Gaelic

The Children and Technology Laboratory at the University of Sussex, in collaboration with Dr Stefan Kreitmayer, recently developed software to assess and improve the capacity of children to comprehend jokes. This software was tested in a pilot study at the Rudyard Kipling Primary School on groups of children with autism spectrum conditions. A variety of data was available for analysis from this study, which included video recordings of the sessions (usable for behavioural and linguistic analysis) and an automatically-generated data log of the children’s iPad use. The aim of this investigation was to find ways to process and analyse these various data sources in a way that would yield meaningful information regarding both the children and the software itself.

This is a single-page general proof of the fact that the digital root of any natural multiple of (b-1) in a numeral system with radix b will be equal to b-1. In decimal (i.e. the numeral system with radix 10), this is known as the rule of nines.

This thesis examines Scottish Gaelic traditions in the light of life and death and looks specifically at the imagery in water folklore. Included in the water folklore are not only customs that use water but also the creatures that were believed to inhabit this element. In order to understand the context of the folklore this thesis first investigates the terminology of folklore studies and the importance of oral tradition in the context of Gaelic Scotland. This aspect will be completed by an analysis of some of the most prominent collectors of Scottish Gaelic material, their motivations for starting their collection, and their background within the Gaelic society. When looking at the actual folklore this thesis will first focus on wells: their healing powers and use within rituals. Healing wells seem intrinsically linked to life but the extant death imagery that will be explored in the given chapter will challenge the veracity of this commonly accepted image. Following this will be a discussion on some of the most well-known creatures connected to water, both inland and in the sea. On occasion the creatures do not match their current popular image and the connection to either death or life can be stronger or weaker than expected. This thesis aims at analysing the Gaelic traditional folklore and at avoiding future misconceptions about creatures and customs that have occurred in the past or might be formed in the future.

Tha an tràchdas seo ag amharc air an dualchas a bha (agus a tha fhathast) ann an Alba a bhith ag adhlacadh a' mharbh air eilean. Ged a bhios barrachd air 10 eisimpleirean de "eilean-cladh" ann an Alba, chan eil mòran sgrìobhte man deidhinn. 'S e tràchdas MSc a th' ann (sa Bheurla), agus chaidh a dhuaiseachadh "Le Àrd-urram". / This dissertation looks at the Scottish tradition of insular burial, which consist in burying the dead on a dedicated island. Though there are over ten examples of such islands in Scotland, not much has been written about it. This is a MSc dissertation (in English), and has been awarded "With Distinction". / Dedennet eo ar memor-enklask-mañ e-barzh an hengoun skosat da veziañ àr enezennoù gouestlet d'ar Re-Varv. N'eus ket bet kalz skrivet diàr-benn an hengoun-se, ha ma kaver ouzhpenn dek enezenn-vered e Bro-Skos. Skrivet eo met ar memor-se evit ur mestroniezh (e saozneg), ha resevet en deus ar meneg "Gant Enor".

In this PhD dissertation, I explore the various informal and non-formal spaces and ways in which adult learners of Gaelic use their language skills. This is an ethnographic qualitative study in second language acquisition of endangered languages. The main themes explored are: the nature of "informality" in an endangered language acquisition context; integration and social identity of Gaelic learners; willingness to communicate and language skill building.

The following paper is a qualitative study of the way cultural actors in New Caledonia, Tahiti, and Fiji perceive the impact of globalisation on their linguistic communities. The data has been gathered from nineteen questionnaires and analysed thematically. The participants all connected globalisation to colonisation, and perceived both as processes disturbing the balance of their communities, leading to language shift through the integration by members of a utilitarian mindset relegating indigenous languages to secondary roles.

La transmission intergénérationnelle est souvent observée de l'adulte à l'enfant pour des raisons tout à fait logiques. Plus largement, la question de la transmission linguistique est perçu comme un processus familiale. Cependant, celle-ci peut aussi se produire d'adulte à adulte hors des cours de langues, et c'est cette situation que cet article tente d'appréhender, se basant sur un travail ethnographique fait en Ecosse auprès d'apprenants adultes du gaélique.

Abstract The following paper is a qualitative study of the way Kanak cultural activists in New Caledonia perceive the impact of globalisation on their linguistic communities. The data has been gathered from sixteen questionnaires and analysed thematically. The participants all connected globalisation to colonisation, and perceived both as processes disturbing the balance of their communities. This ultimately seems to result in a process of language shift that replaces traditional Melanesian ‘reciprocal’ multilingualism (Jourdan, 2007) with French monolingualism, through a brief bilingual phase.