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Scotland. Languages & Literature - by Liz Niven, 11 Sept 06 Samuel Johnson said, 'I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations.'. About me. STRAVAIGIN Like fitprints in peat bog, we've left wir mark.
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Scotland Languages & Literature- by Liz Niven, 11 Sept 06 Samuel Johnson said, 'I amalways sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations.'
About me STRAVAIGIN Like fitprintsin peat bog,we've left wir mark. Even the moon cairries the stampo a Borders man.Strang arms reach roon the globesing Auld Lang Syne,an the warld wears a kilt.Nane the waur forrit. A warp an weft o trevellers.Wha's like us?Fit prints like? • Educated at educated Glasgow University • With a strong interest in Scots language in education • a poet, having published work in most major Scottish magazines, as well as four solo collections
Scotland speaks Scots, Gaelic & English as well as many non-indigenous languages. Around 50,000 people speak Gaelic Between 1.5 & 3million speak a form of Scots
Gaelic is a Celtic Language Scots is a Germanic language from the same roots as English: Scots has been influenced by: Norse, Dutch, French, Latin
What is Scots? Scots is an Indo-European language descended from a northern form of Anglo-Saxon. By the seventh century AD, this Germanic branch of the language had reached the south-east of what is now Scotland and by the eleventh century AD was firmly established across central and southern Scotland. In addition to such Anglo-Saxon vocabulary as bairns, thrawn, bide and byre, strong Scandinavian, French and Dutch influences can still be heard in words such as lass, lug, lowse, braw, douce, fash, scone and redd respectively. Latin remains in, for example, janitor and dux; Irish and Scots Gaelic have provided further lexical items such as bens, glens and straths. Thus, as with the English language, contact with other countries and the legacy of loan words from several nations have contributed to the formation of the Scots language.
Standard Scots Much written Scots was produced in the late fourteenth-century court of James IV by the King's commissioned poets and dramatists, and by the early sixteenth century Scots was developing as an all-purpose national language. This was the nearest point at which Scots came to adopting a written standard, accepted, on equal terms, with other European languages.
Difficult times for the Scots Language 1560 Geneva Bible translated into English 1603 Union of the Crowns 1707 Union of the Parliaments Kirk, Crown, Court.
The Dropout by Tom Leonard Scrimpt nscript furryi urryi grateful No wan bit speylt useless yi urr twistid izza coarkscrew cawz rowz inan empty hoose yir faithir nivirid yoor chance pick n choozyir joab a steady pey well jist take a lookit yirsell naithur wurk nur wahnt aw aye yir clivir damn clivir but yi huvny a clue whut yir dayn
this is me – nae money nae teethnae nothingit aw slips awaylike a drunk dream – ach!Wid ye lookitThe state ae it –Me in ma new jaiket!Alan Spence in Glasgow Zen
Hairst (Shetlandic) Da day is doo-grey an still; hit’s lik a sowl. Da bonxie’s class is waek as haands. Da hairst laeves faa an deepen ta mold. Makkin up is near. From the original Finland-Swedish of Gosta Agren, through an English translation by David McDuff into Shetlandic by Christine De Luca
The Bonnie Broukit Bairn Mars is braw in crammasy Venus in a green silk goun, The auld mune shaks her gowden feathers, Their starry talk’s a wheen o blethers, Nane for thee a thochtie sparin, Earth, thou bonnie broukit bairn. - But greet, an in your tears ye’ll droun The haill clanjamfrie! By Hugh MacDiarmid
The Scots/Scottish English Continuum For many Scots people, their language is a mixture of English and Scots. Sometimes they use Scots words or grammatical forms or both. Some people speak a very broad Scots
Sometimes confusion! Away for the messages Comfy? Come oan, get aff! Aye right!
Phonology: • pronounciation • Orthography: • writer's choice of spelling
Vocabularyspecific word choice • contemporary , archaic, Lallans • anent, forbye, outwith, • Overt • Covert: messages, pinkie, where do you stay?
