THBT dialect language classes should be taught in all schools in dialect provinces.

In this first speech for the Proposition, we seek to do three things. Firstly, we shall define the debate; secondly, we shall establish what we propose to do to achieve our vision; and finally we will introduce our first two substantive arguments in favour of this proposition. By a "dialect language", we will be referring to a language that fulfils two criteria. Firstly, it must be a living language historically based in a particular area or region, and not merely a language which is popular in the local area. For instance, under our proposition the teaching of Polish would not be compulsory in an area where Polish is not a historic language, regardless of how widely spoken it is. The second criteria is that the language must be sufficiently different from other languages for there to be worth to its study. For instance, the teaching of Cockney Rhyming Slang would not be compulsory in East London, whereas the teaching of Scottish Gaelic would be compulsory in Scotland. Therefore, a "dialect province" would be an area where a dialect is historically and culturally spoken. The Proposition would like to propose that the teaching of regional dialects in schools be made compulsory up until the age of 13. We have chosen this age based on the educational system used in the UK: under this system pupils take their first major public exams at the age of 16 and start studying the courses for these at the age of 14. Therefore, regional languages would be judged on the same basis as subjects such as history and geography (i. e. that they must be taken up to the age of 13 but are not compulsory at examination level). The age would, of course, have to vary according to the educational and examination systems used in different countries but we suggest this as our ballpark figure. We shall now move on to our first substantive argument, which is that we believe there is a right to learn the dialect of one"s homeland. The Proposition believes that the historic language of an area, provided it is still spoken, is part of the heritage and the identity of that area. History has shown that people are willing to fight hard in order to retain their language and retain its use in everyday life and its legal protection " the battle to protect the language of Catalan under the reign of General Franco being a case in point. As such, we believe that the dialect language is inextricably linked with the cultural identity of the region and measures should be taken to protect its use, and guarantee that (should they choose) the next generation can continue the language by using it in their own home. They could, however, also choose not to study the language at an examination level, much like many in the UK do with foreign languages such as French. We do, however, believe that local authorities have a responsibility to allow people the ability to continue their mother tongue. At present, dialect languages in areas where dialect language classes are not taught can only survive by being spoken in the family and in the home. Let us imagine two hypothetical families living in Penzance, Cornwall. They both feel Cornish, as opposed to British; they support Cornish nationalism and would like to be Cornish. However, at present, these families may not have equal opportunities to access the Cornish language, as it is not compulsory for it to be taught in schools in the area. If Cornish is spoken in one of these family"s homes, whereas in the other the tradition of Cornish in the family died with Great Aunt Mildred, these families do not have equal access to something they consider to be part of their identity. We would like to challenge the Opposition to justify this inequality of access to one"s own identity. Taking this further, let us take an American who lives in New York. The English language is a part of his identity, as it is the language spoken by his ancestors, spoken in his family home, and the language with which his inner monologue speaks. There is no question that, during the early stages of his development, he should be taught the language in school. We do not believe that a regional language should be treated any differently. If someone feels that they are Cornish, or Gaelic, or Welsh, or Catalan, or Basque, and they live in the right dialect province, they have a right to access this language. This inequality should be solved during primary education. Our second point regards the potential benefits of teaching dialect languages in dialect areas. A major problem in the UK, and in the USA, is the lack of enthusiasm for learning languages. This is caused, in part, by the myth that learning a language is useless. "I live in London, why do I need to learn how to ask for a train ticket in French? ", endless teenagers cry. In English-speaking nations this problem is particularly significant because "everybody speaks English anyway". But surely if we introduce the teaching of dialect languages in schools in dialect provinces, we will be able to do much to counter this illusion as students will be able to recognise and value the link between language and identity. An English-speaking person in Cornwall will be able to see that learning the language has unlocked a whole new part of their identity to them. They will see how valuable it is to learn a language, even though many people do speak English, and they will see that it is practical to learn a new language. We believe that introducing the teaching of dialect languages in schools in dialect provinces will teach students the value of learning a new language and this in turn will help to resolve the crisis of falling levels of language takeup. Employers are increasingly looking for workers with even an intermediate level of a foreign language (such as French or German in particular). This proposal will involve some English-speakers who live in dialect provinces learning the dialect language against their will, but this is why we propose to make it optional after the age of 13 " like many other subjects they may have no interest in and wish to drop such as geography or religious studies. To summarise these first arguments for the proposition: we believe that introducing dialect language classes in dialect provinces will create a greater level of equality with regards to learning a language as part of one"s identity, with every child in the province learning to a basic level of proficiency; and this will also increase interest in languages in schools as students will be able to see how languages can be useful in a practical context and it will show the link between a language and an identity. I hand the debate over to the Opposition for them to introduce their case.