Retired academic and lexicographer. Author of books and papers on the history of Scots language and on folk song transmission. Literary executor for the late A. J. Aitken.
Argues that the Traveller song culture was simply that of Lowland Scotland, and discusses the fac... more Argues that the Traveller song culture was simply that of Lowland Scotland, and discusses the factors that allowed it to survive longer: avoidance of formal education, the authority of the extended family, and the campfire setting. Online presentation, Traditional Song Forum, 22 October 2023
A comprehensive review of what is known about the history of itinerants in Scotland, and an explo... more A comprehensive review of what is known about the history of itinerants in Scotland, and an exploration of what can be learned from relevant articles in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue and The Scottish National Dictionary. Evidence is sought, without success, for the presence of native 'Travellers' prior to the arrival of the Roma in Scotland at the beginning of the 16th century.
Several years ago, I compiled a checklist of those grammatical features of Modern Scots that diff... more Several years ago, I compiled a checklist of those grammatical features of Modern Scots that differ from Standard English, and from time to time I am asked for copies. This, combined with references made to it in print, has prompted me to make it available, although it has no claims to either originality or sophistication.
Anne Smyth, Michael Montgomery and Philip Robinson eds., The Academic Study of Ulster-Scots: Essays for and by Robert J. Gregg (Ulster Folk & Transport Museum), 2006
Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland and from Gregg, the paper explores similarities ... more Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland and from Gregg, the paper explores similarities between Ulster Scots and different source dialects in Lowland Scotland, and looks in detail at some phonological reflexes that differ within Ulster Scots, and some puzzling forms in Lowland Scots that may be influences from Ulster. Includes original maps based on LAS data.
Hildegard Tristram, ed., The Celtic Englishes (Heidelberg: C. Winter), 1997
This paper provides a detailed examination of the contact between Gaelic and Scots, and the influ... more This paper provides a detailed examination of the contact between Gaelic and Scots, and the influence of Gaelic on Scots. Borrowings, reinforcement of shared features, and convergent developments are considered in phonology, grammar and lexis. The difficulty of detecting subtle semantic influences is considered. Overall, the influence of Gaelic on Scots is not large (though greater in some parts of the Lowlands than others). Possible influences from p-Celtic are also briefly treated.
Katja Lenz and Ruth Möhlig eds., Of Dyuersitie and Chaunge of Langage. Essays Presented to Manfred Görlach on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Heidelberg: C. Winter), 2002
The process of the anglicisation of Scots is usually seen as one of erosion, with contact leadin... more The process of the anglicisation of Scots is usually seen as one of erosion, with contact leading to the emergence of Scottish Standard English. The effect on the Scots that survived has not been much considered. This paper describes the transfer of the Central Scots vowel system to produce that of Scottish Standard English. It discusses in detail a number of phonological developments within Scots that might be attributable to Standard English influence in the Early Modern period. Includes original maps based on the data of the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland, vol.III.
J. Derrick McClure and Michael Spiller, eds., Bryght Lanternis. Essays on the Language and Literature of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland (Aberdeen University Press), 1989
A number of phonological features of Older Scots, and the sound-change routes they could have fol... more A number of phonological features of Older Scots, and the sound-change routes they could have followed, are discussed in the light of the modern Northern dialects. Relevant data from Vol.III of the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland is mapped. The possibility is raised that certain North-eastern dialect features could have influenced the orthography of Older Scots.
John Corbett et al. eds., The Edinburgh Companion to Scots (Edinburgh University Press), 2003
Description of Older Scots phonology, with sample transcriptions, aimed at enabling the reader to... more Description of Older Scots phonology, with sample transcriptions, aimed at enabling the reader to pronounce Older Scots. Incorporates the work of the late A J Aitken, and sets out his vowel numbering system, with details of sound changes and possible phonetics at different periods. Updates his 1977 'How to pronounce Older Scots' with reference to his later thinking.
