View Full Version : Mod - Yes or No?
northener
17-Apr-09, 23:16
OK, lets get this sorted.
There seems to be some blurring between the issue of the Mod and the issue of Gaelic roadsigns - so I've done my best to cover all the bases.
I've done my best to cover all the bases
You never asked for Yes to the MoD at the Vulcan base after 2014, 300 Caithnessian jobs depend on it.:D
Amy-Winehouse
17-Apr-09, 23:38
The Mod should stay, it has been here before doesnt harm or confuse anyone & is good for the ecconomy.
We take french, chinese,Spanish,Italian,Pakistani,Indian speaking peoples money so I see no reason why we cant take Gaelic speaking peoples money- even if no one can understand them, its only for a 2-3 days & there off. They have an excellent reputation for indulging in `having a wee drink` so lets embrace them with open arms. Caithnessians are supposed to be good at this!!
But NO to their sign posts , spend the money on better things- I can think of at least 5 right now
Mr Winehouse
Yes to mod no to billingual road signs. Whats the point in them esp in gaelic? There are people that speak gaelic but its not in the majority.
We need the mods. I've had an issue with one of the orgers on here and the mods have done their job fantastacilly.
Alice in Blunderland
18-Apr-09, 08:27
Yes to mod no to billingual road signs. Whats the point in them esp in gaelic? There are people that speak gaelic but its not in the majority.
We need the mods. I've had an issue with one of the orgers on here and the mods have done their job fantastacilly.
Woops its MOD as in music festival :D not the all singing all dancing mods on here. ;)
:lol:
Yes to the MOD, but defo no to the Gaelic signs, really don't see the need for them......
the poacher
18-Apr-09, 17:01
:lol:
Yes to the MOD, but defo no to the Gaelic signs, really don't see the need for them......
i agree with ellimac cant say much more than that.
The Mod should stay, it has been here before doesnt harm or confuse anyone & is good for the ecconomy.
The provincial mod has been here before but I don't think the national mod has been here, has it?
Woops its MOD as in music festival :D not the all singing all dancing mods on here. ;)
Whoops, :lol:
Golspie is the nearest that the Royal National Mod has been. Lets all support the Royal National Mod In Caithness and show everyone who comes here just how hospitable we are in Caithness.
butterfly
19-Apr-09, 12:59
Yes to mod but no to bilingual road signs was what i voted.
I am all for the Mod coming to Caithness but changing the signage is just not on and there is no good reasoning for it, anywhere.
I can understand why the MOD want to pull out of Caithness 2010 for reasons that they feel alienated and exploited in equal measures by our own councillors. And for that I will support where the MOD eventually goes. Like Flear said, people in the county aren't that bothered anyway, they see it as just another bit of buckshee income coming to their doorsteps rather than a whole cultural expression of their own.
So if the MOD does go elsewhere and if Caithnessian norse heritage is so distinct that the local councillors are trying to make out, then isn't it worth a challenge to explore the possibility of putting on a musical festival that would reflect our own local culture right here in Caithness??
The truth of the matter I fear is that this norseness is just notional in today's value from a cultural point of view. Caithnessians know where they have come from but they don't know culturally where they are going. That is quite sad really for an area so rich in archaeology and heritage.
the charlatans
19-Apr-09, 14:41
I say yes to the Mod, been in Oban when it was on there and it was great crack, fair livened things up and the town was jumping.
As for the bilingual road signs - if the roads department can guarantee that the money is not needed anywhere else in the county and they don't have shares in the road sign manufacturer then if they must. But I think the money should be spent elsewhere.
I've seen the signs down in Argyll and especially the ones in Oban town centre where everything is bilingual - the police station, the hospital, the leisure centre etc. and the signs are huge.
Plus i think the good people who compete in the Mod are more interested in the competition and visiting the area and meeting new people than stupid road signs.
the mod definatly should come here, what with the finacial climate the way it is just now, surly we should be encouraging new business and tourists, as for the sign, the jurys still out on that one.
Yes to the Mod. The music, the singing and aw thon cultur. :D:lol:
As for the road signs No, it would be a waste of money. I'm all for holding on to heritage where appropriate but not as some sort of PC badge. I thought Caithness's heritage was Norse! :eek:
ywindythesecond
19-Apr-09, 23:14
I can understand why the MOD want to pull out of Caithness 2010 for reasons that they feel alienated and exploited in equal measures by our own councillors. Like Flear said, people in the county aren't that bothered anyway, they see it as just another bit of buckshee income coming to their doorsteps rather than a whole cultural expression of their own.
.
Reggy
When did the MOD organisers state that they wanted to pull out of Caithness 2010?
When did David Flear say "people in the county aren't that bothered anyway, they see it as just another bit of buckshee income coming to their doorsteps"?
ywy2
Hey, Northerner, I think you're brilliant!:D
Such a clever poll - showing clearly that most people here are anti-bilingual roadsigns but not anti-Gaelic.
Very clever. Hope it can be understood by everyone - do we need a translation?;)
The truth of the matter I fear is that this norseness is just notional in today's value from a cultural point of view. Caithnessians know where they have come from but they don't know culturally where they are going. That is quite sad really for an area so rich in archaeology and heritage.
The Norse, non-Gael, history of the NE of Caithness is worth celebrating.
But the influx of boffins & other workers who came to build, maintain and then decommission Dounreay has made Caithness SO much more cosmopolitan than simply reflecting our Norse heritage. We have an amazing amount of creative talent in the county - composers, visual artists, performing artists in just about every genre... We know where we're going, creatively speaking - perhaps it's just you, Rheghead, that is not sure which way you're going?
