Abstract The Gaelic language in Scotland presents a useful case study for the conceptualisation of minority languages. A key issue has been the extent to which Gaelic is understood as belonging to a discrete minority within Scotland and a bounded territory in the northwest of the country, or as a national language of significance to all of Scotland. Using the most obvious, demographic criterion, Gaelic is an extremely minoritised language, now spoken by barely 1.1 % of Scotland's population, and not spoken by a majority for at least five hundred years. Yet Gaelic was formerly the principal language of the Scottish kingdom, until processes of minoritisation began in the twelfth century. The concept of Gaelic as Scotland’s ‘true’ national language has been retained and refined, but co-exists with other interpretations that see Gaelic as belonging only to the territory that retained Gaelic after language shift occurred elsewhere. In recent decades, revitalisation initiatives (loosely connected with growing awareness of Scottish cultural distinctiveness and moves towards self-government) have promoted Gaelic as a language of national significance, an important resource for all Scots. Contemporary government policies advance this understanding even as speaker numbers continue to decline and many Scots view Gaelic as distant or irrelevant.

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少数民族语言的性质：来自苏格兰的见解

摘要苏格兰的盖尔语为少数民族语言的概念化提供了有用的案例研究。一个关键问题是盖尔语在多大程度上被理解为属于苏格兰内的离散少数群体以及该国西北部的有限领土，还是被视为对整个苏格兰具有重要意义的民族语言。使用最明显的人口统计标准，盖尔语是一种极为次要的语言，如今苏格兰人口中只有1.1％讲这种语言，而且至少有500年没有这种语言被大多数人使用。但是盖尔语以前是苏格兰王国的主要语言，直到十二世纪开始进行少数民族化进程。盖尔语是苏格兰“真正的”国家语言的概念得到保留和完善，但与其他解释共存，这些解释认为盖尔语仅属于语言转换后发生在其他地方的保留盖尔语的领土。在最近的几十年中，振兴计划（与对苏格兰文化独特性的日益增长的意识松懈相关，并朝着自治的方向发展）使盖尔语成为具有国家重要意义的语言，这是所有苏格兰人的重要资源。即使发言人人数继续下降，而且许多苏格兰人认为盖尔语与世隔绝还是无关紧要的，当代政府的政策仍在推动这种理解。振兴计划（与对苏格兰文化特色的日益增长的意识松懈相关，并朝着自治发展）促进了盖尔语成为具有国家重要意义的语言，对所有苏格兰人来说都是重要的资源。即使发言人人数持续下降，而且许多苏格兰人认为盖尔语与世隔绝还是无关紧要的，当代政府的政策仍促进了这种理解。振兴计划（与对苏格兰文化特色的日益增长的意识松懈相关，并朝着自治发展）促进了盖尔语成为具有国家重要意义的语言，对所有苏格兰人来说都是重要的资源。即使发言人人数持续下降，而且许多苏格兰人认为盖尔语与世隔绝还是无关紧要的，当代政府的政策仍促进了这种理解。