A short rant on the Scots Language. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

[@ReicantheJester]

You're absolutely amazing. Never forget that.

[@hildaalderton4513]

I am Uruguayan and I love your explanations and áccent 💙💙💙

[@AScottishOdyssey]

Thank you for the work that you do. We need more people like you. People who are passionate about Scotland and Scots. I love your passion, and your love for sharing what you have learned.

[@bobblues1158]

The british did this to all indigenous peoples they stole from all over the world. Tried to erase the culture. Your thoughts on this subject are wonderful to hear.

[@shoey6666]

I think you mean English, Scots are by definition British! For the record I am English, I love the Scottish people and the Scots language, have many good friends north of the border I am deeply ashamed of the actions of my ancestors and the treatment of the Scots and love that Len is doing so much to promote the Scots language

[@debrabeard-bader416]

@@shoey6666 The reply to which you reply is probably a standard issue misinformed and under-informed American. Your correction was right and kind but do not waste your shame on ancestors. They lived their times and had as little control over the tides of history as we do over ours.

[@shoey6666]

That is a very defeatist attitude, and a cop out. It was the British people taking hold and shaping their history that has led to them being on of the most tolerant, just and fair countries in the world and to right as many wrongs as they could and had we not taken control of our history we wold now be speaking German@@debrabeard-bader416

[@aaloha2902]

Colonials systematically tried to destroy indigenous language, family structures, traditions, spirituality & beliefs 🙏🏼🌺 Thank you for sharing the Scottish language MissPunnyPennie 🫶🏼

[@lindsayfrost2303]

I love this. I'm Australian and way back in 1979 I married a Scottish girl. The Ayrshire Scots she spoke was effectively a different language to the Australian English I spoke. One of our earliest encounters involved her translating the early Billy Connolly records for me. I vividly remember on a visit to Scotland long after we were married we were in her mothers kitchen and she and her sister were cooking dinner. She said 'Haw Meg, sees ra gully.' I said WTF? She explained patiently in English ' Hey Margaret , pass me the knife'.

[@JimCullen]

fwiw Scots isn't "effectively" a different language. It _is_ a different language. Scots is distinct from Scottish English. The latter is a dialect of the same language we speak, while the former is a different language, albeit the closest language still in existence _to_ modern English, having diverged from Early Middle English around the 1100s. Nearly 1000 years is definitely enough time for the two languages to have lost mutual intelligibility, and thus be classified as wholly different languages.

[@desperatefortuneproduction3296]

I love your passion and positivity! I'm a Scot who has lived in London for nearly forty years. I grew up speaking Glasgow dialect (West Dunbartonshire) but these days I like playing with anything, from received pronunciation (RP) to Scots poetry. I particularly love Burns and Violet Jacob in particular.

[@LynnGillogley-tm5uf]

I was married to a Glaswegian for 40 years and learnt, loved and use so many Scots words. To me, many of them are onomatopoeiac!!

[@punksci6879]

My Granddad moved to England in the 70's and was literally told to leave shops because "they couldn't understand him" and that was just the accent.

[@paulroberts3639]

I am Australian. The English did the same to the indigenous Australians. Forced them to forget their languages. Most of these languages are dead now. Some have survived because here people have done as you are, actively preserving the language. It is such a worthy cause.

[@lpeterman]

Well said and eloquently stated. Keep the flame lit. Cheers from the Willamette Valley, Oregon

[@amnas69]

Your contribution to the culture is priceless.

[@joegrey9807]

I'm English, and generally proud of being so, and I love my language. I still find it incredibly gratifying to see people so passionate about promoting their languages despite everything. It's even more interesting when it's a sister language that is thriving. Keep it up.

[@merrimcarthur7198]

My grandmother was from Kirkaldy. She regularly used various Scots words...and we kids loved it! We were her bairns. I was her special lassie/lass. She called us clatty imps...sometimes wee buggers. We loved it. I still use some of her terms to this day. I'm Canadian. My son is American. Even he uses some of my grandmother's terms, because I use them. Long live the Scots language. Thank you

[@malcy5]

Len, please won't apologise for speaking too much, I could watch and listen to you talking about Scots all day.

[@LearnWithByron]

A lot of Americans have Scottish heritage and still carry with them a Scottish vocabulary. My family would say “dae” for do, “wit” for what, and trousers for American pants (not underwear), plus more. I’ve been enjoying learning about my Scottish heritage and it’s been a a lot of fun to learn new Scottish words. Thank you for sharing with us all.

