Meeting of the Parliament 24 April 2018
Scotland’s Gaelic heritage is something that all parties in this chamber rightly stand ready to protect and uphold. My colleague Liz Smith spoke about some of the work that the Scottish Conservatives in Government undertook before devolution to promote the language and the rich culture associated with it. We stand alongside that work today.
I welcome the work that has gone into the national Gaelic language plan from Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the process that has led to its development. As a Highlands and Islands member, I recognise the strong Gaelic heritage that is found, in particular, in the islands and west Highlands—specifically in Lewis, South Uist, Lochaber and Wester Ross. In those parts of Scotland, Gaelic is the language of day-to-day life. However, Gaelic culture continues to thrive not only in the Highlands and Islands but in other parts of Scotland. The central belt’s association with the language reflects more modern population movements, as Gaelic-speaking highlanders migrated south in search of opportunities. We see some of that legacy just up the road from the Parliament, where Greyfriars church maintains its regular Gaelic language service, having absorbed the congregation of the Highland Tollbooth St John’s church, which now sees a new lease of life as the Hub, the home of Edinburgh’s international festival.
Members have touched on Glasgow’s links with the language. Particularly through music and other cultural outlets, much of Scotland is at least touched by a Gaelic influence. Indeed, its historical reach is often underestimated. Still, my region retains its position as the home of Gaelic today, particularly in rural communities. I have spoken on many occasions about the challenges that are faced by remote and rural communities in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. We face a real challenge in ensuring that those rural communities are sustainable for the future.
Moving beyond the Gaelic-speaking areas, we see a huge diversity of cultures in Scotland. I am an Orcadian, and people in our islands most likely moved from speaking Pictish to speaking Norse and then English without any historical Gaelic tradition. It remains a matter of academic speculation how closely the Pictish language was related to the insular Celtic languages of Britain. In other areas that I represent, there is a long Doric tradition—in the Highlands and Islands, there is a distinct Moray and Nairn sub-dialect of that. We also know well of other languages that have been brought to Scotland more recently by our migrant communities.
Sitting in that context, Gaelic is one of many strong cultural influences that the whole of Scotland can recognise as part of our collective cultural heritage. One element that must be removed is the thankfully fringe pursuit of politicising languages in one way or another. Languages are not political beasts, much less political weapons, and culture thrives by crossing barriers, not by being exclusive or exclusionary. In the areas where Gaelic has a strong presence, it is clearly right that it is recognised by the state. It is right that distinctive cultures and traditions are taken into account when policy is drafted and considered. As the Gaelic language plan shows, that bisects the tiers of government: it is a consideration not only for central Government but for a range of institutions from local councils to health boards.
In his introduction to the plan, the chair of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Allan MacDonald, recognises the challenges of recruiting high-quality staff in Gaelic-medium education, which members have touched on.