Promoting Gaelic

Published on 18/12/2012 00:00

Otto Inglis (Letters, 17 
December), suggests that primary school pupils should learn Spanish or German, or perhaps both, as they are easier to learn then French.

Perhaps the Scottish Parliament should consider the idea that Scottish pupils should study Gaelic in primary school, in ­addition to developing a sound mastery of English.

Gaelic was once spoken widely in our land, and is undergoing a revival in education and in the media.

Gaelic-medium schools use the language as a highway to the study of other subjects.

The earlier children are 
exposed to differences in language, the easier they find it to broaden their horizons.

The structure of Gaelic is ­sufficiently different from that of English to stretch the mental processes of youngsters, so that they find the acquisition of ­“foreign” languages easier.

The way things are going in global terms, it may be advisable for pupils to have a working knowledge of Mandarin ­Chinese before they leave secondary school!

Alasdair H Macinnes

Granton Road

Edinburgh