Among the topics treated in this collection are the status of Scots as a national language; the orthography of Scots; the actual and potential degree of standardisation of Scots; the debt of the vocabulary of Scots to Gaelic; the use of Scots in fictional dialogue; and the development of Scots as a poetic medium in the modern period. All fourteen articles, written and published between 1979 and 1988, have been extensively revised and updated. J. Derrick McClure is a senior lecturer in the English Department at Aberdeen University and a well-known authority on the history of Scots.
The skillful use of the Scots language has long been a distinguishing feature of the literatures of Scotland. The essays in this volume make a major contribution to our understanding of the Scots language, past and present, and its written dissemination in poetry, fiction and drama, and in non-literary texts, such as personal letters. They cover aspects of the development of a national literature in the Scots language, and they also give due weight to its international dimension by focusing on translations into Scots from languages as diverse as Greek, Latin and Chinese, and by considering the spread of written Scots to Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Australia. Many of the essays respond to and extend the scholarship of J. Derrick McClure, whose considerable impact on Scottish literary and linguistic studies is surveyed and assessed in this volume.
The skillful use of the Scots language has long been a distinguishing feature of the literatures of Scotland. The essays in this volume make a major contribution to our understanding of the Scots language, past and present, and its written dissemination in poetry, fiction and drama, and in non-literary texts, such as personal letters. They cover aspects of the development of a national literature in the Scots language, and they also give due weight to its international dimension by focusing on translations into Scots from languages as diverse as Greek, Latin and Chinese, and by considering the spread of written Scots to Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Australia. Many of the essays respond to and extend the scholarship of J. Derrick McClure, whose considerable impact on Scottish literary and linguistic studies is surveyed and assessed in this volume.
Scots: The Mither Tongue is a classic of contemporary Scottish culture and essential reading for those who care about their country's identity in the twenty-first century. It is a passionately written history of how the Scots have come to speak the way they do and has acted as a catalyst for radical changes in attitude towards the language. In this completely revised edition, Kay vigorously renews the social, cultural and political debate on Scotland's linguistic future, and argues convincingly for the necessity to retain and extend Scots if the nation is to hold on to its intrinsic values. Kay places Scots in an international context, comparing and contrasting it with other lesser-used European languages, while at home questioning the Scottish Executive's desire to pay anything more than lip service to this crucial part of our national identity. Language is central to people's existence, and this vivid account celebrates the survival of Scots in its various dialects, its literature and song. The mither tongue is a national treasure that thrives in many parts of the country and underpins the speech of everyone who calls themselves a Scot.
This collection of essays explores the role played by imaginative writing in the Scottish Enlightenment and its interaction with the values and activities of that movement. Across a broad range of areas via specially commissioned essays by experts in each field, the volume examines the reciprocal traffic between the groundbreaking intellectual project of eighteenth-century Scotland and the imaginative literature of the period, demonstrating that the innovations made by the Scottish literati laid the foundations for developments in imaginative writing in Scotland and further afield. In doing so, it provide a context for the widespread revaluation of the literary culture of the Scottish Enlightenment and the part that culture played in the project of Enlightenment.
First published in 1985, the new edition of the Concise Scots Dictionary has been revised throughout to reflect modern Scots usage, alongside extensive coverage of older Scots. Combining accessible style, clear layout and a durable hardback format, this is a user-friendly and robust dictionary that you can turn to for reference and enjoyment.
The nineteenth century is often read as a time of retreat and diffusion in Scottish literature under the overwhelming influence of British identity. Scotland and the 19th-Century World presents Scottish literature as altogether more dynamic, with narratives of Scottish identity working beyond the merely imperial. This collection of essays by leading international scholars highlights Scottish literary intersections with North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. James Macpherson, Francis Jeffrey, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and John Davidson feature alongside other major literary and cultural figures in this groundbreaking volume.
The Times top ten bestseller Granta Best of Young British Novelists Scots Book o the Year Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award & Betty Trask Award ‘Trainspotting for a new generation’ – Independent ‘An instant Scottish classic’ – The Skinny 2005. Glasgow is named Europe’s Murder Capital, driven by a violent territorial gang and knife culture. In the housing schemes of adjacent Lanarkshire, Scotland’s former industrial heartland, wee boys become postcode warriors. 2004. Azzy Williams joins the Young Team [YTP]. A brutal gang conflict with their deadly rivals, the Young Toi [YTB] begins. 2012. Azzy dreams of another life. He faces his toughest fight of all – the fight for a different future. Expect Buckfast. Expect bravado. Expect street philosophy. Expect rave culture. Expect anxiety. Expect addiction. Expect a serious facial injury every six hours. Expect murder. Hope for a way out. Inspired by the experiences of its author, Graeme Armstrong, The Young Team is an energetic novel, full of the loyalty, laughs, mischief, boredom, violence and threat of life on these streets. It looks beyond the tabloid stereotypes to tell a powerful story about the realities of life for young people in Britain today. ‘A swaggering, incendiary debut’ – Guardian ‘Dialect that fizzes off the page’ – Observer ‘One of the most admired young voices in British fiction’ – The Times
