Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages

Home Sectors Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages

Overview

Language is fundamental to the rich and varied culture, and diverse heritages, of the BIC’s eight Member Administrations.

The British-Irish Council Work Sector on Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages (IML) focuses on nine such languages spoken across these islands: Cornish, Gaelic, Guernesiais, Irish, Jèrriais, Manx, Scots, Ulster-Scots, and Welsh.

Each IML language has its own characteristics in terms of the number of speakers and the extent of ordinary social use. Coming together in this Work Sector allows to share good practice and experience. This in turn can be a real source of inspiration to BIC administrations, while nurturing productive new connections and relationships with others in the same field.

Lead Administration

The IML Work Sector was established in 2009 and is chaired by the Welsh Government.

Current Focus

The current Forward Work Plan was agreed in October 2023, at a Ministerial meeting hosted by the Government of Jersey. The current focus is:

Social Use of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages
Linguistic Infrastructure
Culture

The most recent work sector visit was to Belfast in November 2024 where they met with Irish language and Ulster-Scots language devotees. This included visit included the Ulster-Scots Agency and Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter to hear from a range of organisations supporting people to live their lives through the medium of Irish and Ulster-Scots.

The work sector has been partnered with the Celtic Media Festival for the last five years. Together, BIC and CMF share a commitment to support the use of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-used (IML) languages in the creative arts and in broadcasting. This year, following the success of the 2024 panel, MG Alba hosted a Celtic Exchange Programme of young language speakers in the Hebrides, off the western coast of Scotland. Participants involved in the exchange included young creative speakers of Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish. The initiative gave the participants the opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals, celebrate their shared Celtic cultures and languages, and learn from creative industries professionals working in the Hebrides on how they built their careers in the place they call home.

The BIC sponsored panel at this years CMF was ‘Celtic Exchange – Supporting the Next Generation in Creative Media’. Panellists talked about their experiences in the Hebrides, what they learnt from each other, the content they created and the creative professionals they met along the way. They also discussed how the exchange has helped inspire them in their future careers, as well as the potential for the Celtic Exchange programme to establish a network of young IML language speakers from across these islands.