There are so many options to choose from and everyone's so friendly - crossing cultural boundaries has become a way of life here. That's why, as a county, we can give the same fantastic welcome to the Mod as we've given to the International Country Music Festival and we give when the Scottish Chamber Orchestra or Scottish Opera comes to visit... something for everyone and we love it all!!!
Other areas of the Highlands are not as cosmopolitan as Caithness. That's just another reason why they find it hard to understand us.
perhaps it's just you, Rheghead, that is not sure which way you're going?
I know where I'm going (I am just an innocent looker-in from an outsider's perspective), it is up to the heralds of Norse culture to convince me and anyone else for that matter that the movement for anti-gaelic signage isn't an alienation of Gaeliscation. I couldn't give a flying frisbee tbh. I just find it all totally parochial and purile. Live and let live, bilingual signs are gonna change ur life so get on with it.
Reggy
When did David Flear say "people in the county aren't that bothered anyway, they see it as just another bit of buckshee income coming to their doorsteps"?
ywy2
David flear was quoted in the Northern Times on Thursday as saying...
"If they decide not to hold the Mod in Caithness because of this, the majority of people will not be affected."
Alice in Blunderland
20-Apr-09, 11:05
David flear was quoted in the Northern Times on Thursday as saying...
"If they decide not to hold the Mod in Caithness because of this, the majority of people will not be affected."
True I suppose but...............try telling that to the shopkeepers who would welcome any trade at this momment, from anyone no matter what language they spoke and what signpost they read to give them directions to their shop. ;)
cuddlepop
20-Apr-09, 12:47
David flear was quoted in the Northern Times on Thursday as saying...
"If they decide not to hold the Mod in Caithness because of this, the majority of people will not be affected."
That is so not true.
Skye people whether supporters of the mod or not made a fortune from the tourists.
I dont live in Caithness so havent voted but will say no to the complete waste of money on bi lingual signs.:mad:
Sun Circle
20-Apr-09, 20:01
I know where I'm going (I am just an innocent looker-in from an outsider's perspective), it is up to the heralds of Norse culture to convince me and anyone else for that matter that the movement for anti-gaelic signage isn't an alienation of Gaeliscation. I couldn't give a flying frisbee tbh. I just find it all totally parochial and purile. Live and let live, bilingual signs are gonna change ur life so get on with it.
Rheghead, what on earth is "the alienation of Gaeliscation"?
I think the Gaelic culture is a fantastic and wonderful part of Scottish heritage - something to be treasured and celebrated. Something to look forward to in generations to come. I for one welcome the Mod to Caithness and look forward to attending it. I'll be encouraging my friends to get fiddling and singing and join in the fun.
I imagine your word "Gaeliscation" as taking the wide diversity of cultures that have made up the current Scottish culture and trying to impose a Gaelic future onto that incredible mosiac of peoples. If you go back far enough in pre-history there was a time when Scotland was not populated but covered in ice. So we are all incomers of one kind or another, be it Picts, Gaels, Irish, Scots, Angles, Norse, Roman or one of the many other cultures that have influenced the nation we now call Scotland! And on a more modern note the many incomers that have arrived in the last century to Scotland have all been welcomed most hospitably.
Why pretend that our Scottish culture can be represented by Gaelic and Gaelic only? Is it because its the only surviving ancient language? No, ancient Scots dialects survive in their many forms, but hey, they are almost comprehensible to English-speakers so they are obviously not Scottish enough to give that real tartan-wrapped shortbread effect.
Why pretend that our incredibly complex and exciting diversity should be represented by one language - Gaelic? Rightly or wrongly, history has taken Scotland to a place where our day-to-day life is represented in English... do we need another whitewash to take that Anglicisation and duplicate it into "Gaeliscation"? What does that serve, apart from to create a divide between English-speakers and Gaelic speakers? And to put the noses out of joint of Scottish dialect speakers.
Gaelic was only written down relatively recently and was a primarily spoken language, so why the emphasis on written Gaelic everywhere we look now? Along the west coast and western isles, Gaelic dialects varied from one village to the next and the written Gaelic has never been uniform from coast to coast - not until now, that is! It does the current population of the Highlands no favours to impose this "chocolate-box" artificial Gaelic culture on the actual complex diversity of cultures that exists.
Caithness has a huge diversity of culture and we're very proud of it. We're proud to welcome the National Mod to Caithness. But it will take a few more decades of gentle "Gaeliscation" before we'll allow our Norse placenames to be signed in Gaelic!
Placing Gaelic roadsigns in Caithness is too much, too soon. Once "the new Gaelic" is taught in every school and spoken on street corners, I'm sure we'll become more accepting. So I would suggest a more sensible approach for the Gaelic Board would be to spend the money on fun events like the Mod, the Fais (apologies for spelling!), free Gaelic language night-classes, more funding for the Gaelic choirs... there are so many wonderful ways to celebrate Gaelic culture without being in-your-face.
Whether or not our past was Gaelic is quite irrelevant to the Highland Council, they seem hell-bent on celebrating our future in Gaelic, whether we want it or not!
Why pretend that our Scottish culture can be represented by Gaelic and Gaelic only?
Is there a proposal to replace existing signage with Gaelic monolingual signage?:roll:
Is there a proposal to replace existing signage with Gaelic monolingual signage?:roll:
Drove through Tongue last week to find that it IS only signposted in Gaelic!! Thin end of the wedge, Rheghead...;)
It's actually Tunga, but you never know, the thin end it maybe.
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