NOTICE OF THE STATUS OF THE GAELIC LANGUAGE IN SCOTS LAW

 

An Taigh Cèilidh CIC is committed to the Gaelic language, as per the founding documents, mission statement, core values, and business plan. However, Gaelic is not recognised as a working language of the Court of Scotland. This Notice outlines An Taigh Cèilidh’s use of Gaelic in official documentation, including commitments to Consumer Contracts (such as our Terms of Sale or Refund Policy).

 

GAELIC LANGUAGE (SCOTLAND) ACT 2005

By the terms of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, Scottish Gaelic has some official status in Scotland. The purpose of the Act is to secure Gaelic as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect with English. The Act makes no provision for the use of Gaelic in the Court of Scotland. Therefore, in the case of any legal action involving An Taigh Cèilidh, the Court will only take the English version of any of our terms, policies, or notices into consideration. If there is any discrepancy in the wording of a document between our Gaelic and English versions, the Court will duly discount the Gaelic version.

 

GAELIC AS A LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS

Since Gaelic has not been used as a language of business, there are few, if any, instances of official documentation governing or outlining business operations, employment, social impact, financial operations, or contractual commitments in the private sector (of which An Taigh Cèilidh is a part as a Community Interest Company) in Gaelic. As such, not all the business and financial documentation regarding An Taigh Cèilidh are yet available in Gaelic, since it is An Taigh Cèilidh that is responsible for the translation and publication of these documents.

Despite restricted use of Gaelic in the private sector, An Taigh Cèilidh’s work addresses two key commitments in the National Gaelic Language Plan 2023–2028, namely:

  • that Gaelic is used by more often, by more people, and in a wider range of situations* (Page 7)
  • to promote the use of Gaelic in the workplace in the private, voluntary, and public sectors, with a particular emphasis on utilising the Gaelic language skills of young people in island and rural communities (Page 42)

* “wider range of situations” includes the use of Gaelic as business and consumer language. Without An Taigh Cèilidh’s work, Gaelic as a business and consumer language would be a distant goal, rather than an impending reality

 

GAELIC AS A WORKING LANGUAGE AT AN TAIGH CÈILIDH

An Taigh Cèilidh is committed to ensuring that Gaelic is either the only working language or the primary working language of the organisation. We are therefore working to ensure that business and financial documentation is available in Gaelic, regardless of their legal admissibility. An Taigh Cèilidh is committed to the belief that Gaelic is a modern and highly sophisticated language that is suitable for use as a business language and as a legal language. We are therefore also committed to demonstrating this and to persuading others (including the Court of Scotland) to follow our example as regards Gaelic as a modern business and legal language.

Nonetheless, An Taigh Cèilidh is a small not-for-profit community project with limited resources, and we therefore ask for your patience while we work on the documentation.

In the meantime, An Taigh Cèilidh will continue to use Gaelic as the primary working language of the organisation, with staff meetings, staff training, and customer service being delivered entirely or nearly entirely in Gaelic.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the use of Gaelic in An Taigh Cèilidh, please email failte@taighceilidh.com