Raymond Hickey ed., Legacies of Colonial English: Studies in Transported Dialects (Cambridge University Press), 2005
This chapter provides an outline description of Scots, with some comments on Scottish Standard En... more This chapter provides an outline description of Scots, with some comments on Scottish Standard English (SSE), and directs the reader to the main sources. SSE is itself a contact variety, and Scots a language with a range of dialects: both are inputs to colonial Englishes.
An analysis of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots, based on a random sample of one word... more An analysis of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots, based on a random sample of one word in forty from the then published volumes of A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. Derivatives and compounds are separately considered, and the chronology of borrowing is compared with Early Modern English.
John Corbett et al. eds., The Edinburgh Companion to Scots (Edinburgh University Press), 2003
Lexical erosion, lexical innovation, using the dictionaries and the linguistic atlases, surveying... more Lexical erosion, lexical innovation, using the dictionaries and the linguistic atlases, surveying lexis, sociolinguistics, vocabulary as cultural history, two case studies of lexical research.
While cautioning against the assumption that every parallel between Irish and Hiberno-English or ... more While cautioning against the assumption that every parallel between Irish and Hiberno-English or Ulster Scots is evidence of borrowing from Irish, this article acknowledges that Celtic etymologies are systematically under-represented in English and Scots dictionaries for various reasons, discussed with special reference to A Concise Ulster Dictionary.
The problem of currency is one of the most intractable and frustrating problems in the study of t... more The problem of currency is one of the most intractable and frustrating problems in the study of traditional dialects. The information available to the Scots dictionaries is particularly unreliable for items that were formerly widespread but have become localised in patches.
Charles Jones, ed., The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language (Edinburgh University Press), 1997
An introduction to A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. A quantitative description of the s... more An introduction to A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. A quantitative description of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots based on a random sample of lexis from the dictionary (fuller details in 'A random sample of Older Scots lexis'). Descriptions of each source: native vocabulary, and loans from Latin, British, Pictish, Gaelic, Old Norse, French and Middle Dutch. This subject is treated at greater length in ‘A History of Scots to 1700’.
Janet Cruickshank and Robert McColl Millar, eds., Before the Storm: Papers from the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster triennial meeting, Ayr 2015 (Aberdeen: Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ireland), 2017
Analysis of the results of the Scots Language question, included in the Census for the first time... more Analysis of the results of the Scots Language question, included in the Census for the first time in 2011. The results are surprisingly reliable given the issues of validity in designing the question. Topics include age and sex differences, literacy in Scots, and the impact of immigration. A geographical framework for examining the data in relation to the traditional Scots dialect areas is established.
Detailed analysis of the results of the Census Question Testing exercise carried out in 1996 to a... more Detailed analysis of the results of the Census Question Testing exercise carried out in 1996 to assess the validity of a question on the Scots language. Results also compared with those of an earlier study by Steve Murdoch.
John Kirk and Dónall Ó Baoill eds., Linguistic Politics: Language Policies for Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, and Scotland (Belfast: Queen’s University, 2001
Discussion (in Scots) of the demography of Scots as revealed (prior to the 2011 Census) by Steve ... more Discussion (in Scots) of the demography of Scots as revealed (prior to the 2011 Census) by Steve Murdoch's survey and the Census Question Testing exercise. The dampening effect of the dispersal of population from Glasgow is discussed, and the effect on self-reporting of the background idea of an 'ideal Scots'. Three competing discourses about the language are described.
Graham Caie, Carole Hough and Irene Wotherspoon eds., The Power of Words. Essays in Lexicography, Lexicology and Semantics in Honour of Christian J. Kay (Amsterdam: Rodopi), 2006
This paper explores the idea of a rhyming dictionary for Scots, which might help readers and sing... more This paper explores the idea of a rhyming dictionary for Scots, which might help readers and singers to recover the intentions of poets such as Burns, and to perceive rhymes hidden by Standard English spellings. The very different rhyme potentials of different Scots dialects would also become apparent.
