Germane point

While walking in Princes Street Gardens recently, I noticed that a guide to the gardens had been engraved in metal in several languages, and the name of the language printed above each entry eg “francais”, the noun for “French”.

I was amazed to see engraved “Deutsche” above the German section – it should, of course, be “Deutsch”, the name of the language. We do not say: “Ich spreche Deutsche” but “Ich spreche Deutsch”.

When public money is expended, it is amazing that you can’t get the script checked before getting it cast in metal.

I shouldn’t really be surprised – after all, our foreign guests are already smiling to themselves when they walk into the Scottish Parliament, and engraved at the door is “Switch of mobile phones”.

H Wright

South Scotstoun

Edinburgh