An abuse of the English language that gives rise to deeper questions of cultural integrity and international reputation has been prompted by the announcement of "ScotlandsPeople", the new Family History Centre currently under development in Edinburgh. Immediately I saw the name of the new centre, prominently displayed at Register House on one of the capital's busiest junctions, I assumed a mistake had been made. With illiteracy on the rise and falling standards in written language accepted even by the government, a grammatical howler seemed the most likely explanation.
In this case, though, the error had been made by otherwise respected institutions - the National Archives of Scotland, the General Register Office for Scotland, and the Court of the Lord Lyon, all of which are driving the ScotlandsPeople project.
I discovered that ScotlandsPeople was not an embarrassing mistake but a brand name for a commercial enterprise, which project leader Dee Williams likened to high street shops, where language was adapted for effect, she told me.
That Scotland is a nation with a long and proud history, and not a high street shop, appeared to have been lost on the project team. Capitalism's much-loved concept "the brand" also seemed inappropriate, if not insulting.
After further inquiries I received a letter from the Lord Lyon King of Arms, Robin Blair. He assured me there was no inadvertent error and said the principal reason for dropping the apostrophe and running the words together was to avoid confusion during computer usage. In other words, a name representing Scotland's family heritage and culture around the world that would abuse the language, belittle the nation's reputation and prompt derision from anyone with a basic grasp of English, had been created as an extension of an e-mail address.
The logic is particularly ironic, given Scotland's long history of first-class education. Perhaps it hadn't occurred to anyone involved with the project that the words could simply have been run together, without grammar, for e-mail purposes only.
When some of Scotland's most influential institutions are party to high-profile abuse of language, even more so when their actions are intentional, we can be sure it reflects a wider attitude that places commerce and brand mentality before any concept of respect.
The new mantra - if it's sexy and it sells, anything goes! Even Scotland's reputation, it appears.
David Gray, 6b Sidegate, Haddington, East Lothian.
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