Grammar • verb forms, negative verb endings: cannae, disnae, shoudlnae • strong use of definite articles & pronouns: my cooker, the flu, my bed • preposition ending sentences (but) • plurals (three year) • singular verb with plural noun (thae apples wis mingin) discourse markers- an that, so he did, ye know, kenmair nor , ower much
Idioms Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye. That’ll pit yer gas at a peep. Lang may yer lum reek
Scottish Writers:writing in broader Scots • (deceased) Bruce, Fergusson, Dunbar, Burns, MacDiarmid, • (contemporary)Sheena Blackhall, Tom Leonard, Liz Lochhead, Kathleen Jamie, Janet Paisley, Liz Niven, Don Paterson, James Robertson, Matthew Fitt, Christine De Luca, Edwin Morgan, Anne Donovan, Suyhal Saadi, Alan Bissett, Des Dillon
Scottish Writers in English & Scottish English Alan Spence, Alastair Reid, Ian Rankin, Louise Welsh, Andrew O Hagan, Andrew Greig, Anne MacLeod, Margaret Elphinstone, Ron Butlin, Alexander McCall Smith, A.L.Kennedy, John Burnside, Carol Ann Duffy, Janice Galloway
Recommended authors and readings • Jamie, Kathleen PoetPublications: Jizzen (Picador, 1999)The Queen of Sheba(Bloodaxe, 1995) Findings • Don Paterson, writer, musician, poetry editorNil Nil (Faber & Faber, 1993) God's Gift to Women (Faber & Faber ) , 1997) The Eyes (Faber & Faber, 1999) 101 Sonnets (Faber & Faber, 1999) Landing Light • Alan Spence, Glasgow-born novelist, poet, playwright, short story writerIts Colours they are fine(Phoenix, 1977)The Magic Flute(Phoenix, 1990)Sailmaker(Hodder, 1984)Stone Garden(Phoenix, 1995)Way to go(Phoenix, 1998)Seasons of the Heart(Canongate, 2000)Glasgow Zen • James Robertson, bookseller for seven years, Has published two books of short stories, two poetry collections, one novel and various other works.Joseph Knight (Fourth Estate, 2003)The Fanatic (Fourth Estate, 2000) The Ragged Man's Complaint (B&W Publishing, 1993) Sound-Shadow (B&W Publishing, 1995)
Continued.. • Louise Welsh: internationally award winning The Cutting Room sold into eighteen languages.Publications The Cutting Room (Canongate Books, 2002)Tamburlaine Must Die(Canongate Books, 2004) The Bullet Trick (2006) • Ron Butlin: has won several Scottish Arts Council Book Awards and a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and been translated into over ten languages. Most recently the French translation of his novel The Sound of My Voice was awarded the Prix MillePages 2004 and Prix Lucioles 2005 • Anne DonovanPublications Buddha Da (Canongate, 2003) Hieroglyphics and Other Stories (Canongate, 2001, 2004) • Andrew Greig: A full-time writer of novels and poetry.Publications: The Order of the Day(Bloodaxe, 1990)Western Swing(Bloodaxe, 1995)Electric Brae(Canongate, 1996)The Return of John MacNab(Hodder Headline, 1996)When They Lay Bare(Faber and Faber, 1999)That Summer(Faber and Faber, 2000)This Light, This Light (2006)Preferred Lies (2006)
Resources for Scottish Writing Association of Scottish Literary Studies, Glasgow University Scots Language Resource Centre, Scottish Book Trust,www.scottishbooktrust.com Scottish Poetry Library, www.spl.org.uk www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk STELLA & STARN at Glasgow University www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk Corbett, John (1997) Language and Scottish Literature, EU P Kay, Billy Scots the Mither Tongue, Alloway Publishing McClure, J.Derrick Why Scots Matters, Edinburgh: Saltire Society Niven, L.The Scots Language in Education in Scotland, Netherlands: Mercator-Education:European Network for Regional or Minority Languages and Education Niven, L & Jackson, R (eds.)(1998) Scots Language its Place in Education, Watergaw www.lizniven.com