Abstrakt
According to Dr John MacInnes, it is not an exaggeration to claim that Ruaraidh MacThomais / Derick Thomson did more for the Gaelic language than any other individual in the history of the Gael. In my paper, I am going to explore MacThomais's opinions on the situation of Gaelic as expressed in his poems.
References to Gaelic occur, with a growing frequency, throughout his long and prolific writing career, notably in poems such as "Cainnt nan Oghaichean" (Grandchildren's Talk), "Mothachadh Ceilteach" (Celtic Consciousness), "Da Chanan" (Two Languages) and "Nuair a Dh'fhalbhas a' Ghaidhlig" (When Gaelic Goes). Apart from being one of the most influential Gaelic poets of the 20th century, MacThomais was a lecturer in Celtic studies, a seminal figure of modern Gaelic publishing and a translator of European poetry into Gaelic.
Yet, despite his numerous efforts aimed at preservation of the language, MacThomais's view of the future of Gaelic was critical, down-to-earth, and never prone to easy optimism. Since he was a politically committed poet, MacThomais's opinions on the language are tied to his conception of the Gaelic identity and to his opinions on the political condition of Scotland.
The focus of the paper is MacThomais's poetry, but I am also going to refer to his scholarship, for example to the pamphlet "Why Gaelic Matters", and I intend to place his writing on Gaelic into the broader tradition of Gaelic literature written about the language and its precarious position.
