Gaelic Language Plan Consultation
16 August 2021 at 16:33:54
Overview
The Scottish Government recognises that Gaelic is an integral
part of Scotland's heritage, national identity and current cultural
life.
The Scottish Government has taken action and has put in place the
necessary structures and initiatives to ensure that Gaelic has a
sustainable future in a modern, growing and progressive Scotland.
However, we are aware the position of Gaelic remains fragile.
For Gaelic to have a sustainable future, there needs to be a
concerted effort on the part of Government, the public sector, the
private sector, community bodies and individual speakers to:
- promote the acquisition of speaking, reading and writing skills in Gaelic
- enable the use of Gaelic in a range of social, formal and work settings
- expand the respect for, and visibility, audibility and recognition of Gaelic
- develop the quality, consistency and richness of Gaelic
The development of Gaelic Language Plans by public bodies is a key
component of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Gaelic
Language Plans help to formalise and communicate to an
organisation's staff what its policy is in relation to Gaelic
matters, and makes clear to users and learners of Gaelic what
services they can expect to access through the Gaelic
language.
This is the Scottish Government's third iteration of its Gaelic
Language Plan, prepared within the framework of the 2005 Act. It
sets out how we will use Gaelic in carrying out our business, how
we will enable the use of Gaelic when people interact with the
government, and how we will promote the development of Gaelic. The
Scottish Government's role is an important one in supporting Bòrd
na Gàidhlig and other organisations in achieving the aims of the
National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-23.
Like Bòrd na Gàidhlig, working with other organisations is key to
our delivery of support for the Gaelic language and we wish to
encourage all organisations to do what they can in this area. Small
changes to how we all work can make a difference.
Why we are consulting
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the Gaelic language and we want to ensure that our commitments will help meet the needs of Gaelic speakers who may wish to contact us.
