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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="center">===============================================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 06 April 2010 - Volume 04<br>
<a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a><br>
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<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><br>
From: <span class="gd"><span style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">jmtait</span></span><span class="gi"> </span><span class="go"><<a href="mailto:jmtait@wirhoose.co.uk">jmtait@wirhoose.co.uk</a>></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">Subject: <span class="gi">LL-L
"Language varieties" 2010.04.03 (03) [EN]</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Andy wrote:</span><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.0866in; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">
<br>
From: Andy Eagle <<a href="mailto:andy@scots-online.org" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">andy@scots-online.org</span></a>><br>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">>Perhaps teenagers wish to identify more with popular
Anglo-American culture such as rock music in general, popular television and
cinema etc. and speaking English allies them with that. Something which is
particularly easy to do since the education system is geared to do exactly
that.<br>
<br>
>Scots, or what's left of it, certainly in urban areas, now tends to be
spoken by the 'working class'. As you say, referring some young 'working class'
people as 'neds' is now common. They are more likely to express their youth
culture through the use of what Scots they still have. Perhaps because their
culture is thought to be less sophisticated than the 'alternative' or 'indie'
influenced rock and goth etc. culture of middle class, more academically
orientated youth which is generally expressed through English. Perhaps as a
consequence the more Scots speech of the 'neds' is then considered
unsophisticated too, and then referred to as 'ned speak' <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/chewinthefat/neds/neducation.shtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/chewinthefat/neds/neducation.shtml</span></a>,
something then to be avoided if one does not want to be associated with the
'unsophisticated', further fueling the cycle that marginalises the use of Scots
in general. Will 'sophisticated' teenagers who prefer English in the in-group,
but grew up speaking Scots revert back to it once they have passed their
teenage years when they no longer feel it necessary to identify with what they
see as the sophisticated in-group? Or will they remain English speakers who've
put their unsophisticated past behind them?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
Most likely the latter, I would say. I can't think of any reason why anyone
would revert to speaking Scots under those circumstances, especially as, in
areas such as Shetland and the North East, it is rapidly ceasing to be a
community language.<br style="">
<br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">>That perhaps depends on changing such perceptions of Scots
as being somehow less sophisticated. Something that's not likely to happen soon
since some involved in promoting Scots, as you say, seem to think that the
language should stay at a less than disreputable level.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Yes. My head is unable to
accomodate the contradiction of promoting Scots with one hand and trying to
maintain its down-town connotations on the other.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">>>most Scots don't have a concept of 'Scots' at all, and
simply react against people speaking in a down-town or inappropriate manner.
This view has been reinforced by the postmodern era in education where the
traditional teaching of Scots verse - usually Burns -<br>
all but disappeared in the 60s or 70s, with the result that the succeeding<br>
generations are mostly completely unaware of it.<br>
<br>
>Perhaps that's the result of most educational decision makers no longer
being Scots speakers themselves. Scots verse or literature of any kind is no
longer part of their culture so its not something that would occur to them to
teach.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And therefore they not only
have no concept of it, but no idea of what it is, sounds like, or looks like.
So practically anything - 'Many mickle make a mackle' - can be
represented as 'Scots.'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">>Public displays of Scots are perhaps only acceptable if they
fulfil at least one of the following requirements.<br>
<br>
1. It has to be humourous<br>
2. It has to rhyme<br>
3. Best if both 1 and 2<br>
<br>
'Dunna Chuck Bruck' is a perfect example, it fulfils 1 by fulfilling 2. I bet
if a purely transactional and wholly Shetland phrase for 'Please don't litter'
was used it would have met with derision. Non Shetland and non standard English
or informal chuck likely having been chosen because of its humourous
connotations and because it rhymes with bruck.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br style="">
<br style="">
<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, as you can see, it met
with derision in some quarters anyway!<br>
<br>
John M. Tait.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;" lang="DE"><br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial;" lang="DE"><br>
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