Luath Scots Language Learner sampler

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LUATH SCOTS LANGUAGE LEARNER Although the various reasons given above had led to a decline in the use of Scots, there was as yet no policy of active eradication. This changed in the nineteenth century, during the highly British-nationalistic Victorian era, when the state sought to impose cultural and linguistic unity on the naturally diverse nations and peoples of Britain. One means chosen for this was the schools, and although Scots had still been spoken in many classrooms until this period, the imposition of English was one consequence of the introduction of state inspection in NUQRK=Physical force was used to enforce this with children who could not or would not conform. As well as the familiar ‘strap’ or ‘tawse’ there are known cases, well into the twentieth century, of schoolchildren having had their arm tied behind their back as a punishment for speaking Scots. In some instances, this led to lasting physical impairment. SCOTS IN THE PRESENT DAY The false notion of Scots as a corrupt form of English is still the prevalent one today, even among many people who speak it. For this reason Scots has very little acceptance in formal discourse, except among Scots-language activists, although it continues to be used as the spoken vernacular of many people as they go about their everyday business. Scots has some acceptance in folk song and other forms of light entertainment, and there is also a large amount of literature in Scots, although some of the contemporary literature is written by intellectuals who are not fluent in Scots and for whom it is essentially a hobby. Although most literature in Scots is in the form of poetry and short stories, in the twentieth century a number of novels were written. Under British rule, the official policy until recently within the Scottish educational system has been that Scots is not only inappropriate for use in school, but also completely unacceptable in any circumstances whatsoever. It is widely attested that a ‘lapse’ of a single word of Scots (or ‘slang’, as Scots was often officially deemed to be) in school often used to result in a pupil receiving corporal punishment, until corporal punishment itself was abolished altogether in the NVUMs. It is known U
INTRODUCTION that, even as late as NVTT, a boy in Dundee was strapped for having said A dinna ken (‘I don’t know’) to a teacher. Unsurprisingly, people who normally express themselves in Scots will often, if able, go over to English when with strangers, because not to do so might be seen as uncouth or ignorant. Any person seeking employment involving responsibility or dealing with the public, who uses Scots at the interview, will almost certainly not be employed; the use of Scots will be equated with illiteracy, inarticulacy, low intelligence, or other negative qualities. This usually remains the case even when an adequate command of English can be demonstrated. Given the British establishment’s efforts to eradicate Scots, it is perhaps surprising that it continues to be spoken at all. The exact extent to which it is spoken is difficult to ascertain, as this has not yet been investigated in the same way as, for instance, for Scottish Gaelic or Welsh. A preliminary study, which the General Register Office (Scotland) conducted in NVVS, suggested that around PM% of the population of Scotland overall used Scots to some extent, with that figure reaching as high as VM% in the North East. However, in February OMMM the Scottish Parliament voted – in spite of a long campaign by language activists, supported by academics and local councils – not to include a question on knowledge of Scots in the Census of OMMN, although as always there was a question on Scottish Gaelic. More recently, in OMMT, the General Register Office (Scotland) conducted a public consultation with a view to there being a question on Scots in the Census of OMNN. In OMMV they published Scotland’s Census OMNN: Recommendations on Content and Scots was indeed addressed by one of the questions in OMNNK As far as official status is concerned, with effect from July OMMN=the UK government ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Specifically, it ratified Part P=of the Charter with reference to Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Irish and ratified Part O=with reference to Scots and Ulster Scots. (Ratification of Part O=also eventually followed for Manx and Cornish.) Part O=represents a much lower level of status and protection than Part P=and, even then, it still remained very much to be seen how far any practical measures would extend beyond mere lip-service. Since then the Scottish Parliament has issued Scots V
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Page 6 and 7: First Publisht in 2002 Revised edet
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Luath Scots Language Learner sampler

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