Gaelic Language Plan helps to further strengthen Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’s second Gaelic Language Plan was published today (13 December). The Plan will further promote and strengthen Gaelic in every area of the work and operations of the college, which is the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture.
This is the second plan Sabhal Mòr has prepared under the auspices of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and further builds on the commitment to language development set out in the first plan, while also moving forward both locally and nationally. The Plan was created by the College’s Language Development Officer, Janni Diez, and other college staff who are expert in the field of language development and planning. The Plan builds on the College’s Language Policy and strengthens Gaelic usage among students and staff at the College. The Plan increases the already-strong status of Gaelic at the college, and will enable Sabhal Mòr to introduce projects and initiatives which will encourage even greater use of Gaelic in a variety of settings and situations.
Professor Boyd Robertson, Principal of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, commented: “Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has a special responsibility, as the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, to promote Gaelic and to strengthen the fabric of the language. This Plan builds on the College’s Gaelic policy which is based on language planning principles. Sabhal Mòr is a Gaelic workplace and community and we have an appropriate infrastructure in place to enable the objectives of the Plan and the Policy to be put into effect. Sabhal Mòr Ostaig believes strongly in partnership working and we will collaborate closely with the Government, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and other public bodies and establishments to implement the aims of the National Plan for Gaelic.”
Janni Diez, the college’s Language Development Officer, said: “With this plan we have made further progress in language development at SMO, giving us a strategy for the next five years to ensure that we remain at the forefront of promoting and, more importantly, using Gaelic. We are especially keen to help encourage students and staff to have the confidence to use Gaelic all the time.”
The plan will last five years before being reviewed and a copy of the Gaelic Language Plan can be viewed on the college’s website at:
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/files/PDFs/planaG-2017-22.pdf