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Highland Council seek views on 'areas of linguistic significance'

Steven McKenzieHighlands and Islands reporter
News imageGetty Images White-walled houses scattered across a coastal landscape of fields and areas of rugged shoreline. In the distance are Skye's Cuillin mountains.Getty Images
Skye and Raasay qualify as an area of linguistic significance due to the high levels of Gaelic skills

A Highland Council-wide consultation is to be held on plans to give parts of the region special status due to their use of Gaelic.

The local authority has proposed using powers in the new Scottish Languages Act to designate areas of linguistic significance (ALS).

Places where 20% of residents have Gaelic skills qualify as an ALS, but areas with strong cultural or historical links to the language can also meet the criteria.

Councillors said the consultation would allow all Highland communities to have a say on the plans.

There are 18,552 people in the Highland Council area with Gaelic skills, according to the latest census data.

The local authority's Gaelic committee heard on Wednesday that Skye and Raasay would qualify as an ALS.

Councillors were told other communities might also wish to be considered for the designation due to their strong links to the language.

Chairman Drew Millar said the proposals were among the most important to be brought before the committee, and he thanked officials for their preparatory work.

He said no decision had been taken on ALSs.

"I want to make absolutely clear what is being brought forward today is a framework for consultation," said Millar.

"I would encourage members of the public to engage with the consultation."

In a report to the committee, officials said the status would confirm Highland Council's "clear commitment" to Gaelic.

They said evidence from Irish Gaeltacht areas suggested the designation could bring economic and educational benefits.

Gaelic and Scots were recognised as official languages as part of a range of new measures that came into force on St Andrew's Day last November.

The Scottish Languages Act, which MSPs voted through in June last year, also empowers parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area and aims to ensure that more qualifications are available in Gaelic.

It includes powers for ministers to commission research into the use of Gaelic and Scots and establish teaching standards for the languages.

Scotland's then Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes - a Gaelic speaker - called it a "historic milestone".