'Gaels have nothing to fear from Gaelic becoming an election issue'
Chuir Art freagairt an àirde air an duilleag Northern Times ainmeil ud. Thàinig 67 beachdan a-steach air an duilleag gu ruige seo, a' mhòr-chuid aca taiceil dhan Ghàidhlig. Seo na sgrìobh Art:
Art put a comment on that famous Northen Times page. 67 comments have come in on that page up to now. The majority of them supporting Gaelic. Here's what Art wrote:
'I am interested in comments by 'Domhnall' and the lack of any evidence advanced by those on this forum, and others, who choose to speak out against Gaelic. It is, of course, very easy to use phrases like the 'vast majority' without backing that up. I was once told by Councillor John Rosie, for instance, that it was the 'settled will of the Caithness people' that they did not want Gaelic signs in their county, although I don't remember a vote on that!
Gaels have nothing to fear from Gaelic becoming an election issue. I was simply advancing the argument that anything that equates to less than three quarters of a tenth of one percent (0.07%) of the Scottish budget is hardly likely to be a major election issue. However, if it does, good and well. The Scottish Parliament passed the Gaelic Language Act which calls for equal respect for Gaelic with English, and only the Scottish Parliament can rescind the Act. This seems highly unlikely, so people should get used to it and show the respect for Gaelic the law calls for.
As for the 'vast majority' being against Gaelic, the last time that opinion was tested out by MRUK (one of the bodies that accurately predicts the outcome of general elections) and the BBC, the overwhelming majority of people in Scotland were supportive of Gaelic. 68% considered maintenance and development of Gaelic to be either important or very important, while 86% believed that young people should be enabled to learn Gaelic if they so wished. 76% believed that all school pupils should learn about Gaelic heritage and 71% believed that there should be opportunities for people to learn Gaelic across Scotland.
That is some evidence, and I have plenty more to support expenditure on Gaelic, whether that is the social, economic, cultural, educational or cognitive benefits that come from engaging with the language.'
Sin thu fhèin Art - deasbad - Bring it on!
Tuilleadh an seo:
http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fu ... ation.html
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