LL-L "Language policies" 2002.08.20 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 20.AUG.2002 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Colin Wilson <lcwilson at btinternet.com>
Subject: Language row as sheriff and accused don't see eye to aye

I hope that it's in order for me to forward a posting I received
through another list, but I thought that this might interest
readers here.

There were a number of cases of this happening in the 1990s, but
I really thought we'd left it behind.

Goodwill to all,

Colin Wilson.

>Language row as sheriff and accused don't see eye to aye
>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,171-389255,00.html
>By A Scotland Correspondent. The Times. August 20, 2002
>
>A SHERIFF has banned the use of the "Scots affirmative", aye, from his
>court.
>
>Those appearing from custody at Stirling Sheriff Court yesterday were told
>to stick to the English "yes" by Sheriff Lindsay Wood, an Arbroath
>solicitor, who sits regularly as a visiting sheriff at several courts in
>central Scotland.
>
>The order came after one accused, Ryan Seath, responded "aye" to a question
>about whether he accepted a bail condition. The sheriff told him: "Next time
>you appear in court you don't say aye, you say yes. Do you understand that?"
>A shocked looking Mr Seath, 18, who had denied vandalism and breach of the
>peace, quickly replied "yes" and was bailed to return for trial on December
>3.

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From: Colin Wilson <lcwilson at btinternet.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language policies" 2002.08.08 (02) [E]

  At 15:36 08/08/02, Ahlfeld, Ross wrote:

>1. I live in a small town in the West Lowlands of Scotland called
>Gourock, the Gaelic traditions of the Highlands have always seemed as alien to me as the dialects of Northern England. My Great Grandfather came here as an immigrant from Lower Saxony, his son(my Grandfather) spoke what I would
>call the Scots dialect. Today if I was to try and speak in this same language at work I would be both mocked and reprimanded or if a School pupil was to speak in this way he also would disciplined.

As far as the workplace is concerened, I think it depends very much
on what kind of workplace it is, and probably on where in the country
it is.

Where the work being done is primarily manual, it isn't particularly
likely that someone would be "mocked and reprimanded" for using
Scots while on the job. Things are different in the case of
non-manual work, although it's difficult to generalise here as
there could be wide differences between different kinds of workplace.

My own experience in the software industry is that I've never had
any kind of bad reaction to being heard speaking Scots on the
telephone if I get called at work. However, I wouldn't even think
of trying to use it to discuss work with colleagues, as none of them
speak it anyway. When I've made the occasional casual comment, perhaps
about it being time for coffee or somesuch, it's true that I've
been laughed at.

>With this in mind do we feel that
>"Ulster Inglis" is only being promoted artificially to counter and
>undermine the promotion of Gaelic by the Nationalist community or do we
>think that people in Ulster are descended from 16th Century Scots
>settlers and so have the right to promote this language ?

Unfortunately, it's more complicated than a simple case of "either/or"
The answer to the first question above is "yes", in the case of certain
elements in the Ulster Scots (that's what it's usually called) lobby.
The answer to the second question is also "yes".

Goodwill to all,

Colin Wilson.

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