Scots - English or Another Language?

In this video we take a look at Scots, exploring its history, structure, and whether it is a language of its own, or a dialect of English.
Find us here too!
Patreon: www.Patreon.com/Fireoflearning
Facebook: / fire-of-learning-14081...
Instagram: @Fire_of_Learning
Twitter: @Fire_Learning
Reddit: / fireoflearning
Picture sources:
By Rosser1954 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Anthony Quintano from Hillsborough, NJ, United States - Working New Years Eve Social Media for NBC, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Giuseppe Milo - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Zakuragi - www.scots-online.org/Base map: Image:Blank map europe.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By SkateTier - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By StuzzyW at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Ziko-C (Own work), CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By BusterBrownBB - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Andrew Colin - www.flickr.com/photos/adcolin..., CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By PiMaster3 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By User:Peter Ellis at en.wikipedia - photo by User:Peter Ellis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By SkateTier - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

[@MrTumshie]

I think the number of Scottish people who admit to speaking Scots would be a little higher if it hadn't been drummed into us at school that it wasn't the 'proper' way to speak. (I believe that has changed now but that's a relatively recent thing.) As a result we spoke standard English in the classroom and Scots in the playground, but we were taught that Scots was just slang and vulgar slang at that. This led to most of us learning to switch between standard English and Scots depending on the situation and on whom we were talking to. It also led to many Scots believing our own language to be an embarrassing way to speak, to be avoided. I'm immensely glad that this has now changed.

[@percafluviatillis4901]

I do the same sort of thing. But I switch between speaking standard English and Anglo-romany. It's interesting really, the two languages are basically the same, but just enough Romany slang makes the speech almost unintelligible to a standard English speaker.

[@JeroenDoes]

I am divided on this subject. It is useful for a country (I know scotland and england are 2 seperate thing but come on) to have a single uniform language. It helps.form a national identity. But losing something as important as your local way of speaking is a shame. I can't even sprak my local dialect or language without feeling like I am putting up a funny voice.....

[@TheronGBurrough]

I'm delighted this practice is coming to be poorly regarded. Taking over the institutions and telling people you're High Brow and the people you'd like obedience and taxes from are Low Brow is ... well, I think it's CHEESY.

[@duncansolway7473]

I spik doric

[@stonedape2406]

@George Job respect my man

[@Sunshineonmymind714]

7:53 Scots even came to be considered as unrefined; a language of the uneducated, however not all Scots speakers cared, and the language survived. That is the most Scottish thing I have ever heard lol

[@apenasgargorio]

"this is just pure gibberish, quit this" "screw you"

[@molecatcher3383]

The older people in my area of North East Scotland speak a strong form of Scots that would not be understood by people who only spoke standard English. I am lucky enough to understand them and enjoy speaking to them. Sadly the youngsters in my area have been brainwashed by the school system to look down upon people who speak Scots and to call them rude names such as "teuchters". The youngsters now only speak standard English. My grandfather only spoke Scots, my father spoke both Scots and English and made sure that I did so also. I try to pass on what I can to my own children and I know that they understand the Scots that I speak to them but they never use it to speak to people of their own age. Unless there is a major effort made to save Scots it will become extinct within a few decades.

[@billy6044]

You ken yi live in tchucter country fan people say “aye” just by inhaling (; am a proud tchucter

[@captainpog]

Whait aboot Scots week

[@craigporter8873]

Bloo Tooner here try spiken to the fashermin in Buchanhaven. Gai broch lingo fae um. If you need a translation I'm available haha.

[@craigporter8873]

@@tophatgaming1873 Haha good luck understanding in the first place in order to teach it.

[@TheronGBurrough]

I hope we can all agree to get rid of school brainwashing. This obnoxious practice is finally being used by the Communists to destroy the entire West. I think it is just as sh***y for any group to teach children to disrespect the people of a land over which they seek dominion. I'm in New York and have come to recognize the propaganda characterizing Southerners as uneducated. Many of those people are of Scots and Scots-Irish ancestry. I find them highly respectable when they are raised according to their traditions (rather than poisoned with drugs, another obnoxious tool of conquest).

[@dantelord5246]

"Scots, spoken in Scotland" Yeah, I'd agree with that

[@loganthom8604]

Not Edward B. We don’t though. Almost nobody in Scotland speaks in actual Scottish. It’s just that we speak in heavily accented English

[@flibbitt_9462]

*cough* Ulster Scots *cough*

[@truefalse207]

@@loganthom8604 People do speak Scots, maybe not 18th century Scots but still Scots nonetheless, e.g "I'm going to the shops" would be "Am gawn 'eh the shoaps" .... It's all around you and you don't notice.

[@AlexanderJansen]

@@loganthom8604 accented English is Scottish, as distinct from the Scots language. I think I read somewhere that Ireland has a similar relationship between Irish English and Irish Scots.

[@stephenwright8824]

@@flibbitt_9462 An identity of people rather than a language.

[@JamesThomas-pj2lx]

We went to the uk when i was 11, we flew into london, everyone was so nice; even the street urchins. But when we told them we were headed up to scotland, they all warned us how rude the scots were. We got to scotland and everyone was so nice; even the street urchins in galsgow. When we told them we just come from england they apologized for the rudeness of the english.... LOL wonder how that would have gone if we told them our family was welsh? LOL people.

[@iMertin90]

us scots like the welsh and irish.. fellow gaelic countries but we still cant stand the english

[@dnl_lcknr690]

av never heard junkies bein reffered to as street urchins, it's almost endearing

[@JamesThomas-pj2lx]

@@dnl_lcknr690 ;) almost, I'm a native detroiter, so little helpless junkies are no big thing; thugs wearing colors...... We have other less nice names for them!

[@Mcmotherfuckingrory]

Wales isn't Gaelic...

[@iMertin90]

@@Mcmotherfuckingrory celtic nations mate dont be a english prick

[@natejackman7705]

Being a geordie, a few Scots words have filtered into our dialect. My favourite is 'numpty'.

[@dogwalker666]

I was going to say that there is also a lot of German words that are used in gordie.

[@charmainelamont2020]

You do know that the definition of a Geordie is a Scot with his brains bashed out?

[@robmcrob2091]

Back in medieval times north of York was considered border country and to this day the Geordie and Yorkshire dialects have far more in common with Scots than southern English. + almost every Geordie I've ever met has at least 1 Scottish grandparent. Words like 'div' for do, 'maun' for must, 'bairn' for child or 'teem' for empty are a few I've heard that also exist in Scots.

[@Stingetan]

The Geordie accent sounds like Danish to me - a Danish person.

[@tamasmarcuis4455]

Scots is meant to be descended from Northumbrian Inglesc. Spoken between the Humber river and the Firth of Forth. Meaning the words you call Scots are the rémanents of YOUR language that have not been replaced by the Saxon dialect of South East England. Yet.

[@MexieMex]

I'm a Scotsman no longer living in Scotland, but totally consider Scots to be a language rather than a dialect. It uses different grammar to Scottish English, and that's enough for me.

[@Motofanable]

What different grammar?

[@MexieMex]

@@Motofanable I don't have the time to type out a lengthy responce at the moment, so I'll just copy & paste this: The following phrases might help illustrate some of the many differences, which you can investigate further if you so wish on the website Wir Ain Leid. Did Mary spier at ye tae call? (Call pronounced kahl) Translation: Did Mary ask you to call? Note the difference in the verb for “ask” , which is “spier” and which also takes the preposition “at”, whereas the English “ask” does not take any preposition. 2. Sit you doon, I’ll pit aff the TV. Translation: Sit down, I’ll turn the TV off. In this example, the phrasal verb “pit aff” is similar to the Scots Gaelic construction which also uses the verb “put” and preposition “off” (cuir de). 3. He kens aa my wants (pronounced wahnts) English translation: “He understands all my needs.” These are just a few examples. There’s a lot of variation in spelling due to lack of standardisation, but one thing to realise is that although some examples of written Scots may be spelled similar to English, practically every vowel sound is different. One more example from psalm 130 Scots: Out o the deepens I hae cryd til ye, O Lord; English: Out of the deep I have called to you, O Lord (sometimes pronounced Laird)

[@BingleFlimp]

@@MexieMex That really just reads like a dialect.

[@gmailz115]

@@BingleFlimp if that were the case, then so would danish/norwegian, portuguese/spanish, czech/slovak, its a bit of a subjective matter.

[@MexieMex]

@@BingleFlimp I dissagree, but each to their own.

[@allenjenkins7947]

I think that Scots was developing into a separate language, but that the joining of the two kingdoms and more particularly the development of printing, slowed that separation to where modern Scots is more than a dialect, but not quite a different language.

[@mikespearwood3914]

Exactly: the full evolution didn't get the chance to occur like say Spanish & Portuguese being two distinct languages now.

[@eushishitanushitsu8606]

I argee

[@VieiraFi]

@@mikespearwood3914 That's true, portuguese (that came from old galician or galician-portuguese) had an independent country relatively early, and a literary tradition which kept it separate from spanish. It's impressive how both languages are still relatively mutually understandable between each other considering they've different countries from so long (and the portuguese are very conscious of keep speaking things in their own way)

[@catalannationalist9847]

@@VieiraFi Nonetheless Galicia has remained part of Castile since then and part of Spain later and Galician is a separated language from Spanish.

[@catalannationalist9847]

@@VieiraFi I think the analogy would be more between Galician and Portuguese rather than Spanish and Portuguese.

[@DanielBrowne-dz7we]

“A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.” This excellent quote decides the question here!

[@GeorgeP-uj8xc]

The problem with Scots is that there’s no strong standard. The French defend their language to the death but the Scottish cannae decide what they’re speaking and will change language depending on if you’re in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, or Inverness. In my opinion Gaelic should be given priority as that was considered the language of Scotland until the 16th century.

[@consonantsandvowels1]

Shout out Aberdeen ❤

[@EloNaj]

In Germany there is also no offical standard. We have the Duden and the Goethe Institute but they set no standards they only observe the changes in the language.

[@Mujangga]

@@EloNaj Üben die Medien und Regierung Hannoverischen Hochdeutsch nicht?

[@tamasmarcuis4455]

Imagine the state Dutch or Portuguese would be in now if the larger neighbour countries had conquered them. You still now get some Germans who say that Dutch is just a German dialect with a heavy accent. Like Southern German in Switzerland and Austria. The English with languages though are like fundamentalist Christians with religion. It is not good enough that they speak their language everyone else must too. You remember the screams when after England ceased to be a member of the EU and English was immediately dropped.

