Note: this article was originally written in 1996 as part of the original ‘Haunbuik’. There is an extensive glossary at the end. I use slightly different spellings to e.g. the Scots Learners’ Grammar.
“Languages are the pedigree of nations” (Samuel Johnson)
1. The makkin o Scotlan, the makkin o Scots
The kintra we nou ken as Scotlan his bin pairtit bi leid fur mair nor twa thousant yeir. In the Roman Eild, the Britons byded in the south o the kintra an thair leid wis a forebeir o modren Welsh. Bit in the unvinkisht north they spak Pictish, o whilk puckle is kent.
Whan the Romans quat, new invaders cam in, the Gaelic-speikin Scotti frae Erlan in about AD five hunner an the Angles frae Northumberlan tha spok a norlan kin o AngloSaxon. In 638 the hinner fangit the British dun o Din Eidyn (nou Embro) an Lothian becam the hert o Anglo-Saxon Scotlan. The first screivit evident o a Scots-lik leid is a puckle wirds o Norlan Anglo-Saxon poetrie on a stane corse in Ruthwell Kirk (Dumfries an Gallowa).
Jist afore echt hunner the Norsemen soupit throu Norlan Inglan an Scotlan. Speikin a sib tung ti Anglo-Saxon, their leid hud muckle mair effeck on the norlan nor the southlan dialeks, sae furdor sheddin the twa.
Atweinhauns the Gaelic wis winnin forrit frae the wast. In 843 the Kinricks o the Scots an the Picks wis jined thegither bi Kenneth MacAlpine. Wi the better o haein a screivit form (the first sic fowkleid in aw Europ), bi 1000 Gaelic hud absorbit Pictish ti be spoken ower the hail of Scotlan sauf the Orkney an Shetlan Isles (tha wis in Norse hauns), an Lothian, yet speikin the Norse an Anglo Saxon mixter.
This wis the tap o the watter fur Gaelic. The kee ongaun tha chynged the staunin o Anglo Saxon, nou cryed ‘Inglis’ (an jist ti conflummix ye, Gaelic wis cryed Irisch!) wis the incum o the Normans ti Inglan efter 1066. They brocht wi them the new seistem o feudalism. The Scottish keings Malcolm Canmore (1057-93) an his son David I (1124-53) biggit this seistem in lallan Scotan wi the stairtin o ‘burghs’ – the mercat touns whaur maist o the treffick wis in Inglish. Forby, monie Anglo-Normans cam ti Scotlan aither in flicht frae Keing Wulliam or invitit. (Amang the hinner wis the faimlies Bailliols, Bruces and Stewarts tha wis ti pley sic a muckle pairt in Scotlan’s historie.) Efter the daith o the lest Gaelic keing, Alexander III, in 1286, the political mid o Scotlan wud muve ti the Inglish-speikin lallans.
2. Scots as a naitional leid
The naxt three-fower hunner yeirs wis ti see the flouerin o ‘Scots’ as a naitional leid. In 1314 Bannockburn o course makkit sicker the freedom o the kintra (fur a wee). In 1375 Barbour’s Scots epic ‘The Brus’ cam out, in 1398 the Scottish Parliament stairtit ti pit its laws in Scots (insteid o Laitin). Doun south o course the Inglish wis growin an aw throu the warks o Chaucer an ithers. Bit it hid chynged, nou bein, a whein say, mair an Anglo-Frainch ‘creole’. The by-leid o the hame counties becam the offeicial naitional leid thare efter about 1450.
The Scottish leid, wi its Lochlan colorin, wis nou different eneuch to be cryed a saiprit tung an the by-leid aroun the Forth suin becam the national leid o keing an cowmoner alik. The makar Gavin Douglas (wha kent ‘Inglish’ Inglish weil) wis aiblins the first kenspeckle screiver ti own the unalikness an gie the tung its new nam. The makars Henryson, Dunbar, Lyndsay an Douglas hisel aw played a pairt in makkin Scots a heid European leid wi a warld-cless leiterature an staunin. In a wey, this wis nou the tap o the watter fur Scots, yaised in ilka aspeck o Scottish lyfe, a rael an hail naitional leid. Frae nou on the Scots tung (an its speikers) wid hae ti thole ane dunt efter anithir.
