This paper examines the use of phonetic variation in word-final rhotics among nineteen adult new speakers of Scottish Gaelic, i.e. speakers who did not acquire the language through intergenerational transmission. Our speakers learned Gaelic as adults and are now highly advanced users of the language. We consider variation in their rhotic productions compared to the productions of six older, traditional speakers. Previous approaches to variation in second language users have either focussed on how variable production will eventually result in native-like 'target' forms (Type 1 study), or have investigated the extent to which second language users reproduce patterns of variation similar to 'native speakers' (Type 2 study). We additionally draw on sociocultural approaches to Second Language Acquisition and apply notions of accent aim, identity construction, and learning motivation in order to fully explore the data. In doing so, we advocate a 'Type 3' approach to variation in second language users.Bheir am p aipear seo s uil air caochlaideachd fh ogharach an cois fhuaimean le ruis (/r/) dheireannach am measg naoi deug luchd-labhairt ura na G aidhlig, i.e. luchd-labhairt nach do thog a' Gh aidhlig tro thar-chur eadarghinealach. Dh'ionnsaich an luchd-labhairt seo a' Gh aidhlig nan inbhich, agus tha iad uile a' cleachdadh na G aidhlig aig ıre ard san latha an-diugh. Sa ph aipear seo bheir sinn s uil air caochlaideachd nan ruisean aig an luchdlabhairt seo ann an coimeas ris a' chleachdadh a tha aig sia luchd-labhairt dualchasach na G aidhlig a tha nas sine. Gu ruige seo tha rannsachadh air caochlaideachd am measg luchd-labhairt d arna c anain air f ocas a chur air mar a dh'fh asas caochlaideachd ch ananach nas fhaisge air cleachdaidhean dualchasach na c anain 'targaid' (sgr udadh Se orsa 1), no air an ıre gus an cleachdar p atranan dualchasach caochlaidh le luchd-labhairt den t-se orsa ud (sgr udadh Se orsa 2). A thuilleadh air sin cleachdaidh sinn bunbheachdan s oisio-chultarach ann an Togail D arna C anain san sgr udadh againn, a' cleachdadh amasan dualchainnt, cruthachadh f ein-aithne agus adhbharan ionnsachaidh airson rannsachadh iomlan a dh eanamh air an d ata. Na l uib, molaidh sinn sgr udadh 'Se orsa 3' airson rannsachadh air Journal of Sociolinguistics 20/2, 2016: 164-191

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The concept of the ‘new speaker’ has gained currency in the sociolinguistics of minority languages in the past decade, referring to individuals who have acquired an additional language outside of the home and who make frequent use of it in the course of their daily lives. Policymakers and language advocates in both Scotland and Canada make frequent reference to the role that new speakers may play in the future of the Gaelic language on both sides of the Atlantic, and Gaelic language teaching of various kinds has been prioritised by policymakers as a mechanism for revitalising the language. This article examines reflexes of this policy in the two countries, juxtaposing the ongoing fragility of Gaelic communities with new speaker discourses around heritage, identity, and language learning motivations. In particular, I consider Nova Scotian new speakers’ sense of identity as ‘Gaels’, an ethnonym largely avoided or problematised by Scottish new speakers. (Ethnolinguistic identity, heritage, language revitalisation, new speakers)*

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