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YOUR VIEWS: Scots language support, city projects reach planning and Inverness church up for sale


By Gregor White

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The Old High Church has been put up for sale. Picture: James Mackenzie
The Old High Church has been put up for sale. Picture: James Mackenzie

A variety of topics exercised readers recently.

Scots language needs support to survive

Charles Bannerman’s recent article disparaging the Scots language (Courier, 2/9/22) betrays at best a lack of knowledge, or at worst a deliberate form of cultural superiority. He ridicules and pokes fun at the language of Scots speakers by calling them “ridiculous” and “contrived”.

While Charles may have the opinion that Scots is not a language and doesn’t need support or recognition, and is only a dialect worthy of being made fun of, the UN and EU have both recognised Scots as a language, as have the UK government and Scottish Government. Indeed the UN have placed Scots on a list of “vulnerable languages” and urged the UK and Scottish governments to act before the language is lost.

Scots has a rich history, and was at one time used in the Scottish Royal Court, law, literature and education. It is closely linked to English, but is distinct and has its own vocabulary and grammar. It is as different (or similar) as Norwegian is to Danish – speakers of one language are mutually understandable to speakers of the other, even though many differences exist.

Over a period of centuries however Scots has been maligned and deliberately subjugated, to the point that by the 1940s the Education Department’s language policy was that Scots “is not the language of educated people” and the Scots language entered into what the UN have described as “an advanced stage of language death”.

Fortunately, however, in recent years attempts are now being made to stop the Scots language from dying out all together, with the UK government recognising Scots “as a distinct language, and does not consider the use of Scots to be an indication of poor competence in English”.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on how to preserve the Scots language is therefore part of a broader recognition that if something is not done, the Scots language will die out.

The situation that Scots finds itself in is a similar one to the position that Gaelic speakers are all too aware of – the belittling of any language, or way of speaking, that is not considered to be “proper” English.

Charles’s article is therefore both hurtful and ignorant and as someone who has the privilege of writing in a newspaper, perhaps he could better use his voice to promote understanding and compassion, rather than using his platform to hurt and sow division.

Peter Clark

Tornagrain

Support for language is no threat

“I’m not sure quite what Bannerman’s point in his column on Scots is – for one thing, I’m not aware of anyone claiming that Scots is the language of the Highlands, let alone of Scots being the language of all Scottish people. It seems to me that he’s made the mistake of seeing the existence of AN identity as an attack on HIS identity. Pluralism is not a threat to anyone.” – Niall Tracey, Stirling

City projects reach planning stage

Planning applications have been submitted for improvemnt projects at Bught Park, the Northern Meeting Park and Castle Street in Inverness, to be funded by money from the UK government’s Levelling Up fund.

“Something certainly needs to be done, to quote a tourist: ‘You have some beautiful places around here but the town and areas are so dirty.’” – Jan Duncan

“Yet can’t keep the Infirmary Bridge for pedestrians and cyclists open or maintained.” – Olly Macdonald

“This is only the planning stage which means that they will spend a fortune to find out that they don’t have the money to do it and then they will build another ‘wall’ (AKA art) in the centre of the city with the money that was left from the thousands that they have wasted with the initial consultation.” – Eduardo Noga

“Is that from the levelling (up) promise? That there is no budget or plan for in Westminster?” – Graham M McDonald

“How about some cash for a dedicated music venue?” – David Grant

Historic city church is up for sale

Old High Church in Inverness has been put on the market. It is being advertised on the Church of Scotland website for offers over £150,000. The historic church hosted its final service this year.

“I think this is unbelievably shocking that this church is up for sale. The council should be stepping in to save this. It’s the oldest church in Inverness and could easily be used as a museum for religious artefacts. What will happen to the cemetery? I wish I had the money to save this. I am not a religious person but it has so much history, maybe we should all start a giving page to help buy it.” – Janet Robertson

“It’s very sad and shocking to see an iconic building like this going up for sale. It’s a huge part of the history of Inverness and surrounding area. Surely the Common Good Fund could be used for the Common Good!!!” – Jennie MacKenzie

“The number of properties formerly used as churches or city centre shops or businesses in the United Kingdom (never mind just Inverness) which are currently available for purchase is staggering. I fear that selling a decaying, listed church building on the banks of the River Ness complete with non-negotiable planning restrictions and an immediate need for substantial investment will be challenging.” – Gerry Reynolds


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