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Language, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland
by Aodan Mac Poilin
The use of 'Tolsel' for 'parliament' is particularly eccentric. The word derives from an Old English term for a tollbooth, later expanding its meaning to incorporate the town courthouse or guildhall. The Oxford Dictionary indicates that the term survived longest in Ireland; there is a Tholsel in Kilkenny and Carlingford. It does not appear to have been used as an equivalent of the French-derived 'parliament' before the publication of the advert. (It is possible that the original Tholsel building of Kilkenny was used by the Catholic Confederate Parliament of 1642, or even by the Irish Parliament during its occasional sessions in the town between the 13th and 15th centuries, but the term 'parliament' refers to a gathering of legislators rather than to the building they meet in.) 'Parliament', spelt 'Perlament' or 'Pairlament' in the 16th century, is a perfectly acceptable Scots word, and was the official title of the Scottish Parliament. It is rejected here presumably on the grounds that the same word is used in English.
'Ulster' as the Ulster-Scots translation of 'Northern Ireland' is particularly
interesting, and represents a new departure in official policy. It may be
the first official government document since the days of the Ulster Yearbook
to use 'Ulster' for the territory defined by law as Northern Ireland. This
departure may indicate a political agenda on the part of the translator(s).
As has already been noted, the terminology used in Northern Ireland to name
Northern Ireland is contested; 'Ulster', when used to mean the six counties
of Northern Ireland, is an exclusively unionist term. |
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