Civil service told to use more Gaelic language
The use of Gaelic is to increase at the Scottish government under plans to save the “fragile” language.
The Scottish government wants to “mainstream” Gaelic among its staff and the public with hopes it will be used “more often, by more people and in a wider range of situations”.
Under proposals, every directorate at the government will be involved in increasing the use of Gaelic in the organisation.
Latest official figures show that 1.7% of the population of Scotland – 87,056 people – can speak, write or understand Gaelic, according to the 2011 census.
The draft Gaelic Language Plan for 2021-2026 has now been published as the government seeks “faster rates of progress” for the language.
The use of Gaelic is to increase at the Scottish government under plans to save the “fragile” language.
The Scottish government wants to “mainstream” Gaelic among its staff and the public withhopesitwillbeused“more often, by more people and in a wider range of situations”.
Underproposals,everydirectorateatthegovernmentwillbe involvedinincreasingtheuseof Gaelic in the organisation.
Latest figures show that 1.7% of the population of Scotland – 87,056 people – can speak, write or understand Gaelic, according to the 2011 census.
The draft Gaelic Language Plan for 2021-2026 has now been published as the government seeks “faster rates of progress” for the language.
Under proposals, English and Gaelic versions of the Scottish Government logo will be displayed with equal prominence with key signage to display
both languages in time.
The government wants to “grow” the use of Gaelic when interacting with the public, with plans already in place to hire more Gaelic-speaking staff to deal with inquiries.
The draft plan also looks to “regularly explore and promote” opportunities to hold public meetings bilingually or in Gaelic.
An audit of Gaelic skills among staff will be held next year.
The draft plan said that Gaelic was an integral part of Scotland’s "heritage, national identity and current cultural life”.
"However, we are aware the position of Gaelic remains fragile,” it added.
Launching the consultation, Education Secretary Shirleyanne Somerville said: "The Gaelic language is a vital part of Scotland's cultural identity and we are determined to continue to support the status and long-term future of Gaelic and maximise the opportunities to use, learn and promote the language.
"If Gaelic is to have a sustainable future, there needs to be a concerted effort on the part of government and partners to promote and enable the use of the language.
"The draft version of our Gaelic Language Plan aims to support this by building on the commitments in place since the publication of our first plan in 2010.
"We welcome all views and I look forward to considering all responses to our consultation."