Hearing the Unheard II: Lost in Translation – Fantasy’s Gaelic Mirage
Fantasy novels create a unique world where readers can escape to and immerse themselves in. Unfortunately, this can come at a cost to minority language speakers, who find their languages being misused and appropriated. One such language is Scottish Gaelic, a language with a rich history but is by no means a ‘magical’ language, despite its frequent use in fantasy. Authors and readers alike fail to recognise the disrespect this carries for the language, which stems largely from laziness and a lack of research into Gaelic’s cultural history and significance.
On the 7th of November 2023, the second instalment of New York Times bestseller Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series – Iron Flame – was released, to much internet acclaim. The novel, a sequel to Yarros’ Fourth Wing, takes place in an imagined universe of magic and dragons. Yarros has received praise for her creativity, however this only extends so far, as she chose to name characters and places using Scottish Gaelic. Criticism for her use of Gaelic overshadowed the novel’s initial success after an interview with Popverse revealed Yarros’ minimal knowledge of Gaelic. During this interview, she was asked to pronounce character names for the readers to help them better understand the book and proceeded to incorrectly pronounce every word she used.
Yarros has rightfully received widespread internet backlash for these mistakes from speakers and non-speakers of Gaelic alike. One video on TikTok from user Muireann (@ceartguleabhar), a native speaker of Scottish Gaelic with a degree in the language, details the extent of Yarros’ mistakes. Muireann noted her disappointment in Yarros for including Gaelic words without the knowledge of their pronunciation or meaning. Errors range from blatant mispronunciations to the addition of sounds and syllables, such as the following:
Pronouncing Bàs Sgiath (‘Death Wing’, pronounced /bass-skiath/) as one word, Basgiath, heavily accented in her native American English (/baz-guy-uth/).
Pronouncing Teine (‘Fire’, pronounced /chay-nye/) as Tyne, like the river of the same name.
Yarros received the heaviest criticism for her mispronunciation of the word ‘Gaelic’ itself. Scottish Gaelic is pronounced ‘Gah-lick’, however Yarros repeatedly says ‘Gay-lick’, which is associated with Gaeilge, which is spoken in Ireland. This is incredibly offensive to the language she has already misappropriated and demonstrates the ease with which minority languages can be misused and taken advantage of.
Despite admitting in the interview that she had no prior knowledge of Gaelic, and that the way she pronounced the words may be wrong, this is no excuse for her mistakes. Yarros did not receive any input from a Gaelic speaker during the writing process, nor did she employ a Gaelic speaker to review the book before it was published. These are severe oversights which slipped by both her publisher and editor. Yarros has stated she has since been receiving language training to learn how to pronounce the words, but these steps should have been taking during or even before the writing process. After all, the choice to use Gaelic was hers alone, so it is expected that she gives the language the time and respect it deserves.
The mistakes Yarros has made could have been avoided. Provided the story was rooted in Gaelic folklore, there is no reason why she could not draw inspiration from Gaelic. However, the world in Iron Flame is clearly not inspired by Gaelic folklore, so there is no reason why the characters should be named in Gaelic. If Yarros can carefully create her own constructed fantasy universe, she should at least extend this creativity to the characters’ names. Constructed languages (conlangs) exist exactly for this purpose. These languages can take inspiration from the sounds or structures of existing languages without the risk of misrepresenting them. Elvish, for example, is partly based on Welsh but does not misuse it in the way Yarros has misused Gaelic.
Yarros is not the only author who has made these mistakes. Scottish Gaelic is one of many minority languages that fantasy authors – mainly Americans – draw inspiration from. Sarah J. Maas, author of the popular A Court of Thorns and Roses, has been criticised for relying on the trope. Similarly, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, which is set in the Scottish Highlands, has been criticised for its unconvincing translations.
Yarros has refused to comment on her mistakes, choosing instead to ride on the hype that the book is receiving. Speakers of Gaelic deserve and would undoubtedly appreciate a public apology and promise to improve in future novels. Gabaldon, for example, has posted an apology on her website after her incorrect use of Gaelic was brought to her attention, and since improved her use of it in future books. It was recently released that Iron Flame as well as the original Fourth Wing are being adapted for the screen. This will be an opportunity for Yarros to consult Gaelic speakers for the correct pronunciations and rectify her mistakes.
Fantasy novels are an escape for readers – a unique opportunity to discover new worlds and characters. But this becomes clouded when these worlds are inappropriately rooted in someone else’s culture, with no care for the magnitude of the consequences. It is disheartening that Iron Flame passed through all stages of production without this concern being raised and demonstrates the unfortunate lack of care given to minority languages.