5. CONCLUSION
The purpose of this research was to conduct an audit of current Scots language provision in Scotland. The audit looked at provision by source, type, CoEECRML category and provider, and aimed to identify any gaps it found. This represents the first research of its type by the Scottish Government and forms a baseline understanding of current Scots language provision in Scotland. Perhaps as a result, the research was actually overwhelmed by the large number of respondents willing to share their experience, keenness and passion about Scots. Consequently, although an audit such as this can never be more than a snapshot of a diverse community - a community constantly changing - more data were made available to the researcher than expected, resulting in confidence in the depiction of provision that the audit has found.
The audit has created a spreadsheet/table of provision which contains around 270 entries of provision. It is appended to this report and will become a resource for its commissioners in the further examination of the policy implications of current Scots language provision in Scotland.
This study discovered a healthy, vital and diverse community of passionate providers interacting with a Scots-speaking public who appeared to value the provision highly. The audit found many acts of provision across the range of CoEECRML categories of public life. Evidence from this audit shows that current provision was strongest in the categories of Education and Cultural Activities and Facilities and less apparent in the categories of Judicial Authorities and Administrative Authorities and Public Services. The audit noted the significant growth potential in the field of Media. Providers ranged from established, centrally-based organisations in traditional fields such as academia, to more grassroots organisations which support the Scots language at a local level. Scots language provision was clearly on the agenda of the Scottish Parliament (as evidenced by the membership and work of the Cross-Party Group on the Scots Language) but it appeared to be less apparent on the agendas of local authorities. In Education, there was evidence of much activity in higher education and in the primary school sector, and potential for further growth in the secondary school sector. Current provision was also less evident in the economic and social development fields, providing opportunities for learning from examples outwith the provision community when building new development strategies. Across the range of provision, whether in making Scots language primary education more available or at the level of access to local authorities, more support and more systematic application of support could potentially create more provision. This could allow the examples of provision in public life which already exist to be more widely available to many more Scots speakers. Such development and consolidation of gains already made could help ensure that Scots-speaking citizens of Scotland can take greater pride in their language across a wider range of experiences in their lives.
In the absence of a formal overarching government language policy for Scots, Scotland appears to have an active, highly engaged and highly skilled, yet fragile community engaged in delivering Scots language provision. It depends to a large extent on voluntary activity, which was described in interviews as a strength in terms of the drive and enthusiasm this engenders, and as a concern in terms of stability and the ability to plan for future provision. In a situation like this the provision community needs support, stability and opportunity so that the voluntary efforts of the many remain a rewarding and productive experience.
This research has uncovered a very active and diverse community of providers who have, for the most part, carried the torch for the Scots language for some time. These organisations are the result of individual and collective passion for the language and lay a strong foundation for the further development of provision in the future. The language they support appears to be a living language, and one which requires its own unique measures of support. This legacy of provision, combined with the Scottish Government's recent expression of support for the language augers well for Scots language provision in the near future.
Potential ways forward for increasing Scots language provision
The findings from this baseline audit and the gaps in provision identified, which have been placed into one or more of the seven categories used in Part III of the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, suggest that Scots language provision could be encouraged and developed further in various areas of public life. These 'ways forward' do not constitute a coherent language policy nor are they meant to suggest such. They are individual suggestions made in response to the data gathered and are offered as potential opportunities which emerge from the findings. They are as much a result of the structure of the research process as the field in which the research was conducted. Nevertheless, they offer a small set of points which might form the focus of further discussion.
Education
The audit found strong provision in the Education category at primary and higher education levels, and weaker provision in secondary schools and further education. Several respondents in interview pointed to the need to extend provision in secondary schools in order to support children as they go through the school system, and opportunities opened up through Curriculum for Excellence could be used to do this.
- The Scottish Government could take account of recent progress that has been made in some local authority areas to develop and increase provision for the Scots language in primary and secondary schools, and with regard to Curriculum for Excellence and the role of local authorities in the delivery of education, consider how such developments may be built upon to encourage and support the expansion of provision in other local authority areas, particularly with regard to secondary school education.
- The Scottish Government in partnership with local authority education departments could explore the potential for providing continuous professional development for teachers in the area of the Scots language.
- The Scottish Government could consider commissioning further research to explore attitudes to the Scots language in teaching and examine existing barriers to its use in the classroom. Such research could also explore attitudes of parents to the Scots language and its status as a living, everyday language.
Judicial Authorities
The audit found little provision for the Scots language within the justice system, and no overarching provision, with handling of the Scots language appearing to be the responsibility of individual courts and police forces located in Scots-speaking areas. However, the audit has found that organisations exist that can be consulted on the use of Scots in court cases, and for the translation of documents into and from the Scots language.
