related to Gaelic, and what you have to watch out for if you’re going to use it in a Gaelic or...
by Emily McEwan | Mar 15, 2017 | All Posts, Awareness, Linguistics, Minority Languages, Nova Scotia
When I was a kid growing up near Chicago, once on St. Patrick’s Day at school I saw a banner that said “Erin go bragh.” An adult explained that it meant “Ireland forever.” I just thought of it as funny English. As a monolingual English speaker I didn’t realize that it...
by Emily McEwan | Feb 15, 2017 | All Posts, Awareness, Minority Languages
This post contains an affiliate link. LGBT History Month and Gaelic Scotland February is LGBT History Month in the UK. As an ally, I am celebrating with this post focused on the intersections between LGBT and Gaelic history, arts, and language. I start with a bit of...
by Emily McEwan | Jan 11, 2017 | All Posts, Education, Language Learners
Maybe Scottish Gaelic is a part of your family heritage, or you’ve had a longstanding interest in Celtic cultures. Perhaps you were intrigued by a beautiful song, or by the words and phrases in Outlander. Whatever the reason, you may be thinking about learning...
by Emily McEwan | Nov 24, 2016 | All Posts, Awareness, Songs
10 Gorgeous Gaelic Voices This post contains affiliate links that help support the blog. EDIT: A new Spotify playlist has been added at the bottom of the post. When I was 19, a Gaelic song changed my life forever. I heard “’S Fliuch an Oidhche” by Catherine-Ann...
by Emily McEwan | Oct 19, 2016 | All Posts, Education, Media, Minority Languages
In the last couple of years, Scottish Gaelic language groups and organizations have started to use crowdfunding as a method of fundraising for language revitalization projects. Alternative methods are sometimes needed because in the English-dominant world there never...
