Kevin, Greg, Sterling and others As a Scot, who speaks Scots (or Lallans as it is sometimes referred to) I am aware of the debate surrounding the status of Scots vis-à-vis English. Is it a dialect of English, a variety of English or a separate language? As is normal in this sort of discussion, where you stand is often influenced by politics rather than linguistics. The answer is net definitive in any way. Before the development of Standard English, there was a patchwork of dialects and languages across England and Scotland reflecting the different immigrations that took place after the departure of the Romans. Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Scandinavians all came in and settled in different parts of the island. The languages were all Germanic in origin, and may have been mutually intelligible to a greater or lesser degree, but led to a mosaic of local languages and speech. Scotland was no different in that the southern part was largely Anglic reflecting its partial incorporation into the Kingdom of Northumbria. Celtic languages were spoken in the South West, West and Highland. Norse was spoken in the far North and in Orkney and Shetland. As Scotland and England developed began coalescing into distinct nations, a tendency towards a "standard" form of speech also began. With the English court based in London, a standard for of the language was derived from dialects and varieties of the South East. In Scotland, the court was based in Edinburgh so a different standard was developed. In effect English and Scots diverged at this point. As time went on though, English came to have an increasing influence on Scottish speech until after the Union of 1707, the adoption of English became increasingly obvious as Scots was considered a mere dialect and therefore somehow lesser. This continues today where Scots is being eradicated by the prevalence of English, despite a lively and diverse literary culture. This is very much a brief summary of the arguments, and has nothing to do with meteorites - many, many apologies.
Cheers Peter Davidson Curator of Minerals National Museums Collection Centre National Museums Scotland 242 West Granton Road Edinburgh EH5 1JA Phone: +44 131 247 4283 [email protected] www.nms.ac.uk -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kevin Forbes Sent: 12 September 2009 20:14 To: List Meteorite Subject: [meteorite-list] Scots Even just the mere thought of contemplating this statement, "Do you count Scots words as a dialect of English?" to me seems, well, glaekit. _________________________________________________________________ Take a peek at other people's pay and perks Check out The Great Australian Pay Check http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157639755/direct/01/ ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list Magnificent Machines: the transport event of the season. National Museum of Flight, 26-27 September. www.nms.ac.uk/magnificentmachines National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130 This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the addressee please inform the sender and delete the email from your system. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of National Museums Scotland. This message is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. No liability is accepted for any harm that may be caused to your systems or data by this message. ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
