Northland Village, in Dungannon, is about to make history in Mid Ulster as the first-ever area within the district to be provided with street signage in both English and Ulster-Scots, however there remains a hurdle – sourcing a suitably-qualified Ulster-Scots linguist capable of delivering an accurate translation.
For bilingual signage to be provided, more than 50 per cent of residents having a say on the matter need to express support for such provision.
In the case of Northland Village, that test was comfortably met, although the proportion of residents who took part in the survey was relatively low – 24 per cent.
A total of 191 survey letters were issued on June 11, with 46 responses received by July 9.
Of these 46 responses, 37 were in favour (82 per cent), eight were against, and one was deemed invalid.
The matter was mentioned at the September 8 Environment committee meeting of Mid Ulster District Council by Council Chair, Councillor Deirdre Varsani.
As a gifted linguist with a very good command of the Irish language, the Sinn Féin representative for Dungannon DEA wanted to make sure that the road signs would be translated with accuracy.
She commented: “Just in relation to dual-language signage, I welcome so many coming through this month and look forward to more.
“Could I just ask in relation to the Ulster-Scots signage? I’m raising this because I know that another council area had some major issues with it.
“So, do we know who the linguistic expert is in relation to translations for this? And what qualifications do they have in the Ulster-Scots dialect, so that we can be assured that the proper translations are used? Because it could be problematic if we don’t get this correct.
“I would like some further information on that.”
Building Control Development Manager, P.J. Fox informed the Council Chair: “In relation to Ulster-Scots translation, all Councils at the moment have difficulties getting a translation for Ulster-Scots.
“We contacted the Ulster-Scots Society back in April and, unfortunately, we still haven’t got a response from them to seek proper translation.
“Fermanagh & Omagh [District] Council had similar issues, to my understanding, but the Ulster-Scots Society did come back to advise FLEX Language Services as a possible service for this.
“So, FLEX Language Services is who we have now obtained the services from for Ulster-Scots translation.”
The Council Chair wrote down the name of the translation agency, and had more questions for the Building Control Development Manager: “How have we interrogated their qualifications for this? Because I think that would be something that would need to come before a broader committee before we proceed with that.
“It can’t just be someone who’s willing to do it, but someone who actually has qualifications and expertise that are significant.
“So, it’s not just a willingness to do it, but what are the actual qualifications and what is the expertise, so that we can be assured that the service is not just a willingness but an actual proper professional service.”
The Council Chair’s request for further information was noted.
Belfast-based FLEX Language Services describe the range of services they offer as follows: “FLEX Language Services is a comprehensive language agency specialising in high-quality Translation, Interpreting and Tuition Services across all world languages.
“With our headquarters based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and offices in Dublin, our team provide a personalised service working with your specific language requirements and have over 500 interpreters and translators available providing a 24/7 service, 365 days of the year.”
