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scotslanguage.bsky.social
Scots Language Centre
@scotslanguage.bsky.social
260 followers 13 following 28 posts
Email info@scotslanguage.com for enquiries or to let us know about your work with Scots!

https://www.scotslanguage.com/

Scots Language Resource Centre Ltd is a Scottish Charity, SCO21747, regulated by the Scottish Charities Register (OSCR)
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Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
“The late David Kaye recalled hearing a snatch of conversation on the street in the Gorbals … in the 1950s. In response to a neighbour’s question, Ach, are you weel?, came the response: Oy, vay’z mir, ich hob ayn gey sair heid”
—via @scotslanguage.bsky.social
www.scotslanguage.com/articles/nod...
Scotslanguage.com - Scots-Yiddish: A Dialect Re-imagined
The Jewish immigrants from Tsarist Russia and Eastern Europe brought to every city in which they settled a mother language, the mamaloshen, known as Yiddish, along with Hebrew, their language of relig...
www.scotslanguage.com
June 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
Oh ye, wha in your oors o ease, ‍‍
‍‍Are fashed wi golochs, mauks, an flees,
Fell stingin wasps an bumble bees,
Tak tent o this:
There’s ae sma pest that’s waur nor these
To mar your bliss…

—W.R. Darling, “The Pest”
Oor Mither Tongue: An Anthology of Scots Vernacular Verse (Alexander Gardner, 1937)
The Pest W. R. Darling Oh ye, wha in your oors o ease, ‍‍ ‍‍Are fashed wi golochs, mauks, an flees, Fell stingin wasps an bumble bees, Tak tent o this: There’s ae sma pest that’s waur nor these To mar your bliss. They hing ower hedges, burns, an wuds, ‍‍ ‍‍An dance at een in dusky cluds; Wi aw your random skelps an scuds, They’re naeweys worrit: Gin there’s a hole in aw your duds, They’ll mak straucht for it. I’ve traivled wast, I’ve traivled east; ‍‍ ‍‍‍I’m weel aquaint wi mony a beast; Wi lions, teegers, bears – at least I’ve kent their claw: I’ve been the fell mosquito’s feast – But this cowes aw. Auld Scotland, on thy bonnie face, ‍‍ ‍‍Whan Mither Nature gied ye grace, Lown, birken glens an floery braes, Wild windy ridges, To save ye frae deleerit praise, She gied ye midges.
June 29, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
We were oot for oor usual dauner roond the toun, Tam and me, and had stopped for a pech at the tap o the hill, whaur they’re plannin tae build eichty new hooses if naebody objects, and probably even if they dae …

—James Robertson, “Bible Talk”
#FlashFiction
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2008/05/bibl...
‘Bible Talk’ By James Robertson We were oot for oor usual dauner roond the toun, Tam and me, and had stopped for a pech at the tap o the hill, whaur they’re plannin tae build eichty new hooses if naebody objects, and probably even if they dae. We had got ontae the Bible, some wey or ither. “In anither thirty year,” Tam said, “maist folk willna ken the Bible. No like we dae. Naebody’ll ken the language, the stories, the allusions. I honestly dinna ken hoo they’ll mak sense o the warld. Literature, for instance. Hoo can ye read literature if ye dinna get aw thae allusions? No that I’m religious masel, ye ken that. I canna mind the last time I set fit in a kirk if it wisna for somebody deid or gettin mairrit. Why else wid ye thole a minister deavin ye wi his nonsense? “But the Bible, it’s second nature tae the likes o us. Ye say, ‘the prodigal son’, or ‘water into wine’, or ‘David and Goliath’, and we aw ken exackly whaur ye’re comin fae. Ye mention the road tae Damascus, or Daniel in the lions’ den, or turnin intae a pillar o salt, and we get the reference. ‘Consider the lilies’, ‘I shall lift up mine eyes to the hills’, ‘let this cup pass from me’. Ye hear whit I’m sayin? It’s in oor banes, man.” Below us the toun swithered in the heat. A scooter bizzed up the brae like a wasp. There wis claes hingin on lines, cooncil mowers cuttin the gress, folk gaun their messages. “Tam,” I said, “ye’re haiverin. Nane o them doon there’s considerin the lilies or liftin their eyes tae the hills. They hivna got the time.” He looked at me as if I wis an eejit. “Christ,” he said, “ye hivna heard a word I’ve said, hiv ye?”
June 29, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
dailyrecord.co.uk
These favourite words from the Scots language include everything from 'moger' to 'skelf'.
The best Scots words that are on the decline according to Scottish people
www.dailyrecord.co.uk
June 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
Afro-Scottish Poetry Event 2025
25 July, Glasgow. Tickets £0–£10