R. J. Lyall and F. Riddy, eds., Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Scottish Language and Literature (Medieval and Renaissance), University of Stirling, 2–7 July 1981 (Stirling and Glasgow), 1981
An analysis of a Middle Scots poem in the "plain style", concluding that even without the formali... more An analysis of a Middle Scots poem in the "plain style", concluding that even without the formalised diction that characterises some other styles of the period, language can be poetic by making systematic use of communicative strategies available in the language, as does modern poetry.
Appendix to Ian Olson, 'The battle of Harlaw, its Lowland histories and their balladry: Historica... more Appendix to Ian Olson, 'The battle of Harlaw, its Lowland histories and their balladry: Historical confirmation or confabulation?'. Linguistic assessment of Allan Ramsay's text of 'The battle of Harlaw', with a view to establishing whether the language is consistent with an underlying pre-1600 text. (It is.)
Argues that the Traveller song culture was simply that of Lowland Scotland, and discusses the fac... more Argues that the Traveller song culture was simply that of Lowland Scotland, and discusses the factors that allowed it to survive longer: avoidance of formal education, the authority of the extended family, and the campfire setting. Online presentation, Traditional Song Forum, 22 October 2023
A comprehensive review of what is known about the history of itinerants in Scotland, and an explo... more A comprehensive review of what is known about the history of itinerants in Scotland, and an exploration of what can be learned from relevant articles in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue and The Scottish National Dictionary. Evidence is sought, without success, for the presence of native 'Travellers' prior to the arrival of the Roma in Scotland at the beginning of the 16th century.
Several years ago, I compiled a checklist of those grammatical features of Modern Scots that diff... more Several years ago, I compiled a checklist of those grammatical features of Modern Scots that differ from Standard English, and from time to time I am asked for copies. This, combined with references made to it in print, has prompted me to make it available, although it has no claims to either originality or sophistication.
Anne Smyth, Michael Montgomery and Philip Robinson eds., The Academic Study of Ulster-Scots: Essays for and by Robert J. Gregg (Ulster Folk & Transport Museum), 2006
Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland and from Gregg, the paper explores similarities ... more Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland and from Gregg, the paper explores similarities between Ulster Scots and different source dialects in Lowland Scotland, and looks in detail at some phonological reflexes that differ within Ulster Scots, and some puzzling forms in Lowland Scots that may be influences from Ulster. Includes original maps based on LAS data.
Hildegard Tristram, ed., The Celtic Englishes (Heidelberg: C. Winter), 1997
This paper provides a detailed examination of the contact between Gaelic and Scots, and the influ... more This paper provides a detailed examination of the contact between Gaelic and Scots, and the influence of Gaelic on Scots. Borrowings, reinforcement of shared features, and convergent developments are considered in phonology, grammar and lexis. The difficulty of detecting subtle semantic influences is considered. Overall, the influence of Gaelic on Scots is not large (though greater in some parts of the Lowlands than others). Possible influences from p-Celtic are also briefly treated.
Katja Lenz and Ruth Möhlig eds., Of Dyuersitie and Chaunge of Langage. Essays Presented to Manfred Görlach on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Heidelberg: C. Winter), 2002
The process of the anglicisation of Scots is usually seen as one of erosion, with contact leadin... more The process of the anglicisation of Scots is usually seen as one of erosion, with contact leading to the emergence of Scottish Standard English. The effect on the Scots that survived has not been much considered. This paper describes the transfer of the Central Scots vowel system to produce that of Scottish Standard English. It discusses in detail a number of phonological developments within Scots that might be attributable to Standard English influence in the Early Modern period. Includes original maps based on the data of the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland, vol.III.
