Who knows?

But one thing experts would put money on is the continued influence Gaelic will have in the Highlands and in its capital in particular.

The language and culture has enjoyed something of a revival since the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and the passing of the Gaelic Language Act in 2005 which recognised Gaelic as an official language of Scotland and granted it equal status with English.

Millions of pounds have been ploughed into projects designed to sustain, develop and promote the language.

Now the Scottish Executive has published its National Plan for Gaelic, a flagship strategy for saving the Gaelic language which sets a target of 100,000 speakers by 2041, an increase of more than 70 per cent.

And an expert from the Bord na Gaidhlig, the public body created to enforce the Gaelic Language Act, says Inverness will change as the recommendations of the plan, which has been produced by the Bord, are implemented.

A city where public and private signs including the names of all shops and restaurants are written in Gaelic as well as English is a real possibility.

"Signage in Gaelic will be common — nobody will bat an eyelid," predicted Paedar Morgan, language learning manager for the Bord na Gaidhlig.

He also envisages a new generation of bi-lingual children and day-to-day use of the language in schools, the home and in the workplace as well as the creation of a daily Gaelic newspaper and more television and radio programmes.

According to the 2001 Census, 58,652 people spoke Gaelic in Scotland, representing just 1.2 per cent of the population. This is down on the 65,978 speakers recorded in Scotland in 1991 and compares with 250,000 who spoke the language in 1881.

The new strategy wants 50,000 children enrolled in first-year Gaelic medium primary education by 2041 and sets itself the challenge of reversing the decline in the overall number of Gaelic speakers by providing the government, local authorities, public bodies and the private and voluntary sectors with a five-year plan, which will be reviewed regularly.

A national publicity campaign designed to promote a positive image of the language, introduction of an annual awards programme recognising achievement in the use of Gaelic in the home, community and workplace, and a review of Gaelic childcare to identify gaps in provision are all examples of ways the Bord plans to reach its targets.

It predicts that around 10 per cent of the Inverness population will be literate in Gaelic by 2041 compared to today's 5.5 per cent.

"Gaelic will be more visible and more audible in Inverness but it won't be a question of Inverness becoming totally Gaelic speaking — it will be a minority language," said Mr Morgan.

"We are not going back to the bi-lingual days of the 18th or 19th century. Nobody will be forced into learning Gaelic, there will be no compulsion at all but anybody wishing to use and learn Gaelic will have the support, access and encouragement."

He said an increasing number of people will either learn Gaelic as their first language in the home, as children through Gaelic medium education or as adults.

"Children will be able to go through Gaelic medium education, right from primary school to secondary and onto some courses at college," said Mr Morgan.

"We will have a Gaelic High School in Inverness and at least two if not three Gaelic primary schools.

"Courses in the college will be available in Gaelic — long before 2041 we would be looking for vocational courses such as hair-dressing and pipe-laying to be available through the medium of Gaelic as well as English."

And more offices in Inverness will work through the medium of Gaelic, employing local people.

He also predicts the creation of a community arts centre supportive of the language and culture and further promotion of music events like Inverness Feis and modern Gaelic music.

And as society changes, he said, organisations will begin to respond to the increasing number of speakers, just as some have to the influx of Central and Eastern European workers with the creation of a Polish newspaper.

He said a daily Gaelic newspaper was not too hard to imagine and predicted more programming, spurred on by the creation of a digital television channel operated by the Gaelic Media Service in partnership with the BBC later this year.

A bookshop selling Gaelic literature, an amateur team from Inverness playing in a Gaelic football league, and a more vibrant tourist industry where people come to the city to learn about the language and culture were also likely, he said.

Central Primary School P6 pupils learning the language (left to right) Abi Smith, Meghan Wright and Seumas Baker. Northern Exposures

Brian OhEadhra, chairman of the Inverness Gaelic Forum, thinks the public perception of the language needs to change to allow it to move forward.

"The forum would like to see people having a more positive attitude towards the local language and the culture and to recognise the benefits of using the language," he said.

"I think people's mindset has to change to accept Gaelic as a local language — a lot of people see Gaelic as an old-fashioned language."

He said the Forum would like to see Gaelic, which he described as the first native language of Inverness, used on a day-to-day basis.

"I have been arguing that Gaelic is far more beneficial in the Highlands than learning something like French or Spanish," he said.

"We are particularly interested in seeing Inverness as a bilingual capital — with bilingual signage throughout, public and private.

"If you look at somewhere like Wales or Ireland, the Body Shop, for example, uses bi-lingual advertising. There is no reason that shouldn't happen here."

He also called for an education system in which each child had the opportunity to learn through Gaelic at primary and secondary level.

Councillor Hamish Fraser, chairman of Highland Council's Gaelic Select Committee, would like to see children in the area learn Gaelic as a first or second language in line with how children are taught in Europe.

"I want to see more people speaking the language and younger children in particular having it as a first or second language to take us up in line with the European model where most 12 year olds have two to three languages," he said.

"That can only be good and this is the right time for promoting that — when people from all over the Highlands seem to be embracing Gaelic. We have got a real opportunity just now, probably the best in 100 years, for a revival."

Highland Council supported the National Plan and has its own Gaelic Language and Cultural Plan which sets out how it aims to promote Gaelic as a community language.

Gaelic development officer Morag Anna MacLeod said a central strand of the local authority's strategy was the creation of a new Gaelic primary school in Inverness, which is due to open in August.

"There is going to be a lot happening around the new school," she said.

"It's not just about being educated through the medium of Gaelic — it's also about the support structure which will develop and the extra-curricular activities.

"I am aware that the needs are gradually growing for Gaelic education in Inverness and when we have a multi-purpose school, that will accelerate the process and there will be potential for growth."

The £4 million school at Slackbuie, called Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis, will accommodate 150 pupils. This will include 100 pupils who will transfer from the only Gaelic medium unit in Inverness at Central Primary School.

Mrs MacLeod hoped the school would act as a community focal point for Gaelic learning in the Inverness area.

"There is a strong Gaelic community in Inverness and we want to see more speakers and more people learning the language."

"The world loses so many languages every year. We certainly don't want that to happen to the Gaelic language. We want to protect, preserve it and develop it for future generations."

h.paterson@inverness-courier.co.uk

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