← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · heritagelost
Thread ID: 7079 | Posts: 4 | Started: 2003-06-02
2003-06-02 18:03 | User Profile
[url=http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/scotland.cfm?id=607022003]http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/scotland.cfm?id=607022003[/url]
A PROPERTY developer is willing to risk prosecution after being refused permission to register his daughterââ¬â¢s name in Gaelic instead of the required English.
Austin Boyle, 39, who was born in Argyll, claimed he was informed by the General Register Office for Scotland that Gaelic is considered a foreign language when it comes to registering surnames.
Mr Boyle, of Erbusaig, who is learning Scotlandââ¬â¢s native tongue, first went to his local registrar office near Kyle of Lochalsh, to register his daughter as Aoife NicBhaoille - the Gaelic version of his own surname.
After being refused, he took his fight to the Registerââ¬â¢s head office in Edinburgh, where he claimed that a staff member said the use of Gaelic in a name was as unacceptable as the use of Sanskrit.
General Register Office rules state that if a surname or place name is translatable into English then the latter must be used. In contrast, registrations in Wales can be in Welsh and parents have the option of requesting bilingual birth certificates.
Mr Boyle is refusing to register his child until the law is changed, which could land the developer in court.
Mr Boyle, who lives with his wife Eleni, 37, said: "This seems totally bizarre. The Executive claims it is trying to keep the Gaelic language alive, but this happens. In Wales you can register your childââ¬â¢s name in Welsh and English, but in Scotland you can only register it in English. It is crazy, but Gaelic has no legal status in Scotland."
Mr Boyleââ¬â¢s daughter was born seven weeks prematurely on 1 May at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
The proud father, who was born in Tarbert, Argyll, already sends his five year-old son to Plockton school where Gaelic is taught.
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said that a member of the public can register a Christian name in Gaelic in Scotland, but not a surname or place name. The spokesman added: "If a name is translatable into English, then it should be registered in English.
"We have received communication from the father and we have agreed to consider the request again." Of the claim that the General Register Office said Gaelic was a foreign language, the spokesman said: "I cannot really comment anymore about an individual case
2003-06-03 03:22 | User Profile
Your username is completely appropriate in relation to this article. Shame really.
2003-06-03 08:45 | User Profile
Originally posted by heritagelost@Jun 2 2003, 12:03 General Register Office rules state that if a surname or place name is translatable into English then the latter must be used.
Boyle isnââ¬â¢t the English translation of the surname so according to these jokers pretty much every Scotsman is in breach of the law. A few Irish or Scots names are translated directly into English but most are essentially ââ¬Ëofficialââ¬â¢ mispronunciations, e.g.
'English': Dublin Irish: Dubh Linn Actual English: Black Pool
2003-06-03 23:55 | User Profile
Just wait until our government decides which pool of names we can choose from, in order to increase harmony, etc. I'm only half joking. Poag mah hon to all of them. (Although some of you may say "Pog mo thoin" :lol: )