J. Derrick McClure and Michael Spiller, eds., Bryght Lanternis. Essays on the Language and Literature of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland (Aberdeen University Press), 1989
A number of phonological features of Older Scots, and the sound-change routes they could have fol... more A number of phonological features of Older Scots, and the sound-change routes they could have followed, are discussed in the light of the modern Northern dialects. Relevant data from Vol.III of the Linguistic Atlas of Scotland is mapped. The possibility is raised that certain North-eastern dialect features could have influenced the orthography of Older Scots.
John Corbett et al. eds., The Edinburgh Companion to Scots (Edinburgh University Press), 2003
Description of Older Scots phonology, with sample transcriptions, aimed at enabling the reader to... more Description of Older Scots phonology, with sample transcriptions, aimed at enabling the reader to pronounce Older Scots. Incorporates the work of the late A J Aitken, and sets out his vowel numbering system, with details of sound changes and possible phonetics at different periods. Updates his 1977 'How to pronounce Older Scots' with reference to his later thinking.
Raymond Hickey ed., Legacies of Colonial English: Studies in Transported Dialects (Cambridge University Press), 2005
This chapter provides an outline description of Scots, with some comments on Scottish Standard En... more This chapter provides an outline description of Scots, with some comments on Scottish Standard English (SSE), and directs the reader to the main sources. SSE is itself a contact variety, and Scots a language with a range of dialects: both are inputs to colonial Englishes.
An analysis of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots, based on a random sample of one word... more An analysis of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots, based on a random sample of one word in forty from the then published volumes of A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. Derivatives and compounds are separately considered, and the chronology of borrowing is compared with Early Modern English.
John Corbett et al. eds., The Edinburgh Companion to Scots (Edinburgh University Press), 2003
Lexical erosion, lexical innovation, using the dictionaries and the linguistic atlases, surveying... more Lexical erosion, lexical innovation, using the dictionaries and the linguistic atlases, surveying lexis, sociolinguistics, vocabulary as cultural history, two case studies of lexical research.
While cautioning against the assumption that every parallel between Irish and Hiberno-English or ... more While cautioning against the assumption that every parallel between Irish and Hiberno-English or Ulster Scots is evidence of borrowing from Irish, this article acknowledges that Celtic etymologies are systematically under-represented in English and Scots dictionaries for various reasons, discussed with special reference to A Concise Ulster Dictionary.
The problem of currency is one of the most intractable and frustrating problems in the study of t... more The problem of currency is one of the most intractable and frustrating problems in the study of traditional dialects. The information available to the Scots dictionaries is particularly unreliable for items that were formerly widespread but have become localised in patches.
Charles Jones, ed., The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language (Edinburgh University Press), 1997
An introduction to A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. A quantitative description of the s... more An introduction to A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue. A quantitative description of the sources of the vocabulary of Older Scots based on a random sample of lexis from the dictionary (fuller details in 'A random sample of Older Scots lexis'). Descriptions of each source: native vocabulary, and loans from Latin, British, Pictish, Gaelic, Old Norse, French and Middle Dutch. This subject is treated at greater length in ‘A History of Scots to 1700’.
Janet Cruickshank and Robert McColl Millar, eds., Before the Storm: Papers from the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster triennial meeting, Ayr 2015 (Aberdeen: Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ireland), 2017
Analysis of the results of the Scots Language question, included in the Census for the first time... more Analysis of the results of the Scots Language question, included in the Census for the first time in 2011. The results are surprisingly reliable given the issues of validity in designing the question. Topics include age and sex differences, literacy in Scots, and the impact of immigration. A geographical framework for examining the data in relation to the traditional Scots dialect areas is established.
Detailed analysis of the results of the Census Question Testing exercise carried out in 1996 to a... more Detailed analysis of the results of the Census Question Testing exercise carried out in 1996 to assess the validity of a question on the Scots language. Results also compared with those of an earlier study by Steve Murdoch.
