Geographical varieties of English: Scotland

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Historical development

3. Present day language situation

4. Linguistic issues
4.1 General linguistic features
4.2 Phonology
4.3 Morphology
4.4 Vocabulary
4.5 Semantics
4.6 Grammar

5. Sociolinguistic background
5.1 General sociolinguistic facts
5.2 Division of 3 periods of Scots
5.3 Dialects and Districts
5.4 Attitude towards Scots – Overt and Covert Prestige
5.5 Language and Nation

6. Conclusion

References

1. Introduction

This paper deals with the topic ''Scotland'' and is written behind the background of geographical varieties of English. Thus we focus on the main topics historical development and present day language situation in Scotland, linguistic issues and sociolinguistic characteristics. In order to point out what differences between Standard English and Scottish English exist we take a closer look on the multicultural history of Scotland, which reflects in the many different dialects that used to be spoken in Scotland. French, Roman and Celtic influences made the Scottish language so versatile. This reflects not only in its vocabulary, but also in its grammar and phonology. Another important point is the geographical division of Scotland that also exerts influence on the Scottish language, because people on the mainland and the islands use to speak different languages. Finally we want to show that today there are only slight differences between Scottish English and English English that mainly consider the prestige of the languages and the function of identification, but that there used to be differences in the past that are important to the Scots as individual and independent nation.

2. Historical development

In order to describe the language situation in modern Scotland it is necessary to focus on the history, because many different people and events of the past took strong influence on the language or languages. According to Manfred Görlach, who is a German scientist for linguistics, and his book ''A Textual History of Scots'' published in 2002 in Heidelberg, a list of events from the earliest days of Scotland to nowadays is representative to emphasize the development of the Scottish languages: ''The coexistence of Gaelic, Scots and English in Scotland is the result of a complex history which is here summarized with particular reference to development which had linguistic consequences.'' (Görlach 2002, 14). The following facts and figures refer to his time scale of the Scottish history.

From the years of 79 to 83 the first Romans invaded to Scotland, who of course brought the Latin influence on the Island, which remained for about four hundred years, until 501 to 503 when the Scots from Ireland, Gaelic-speaking people who were Christian in religion established their kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll on the west coast and the Isles of Scotland. The first Anglo-Saxons, who were Speakers of the Old English ancestor of Scots, arrived and settled in what is now Southern Scotland around 700. The area of Anglo-Saxon occupation remained limited to South-Eastern and Southern Scotland until the 12th century. In the 9th and 10th century Scandinavian Vikings raided and settled on Orkney and Shetlands which are the Northern Isles and the Hebrides (Western Isles) and on the mainland. They introduced Norn or Norse to these areas, which is some kind of Norwegian influenced language. Malcom III. Canmore, who reigned Scotland from 1058 to 1093, introduced the feudal system and founded the burghs. In 1066 he married the Anglo-Saxon princess Margaret of Wessex and in consequence Anglo-Saxon became the additional court language along with Gaelic. As a reaction to Malcom's aggressions William the conqueror invaded Lothian and Fife in 1072 and in 1240 until 1266 took the Lordship of the Western Isles (=Hebrides) and the Isle of Man – which was later lost to England in 1286 and recaptured in 1457 – from the Scandinavians. But the Northern Isles and parts of Caithness remained Norwegian. In 1292-96 John Balliol is elected king and within this time, in 1295 the 'Auld Alliance' with French against England (until 1560) took place. Edward I. of England (who was known as 'Hammer of the Scots' 1272-1307) began his campaigns against Scotland with the 'First War of Scotland' 1296-1304.

Within the war the castles of Roxburgh, Edinburgh and Stirling fell and King John Balliol was taken prisoner at Montrose and the realm of Scotland is annexed. Only one year later in 1297 the Battle of Stirling bridge took place, where the Scots under Sir William Wallace defeated the English. But in the following year, 1298, the Scots were defeated at Falkirk and Sir William Wallace as military leader of the defeated Scots, was executed in London. 1306 to 1329 Robert I. (the Bruce) became the new king of Scotland. Under Edward II. a renewed warfare with England started (1307-1327 'War of Independence'). In 1314 the Scots under Bruce defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn. Six years later the declaration of Abroath addressed to the pope requested the lifting of the sentence of excommunication on Robert and declared Scottish independence. About fifty years later it was the beginning of the Stewart dynasty with Robert II. (1371-1390). In 1376 there was the beginning of the permanent written records in Scots with John Barbour's Bruce. James I., who was born in 1394 was captive in England for the first eighteen years of his reign from 1406 until 1424. He was scholar and poet king and in 1437 murdered by his own nobles. In 1411 the Saint Andrews University was founded. After almost five hundred years in 1472 full rights were finally ceded to Orkney and Shetland by Norway, since the dowry for Margaret, who was the daughter of Christian I. of Denmark and Norway and married to James III. of Scotland in 1469 in order to settle the dispute between the two states over the Western Isles, was not paid. In 1560, there was the beginning of the Reformation: the Protestant church was founded by John Knox and only forty-three years later, in 1603, the Union of the Crowns took place: James VI., King of Scots, becomes James I. of England and Scotland. About a hundred years later the Treaty of Union was signed, which meant the union of the parliaments of England and Scotland and thus the United Kingdom. Although both countries united both kept separate the state religions, educational systems, and laws of the two kingdoms. In 1768-71 the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in Edinburgh. In the 1920’s the Scottish Literary Renaissance with famous Scottish writers as Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978) and others set in. Only eleven years ago, Scots was included in the European Charter of Minority Languages.

3. Present day language situation

The first thing that has to be mentioned is the fact that there is a complex dialect picture in Scotland with many varieties depending on region, social background and situation. With “Scots” are all non-standard varieties spoken in Scotland meant. Scottish English is the standard form of Scots and much more orientated on English Standard English. Some Scottish features may appear in varying proportions, additionally influenced by the regional variations. This is the reason why we can distinguish between regional differences and the differences between ‘own languages’ within Scotland. The regional differences are shown on this map.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

(Crystal 2003, 332)

We differentiate between Insular, Northern, Central, Southern and Ulster Scots. Insular Scots is restricted to Shetland and Orkney, whereas the Highlands and Hebrides are typical Gaelic-speaking areas. But Insular Scots is nevertheless influenced by Gaelic and furthermore by Norn, because those isles were populated by Scandinavians that brought their language to Shetland and Orkney. The Northern dialect area contains Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Inverness, Nairn, Moray, Banff, Aberdeen, Kincardine and East Angus. It has to be added that the last four counties are counted among a sub-category called North-East Scots. Central Scots can be divided into East Central with North-East- (West Angus, Perth, Stirling, Fife, Kinross, Clackmannan) and South-East-Central-parts (West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian, Berwick, Peebles), West Central-parts (West and East Dunbarton, Argyll, Bute, Renfrew, Glasgow, Lanark, North Ayr) and South-West-parts (South Ayr, Wigtown, Kirkcudbright, Galloway, West Dumfries). Southern Scots counties are Roxburgh, Selkirk and East- and Mid Dumfries. Ulster Scots is a variety of Scots, but spoken in some parts of the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

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