[@YesYouAreAbsolutelyCorrect]

Scots got the same treatment the Ukrainian language got in the USSR. It's just a language that developed parallel to another language and shares a lot of similarities with it, but was trampled down by the dominating language of the country, presented as a "funny version" of the "real" language. I'm glad that these both languages survive against all odds. And I think it's the best time for the Scots revival right now.

[@itsjacobj]

In the US but indigenous to Guam, and a lot of what you’ve said here reminds me of what’s happened with the indigenous language (CHamoru) and its subjugation by Spanish, Japanese, and American colonizers. Keep doing what you’re doing. It inspires me (and many others) to do similar things

[@sebofo]

I have always felt that Scots language is kind of regal, has a lot of history in it, at opposed to the average English language. So I am surprised at this. I am from Sweden, which may colour my perception. Anyway, I love listening to Scottish people talk, including you of course. And I have your book! Love it!

[@mccullochuk]

I live in a small town called Corby aka "little Scotland" A wee English toon full a Scots, i grew up with only the Scots language in my home and so did everyone i know. The Scots down here passed the language and traditions down to us and even in this wee English toon we all still use it proudly, telling each other tae hauld yer weesht or that thats geein me the bauk or the wianes or ya mauket bleep, coorie doon and so on. it was in fact my love for my ancestral tongue that led me to you.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

My Aunt came to Canada as a girl from Dundee and didn't even have any trace of a Scottish accent anymore, but she did know the Scots language as her family (particularly her mother) spoke it at home.

[@Lucien234-i2z]

My mum talks posh eventhough we are from the dodgy side of glasgow (she has the I went to Glasgow Uni accent) but when she is frustrated or tired suddenly she's "Och, richt enoucht", "Ah'm uptae high doh wae ye" or "Yer no mocket again, mon gie us yer claes" (that was one i heard as a child). My dad on the other hand doesn't care, he talks broad Scots and I do too, I am 34 years old but I was told growing up that it was improper mainly by the School.

[@jacksmancave170]

I love the fact that you share your language, and it saddens me that Scots was/is seen as a lesser language. I'm not Scots, but I love the expressiveness of the language--the fact that so many of the words and phrases are almost intuitive. They SOUND like what they're saying. That in itself makes it beautiful.

[@shoey6666]

Please Len, never haud yer wheesht, I love listening to you and am so behind your promotion of the beautiful Scots langauge x

[@ponkapoag1]

My grandfather served in the Gordon Highlanders during WWI. He immigrated to the US after the war. My grandmother and mother followed once he found a job. My grandfather quickly lost all traces of his scots accent. My grandmother, who never had to work, spoke in a combination of scots and english. She never lost her heavy accent. Reading Robert Burns out loud in class was easy for me in HS.

[@markbernier8434]

From Canada, I am more surprised by the words I do know. It emphasizes how many Scots came here over the years.

[@whiskeynovember8498]

I'm American but I'm proud of my Nicol ancestry from Scotland and I love explaining to people the origins of my differently-spelled last name which confuses people. Thank you for sharing with us. 🙏

[@cbinckley]

Your passion and love of language transcend the boundaries of this silly little tech device that has way too much access to MUCH less significant content. Thank you!

[@brucemacallan6831]

Now you are sending the message!!!! A native NE Doric speaker.

[@dahliagrossman3252]

I had a similar experience. My mother spoke Yiddish but didn't want me to understand it. Most Jews of my generation had the same experience.

[@lulachthesimple]

10 minutes is not too long - your rant was a rare delight today! Best therapy I've had for ages.

[@PaleFireNat]

Currently writing a paper for my linguistics course about the attempted erasure of Scots throughout history and currently, and you have been one of my favorite sources.

[@CensureAsylum]

I am a vermontlly a supporter of the Scots. I do believe there should be a Scotish Crown. I support Scotish indipendance. I would learn the Scotish language. Suporpt for the Scots.

[@mousa54]

And to follow on from the end of your magnificent rant, you’re amazing!

[@tlabelle1965]

Thank you for your service! I'm not even Scottish and I love what you're doing.

[@DeviantOllam]

An excellent piece. So very well summarized. 👍

[@SIUMoose]

I'm not geographically or ancestrally Scottish, but I LOVE a lot of Scots words. I don't use the EXTREMELY FEW I know because I feel like I would be appropriating a culture to which I don't genuinely belong. That being said, "hold yer weesht" may have to enter my lexicon. It's just too good.

