Latest news with #ScottishLanguagesBill
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
JOHN MACLEOD: An order of a burger and fries in the heart of the Highlands and proof the Gaelic tongue is in trouble...
Whenever I nip south for time with my mother and memory-lane rambles around G13, there is one enjoyable ritual: I always pause at Fort William for a scoff at McDonald's. Though not for several years have I been able to make my manly stride to the till and order three cheeseburgers, a large fries and a large Coke. These days you have to jab at faintly ridiculous touchscreens, pay by card, note your order number, and then loiter hungrily till some tray-brandishing teenager hollers it out. But, on May 22, something caught my eye. Here in the heart of the Highlands – in a landscape where every bump on every mountain still has a Gaelic monicker; in a community where someone once observed to my father, a local minister, and without a hint of humour that a certain family had been at the root of all the trouble thereabouts since the '45 – this Stateside fast-food touchscreen generously offered me the option to order in Welsh. Indeed, I was short-changed; in many corners of this realm, I am reliably informed, you also have the opportunity to order your Big Mac in Polish. I recalled this wryly the other day when MSPs solemnly passed the Scottish Languages Bill into law – with the accompanying spin that this now makes Gaelic and Scots official languages of the land. Actually, it does no such thing. Indeed, it is difficult to spot any clause in the Act that allows you to do anything you could not do already. Parents have been able to lobby for a local Gaelic-medium school for 40 years now; cosy little quangos like Bòrd na Gàidhlig have never wanted for public wonga and the Kirk was able to dub a given pastoral charge 'Gaelic Essential' long before the new, devolved Scotland. But you still cannot fill out your tax-return in Gaelic. Nor testify in court in Gaelic (with the right to an interpreter). And – if only to underline that, fundamentally, this new law amounts to no more than the square root of hee-haw – newly elected MSPs next May will still have to take the Oath of Allegiance in English. Some do, for a social media moment, take it again in Gaelic, French, Irish, Catalan and, for all I know, Serbo-Croat, but in law Geraldine Dreadful, MSP for Kilhammer and Sickle East, must swear (or affirm) in English. As for Kate Forbes's extra £5.7million 'to promote Scots and Gaelic', that – in terms of public spending – is chickenfeed. Just enough to build 46 yards of motorway. That is before I even get started on Scots. Despite the best efforts of Alistair Heather in a 2020 BBC Scotland documentary, Scots is not a language. Even if, as Heather did, you try to drag everything under its umbrella from ra patter o' Glesga to the 'Jings! Crivvens! Helpmaboab!' of Oor Wullie's Dundee. It would be inaccurate to describe the Doric as a dialect of English, but it is certainly a cognate of it – a cousin, sharing near-descent from the tongue of St Margaret and the Venerable Bede – as Gaelic is a cognate of Irish and Manx, and Welsh a cognate of Cornish and Breton. Scots has the same grammar as English, a vast vocabulary in common with English, and even rather a lot of loanwords from Gaelic. (English has sadly few: I'd struggle to get much beyond 'galore' and, in the complimentary sense, 'smashing'. Respectively, gu leor and 's math sin.) And behind this, of course, is a deeper tension. The Highlander's historic foe has never been the Englishman: since at least the Battle of Harlaw, it has been the Lowland Scot. From the Edinburgh factors who directed the Clearances to the sort of honk-honk Glasgow cabbie who cackles that Gaelic was never spoken here – this in the city of Yoker, Balshagray, Bellahouston and Auchenshuggle and many more incontestably Gaelic placenames. As for the Morningside Drive wits who chortle at Hebrideans treating their children to piotsa before a night in front of an telebhisean, we may but coyly ask what is the English for bandana, bangle, bungalow, jungle, loot, chutney and pyjamas, shampoo and thug and veranda. All, my child, loanwords from Hindi. But there is desperation beyond my scorn. At the edge of living memory, Gaelic was still spoken on the banks of Loch Lomond. When I was born, six decades ago, there were still Gaelic speakers in Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Arran and well east of Inverness. As late as 1970, the reluctant Free Presbyterian minister of Applecross stood for and won election to the county council, because no other local had confident command of written and spoken English; and Galloway's last native Gaelic speaker died only around 1760. For that matter, there are more Gaelic placenames in Fife than there are on Lewis. Yet this is now a tongue in desperate trouble. It is no longer a community language anywhere in the Scottish mainland. It survives, perhaps, in bits of Islay and some extremities of Skye. Even here in the Outer Hebrides, according to the 2022 Census, only in two parishes – South Uist and Barvas – is it