YOUR report today on the decline of Gaelic will hopefully start a urgent debate on why substantial financial in-vestment by government has had little impact ("Gaelic at risk of dying out in Scottish life by end of the decade", The Herald, July 2).
Much better strategic leadership is needed urgently, as the substantial financial support being offered to save the language is not creating the culture change necessary to address the long-term decline in use of Gaelic as a living language.
Urgent action is needed from governments to address depopulation in Gaelic's heartlands, and a lack of strategic leadership in how the substantial funds being devoted to save the language is distributed.
All Gaelic organisations funded by government should be based in predominantly Gaelic-speaking areas as a clear signal of support for these areas' economies, as well as empowering the people who actually use the lan-guage to encourage its intergenerational use.
Gaelic will not be saved unless its use in daily life is preserved in its Western Highlands and Islands heartlands. Governments can directly contribute towards preserving Gaelic status in these communities by ensuring the Gaelic organisations they fund are based in the Gaelic heartlands.
Iain Campbell, Dollar.
OK, I am now very confused. Last week you reported that there had been a quantifiable rise in the number of people attempting to learn Gaelic during the lockdown ("Lockdown turns us into a nation of Tom and Barbaras", The Herald, June 26). Today, however, your front-page headline claims speaking Gaelic is at risk of dying out by the end of the decade.
So which is it? Is Gaelic in serious decline, meaning these learners wasting their time?
Celia Judge, Ayr.
Ever-changing times
HOW difficult it must be to put one's self forward for political service. Last year the media and public urged politi-cians to speed up the lowering of emission levels to preserve the planet – including cutting air transport, whilst now we are urging politicians to speed up the return to former air travel limits to save jobs! Hardly compatible. A few weeks ago we were urging a slackening of lockdown rules to save jobs, whereas this week we are moaning things are going too quickly.
It reminds how the good people of Japan voted 80 per cent to 20% to end nuclear power after the tsunami, only to completely reverse this ratio when they realised that this would cost a great deal more for electricity.
James Watson, Dunbar.
Home studies
ALTHOUGH of mid-1930s’ vintage at least I’m one up on youngster ex-PM Tony Blair, who claims to have done no housework since 1997, revised by his wife back to 1980, the year he was married ("Come clean now: Who does the chores in your home?", The Herald, July 2).
The kitchen sink, pots and pans, dishwasher and I are on friendly terms, and my DIY (Destroy it Yourself) role is unassailable.
I confess that the washing machine is a mystery and unknown territory, but you should see my natural reverse turn dancing with a Hoover.
R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie.
Masked marvel
SO Nicola Sturgeon has finally decreed that I shall wear a mask when shopping. The last time I tried that, I walked out with £5,000 ... followed by seven years.
David Miller, Milngavie.
That’s rich
EUPHEMISM of the Week: Sharon White, chair of John Lewis (basic salary £990,000) saying “the end of some partnership stories”. Aka “you’re fired”.
John Dunlop, Ayr.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel