CommonSpace columnist Gary Elliot says the Scots language should be a source ay pride an it’s time fur a bigger conversation aboot its future
AH huv tae say ah wis gled tae see Tha National’s Scots front page . Et first ah thocht it wis juist some numpty takin the micky but then ah saw that it wis real.
Efter feeling gled the nixt hing that ah thocht wis, “wullnae be long fur the cringe tae be oot in force noo” (an ah tweeted as much). Shair enough a shower ay loons and yoons were shin oan the case an the disparaging wis in fou spate.
The hing is this though, ah kent it wis comin and ah’m shair maist folk that hae ony interest or support fur Scots wid ken it wis comin an aw. Should we be fashed aboot that? Coorse no! It’s iyways gaunnae happen (especially in the post indyref period) but that shouldnae make us loass focus fae yin ay the main hings that we need tae dae if Scots is tae survive an dae weel. And that is tae normalise the language.
Noo, furra wheen ay folk, Scots is normalised areddy in that they speak it an hear it aw the time. Whaur it isnae normalised is in seein it written doon and bein yist tae readin it.
We huv tae be gallus in pushin furret wae it, even in the face ay push back fae the cringe.
The mair folk see that, get yist tae and their confidence grows, the mair that becomes normal, an hopefully we’ll see an ongoing strength in the leid. Hing is, we ken that areddy but we huv tae be gallus in pushin furret wae it, even in the face ay push back fae the cringe.
Yin ay the areas whaur there is a richt weakness is in radio an telly. Et the hin’enn ay last year ah wis fair scunnert listenin tae some ay the talk aboot mibbe haein a new Scottish Digital telly channel.
No that that isnae a guid hing in itsel, but aw the emphasis wis oan the fact that it should be an English language channel (in comparison tae BBC Alba). Noo, ah’ll nail mah colours tae the mast aboot this. If ah hud mah wiy in an ideal world (in which Scotland would be independent, a coorse) we wid hae three dedicated channels – yin each fur Gaidhlig, English and Scots.
Bein realistic though, it isnae an ideal world an talk ay a Scottish digital channel is still juist that – talk. The chances ay huvin three channels is even further awa. Hooever, that shouldnae stoap us fae bein gallus aboot whit we wahnt fur Scots.
It’s mibbe faur fetched tae hink the money is there fur a dedicated Scots language channel oan it’s ain, but if there is tae be a new digital channel fur Scotland then as faur as ah’m concerned whit we should be lobbyin fur is a hard an fast commitment fur dedicated Scots language programming as pairt ay that.
If ah hud mah wiy in an ideal world (in which Scotland would be independent, a coorse) we wid hae three dedicated channels – yin each fur Gaidhlig, English and Scots.
Efter aw, we’re talkin aboot a language that has aroon 1.6 million speakers accordin tae the last census. An if we wur gaunnae lobby fur that type ay commitment then the ither hing we need tae be clear aboot is whit we wid actually wahnt fae it.
Cos lets face it, although there hiv been some braw programmes in the past aboot Scots, it’s time tae move by that (and programmes wi celebrities tellin us whit their favourite Scots words ur) and make shair that we’re aiming fur the fou range ay programme’s in Scots – wae nae apology ur explanation needit.
News, current affairs, drama, documentaries, weans programmes, sport. In Scots for Scots speakers. We should be yaisin the strengths ay the language an aw. Hink ay the effect that an interviewer wid hay questionin a Politeecin in Scots? Hauf the country wid be sittin at the end hinking, “Aye,that’s you telt”.
Mibbe it widnae dae ony herm for politeecians tae gie as guid as they get in Scots an aw – it micht win some folk a few mair votes! (An it micht lee some gey affrontit when they didnae ken whit wis bein asked ay them).
Hink ay the effect that an interviewer wid hay questionin a Politeecin in Scots? Hauf the country wid be sittin at the end hinking, “Aye,that’s you telt”.
It also means acceptin, emphasisin and showcasin aw the Scots dialects. The worst hing that could happen would be tae be guilty ay lapsin intae a west/central bias when we’ve a rich range across Scotland that could be drawn fae.
Hoo’s aboot a soap fae Dundee or mibbe a drama in Scots based in the borders? Yince ye stert tae hink aboot it, ye realise the range ay possibilities that ur there.
In a similar wiy it should also mean bein careful aboot register – this shouldnae mean everyhin in high register Scots that a wheen ay folk micht finn aleinating. Dae that, aye, but an aw we should pitch hings at a register folk can recognise and identify wi – because it’s their ain.
Also, make it guid. There’s nae pynt in haein this kind ay opportunity (if it ever did arise) an then producin crap programmes. Set oot tae make a statement, mibbe even decide on a flag ship programme and work tae the highest standards. A guid example wid be Eorpa.
An it’s worth haein mind that because we dae huv BBC Alba the noo there’s areddy experience in the country in terms ay buildin language specific broadcastin. Whit a dedicated channel wae a Scots commitment wid also dae wid be tae help build the capacity in the sector oweraw.
No juist in the technical side ay hings but also in terms ay needin presenters, journalists, actors – aw the airts. Gaidhlig broadcastin has gein a wheen ay Gaels – that micht never huv hud that type ay opportunity afore – the chance fur a career in the media. Scots broadcastin wid dae the same, but fur a different group ay folk.
Hoo’s aboot a soap fae Dundee or mibbe a drama in Scots based in the borders? Yince ye stert tae hink aboot it, ye realise the range ay possibilities that ur there.
So, weel done tae the National an weel done tae Bella Caledonia fur their Scots content an aw (dinnae fash ah’ll try an get an article in Scots tae youse tae). But let’s no rest oan oor laurels. Let’s be gallus an keep up the push tae normalise the language across the media an across life in Scotland.
That means getting a presence in yin ay the maist powerful mediums ay them aw, the telly. But let’s tak tent an aw. In the first place, if ye dinnae ask ye dinnae get. But let’s no be dippit, gettin yon kind ay commitment will take some amount ay lobbyin.
But efter a week whaur the BBC’s cultural output in Scotland wis cried “lamentable” in oor ain parliament, we’ve got a richt tae be demandin aboot it.
Picture courtesy of duncan c