Meeting of the Parliament 17 September 2024 [Draft]
Thank you, Presiding Officer. The important part is that we are talking about it. Gaeldom is here, in the centre of the Scottish Government and the Parliament. We are also talking about Scots being given legal status as a language. That is an important thing for us all to look at, surely.
I will continue the positivity. I have some frustrations, and some of those frustrations will be in ma ain mither tongue of Scots. Language is fluid; it is alive and continually grows. Liam Kerr referred to defining Scots earlier. That might be how we differ. During the evidence sessions, committee colleagues said that there was a problem with defining what the Scots language is. Is it the colourful language of the west of Scotland, the Doric of the north-east, or the more academic proper Scots of literature?
As I said, I spent most of my childhood being told not to speak in Scots at any stage. My mother also warned me about the demon drink, and that did not work out well for her, either. This is a very long way of me saying that, in my opinion, it is all Scots. That includes DC Thomson’s “The Broons” and “Oor Wullie”, because they are an important part of our culture.
I want to hear the voice of my community in art and drama. The Deputy First Minister and I attended a cultural event recently, and she joked about there being even more drama in Paisley. Although there is quite a lot of drama in the great town of Paisley, I would be quite happy to have more drama based there.
All I want is for us to get over ourselves a bit and to embrace the many variations of our vibrant and extremely expressive Scots language. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has a Scots language policy and that Scots features prominently in education, publishing and the arts, but we still need to work to ensure that all our voices are heard. I appreciate that the bill will be the first time that we give Scots legal status, but we need to ensure that our language remains alive and vibrant and an important part of our nation.
I welcome the bill and how it treats Scotland’s languages. It is important that we embrace our past, while looking to the future. If we do not do that, what is the point of all of us in the chamber? Who are we as a people? Never again do I want any man, woman or child to feel embarrassed by their use of language, or the language that they use. We are better than that. Who would not want to describe themselves in the colourful language of Scotland?
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