Measuring up? non-profit and commercial language policies in Gaelic-speaking Scotland

The juxtaposition of majority and minority languages gives rise to issues of language rights, maintenance and promotion. Within organisations, language policies can be used to direct language use and encourage bilingual or multilingual practice. However, critical attention to the component parts of language policies is currently fixed on the public governmental sector. This paper presents the findings of a textual analysis of two organisations’ Gaelic Language Plans. Although both are situated in the public sector, one organisation is a development agency and therefore non-profit, whereas the second is a public commercial enterprise. Although both documents articulate clear intervention areas, that of the commercial enterprise excels at providing measurable and achievable action plans. We ask whether the pragmatic concerns of commercial enterprises may be of benefit to language policies.