Language history as charter myth? Scots and the (re)invention of Scotland

2011

In this article, I intend to concentrate on one type of process by which Scots has found new legitimation as a language, and how discourses surrounding the issue of Scots might seek to contribute to the creation of a new Scottish society. I whish to show how history is used as a legitimating discursive device by the various components of the Scots language revitalisation movement. The question of the very possibility of a history of a language is in itself particularly interesting. History itself, serving as a people’s grand narrative in the context of modern nation states, has been described by anthropologists as ‘simply a modern myth’ (Eagleton, 1991: 188). In fact, according to Woolard, “representations of the history of languages often function as Malinowskian charter myths, projecting from the present to an originary past a legitimation of contemporary power relations and interested positions” (2004: 58) Histories of languages, as socially situated narratives, can thus be seen ...

The purpose of this dissertation is chiefly to examine two periods of Scottish history - the Reformation period, and the period surrounding the Union of the Crowns - and try to ascertain at which point the English language can be said to have overtaken or the Scots language as the language used in the vernacular and the writing of the Scottish Lowlands. Utilising contemporary sources such as manuscripts, publications and correspondence, in addition to modern scholarship from linguists and historians, this dissertation examines the journey that Scots has undergone from a recognised and respected language used in royal, legal and common venues to what became regarded as a dialect of English or even merely slang. Special attention is also paid to the attitudes that important figures in Scottish history had towards Scots, and how these attitudes might have affected its use and disuse in wider Scottish society.

In this Occasional Paper, I would like to emphasise one way in which language ideological issues permeate literary discourse in Scotland. Focusing on issues related to Scots, I will analyse two (in my view complementary) introductions to anthologies of texts in Scots published over the past twenty years, and show how they participate in a wider ideological debate on language and society in Scotland.

European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2010

The Scots language plays a key role in the political and cultural landscape of contemporary Scotland. From a discourse-historical perspective, this article explores how language ideologies about the Scots language are realized linguistically in a so-called ‘languages strategy’ drafted by the Scottish Executive, and in focus groups consisting of Scottish people. This article shows that although the decline of Scots is said to be a ‘tragedy’, focus group participants seem to reject the notion of Scots as a viable, contemporary language that can be used across a wide range of registers. The policy document also seems to construct Scots in very positive terms, but is shown to be unhelpful or potentially even damaging in the process of changing public attitudes to Scots.

Scottish Text Society, 2010

The form of the Scots language reflects its wide European roots, and in particular its rootedness in the civilised Mediterranean as well as in the barbarous north. We can also see in the content of the language the participation of Scotland in European culture. The vocabularies of coinage, weights and measures, and fabrics are explored to illustrate this.

Alpes Europa: Sociolinguistica Europaea , 2006

Vienna English Working Papers, 2008

A study of the development of language in Scotland, particularly those dialects that descended from Old English. Résumé: Cet article vise à fournir une perspective historique, politique et sociale sur le langage et les langues en Ecosse, en particulier les variétés qui proviennent du vieil anglais, en complément à d’autres articles publiés ici (voir Colman, ce vol., Durand ce vol., Pukli, ce vol.). Nous ne nous pencherons pas en détail sur la prononciation et la grammaire, surtout en ce qui concerne le point de vue synchronique. En revanche, nous évoquerons les rapports complexes entre l’anglais, l’écossais et le gaélique qui expliquent en grande partie la situation actuelle et les difficultés rencontrées dans la standardisation de l’écossais moderne.