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Future of Scots language
09/02/2009
The Scots Language Dictionaries and Scots Language Centre will be brought into a direct funding relationship with the Scottish Government from September 2009.
Culture Minister Linda Fabiani made the announcement today as she hosts a conference for members of the Scots language community at Stirling University.
Ms Fabiani also met pupils at St Ninians Primary School to hear details of their Scots dictionary project, supported by Scots Language Dictionaries, which will see them compiling words from all over Scotland. The editorial team of primary seven pupils is also asking Scots from all over the world to bring home Scots words that have been taken overseas and are still in use.
Ms Fabiani said:
"It seemed odd to me that the Scots Language Dictionaries and Scots Language Centre have never had funding certainty. Scots is a living language to be cherished and supported. That is why I am announcing today that the Scottish Government will assume responsibility for directly funding these two bodies for the remainder of this spending review period.
"Our recently commissioned Audit of Current Provision for the Scots Language shows the variety of individuals and organisations working for the Scots language around the country. Today's conference is about engaging with those people, capturing their ideas and discussing potential ways forward for promoting and developing the language in the future.
"Scots is such a rich and important part of our culture, and we must work together to promote and develop its use, particularly in the arts, education and broadcasting. The Audit we are discussing today quite rightly recognises that the Scots language is a cultural and community asset, but also that more could be done to develop it as an economic asset. It is incumbent upon us that we protect and nurture that asset so that we may realise its full potential.
"It is great to see schoolchildren like those at St Ninians learning about and using Scots, and the idea of Scots from all over the world bringing home words in the Year of Homecoming really captures the spirit of what language is about - it evolves. With fun at its core, this is the kind of project that will encourage future generations to use and enjoy Scots, and of course our fantastic literature."
Billy Kay, author of Scots: The Mither Tongue, said:
"In the future we may well look back and regard this as an historic day for the language that is close to so many Scottish hearts at home and abroad. I'm delighted that part of it will be a celebration of the Scots tongue that is in the mouths of local schoolchildren in Denny and Stirling. Every time I go out to speak to children in their mither tongue, I am always worried that I might be disappointed in what I find, but I always leave exhilarated and inspired with the Scots the bairns retain. In Sanquhar Primary School recently, talking to the kids about their local dialect and its relationship with the language of Burns, one wee lassie Bronwen, said of her rich treasure of Scots words...
"...ye don't actually ken ye're sayin thaim, they jist come oot yer mooth so they dae, ye jist say thaim automatically."
"The children have Scots - it is up to the adults at today's hugely important conference to make sure their language, our language, is given its rightful status in the Scotland of the future."
Elaine Wyllie, head teacher of St Ninians Primary School, said:
"I am looking forward to the conference today and to a constructive discussion on promoting use and learning of the Scots language. This is a positive step forward for the Scots language community and I hope that the involvement of children and young people is at the heart of any suggestions to further promote and develop the use of Scots. The 'Words for the Weans' project at St Ninians is exactly the kind of fun initiative that enthuses young people about the language, keeping it alive, in use and as relevant as ever."