The Language Game

I tend not to comment on the place of languages in Scottish education. After all, I've been away from the classroom for over 20 years and away from local authority work for almost five. I think people like me should get on with our own lives: eating lunch, reading books and drinking the odd glass of sauvignon blanc - and usually that's just what I do.

But occasionally, someone rattles my cage so severely that I can't ignore it. At the moment, it's the Scotsman and the Herald newspapers. The Scotsman is carrying on a campaign against Gaelic through its letters page and has even gone so far as to attack the current level of spending on Gaelic and even Gaelic road signage in its editorials. The Herald is less abrasive but has still managed to print quite a few letters in the past year suggesting Gaelic is being 'foisted' on Scotland.

They even had one claiming Gaelic Medium parent/toddler, nursery, primary, secondary and adult provision (which I am proud to say I helped to set up) was 'inflicted' on the population of East Ayrshire, instead of the truth: that this provision was the result of pressure from local people, especially parents, who wanted their children to have access to Gaelic language and culture - and that pressure pre-dated East Ayrshire's existence by 10-15 years.

The level of ignorance of Scotland's history and culture shown in the letters to the Scotsman and the Herald is the most alarming thing to me.

- Gaelic isn't a foreign language. Till about 300 years ago it was spoken across a large area of Scotland, including Stirlingshire and Ayrshire. The influence of Gaelic is still to be seen in place names - do I need to mention Ibrox, Kilmarnock, etc?

- I don't go much for historic guilt but the rest of us should feel absolutely guilty at the way Gaelic was brutally suppressed in Scotland for over 200 years after the 1745 Rebellion: whole communities destroyed in the Clearances, the traditional clan-based way of life wiped out, the main export being people, education in the schools offered only through English - with kids being punished for using Gaelic in school - and so on. There's a generation of 40 and 50 years olds in the Western Isles now who grew up persuaded that speaking Gaelic was not cool and thus can't speak to their parents - or their kids in Gaelic Medium Education.

- Gaelic speakers don't all live in the Western Isles. Half of Scotland's Gaelic speakers live in the Central Belt. Hence the steady pressure there for more Gaelic school provision. And there's no truth in the story that the SNP is promoting Gaelic: the push for Gaelic education, the Gaelic Board, the hoary old Gaelic road signs, etc - these are a result of a revival that began a long time ago.

- Gaelic isn't a rival to Scots. Taking away the funding from Gaelic (£25m in a total Scottish budget of £29bn) will not lead to more money being spent on Scots. There are good reasons to believe that the Scots tongue is in danger but that has nothing to do with Gaelic. That said, I think the Scots Language Centre could learn a thing or two from Gaelic activists about drawing up a development plan and lobbying politicians.

I have a theory (pretty extreme, I'll admit) that our history since 1703 has infantilised us in Scotland. We've very nearly become children in the hands of the governing class. I'll know we've grown up when we can agree that many languages and cultures live here and can live with respect for each other.

The great debate on independence will help, if we can get it out of the hands of politicians and start talking properly about who we are.