A multicultural evening of poetry, music, & storytelling that celebrates African & Scottish identities through powerful performances. Created & curated by Chisom Okoronkwo with U Belong Glasgow
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/afro-scott...
Afro-Scottish Poetry Event 2025
A vibrant evening of poetry and music celebrating African, Scottish and multicultural voices through powerful live performances.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
June 28, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
pnreview.bsky.social
'Whit a wonder it wud be, fur young Scots tae hae thir ain wey ae talkin (ae bein) validatit ootwae the confines ae the iver-ignored literary sphere.'

From Colin Bramwell's report, 'Oan Scots and Respair', published in PN Review 283: www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/oan-...
June 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
Belonging to none but itself…

—Kathleen Jamie, “Here lies our land”

A poem commissioned in 2014 to mark the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn – fought #OTD, 24 June, 1314 – & inscribed on the Bannockburn monument
Here lies our land Kathleen Jamie Here lies our land: every airt Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun, Belonging to none but itself. We are mere transients, who sing Its westlin’ winds and fernie braes, Northern lights and siller tides, Small folk playing our part. ‘Come all ye’, the country says, You win me, who take me most to heart.
June 24, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
rhunedhel.bsky.social
Here's a link to the poem:

auldnorse.wordpress.com/2025/01/18/m...
Merry Dancers
The Bear’s noust was buskit bricht, as langships flichtered skinklin sails in seelent seas abune the easin. The ferlie fleet, skirin, flitted throu the pitmirk haugh o stervin hirsels, heizin …
auldnorse.wordpress.com
June 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
rhunedhel.bsky.social
Colin Mackenzie (@dgplacenames.bsky.social) recently was a joint winner of the Scots Language Society's "Hugh McDiarmid Tassie" for his #alliterative #poem, "Merry Dancers".

#alliteration #poetry #drottkvaett #poetrysky #poetrycommunity #alliterativeverse www.facebook.com/groups/82376...
Scots Language Society/Scots Leid Associe | Twa Sangschaw winners | Facebook
Twa Sangschaw winners. Colin Mackenzie jynt winner o the Hugh MacDiarmid Tassie wi Merry Dancers, 1.1.25 an Robert M Duncan winner o the John MacPhail Tassie wi Ballant o Ladies o Bygane Days an...
www.facebook.com
June 24, 2025 at 9:44 PM
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glasgowrevbooks.bsky.social
NEW TODAY! - Ahead of tonight's launch event @byleaveswelive.bsky.social, @paulmalgrati.bsky.social reviews 'Esther', a new poetic play by David Kinloch and another milestone in the recent Esther Inglis Revival. Read the full review here - wp.me/p3nrhP-jwo
"I’ll MAK YON SINGLE INCH O SCOATLAN SHINE": On 'Esther' by David Kinloch. - Glasgow Review of Books
Esther Inglis, a Franco-Scottish calligrapher, was once celebrated for her exquisite manuscripts before fading from literary history due to male-centric narratives. Recent academic interest, particula...
wp.me
June 26, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
Der a ön o haet ida gairden here,
Whaar da sun-flooer proodly staands,
An dark-red roses trowe da green
Laek da lowe fae fiery braands…

