Parliamentary Motions on Scots (Current Session)

You can find all Parliamentary motions and see which members have signed them in the daily Business Bulletin.

S3M-6146 Bill Wilson: The Passing of Kenneth McKellar—That the Parliament notes with sadness the death of renowned Paisley-born singer Kenneth McKellar; recognises his championing of Scottish culture and the Scots language and his love of the great outdoors, manifested not only by the lyrics of the songs that he sang, such as Westering Home, but also by his environmental work helping to restore Scotland’s forested regions, and acknowledges the fond memory in which he will be held by people in Scotland and around the world.

S3M-6091# Aileen Campbell: Brownsbank Fellowship—That the Parliament notes with concern the decision by South Lanarkshire Council to withdraw its funding for the Brownsbank Writing Fellowship, a position aimed at promoting creative writing throughout the local authority area and which has helped maintain Brownsbank Cottage, near Biggar, in the South of Scotland region, the final home of Scots makar Hugh McDairmid, as a centre of literary activity; notes that withdrawal of funding will result in withdrawal of match funding from the Scottish Arts Council and lead to the end of the fellowship; believes that since its inception in 1993, the six Brownsbank fellows to have held the post have helped improve literacy and appreciation of Scottish literature in South Lanarkshire and beyond, and hopes that a way can be found to help the Biggar Museum Trust, which administers the fellowship, to continue supporting this important position

S3M-5805# Bill Kidd: Scottish Academy of Literature—That the Parliament notes the publication of the report of the Literature Working Group, which proposes the creation of a Scottish academy of literature to foster and expand the literary culture of Scotland, shining a light on both authors of the past and those yet to come; welcomes the group’s other recommendations such as the establishment of a Gaelic literary magazine, encouraging publishers to publish works in Scots and the setting up of a government body to report on public libraries; agrees with the group that the creation of a Scottish academy of literature is long overdue given that Scotland is the birthplace of UNESCO’s first city of literature and that the Royal Scottish Academy was formed in 1826 and the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1723, and believes that, coupled with other initiatives that celebrate literature, such as the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Glasgow’s Aye Write festival in March 2010, these recommendations can be successful in ensuring a bright future for Scottish literature.

S3M-4721 Rob Gibson: Nordic Studies Centre Expands That the Parliament commends the UHI Millennium Institute’s Centre for Nordic Studies in Kirkwall for its expansion to new premises on Kiln Corner and in Scalloway in the North Atlantic Fisheries College; notes its vital role in promoting and preserving all the indigenous cultures of the Highlands and Islands by including Norse, Scots and Gaelic elements in its courses which include the literature of Orkney and more widely the literature of the Highlands and Islands, and welcomes the distance learning ethos of the UHI Millennium Institute that contributes to the international reach of this dynamic centre of learning.

S3M-4554 Bill Wilson: Brambles as good as Blackberries That the Parliament believes that Scotland’s cultural and linguistic heritage is something to be proud of, noting the many and varied traditional names given to food grown in Scotland, such as brambles, neeps, tatties and syboes; believes that the Year o Hamecomin is an ideal time to celebrate Scotland’s cultural and linguistic heritage; encourages local and national retailers to consider making wider use of traditional names for food products in labelling and point-of-sale material, and believes that such a move could enhance the quality of service that shops offer both local customers, who would see their own terms being used and respected, and visitors from elsewhere, who would be better aware of the richness and diversity of Scotland’s culture.

S3M-4170 Willie Coffey: Robert Burns Monument Centre, Kilmarnock That the Parliament congratulates East Ayrshire Council on the occasion of the opening of the Robert Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock; recognises that the genealogy research facilities and local conference facilities and services will play a vital part in attracting visitors to the town, and applauds the addition of the interactive Kilmarnock Edition of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, as an innovative development in bringing Burns into a modern setting.

