In 1999, Scotland got its own parliament, albeit with limited powers, for the first time since 1707.
The Scottish Government is currently the Scottish National Party - who wish Scotland to secede from the Union, but polls show that the majority of Scots wish to remain in the UK - who have been in power since 2007, but they are only a minority government.
The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood in Scotland's capital Edinburgh opened in 2004. Not only is this ugly building a bit of an eyesore (especially compared to that magnificent Victorian Palace of Westminster on the banks of the Thames in London which houses the parliament of the whole of the UK), the Scottish Parliament Buildings was also more expensive than originally envisaged - its final cost of £414 million is many times higher than initial estimate of £40 million.
Now, taxpayers are up in arms again over a new internet handbook produced by the Scottish Parliament which uses the Scots dialect.
There is a disagreement in Britain over whether Scots is just a dialect or whether it is an actual language, though it is one of Britain's seven official languages (along with English, Cornish, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Ulster Scots). If it is an actual language then it would be the most closely related language to English as English-speakers find Scots very intelligible.
The handbook is part of an £800,000 overhaul of the Scottish Parliament’s website, designed to make it ‘more accessible to people whose first language is not English’.
And it looks as though Rab C Nesbitt, the drunken, jobless Scotsman in the BBC comedy series of the 1990s, has been writing his own manifesto.
Visitors on the Scottish dialect section of the website are met with the message: ‘Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite.’
It declares: ‘Ye hae mony weys tae mak yir views kent [known] whan ye hae strang feelins aboot issues. This leaflet will help ye finn oot mair aboot the Pairlament and weys tae involve yirsel in its wark.’
It continues: ‘Ye can cam and veesit the exhibition, tak a guidit tour or hae a shot at the bairns [children’s] quiz.’ It also explains that the Scottish Parliament ‘maks laws and taks decisions that affects mony aspects o yir life . . . devolvit [devolved] maitters. Thon [that] includes: Fermin, forestry and fishin; schuils and skeels; hoosin; sport and the erts.’
Scots is based on Anglo-Saxon English, though with its own dialect, mixed with French, German, Dutch and Gaelic, Scotland’s official ‘native’ language.
It was once commonly spoken in Scotland but fell out of fashion when Scotland merged with England in 1707.
Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite: The internet guide to Holyrood translated into 'Rab C Nesbitt' dialect
By Simon Walters
15th November 2009
Daily Mail
The guide describes Alex Salmond as the 'first meenister'
To a handful of proud Scots, it is a valuable guide to Scottish politics, using the language of their forefathers before the country was taken over by Sassenachs who forced them to speak the Queen’s English.
But to English sceptics it may sound as though Rab C Nesbitt actor Gregor Fisher, who played the shambolic Glaswegian alcoholic in the Nineties television sitcom, has been given a taxpayers’ grant to write his own political manifesto.
The Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood cost ten times more than originally thought when it opened in 2004
A row erupted last night over public funds spent on the new internet handbook produced by the Scottish Parliament which uses the little-used Scots dialect.
Scholars disagree whether Scots is a genuine dialect or a language – and some claim only a ‘few thousand’ Scots speak it properly.
Yet anyone reading sections of the Scottish Parliament’s website would be forgiven for thinking that no one in Scotland speaks English any more.
The website even offers an option to translate content into Scots – and a bizarre apology that Holyrood staff cannot yet deal with calls from members of the public in Scots.
The handbook is part of an £800,000 overhaul of the Scottish Parliament’s website, designed to make it ‘more accessible to people whose first language is not English’.
Visitors on the Scottish dialect section of the website are met with the message: ‘Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite.’
That's easy for you to say: A page from the guide, written in Scots dialect
They are then directed to a guide on the workings of Holyrood, translated into the Scots dialect, which includes a reference to First Minister Alex Salmond as the ‘First Meenister’.
It declares: ‘Ye hae mony weys tae mak yir views kent [known] whan ye hae strang feelins aboot issues. This leaflet will help ye finn oot mair aboot the Pairlament and weys tae involve yirsel in its wark.’
It continues: ‘Ye can cam and veesit the exhibition, tak a guidit tour or hae a shot at the bairns [children’s] quiz.’ It also explains that the Scottish Parliament ‘maks laws and taks decisions that affects mony aspects o yir life . . . devolvit [devolved] maitters. Thon [that] includes: Fermin, forestry and fishin; schuils and skeels; hoosin; sport and the erts.’