[@pumpkin91ful]

Frence speak different languages Occitan language in the south ,Breton (Welsh dialect) in Brittany ,Franco Proveçal in south est, German in Alsace ,Corso in Corsica and Basque in the French' basque country;all this beautiful and ancient languages still not co-ufficial ,French' republic doesn't allow any co_ufficiality even at regional level and the schools that teach those languages are very few , this is ignoble ,don't take France to example ;i really love Gaelic and the i would like that scottish start to speak it again in large percentage with proudness but i believe also in a country with 3 official languages .

[@molecatcher3383]

Burns never wrote anything in the pure Scots spoken of his time .Everything that he wrote was an anglicized form of Scots.

[@lewisherron6842]

Agreed, he had to Anglicise his poems so that it was easier for English speakers to read.

[@elimalinsky7069]

@@lewisherron6842 I don't think that pure Scots is even a written language. I never saw it in written form. When I've been to North-East Scotland I've only heard pure Scots once, spoken by some elderly folk in local pubs of a small village. I didn't understand a single word. It was completely foreign to me, and therefore I am convinced that pure Scots is uninitelligible to standard English and is, in fact, a separate language.

[@lewisherron6842]

Eli Malinsky Absolutely right, Scots does not actually have any standard spelling and therefore can easily be written off as a dialect as opposed to a language. You’ll find some kind of standardisation in dictionaries but a lot if them are generally unaccepted by people who speak in dialects that don’t fit them.

[@Fenditokesdialect]

Agreed, the Langfocus Scot's video's the same with Anglicisation "I dinnae want tae go tae wirk the day cos I hivnae got much energy" Should be: "I dinnae want tae gae/gang tae wirk the day cos I hivnae muckle/mich energy" "I cannae go tae the pairtie the night cos I've got a lot tae dae" Should be: "I cannae gae/gang tae the pairtie the nicht cos I've a lot tae dae" "The bairns caught some beasties in the gairden" Should be "the bairns catcht some beisties i the gairden" The sentence "I went tae the shop wi ma wee brither an' sister" however, IS proper full Scots

[@akiingvarsson554]

There's no such thing as "Scots Gaelic". It's called Scottish Gaelic. The languages of Scotland are therefore, Scottish English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots.

[@angeloduncan7019]

Wrong. Scots was the English, Roman and Greek name/ title for Gaels, also used in ancient Ireland. The word Irish did not exist until the 1800s, the Irish were referred to as Scots, Ireland was called Scotia (Scotland) for 1000 years. Old Irish is Old Scots or Scots Gaelic, but as factually accurate as it is, that term is not used. Scots Gaelic is Medieval Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic is the form of Gaelic created in modern Scotland.

[@CuchulainAD]

Sources for this please

[@pierresoorden5975]

It’s called BOTH

[@johant23]

i switch between Scots and English depending where i am and who i'm talking to. i think most Scottish people do the same. most Scottish people will also mix the two as well regularly throwing a Scots word or three into standard English sentences.

[@fraserwyllie8840]

I speak Scots and this is probably one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on our language … well done on the video! You must have done a-lot of research … impressive.

[@hayreddinbarbarossa661]

You don't understand true Scot until as a kid, your 5ft nothing wee grannie tucks you into bed saying "Oc ey ye leek a wee perky wally." I miss that sweet woman and am still scared that when I mess up she'll come back and put me right in my place. I've known some truely rough and tough people, none had the ability to scare me like that woman. She's also my favourite family members.

[@samiam619]

donks 01 I love that she said that to you. But what does it mean in... you know... Shhhh, English?

[@hayreddinbarbarossa661]

@@samiam619 😂😂😂 direct translation is " you look a little bit unwell"😂😂😂 Oh I just realised it auto corrected to perky Wally when it should read peely-wally👍 peely-wally meaning sickly or poorly.

[@eccremocarpusscaber5159]

donks 01 that’s unusual. Everyone I’ve ever met who speaks Scots says “peely-wally” meaning pale. What part of Scotland are you from? I’m from the central belt.

[@hayreddinbarbarossa661]

@@eccremocarpusscaber5159 she was from near Glasgow. I've always been told it means sickly or poorly but I suppose pale can be used for those as well. I'm Australian so I'm no expert. Another 2 grandparents were born and raised in Scotland and emigrated after serving in the war and lost the accents, I feel it was because the wanted a complete new life but mum's mum was a staunch Scot. She was a MacArthur. My first names are Andrew Russell and I have all the family crests on the wall. One day I want to learn Gaelic just to keep the connection.

[@stridenasty]

Peely-wally does mean pale but I've only ever heard in the context of looking unwell, if that makes sense. I've never heard someone use it to describe someone who's just pale in general. Only when they look unwell/paler than usual. (Glasgow, for context)

[@darthcalanil5333]

Hearing the song.. *Scotexit intensified*

[@sandrojones8068]

Schut scup

[@danpictish5457]

Living in Stirlingshire, we have a strong Scots Community here. Sometimes I cant understand my own people. I'm studying Scots Gaidhlig which flows aboot like Scots. We need translations for both I'm afraid.

[@derstoffausdemderjoghurtis]

Love your Dives into Language Topics

[@eze9057]

It is Germanic. The area was heavily settled by Saxons, Danes and Viking decendants. The Lowland Scots are not the same as Highlanders. Two different groups.

[@overkoppsbaiter0714]

Both highlanders and lowlanders are genetically and culturally the same. They both mostly descend from gaels, picts, bythonic peoples with germanic influence.

