Introduction
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005 and Bòrd na Gàidhlig (BnG) was established as a result of this. BnG aims for the ‘normalisation’ of Gaelic with the Scottish population, requiring public bodies in Scotland to provide an active offer of Gaelic services. Gaelic Language Plans (GLPs) are used to set out exactly how an organisation will support and use the language, and encourage the use of Gaelic within its work.
Gaelic in the Scottish Parliament
The third phase of our Gaelic Language Plan covers the period of April
2018 – March 2023.
The basic message of the plan is: Gaelic in the Scottish Parliament: see
it, hear it, use it – a’ Ghàidhlig ann am Pàrlamaid na h-Alba – faic i, cluinn
i, cleachd i!
The plan is based on the following principles:
- Using Gaelic to reach out to communities across Scotland and ensuring communities can reach out to us in Gaelic (by offering outreach and education activities in local communities and facilitating interactions with the Parliament in Gaelic).
- Supporting our MSPs and staff in developing confidence around using Gaelic in their work (by providing and promoting support and opportunities for them to do this)
- Integrating Gaelic into the fabric of the Scottish Parliament’s thinking (by ensuring work is delivered alongside and within existing programmes as well as having activities specifically for raising the profile of Gaelic).
The Scottish Parliament conducted a full public and internal
consultation on our Gaelic language plan between September and November 2017 in
which over 400 responses were received.
The final version of the plan has now been agreed by Bòrd na Gàidhlig
and was officially launched on 19 September 2018.
You can read our Gaelic Language plan in Gaelic or English.