The Scottish Parliament is ‘made up o 129 Memmers o the Scottish Pairlament the people o Scotland hes electit, hes the pouer tae re-set income tax up or doon by up tae 3 pence in the pund and hauds the Scottish Government tae accoont.
Enlarge
The site allows text to be translated from English to traditional Scots
‘It owresees sindry public bodies and maks decisions aboot public spendin. Ilkane [everyone] is representit by 8 MSPs; yin [one] for the constituency they bide in and 7 for the braider [broader] region.’
The 12-page guide lists the regions of Scotland, including ‘Hielands and Isles; the Nor east; Glesga and Sooth o Scotland’.
The Scots resemblance to English is no coincidence: it is based on Anglo-Saxon English, though with its own dialect, mixed with French, German, Dutch and Gaelic, Scotland’s official ‘native’ language. As a dialect, Scots went out of fashion after Scotland merged with England in 1707.
The language resembles that used by actor Gregor Fisher for his drunken Glaswegian character in the Nineties BBC sitcom "Rab C Nesbitt"
The ruling class took English elocution lessons and Scots – sometimes referred to as ‘Lallans’ or ‘Scottis’ – continued mainly among the working classes, which may be why some call it slang.
By the Forties, Scotland’s own Education Department said Scots was ‘not the language of educated people anywhere’.
However, following the recent revival in Scottish nationalism, it has made a modest comeback, with some teachers in Scotland encouraging schoolchildren to write ‘as it sounds in your head’ – as opposed to standard English.
The Scottish Nationalist-led Scottish Executive says official government literature in Scots is needed to ‘prevent discrimination’.
It has spent millions of pounds promoting Gaelic, the ancient Scottish language descended from Old Irish.
A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: ‘For historical and cultural reasons, we recognise the use of Scots.’
But Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman and MSP Liz Smith said: ‘This is a language spoken by a few thousand people at most.
When budgets are tight, I would question why public money is being spent on promoting the Scots language when more funds are needed in classrooms across the country.
‘I can understand the need to preserve the Gaelic language – but, sadly, this seems like another exercise to keep the PC lobby happy.’
dailymail.co.uk
The Scottish Government is currently the Scottish National Party - who wish Scotland to secede from the Union, but polls show that the majority of Scots wish to remain in the UK - who have been in power since 2007, but they are only a minority government.
The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood in Scotland's capital Edinburgh opened in 2004. Not only is this ugly building a bit of an eyesore (especially compared to that magnificent Victorian Palace of Westminster on the banks of the Thames in London which houses the parliament of the whole of the UK), the Scottish Parliament Buildings was also more expensive than originally envisaged - its final cost of £414 million is many times higher than initial estimate of £40 million.
Now, taxpayers are up in arms again over a new internet handbook produced by the Scottish Parliament which uses the Scots dialect.
There is a disagreement in Britain over whether Scots is just a dialect or whether it is an actual language, though it is one of Britain's seven official languages (along with English, Cornish, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Ulster Scots). If it is an actual language then it would be the most closely related language to English as English-speakers find Scots very intelligible.
The handbook is part of an £800,000 overhaul of the Scottish Parliament’s website, designed to make it ‘more accessible to people whose first language is not English’.
And it looks as though Rab C Nesbitt, the drunken, jobless Scotsman in the BBC comedy series of the 1990s, has been writing his own manifesto.
Visitors on the Scottish dialect section of the website are met with the message: ‘Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite.’
It declares: ‘Ye hae mony weys tae mak yir views kent [known] whan ye hae strang feelins aboot issues. This leaflet will help ye finn oot mair aboot the Pairlament and weys tae involve yirsel in its wark.’
It continues: ‘Ye can cam and veesit the exhibition, tak a guidit tour or hae a shot at the bairns [children’s] quiz.’ It also explains that the Scottish Parliament ‘maks laws and taks decisions that affects mony aspects o yir life . . . devolvit [devolved] maitters. Thon [that] includes: Fermin, forestry and fishin; schuils and skeels; hoosin; sport and the erts.’
Scots is based on Anglo-Saxon English, though with its own dialect, mixed with French, German, Dutch and Gaelic, Scotland’s official ‘native’ language.
It was once commonly spoken in Scotland but fell out of fashion when Scotland merged with England in 1707.
Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite: The internet guide to Holyrood translated into 'Rab C Nesbitt' dialect
By Simon Walters
15th November 2009
Daily Mail
The guide describes Alex Salmond as the 'first meenister'
To a handful of proud Scots, it is a valuable guide to Scottish politics, using the language of their forefathers before the country was taken over by Sassenachs who forced them to speak the Queen’s English.
But to English sceptics it may sound as though Rab C Nesbitt actor Gregor Fisher, who played the shambolic Glaswegian alcoholic in the Nineties television sitcom, has been given a taxpayers’ grant to write his own political manifesto.
The Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood cost ten times more than originally thought when it opened in 2004
A row erupted last night over public funds spent on the new internet handbook produced by the Scottish Parliament which uses the little-used Scots dialect.
Scholars disagree whether Scots is a genuine dialect or a language – and some claim only a ‘few thousand’ Scots speak it properly.
Yet anyone reading sections of the Scottish Parliament’s website would be forgiven for thinking that no one in Scotland speaks English any more.
The website even offers an option to translate content into Scots – and a bizarre apology that Holyrood staff cannot yet deal with calls from members of the public in Scots.
The handbook is part of an £800,000 overhaul of the Scottish Parliament’s website, designed to make it ‘more accessible to people whose first language is not English’.
Visitors on the Scottish dialect section of the website are met with the message: ‘Walcome tae the Scottish Pairlament wabsite.’
That's easy for you to say: A page from the guide, written in Scots dialect
They are then directed to a guide on the workings of Holyrood, translated into the Scots dialect, which includes a reference to First Minister Alex Salmond as the ‘First Meenister’.
It declares: ‘Ye hae mony weys tae mak yir views kent [known] whan ye hae strang feelins aboot issues. This leaflet will help ye finn oot mair aboot the Pairlament and weys tae involve yirsel in its wark.’
It continues: ‘Ye can cam and veesit the exhibition, tak a guidit tour or hae a shot at the bairns [children’s] quiz.’ It also explains that the Scottish Parliament ‘maks laws and taks decisions that affects mony aspects o yir life . . . devolvit [devolved] maitters. Thon [that] includes: Fermin, forestry and fishin; schuils and skeels; hoosin; sport and the erts.’
The Scottish Parliament is ‘made up o 129 Memmers o the Scottish Pairlament the people o Scotland hes electit, hes the pouer tae re-set income tax up or doon by up tae 3 pence in the pund and hauds the Scottish Government tae accoont.
Enlarge
The site allows text to be translated from English to traditional Scots
‘It owresees sindry public bodies and maks decisions aboot public spendin. Ilkane [everyone] is representit by 8 MSPs; yin [one] for the constituency they bide in and 7 for the braider [broader] region.’
The 12-page guide lists the regions of Scotland, including ‘Hielands and Isles; the Nor east; Glesga and Sooth o Scotland’.
The Scots resemblance to English is no coincidence: it is based on Anglo-Saxon English, though with its own dialect, mixed with French, German, Dutch and Gaelic, Scotland’s official ‘native’ language. As a dialect, Scots went out of fashion after Scotland merged with England in 1707.
The language resembles that used by actor Gregor Fisher for his drunken Glaswegian character in the Nineties BBC sitcom "Rab C Nesbitt"
The ruling class took English elocution lessons and Scots – sometimes referred to as ‘Lallans’ or ‘Scottis’ – continued mainly among the working classes, which may be why some call it slang.
By the Forties, Scotland’s own Education Department said Scots was ‘not the language of educated people anywhere’.
However, following the recent revival in Scottish nationalism, it has made a modest comeback, with some teachers in Scotland encouraging schoolchildren to write ‘as it sounds in your head’ – as opposed to standard English.
The Scottish Nationalist-led Scottish Executive says official government literature in Scots is needed to ‘prevent discrimination’.
It has spent millions of pounds promoting Gaelic, the ancient Scottish language descended from Old Irish.
A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: ‘For historical and cultural reasons, we recognise the use of Scots.’
But Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman and MSP Liz Smith said: ‘This is a language spoken by a few thousand people at most.
When budgets are tight, I would question why public money is being spent on promoting the Scots language when more funds are needed in classrooms across the country.
‘I can understand the need to preserve the Gaelic language – but, sadly, this seems like another exercise to keep the PC lobby happy.’
dailymail.co.uk
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