Gaelic benefits

The Scotsman has published letters from Keith Howell and Alastair Paisley (27 August) on the subject of Gaelic.

Speaking as someone who has enjoyed attempting to learn the basics of the language and on behalf of those of us who cherish our culture and heritage, would it be asking too much to print a letter in support of the preservation and development of Gaelic?

The educational benefits of being bilingual or trilingual are well documented. One of these benefits relates to reading and the assimilation of information, as John Cameron (Letters, 27 August) might have managed, had he gone beyond the headline proclaiming a Scottish Government blunder which led to the suspension of EU support for employment projects.

The actual text made it clear that the grants had been temporarily suspended due to audit failures on behalf of the service deliverers and not the SNP (Scottish Government) who are now working with the relevant agencies to rectify the problem.

Calling the government to account is legitimate, but repeating a mantra ad nauseam and distorting the facts can only dilute the impact.

Douglas Turner

Derby Street

Edinburgh

Bilingual signage offers free education to anyone who is interested, and gives great encouragement to language learners like me. Thanks to a misplaced accent, I now know the Gaelic words for “penis” and “Bute” – both in the genitive case.

The cost of the signage should be offset against the large sums wasted over generations in trying to wipe Scotland’sfirst language out.

John Coutts

Ladysneuk Road

Stirling