Editing Inverness (section)

===Language===

Historically, Inverness had a solidly [[Scottish Gaelic]] speaking population, with the majority of the population having Gaelic as their first language. From approximately the end of the 19th century, particularly following the [[Education (Scotland) Act 1872|1872 Education Act]], which made school attendance compulsory and required that only English be taught and tolerated in the schools on pain of [[corporal punishment]], Inverness suffered a decline in the number of Gaelic speakers in line with the rest of the once [[Scottish Highlands|Gaidhealtachd / Scottish Highlands]]. Despite the local dialect of Scottish Gaelic gradually falling out of use (although it continued to affect the local [[Highland English]] dialect), the language is still spoken locally in other dialects and the [[Mid-Minch Gaelic|main standardised form]]. By the end of the 19th century, some rural areas to the south east of Inverness still had completely Gaelic-speaking populations, such as Strath Dearn where almost 100% of the population were still Gaelic speaking.

'''1677:''' Inverness was described as "overwhelmingly" Gaelic speaking by the traveller Thomas Kirk.

'''1704:''' Close to 100% of the population was fluent in Gaelic with over 75% of the population only able to speak Gaelic.<ref>Mitchell, A. ''Inverness Kirk-session Records 1661–1880'', 25, Inverness, 1902</ref> [[Edward Lhuyd]] published major work on Inverness Gaelic and after collecting data from between 1699 and 1700, his findings showed a distinct dialect in the area.<ref>Campbell, JL & Thomson, D. ''Edward Lhuyd in the Scottish Highlands 1699–1700'' Oxford (1963)</ref> The clear dialect of Inverness Gaelic was held in high regard by speakers of other forms, such as those from Lewis, Sutherland and Ross.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bmTUD5hiA4C&q=%22long+island%22+%22Sutherland+Gaelic%22&pg=PA117 |title=Popular Tales of the West Highlands|first= J F |last=Campbell|access-date=30 October 2012|isbn=9781907256028|year=2009|publisher=Abela Publishing }}</ref> Gaelic remained the principal language of Invernessians for the rest of the 18th century, despite growing pressure from outwith the Highlands in both political and social contexts.

'''1798:''' Thomas Garnett (Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry in the Royal Institution of Great Britain) observed that Inverness had become largely bilingual with Invernessians using Gaelic as the language of the home but English as the language of foreign trade – however, the older generation at the time generally only had the Gaelic. Speaking of those in the countryside immediately surrounding Inverness, Garnett stated that although in Inverness both Gaelic and English "are spoken promiscuously...the language of the country people is Gaelic."

'''1828:''' John Wood praised the standard of both the Gaelic and English spoken in Inverness stating that both languages were spoken with "utmost purity." He noted that children would casually flit between the two languages while playing, asking questions in Gaelic while receiving answers in English and vice versa.

'''1882:''' ''The Celtic Magazine'', published in Inverness, complained that enumerators of the 1881 census who assessed whether families were Gaelic speaking, English speaking or both, had supplied false information. The magazine wrote that "whole families .... scarcely any member of whom can express the commonest idea intelligently in English – who are in every sense Gaelic-speaking people only – were returned by the enumerators as English-speaking."

'''1901:''' Inhabitants of Inverness voiced regret at the very swift decay of the native language in the short space of twenty years following a complete absence of bilingual education and disregard for Gaelic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/transactions83unkngoog/transactions83unkngoog_djvu.txt |title=Full text of "Transactions" |year=1871 |publisher=Inverness |access-date=30 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009141331/http://www.archive.org/stream/transactions83unkngoog/transactions83unkngoog_djvu.txt |archive-date=9 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis - geograph.org.uk - 2968728.jpg|thumb|left|Inverness Gaelic Primary School, opened in 2007.]]

The number of Gaelic speakers has fluctuated over the last century. In 1881, the census reported 4,047 Gaelic speakers in Inverness (23.3% of the population) which by 1891 had risen to 6,356 speakers (30.47%).<ref name = GIS>Withers, C. ''Gaelic in Scotland'' (1984) John Donald Publishers {{ISBN|0-85976-097-9}}</ref> By 1901 this figure had dropped to 5,072 speakers (23.88%) of the population, from which it continued to drop to present day numbers through [[emigration]] and [[language shift]].<ref name=GIS/> [[Scottish Gaelic]] is slowly re-appearing in the [[linguistic landscape]], appearing on some signs around Inverness. [[Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis]], which opened in August 2007 as a primary school of [[Scottish Gaelic-medium education]], is nearing full capacity and was extended to allow for more pupils in August 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnp-inbhirnis.com/1/post/2009/11/gaelic-primary-school-education-set-to-expand-in-inverness-area-121109.html |title=Gaelic Primary School education set to expand in Inverness area (12/11/09) – Comann Nam Pàrant – Inbhir Nis |publisher=Cnp-inbhirnis.com |date=12 November 2009 |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708171111/http://www.cnp-inbhirnis.com/1/post/2009/11/gaelic-primary-school-education-set-to-expand-in-inverness-area-121109.html |archive-date=8 July 2011  }}</ref> 

For a city of its size, Inverness today has a relatively high density of Gaelic speakers and a relatively lively Gaelic scene, making it one of the centres of the [[Scottish Gaelic Renaissance]]. According to the 2011 census, 4.8% of residents of greater Inverness over age 3 speak Gaelic compared to 1.1% nationally. At 2,800 Gaelic speakers, only [[Greater Glasgow]] and [[Edinburgh]] have a higher absolute total.<ref>[http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html 2011 Scotland Census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604200212/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html |date=4 June 2014 }}, Settlement Table QS211SC.</ref> [[Bòrd na Gàidhlig]], an organisation responsible for supporting and promoting the use of Scottish Gaelic nationwide, has its main office in Inverness.<ref name="bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk">[http://www.bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk/welcome.html Bòrd na Gàidhlig] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211194545/http://bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk/welcome.html |date=11 February 2009 }} {{in lang|gd}}</ref> Other Gaelic related groups include the Inverness Gaelic Choir which has existed for over 70 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://invernessgaelicchoir.com/?page_id=2 |title=About Inverness Gaelic Choir |publisher=Inverness Gaelic Choir |access-date=13 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713050725/http://invernessgaelicchoir.com/?page_id=2 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Inverness also hosted the [[Royal National Mòd]] in 2014, a festival, inspired by the Welsh [[Eisteddfod]], celebrating Scottish Gaelic culture, [[Scottish Gaelic literature|literature]], and [[Gaelic music|music]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/inverness/Inverness-set-to-host-Mod.6584066.jp |title=Inverness to host the Royal National Mòd |publisher=Scotsman Newspaper|date= 16 October 2010|access-date=16 October 2010 |location=Edinburgh |first=Frank |last=Urquhart}}</ref>