3. A twa-leidit fowk
The first dunt cam mair frae ill-luck nor ill-wull. In 1550 the Reformation yokit ti in Scotland. Thare wisna houanivvir a hail owersett o the Guid Buik inti Scots an the Ingis hud plentie Inglish vairsions ti haun, haein stertit thair ain Reformation a whein airlier. Sae suin God wis speikin in Inglish ti the Scots an Inglish stairtit ti be the leid o philosophie, thocht an theologie, wi Scots bein yaised in the houss, the wark an the howff.
[By-screive: In fack this is a gey cowmon happenin in maist kintras. Hauf the fowk o the warld the day is twa-leidit an awbodie his his o hur dialeck. Whaur thare twa (o mair) leids o dialecks wi differin yisses an aften differin staunins in the kintra, leinguists cry it ‘diglossia’. The heuch kin is fur releigion, lernin, wittens paipers, televeision, whilk the ‘laich’ kin is maistly fur bletherin wi freins an faimlie, seyin hou ye fin yersel etc. Nou afore ye think ainlie puir dilecks is laich, in pairts o Italie an Hungaria the warld-leid o Gairman is yet the ‘laich’ tung.]
4. Scots efter the Union o the Crouns
The nixt dunt ti Scots cam wi the Union o the Crouns in 1603 whan Keing James the Saxt gaed aff ti Lunnon, taein wi him his leiteraie freins, his makars an muckle o the tap o Scots societie. The Inglishin o Scotlan nou stairtit wi a wull. Nou in yon tymes the Croun gied a muckle haun ti cultur. Wi the court in Inglan, the makars yokit ti lernin Inglish, an the Scottish Government, yet at hame, bacam mair an mair Inglisht tae. Inglish wis nou the leid ti spik, no jist in the Kirk, bit fur onie lad or lassie o pairts wissin ti git on.
5. Scotlan losses its parliament
Tha nixt an aiblins waurst dunt cam abou a hunner yeir ahint wi the Union o the Parliaments in 1707, efter whilk aw the offeicial screivins wud be in Inglish. The spekin leid, o course, steyed Scots, or hauf an hauf. The heckle wis tha Scots ‘on the mak’ suin foun tha the Inglish lauched at thair speik an in the first eident o the kenspeckle Scottish ‘creinge’ ower-cless Scots ettled ti lern Inglish. Fur sic fowk Braid Scots wis ‘auld warld’ an gleg Scottish screivers hud their een on the mair muckle Inglish speikin mairket. Sae the flouerin o Scottish Culture tha follaed the Union wis maistlie cairriet on in Inglish. Scots becam seed as ‘ill-mouthit’ Inglish an een kenspeckle fowk lik David Hume lernt lang leits o Scotticisms ti jouk. (An this is no just in the bygane, in raicent yeir mair nor ane warkin-cless Labour MP hae gied aff ti ‘elocution lessons’ ti lern ti speik ‘better’).
6. Burns
Bit mair cannie Scots wisna taen in bi the farran fur mim-mou’d Suddrone. In the 1720’s Allan Ramsay prentit ‘The Gentle Shepherd’ in Scots, follaed bi Fergusson an the big yin hisel – Rabbie Burns (1759-96). Houanivver the diglossia wis bi nou warkin weil an thair subjecks wis maistlie the couthie an the humoursum. Een Burns seimed nou an than riven atwein the twa leids, thou he aften yaised his twaleiditniss ti wunnerfou effeck in his wark. In ane respeck, thou, Burns did a fair bit o skaith wi the yiss o apostrophies in his orthographie. Burns o course stairtit the tradeition tha Scots wis best fur poetrie forby, an the yiss o Scots fur screid (ordinar text) wis amest tint, thou it wis aften yaised fur crack in buiks bi Scott an ithirs in the airlie ninteint centurie. Thay gie a rerr insicht o the braid yiss o Scots throu yon tymes.
