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                        <h1 class="">Holyrood launches drive to promote Scots language</h1>
                
                                        
                                        
                                                                                                                                                                
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                                        <img class="" alt="Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages Alasdair Allan launched the policy document today. Picture: Greg Macvean" src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.3883224.1441916514%21/image/3392323757.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/3392323757.jpg" title="Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages Alasdair Allan launched the policy document today. Picture: Greg Macvean">
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                                                Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages Alasdair 
Allan launched the policy document today. Picture: Greg Macvean
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                                                <h4 class="">TOM PETERKIN</h4>
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        </div></div></div><span class="">21:23</span><span class="">Thursday 10 September 2015</span><div class=""><div class=""><div class="">
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                <h3 class=""><strong><p>A DRIVE to promote the Scots 
language has been launched by the Scottish Government “tae encourage ye 
aw te recognise the valuable heritage we hae in the Scots leid”.</p></strong></h3>
                
                                <p>A series of steps to raise the language’s profile has been 
announced, including the quango Education Scotland adopting trilingual 
corporate signage so that messages are written in English, Gaelic and 
Scots. </p>
<blockquote class="" id="pullquote-0">
<h2 class="">It is a predictable stunt from the government</h2>

<cite class="">Alex Johnstone</cite>
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<p>A national Scots Language Policy sets out a range of actions, which 
will be taken forward by Education Scotland’s Scots language 
co-ordinators.</p>        
                        
                
                        
        <p>According to a policy document launched by languages minister 
Alasdair Allan at Education Scotland’s “Scots in Schools” conference in 
Stirling, the co-ordinators will provide templates and suggestions for 
the quango’s staff who wish to sign off emails in Scots or include 
appropriate Scots greetings. </p>



<p>They will develop resources to enable teachers to “confidently and 
creatively engage” with Scots, working with such partners as Historic 
Environment Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and Glasgow 
University.</p><p>Education Scotland will inform parents about the place
 of Scots in the Curriculum for Excellence through its e-bulletins and 
face-to-face presentations.</p><p>The quango has also said it will 
develop a Scots language ambassadors scheme, which sees well known 
people such as the author James Robertson and the children’s group 
Singing Kettle sign up to become champions of Scots.</p><p>The 
ambassadors scheme is to be linked to a new Scots scriever residency at 
the National Library of Scotland, which has been filled by the poet and 
playwright Hamish MacDonald.</p>  <div id="adTag_6" class=""><div style="border:0pt none" id="google_ads_iframe_3948/scotsman.jp/top-stories_4__container__"><div id="prw7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101" class="" style="width:300px;min-height:250px;margin:0px auto"><div id="primage7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101" name="primage7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101" style="width:0px;height:0px" align="left"><img name="prti" style="width: 1px; height: 1px; float: none;" height="1" width="1"></div><div id="prtrans" style="background-color:transparent"><img id="pradi7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101" name="pradi7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101" style="width: 1px; height: 1px; float: none;" src="http://speed.pointroll.com/PointRoll/Media/banners/trans.gif?PRAd=2080108&PRCID=2080108&PRplcmt=2613143&PRPID=2613143" height="1" border="0" width="1"></div><table height="250" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="300"><tbody><tr><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><map name="prmap7A1F05001D1E5D390311B6802B790101"></map></div></div></div>
                        
                
                        
        <p>Currently, the Scottish Government spends a total of £270,000 on 
funding Scottish language dictionaries (SLD) and the Scots Language 
Centre (SLC). </p><p>The government said the latest Scots language push would not require extra cash. </p><p>But
 the plans were criticised by the Scottish Tory MSP Alex Johnstone said:
 “This a predictable stunt from a Scottish Government more interested in
 pandering to patriots than improving education.</p><p>“When it could be
 trying to push Scotland’s schools up global league tables, or closing 
the attainment gap, it’s actually trying to stir up the constitution in 
any way it can.</p>       
                        
                
                        
        <p>“It’s been well proven that our school children would benefit far 
more from learning international languages which could open all kinds of
 doors for them.</p><p>“That should be the focus of Scottish Government resources, not this.”</p><p>A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “There was no increase in funding for these plans.</p><p>“The
 Scottish Government takes the preservation and promotion of all three 
of Scotland’s historical indigenous languages seriously and this new 
policy underpins the Scottish Government’s commitment to Scots.”  </p><div style="overflow:hidden;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:left;text-decoration:none;border:medium none"><br>Read more: <a style="color:rgb(0,51,153)" href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/holyrood-launches-drive-to-promote-scots-language-1-3883171#ixzz3lRXbG5fX">http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/holyrood-launches-drive-to-promote-scots-language-1-3883171#ixzz3lRXbG5fX</a><br></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message.  A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well.  (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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