Packing out the big words now, are we? I thought I'd be old enough to not become unsettled upon such rant. Well, I'm not. And from time to time, I like to be dramatic, too.
I felt I was being hit by a massive wall of rejection, because there were two pretty long e-mails on this list explaining why my translation shouldn't be accepted. So I got quite emotional, but replied in a matter of fact way. Then I got another e-mail back explaining why my translation wouldn't be accepted, so that was a bit much for me. I am sorry if I went over the top with this.
You might not remember, but there was a time when Scottish-Gaelic was actually the majority language of your country. You surely know about the High- and Lowland's past, but for the other listeners here let me recall that, about fifteen hundred years ago, yet another language dominated old Caledonia ... the middle and Eastern part, to be more precise ... Pictish. The Pictish tribes and their culture survived the rise and fall of the Romans and the assaults of the Vikings, only to be slowly absorbed by some West-coast invaders, the Gaels. The Gaels hailed from an isle the Romans once called Scotia, and what we nowadays call Éire, or Ireland. Just five hundred years later, the Pictish language and culture was forgotten. Pushed into oblivion. Forever, with the exemption of some fairy tales and myths. And the Gaels from Scotia ruled.
Newer evidence suggest ther might actually have been a common Gaelic area between the west of Scotland and Ireland, because people travelled by boats a lot. You can see Ireland from Scotland, it's pretty close. Anyway, all ancient history now :)
It would be totally wrong to say that the Picts were in any way innocent. Without having proofs at hand, I'm deeply convinced that in some part of their history, they or their ancestors were the onces to displace or absorb some other culture, may it be on the British Isles or elsewhere in Europe, wherever their origin might have been. Our memory does not go back that far. Which is a pity. And maybe a blessing.
This kind of thing has happened everywhere across the world and nobody is innocent. After being driven fro their land, a lot of Gaels became part of the British military machine and suppressed Native Americans in turn.
Today, Scottish-Gaelic is the minority, and at the edge of extinction. Take a look at the numbers ... 60.000 ... not more than inhabitants of Inbhir Nis. Maybe this is the cycle of life for languages? Having to struggle and grow, dominate, absorb others; then to stagger, to freeze and to go into decline, leaving only some marks in aspiring new languages, before dying and being forgot. Even the mighty Latin was not immune to this fate. Maybe things are more complicated than this. Maybe things someday just have to die.
Well, Latin did not die, it evolved into the Romance languages. Just Like English has chaged a lot after the Norman invasion and is now splitting into a multitude of dialects and derived languages across the world.
But it's not ours to decide when Scottish- Gaelic's time has passed. It's yours to decide. And as long as an aspiring young man or determined woman wants to keep this language alive, it will live. We are only too happy to give you some shelter for this. Enigma's base, our home, is small, but there should be some place for you. And not in some expansion pack, but in the very core aside the others.
Thank you very much for your encouragement.
Just do me a favor. Languages don't live by being conserved. A language has to grow, and to develop. To absorb other influences and create new expressions by itself. By rediscovering its past and redefining its future. With the small number of speakers Scottish-Gaelic calls its own, your impact on Scottish-Gaelic is the impact a thousand me's could ever have on German. So please be considerate about how you translate. It might become a puzzle piece in your language's future.
Exactly my thoughts. We need software in our language if it is to survive. We also need a lot of other things, but software and computer games is a part for this, and translations need to be of hight quality.
Viel Erfolg dabei,
Danke! Bin schon bei 35%. :) _______________________________________________ Enigma-devel mailing list Enigma-devel@nongnu.org https://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/enigma-devel
