Did you hear about the Gaelic-speaking African
Scottish Gaelic Folklore about Identity in North America
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3852332 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Newton (0000-0002-5292-3267), Michael T Newton (0009-0009-7153-8143), Michael Steven Newton (St. Francis Xavier University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 88-106 |
| Publication date | 2010-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1179/147757010x12677983681316 |
| OpenAlex | W2030519708 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 11 |
This is the first sustained attempt to gather historical documentation about Scottish Gaelic-speaking people of African descent in North America. Many Scottish Gaels contemplated the consequences of assimilating into whiteness in America, in order to access wealth and privilege. Gaels were not just losing their language and culture, they were adopting an Anglophone identity during a time of rabidly racist Anglo-Saxonism in America. The folk anecdotes regarding Gaelic-speaking people of African descent examined in this article — and there must have been many more variants in oral tradition — illustrate the anxieties of immigrant Highland communities. By assimilating they would no longer be 'Other' to the institutions of the state, but their own ancestors would be 'Other' to them. Yet, at the same time, they were aware of several significant cases of the 'Other' of white identity in North America — African-Americans and Native Americans — assimilating into immigrant Highland communities and becoming Gaelic speakers. A range of folklore is explored, describing the ways in which they engage with questions of linguistic and racial identity.Keywords: SCOTTISH GAELICSCOTLANDCANADAUNITED STATESAFRICAN AMERICANSNATIVE AMERICANSIRISHFOLKLOREORAL TRADITIONSASSIMILATIONMULTILINGUALISM Additional informationNotes on contributorsMichael NewtonMichael Newton is Assistant Professor of Celtic Studies at St Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has written several books and numerous articles on many aspects of Gaelic tradition and history, including Bho Chluaidh gu Calasraid (Acair, 1999), We’re Indians Sure Enough: The Legacy of the Scottish Highlanders in the United States (Saorsa Media, 2001), and Warriors of the Word: The World of the Scottish Highlanders (Birlinn, 2009)
Aesthetics · Art · Ethnology · Folklore · Genealogy · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Scottish History and National Identity
Languages and Communities in Early Modern Europe
Language and Identity
British Identities before Nationalism
Race in North America
Teutonist Ethnology and Scottish Nationalist Inhibition, 1780–1880
How the Irish Became White
Imagined communities
Gaelic Scotland
Gaelic Scotland
Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |