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Council backs English-only street sign policy
<br><br>Bilingual signs are understood to be one of Sinn Fein's demands as part
of an Irish language act
Bilingual signs are understood to be one of Sinn Fein's demands as part
of an Irish language act
Published: 23:24 Tuesday 27 February 2018
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Unionist members on Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council have voted
in favour of an ‘English only’ policy in relation to street signs in the
borough.
The move follows a request to council from Abbeyville Residents
Association for five street signs to be expressed in Irish.
It is understood the cost of providing a street name sign is
approximately £250. Ahead of Monday’s meeting, councillors were informed
the local authority did not have an existing policy in place to deal
with this request and their views were sought on whether one was
required.
Statistics from the 2011 Census, detailing the languages spoken by
residents in the borough, were made available to representatives.
In total, 129,013 residents aged three and over spoke English as their
first language. Polish was the second most used language with 1,165
people using it as their first language, while 309 spoke Lithuanian, 229
spoke Slovak and 228 people over the age over three spoke Chinese.
The figures showed that 176 residents over the age of three spoke Irish
Gaelic as their first language. A total of 6.52% of residents had some
knowledge of Irish.
During a discussion on the issue, the DUP group leader, councillor
Phillip Brett proposed an English-only street sign policy. This was
seconded by UUP group leader Mark Cosgrove.
Alliance representatives, councillors Billy Webb and Neil Kelly,
proposed an amendment to allow consideration if there is support in the
area for multi-language signs. This amendment was defeated during a
show-of-hands vote.
Mr Brett’s proposal carried following a recorded vote with 27 members
voting in favour and eight against.
After the meeting, the DUP Macedon representative, Thomas Hogg MBE,
said: “I condemn the recent petition for bilingual English and Irish
street signage in the Abbeyville area of Whiteabbey and welcome the
decision to adopt a policy of English only.
“I question the motives of those behind this petition and believe it is
an attempt to ghettoise the area. These actions have caused great upset
and undermined the good community relations that have existed in
Abbeyville for many years. I welcome the decision of council as a
victory for moderation and common sense.”
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Speaking to the Newtownabbey Times, Mr Webb said: “I proposed we needed a
policy to deal with situations such as this when an area requested
other language street signage.
“I proposed that the council look at a policy on multi-lingual signage.
It is shameful that Sinn Fein have politicised the Irish language for
their own ends and that the DUP and UUP have fallen to their level by
their reaction.
“What was proposed was that be<br><br> Read more at: <a href="https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/council-backs-english-only-street-sign-policy-1-8396195">https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/council-backs-english-only-street-sign-policy-1-8396195</a></div>
<br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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