The most notable aspect of this vignette of life in a Scotch hairdresser is that both the barbers knew that understanding ‘Scottish’ was an essential part of their working lives. To be a barber in Campbeltown means that on a daily and hourly basis you are hearing a language form that learning English doesn’t prepare you for. It shows Scots isn’t just an esoteric hobby for the inhabitants of the cultural nationalist margin. It’s a living language used across Scotland. If it wasn’t no one would be scouring youtube trying to find scraps of material that can be used to learn it.
Michael Hance
