BY KIRSTY WATT
Proposals for Skye and Raasay’s community Gaelic language plan were aired last Thursday evening at a meeting at Portree Community Centre.
People from across the region attended the meeting chaired in Gaelic by Màrtainn Mac a’ Bhàillidh and Faye MacLeod, both of Portree’s Comann nam Pàrant. The meeting was simultaneously translated by Mark Wringe.
Focusing on actions which could be made within the community to maintain and encourage the use of Gaelic, the meeting also discussed the need for a plan to support and encourage the designation of Skye and Raasay as an Area of Linguistic Significance under the new Scottish Languages Act.
Brought into law on St Andrew’s Day last year, the Act recognises Gaelic and Scots as official languages of Scotland, empowers parents to ask for Gaelic medium education in their area and supports the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities to help support the language’s growth.
Màrtainn told the Free Press: “The plan gives us an opportunity to make clear our demands and ambitions as a community to the Highland Council [who will be designating areas of linguistic significance]. While these ALS are being introduced, there is not a lot of clarity about what exactly they mean in practice and what additional support we are going to get in Skye and Raasay once we are dedicated an ALS. We see the plan as an opportunity to push Highland Council on various policies and supports that we, as a community, would like to see introduced.”
Ideas discussed at Thursday’s meeting for ways to support Gaelic within the community included the appointment of a development officer who would work with tourism operators offering advice on incorporating traditional stories, Gaelic phrases and on using Gaelic as a unique selling point.
Also discussed was the potential to bring in a Gaelic medium education first policy, as is already in play in the Western Isles, which gives parents the opportunity to ‘opt out’ of GME rather than ‘opt in’.
Màrtainn said: “These are not things our plan can make happen, but it gives us a lever to say to Highland Council that these are things our community want.”
The community Gaelic language plan for Skye and Raasay is being led by Comann nam Pàrant, with support from Urras an Eilein (Skye Gaelic Trust) and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. They are currently in the process of applying for funding to help take the plan forward by hiring a plan manager who will work with a steering group of volunteers.
A series of workshops will be held across Skye and Raasay this summer to allow communities to contribute to the plan which is hoped to be up and running by the end of the year.
Elsewhere in Scotland, community language plans have already been published for North-west Lewis and Uist.