[@AshleyBraquet]

I'm not Scottish, but I love listening to you speak. Keep making!

[@LordCivers]

Solidarity from a french minority language speaker. Keep up the good work ! We got the exact same situation in France for our "regional" languages, and God knows there are many. Mine's had a rough life and has been severely damaged in the XXth century, but it's lucky enough to be from a different family from french (an Oc language), so it's different enough to be viewed as another language entirely (which it is) and to be somewhat preserved as folklore, and, even though it's still attacked and kinda ridiculed, at least it can be considered as beautiful. But Oil languages (outside of french) are almost extinct because they're considered as Scots is to english : bad french spoken by uneducated and poor/underclass/rural people, ridiculous and ugly, on which you can make comedies. (and don't get me started with Creoles or even our urban "sociolects", it's a fucking shame how they're treated)

[@hrafnafloki1786]

My 2X great grandmother was beaten for speaking like her father a wealthy coal mine owner who made the passage with Andrew Carnegie and both made their fortune in America I follow your IG keep it up!

[@bcgrote]

Scots is DEFINITELY a live, living language. More words are added, and accepted along with the older words.

[@edwardvalentino3835]

I know no Scott's words. You are educating me So. Thank you

[@jmartin9059]

*Long ago, it was said, " Let us go down and confound their language......and scatter them to the corners of the earth..... " From that day onward, all languages of all people remain confounded.*

[@dhutch71]

During my ancestry research, I contacted Dr. Tyrone Bowes - who is a professor at Trinity University in Dublin - to do a case study on six of the surnames in my Scottish ancestry. He determined that most were 'lowland' and 'border lands' Scots from the area around Dumfries and Lockerbie, except for the Campbells [my paternal 2X Great Grand Parents] who were a powerful highlander clan. It's exciting to know where your family originated. Thanks for your lessons on the Scots language!

[@cliffmaxwell8718]

Okay. This convinced me to subscribe. I found the random moment that your vid’s popped up in my FB feed fun; a minor joy. But I’m convinced now that I need to pay more attention. I’m American, of Scots ancestry, and my accent is fake, but with your words…maybe I can be a bit more authentic, and pass a wee bit on to my boys. Clifton of Clan Maxwell

[@tejaswoman]

So many parallels to what I have tried to pass on over the years when teaching Spanish to heritage speakers and the descendants of heritage speakers. I tell them they don't need to feel bad or ashamed because they didn't learn it, their parents don't need to feel bad or ashamed because they didn't teach it, and to the extent that they know Spanglish (or as some here call it Tex-Mex), that's not something for people to mock, either. Spanglish is a pidgin and a perfectly reasonable thing to use in its context: a context in which two groups that don't share a language need to communicate with each other and don't have the time or tools to fully learn each other's languages. My goal is not to shame them for speaking grammatically non-standard Spanish or for having Spanglish vocabulary, nor for them to fuss at their parents or peers for doing the same. My goal has always been to teach them standard Spanish so that they can be understood by a wider range of Spanish speakers and they are less likely to be looked down upon, however unfair that may be. I want them to be able to choose to call a pickup truck a _camioneta_ when they're around someone who genuinely wouldn't know what they meant or would judge them as ignorant if they called it _una troca_ , but I also want them to feel free to come to the table and eat when Mom offers them _lonche_ , without feeling the need to correct her that it's _almuerzo_ .

[@inlocoparentis]

I'm over here in the U.S. and I love that you nerd out about your language and the fun things you said that created special bonds between you and your loved ones. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@IBORTAD]

Good to see you producing content on KZbin, keep it up. Just saying.

[@misspunnypennie]

I am trying to get as much stuff as possible but it's difficult because I have limited space on my phone. 🤣

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

​@@misspunnypennierelatable

[@IBORTAD]

@@misspunnypennie You also have so many other forms of content. Keep it up and enjoy.

[@AquarianAgeApostle]

I love everything you do. Keep it up, lassie!

[@arttoegemann]

Intellectual. Erse. I like the accent. I understand you.

[@Speedlobster]

You are absolutely amazing. I love so much Scotland. When being younger I travelled your beautiful country by motorbike and met wonderful people. Keep the Scottish culture alive! Do you also speak Gaelic?