[@abacaxi.maldoso]

If Galician is not considered a dialect of Portuguese, why Scotts should be for English. I learnt English and couldn't understand any Scotts even with your American accent, because vocabulary counts a lot.

[@stonedape2406]

Burns wrote in a mixter of scots and english, here's a full scots version of auld lang syne: Shoud auld acquentence be forgot, An niver brocht tae mynd? Shoud auld acquentence be forgot, An auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, ma jo, for auld lang syne, we'll tak a cup o kyndness yet, for auld lang syne. An shuirlie ye'll be your pynt-stowp! An shuirlie I'll be mine! An we'll tak a cup o kyndness yet, For auld lang syne. (owerwird) Us twa haes run aboot the braes, An poued the gowans fine; But we'v wandert mony a weary fit Sin auld lang syne (owerwird) Us twa haes paidelt in the burn, Frae mornin sun till dine; But seas atween us braid haes rairt Sin auld lang syne (owerwird) An thare's a haund, ma trusty fiere! An gie's a haund o thine! An we'll tak a richt guid-willie waucht, For auld lang syne (owerwird)

[@SuperRip7]

This isn't English. Just like Sicilian is not Italian.

[@stonedape2406]

@@SuperRip7 that's right my man

[@davidjijo6657]

Can you do one on Bernadotte, the French revolutionary who became king of Sweden? I can't find any biographies of him, and I think his life is rather interesting

[@LeFaisDoDo]

David Jijo they still are the ruling family! Basically he abandoned Napoléon

[@Annoitedpastorlewiswalkin]

ask biographics they might do it

[@td1559]

Is this the guy who had a 'death to all kings' tattoo?

[@charmainelamont2020]

@@bertholdvonzahringen6799 Bernadotte became King of Sweden long after Napoleon was deposed. He was adopted by the childless King and Queen and ascended the throne when the King died.

[@user-nz3fn5nx3n]

My HS girlfriend was Bernadette who went to Sweden as a foreign exchange student.

[@frakkintoasterluvva7920]

I'd say: Scots - a different language similar to and derived from English. Chinese "dialects" - actually different languages. "Serbian", "Croatian", "Bosnian" (as you have them on your map) - different names for the same language, which is not only the same language (formerly known as Serbo-Croatian) but the standard versions of these so-called languages are all same dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian. There are other dialects, but they are spoken by a much smaller groups of people in certain smaller regions and are considered sub-standard.

[@robmcrob2091]

Yes although both modern English and Scots derive from medieval dialects of English rather than Scots deriving from English.

[@Stingetan]

@Iris Bos Dane here. Icelandic is so much harder to understand than either Norwegian and Swedish. Icelandic branched off from the other Scandinavian languages way way earlier and still have many of the sounds from Old Norse that disappeared from Nor/Swe/Dan-ish. That being said, I can understand most Norwegian or Swedish but I can hardly tell when one word ends and the other begins in Icelandic.

[@rafaelrodriguezgomez8497]

I am learning english, and when I see the text of beggining I was like: XD

[@sunnyjim1355]

'... and when I saw the title I was like' There, fixed it for you, hope it helped. :-)

[@rafaelrodriguezgomez8497]

@@sunnyjim1355 oh, thank you so much

[@jjnn2]

As a native English speaker, good luck with that.

[@rafaelrodriguezgomez8497]

@@jjnn2 that´s very kind of you

[@denizmetint.462]

I was like: "Say what?"

[@artawhirler]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@irnbru5496]

Much love for you speaking about Scots! I have spoken it fae years but didne know it was a different language

[@martynnotman3467]

Scots Gaelic is basically Irish and Scots is basically English. If its a separate language then Geordie, Scouse, Brummie, Etc would have to be considered such as well as they are at least as diverse. Indeed you might have to include Shetlandic as one too as its much different to mainland Scots.

[@AquarianAgeApostle]

A spectrum of dialects across the British Isles, and linguistically divergent only when lacking mutual intelligibility.

[@raymondjones7489]

Very interesting!!!I enjoy endlessly the evolution of language!!...I appreciate this!!!😊❤

[@jokegajr2748]

Hey fire of learning I love ur vids

[@derstoffausdemderjoghurtis]

^^

[@Big-Chungus21]

Scots is definitely a different language. Im english and i cant write scots or speak it, and i can barely understand it.

[@leepshin]

The fact that ye cannae unnerstand Scots is the hale point ya dumb sassanach. LOL

[@DeclinedMercy]

Oh look at that I'm almost fluent and I didn't even try

[@angeloduncan7019]

Yeh, gibberish is quite similar, I write 80% random words and 20% English words and when I read it out, I am speaking a language. Do you know naedid nabadon zuarran I like chezza toorag angel said hassa wit now

[@lawofscotland]

@@angeloduncan7019 whit the fuck is eh point yer tryna make her, a dinnæ see a point at aw unless yer tryna say that this isnæ a lied, other folk can ken whit am saying and I dinnæ think you can, so ye can shove it

[@bleddynwolf8463]

@@lawofscotland can i just say, i love it when language is writen phonecticaly, it look amazing.

[@Farmer_El]

Justin, had my History classes in junior and high schools been presented like this, I would have paid more attention and I would have retained so much more.

[@iregretdyeingmyeyebrows5645]

Where I was I was taught Scots, it's very much somewhere inbetween a dialect and a language because it is very similar but has it's own words.

[@AhmetwithaT]

Scots is clearly a dialect of Chinese with a different grammar and lexicon.

