Ulster-Scots Agency

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The Ulster-Scots Agency (in Ulster Scots, Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch) is a cross-border body set up in Ireland to promote the Ulster Scots language and culture.

1 Overview
2 Newspaper
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Overview

Along with Foras na Gaeilge, the agency set up to promote the Irish language, it is part of The North/South Language Body established as a result of the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

Its remit is "the promotion of greater awareness and the use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island".

Its mission statement is:

"The aim of the Ulster-Scots Agency is to promote the study, conservation, development and use of Ulster-Scots as a living language; to encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and to promote a wider awareness and understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots."

It is jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of Ireland.

The Agency's head office is in Belfast, but a second office in Raphoe in east County Donegal is planned.

As of 2005, projects being undertaken or planned include: a tape-recorded survey of native speakers, the compilation of a two-way Ulster Scots/English dictionary, a text base of written Ulster Scots, an expert translation service.

[edit] Newspaper

The agency publishes an English language newsletter, albeit with some token Scots, several times a year entitled "The Ulster-Scot" as a supplement to the Belfast News Letter, and also available on request free of charge anywhere in the world.