John Kirk and Dónall Ó Baoill eds., Linguistic Politics: Language Policies for Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, and Scotland (Belfast: Queen’s University, 2001
Discussion (in Scots) of the demography of Scots as revealed (prior to the 2011 Census) by Steve ... more Discussion (in Scots) of the demography of Scots as revealed (prior to the 2011 Census) by Steve Murdoch's survey and the Census Question Testing exercise. The dampening effect of the dispersal of population from Glasgow is discussed, and the effect on self-reporting of the background idea of an 'ideal Scots'. Three competing discourses about the language are described.
Graham Caie, Carole Hough and Irene Wotherspoon eds., The Power of Words. Essays in Lexicography, Lexicology and Semantics in Honour of Christian J. Kay (Amsterdam: Rodopi), 2006
This paper explores the idea of a rhyming dictionary for Scots, which might help readers and sing... more This paper explores the idea of a rhyming dictionary for Scots, which might help readers and singers to recover the intentions of poets such as Burns, and to perceive rhymes hidden by Standard English spellings. The very different rhyme potentials of different Scots dialects would also become apparent.
R. J. Lyall and F. Riddy, eds., Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Scottish Language and Literature (Medieval and Renaissance), University of Stirling, 2–7 July 1981 (Stirling and Glasgow), 1981
An analysis of a Middle Scots poem in the "plain style", concluding that even without the formali... more An analysis of a Middle Scots poem in the "plain style", concluding that even without the formalised diction that characterises some other styles of the period, language can be poetic by making systematic use of communicative strategies available in the language, as does modern poetry.
Appendix to Ian Olson, 'The battle of Harlaw, its Lowland histories and their balladry: Historica... more Appendix to Ian Olson, 'The battle of Harlaw, its Lowland histories and their balladry: Historical confirmation or confabulation?'. Linguistic assessment of Allan Ramsay's text of 'The battle of Harlaw', with a view to establishing whether the language is consistent with an underlying pre-1600 text. (It is.)
A detailed demographic analysis of contributors to two major Scottish folk song collections, the ... more A detailed demographic analysis of contributors to two major Scottish folk song collections, the Greig-Duncan Collection, and the Scots folk song material of the School of Scottish Studies Archives. An exhaustive study of song transmission including all contributors, not only notable singers. The scattered information, marshalled into quantifiable data, throws light on such topics as transmission within and outside the family, the role of literacy, the public reticence of women singers, the association between the Travellers and the big ballads, and the impact of social changes in the late nineteenth century, and of broadcast music in the 1920s. The new opportunities opened up by digitisation are explored here for the first time.
A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (Dictionaries of the Scots Language), 2002
Book-length contribution to the Preface of A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, incorporati... more Book-length contribution to the Preface of A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, incorporating material by the late A. J. Aitken. Origins of the language, outline of its characteristics, detailed chapters on vocabulary, orthography, phonology and grammar, and chronological and stylistic variation. Online see 'About Scots' tab in Dictionaries of the Scots Language.
Edited volume. A J Aitken's definitive treatment of the Older Scots vowels - sources and sound ch... more Edited volume. A J Aitken's definitive treatment of the Older Scots vowels - sources and sound changes, with copious evidence from spelling and rhyme. Posthumously edited by myself, with the addition of indices of sources, sound changes and lexical items mentioned in the text.
Edited collection of the work of the late A. J. Aitken, with introductions and notes to each pape... more Edited collection of the work of the late A. J. Aitken, with introductions and notes to each paper updating his work. Includes biographical introduction (in Scots).
The methods of sociolinguistics and dialectology are combined in this study of linguistic change ... more The methods of sociolinguistics and dialectology are combined in this study of linguistic change and language attitudes in an inner-city area of Glasgow. The aim is to give a rounded view of the present state of a traditional dialect of Scots under the pressures of modern life. Vocabulary, morphology and lexical incidence are studied in detail. The interviewees air concerns such as alienation between the generations, linguistic decorum, and the unintelligibility of their normal speech to outsiders. Essentially my 1988 PhD thesis.