[@dsrunner69]

Sirly, ye jest! lol

[@Giaayokaats]

And then there's Bungee, a Scots-based creole formerly spoken in Manitoba. Syntactically and structurally, it draws from Scots, but it's lexicon draws more from English than standard Scots. It also contains heavy borrowings from Cree, Ojibwe, French and Gaelic.

[@xiiinosceteipsum]

This mite be random but if you've ever watched the sopranos there is a scene when he is in hospital and there is a post-it note on his wall that says 'Though i go about in pity for myself, all the while a great wind carries me across the sky' Next to it says 'ojibwe saying' Must be the same ojibwe?

[@Giaayokaats]

@@xiiinosceteipsum Quite probably. The Ojibwe are a pretty widespread people, and I've never heard the word Ojibwe used in any other context aside from the people/language/cultural group.

[@pathfinderfergusfilms6630]

Hearing you speak even with your American accent you sound norse. Frankly that's what it is. I us a great many words that people from Scandinavia still use though some have forgotten. Gaelic words are used in scots also as it it became part of the culture of the south over time. Words such as loch etc. I could imagine though if I were too go back in time say 300 years or so I would more than likely have great difficulty in understanding my ancestors due to what you have covered as the union of the crowns etc put pressure on Scots to speak an understandable English. First class video my friend. Very good.

[@jonfroswa]

You sing like an angel

[@user-vj3ji7jr5h]

Thank you for this

[@user-tg5ho5fs1f]

Thanks brother :)

[@jacobparry177]

Was English not a language until it was standardised? Official status has no bearing in the argument. For those arguing such

[@archeofutura_4606]

The Robert Burns poem you used in the beginning isn’t even full scots. It’s mixed with English. I’d say Scots is a sister language to modern English in its full form, but considering that most people mix it with standard English it’s becoming more of a dialect

[@IdioticUlt1mara]

A dinnae ken aboot Scots being its aen language. I am Scottish and cannae speak fluent scots I speak a bastardised version of it :P. Unlike what Mr Tumshie, I was never taught not to use Scots - I was actually actively encouraged to use it. I was however taught proper English, that makes sense to me though. Personally a have always seen Scots as a dialect of the English language, just like Gordie is a dialect of English and that almost entirely different to English

[@paigedoolittle6111]

I love it when you sing ❤️

[@sunnyjim1355]

Thanks for the warning, I'll skip it then.

[@warrsun]

Interesting!

[@sniffinggluewontkeepfamili3387]

dialect. If I can tell you're talking about me then it's a dialect.

[@Lagiacrus1996]

But I'm sure Norwegians can tell Swedes are talking about them, as can Portuguese with the Spanish.

[@sniffinggluewontkeepfamili3387]

@@Lagiacrus1996 the definitions are ambiguous so I colour outside the lines w e

[@emmabrandel4823]

Matthew M the problem with that first example is norwegian/swedish exist in a dialect continuum, where the further you travel from, say, the west of norway to the east of sweden, the languages slowly morph, so two people living along either side of the norway-sweden border, one on each side, would be able to speak clearly with one another, but two swedes from opposite sides of the country might not understand each other even when they are both speaking “swedish” does that mean they are not speaking the same language? no, it doesn’t, because while they might sound different speaking, both swedish people would probably be able to read and understand standard swedish and could change how they speak to be closer to the standard to aid in communication.

[@emmabrandel4823]

if we apply this theory of almost code-switching between a dialect and the standard language, then scots should be considered a dialect, because while it might sound like a different language at times to americans or english speakers outside of the uk, most scots speakers have learned standard british english as well and can adjust their pronunciation and usage of slang to make communication easier. one could argue that two people speaking separate languages can do this too, but what i am trying to say is, just because two languages can be mostly mutually intelligible, does not mean that any two ways of speaking that seem very different but can still communicate HAVE to be two different languages.

[@jonnykhatru]

Yeah that's a bad argument, my natively Spanish speaking wife can understand a whole lot of Portuguese without ever studying it and even a fair bit of Italian.

[@kaylastarr7863]

Have you been paying attention to the Scots wiki drama? So crazy

[@thomasmarren2354]

Did you post part two of the Scotland series? I already watched part one.

[@kirkmorrison6131]

Language, it is very hard to comprehend if you haven't studied it. It has its own grammar as well as vocabulary.

[@bradenf]

When I was travelling in Europe, I could deal with the English dialects (had some trouble in Scotland, see Robin Williams' takes on this). I grew up in a German community in the US so I never felt alienated even if I needed help in the German or the Northern European countries. Almost all the southern countries were mutually intelligible to me except French!

[@animodium2670]

I was first introduced to Scots by the song "Sgt. McKenzie" from We Were Soldiers.

[@danieldoucette306]

My in laws are glaswegian and i had no issue understanding them from the get go but being from cape breton island it kinda helped a bit.

[@diebesgrab]

Well I’m Chinese, so yeah, I don’t see what all the fuss about this dialect is. Practically just a regional accent.

[@kekeke8988]

Look at this sentence. If you only know English, can you even understand it? The Scots Pairlament wis estaiblisht in 1999 for tae debate maiters an mak laws for Scotland. Proof concrete that Scots is a language entirely distinct and separate from English.

