Why Gaelic plays a key role in Scottish-set show Outlander

by Scotland Now Daily

THE success of Scottish-set show Outlander has been huge.

Scotland features heavily in the American series with various locations across the country being used for filming, while Dumfries-born actor Sam Heughan plays one of the show’s main characters.

However, with some of Outlander’s dialogue in Gaelic, the ancient language has captured the imagination of fans around the world.

Filming for the TV adaptation of American author Diana Gabaldon’s epic series has taken place in the Scottish Highlands, and is helping to fuel a Gaelic renaissance.

Fans have even been following online Learn to Speak Outlander videos to pick up the language.

The show, which premiered in the US on August 9, follows Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe, a married former nurse living in 1945 who travels back in time to eighteenth-century Scotland.

While there, she meets and falls in love with Scots actor Sam who portrays Jamie Fraser, and is torn between staying there and going back to her husband, Tobias Menzies’s character Frank.

Sam, 34, explains that the language is used to help separate Claire's character when she travels through time.

He said: “Gaelic is a strong part of the show and I’m passionate about that.

“It’s my character’s first language and it’s used to separate Claire from the people in the alien world she has fallen into.”

The big-budget fantasy romance series dubbed Scotland’s Game of Thrones has cost more than £50million to make.

Outlander has been filming across various locations in Scotland, including a one-month stint at Doune Castle.

Sam added: “The film studio in Cumbernauld is like a wonderland.

“The standing stones are there, just down the corridor from the stone circle, the armoury, the

workshops. It’s a real hive of activity