Texts and transcriptions illustrating Glasgow dialect, preceded by a description and history of t... more Texts and transcriptions illustrating Glasgow dialect, preceded by a description and history of the variety.
Based on the first edition of A Concise Scots Dictionary. Edited by Iseabail Macleod, with myself... more Based on the first edition of A Concise Scots Dictionary. Edited by Iseabail Macleod, with myself, Pauline Cairns (now Pauline Cairns Speitel) and Ruth Martin. The index is a very good English-into-Scots word list for the vocabulary areas covered (mostly the material world, material culture and human psychology).
Dictionary covering the Ulster Scots and Hiberno-English dialects of Northern Ireland and Co. Don... more Dictionary covering the Ulster Scots and Hiberno-English dialects of Northern Ireland and Co. Donegal. Based on various published and unpublished 19th and 20th century collections. With etymologies where possible and comparisons with source dialects if not. Irish etymologies include research by Dr Art Hughes. Online version does not include the Historical Introduction by Michael Barry or the Editor's Introduction, which discusses the lexicographical problems.
Edited with Iseabail Macleod, Festschrift for A J Aitken. Papers on Older and Modern Scots by var... more Edited with Iseabail Macleod, Festschrift for A J Aitken. Papers on Older and Modern Scots by various friends and colleagues. Includes my biographical introduction.
My self-published novel in Scots under a pen-name (Wulf Kurtoglu).
In a near future whan the tul... more My self-published novel in Scots under a pen-name (Wulf Kurtoglu).
In a near future whan the tulyie atween rationalism an releegious fundamentalism haes been focht tae a staunstill, Braken Fences explores themes o identity, allegiance an freedom. Yince again there blank areas on the map. Ayont the parteetioned Borders, genetic experiments haes altered human senses, an Neanderthals mells wi bandits an Buddhist monks in the muntains o Central Asia. The scene is set for a tale o adventure an romance, and for the discovery, at lang last, o whit wey the Neanderthals dee’d oot.
A bold uise o the Scots tongue tae express cultures an langages faur hyne frae Scotlan.
English version of my self-published novel in Scots (Braken Fences) under a pen-name (Wulf Kurtog... more English version of my self-published novel in Scots (Braken Fences) under a pen-name (Wulf Kurtoglu).
In a near future when the struggle between rationalism and religious fundamentalism has been fought to a standstill, Broken Fences explores themes of identity, allegiance and freedom. Once again there are blank areas on the map. Beyond the partitioned Borders, genetic experiments have altered human senses, and Neanderthals mix with bandits and Buddhist monks in the mountains of Central Asia. The scene is set for a tale of adventure and romance, and for the discovery, at long last, of why the Neanderthals died out. Also available in Scots as 'Braken Fences'.
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Papers by Caroline Macafee
Online presentation, Traditional Song Forum, 22 October 2023
Online presentation, Traditional Song Forum, 22 October 2023
In a near future whan the tulyie atween rationalism an releegious fundamentalism haes been focht tae a staunstill, Braken Fences explores themes o identity, allegiance an freedom. Yince again there blank areas on the map. Ayont the parteetioned Borders, genetic experiments haes altered human senses, an Neanderthals mells wi bandits an Buddhist monks in the muntains o Central Asia. The scene is set for a tale o adventure an romance, and for the discovery, at lang last, o whit wey the Neanderthals dee’d oot.
A bold uise o the Scots tongue tae express cultures an langages faur hyne frae Scotlan.
In a near future when the struggle between rationalism and religious fundamentalism has been fought to a standstill, Broken Fences explores themes of identity, allegiance and freedom. Once again there are blank areas on the map. Beyond the partitioned Borders, genetic experiments have altered human senses, and Neanderthals mix with bandits and Buddhist monks in the mountains of Central Asia. The scene is set for a tale of adventure and romance, and for the discovery, at long last, of why the Neanderthals died out. Also available in Scots as 'Braken Fences'.