[@diebesgrab]

@@kekeke8988 I’ve never learned a whit of any gaelic language, and yes, that sentence makes perfect sense. The grammar and spelling are very slightly off, and that’s about it. Heck, comparing that to standard English, it’s practically in line with the divide between southern and standard American English, except they mostly don’t spell words differently in the American south.

[@kekeke8988]

@@diebesgrab They do in literature, sometimes, but yes, every variety of English would look just as distinct if spelled phonetically and every variety of English has a lot of local slang that is used only in that locality. Gaelic is an actual language that is completely different from English in syntax and vocabulary, unlike Scots. As far as I can tell, the Scotsmen are just hying this up as a "language" inspire more Nationalist separatist sentiment as they want Scotland to leave the UK and divorce itself from England and "English".

[@diebesgrab]

@@kekeke8988 Ohhhhh, that first reply was sarcasm. Sorry, I can’t often tell on KZbin.

[@OiiRobbi3x]

scots and scottish english is basically mixed these days depending where in scotland you are usually the islands talk closer to pure scots. whereas in the cities its mostly scottish english infact some have lost the scottish part now and may aswell be english.

[@erikkr.r.m7380]

A history of sweeden or Spain would be amazing

[@suepem]

The Geordie dialect of North East England has a lot in common with Scots.

[@pauldrummond755]

It basically is Scots but they wont say it because theyre English

[@eddybrek5298]

Yeah we in the north east say a lot of Scot words such as bairn meaning child. all the way down to north of the tees after that it changes to more of a Yorkshire accent like Middlesbrough

[@eddybrek5298]

Wompus aye it has its auld Norse roots am sure other words will to also .... and very interesting video there thanks for that ! I’m from County Durham and we had a lot of Irish and welsh immigrants especially in my home town of Hartlepool . all my family is Scottish Welsh and Irish actually no English at all it amazes me but check out the Hartlepool accent it’s mixed between a north east dialect and sort of scouse accent because of the high immigration from the Irish and welsh lot of names in the town what are welsh and Irish we a confused mixed bunch up here 😂

[@eddybrek5298]

Wompus ahh my great grandparents was the immigrants .. like my nanas dad etc she had a auntie called Anne mac like he radio 1 DJ who sang all the Irish folks that was only 60 - 50 years ago strange joe thinks can change tho

[@seamussc]

I am inclined to say it is a dialect, because it doesn't really seem like some one who speaks RP English or Standard American English would really learn to "speak" the way we would a language like Dutch or Frisian, the languages most close to English that are universally considered distinct from English. Even if we need to learn how to understand the dialect, but we wouldn't ever respond to the speakers in Scots, but in whatever our own dialect is. We would probably be seen as somewhat rude or mocking if we did. Similarly, I grew up in an area where another unique dialect of English that does border close to a separate language, Gullah (or Geechee) is spoken. Without exposure to it, it is as hard to understand, as Scots is. As a kid I understood it, playing and interacting with friends who were Gullah, but I would still speak what is basically SAE in turn. It would've been weird, awkward, and perhaps offensive for me to "speak" it, which no one had to explain to me. Still, I get it is tricky, because English doesn't really have closely related languages with partial intelligibility (we certainly don't understand our most uncontested closest language that definitely isn't English, which is Frisian), so native English speakers probably have a higher bar to consider a language not English than other languages. Like the video says, sociopolitical realities make a lot of this subjective.

[@zhubajie6940]

Like many, Scots is part of a language continuum. A town may be able to talk to the next town but not the town after that. This is a common occurrence in Fujian province but ever less so as education and opportunity standardizes languages (or at least presents a Franca Lingua as a secondary common language).

[@madmark1957]

I am Scottish born and bred lived there for 55 years before moving to USA. I have lived in various parts of Scotland. Couple early problems. Option 3 Scots. You included Dorric from the NE Of Scotland. Dorric is not understood AT ALL outside that area. I am not joking. Speak Dorric in Edinburgh and you will get much the same results as speaking Cantonese. Except there are plenty of Chinese people living in Edinburgh. Also look at ancient Roman maps and you will immediately see that the Romans did NOT call what is now Scotland Caledonia. They called the people from the NE of Scotland the Caledonii. They had different names for the other tribal parts. I know it is fashionable to think of all of Scotland as Caledonia, but the Romans certainly did not.

[@duncansolway7473]

I can second at cause I spk doric an bide in the north east

[@kingrednax6000]

As a scots speaker i consider it a seperate language

[@therabman_5606]

King Rednax aye 👍

[@scotland2569]

Lived in Scotland all my life and we have such diversity in our language. I can go 10 miles either direction and find words that I don't use. We can understand each other thou I do remember asking my cousin's from Highlands what "ein" means, turns out it means eye. I was in Australia talking to my aussie-scot family and I said "faither" they thought I was saying feather and got really confused on what I was saying. Had to tell them I meant Father haha

[@Fenditokesdialect]

Ein is eyes, I know that cause it's een here in Sheffield

[@pokeman747]

I grew up in a Highland village, we spoke scotts mostly. I was oft teld nae t' speak English, and even sent to speech and language therapy for speaking my native geordie. We also spoke gælic, I can still do scotts not so much the gælic.

[@donwright3427]

We come from Wales and predominantly speak Welsh where as the Scots language is only spoke be a few.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Almost all. My grandmother would have gotten every word because it is Ayrshire Scots and that is what her parents spoke at home. She spoke only English but understood it. Take her 100 miles to Fife and she would have been baffled or scunnered as we say here.

