SQA Subject Blog - Scottish Studies and Scots Language BlogScientists at Dartmouth University have developed software to aid the study of pronunciation across different regions. The DARLA project is a speech-to-text software development which makes distinctions between pronunciations across different dialects.
Using this software, it should be possible to build up an accurate picture of the ways in which pronunciation varies across regions. Theoretically, it should be possible to …
Elaine Snell and I were at the very enjoyable Scotland in Focus event organised by the ASLS on Saturday November 7th, where an impressive group of speakers provided plenty of food for thought for teachers of Scottish Studies courses.
Shortly afterwards we learned the welcome news that the Scottish government’s Minister for Scotland’s Languages, Dr Alasdair Allan, had announced funding (£40,000) for ASLS to support their resources and provision of CPD for teachers of Scottish literature and Scottish Studies.
On a more mundane note, from March 2016 we shall be carrying out visiting verification for Scottish Studies instead of central verification. We hope it will also provide more useful support for Centres.
Finally, there are still places left …
There are a whole host of websites and publications which you can use for inspiration and guidance on Scots. It would be impossible to compile a complete list of each and every article or text which could be useful, but we’ve assembled a few of the highlights here to get you started. These are all worthy of your time and attention, and if you have the opportunity to read them through we’d highly recommend it. For those who are interested in a particular area however, we’ve grouped them loosely into the Units.
This list is meant purely as a starting point for students who may not know much about the Scots Language, and should not be taken as a list of prescribed texts or sources for the Award. Please be aware that this isn’t an exhaustive list, and that the sources may be valuable for more than one area of study.
Understanding and Communicating Unit:
The Dictionary of the Scots Language (http://www.dsl.ac.uk/) is a good starting point for any words or phrases you may not recognise. Its comprehensive definitions also provide a good deal of information about etymologies.
The Scottish Language Dictionaries run a comprehensive dictionary of Scots, and are also happy to answer queries on certain words and phrases. They can also visit schools by arrangement.
Itchy Coo (www.itchy-coo.com) have a range of publications in Scots for readers of different abilities.
The Corpus of Modern Scots Writing (http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/cmsw/) and the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech (http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/) are a huge database of texts in different Scots styles.
The Historical Thesaurus of Scots (http://scotsthesaurus.org/) a comprehensive list of Scots words through the ages, with an interactive interface. Words are grouped by categories, allowing readers to explore evolutions and variations of different words. At present, the categories for sports & games, and weather have been completed, with food & drink in the works.
History and Development Unit:
Billy Kay: The Mither Tongue provides an analysis of the formation and development of the Scots Language.
Derrick McClure, Why Scots Matters looks into the factors which impacted the development of Scots.
The Edinburgh Companion to Scots, (Eds. John Corbett, J. Derrick McClure, Jane Stuart-Smith) is a collection of essays which explore the development of Scots.
Languages of Scotland, (Eds. A J Aitken and Tom McArthur) explores the place of the Scots Language in relation to Gaelic and Scottish Standard English.
David Murison, The Guid Scots Tongue is a study of the language which contains good exemplification.
A Scots-Polish Lexicon / Leksykon szkocko-polski (Compiled by Kasia Michalska) allows for direct comparisons between Scots and Polish.
The following guides to grammar are invaluable for information on Scots linguistic features:
Christine Robinson, Modren Scots Grammar
John Corbett & Christian Kay, Understanding Grammar in Scotland Today
Susan Rennie & Matthew Fitt, Grammar Broonie
John Corbett, Language and Scottish Literature
David Purves, A Scots Grammar
Both Units:
The Scots Language Centre (http://www.scotslanguage.com/) is filled with useful resources for teachers and learners alike.
The Essential Scots Dictionary (Eds. Iseabail MacLeod & Pauline Cairns) has information on the development of Scots, as well as detailed definitions of Scots words.
Education Scotland’s Scots Language Blether (http://bit.ly/scotsblether) is a thriving community for education professionals and Scots Language experts to share ideas and materials.
If there are any other sources you rely on …
A recent seminar addressed some of the problems faced by minority language teaching across Europe. The “Open Education in Minority Languages: Chances and Perspectices” looked at open learning techniques which have proved beneficial to some of the continent’s flourishing minority languages. You can view the LangOER project blog here which provides a summary of the seminars and their findings.
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