Kate Forbes: Hearing my daughter speak Gaelic is one of my life's joys
Ahead of World Gaelic Week, the Deputy First Minister shares her love of the language - and why its future runs so deep
Hearing my daughter delight in the Gaelic language – words that connect her to her heritage and to the communities that shaped me growing up in the Highlands – is one of the great joys of my life. It is a reminder of why this language matters so much and why we must ensure it thrives for generations to come.
Gaelic is one of Europe's oldest languages, with roots stretching back over 1,500 years. It has shaped Scotland's place names, literature, music and identity and today it connects a global community of more than 130,000 speakers and learners.
Over the coming days, hundreds of events will take place across Scotland and in countries around the world – from Canada to Australia, Argentina to New Zealand – as part of World Gaelic Week. The week is an opportunity to connect with our cherished Gaelic language. This year's celebration is particularly important as the first World Gaelic Week since the language gained official status in Scotland through our Scottish Languages Act.
The theme of the week — "cleachd i no caill i", use it or lose it — is a call to action for all of us. Gaelic is not simply a language of the past. It is a living connection to our heritage, our communities and our identity. With the Scottish Languages Act now giving Gaelic official status, we have an opportunity to ensure future generations can speak, share and celebrate this extraordinary language.
We are backing this with an additional £1.8 million for Gaelic initiatives in the draft Budget for 2026-27. We will also shortly publish our new National Islands Plan which will detail further measures to ensure the language flourishes.
These include supporting a network of Gaelic development officers to encourage inter-island collaboration, expanding Gaelic medium education from early years through to secondary level and improving our understanding of the economic contribution Gaelic makes to island and rural communities.
And that economic contribution is real. From whisky brands whose Gaelic names are recognised around the world, to BBC ALBA's crime thriller An t-Eilean, now bringing Gaelic to a record number of screens globally, the language supports livelihoods as well as culture. Independent research has found that Gaelic media generates £1.34 for every £1 invested and supports 340 jobs across Scotland, including 160 in island communities.
Research also shows that Gaelic medium education delivers strong results – better grade averages across all qualification levels, at no greater cost than mainstream education. Investing in Gaelic is not a luxury. It is smart.
That is why we have established Tog — which means "to raise" in Gaelic — a new action group bringing together public bodies, local authorities and business leaders to ensure investment in the language delivers real economic benefits for communities across Scotland.
This week, I hope you will take the opportunity to explore what Gaelic means to you — whether that is attending one of the hundreds of events taking place across Scotland and beyond, learning a few words for the first time or simply listening to Gaelic music or watching BBC ALBA. However you choose to engage, every conversation, every song, every story shared this week is an investment in the future of this remarkable language.
For me, it will always come back to something simpler than policy or economics. It comes back to my daughter and the hope that she will one day pass these words, these songs, this heritage, to her own children. That is what World Gaelic Week represents – not just a celebration of the past, but a commitment to the future.
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