LL-L: "Standardization" LOWLANDS-L, 30.AUG.2000 (06) [S]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Standardization"

Andy wrate:

> An monie latinate wirds wi -y.  For tae be conseestant A juist
decidit
> on -ie. Tae me 'mair' Scots nor the English -y.  A purely
'ideological'
> deceesion.
> A'm aye still sweir tae uise -ie in latinate vocabular, but A wadna
denee
> that A whiles micht dae.
>
> Yer airgiement that -ie scomfishes monie fowk is certies a guid ane,
an A
> canna denee that.

A can, houever, poor a bittie mair watter ower the -ie airgument an
stap a bittie mair kinnlin on the -y!

Ti start wi, A wad say that the "consistency" airgument is nae
airgument, for that altho consistency is a guid idea, it could gae aither road
- ye could decide ti write aither aa -ie or aa -y.

You say that yer decision ti wale -ie is "purely ideological". Against
this ideological decision A'd like ti pit some purely _practical_ pynts.

1. The'r the airgument A pit forrit afore, that A winna repeat here.

2. Ae airgument that's aften pit forrit in favour o "illogical" English
orthography is the fack that beuks in English is up ti 15% bigger than
needs be wi hou the'r that mony gaist letters a body could ding. In fack this
is aften agreed as the strongest airgument against current English
orthography, wi it bein that doutsomeless a measurement. Hivin ti write the
fower letters o "onie" insteed o the three letters o "ony" micht seem a smaa
pynt if ye'r juist leukin at thae things a wird at a time. It micht seem fine
at a time whan the only reglar printit Scots is a thrice-yearly Lallans
magazine an twathree ither the like. But that's no the future we hae in mind
for the langage, is it? What aboot a future whan Scots is written an published
on a national scale? What aboot me, a writer an online publisher typin oot
hunders o thoosands o words a year? Div ye think A'm awa ti type oot a extrae
hunder thoosand "e"s for the sake o a tentatively-held ideology? A hiv ti tak
plenty preventative measures for RSI as it is! Div ye think thae future
writers, typesetters, journalists an publishers is gaun ti thank ye for this?

3. A smaaer pynt o pure orthography is the readability o certain words.
A'v seen efforts like "corbiein", "mairiein" an "cairiein" that's a lot
haurder ti baith read an type richt than the mair mensefu corbyin, mairyin an
cairyin. For shuir this  could be sortit bi gaun wi the English rule -
"carried" but "carrying" &c. But some seems that set on bein "Scots",
they'll no dae it!

4. At the last, the'r the question o is the "ideology" o -ie bein "mair
Scots", as ye say, raelly mair Scots? The'r different weys o bein Scots. Is it
mair Scots ti lat yersel be dunched in the ruch direction a
irraiglar spellin tradition seems ti be pyntin, or is it mair Scots ti set
furth a orthography thats kenspeckle ti native Scots spaekers (gaun back ti
pynt 1 again), that'll mak the production processes o the written langage mair
efficient?

Hivin says aa that, ye wull see some -ie endins in ma writin! A uise it
for diminutives (originally suggestit ti me bi John, but as ye ken, gey
uisual in written tradition). It disna seem unraesonable ti me for a important
inflection o the langage ti hae a distinguishin grapheme, even if it is a
bittie less efficient - espeecially seein the "natives" likes it fine! A think
a certain amoont o representation o the actual structur o a langage micht even
mak it mair readable, or at laest help folk ti lift some o the structur o the
langage as they'r lairnin ti read an write.

A wad like ti see thon jottins ye made the time ye wis gaun inti this,
Andy - it's as weel ti ken aa the sides o the airgument!

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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