still spoken by a majority of residents. And when, as Irish experience attests, those locally fluent fall below the tipping-point of 66 per cent and you must perforce daily use English to communicate, the position tends to be irretrievable. You end up not with a community language of hearth and home, but a 'network' language, largely used by those who make money out of it – educationists, broadcasters and so on. Like Esperanto, or Klingon. Less a mother tongue than a quaint hobby. Gaelic is all but beyond intensive care. It lies on the slab, is being readied for arterial embalming, and nothing in the involved and windy Scottish Languages Act amounts to a hill of beans in that regard. Labour MSP Michael Marra hit the nail on the head on Tuesday: 'This Bill does nowhere near enough to protect the Gaelic language. 'Without economic development in the heartlands, we know that the prospects for Scotland's ancient language are bleak. 'In the face of a Gaelic crisis, the SNP chose to bring a Bill of limited scope that will, at best, make modest improvements.' There are obvious villains. The imposition of compulsory, English-medium schooling from 1872. The catastrophic impact on Gaeldom of the Great War; the awful, flattening cultural force of television. But there were also the landlords who cleared the glens, the East Coast trawlers who laid waste our fishing, the emptying of Harris and Assynt, Uig and South Lochs and the accelerating inrush of settlers from the South, some of whom are not ten minutes in a given Hebridean community when – take the traditional Sabbath – they are shrieking to overturn its way of life. It is like watching a great barn pitiably ablaze, flames shooting high in the sky, roof-timbers already tumbling – helplessly beholding the collapse of your culture.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
MSPs back new powers supporting Gaelic and Scots
MSPs have voted unanimously in favour of new powers aimed at encouraging greater use of Gaelic and Scottish government said the Scottish Languages Bill would strengthen parents' rights to ask their local authority for a Gaelic school in their measures include establishing Gaelic and Scots as official figures from the 2022 Census showed 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills - an increase of 43,105 people from 2011. The statistics also suggested 2.4 million people in Scotland had some skills in Scots in 2022 - an increase of more than 515,000 on 2011. Growth in the language The bill supports the creation of "areas of linguistic significance" in Gaelic Scottish government said this would help ministers to better target policies to support growth in the qualifications are also to be made available in First Minister Kate Forbes said: "This legislation will introduce powers to accelerate the growth of Gaelic and Scots."It will establish them as official languages, introduce new educational standards and support the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities."She added: "While there has been an encouraging increase in the number of Gaelic speakers across Scotland, we recognise that more support is needed in communities where the language is traditionally spoken."This year marks 20 years since the introduction of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
MSPs pass bill giving Gaelic and Scots official status in Scotland
MSPs have passed a Bill which gives the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously in favour of the Scottish Languages Bill, which also makes changes to the support of Gaelic and Scots education, on Tuesday. Ministers say they are 'confident' the Bill will accelerate the growth of both languages, but Labour say it will do 'nowhere near enough'. Provisions included in the Bill involve the establishment of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities, allowing ministers to focus grant funding in areas where the language is most fragile. READ MORE: Scotland must 'go beyond mitigating Westminster' with minimum income guarantee Ahead of the Stage 3 debate, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'I am confident that this Bill will accelerate the growth of Gaelic and Scots by establishing both languages as official'. She said it would also 'strengthen the rights of parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area' as well as introduce targets for people speaking Gaelic and qualifications in the language. Forbes said: 'To support the growth of Scotland's indigenous languages, we are also providing an additional £5.7 million to promote Scots and Gaelic this year.' (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Labour's finance spokesperson Michael Marra said: 'This bill does nowhere near enough to protect the Gaelic language. 'Scottish Labour amendments will strengthen the legislation, but still the best that can be said is that this bill will do no harm. 'Without economic development in the heartlands, we know that the prospects for Scotland's ancient language are bleak. 'In the face of a Gaelic crisis, the SNP chose to bring a bill of limited scope that will, at best, make modest improvements.'
