Ireland and Scotland: Colonial Legacies and National Identities || Concepts, Rights and Languages

Concepts, Rights and LanguagesLanguage and Politics: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland by John M.Kirk; Dónall P. Ó. Baoill; Aithne na nGael: Gaelic Identities by Gordon McCoy; MalcholaimScottReview by: Máiréad Nic CraithThe Irish Review (1986-), No. 28, Ireland and Scotland: Colonial Legacies and National Identities(Winter, 2001), pp. 147-151Published by: Cork University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29736053 .

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relationship between the 'people above' and the lower classes in which the 'mainte?

nance of order was dependent upon a continuing accommodation with the

common people'. By this reading, 'far from being a

voluntary change of direction,

the governing classes in Scotland had no choice but to return to the pro-active and

effective paternalist regime .. . that had operated prior to 1707'.

Whatley's wide-ranging analysis of Scottish society stands as a vital contribution

not only to the history of post-union Scotland in general but, in particular, to the

ongoing debate surrounding the origins of Scotland's economic improvement and

of the role of the Scots in its achievement. And as such, it acts as a timely rejoinder

to those who would wish to write the union out of Scotland's history.

BRIAN BONNYMAN

Concepts, Rights and Languages

John M. Kirk and D?nall P. O Baoill (eds.), Language and Politics: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland. Belfast: Ci? Ollscoile na Banriona, 2000. ISBN

0-85389-791-31. Stg. ?9.50.

Gordon McCoy and Malcholaim Scott (eds.), Aithne na nCael: Gaelic Identities.

Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, Iontaobhas ULTACH, 2000. ISBN 0-85389-766-2.

Stg. ?9.50.

The significance of languages for identities in Northern Ireland has been sharp? ened with the revival of Irish and the emergence of Ulster-Scots. Two new books

from Belfast deal with a range of languages including Irish and Ulster-Scots. Par?

ticularly welcome are the essays in John Kirk and D?nall ? Baoill's volume on

Cantonese, British Sign Language (BSL) and other minority languages. Unfortu?

nately the speech form of Travellers does not feature strongly in either book. I

think of Cant as the forgotten Celtic tongue or (to use Kuno Meyer s phrase) 'the secret language of Ireland'. (O Baoill has written elsewhere on the status of Cant

as a language

or a register.)

The question of language status has been particularly pertinent in Northern Ire?

land. In Kirk and O Baoill's volume, Manfred G?rlach and John Kirk approach the status of Ulster-Scots from the perspective of linguists. They focus on the extent to

which Ulster-Scots fulfils certain language-diagnostic criteria. G?rlach's essay sets

Ulster-Scots in a strongly comparative context with reference to Low German and

Jamaican. Kirk focuses on a close reading of two Ullans text before concluding that

Ullans is merely a set of departures from the overall linguistic system of English.

Bob McCullogh and Jeff McWhinney raise the question of language status in

relation to BSL. They agree that it is in need of greater recognition politically, but their stances on its status differ. McCullogh proposes that BSL does not constitute

an official language as it has no written form. McWhinney argues that several oral

Nie CRAITH, 'Concepts, Rights and Languages', Irish Review 28 (2001) 147



languages are recognized legally. This raises the question of the political recognition

of languages. In their introduction, Kirk and O Baoill argue that linguistic defini?

tions should be separated from political definitions and in turn from political

recognitions of language. Many languages that are recognized politically hardly

qualify as distinct languages in linguists' terms, yet they are

widely accepted as such.

Mari Fitzduff makes precisely this point, suggesting that controversies over the

status of language or a dialect really concern issues of recognition and legitimacy

not just for speech forms but for speakers of these tongues. The denial of the status

of language to a register is often interpreted as an insult to its speakers although this

may be far from the intention of linguists. The classification of languages has preoccupied anthropologists and linguists for

decades, and some debates focus on the 'type' of language in question. Terms such

as 'official' or 'working' languages

are readily acceptable, but there is a problem

with the 'other' languages. How does one refer to them? A multiplicity of terms has

been put forward. These include the 'regional', 'lesser-used', 'minorized' or 'mar?

ginalized' languages. Even the convoluted phrase 'less-widely taught' languages

(LWTLs) has become acceptable. In an essay on

language discrimination in Northern Ireland, Nadette Foley

queries the hierarchical implications of the concept of'minority' language. Is the

language tainted because it is spoken by a minority? What is the meaning of the

term 'minority'? Does it simply refer to a smaller group? This did not apply in ear?

lier decades to South Africa, where the majority was treated as if it were a minority.

In the context of languages, Catalan is the classic example of a 'minority' language,

spoken by vastly greater numbers than Danish, which is classified as 'official'. In

reality, the concept of minority refers to a lack of power, and as society becomes

more democratic, the idea that any group is denied access to power is unacceptable.

