There's a word for that...

[Taffy Jack]

Those burdened with a linguistic or an historic bent may find this brief rundown of Scots language (as contrasted with Scottish Gaelic) interesting:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...eid=5c11e2f09b

[Profane James]

Good read! Thanks for sharing.

[Ivor]

Thanks for that interesting link, Taffy Jack, and it is so true how a dominant culture tries to suppress that of another it seeks to control. I wish I had a hot dinner for every time I have heard or read disparaging comments about road signs in Welsh or locals speaking their language which the listener objects to.

[frank_a]

I am quite familiar now with Scots, though I certainly don't understand all the words. I'm not half way through the last book of Lewis Grassic Gibbons early 20th century Scottish trilogy, "A Scots Quair." As long as I read it as a stream of consciousness, which is how I believe the author intended, I pretty much get it. Very interesting set of books, and my first introduction to Scots.

Frank

[Tobus]

Unless I missed it, the article didn't mention Lallans. Is this generally considered synonymous with Scots, or is it one of the distinct regional (lowlands, I presume) dialects?

[neloon]

Unless I missed it, the article didn't mention Lallans. Is this generally considered synonymous with Scots, or is it one of the distinct regional (lowlands, I presume) dialects?

Yes, everything except Doric (Northeast), Orkney and Shetland which are hard for Central Belt Scots to cope with. Few people speak Lallans these days. There are, of course, many fine subdivisions in all the dialects.

Alan

[Hirsty]

I am very passionate about the Scot Leid. Something that is a living language and needs to be nurtured as such.

It resonates with me the Scottish Cringe - my mother, a teacher for decades, finds people talking Scots almost abhorrent, something the unwashed do. But it is not her fault, for generations this was the party line and speaking the Queen's English was aspirational (even if a few choice Scots words slipped out after a dram or two).

Even though I've been living in the US for a couple of years I want to ensure my 7 year old son still has an ear for it. We converse with one another in the mither tongue as often as possible, much to the confusion of my Aussie wife.

[imbrius]

I've been trying to pick up a bit of Scots here and there, mainly because Robert Burns is an unofficial patron of my Lodge and some of our more illustrious brothers tend to recite his poetry at official gatherings.

[OC Richard]

I saw a great documentary video online somewhere about the Lowland Scots dialect. The part tracing the history of the Scottish educational establishment's attitude towards the dialect sounded very similar to the history of the USA's educational establishment's attitude towards "Black English".

In the past children would be told that the dialect they spoke and home, and spoke with their peers, was incorrect and inferior and they were required to use only Standard English in class. This has been replaced with children being told that their home dialect is valid, but that there is also something known as "Standard English". They learn code-switching/diglossia depending on context.

How well I understand that! As my first language was Appalachian English. When we moved to California my sisters and I all learnt Standard English and we switched between home and public.