A newspaper here published an article online calling Scots a dialect, and it received enough backlash for them to change their wording. This is the first time I ever recall that happening. Looks like the general attitude towards Scots is heading in the right direction!
2 years ago · 👍 eph, enceladus, martin, jsv, hyperlinkyourheart
@hyperlinkyourheart I hope that after independence, Scots and Gàidhlig will take over English as our primary languages again. Though admittedly Scots has a much better chance at it… · 2 years ago
@marmaladefoo Maybe it will have an army and a navy after the next Scottish independence referendum! · 2 years ago
I think the quote from sociolinguist Max Weinreich gets to the point - "A language is a dialect with an army and navy". The boundary between language and dialect is quite arbitrary ultimately, and its more like a continuum, with a political tinge. So if you like, Scots is both a dialect and a language. if enough people will decide it is. · 2 years ago
On melancholy hill in (Medieval) Scots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXpa8gFJ2Eo · 2 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXpa8gFJ2Eo
@mc Oh, it was just hard to tell through text · 2 years ago
@cobradile94 It really does not matter if you are irrelevant or not as long as you have a healthy sense of humour. Good bye. · 2 years ago
@mc I’m not sure what you mean by idiom, but Scots Gaelic is definitely a language. It’s in a different language family than Scots, just like how Lithuanian is in a different language family than, say, German. · 2 years ago
@mc Just so we’re clear. I’m *not* referring to Scottish Gaelic. That is a completely different language. English is also a West Germanic language variety. So are Frisian and Low Saxon. Calling Scots the same thing is perfectly normal. Also whether or not you like English with a Scottish accent (Which I don’t) is completely irrelevant. · 2 years ago
@eph I was making a joke aboutthe SSE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_English But, as you popped into thhe conversation, I would like to know if you classify the Scotish Gaelic as a language or as an idiom? · 2 years ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_English
@mc calling a language a dialect is pretty fraught, but calling a language a variant of a language family is better, mainly cuz it doesn’t put the language in a “lesser” position · 2 years ago
@cobradile94 I consulted crocosnake95 and he says that he prefers the first. Because he likes the English spoken with Scotish accent, he said. ;) · 2 years ago
@mc I prefer the latter, myself. Because that’s what it is · 2 years ago
I don't know what's worse, to be called a dialect or a "West Germanic language variety" (in Wikipedia) · 2 years ago
That's what I like to hear!
t. linguist · 2 years ago
I'm fascinated by Scots and how I can mostly make out what's being said X-). i also recently picked up a record of Scottish folk music. · 2 years ago