LL-L "Language politics" 2010.08.30 (01) [EN]

[Lowlands-L List]

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*L O W L A N D S - L - 30 August 2010 - Volume 01
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>

Subject: Language politics



Hello, Lowlanders,



Last Friday afternoon I had another one of those “discussions” regarding
Scots. This one was with a self-proclaimed “pure Scotswoman” who was born
and raised in Canada and explained that her parents had still been Gaelic
speakers, and that in the Toronto area.



As is apparently common among overseas and long-time expatriate Scots, she
was not aware of current language politics in Scotland and the rest of
Europe. I explained it to her, and whenever I referred to “Scots” she would
talk about Scottish English and would sometimes even “correct” me
accordingly. I clarified that they were not considered the same. At first
she thought I was only voicing my own opinion and gave me the “What would *
you* know?” look. I explained the official position and attempted to give
her a little background information, which she dismissed by rolling her eyes
and giving me a “Balderdash!” smile. It probably meant that she did not
believe me and/or that she thought those developments are quite ridiculous.



I am not quite sure if this reaction and attitude are particularly common
among Gaelic speakers and their descendants who like to simplify the issue
as “Gaelic versus English,” because I remember a similarly dismissive
reaction from an actual Gaelic speaker from Canada. However, I have also
noticed somewhat dismissive attitudes when talking to Lowlands-born Scots
that left Scotland before the European Languages Charter became an issue.
They tended to refer to *braid Scots* as “slang” or “jargon,” implying “of
Scottish English.”


I imagine that this is particularly common among overseas Scots that, while
flaunting their Scottishness, are really not well informed about today’s
Scotland. However, I would not be surprised to find out that this attitude
still prevails in Scotland as well, at least in certain sectors of society.



I have noticed similar attitudes among overseas Germans and Netherlanders
regarding Low Saxon as a recognized language.



Can any of you share further information on this?



Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA



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