[@Curious68]

Thank you

[@joecarstairs2459]

I think this is possibly the most insightful "rants" (if you want to call it that!) I've heard from you - and that's not a low bar! :)

[@snodrog5]

To recap, you're amazing, Len!

[@fionasharp595]

My god that’s awful - my grandparents and all my great aunts and uncles always spoke Scots and they were clever people - and I still use it with my mum. (Our only chance really as we are living in Wales lol) Learning lots more from your word of the day - and I forget the wurd - because I’m awfy Auld noo- nothing tae dae with you no doing yer job hen. But sadly there’s always some jumped up so and so writing the rules like the ‘46 one - sigh. It was the same in Wales - children had to wear a sign saying “Welsh Not” if they were caught speaking Welsh. 😡

[@alexhayuk]

Not seen one of your videos pop up for ages, probably KZbin algorithm. Have you considered doing readings at the Edinburgh fringe? Maybe you have already and I missed it.

[@tonymaries1652]

Westminster governments and the establishment pursued a similar policy to suppress the speaking of Welsh. Welsh speaking was officially suppressed in schools and workplaces. Large English-based companies like the Great Western Railway actually had a company rule against the speaking of Welsh in the workplace, and employees could be disciplined or even dismissed for speaking their own language. In schools there was the particularly cruel institution of the Welsh Not, where children heard speaking Welsh were made to wear the Welsh Not, a piece of wood hung around the child's neck with a length of string.

[@joechapman8208]

Great video, as always. "Bosie" is an interesting one because it's so close to the Spanish "besos" (different in that it's"kisses" but in the same area of warm affection). Could be a coincidence, but I wonder if there's a very old shared root?

[@bcgrote]

In Boston they'd call it soda, in Atlanta it's pop, but we know what they mean.

[@rubyseverinwhitworth9066]

Me over here being born in England wanting to learn all I can about Scots and picking up bits without even trying to

[@ericgottschalk6261]

Wow. A big Boise from a foreigner. We don’t share the same heritage, that’s my loss.

[@TomHawk640]

Good stuff!

[@alistairkerr339]

Yer a wee brammer ❤ keep up the videos, there is a lassie called Tracy Harvey on youtube who is a poet and uses her own accent and Scots language , have a swatch at her channel ❤❤❤❤❤️

[@jdm314]

Excellent video, thank you.

[@ScotlandHistoryTours]

Well done Len

[@jonahhex9620]

Interesting, I watched a video about a woman who started a phone APP in hopes of preserving the Native American Crow tribe language

[@astrothsknot]

I can't conjugate a Scots verb. I'm fucking furious about that. Let Scots be a medium of instruction like Gaelic. Teach bsl in school. Scots is my language.

[@brianwatson1375]

U nailed it sister !

[@MrFPRdz]

I am not Scottish, but I tried my best to honor the Border Scots dialect in a short story I wrote as a retort to the critics of Sir Walter Scott.

[@bcgrote]

Is Scots vocabulary location specific as well, though? Would a Glaswegian know cundie, would someone who learned (and uses) Scottish Gaelic daily also know "every" Scots word? Is it "worth it" for a visitor to learn either or both? While it isn't necessary, it still fleshes out a society.

[@markj3169]

AAVE and Scots need to have a cookout

[@PrivatePilot66]

Tha gaol agam an canan Gàidhlig! Tha I glè snog. Tha iad amadan. A bheil Gàidhlig agad?

[@janegrassmarket1414]

What about the Doric?

[@misspunnypennie]

That's the name that used to be used for the entire Scots language, but is now used for the Scots spoken in the north east of Scotland, mainly around Aberdeenshire!

[@spasespasevski5737]

😂😊

[@cheeveka3]

Ah think a' body does nae ken ilka single word, that is fur ony leid. Ah dae hawp that haein a system that promotes th' unique wurds kin pure hulp a lot tae educate fowk aboot th' rich vocabulary that is in yer leid. 😁

[@NSAJ33]

Interesting... makes since the victors always attempt to destroy there rivals. Much like the native americans or saxons. Thanks to the Normans.

[@yaminagai]

a wee bit slower now

[@joshuajames3327]

You blocked me on Instagram just a bit ago. I came here to apologize for offending. Wasn't my intention. Just trying to joke with you, but I never meant to give offense. Enjoy your day.

[@KevKavanagh]

Extra love for The Sonics t-shirt!!!