- The Scottish Government could consider how awareness may be raised within the Scottish judicial system, of the opportunities which currently exist to provide Scots language translation services, and other support services such as the provision of definitions of Scots words to assist in determining laws and cases and other general advice and consultation services for the Scots language which may be of use to the justice system .
Administrative Authorities and Public Services
The audit found no evidence of an overarching policy for local authorities, although it found several examples of Scots language provision at an individual, local authority level. These were, however, difficult to locate on individual local authorities' websites, whilst other language provision was overt and easily found.
- The Scottish Government could consider, in partnership with local authorities and Scots language provision organisations how: the profile of Scots language provision at local authority level may be developed or increased; Scots language events occurring in local authority areas may be better publicised; and consider the ways in which these and other aspects of provision for the Scots language may be better promoted and coordinated at local and national levels.
The audit found limited provision for the Scots language at a national level, with the Scottish Parliament's own website providing access to parliamentary documents in Scots, transcripts and minutes of the Cross Party Group on Scots available online, and Scots language pages encouraging Scots speakers to access their Parliament in Scots and offering guidance on how to do so. However, the audit found no comprehensive, overarching programme to translate Parliamentary documents into Scots.
- The Scottish Government could give fresh consideration to how it and other national bodies or authorities, such as the Scottish Parliament, may promote and increase the use of Scots in their functions and policies.
Media
The audit found that the Scots language does have a presence in the Scottish media, but that no central source exists for this, and it can be difficult to know what has been programmed and available without consulting various different sources. Existing media, whether print, radio or television, do contain opinion pieces, documentaries, local radio shows and other programming in Scots. There is also a media-link service provided by the Scots Language Centre on its website that provides links to Scots language productions by television and radio broadcasters, programming in Scots, Scots news, podcasts and other Scots broadcast material. The audit also found that there is increasing media provision for Scots in the community radio sector, and many community stations also offer their broadcasts over the internet, potentially widening Scots programming to different communities.
- The Scottish Government, in consultation with Scots language community stakeholders, could consider how new media such as the Web, may be harnessed to provide increased access to Scots language services; consider how Scots language materials in print, radio, television and film media may be better promoted; and ensure that any plans to develop a new Scottish television network, as recommended recently by the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, recognise and reflect the importance of the Scots language in programmes to be shown on the channel.
Cultural Activities and Facilities
The audit found strong provision for the Scots language in the cultural activities and facilities category, including written and oral work in the language, theatre and music, cultural events such as festivals, and other Scots language events. The audit also found within this category, the existence of many 'umbrella' organisations for Scots literature, the arts, music, oral Scots, readership and new creative writing.
- The Scottish Government could ensure that the soon-to-be-established Creative Scotland takes account of the relevance of the Scots language in performance arts and literature, and ensure that Creative Scotland plays a strategic role for Scots language provision in performance arts and literature in Scotland.
Economic and Social Life
The audit found that provision for the Scots language in social and economic life is confined to individual projects and local or regional initiatives. The production of cultural goods such as books, plays, films or music in Scotland, and local festivals and events, directly contribute to the economic and social life of Scotland. An increased status for Scots as a language would have important economic and social consequences for Scots speakers and the provision of the language itself.
- The Scottish Government, in partnership with Scots language community stakeholders, could consider how to support and promote the Scots language - in all its variations - and to raise its status as a diverse, living language to be respected and valued throughout Scotland. The Scots language should be considered as an asset for economic development, and The Scottish Government could consider how the Scots language and cultural practices can underpin a growing tourism and music/literature economy that caters to an international market. The Scottish Government could also ensure that the forthcoming review of the Scottish traditional arts sector takes account of the economic and social contribution made by artists who perform in the Scotland language.
Trans-Frontier Exchanges
Although entries in the spreadsheet under the Trans-Frontier category are not substantial, provision in this category appears to be fairly strong, as entries in the other categories cut across the trans-frontier area, with many exchanges occurring around cultural products and scholarly research. Literary festivals and tours, film-making, music and entries in the Scots language or about the Scots language on the web, represent the language to the wider world. The Scottish diaspora is to be found world-wide, and many Scottish societies, clan societies, clubs, newsletters and blogs emanating from North America indicate the level of interest overseas.
- The Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities and Scots language stakeholders, could consider how to raise awareness and promote the value of the Scots language, both at a Scotland-wide and international level, so that the language is viewed as an integral and valued part of Scotland's culture and as an attraction for those visiting Scotland to participate in that culture as tourists or as 'home-comers' to their Scottish roots.
General
The audit found that there is currently no single lead organisation or person positioned with an overall and general responsibility for Scots language provision; nor is there any overarching policy concerning the language. Rather, there are a number of individuals and organisations who, in pursuing their own agendas, operate as a loose collective with Scots as their major concern.
- The Scottish Government, in consultation with key Scots language community stakeholders, could consider how support for and promotion of the Scots language may be better coordinated.