[@zennyy.12]

Good video

[@Jimmy_Cooper]

As a Scotsman I understand every word of what you said and I use a lot of these words every day . For me it’s not a stand alone language , it’s a dialect

[@johnkerry6312]

this was uploaded on a special day

[@DavidFraser007]

Syne just means then. All the older people from the North East of Scotland used this word, maybe they still do, I've not been home for a while.

[@leonlawson2196]

I am from the north east of Scotland and barely understand the words to auld lang syne. Braes are hills though..

[@billy6044]

Leon Lawson ide day I understand the vast majority of auld Lang syne, at being said it’s very obviously archaic language that ide rarely use in day ti day

[@steeltv6255]

As a native of the fine land myself I've found I have to make an active effort to speak clear English so folk from other countries can understand me, can be quite annoying sometimes

[@rossm685]

Aye agree 👌✌

[@carltomacruz9138]

Maybe if written Scots were spelled more differently, more phonetically, then it would be easier to defend it as a separate language of English.

[@willgibbons1733]

Maybe I'm being biased but I think the history of all Britain it just incredible 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@valerian8999]

I don’t see Scots as a separate language from English nor a dialect of English, I deem it a sister language of English. Related but distinct, descended from the same parental language.

[@skeep123]

Like this history

[@obengrupperfuhrerheinrichv7230]

I love watching people who don’t have the Scottish acsent speak Doric, that’s the name of the dialect. I’m from Peterhead Scotland myself, and my very English gf always laughs when I try to tone my acsent down for her.

[@markc7955]

Your were really good. Sounded a bit Scandinavian but that’s good. I stay in in Ayr where burns would hang out.

[@MaytayMaya]

"How much of these following sentences can you understand?" Me, a Scot: Bring it on pal

[@hettyscetty9785]

Does Glaswegian count as a dialect of Scots? I must know a lot more of it than I thought. Especially since I've probably studied Auld Lang Syne about five years in a row at school. I got the runner up award in p7 for learning it. Me and two other people in the class got to recite it to the head teacher. Just a thing the school used to do for Rabbie Burns night.

[@ironfyst7313]

Aye wan week eh the year ye get tae learn Scots, the rest of the year they tell you off for not speaking properly

[@Schralenberger]

Scots English is A combination Of modern English, as Well as the both the Old(Anglo Saxon) , and Middle English. The English Scots learned over the Time Peiods, they had contact with the English(and retained bits of) .Add to it a melange, of Scots Gaelic words, and a smattering of French borrow words. Loch is the Anglo Saxon Word for lake. Spelled In Anglo Saxon both as Loch, and as Logh( both pronounced as loch). Twa is the Anglo saxon Two, as in : An , Twa, Threo, Feor, Feof, Sechs, Seofon( Say-ah -Van. Intervolic O.E. F, is a pronounced as V),.

[@Argrouk]

You missed a bit about how the English forced (and punished) children in schools to speak what was termed Kings or Queens English, i.e. the accepted standard. This was done at various times in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. You also miss the heavy influence of Latin and the church in the development of the British languages.

[@ironfyst7313]

Not just the English mate, some of the worst were Scottish themselves. I still remember my R.E. teacher spend 10 mins straight trying to tell me "aye" wasn't a word in any language, Scottish or English. As a 12 year old it confused the fuck out of me hence how i still remember it as an adult. Also you get a lot of Scots "correct" you all the time when you say something in Scottish.

[@tisFrancesfault]

Tbf, the education system did it with all accents in the country.

[@vatsal7640]

That's completely. The scots were the main reason behind colonisation of ulster and northern Ireland. And scots evolved throughout the years but it was never banned as the treaty with union preserved Scottish culture and religion in return for Scotland joining England

[@redheadchickens]

please do Greece and their entire history, those would be awesome vids

[@derstoffausdemderjoghurtis]

0:07 Why is it easier to understand as a German?

[@tommy-er6hh]

Scots descends from Angle language, from a people that came from Holstein area and that migrated with their Germanic cousins, the Saxons of Hanover area, the Jutes of Jutland and a few Frisians into England and east Scotland around 400/500 ad. I guess they think modern German has a chance to do better than English at figuring the Scots language out.

[@Hurlebatte]

It's not easier. Don't be silly.

[@EloNaj]

I as a German understand English better cause I learned it how do you know you understand it better than a English person?

[@azuregriffin1116]

@@EloNaj knowledge of English and German. The scots use some Germanic words such as kennen or barn.

[@shadowthehedgehog3113]

Cause English is more Latinized than Scots.

[@MegaWunna]

If Swedish and Norwegian can be considered two languages so should English and Scots

[@lionberryofskyclan]

yep

[@sleekoduck]

You can hear a twenty first century version spoken on Plumbella's channel. She just posted something about her "mam" a few hours ago.

[@solidbanjobanjo9367]

living in britain and traveling a hell of a lot theres one thing ive come to realise about these isles, the scottish history and culture is massively based upon there hatred of the english, whereas the english seem to not even care about scotland or spend much time thinking about them

[@exiron0202]

So, I looked it up and it's totally one of those multiple acceptable pronunciations situations we run into in English, but boy the way you say "gaelic" as a homophone with "gallic" (instead of "gay lick") feels like someone scraping my teeth with sandpaper.

[@michaelhalsall5684]

A question for you. In Northern Ireland there is a version of English called "Ulster Scots", is it the same, similar to, or different to Scots as mentioned here? My understanding is that Ulster Scots was something brought into Northern Ireland during the Plantation Era.

