"Crass attempt to indoctrinate the nation"

by DOUG COLLIE

Scottish Borders Council appears to be facing an uphill struggle as it embarks on its first ever campaign to promote the Gaelic language locally, with little interest shown by residents, and a measure of negativity and hostility from those who bothered to respond during a consultation exercise.

According to the local authority's website, a mere 15 minutes will be devoted by councillors this week when they meet to debate  the Scottish Borders Proposed Gaelic Language Plan (version 6), a 31-page document drawn up by officers. Every Scottish council must prepare a Gaelic strategy on the instructions of the Scottish Government.

The report states: "The Council wants to make a positive contribution to supporting the Gaelic language. We also recognise however that the Scottish Borders is an extensive rural lowland region with a dispersed settlement pattern , no single large urban centre, and a range of small towns. The Scottish Borders does not have a tradition of Gaelic speaking, nor a strong indigenous Gaelic culture, and we are therefore starting from a low base in promoting the language in our local schools and communities."

As the report points out, there are people in the Scottish Borders who speak Gaelic. Most of them are individuals who have come to settle in the region. 

According to SBC a number of these Gaelic speakers are long-time residents of the Scottish Borders having come initially for work in the textile Industry (connections with Harris Tweed) and in local hotels. 

The total number of Borders people recorded as being able to speak and/or read and/or write and/or understand Gaelic in the 2011 Census was 771 (0.7% of the Scottish Borders population, compared to 1.7% for the whole of Scotland). Of these, the total number of people who could speak Gaelic was 375 (0.34% of the Scottish Borders population compared to 1.1% of the Scottish population). 

"While the present population of Gaelic-speakers in the Borders is small, there is increasing interest in learning the language, a number of people resident in the Borders are taking advantage of on-line learning opportunities to an advanced level, and there is a wider community within the population of Border who are engaging with the language through its music and song.

The report explains that SBC currently provides GME [Gaelic Medium Education] through a partnership arrangement with City of Edinburgh Council. Partnership arrangements support developing capacity and effective resourcing across the region and high-quality Gaelic Medium learning for children and young people.  This provision is supported by Scottish Borders Council and available on application by parents.

" A limited stock of Gaelic language books is available at Library Headquarters and items are available in children’s collections across Scottish Borders libraries. Requests for Gaelic items are infrequent; however, this may be due to a lack of awareness and has been identified as an area for development. Also no Bookbug sessions in Gaelic are being run currently."

The council offered and ran a course for teachers in partnership with Togi Gaelic in January - May 2022. Two teachers attended this course. 

"We have since offered three more courses; two 6-week courses for beginners and one standalone workshop day. This was offered across Scottish Borders Council and the other South-East authorities; however we had no uptake. This was despite our best efforts to promote the course". 

A public consultation on the Gaelic plans staged by the council saw just 24 responses, 19 out of  the 24 respondents could not speak Gaelic. 

Comments included: * “If it is used in the Scottish Borders it will be used by very few people. As stated before to make Scottish Borders council develop a strategy is a shocking waste of time and resource.” 

* “It would be great to see more opportunities to learn Gaelic!” 

* “It’s a crass attempt by the SNP to indoctrinate the nation - Gaelic was never spoken in the Scottish Borders” 

* “An irrelevance.” 

* “Gaelic has no history in the Borders, we should support the use of Scots. This is an invasive move on behalf of the west coast.” 

* “Gaelic has not been a language of the Borders for a long time, it remained in the Highlands long after it had began dying out in the Borders. I feel it is the language of the Highlands.”

* “I would be far more enthusiastic to hear that SBC are adopting a strong policy for the retention, and teaching, of Scots. This is, I feel, the language we are most at risk of losing. Young people don’t use Scots words, I do and I’m 38.” 

* “Please don't waste my council tax money on trying to teach my children a little used language. Use it to teach them something more useful, like a modern European language or teaching them that there is an exciting world out there beyond Scotland.”