Scots

I developed an interesting pastime this afternoon. Reading the Scots language wikipedia. It’s a bizarre experience. There is disagreement over whether it is a dialect of English or a mutually intelligible language of its own. Either way it’s fun to just hear the Scottish accent in my head as I read. According to one article I read in their wikipedia, it shares about 80-90 % with standard English. It just makes me laugh and is fascinating. So perhaps in the future, I’ll think twice about something being a misspelling. Also, it gives a bit of credence to the times I’ve seen subtitles for someone apparently speaking heavily accented English in Scotland.

Also, I think it gives an insight into other places with mutually intelligible languages.

I highly recommend a brief poke around the site.

Here’s a bit from Scots leid (language)

Up tae the 15t century Scottis (modren form Scots) wis the name o Gaelic the Celtic leid o the auncient Scots, inbrocht fae Ireland aboot 500 AD). Thaim that spaeks Scots cried Gaelic Erse (meanin Irish). The Gaelic o Scotland is nou maistlie cried Scots Gaelic an is yit spoken by some in the wastren Hielands an islands. For the maist pairt Scots comes fae the Northumbrian kin o Anglo-Saxon (Auld Inglis), tho wi influence fae Norse by the wey o the Vikings, Dutch an Laich Saxon throu troke wi, an incomers fae, the laich kintras, an Romance by the wey o kirk an legal Laitin, Anglo-Norman an syne Pairisian French acause o the Auld Alliance.

Oh, and here’s the English article on the language.