Ordnance Survey and Gaelic in mapping

Stewart Robertson, Gaelic Names Officer at Ordnance Survey:

By the year 2000, Ordnance Survey had recognised that names in Gaelic on some products were sometimes incorrect and in some cases inconsistent across our scales of mapping. This had arisen since most natural feature names were based on those collected in the 19th century and then revised in line with the correct grammar of the late nineteen sixties and early seventies. Reviews of Gaelic orthography have taken place since then, and it was decided that the time was right to appraise and update our database. To this end the following eminent Gaelic experts were interviewed; Roy Wentworth, Richard Cox, W.F.H. Nicolaisen, Ian Fraser, Peadar Morgan, Dr David Munro, Dr Ian R White and Dr Simon Taylor. They agreed that the Ordnance Survey should set up the Gaelic Names Liaison Committee (GNLC). The first meeting was held on 21 July 2000 with Peadar Morgan in the chair, with John Hutchinson having ably held this post since then.

With the aid of those Gaelic experts, Ordnance Survey produced a Gaelic Names Policy (English version and Gaelic version) which was launched at the Grosvenor Hotel in Edinburgh on 16 November 2000. This Policy provides the overarching framework for Ordnance Survey's recording and depiction of Gaelic names.

The Ordnance Survey website includes a set of pages that explain in more detail the issues around names in Gaelic on our products. A major piece of work in this area has been the publication (on the Ordnance Survey website and as a PDF file) of a Guide to Gaelic origins of place names in Britain. This guide comprises a descriptive introduction and a glossary of Gaelic language elements found in place names on our maps.  The web pages also include information about the geographic extent where names in Gaelic appear on our maps.

A pilot programme to review and update all Gaelic place-names orthography in our data was completed during 2005, covering approximately 9% of the affected parts of Scotland. We have not set a timescale for extending this pilot to the rest of Scotland.

To support this work Ordnance Survey has contributed to the development of Orthographic Principles by AÀA which are available on the Resources section of this website.

Over the past two years, Ordnance Survey has been party to and has actively encouraged the development of the AÀA. Ordnance Survey recognises the benefits of there being just one names gazetteer into which everyone can delve. This does however require both financial and physical input and the Ordnance Survey wishes to play a strong role in this development.