[@samuelr007ruiz9]

As a native Spanish speaker who can understand Portuguese to a 98% in its formal form and to a 80% in a normal conversation, Scots is a language because if it weren't I'd have to say that Portuguese is not a language. There is a huge difference between Yucatec Spanish dialect, Center Chilean Spanish Dialect and Cubans Spanish Dialect to the point that sometimes it is easier to understand a person speaking in formal Portugues than someone speaking in one of those informal forms (dialects) of Spanish.

[@DianeAngelieBaldesco]

Please have a website so you can also write articles :)

[@TheSpectacledOwl]

Any chance of a future video about the Chamorro language or any of the lesser-known Pacific languages?

[@rob098890]

Auch it's fine tae see a farin loon like yer sel ta'kin a wee interest in ma local lingo

[@rob098890]

Phit likee min

[@austenkeith8891]

Fit fit fits fit fit?

[@simpson1372]

Can you make a history video for Greece?

[@Harrier_DuBois]

Anyone know the artist who made the painting at 11:30 ? Brilliant painting

[@whiteknight4393]

The painting is by John Atkinson Grimshaw and called shipping on the Clyde painted in 1881

[@Harrier_DuBois]

@@whiteknight4393 Thank you very much, have a nice day!

[@tamasmarcuis4455]

If like me you studied and used Slavic languages as part of your work, you would have no problem just accepting Scots. When I went to work in Scotland the language came as a surprise but I just studied it and tried to fit it. Other wise I would have sat with people in a pub not understanding most of what was said and waiting for someone to speak standard English with me.

[@gyalsnextman4725]

What you said at the start was very strong Scottish (Gaelic) I live in the north of England and there’s a few Scottish people who live around me and they don’t speak like that it’s very watered down but if your saying scots is hard to understand I’d like to see a (Geordie accent) video because that might be a new language just for how many words have been changed

[@MattSpoon07]

The pic at 3:09 looks like my family reunions.

[@stonedape2406]

XD

[@charmainelamont2020]

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your pronunciation of SYNE, pronouncing it with an S and not a Z as many English people do. Although some of the words in Auld Lang Syne look and mean they same as in English , the pronunciation is often different. Shid auld akwentans bee firgot, an nivir brocht* ti mynd? Shid auld akwentans bee firgot, an auld lang syn*? Chorus: Fir auld lang syne, ma jo, fir auld lang syne, wil tak a cup o kyndnes yit, fir auld lang syne. * A GH in Scots is pronounced the same as CH as in loCH. The Scots that Burns wrote in was a diluted form of the language, similar to what most people speak today. What some have described as "half n' hauf," that is, half in English and hauf n' Scots. Even today, when speaking in English, many sentences are said as they would be in Scots. For instance, people will say "I'm away to my bed" rather than "I'm going to bed." or "He's up the stairs" instead of "he's upstairs." Previous to the union with England Scots was the language of the Royal Court and the Government. The following is letter written by Queen Mary I to one of her Lords, (Mary's first language was Scots) Greit fervency, gud will, and forwartnes ye haif schawin in this zour last assembley. Thankis zow maist hertly thairof. Zour disasembling and staying of forder proceiding thairin, we cawsit to be for ane gud intent, considering our sisteris uryting, quhilk we send zow the copy thairof, wes be the same in hir gud promeses constrynit to staye zow Ze schal si farder by the instructions, bot asur zour self that ze heuue dun zourself and al our frindes ne letle honour and gud in only schauin zour forduartnes and obediens to my. Y wil nocht spel tyme in wourdes, bot Y think mi so far adet to zou that Y schal think on it al my lyf. As you can see, it is as different from English as English is from German. It has many similarities with Dutch and many words have the same meaning and pronunciation in both languages even though they may be spelt differently. When Queen Mary was still in France, her mother was the Regent ruling the country in her absence. On one occasion the English King sent a messenger to the Scottish Court. The messenger couldn't speak Scots, only English and French, while the Queen Mother couldn't speak English, only Scots and French. They had to conduct their conversation in French and as the messenger was leaving the Queen Mother gave him a message to take back t his King, "Next time, send someone who can speak the language."

[@missnorthumbria3658]

Please do a video on the Geordie dialect

[@rorycampbell7360]

A blend of; Scots Gealic, archaic english, dialect and phonetic spelling. Much like any, regional dialect. Note the similarity to the Geordie language. Bonny bairn, lass, canny . amongst others. Words, accents and phrases cross borders, be they land or sea. That gives the myriad of phrases, expressions borrowed by the English language it's colour.

[@robmcrob2091]

When James the VI of Scotland became James I of England Scots was considered a different language from English and it had a legal doric standard. James I was considered unintelligible by English courtiers and actually had to learn 'southron'. Interestingly James I also spoke Gaelic, which back then was considered the same language as Irish. Now, Scots is often considered to be a dialect of English rather than a language, while Gaelic is considered a distinct language from Irish. I personally think that if Scots was standardised it would unequivocally be a distinct language from English, but it actually exists as several different dialects. In that regard it is quite similar to allemanic German such as Swabian and Swiss. These are clearly substantially different from high German, but as they are not standardised are regarded as German dialects rather than a language.

[@JMoff322]

what is the title of the painting at 11:26?

[@whiteknight4393]

It's called Shipping on the Clyde by John Atkinson Grimshaw and painted in 1881