Tag: education

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Dual Lingo

In mid-December, it was reported that the comedian Stanley Baxter had died at the age of 99.

He’s best known for the recurring Parliamo Glasgow sketches, which were a parody of the BBC language learning programme Parliamo Italiano. In each one, he and a co-presenter switch seamlessly from performing an example sketch in the Glasgow dialect to addressing the camera in the dominant Received Pronunciation of the day. Here’s one such example:

When you live in Scotland, it’s unusual even today to encounter your own accent or dialect on TV or radio, other than on dedicated Scots language stations. In this sense, ‘Scots’ refers to the Scottish dialect of English, with its distinct pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

The lack of prevalence is particularly true for Gaelic speakers, with only a handful of broadcasts dedicated to the language.

It’s possible that this situation might change in the future. Back in summer, the Scottish Languages Bill 2025 was unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament, placing Scots and Gaelic on an equal footing with English.

If you’re an English speaker visiting Wales, your eye quickly learns to settle on the lower half of official signs because Welsh legally must be displayed first. Hopping across the sea to the Republic of Ireland, we see a comparable situation with Irish Gaelic, which is written into the constitution as the national language. Note that while Irish Gaelic is related to Scots Gaelic, the two are not mutually intelligible.

Back in Scotland, I don’t foresee change happening very quickly. There are already some dual-language road signs in the north, and at the majority of railway stations. Yet considering the cost of new signs, investment will likely only come to the rest when they reach the end of their life spans.

By that time, it’s possible that Scots and Gaelic education will become more widespread, generating the political momentum for a wider dual-language presence. Maybe one day, Parliamo Gaelic will be the norm.

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Carving Out the Time to Write – and to Read

On Christmas Eve, we explored the theory that 10,000 hours of quality practice can make someone an expert in a given field.

It’s a concept I’m still thinking about five weeks on, so I’ve been conducting a couple of unscientific experiments about increasing the time available for writing – and indeed reading, which is almost as important for an author.

As many mornings as possible, I go for a half-hour walk around the local park. I’m also a frequent radio listener, so I often take my pocket-sized DAB receiver with me. I use it when I walk other places, and occasionally at work when it’s quiet.

For five weeks, I’ve replaced that radio listening with educational podcasts; the subjects covered have not been writing-related, as I’m already familar with that.

Similary, I also have two 15-minute breaks per day. To increase my reading time, I’ve started setting my watch to beep after ten minutes, during which time I concentrate on my book. When time is up, I then finish at the next convenient break, usually the end of the current paragraph or page.

By doing this consistently, I’ve now clocked up an estimated 100 hours of learning in just over a month: that’s already one percent of the 10,000 aformentioned hours.

If I were a beginner writer, I could replace the walks with audiobooks, and replace the reading with writing, and I’d be on my way to becoming better at what I enjoy. There is usually time to be carved out if you look for it.