Ulster-Scots Agency

The Ulster-Scots Agency (in its own Ulster Scots, "Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch") is a cross-border body set up in Ireland to promote the Ulster dialect of Scots and its attendant culture.

Overview

Along with Foras na Gaeilge, the agency set up to promote the Irish language, it is part of The North/South Language Body established as a result of the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

Its remit is "the promotion of greater awareness and the use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island". "Ullans" and "Ulster-Scots cultural issues" are defined in inter-governmental agreement and enshrined in legislation [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/99085903.htm The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Schedule 1)] as follows: ""Ullans" is to be understood as the variety of the Scots language traditionally found in parts of Northern Ireland and Donegal. "Ulster-Scots cultural issues" relate to the cultural traditions of the part of the population of Northern Ireland and the border counties which is of Scottish ancestry and the influence of their cultural traditions on others, both within the island of Ireland and in the rest of the world."

The mission statement that it has adopted is as follows:

:"The aim of the Ulster-Scots Agency is to promote the study, conservation, development and use of Ulster-Scots as a living language; to encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and to promote a wider awareness and understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots."

It is jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of Ireland.

The Agency's head office is in Belfast, but a second office in Raphoe in east County Donegal is planned.

As of 2005, projects being undertaken or planned include: a tape-recorded survey of native speakers, the compilation of a two-way Ulster Scots/English dictionary, a text base of written Ulster Scots, an expert translation service.

Newspaper

The agency publishes an English language newsletter, albeit with some token Scots, several times a year entitled "The Ulster-Scot" as a supplement to the Belfast News Letter, and also available on request free of charge anywhere in the world. "The Ulster-Scot" has occasioned some controversy. The writer and broadcaster Malachi O'Doherty reported in the Belfast Telegraph on 2 December 2002:

"I have just received a copy of their paper, The Ulster Scot. I showed it to a republican minded friend and was intrigued by his reaction. "Isn't it great," he said.

What he liked about it is that it makes Ulster Protestants look stupid. It depicts them as chauvinistic and naive."

However, it is also true that the newspaper is enjoyed by many people.

See also

* Ulster Scots
* Languages in the United Kingdom
* List of language regulators

References

External links

* [http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com Ulster-Scots Agency (Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch)]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/stateapart/agreement/culture/support/cul2_c011.shtml (Language, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland)]
* [http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/EagleFalconer2004.pdf Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch: "An English Name for a Scots Organization?" (PDF)]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/voices/ulsterscots/index.shtml Ulster-Scots voices (BBC site)]
* [http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/uscots.htm Pronunciation of Ulster Scots]
* [http://www.ullans.com/ Ullans]
* [http://www.ianjamesparsley.net/ullans.html Ulster-Scots Research Council and Ullans-L e-mail list]
* [http://www.ulster-scots.co.uk/ Ulster-Scots Online]
* [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/ The Dictionary of the Scots Language]
* [http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/ The Online Scots Dictionary]
* [http://www.scots-online.org/ Scots Online]