http://news.scotsman.com/letters/Letter ... 6501422.jp
This one is worth quoting and memorising for future ripostes:
Mòran taing, a Dhaibhaidh!dàibhidh,
30/08/2010 14:24:07
"I have opposed Gaelic subsidies, seeing it as unreasonable to pay people to speak a language there isn't much call for"
What a load of rubbish. Learners of the Gaelic language are at an all time high, more and more Gaelic medium schools and units are opening, in the Highland's business are adopting Gaelic on their signs and literature in a way neve seen before.
Finally, the importance, richness and economic value of the language are being realised. Tourists note that visibile Gaelic adds a sense of place to Scotland and sets it apart from other parts of the UK, making it a more desirable place to live.
Anecdotal evidence of tourists doing u-turns due to bilingual signage are nonsense; most I've spoken to have no issues with it and, given they mainly speak 2+ landuages in any case, don't see any problem with more than just English being available in the country. Indeed, most are surprised about how comfortably monoglot most Scots are.
Why is it that Scotland and many Scots are happy being one of the few countries in the world where having a second (or third if you include Scots) indigenous landguage is seen as a bad thing? It adds to the richness of our country, plays an important parts in our economic vitality and, in the grand scheme of things, costs very little...
I'm all for BBC Alba with or without rugby...but let's make it available on Freeview too, huh?!?!