To Anglicize or Not To Anglicize

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To Anglicize or Not To Anglicize

This has shown up in my Facebook feed at least a dozen times in the last 48 hours. The first time I saw it, it was kind of funny.  By the tenth time it was starting to grind my gears.

As a Gaelic learner, I’ll be the first to admit that Gaelic spelling both Irish and Scottish is hard, especially if English is your first language. I try to have a sense of humor about these things but the language nerd in me sometimes gets my back up when people start sneering at Gaelic spelling. Admittedly, Gaelic names can be difficult, but I have a few issues with this particular list.

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So, about that Google Translate for Scots Gaelic

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So, about that Google Translate for Scots Gaelic

I should start by saying that it’s GREAT that Google Translate added Scots Gaelic to its list of languages. Seriously! At a time when Gaelic speakers/learners are fighting to save the language, or sometimes just convince people that it’s a living language and not a historical artifact it’s a big step forward to have Google deem it worth the programming needed to create something like this. And that’s A LOT of programming. Rosetta Stone hasn’t felt that it was worthwhile to offer their software in Gaelic, they even dropped their Welsh program years ago. So, should you add Google Translate to your list of Gaelic learning resources, use it to translate some key phrases for that great highland romance novel you’re writing, translate a favorite motto of yours for a Gaelic tattoo? Not so fast.

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