A Family Story (Myth?) and Question about Gaelic Languages

[The Q]

I've noticed that people brought up speaking more than one language , find it much easier to learn other languages quite quickly.
My brother brought up speaking Gaelic and English took and passed with distinction 6th year studies in Russian having not done any Russian before.

I would suggest with having a built in ability with languages, he would have learnt very rapidly.
Also remember very little other entertainment than the radio and meeting people especially in his job..

Finally one point, the coal mines are in South Wales, that area is majority English speaking and has been for centuries..
Even today with enforced Welsh language teaching ( as a subject) in Welsh schools if you spoke Welsh to most in South Wales they would reply Dydw i ddim yn siarad Cymraeg
if I've copied that right it's Welsh for I don't speak Welsh...

[Singlemalt]

Thank you everyone. This all makes me wish I had paid more attention to family stories when my parents and grandparents were still alive. I don' think he lived in Wales all that long, maybe five years, I know my eldest aunt and I think my uncle were born there. He then moved back to Scotland and two more aunts were born there. He started working for a Missionary Society in Glasgow and they eventually sent him to the Ermineskin Cree Nation in Alberta where he looked after the peoples spiritual needs (not sure they needed it) and my Grandmother taught school. My father who was their youngest child was born there. My Grandfather later moved on to Ontario and up in his career. He retired from one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in Toronto. He certainly had a full and interesting life. I wish I knew more of it.

Living in a country with two official languages, and where dozens can be heard on the street everyday, I am quite aware some people are much better than others at picking up another language. It is also possible (even likely) that his Welsh was very rudimentary but enough to impress a little girl. If he did have an aptitude I now wonder how much Cree he may have picked up? I wish I had inherited this talent. I notice when I am in the French parts of Canada and I address someone in that language. They always switch quickly to English. My French must be very painful to their ears.

[bodhran4me]

Living in a country with two official languages, and where dozens can be heard on the street everyday, I am quite aware some people are much better than others at picking up another language. It is also possible (even likely) that his Welsh was very rudimentary but enough to impress a little girl. If he did have an aptitude I now wonder how much Cree he may have picked up? I wish I had inherited this talent. I notice when I am in the French parts of Canada and I address someone in that language. They always switch quickly to English. My French must be very painful to their ears.

The last time I tried to order a couple of coffees and doughnuts at Tim Hortons in french the girl looked rather perplexed and asked 'English?'. I replied in the affirmative and she beckoned over to a bilingual server, much to the relief of us all!

[The Q]

Thinking about it further, I wonder whether "speaking their language", was more of speaking as a working man, rather than as speaking like a very educated outsider..

[Singlemalt]

Thinking about it further, I wonder whether "speaking their language", was more of speaking as a working man, rather than as speaking like a very educated outsider..

As far as his Welsh goes I doubt we will ever know how good he really was. I only have my old aunts story that he could speak to the people in his congregation. As far as his Scots Gaelic I know he was quite fluent. He even used it professionally after coming to Canada. He had never driven a car until he came to Canada and was never confident driving. My father use to tell stories from his teens and 20's (late 1930's early 40's) of driving him all over central and SW Ontario to small rural Churches to conduct a Gaelic service for the older people. He must have attented a lot of these because though my Dad spoke no Gaelic he could sing a couple of hymns in the language which he liked to do at family gatherings.