"young people’s more favourable attitudes towards Gaelic is not accompanied by more widespread knowledge."
"Just 30% claim they can speak at least the odd word, exactly the same as the proportion as among adults in Scotland as a whole. That said, this contrasts with the position in 2012 when younger people (8%) were only around half as likely as those aged 30 and over (17%) to claim to have some ability to speak the language.
Meanwhile, young people are more pessimistic than their older compatriots about the future of Gaelic. As many as 70% of those aged 18-29 think that fewer people will be speaking Gaelic in 50 years’ time, whereas less than half (44%) of those aged 50 and above feel that way.
Still, nearly three-quarters (73%) of 18-29-year-olds say they would like more people speaking the language in future. To secure Gaelic’s future, perhaps 2023 will see the 59% of 18-29-year-olds who would like to speak the language better make it their New Year’s resolution to do so.
In the meantime, ‘Bliadhna Mhath Ùr’ when it comes!"