Minority indigineous languages in the British Isles

Bodach · 03-10-2004, 05:15 PM

What is UKIP policy on the minority indigineous languages in the British Isles and how would any support for Cornish, Gaelic (Scots & Irish), Manx and Welsh be different from the other parties.
I am sick of seeing people coming here to take advantage with no attention of learning english and then receiving help and services in their own language - what about help for our own languages - after all most of Britain's celtic languages speakers are prepared to speak english as well?

LP-2004 · 03-10-2004, 07:41 PM

I dont know what the policy is on the preservation of the different native languages of Britain, But I think we owe it to them all to help.

Anthony Butcher · 04-10-2004, 06:55 AM

I don't think that the party has a policy. I imagine that they would continue with the existing policies, if most people are happy with it.

I suspect that we wouldn't be endorsing punjabi language schools, although there is an argument that this may now be an "indigenous" language.

Welsh was nearly a dead language, spoken only in a few parts of Wales, until it was artificially resuscitated and now is far more popular. I have nothing against the Welsh language, but I am not sure of the point of it. It seems like a bit of needless nationalism, with the main point being to emphasise that they aren't English.

My worry with native languages is that they may put their speakers at a bit of a disadvantage. Children forced to learn Welsh at school could just as easily spend that time learning other subjects; it is lost educational time. If those pupils are coming out of school bilingual, then I would suggest that they would be better off speaking fluent French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic or some other more "useful" language.

There is also the cost aspect; everything has to be printed twice in Wales, which adds enormously to the time and cost of government there. It is also very environmentally unfriendly.

On the other hand, perhaps it doesn't matter a great deal, and it is possibly a morale boost to have something to be proud of.

Bodach · 05-10-2004, 12:33 PM

One for and one a little bit against. Thanks for the reply Anthony. People more knowledgeable than me would argue the toss with you but there seems to be some evidence now that kids that have had a bi-lingual start in school soak up other languages at a faster rate.
These languages also represent cultures that exist side by side with the UK's english speaking culture, often they can be invisible as all the native-speakers also speak english - you could visit the Highlands and Islands and perhaps never hear Gaelic because the natives will speak English to you. I personally think that compared to the dosh we chuck away to Euro-criminality, a little bit more to help the Celtic languages would do no harm in the long run. After all they were around before English really emerged INTO phpbb_what it is today. It is a pity schools in the rest of the UK didn't at least let the kids take a look at the Celtic languages but I take your point about learning - did you say French?

No doubt UKIP will produce a manifesto in Welsh and perhaps Gaelic like most parties do and may even have Welsh speaking candidates?
A final thought, in Scotland support for gaelic is cross-party, there is a vocal minority against but there is a huge community of interest behind the language even though native speakers now represent only 1% of the population.

03-10-2004, 05:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bodach Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Scotland - Alba Posts: 92	Minority indigineous languages in the British Isles What is UKIP policy on the minority indigineous languages in the British Isles and how would any support for Cornish, Gaelic (Scots & Irish), Manx and Welsh be different from the other parties. I am sick of seeing people coming here to take advantage with no attention of learning english and then receiving help and services in their own language - what about help for our own languages - after all most of Britain's celtic languages speakers are prepared to speak english as well?

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03-10-2004, 07:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
LP-2004 Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: merseyside, uk. Posts: 160	I dont know what the policy is on the preservation of the different native languages of Britain, But I think we owe it to them all to help.

04-10-2004, 06:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Long Ashton, Bristol Posts: 9,538 Party: None	I don't think that the party has a policy. I imagine that they would continue with the existing policies, if most people are happy with it. I suspect that we wouldn't be endorsing punjabi language schools, although there is an argument that this may now be an "indigenous" language. Welsh was nearly a dead language, spoken only in a few parts of Wales, until it was artificially resuscitated and now is far more popular. I have nothing against the Welsh language, but I am not sure of the point of it. It seems like a bit of needless nationalism, with the main point being to emphasise that they aren't English. My worry with native languages is that they may put their speakers at a bit of a disadvantage. Children forced to learn Welsh at school could just as easily spend that time learning other subjects; it is lost educational time. If those pupils are coming out of school bilingual, then I would suggest that they would be better off speaking fluent French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic or some other more "useful" language. There is also the cost aspect; everything has to be printed twice in Wales, which adds enormously to the time and cost of government there. It is also very environmentally unfriendly. On the other hand, perhaps it doesn't matter a great deal, and it is possibly a morale boost to have something to be proud of.

05-10-2004, 12:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Bodach Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Scotland - Alba Posts: 92	One for and one a little bit against. Thanks for the reply Anthony. People more knowledgeable than me would argue the toss with you but there seems to be some evidence now that kids that have had a bi-lingual start in school soak up other languages at a faster rate. These languages also represent cultures that exist side by side with the UK's english speaking culture, often they can be invisible as all the native-speakers also speak english - you could visit the Highlands and Islands and perhaps never hear Gaelic because the natives will speak English to you. I personally think that compared to the dosh we chuck away to Euro-criminality, a little bit more to help the Celtic languages would do no harm in the long run. After all they were around before English really emerged INTO phpbb_what it is today. It is a pity schools in the rest of the UK didn't at least let the kids take a look at the Celtic languages but I take your point about learning - did you say French? No doubt UKIP will produce a manifesto in Welsh and perhaps Gaelic like most parties do and may even have Welsh speaking candidates? A final thought, in Scotland support for gaelic is cross-party, there is a vocal minority against but there is a huge community of interest behind the language even though native speakers now represent only 1% of the population.