One might assume from all of this that the speakers of official languages are in a

privileged position, and many linguistic groups consider the legal status of their lan?

guage highly significant. In this context, Alasdair Allan offers a good review of the

status of Scots and Scots-Gaelic in the Scottish parliament. Members of this body can use either language if they give notice or

provide a translation. Motions in

Scots-Gaelic are acceptable and the signage is bilingual.

All of this sounds promising until one reads Helen ? Murch?'s essay, which

makes the long overdue point that Irish-speakers in Eire also suffer discrimination.

While Irish is an official, national language of the state, the government has primar?

ily adopted a concessionary approach to the language. Irish-medium schools and

the Irish-language television service have their origins mainly in demands from the

voluntary sector. The current discussions regarding the language equality bill are

proffered as further evidence of the discrimination against Irish speakers here.

Irish is in a rather unusual position in the EU in that it is the first and national

language of the state yet it is not recognized as an official working language of the

European parliament. This was at the request of the Irish government who, appar?

ently suffering from the remnants of a colonial 'cringe', did not wish to overburden

the administrators with Irish. Nor has the Republic signed the Charter for

148 Nie CRAITH, 'Concepts, Rights and Languages', Irish Review 28 (2001)



European Regional or Minority Languages which has been championed by D?nall

O Riag?in. O Riag?in's essay charts the concept of language rights as human rights

in Europe. He notes that the Charter is the only international convention directed

at promoting regional languages.

Tom Hadden sets the question of language rights in Northern Ireland in the

context of a Bill of Rights. He raises the problem of British and Irish sign language and addresses the question of parity of esteem for different tongues. Of particular interest is the question of language rights for immigrant communities. Some cultur?

al theorists such as Kymlicka have advocated different rights for migrant versus

native groups, a paradox that has been mirrored elsewhere. The Charter does not

seek to confer language rights for migrants focusing instead on traditional lan?

guages. But some countries object to this stance. In the case of France, there is a

reluctance to implement the Charter unless it can be applied to indigenous and

migrant minority languages alike. (Some observers view this stance with suspicion,

regarding it as a delaying tactic.) In the context of Northern Ireland, Foley raises the question of rights for the

8,000 Cantonese, many of whom cannot speak English. It seems incredible in the

twenty-first century that some parents are advised to refrain from speaking Chinese

to their own children, encouraging a form of bilingualism that is reminiscent of

nineteenth-century Irish-language households! P. A. MagLochlainn sets this debate

in the context of a discourse of rights for the gay community with particular ref?

erence to the concept of community. He argues that homosexuals constitute a

community which suffers 'stained glass apartheid'.

Speakers of regional and minority languages in Ireland and Scotland have suffered

from the exclusion of their language from the public domain and from the implica? tion that certain languages pertain to specific political perspectives. Dauvit Horsbroch

proposes that Scots in Scotland is strongly associated with Scottishness rather than

Britishness. This contrasts with Northern Ireland, where Ulster-Scots is perceived

as a marker of Britishness. Generally speaking, the rise of Ulster-Scottishness is

regarded as a reaction to the greatly increased presence of Irish. Yet this situation is

even more complex.

In my view, the emergence of Ulster-Scots represents the 'break-up of Britain'

in the region. While these speakers assert their difference from the 'Irish', they also

define themselves as men and women of Ulster, emphasizing their regional identity.

There may also be an element of anti-Englishness in the rise of Ulster-Scots.

Speakers of Ulster-Scots are identifying themselves as the Other within rather than

the Outsider.

While Scots has been associated with Protestant denominations, Irish-Gaelic has

been regarded as the cultural capital of Catholics. A significant contribution by Liam Andrews explores the interchange from Irish language communalism to

Catholic communalism in Northern Ireland. He concludes with a caution that the

re-emergence of Catholic communalism, following the rise of Sinn Fein, may

augur poorly for the future of Irish.

Many essays in Aithne na nGael: Gaelic Identities explore the interaction between




religion and language. A contribution from Maire Herbert examines the signifi?

cance of ecclesiastical associations between Ireland and Scotland for the

reinforcement of Gaelic. Of particular interest was the significance of Gaelic as a

trans-ethnic lingua franca, linking Gaels, Picts and Vikings. Donald Meek's essay

charts the interaction between Protestant Churches and Gaelic in the Highlands of

Scotland. He notes that Protestants (bolstered by the printing press) contributed

significantly to the printing of Gaelic texts. Meek challenges the stereotype of the

dour uncultured Calvinist and discredits the myth of the Calvinist rejection of sec?

ular Gaelic culture.

