London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK is being insisted by Europe’s leading human rights organisation to push ahead with plans to promote the use of Irish and Ulster Scots languages in Northern Ireland despite persistent tensions over the issue.
The Council of Europe experts want to witness the strengthening of teaching of all minority tongues in the UK including Cornish, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Manx Gaelic in the Isle of Man. They are among the main proposals of the latest report on the UK and the Isle of Man issued by the committee of experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
What challenges face the development of minority languages in the UK?
Their request comes as the hit movie Kneecap, about the eponymous Belfast republican Irish language rap trio, created by the former Daily Star journalist Rich Peppiatt, persists to enthral audiences and push home its subtext over the loss of indigenous languages. Legislation to improve and develop the use of both Irish and Ulster Scots in language, arts and literature was enacted two years ago after a long fight resulting in the Identity and Language Act 2022.
Two years on, the Council of Europe is urging for the act to be fully implemented despite continuing political uncertainties. Their experts found that overall there was a “good framework for covering regional or minority languages” in the UK but that, in the case of Cornish, Scots and Ulster Scots, there was an “over-reliance on volunteers” for its development.
What inconsistencies exist in minority language education across the UK?
It also stated that the lack of a central government strategy represented minority language education was being left up to local or regional authorities, directing to an inconsistent approach and lack of funding. “The ability to communicate in Welsh is guaranteed in all relevant local councils, but this is not always the case concerning Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Irish, Ulster Scots or Manx Gaelic and it is not possible for Cornish,” the report stated.
The Council of Europe report states that one of the issues for minority languages in the UK is that devolution has represented regional and local authorities having a “lot of discretion”, with the education of history and culture related to minority languages “not guaranteed”. It also states the government should “without delay” implement “fully” the Identity and Language Act 2022 as well as devise a strategy for the recruitment of Irish language teachers, including the training of teachers for children with special needs.