LUMOS and other spells of British Sign Language: Who will be enlightened by the proposed spread of signing in Scotland?

Abstract Summary

Abstract :

In response to generations of community campaigning, the Scottish Parliament passed the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act in September 2015, prompting tears and applause in the public gallery. The law commits the authorities to promoting the use and understanding of BSL throughout national life. The BSL National Plan, published two years later (and renewable every six years thereafter), identifies 70 actions to be taken across the public sphere in pursuit of this headline objective. Among these are a series of steps intended to drive teaching and learning of BSL nationwide as part of Scotland’s ‘1+2’ languages framework for schools.







Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, was the place in which BSL was first named (Brennan 1975). In the years that followed, the Mary Brennan and Allan Hayhurst were able to write that “Recognising the real worth of Sign Language is bringing about a renewal at various levels within and around the deaf community. We hope that this renewal will develop into a true linguistic and cultural renaissance which will benefit both deaf children and the deaf community as a whole” (1980:2). Legislative backing can be expected to take this renaissance to a new level. So where does the idea of sign language for all fit into the plan?







Edinburgh is also the ‘birthplace’ of J. K. Rowling’s renowned character, Harry Potter. Can Rowling/Potter’s lumos spell (for wand-lighting) cast its charm on the nation and shed light on all through engagement with BSL? Identifying general conclusions pertinent to the fortunes of signing communities worldwide, this paper sets out the challenges now being faced as we seek to bring this new form of ‘Scottish enlightenment’ to the nation, and faces up to the risks inherent in trying to deliver such a transformative programme.

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