[lg policy] Council backs English-only street sign policy

[Harold Schiffman]

 Council backs English-only street sign policy

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 Share this article Get Daily Updates To Your Inbox 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.” When You Leave Dad Alone With The Baby Read More Give It
Love 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

Read more at:
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/council-backs-english-only-street-sign-policy-1-8396195

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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