Yet it is clear that there has been some hostility on the part of Ulster Protestants

towards Irish. An essay by Aod?n Mac P?ilin examines Protestant attitudes towards

'TaigTalk' (the language of Catholics) in Derry.The ULTACH Trust, the organiza? tion he heads, has adopted

an inclusive approach towards Irish, but this strategy has

generated some

personal hostility in another quarter, too. Mac P?ilin has been

described as 'Stormont's Irish Language spy', 'the man from the NIO' or as 'work?

ing on behalf of the UUP'. But this essay also contains some positive notes. Mac

P?ilin refers to a major survey in April 2000 which found that only 21 per cent of

Protestants perceived the Irish language and culture as fairly or very offensive.

A most interesting essay by Alwyn Thomson explores the sense of exclusion in

relation to Irish felt by many educated Protestants; however, by the same token, he

argues that they are

simply not interested. Thomson suggests that Protestant culture

is largely Western and modern. (Is this to imply that Gaelic is not?) He argues that

Protestants are part of a much bigger culture than either Ulster Protestants or Gael?

ic Irish culture. Thomson accepts the distinction between civic and ethnic

nationalism -

a differentiation that I increasingly tend to reject -

and argues that in

a civic context, language and culture no longer define national identity. For this

reason, they inevitably face marginalization.

My own view is precisely the opposite. A civic society embraces the concept of

multilingualism and does not relegate any language to the private sphere. Speakers of

the majority language will not necessarily enjoy any special advantages. The subsi?

dization of the majority language is the theme of a strong essay by Robert Dunbar.

He argues that English has been subsidized by Gaels for decades. Through their

taxes, Scottish Gaels have funded English-medium education in Gaelic-speaking

areas. Yet the sponsorship of the majority language is considered 'normal', whereas

the funding of another is viewed as a special concession.

Tormod Caimbeul's essay explains how Scottish Gaels focused on economic

arguments in order to acquire language rights. He cites the involvement of Jento

Velanowski in preparing a successful case for the development of a Gaelic broad?

casting company in 1989. Caimbeul notes a danger in this rhetoric in that a

language could be viewed simply as a passport to a

job without any further com?

mitment from the speaker. This is a good point but, as Gaelic has been associated

with penury for centuries, I welcome any association of it with progress and

modernity. But it is unfortunate that one is obliged to resort to 'tactics' when mak?

ing the case for one's own language.

150 Nie CRAITH, 'Concepts, Rights and Languages', Irish Review 28 (2001)



Peadar Morgan wonders about the inclusion of the concept of'learner' in the

title of Comann an Luchd Ionnsachaidh in Scotland. He asks how fluent a learner

needs to be before he/she ceases to be a learner? Does the concept of learner

apply to the native speaker who loses the language at school age and seeks to

recover it later? Some have suggested the concept of fluent speaker be applied to

those at the upper end of the fluency scale, but what about the learner who is poor

orally but fluent in writing? Perhaps the concept of 'first-language speaker' would

be more appropriate.

In his consideration of Manx, Philip Gawme uses the term 'native speaker' to

apply to those who have been brought up in Manx- (or neo-Manx-) speaking

households. In an unusual twist he alludes to some advantages of a lack of native

speakers! In the case of Manx, this has ensured an improvement in the grammar of

the spoken language and the reinstatement of Gaelic for English words. No

resources are wasted trying to maintain a dying community. Moreover, there is no

antagonism between language learners and native speakers. In an Irish language

context, Lars Kabel explores the uneasy relationship between the language enthusi?

asts (non-native) and native speakers. Essentially he examines the difference in

function of Irish between the two groups.

All these languages must be set in context of majority. In an essay on Gaelic Arts

development in Scotland, Malcolm MacLean writes that the English language term

'smashing' as

popularized in Beano, Dandy and the Sunday Post actually comes from

the Gaelic ('is math sin'/'that is good'). More contentiously, Kenneth McKinnion

challenges the reader to reconceptualize British English as a lesser-used language.

He argues that the British lost their language to America and later to Europe and

cites 'Project 2000', a British Council initiative designed to sell British English as an

alternative to American English in a world market. Today we all use World English

(even the English), but we need 'our own language' (even the English).

Several other themes are addressed in both books. Sean Farren (Kirk and O

Baoill) and Anne Lome Gillies (McCoy and Scott) consider aspects of Gaelic

medium education in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The tone of both books is

inclusive. Kirk and ? Baoill's volume is to be commended for the range of identi?

ties and languages explored. It contains a contribution in Ulster-Scots from Ian

Parsley and ends with a plea for pluralism from Mark Adair. McCoy and Scott's vol?

ume is for those especially interested in the relationship between Ireland and

Scotland. Overall both books constitute significant and timely contributions to the

contemporary debate on language planning and will serve as invaluable resources

for some time to come.

M?IR?AD Nie CRAITH




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Ireland and Scotland: Colonial Legacies and National Identities || Concepts, Rights and Languages