A quick lesson in sociolinguistics
Rather than ‘sliding from one accent to another’ in the eyes of some Scots viewers, Lulu was sliding from one end of the Scots Linguistic Continuum to another, Professor Jennifer Smith noted. She added: “Linguists talk about a Scots Linguistic Continuum – at one side of this continuum you have what we call Scottish Standard English. This is how Ewan MacGregor sounds and to simplify, this is English with a Scottish accent . “At the other end is Broad Scots. Kevin Bridges might be at the Broad Scots end of the continuum, where distinctly Scottish words (aye, wean etc), sounds (hame, baw etc) and sentences (gonnae you help me) are used. “Some folk can slide up and down this continuum from Scottish Standard English to Broad Scots.