Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia. Maritime province of Canada, home to the largest population of speakers of any Celtic language to be found outside Europe. Migration from the Highlands of Scotland to Nova Scotia began in the late 18th century, chiefly to the north-eastern portions of the province, most especially on Cape Breton Island. Although speakers of Scottish Gaelic established settlements elsewhere in Canada, those in Nova Scotia have maintained it most persistently. The 1931 census recorded 24,303 speakers, the bulk of them born in Nova Scotia. Although not a language of commerce or education, Scottish Gaelic was spoken in the home and often in churches. Many of the Scottish emigrants were from the poorest classes, although far fewer were victims of the Clearances than was once popularly supposed. Scottish literary tradition migrated as well, as the Nova Scotian settlers included several bards. Oral tradition in Gaelic continued to the end of the 20th century; the huge repertoire of storyteller Joe Neil MacNeil (b. 1908) includes stories with many parallels with Scottish collections. The province is also home to many Irish and some Welsh immigrants; Cape Breton Island was named for Breton fishermen who plied its waters as early as the 16th century. See Charles W. Dunn, The Highland Settler in Nova Scotia (Toronto, 1953); Margaret MacDonell, The Emigrant Experience: Songs of Highland Emigrants in North America (Toronto, 1982); C. I. N. MacLeod, Highland Scottish Folklore and Beliefs (Antigonish, Canada, 1975); Sgialachdan a Albainn Nuaidh (Glasgow, 1969); Bàrdachd a Albainn Nuaidh (Glasgow, 1970); Joe Neil MacNeil, Tales Until Dawn: The World of a Cape Breton Story-Teller, trans. John Shaw (Kingston and Montreal, 1987).