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An ambitious project to make 18,000 hours of sound recordings in Gaelic and
Scots available on-line is being planned on the small Scottish island of
Tiree.'Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o' Riches', ('Well of Heritage') as the
project is bilingually named in Gaelic and Scots, will enable people
interested in Scottish culture to listen
through the Internet
to stories, songs, music and factual information.
All material will be in the original voices and will be safeguarded from
decay by the technology used to store them.
The recordings will be taken from BBC Scotland, The School of Scottish
Studies and the Campbell Collection, a series of recordings on wax cylinders
made in 1935.In order to acquire funding for the project, bhal Mòr Ostaig,
the Gaelic centre of the University of Highlands and Islands, is currently
gauging the likely interest people will have in accessing the on-line
facility. It's thought that £3 million will be
needed to
make the project a reality. 'Hopefully if we get the funding the four-year
project will be up and running next year', Martain MacIntyre, project
co-ordinator, told Eurolang. 'We would process 12,000 hours of recordings in
the first phase and continuously
add to the server',
MacIntyre added.
Tiree has a population of around 800 people, and of all the isles of the
Inner Hebrides the Gaelic language, which in Tiree is spoken with a very
distinct accent,is strongest.
'Tiree was chosen to undertake the pilot project since there is a wealth of
varied material from Tiree both in BBC and the School of Scottish Studies,
and because there are people to work there', Martain MacIntyre said. 'There
will be something for everyone in "Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o' Riches"
who
has an interest in Scottish Culture'.
The project has also been welcomed by Scots language groups. (EL)
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