A former Palnackie Primary School head teacher is bidding to rekindle spoken Gaelic in the Stewartry.
And Sarah Stevenson hopes her beginners classes will spark greater interest in the language locally.
Her weekly course starts at Castle Douglas Community Centre on January 18 and will run for 10 weeks.
Castle Douglas woman Sarah, who originally hails from Gloucestershire, said: “I’m just doing this for the love of the language.
“It’s part of the nation’s heritage and it’s something to be celebrated, just as the Scots language should be.”
And Sarah, 48, encouraged people not to heed claims that Gaelic had little relevance in the south west.
She said: “I’m the least political person in the world. But I would simply ask people to open their minds and find out more about the history and heritage of the language in Galloway and Scotland.
“I’m passionate about languages and what an honour it is to be able to teach Gaelic in my home town.
“I’m still on my own learning journey with Gaelic – but I don’t think it will ever end.”
Sarah, who has an English father and a Chilean mother, loves languages and is fluent in Spanish and Catalan.
And she reckons Galloway could make much more of Gaelic which was once its principal language.
She said: “Perhaps we are missing quite a trick with Gaelic in bringing tourists to the area.
“Visit Scotland implemented their own strategy to use Gaelic as part of their marketing plan.
“And immediately they began to see a lot more international enquiries, particularly from America and Canada.
“Also Bord na Gaidhlig, Scotland’s Gaelic agency, is currently advising local government in Nova Scotia on Gaelic medium education.”
Sarah, who now works for the General Teaching Council, recently passed her National 5 Gaelic exams and is now studying for her Higher.
She is currently a tutor for Gàidhlig Dumgal, the local Gaelic organisation for Dumfries and Galloway.
She said: “Raising awareness of the language is one of the priorities of the council’s Gaelic plan. Embracing Gaelic is important because it is part of the area’s heritage. So many place names here are Gaelic – now it’s about bringing the language alive.” Anyone interested in joining Sarah’s class can email gaidhligsarah@btinternet.com
