Gaelic for ‘waste’

On a recent car journey from Perth to Oban I was intrigued to note, en route, the number of place names on road signs now indicating a Gaelic equivalent.

Indeed, throughout Scotland, bilingual signs appear to be on the increase, even in parts where Gaelic was never spoken. The cost of this exercise to local authorities must have been considerable.

At its peak in 1755, Gaelic was only understood and spoken by about 27 per cent of the population of Scotland; and in areas such as the south-west of Scotland the Celtic tongue was more likely to have been of Brythonic origin, similar to Welsh, rather than of the Goidelic form found in the Highlands. Today only 1 per cent of the population of Scotland speaks Gaelic; and an even smaller percentage are fully literate in the language.

Why, then, are local councils being pressed by the current Scottish Government into this complete waste of financial resources when budgets pertaining to the NHS, education, welfare, policing, local council services etc are strapped for cash – it just does not make sense! I have checked up on the measures taken by the Scottish Government which have led to this situation, and found it was enacted through the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act. What, then, does the polarised SNP administration hope to achieve through this sort of policy? Is it just another ploy to create divisions and split up the UK ? ROBERT I G SCOTT Northfield, Ceres, Fife