S3M-3035 Bill Wilson: European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee’s Recognition of Right to be Educated in and Speak Scots and Gaelic That the Parliament, further to motion S3M-3022 in the name of Jamie Hepburn (European Parliament Committee’s Concern at Human Rights Abuses), welcomes the desire of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee to promote regional or minority languages, and specifically the statement that it believes that "the right to speak and to be educated in one’s mother tongue is one of the most basic fundamental rights", and accordingly expresses the opinion that failure to provide education in Scots and Gaelic to the children of native speakers of these languages should be considered a breach of human rights.

S3M-3031 Jamie Hepburn: Universal Declaration o Human Richts That the Parliament welcomes the publication by Amnesty International of a Scots language version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in poster format, in time for its 60th Anniversary on 10 December 2008; believes this will help to promote awareness and understanding of both the human rights agenda and the importance of the Scots language; reaffirms its belief in the declaration’s opening statement that "All human beings born free and equal in dignity and rights", which translates as "Aw human sowels is born free and equal in dignity and richts"; notes that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most translated documents in history and welcomes the Scots and Gaelic translations of it, and further reaffirms its commitment to and respect for fundamental human rights, irrespective of language or any other distinction.

S3M-3019 Kenneth Gibson: Congratulations to the Children of St John’s Primary That the Parliament congratulates the children of St John’s Primary School in Saltcoats, on their preparation of an exhibition of Scots poetry, which they have written and illustrated to be displayed at Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine; notes the support that the group has had from Scots language author Matthew Fitt and illustrator Alison Thomas, and encourages schools and community centres across Scotland to work together to promote knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Scots language.

S3M-2607 Aileen Campbell: European Day of Languages That the Parliament notes that 26 September 2008 is the European Day of Languages, promoted by the Council of Europe each year to celebrate language and cultural diversity; believes that the Scots and Gaelic languages both make distinctive contributions to the cultural and linguistic life of Europe, and encourages people across Scotland and Europe to take part in the wide range of events and competitions being held to mark the day.

The member provided the following Scots translation: That the Pairlament taks tent that 26t September is the European Day o Leids, forderit by the Cooncil o Europe ilka year for tae celebrate langage and cultural diversity; doots that the Scots and Gaelic leids baith maks kenspeckle inpits tae the cultural and linguistic life o Europe; and steers fowk ootowre Scotlan and Europe tae tak pairt in the braid reenge o events and competeitions hauden for tae merk thon day.

S3M-2491 Christine Grahame: MacDiarmid Remembered That the Parliament acknowledges and remembers the 30th anniversary, on 9 September 2008, of the death of Scots poet and modernist, Hugh MacDiarmid, described variously as a "complex and perplexing Scottish hero", "the poet who dominates the imagination of Scotland" and "a one-man revolution"; considers that few other Scots poets or writers have left such a mark on the Scottish social and political atmosphere as has MacDiarmid, and remembers MacDiarmid as uncompromising, argumentative and unashamedly inconsistent, yet capable of writing such powerful and meaningful prose as to move a generation of Scots and open a window on the Scottish cultural and social psyche.

S3M-2474 Tavish Scott: Scots Language Centre and Scottish National Dictionaries That the Parliament notes the support given to the Scots language by the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture in January 2008 when she stated that it "is part of our identity and our heritage as a nation. We must encourage confidence in the use of Scots in all its forms and create opportunities for it to thrive" and that our national languages "should be as valued as any other language spoken in the world"; welcomes this clear statement of support for the Scots language and all related languages, which reflect the rich and varied linguistic heritage found in Scotland from Shetland to Galloway; recognises the important work carried out by the Scots Language Centre and Scottish National Dictionaries in supporting the Scots language; views with concern the threat to the work of these two important bodies from the proposed cut to their funding by the Scottish Arts Council, and believes that their funding should be maintained so that they can continue to help to deliver the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Scots language.

