A free online service has more users learning Scottish Gaelic than the number of people who speak the language.
Duolingo was launched in 2011 and has more than 90 languages to learn on its app and website. The Scottish Gaelic course was launched in the run-up to St Andrew’s Day last week. It has attracted about 65,000 learners in five days, its developers said.
According to the last census in 2011, 57,375 people may speak Scottish Gaelic. The University of Edinburgh has suggested that 5,460 are studying on other platforms — 62,835 in total.
Colin Watkins, Duolingo’s country manager in the UK, said: “To have more people learning on Duolingo in under a week than can speak the language or are currently learning elsewhere is