Letter: Language lessons

I AM astounded by the news (your report, 9 October) that some of the word's top linguists have written to education secretary Mike Russell to protest at the closure of an essential Gaelic learning resource.

Whatever the ins and outs of this decision, we should ask where are the all the Scottish academics who should be adding their voices to the language debate. Cringing behind their desks and shirking from their duty to educate and inform the public?

The fantastic progress that Gaelic medium education has made over the past 20 years could and should be repeated for other languages. Scots is facing extinction as the older generation leaves us. With playgroups and home learning support, it could flourish.

If we are serious about international trade and diplomacy, then we should encourage Scottish speakers of French, Italian, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Cantonese, Irish and many others to pass on their languages to their children.

Our collective cultural resources are as potentially powerful as our natural resources. Scotland could become a hub of language expertise.

The idea that everybody should speak only English is a damaging delusion. It's time for reality now.

ANDREW MacLEAN

Dumbiedykes Road

Edinburgh

Stirling Council has been reviewing its education provision with a view to cutting its budget. One of the things it is proposing to cut is Gaelic education. As a parent of children in Gaelic medium education (GME), I am very concerned that their opportunity to learn, and become fluent in, Gaelic could be removed.

We have a thriving Gaelic medium primary school unit in Riverside Primary in Stirling, and have nursery and high school provision, though we had been hoping to improve these and campaign for a full Gaelic medium nursery. It now seems any hopes of improvement and expansion have been dashed by an unsympathetic council, that does not seem to understand it actually receives funding to provide GME, and indeed it costs them less to educate a child through Gaelic than through English, which they would still have to do if GME was removed. When a child is in GME, they finish P7 with the ability to speak, read and write fluently in two languages; they are effectively getting two languages for the price of one. It seems like a very strange proposal on the part of the council to remove Gaelic, when it is otherwise being supported and developed in so many other ways.

LYNN JENNINGS

Buchanan Drive

Stirling