Gaelic was very much the natural tongue of the home, work, and church in Sleat during the 19th century, and it remained overwhelmingly Gaelic speaking until the end of the Second World War. Gaelic speakers in the parish of Sleat: 1891, 89.3%; 1901, 89.7%. However, Gaelic was even more widely spoken in Tarskavaig: 1891, 97.6%; 1901, 95.2%. In 1901 around 19% of the population of Tarskavaig could only speak Gaelic. By the time of the 2001 census, 54% of the population of Tarskavaig spoke Gaelic, compared to an average of 31% for Skye.