大象传媒

Tha mi airson innse dhuibh mu rannsachadh a rinn E.G. Ravenstein, Ernst Georg Ravenstein, anns an naoidheamh linn deug. 始S e Gearmailteach a bha ann, ach chuir e seachad a鈥� chuid a bu mhotha de a bheatha phroifeiseanta ann an Sasainn.

Bha Ravenstein na chairt-i霉iliche. Bha e na bhall de chomhairlean-sti霉iridh a鈥� Chomainn R矛oghail Statastaigeil agus a鈥� Chomainn R矛oghail Chruinn-e貌laich. Rinn e mapa ainmeil de mheadhan Afraga. Agus rinn e na dealbhan agus figearan airson Philip鈥檚 World Atlas fad 霉ine mh貌r.

Rinn Ravenstein rannsachadh air na c脿nanan Ceilteach. Dh鈥檉hoillsich e p脿ipear airson a鈥� Chomainn R矛oghail Statastaigeil ann an ochd ceud deug, seachdad 始s a naoi (1879). Tha fiosrachadh pr矛seil ann mun Gh脿idhlig.

Ciamar a chruinnich Ravenstein am fiosrachadh aige? Uill, chuir E litrichean a-mach gu daoine aig am biodh fios air staid a鈥� ch脿nain anns an n脿bachd aca. Daoine mar luchd-cl脿raidh breithe, pearsaichean-eaglais agus maighstirean-sgoile.

Bha duilgheadas aige fios fhaighinn air ais bho chuid de choimhearsnachdan. Anns na c霉isean sin, chuir e fios gu pr矛omh 貌stair an 脿ite. Dh鈥檃idich Ravenstein gur d貌cha nach d鈥� fhuair e an fh矛rinn ghlan mu staid na G脿idhlig anns a h-uile 脿ite. Ach, anns an fharsaingeachd, bha e a鈥� cumail a-mach gun robh a cho-dh霉naidhean faisg air an fh矛rinn.

Thomhais Ravenstein 脿ireamh luchd-labhairt na G脿idhlig ann an Alba aig tr矛 cheud 始s a h-aon m矛le (301,000). Bha d脿 cheud, seasgad 始s a seachd m矛le (267,000) a鈥� fuireach air a鈥� Gh脿idhealtachd agus trithead 始s a ceithir m矛le (34,000) air a鈥� Ghalltachd. Thairis air an d脿rna leth de dh鈥橝lba air fad 鈥� a r猫ir meud na t矛re 鈥� bha G脿idhlig aig a鈥� mh貌r-chuid dhen t-sluagh. Ach bha sin a鈥� riochdachadh d矛reach ochd 脿s a鈥� cheud de mhuinntir na h-Alba.

Agus d猫 an t-siorrachd a bu Gh脿idhealaiche a bh鈥� ann ann an ochd ceud deug, seachdad 始s a naoi (1879)? Uill, seo agaibh na ceithir siorrachdan a bu Gh脿idhealaiche agus an ceudad de dhaoine aig an robh G脿idhlig anns gach t猫 dhiubh. Ros is Crombaidh 76.9; Earra-Gh脿idheal 81.8; Inbhir Nis 83.3 agus Cataibh 89.6. Seadh, b鈥� e Cataibh an t-siorrachd a bu Gh脿idhealaiche an uair sin. Smaoinichibh!

I want to tell you about research that E.G. Ravenstein, Ernst Georg Ravenstein, conducted in the nineteenth century. He was a German, but he spent most of his professional life in England.

Ravenstein was a cartographer. He was a member of the governing councils of the Royal Statistical Society and the Royal Geographical Society. He made a famous map of central Africa. And he made the illustrations and figures for Philip鈥檚 World Atlas over a long period.

Ravenstein researched the Celtic languages. He published a paper for the Royal Statistical Society in 1879. It contains valuable information about Gaelic.

How did Ravenstein collect his information? Well, he sent letters to people who would know about the language鈥檚 condition in their area. People like birth registrars, church officials and schoolmasters.

He encountered difficulty in getting information back from some communities. In those cases, he enquired of the place鈥檚 major innkeeper. Ravenstein admitted that perhaps he didn鈥檛 get the full truth about Gaelic鈥檚 state in every place. But, in general, he was reckoning that his conclusions were close to the truth.

Ravenstein estimated the number of Gaelic-speakers in Scotland at 301,000. 267,000 [of them] were living in the Highlands [broadly measured] and 34,000 in the Lowlands. Over half of Scotland 鈥� in terms of land area 鈥� Gaelic was spoken by a majority of the population. But that was representing just eight percent of Scotland鈥檚 people.

And what was the most Gaelic county in 1879? Well, here are the four most Gaelic counties and the percentage of people who were able to speak Gaelic in each one. Ross and Cromarty 76.9; Argyll 81.8; Inverness 83.3 and Sutherland 89.6. Yup, Sutherland was the most Gaelic county at that time. That鈥檚 thought-provoking!