Gaelic And Scots Critics ‘Taken Out’

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

I have said on many occasions that we don’t simply like to do reposts or links on Celtic News but sometimes an article pops up that is just to good not to recycle.

‘Wee Ginger Dug’ (aka Paul Kavanagh) has excelled himself in this piece (link below) in which he literally ‘takes out’ those who demean or oppose Gaelic and Scots.

He starts by reference to comments made recently about bilingual signage.

Readers of Celtic News will be all too aware of the sort of comment. it was epitomised by the two articles we ran recently referring to the Daily Mirror and the comments it made about bilingual signage in Cornwall:

He also concludes his article by referring once again to the signage issue but his comments have a resonance for the other Celtic countries and there languages.

Here are the final two paragraphs of his article ‘Signs of repayment of a debt to Gaelic and Scots’:

“The purpose of Gaelic signage is to give the language a public presence. Gaelic was once the dominant language of all of Scotland north and west of a line drawn roughly from Gretna to Musselburgh, and was even found in the far south east as well. Gaelic signs remind us all that the English language has never been the only language of Scotland, and make a public statement that the language enjoys respect and support. That’s why they’re there, to remind English speaking Scots that their lazy assumption of English language dominance can and should be challenged, and that’s why members of the Scottish political and cultural establishment object to them.

But more than that, Gaelic and Scots have been marginalised because of the actions of the state, so the state has a duty to ensure that the languages survive. That’s moral restitution, it’s the repayment of a debt. We owe it to our languages, we owe it to ourselves.”

Finally his blog is self sustained and with writing like this its well worth supporting so send ‘the Dug’ a donation – I have!

Link:

https://weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/signs-of-repayment-of-a-debt-to-gaelic-and-scots/

J B Moffatt (Mr)

Director of Information

Celtic League

07/08/15

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