Whose 'recognition'?: the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill
Temas
Detalles
British Sign Language (BSL) is one of Scotland’s autochthonous minority languages used by 12.533 people 1 (Scottish Census 2011). Scottish BSL signers 2 are not territorially concentrated but live dispersed throughout Scotland. Unlike Gaelic, one of the main spoken autochthonous minority languages in Scotland, BSL has no legal status in Scotland or in any other part of the UK and is not protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.3 The status of BSL in Scotland may change with the introduction of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill, which was lodged in the Scottish Parliament on 29 October 2014. The proposed Bill aims to promote the use and understanding of BSL principally by means of ‘BSL plans’, which are to be published by the Scottish Ministers and specified public authorities. These plans are to be reviewed and updated at regular intervals and reported on via a Performance Review report.