7. The 1872 Act
Bit mair nor hunner yeir hid passit syne the Union, anithir dunt fur the leid wis sharlie aucht! Alang it cam shair eneuch wi the 1872 Education Act whilk set out the Inglish language as the ainlie ane alloued ti be spak in Scottish skuils. Een gin yer no a socialeist, it’s herd no ti see this as a cless weir in the clessruim. The bi nou weill-Inglisht middle-cless representit bi the dominies ettlin ti scour an skelp out warkin cless or fowk cultur frae the heids o the puir skuilbairns.
8. MacDiarmid
In the 1920’s thir stairtit a muvement agin sic cultural an linguistic ‘cleansin’. The ‘Scottish Renaisance’ wis inspirit bi Hugh MacDiarmid, wha thocht Scots cud be biggit again inti a hail leid. MacDiarmid’s slogan (a Scots Gaelic wird bi the wey) ‘Dunbar – Nae Burns!’ countered diglossia bi sayin Scots cud be yaised fur onie subjeck, lik in the Gowden Eild o the makars afore 1603. Houanivver McDairmid’s sicht wisna hin-luikin ava bit wis ruitit in the praisent an wis modrenist an internaitionalist in its outluik. He devailopit the leiterarie dialeck cried ‘Synthetic Scots’ (o bi his criticks, o whilk thair wis monie, ‘Plastic Scots’) frae his ain speik an the dictionar. Souter, Garioch, Young, Goodsir Smith wis aw hied makars o the ‘Lallans’ skuill tha follaed. This tradeition gaes on ti the day wi monie modren makars an playrichtsyaisin Scots in thair wark. In the 70’s an 80’s plays frae fowk lik John McGrath an Liz Lochhead yaised Scots dialog. Houanivver, his centurie fyow screivers hae adoptit Scots fur screid wark, althou it’s nae uncowmon ti see Scots dialog. Ane aixeption wis Lewis Crassic Gibbon, tha yaised a Scots/Iglish mix in the trilogie ‘The Scots Quair’ ti gran effeck in tha he caucht the ‘rhythm’ o Scots.
9. Scots in modren leitrature
Ae criticism o Scots novels is hou crack and screid ar for ordinar screivit in inalik leids, lavin a waikniss or pit-on at the hert o Scottish liteirature. Mair raicentlie a puckle o modren Scots screivers sic as James Kelman (tha wun the Booker Prize) an Irvine Welsh (‘Trainspotting’ bein ane o the best sellin paiperback buiks in Scotland this yeir) hae ettilt ti ainser thon bi yaisin maistlie (Laich) Scots text. Thir lingueistic freedom gies the buiks undoutit pouer, bit the subjecks ar yet fair restrictit ti the urban unnercless. Mibbie our slogan nou cud be ‘Dunbar – Nae Kelman’! (Ainlie jokin, Jim.). Sae in poetrie an a wee bittie in theater an buiks, ye cud say Scotland is in a wey awreddie twa-leidit (or three-leidit, countin Gaelic), bit in aw ither aspecks o Scottish cultur, Inglish is keing.
10. Scots on televeision
Leivin aside the odd adaptit theater play the ainlie tyme ye heir Scots on TV is fur humor. Frae Parliamo Glasgow in the 60’s throu Billy Connolly in the 70’s an on ti Rab C Nesbitt the nou, the mither tung his bin yaised ti raise a lauch. Nae baud thing in itsel – thir a lang tradeition o humorsum yiss o Scots – bit athout exemplars o ithir yisses the hechle is it becums near imposseible ti think o yaisin Scots fur mair sairious ettles. Interestinlie eneuch, A mind a Catalan bodie sayin ti me that at first monie fowk cudna git yaised wi the yiss o Catalan on TV fur wittens an the lik – it didna soun ‘richt’. Ye cud jalouse the samen repone fur Scots!
In an interestin aixperiment in the airlie 80’s BBC Scotlan did an adaptation o ‘The Scots Quair’ bit wis hecklt fraeScots an Inglish alik. The former thoucht (richt) the Scots wis wattered doun fur the Inglish mairket, and the hinner cudna unnerstaun it oniegate. The aixperiment hasna bin repeitit an the actors near aw ‘sairious’ new series stellt in Scotlan (eg Taggart) hae ti speik ‘pan loaf’ in case the pair Inglish ar a bittie slaw on the uptak. Houanivver a wee brekthrou seimed ti cum wi the screinin o Billy Kay’s series ‘Scots: The Mither Tongue’ bi BBC Scotlan in 1986 tha pit the case fur mair yiss o Scots in aw pairts o Scottish lyfe. In maugre o a muckle repone frae aw ower the kintra at the tyme, thir bin nae real follae up in the nyne year syne (nae TV clesses fur exemplar).