S3M-2240 Rob Gibson: Slàinte Nòs Ùr That the Parliament congratulates the organisers, participants and audience of Nòs Ùr (new style) which took place in Eden Court Theatre, Inverness on 21 June 2008; recognises it is the first Celtic and Scots minority languages song competition of its kind which featured 12 finalists from Wales, Brittany, Ireland and Scotland whose entries were in Gaelic and Scots; applauds the UHI Millennium Institute for organising Voices of the West, a conference on minority languages which ran in conjunction with Nòs Ùr; welcomes the importance of vibrant Gaelic and Scots languages and heritage that underpin the self-confidence of Scottish culture and believes that friendly competitions like this help to foster a greater togetherness and understanding of similar cultures; congratulates Yr Annioddefol from north Wales and Gwennyn from Brittany on their victory, and wishes them the best of luck when they represent Western Europe in the pan-European final due to take place in Luleå, Sweden on 18 October 2008.

S3M-2073 Cathy Peattie: Supporting Scottish Culture That the Parliament recognises the valuable work of Scottish cultural organisations, including the Traditional Music and Song Association, the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust, the Scots Music Group, Voluntary Arts Scotland, the Scots Language Centre, and Scots Language Dictionaries, which promote and support extensive voluntary participation in Scottish traditional arts and culture; notes the extreme difficulties these organisations now face as a result of their loss of funding from the Scottish Arts Council; further notes that while existing funding runs to March 2009, the reality of redundancies and the termination of accommodation and office facilities means that their activity will be severely curtailed later this year; recognises that the audit of Scots language provision, even if completed in time, is unlikely to provide more than a partial solution to the problem; believes that the Scottish Arts Council cannot be trusted to support and promote the Scots language and Scottish traditional arts and sees no reason to suspect that Creative Scotland will be any different, and therefore believes that a separately constituted and funded body should be set up for this purpose and interim measures put in place to safeguard existing provision until this is done.

S3M-1759 Brian Adam: Congratulations to Scotland the What That the Parliament congratulates Scotland the What stars, George Donald, Steven Robertson and Buff Hardie, on receiving the freedom of the city of Aberdeen; notes with appreciation the special brand of local humour that they brought to a global audience, and further notes the great work that they did in publicising not only Scotland but also the Doric dialect.

S3M-1669 Bill Wilson: Commemorative Stamps for 200th Anniversary of Scots Language Dictionary and Funding for Complete Modern Scots Dictionary That the Parliament notes that 2008 is the 200th anniversary of John Jamieson’s extensively researched An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, a book dedicated to the Baron of Renfrew, known also as the Prince of Wales, which included words from Renfrewshire and elsewhere in Scotland; notes that this dictionary set new standards in lexicography and has influenced two centuries of lexicographers, including Sir James Murray, the founding father of the Oxford English Dictionary, and those presently working for the Scots language dictionaries organisation; regrets, however, that two centuries after the publication of An Etymological Dictionary there is still no complete modern dictionary of the Scots language which includes words Scots shares with the related language, English; notes that this anomaly prevents the production of an effective spell-checker for Scots and makes automated translation impossible; believes that the existence of such a complete dictionary would raise the status of the Scots language and help prevent possible discrimination against the language and its speakers in the west of Scotland and elsewhere, and would welcome investigation of the feasibility of both providing adequate funds for the production of such a dictionary and the issuing of stamps to commemorate John Jamieson’s remarkable achievement.

S3M-1457 Pauline McNeill: Language Diversity in Schools That the Parliament affirms its commitment to supporting children in school whose first language is not English and believes that language diversity is a positive benefit in Scotland’s schools and across Scottish society; recognises the challenges faced by teachers, pupils and parents in multi-lingual classrooms, particularly in areas such as Glasgow where 8,853 city children speak one of 102 languages other than English at home, including Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Mandarin, Polish, Cantonese, Swahili, Kurdish, Thai, French, German, Spanish and Italian, alongside Gaelic, Scots, Doric and British Sign Language; congratulates Glasgow City Council and other local authorities for the work that they are already doing in response to language diversity, and calls for the Scottish Government to do more to support local authorities such as Glasgow and to respond to the calls that have been made for special funding to be made available in order that language never becomes a barrier in Scottish education.

