THE Royal National Mòd is offering Scottish businesses a Gaelic "phrasebook" to encourage new bilingual signage ahead of a major Gaelic fringe event.
The business community has been equipped with a multi-platform toolkit to help them to engage with Gaelic ahead of the return of Scotland’s "premiere celebration of Gaelic language and culture" to Oban in October.
The Royal National Mòd will see Gaels and revellers taking part in hundreds of competitions as well as the fringe atmosphere from October 11 - 19.
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The package for businesses includes a "phrasebank", audio files, signage and décor guide, as well as a series of free Gaelic for business taster sessions, hosted by the Furan Gaelic centre.
Local business owner Daniel MacIntyre has been amongst the first to add some Gaelic to his venue, The View.
MacIntyre said “Gaelic contributes so significantly to the culture of the local area that we often end up overlooking it – we host cèilidhs with traditional musicians and highland dancers here all through the summer, with stellar pipers playing here as well.
"All of these things have a Gaelic background, and I’m really happy to get to showcase that now within the venue itself, for locals to enjoy as well as the visitors that we can’t wait to welcome over the summer and during the Mòd.”
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It is hoped that front of house staff and business owners in Oban will be able to pick up a bit of Gaelic ahead of the National Mòd in 2024, where thousands of Gaelic revellers will be descending upon the town’s business community for a week of celebration.
Family cèilidhs, live music, exhibitions, children’s activities, live sport, art exhibitions and literary talks are all in the programme which will be fully launched in September,
Information on how to enter competitions is available on the An Comunn Gàidhealach website.
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