Gaelic to feature in more places as Highland Council's Gaelic committee agrees changes to bilingual signage – signs are presented with the Gaelic form in green type above the English in white type and the design format applies to road signs and street signs
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Councillors have agreed changes to bilingual signage at Highland Council’s Gaelic committee.
Bilingual signs are presented with the Gaelic form in green type, above the English in white type. This design format applies to road signs and street signs.
A report proposed following the same process in replacing signs for rivers and other natural features across the Highlands.
However, on the rare occasions where the Gaelic and English place names are exactly the same, officers suggested still including both translations. This was recommended to maintain design symmetry and clearly show the two forms.
Councillor Raymond Bremner challenged the idea, saying: “If it’s a Gaelic name it should be in Gaelic and that’s it. That will go down like a lead balloon with some folks.”
However, officers countered that providing both versions “gives both languages their place” and stressed that it’s very rare for two translations to be identical.
Other proposed changes were more readily agreed, such as the requirement that all new signage should come back to the council for proof reading.
Councillor Denis Rixson said that at least three road signs in his ward were misspelled, and had to be placed in obscure positions to avoid notice.
Highlighting the difficulty in untangling Gaelic, Norse and Pictish influences in place names, he added: “Academics spend a lot of time grappling with this so we should give ourselves plenty of wriggle room.”
Wriggle room is also an element of the policy around street name signage, where community councils can opt for monolingual signage.
This discretion will be protected, but the new policy states that communities will be ‘encouraged’ to adopt bilingual signage.
Some other changes – such as bilingual voiceovers in lifts and bilingual plaques on public buildings – were agreed by members.
Officers confirmed that the policy changes would not cost more because signs would simply be replaced as and when needed.