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
How new legislation would strengthen the rights of parents to ask for a Gaelic school
The Scottish Languages Bill will be debated on Tuesday, and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has written about the legislation's importance. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Having been immersed in Gaelic medium education since the age of three, I recognise the immense benefits Gaelic brings to communities around Scotland. Living in the Highlands, I've seen how the language is a unique selling point for Scotland when exporting products, like whisky, or inviting visitors to the country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, is based in Sleat, on the Isle of Skye | Sabhal Mòr Ostaig The language also benefits the economy, with our thriving Gaelic broadcasting supporting 340 jobs across Scotland. The success and talent of the sector has been showcased to the world through BBC ALBA's recent crime thriller series An t-Eilean, or 'The Island'. The programme, which debuted earlier this year, has had tremendous success, attracting a record number of viewers on BBC ALBA. It has also been sold to several European broadcasters and was recently named Europe's best regional programme at the CIRCOM Awards. To accelerate Gaelic's growth, the Scottish Government has introduced the Scottish Languages Bill, which MSPs will consider on Tuesday. I am honoured to take forward this Bill into its final stage as a Gaelic speaker and Scotland's first Cabinet secretary for the language. It presents us with a significant opportunity to protect and restore our treasured languages of Gaelic and Scots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad New powers within the Bill would strengthen the rights of parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be set up in their area. Under the plans, local authorities would be required to assess if the request was practical and affordable. After taking advice, ministers could direct local authorities to proceed with the establishment a new Gaelic school if the authority's assessment considers it to be viable. We know that Gaelic medium schools offer good value for money as they frequently demonstrate above average performance despite costs being no greater than English medium schools. Research also indicates that children who are bilingual tend to perform better in school and have access to more jobs when they grow up. The Scottish National Party's (SNP) Kate Forbes. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Other measures include introducing educational standards for Gaelic and Scots and bringing forward targets on the number of people speaking and learning Gaelic. This would ensure that ministers are accountable to MSPs on progress made in growing Gaelic throughout Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Bill would also establish Scots and Gaelic as official languages and support the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities, so that we can better target policies to support the language's growth These provisions aim to build on the encouraging progress made in the most recent census in 2022, which found an increase in Gaelic use for the first time since 1971. However, I recognise that more needs to be done to grow Gaelic in communities where it is traditionally spoken following a drop in speakers in the Outer Hebrides. That's why the Scottish Government is working with partners to support more economic and social opportunities in Gaelic communities so that more people who speak the language continue to live in those areas. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Languages Bill would also play a vital role in restoring Gaelic's place in these communities. The significance of Gaelic medium education to the language's resurgence is reflected through my own family. My grandparents, who lived just south of Inverness, spoke the language, but this was not passed on to my parents. But through Gaelic medium education I had the privilege to become fluent in Gaelic. I am optimistic that, with the passage of this Bill, the privilege of Gaelic medium education will become more widely available to children and young people in all parts of Scotland.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Forbes: Law would help parents who want Gaelic schools
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes says new legislation would "strengthen the rights" of parents who want Gaelic medium education (GME) in their local area. Under the proposed powers, the Scottish government could request that a local authority carry out an assessment into the viability of the provision. GME is available to all children and young people in 14 out of Scotland's 32 local authorities , according to Education Scotland. MSPs are due to vote on the Scottish Languages Bill next week. The proposed legislation also includes establishing Gaelic and Scots as official languages. More stories from the Highlands and Islands News from the Highlands and Islands on BBC Sounds On a visit to Inverness, Forbes told BBC Naidheachdan: "Through the languages bill, we are strengthening the rights of parents and pupils to ask for Gaelic medium education in their area. "In the past, a parent could ask for Gaelic medium education but there was no guarantee that it would be delivered. "What we've introduced through the bill is that where a parent asks for it and it isn't provided, referral can be made to the Scottish government to then also make that request." Forbes, who is a Gaelic speaker, said other "processes" would have to be followed before GME could eventually be put in place. She said there were some "complexities" in the proposed legislation, adding: "What we've done is strengthen the voice of parents who ask for Gaelic medium education." Forbes added that the Scottish government was separately trying to boost the numbers of Gaelic teachers. There have been warnings in the past of a shortage of GME teaching staff. Education Scotland, a Scottish government agency, said GME was available in about 60 primary schools and their associated secondaries in Scotland. GME is available to children through primary and secondary school. The number of people using Gaelic has increased across Scotland despite a decline in the language's heartland, according to the latest census data. The 2022 figures showed 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills - an increase of 43,105 people from 2011. Experts said the increase in GME accounted for the rise. However, the data suggested Gaelic was a minority language in the Western Isles. While 52% reported speaking Gaelic in 2011, the figure in 2022 was 45%. The census figures also suggested 2.4 million people in Scotland had some skills in Scots skills in 2022 - an increase of more than 515,000 on 2011. New powers proposed to support Gaelic and Scots
