Scots language on 2011 census

The General Register Office for Scotland has revealed in its report 'Scotland's Census 2011 Recommendations on Content' that the Scots language will be included on a census of Scotland for the first time. Campaigners who have fought long and hard since 1993 for a question on Scots language ability to be included - the same as Gaelic - will welcome this important step forward. The GRO report stated "Strong user need was identified to GROS for information on other languages...including the Scots language." However, many users may consider that the content relating to Scots falls short of the information relating to English and Gaelic usage. Whereas the informant will be asked if he or she can understand, speak, read or write English and Gaelic, and also how well he or she feels they speak English, Scots only appears under the question "Do you use a language other than English at home" with the option to tick Scottish Gaelic, Scots, British Sign Language, or 'other'. Campaigners and users may feel that since Scots is both spoken - and written - in many circles beyond the home, and is understood by many who do not speak it, that the proposed census question does not allow users the benefit of the same statistics that may be gathered for English and Gaelic. In Northern Ireland, by contrast, the equivalent agency intends to ask if people can speak, read, write or understand Scots. Education and publishing organisations, for example, may regret that the GRO does not intend to find out how many people claim to write in Scots, particularly as Scots is now finding its way into schools. However, any question that attempts to calculate the number of Scots speakers must be welcomed.