Dis ony o youse ken the Scots leid?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

So, in order to make MacMillan of Rathdown happy, I will write my posts in my 'educated spanish', what with us being a varied rabble.

Saludos a todos y sigamos escribiendo sobre nuestra pasion, el kilt.

My Dear Hector,

For the benefit of those who may not have any fluency in Spanish, I hope you will please forgive me for replying in English.

First, let me say that I am happy to read, or speak, "educated Spanish" as it makes a pleasant change from the Mexican-Spanish patois that I speak on an almost daily basis.

I am sure there are a number of ladies and gentlemen on this forum who speak any number of languages-- Hebrew, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Amharic, German, French, the list is undoubtedly longer-- I'm sure several members speak Native American languages as well; Ron probably has more than a smattering of Navaho.

The point is, whatever intellectual linguistic achievements we may have, we communicate in English. Clear, precise, written English is the tried and true best way to communicate with other English speakers & writers.

If anyone doubts this, try writing a letter in broad Scots to your bank manager asking for a loan (even in Edinburgh) and see how far you get, or how seriously your request is taken.

You see, Hector, just as "clothes make the man"-- look at how little effect naked people have had on the course of history-- so does the written word. No mater how fine or noble the intent or idea, if not clearly presented it will be overlooked, or dismissed. Worse, it could be ridiculed.

My original comment was merely a request for clear communications, nothing more.

[Phil]

This topic comes up from time to time and always there is the same confusion between a Scottish accent and the distinct nature of the Scots language. Anyone who has tried to read Burns' poetry will quickly realise that there is a great deal more to the language than simply representing the phonetics of speech - the "braw bricht moonlit nicht" sort of thing. That merely indicates how a Scots person might say the English words "brave bright moonlit night and has no more linguistic meaning than would the difference between a southern drawl from Alabama and the long vowels of a Bostonian. Scots as a language is mostly spoken as a mixture of words along with English and, as a matter of courtesy, most would refrain from using purely Scots words when conversing with a non-native to avoid misunderstanding. Scots and English actually share the same Anglo-Saxon dialects originating around the northern half of England and this northern English language spread north into Scotland after the Norman conquest, replacing the native Gaelic south of the Highlands. There have, of course, been many developments since then including the influence of other languages such as French. Ashet is a Scots word meaning a dish and is derived from the French assiette (a plate). Over the years English speakers in the south of England have modified their speech and words such as "stane" in Scots and "stone" in English are simple examples of this where Scots has retained the earlier "a" pronunciation whereas English has modified this to "o". Where differences still exist is in the grammar of the two languages. Even although Scots may speak perfect English they will construct sentences slightly differently. "I have went to the shop" is correct in Scots but in English would be "I have gone ....". Another glaring difference is the "ch" in loch which no Englishman seems capable of pronouncing other than as "ck" in lock although I have never found them to have the same difficulty when pronouncing the composer Bach which never comes out as "Back".

[sathor]

You see, Hector, just as "clothes make the man"-- look at how little effect naked people have had on the course of history-- so does the written word. No mater how fine or noble the intent or idea, if not clearly presented it will be overlooked, or dismissed. Worse, it could be ridiculed.

uh, what about Caligula? (shudder)

[highlander_Daz]

As Ive mentioned before, the way people speak in Scotland, varies a great deal, Burns (brilliant) Lowland writings bear little relation to how folk in Aberdeen or Perth, speak or spoke, so its hard to pin down a "Scottish accent" which is why so many filmakers get it so wrong. Johnny Depp did an admirable job in "finding neverland" he only strays on a couple of occasions. Burns' writings are so unique as they have trapped forever the lowland / western way of speaking, the powerful Glasgow accent has crept further and further outwards and affected how many people speak, iving many people the impression that the Glasgow accent (despite having significant variations in itself) is how people across the whole of Scotland speak.