The Politics e ma tongue.

 Since this is a site which involves language, here seems as good a place as any to set out my thoughts on the subject of Scots.



"Notwithstanding the UK government’s and the Scottish Executive’s obligations under part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Scottish Executive recognises and respects Scots (in all its forms) as a distinct language, and does not consider the use of Scots to be an indication of poor competence in English"
-Second Report submitted by the United Kingdom pursuant to article 25, paragraph 1 of the framework convention for the protection of national minorities




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Even as ah begin tae write tha words oan the page,the question dances and challenges ma brain.Which language to put ma thoughts doon in? My heart says Scots as it's closest tae how ah feel and yet english would be easier fer ye tae understand and habit e livin' in England has forced me to use it maire.Here ah'm attempting tae write the way ah think ah'd speak it , as naturally as a kin.

Ah wanna talk aboot the politics e ma language and IT IS a language after all.The EU Charter of regional or minority languages lists it as one( ha, an insult when a majority of scottish people speak it but I'll leave that to the side) and has a long and distingushed literature - ballads,folk songs,modernist poems ..the lot.

Poor Scots faces a massive amount  e prejudice. "It's bad english", "it's jist a dialect", "it's just slang!".. Who hasn't heard these quite offensive replies. The fact of the matter is Scots has distinctive features, a historically traceable track record an' a wealth of written and spoken usage.

It's sometimes said Scots is not it's own language because Ye cannae speak a  whole dictionary amount of scots in a sentence.That may be true, but it doesnae take away anything fae it.It's a myth ,the idea of a 'pure' Scots  just like it's a myth of a 'pure' english.English is composed of many dozens and more,of foreign loan words so much so that it's hard at first to find what could be called native english words.English cannot meet the same standard Scots is held tae.It's unfair.I don't think anyone should be making the argument for an unadulterated Scots without use from foreign languages. no modern language is like that.We cannae return tae pre-1707 days (which are mythologised as the days e 'pure' scots.) Tae resist a mix e different words fae different places is tae step back in time.

That leads me tae the conclusion that the idea of 'Scottish English' is a false concept based on the false idea e a 'pure' scots that's been tainted by English.Yet when people mix English and french in their language we dinnae speak e  'french english' or 'Irish dutch',  noo do we? Naw.Didnae think sae.

Another one ah've heard , is that because words are similiar tae English then they're the same.It's no the case.If you look at the so called Romantic languages -the onces descended fae Latin- and their words are quite similiar in places ,sometimes to exact or similiar spellings or pronounciations.So that argument doesnae hold up tae scrutiny.

In Conclusion, There's nae reason we can't use both Scots(Gaelic tae,I'll hae nae sides in this alleged,unjustified and fabricated war o Scots and Scots Gaelic)  and English side by side and recognise both as equals ,as languages as vibrant and diverse as any other, as worthy of literature and speech as any other.An while bitterness remains fae the prejudice which lingers fae the past towards Scots ,we should be making heidway tae correct what's been done.Tae weed oot and demolish the misguided misgrounded bigotries e the past.

As Tom Leonard Writes in his Unrelated Incidents,

" a doant kerr
ifyi caw it
an apple
ur
an aippl-
jist leeit
alane!"

The point being,speak how it feels natural to speak.Don't try to live up to some ideal of 'pure' scots nor feel ye huv tae live up tae some kind of 'proper english' grammar or the likes.Ignore the prejudices which harass like demons any scot who wishes to put pen tae paper and makes thum tie thursells in knots just tae feel comfortable.All I ask is recognition and respect for whatever language people speak.A Language is a window into how you see the world, You don't have to be Wittgenstein to see that.So it's insulting to a culture's history and folk tae have it dishonoured.Let many different tongues flourish.