S3M-1398 Bill Wilson: Death of Last Eyak Speaker and the Importance of Linguistic Heritage That the Parliament notes the extinction of the Eyak language with the death of 89-year-old Marie Smith Jones, peace campaigner and campaigner for indigenous languages, who was believed to be the last full-blooded member of the Eyak tribe of Alaska and the last fluent speaker of the language; notes that it is reported that none of her nine children learned Eyak because "they grew up a time when it was considered wrong to speak anything but English"; notes the similarities between the history of Eyak and other languages, notably Scots, and is of the opinion that the best way of honouring the life and work of Smith Jones is to promote a positive attitude to our own indigenous languages and culture.

S3M-640 Aileen Campbell: Scots Translation of Dahl Classic at Number 1 That the Parliament congratulates Clydesdale author, Matthew Fitt, on his book Geordie's Mingin Medicine reaching the top of the Waterstone's Children's Best Sellers' list ahead of Harry Potter and Walt Disney's High School Musical; further acknowledges the increasing importance of the Scots language to children in Scotland as evidenced by the popularity of this book, and encourages all children to keep the Scots language alive. Lodged November 2007.

S3M-775 Bill Wilson: The BBC's Scots Language Policy That the Parliament notes the BBC Trust's publication of the BBC's public purposes which the BBC is committed to implementing under the terms of its charter; notes the statements therein that the BBC should represent the United Kingdom, its nations, regions and communities and that, in its output, it should support the UK's indigenous minority languages "such as Gaelic, Welsh, Irish and Ulster Scots"; notes the fact that the Scots language of Scotland, the UK's indigenous minority language with the most speakers, is not mentioned; expresses its condemnation of this omission, and calls on the BBC to apologise and rectify the situation immediately. Lodged November 2007.

S3M-392 Rob Gibson: International Recognition for Scottish Island Writers That the Parliament congratulates the Scottish island writers who attended the ninth international book festival of island writers held on Ouessant island in Brittany from 22 to 26 August 2007; celebrates the 11 writers from Shetland, Fair Isle, Orkney, Lewis, Skye and Raasay whose work in Shetlandic, Gaelic and English provided the focus for this year's event; in particular welcomes the prize won by the poetry of Christine de Luca whose volume, Parallel Worlds, in Shetlandic dialect, has been translated into French; believes that works of excellence from our Scottish island authors should feature in future Scottish book festivals, and considers that appropriate support and encouragement should be given to nurture this internationally recognised talent and the translation of Scottish literature into other tongues.

S3M-358 Alasdair Allan: Scots Language Database That the Parliament welcomes the creation of the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech website (www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk) by researchers at the University of Glasgow; notes that this website has more than four million words in Scots and Scottish English, includes texts from 1945 up to the present day and, as well as describing meaning and usage, the project also has audio links which allow people to hear the words being spoken, and recognises that this could be a vital resource for those interested in the Scots language the world over and that the Scots language is a source of interest across the world as one aspect of Scotland's long and thriving cultural heritage.
The member has provided the following Scots translation: At the Pairliament walcomes the makin o the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech wabsteid (www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk), bi researchers at Glesca Universitie; taks tent at this wabsteid haes mair nor fower meilion wurds i Scots an Scottish Inglish, amang them screids fae 1945 forrit, an at, forby descreivin meanins an uisses, the projeck haes audio links an aw, at lats fowk hear the wurds bein spoken; taks tent at this cuid be a uissfu resource for thaim's interestit i the Scots leid the warld ower; an at the Scots leid is a source o interest ower aw the warld as ae bit o Scotland's lang cultural heriutage at's tae the fore yet.