11. Scots: on the rocks or on the blocks?
Houanivver Scots his bydit unco thrawn an maistlie acos it alous fowk ti aixpress thaimsels an thair heft in a wey Inglish jist canna (monie Scots wirds is gey unowersettable). It is, o course, muckle shrunkelt syne Burns’ tyme an his hid by-ordinar ‘interference’ frae Inglish (aye the leid o pouer an buik-lair).
The leid spoken in lallan Scotlan the day is a continuum atwein dialecks o Scots, a whein o sindrie Scottish dialecks o Inglish an standart Scottish Inglish itsel. This mixter-maxter is happit wi an acsent tha reflecks the fack tha altho monie Scots an Inglish wirds shair consonants, the vouels in the twa tungs differ in a radical an gey unspaeable wey ie Inglish wirds is aften spoken as if they wis Scots anes. We hae monie o the swatches o a border patois wi speikers ‘wheichin’ takin a len an makkin up, shawin a jonick (gin ill-kent) twaleiditniss. The border is tymelik no lanlik, bit the iadea is muckle the samen (aixep tha Scots canna be ‘vailidatit’ – gien a staunin – sae maistlie losses out at the hinneren). Aw this is o course haillie oral as thair yet amest a hunner per cent illeiteracie in Scots (the 1872 ack wisna chynged till 1991 an than ainlie a puckle).
Sae whit’s the upcum o aw thir? Nae dout Scot his tint muckle syne it wis the offeicial tung o Scotlan, bit yet the spoken leid cud (mebbie ainlie jist) be cryed a leid. Eneuch bydes ti form the founs o a new Scots, gin we wiss it. Monie say we ainlie hauf a leid we’r ainlie hauf a fowk, an gin we tyne Scots, we’ll tyne oursels. The skaith his aw cum frae Scottish fowk (we canna wyte the Inglish for thir) an its haillie up ti us ti sort it. But, we’ll hae ti dae it suin. We hiv ainlie ti fin the wull an the smeddum.
Glossarie
* means particular meaning in this context
kintra-country, ken-know, pairt-divide, leid-language, eild-age, byde-live, puckle-little, Erlan-Ireland, fang-capture, dun-fort, screive-write, corse- cross, soup-sweep, sib-related, shed-divide, atweinhauns-meanwhile, win forrit-advance, kinrick-kingdom, haun-hand, tap o the watter-high water mark, cry-call/name, ongaun-process, bigg-build, lallan-lowland, forby- moreover, mid-centre, sicker-safe, wee-short while*, by-leid-dialect, Lochlan-Scandinavian, makar-poet, aiblins-perhaps, kenspeckle-well known, heid*-major, staunin-status, thole*-withstand, dunt-blow, yoke ti-start, howff-pub or other meeting place, heuch-high, laich-low, blether-talk, Inglishin-Anglicisation, lad o pairts-promising person, hechle-problem, lauch-laugh, gleg-crafty, een-eyes, leit-list, jouk-avoid, bygane-past, cannie-astute, Suddrone-perjorative term for English, couthie-homely, skaith-harm, screid-prose, tint-lost, crack-dialogue*, aucht-due*, weir-war, dominie-schoolteacher, scour-clean vigourously, skelp-smack, bairn-child, hin-backward*, pit-on-falseness, ettle-aim, wittens-news, jalouse-guess, repone-respnse, pan loaf-Anglicised form of speech, uptak-understanding, maugre-spite, thrawn-obstinate, heft-environment, owersett-translate, by-ordinar-extraordinary, lair-learning, happit-overlayed*, spae-predict, swatch-feature, wheich-move rapidly, tak a len*-borrow, jonick-genuine, tymelik-related to time, lanlik-geographical, at the hinneren-in the long run, upcome-outcome, foun-foundation, wyte-blame*, smeddum-determination,resourcefulness and common sense (guid wird, eh?)