Learning native languages should be compulsory in the U.K

[RainCloud]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/25/why-i-quit-gaelic-language-forefathers-vocabulary?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

I saw this article earlier and it made me sad that the number Scottish Gaelic speakers are declining. I think it should be compulsory for us all to learn Scottish Gaelic and Welsh at school, all over the U.K. I'm not saying that we should all be fluent but we should learn the basics. It might inspire more people to become fluent and stop the languages dying out.

Latin died out

I don't think it did the world any harm

Except that two thousand years ago people from Portugal to the black sea started speaking Latin and never stopped.

Celtic languages are a part of British heritage that is shockingly undervalued.

Thank you. This is the angle I was coming from.

Are you an SNP supporter OP? They have wasted millions of pounds painting Gaelic wording on road signs, ambulances and police cars, in areas of Scotland that never spoke Gaelic in the first place. Purely to try and make Scotland different to England, in their drive to break up the UK.
Evolution happens to languages, as well as living species. Dinosaurs die out. Gaelic stopped evolving long ago - it has no words for modern concepts like computers or airports - it simply gives the English word a Gaelic spelling.

No they don't speak Latin today

They speak new languages that have evolved from Latin just like English has

I think the reality is that languages are going to consolidate more and more due to greater connectivity between places and some languages will be the casualties - if even the people who live there don't feel invested in it enough to keep it spoken, then I don't see the point of encouraging other people, for whom it has no practical use, to learn it.

Judging by the noises coming out of school kids round here (Kent), a few English lessons wouldn't go amiss.

Complete waste of time and resources. Kids need to learn essential subjects like maths, English and science. It's lack of education which enables people to be gulled by politicians and conspiracy theorists and to think that Brexit is wonderful.

Scottish Gaelic belongs to the Highlands and Islands

Forcing the border community to speak Gaelic forces then to use a language that has no part in their history , unlike the Scot's language which is also the language Robbie burns used - he didn't speak Gaelic

@Babdoc

I'm Mancunian English and not an SNP supporter. I read the article in my OP and thought it was sad that the number of Scottish Gaelic speakers was dying out. As someone else said, Celtic languages and culture are an undervalued part of British culture and history.

The idea of teaching it in schools doesn't seem to have gone down well. So maybe there are other ways of keeping the languages alive.

What would you like schools to miss out, OP, in order to include this?

Since joining MN some years ago, I have seen posts from people who think compulsory teaching should be introduced for all children in a wide range of things-Spanish, Makaton, BSL, first aid, Heart Start, braille, swimming, 1:1 music provision to a high standard and probably countless other things I’ve forgotten. Plus wanting the teachers to be checking children’s hair for nits, applying suncream, sorting out toilet training and cleaning their teeth…

Which bit of the current curriculum should be dropped?!

I mean… language is evolutionary. If languages die out because they’re no longer used then I don’t see the value in trying to stop that happening to be honest? Even the English language continues to evolve.

And where would the teachers come from ?

@Offandonagain do you mean you don't know Welsh for Aled likes coffee, teddy is sleeping in the bed and where's the dog? The Welsh for these phrases I learned as a child nearly 50 years ago have stayed with me ever since. I've never had cause to use them in conversation in any language though including English 😂

Why would anyone need to learn Old English? It hasn't been spoken since around 1200.

Actually there are three Gaelic primary schools and a Gaelic secondary school in Glasgow. All of which are oversubscribed.

There is a common perception that Gaelic is/was only spoken in the Highlands and the islands in the west. That's incorrect (medieval historian here). The only local authority where it wasn't much spoken is the Scottish Borders, particularly towards the east. In the Middle Ages it was widely spoken and it took a long time to be replaced. In Highland Perthshire it was the main language until the first world war.

I support Welsh medium education and my children are in Welsh medium schools. I don't see the need to teach Welsh outside Wales but would like to see schools outside Wales teaching children that other languages are spoken in the UK.

I mentioned Scottish Gaelic and Welsh in my OP because they are mentioned in the article but it could include other languages.

I grew up in Manchester and am ignorant of native languages in the U.K. Which kind of proves my point. I shouldn't be because they are an important part of our heritage.

Scotland has two indigenous languages - Scots, which has several distinct varieties, and Scottish Gaelic. That's our starting point.

I don't think people understand the languages spoken in Scotland. Scots and Scottish Gaelic are two distinct languages. Gaelic was never the dominant language and Scots was used in the courts I believe. Scots is also a Germanic language so more similar to English.

You can't get a civil service job in Wales without a Welsh language qualification

Untrue. There are some jobs where fluent Welsh is a requirement. And plenty where it is desirable so you'd have a better chance. But the majority do not require Welsh.

However I always hear the 'I know x Welsh person and they don't speak/understand a world of Welsh! Waste of time' type comments.

This is also bollocks ime.

Every single person I know who grew up in Wales - from age 5 to age 80 - speaks or understands some Welsh. Every single person. Even if it's only colours, numbers, how to say/understand hello, welcome, thanks, toilet, road signs. Or how to smash out the Welsh anthem in the pub at the rugby 😁 They'll be able to read, speak, understand or pronounce something that someone growing up over the border couldn't. It's far from wasted imo. It's ensuring the language, culture, heritage of Wales doesn't die.

You'd need to be especially dense to grow up in Wales and literally not understand or speak one word - it just doesn't happen ime. And I live in S Wales where Welsh is far less spoken than further north.

Thank you. I'm now down a rabbit hole of the different languages and dialects of Britain.

You don't need a Welsh language qualification to work for the Welsh Civil service. My Dad works for them, and not only does he not speak a word of Welsh, he's also English and lives in England

Going to grab some popcorn and await the comments about English people taking Welsh jobs now

I'm from Yorkshire, can we have dialect lessons?

I think BSL should be more widely taught, but there aren't enough teachers and unless you are a native signer there will always be some 'first language interference' so hearing people can teach some basics but for proficiency you need Deaf teachers.

We’d be better focusing on literacy in English in England, it is very difficult to learn a new language when you don’t understand the structure of your first language.

We’re a multilingual household, the way languages are taught in England is crap, to improve it we would need compulsory MfL lessons on a regular basis (not just a handful of lessons each term) from reception up until GCSE, unless we also make MfL compulsory at GCSE.

How would you choose the British language? You missed out Cornish for example, then we have things like Lincolnshire dialect etc. How will you find teachers with QTS to provide lessons on a regular basis?

I don't understand why you'd think teaching school kids in Kent to speak a few phrases in Scottish Gaelic would prevent the decline of the language in the parts of Scotland where it's actually spoken. To keep the language alive you need people to be speaking it in their day to day lives not just in a classroom.