Groan over Gaelic

English is the official or primary language in more than 50 countries, from Singapore to Scotland. It is the international language of business, law and culture. It is so unique that its phrases are adopted into foreign speech.

In recent months President Macron of France has been censured for adopting phrases such as “crowdfunding” and “start-up” while his economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, began a speech in French before continuing:

“Please allow me to switch to English to reflect the international audience.”

Isn’t it remarkable, then, that with English the official and primary language of Scotland it is being diminished by treating it as similar to Gaelic by the SNP executive in official branding? Gaelic is a technology-free language spoken by 1 per cent of the population and written by even fewer. Clearly the SNP want to make Scotland as different as possible from England and making Gaelic officially equivalent to English is one way to do that.

Nowhere is this more inane than the branding of police vehicles with the words “Poileas Alba”. Police Scotland’s fiveing year Gaelic Language Plan runs until 2021, during which time all signage, logos and stationery will be duplicated in Gaelic.

How will this help Police Scotland keep the country – from Wick to Annan – safe? This is yet another victory for another minority paid for by the silent majority whose taxes fund all the inclusivity, diversity and gobbledegook the SNP can come up with. WILLIAM LONESKIE

Oxton, Lauder