—T.A. Robertson (“Vagaland”), “Haem Tochts”
published in The Collected Poems of Vagaland (Shetland Times, 1975)
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/haem-to...
Haem Tochts T. A. Robertson (“Vagaland”) Der a ön o haet ida gairden here, Whaar da sun-flooer proodly staands, An dark-red roses trowe da green Laek da lowe fae fiery braands. Da fruit hings ower da aipple-trees And da riggs is white wi shaeves, Fir dis is a place at da Hairst comes til Or ever da Simmer laeves. Bit I come in mind o a far-nort Isle An shön A’ll be settin sail Til a laand whaar Simmer hoids her face Wi a silver, asky veil – Whaar da kokkilurie faas asleep As da dew at da hömin faas, An da sea is singin a lullaby Ida Simmer Dim in Waas. Whin da lift is black wi thunder-lumps An da vaanloop sokks da laand, I kroag inside da window-peen Wi a book ita my haand. Da trees is greetin wi da rain An I tink I wid redder be Whaar I can see da Sooth-aest wind Come tearin ower da sea, Wi da grey lift hingin ower his head An da flekkit sea below, An his haands at da reins o da froadin waves At he’s drivin in da voe; Whaar you hear da roar o da Sooth-aest gael An da soond o da brakkin baas, An da air is filt wi brimmastyooch Far in ower da riggs in Waas. You can waander below a röf o trees At shalters da English laand, An you can tramp da ceety-streets Or draa you in an staand Athin a kirk, an watch da licht Trowe da graet rose-window dere; An aa da past is afore your een – Da strife, da toil, an prayer. Bit da rose an gold o da sunset sky Is abön your head at haem, An da glimmerin mist seems ta say ta you At da wirld is jöst a draem, An naethin sall staand at Ragnarök, Whin da seevent whirlwind blaas, Bit da kindness an love in human herts In London – or in Waas.
June 25, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social
Oxford English Dictionary is hoaching with new Scottish words
Oxford English Dictionary is hoaching with new Scottish words
Shoogly, skooshy, beamer and bummer are among 13 new entries added by editors at the OED.
www.bbc.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
luathpress.bsky.social
✨SCOTLANDSFEST 2025✨

👤Clive Young
📍St Columba's by the Castle, Edinburgh
📆 4 August
⏰ 3pm
🎟 buff.ly/1buT6pt

#EdinburghWhatsOn #ScotlandsFest25 #Fringe #EdinburghFringe
June 26, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
drmdempster.bsky.social
June 28, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
Queerness in Scotland has always existed, hidden in medieval manuscripts, coded in Jacobite poetry, or expressed through the arts. In the first of a 3-part series, @nationalgalleries.bsky.social explores queer artforms & artists from Scotland, past & present
#Pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKBC...
The Art of Defiance: Queer Scotland
YouTube video by nationalgalleries
www.youtube.com
June 28, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
luathpress.bsky.social
🌟 Exciting news! 🌟

Cat Wumman, the second short story collection by Gerda Stevenson, is coming this September! 📚✨

Explore contemporary Scottish life through the rich Scots language, inspired by folk tales from Scotland, Japan, the Mississippi swamps and Inuit culture.
#CatWumman #ScotsLanguage
June 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
davidmacdougall.bsky.social
The Council of Europe's Charter for Regional or Minority Languages recognised Scots as a minority language in 2000 and the UK Govt ratified Scots as such in 2001 under Part II of the Charter. So now Strasbourg, Edinburgh & London all see Scots as a language.

www.coe.int/en/web/europ...
What languages does the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages apply to? - European Charter for Regional <br>or Minority Languages - www.coe.int
The Charter applies to regional and minority languages, non-territorial languages and less widely used official languages. Within its scope are only the languages traditionally used within a state’s t...
www.coe.int
June 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
davidmacdougall.bsky.social
🗳️ Politicians in #Scotland voted this week for new powers to encourage greater use of Scots and Gaelic - and to make them official languages. It's quite a landmark vote! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (pinging @leaskyd.bsky.social at the start of the thread as we've chatted about this before!) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
MSPs back new powers supporting Gaelic and Scots
The Scottish Languages Bill would see both recognised as official languages.
www.bbc.co.uk
June 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
lairnscots.bsky.social
Plans tae forder and uphaud the uise o Gaelic and Scots hae been passed by the Scots Pairliament.

www.gov.scot/news/scottis...
Scottish Languages Bill passed
Growing Gaelic and Scots
www.gov.scot
June 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
scotslanguage.bsky.social
The motion tae pass the Scottish Languages Bill is bein pit afore MSPs in the Scottish Parliament's main chamber the day.

Ye kin watch stage 3 o the proceedins in Holyrood efter 2pm here:

www.scottishparliament.tv
Watch now | Scottish Parliament TV
www.scottishparliament.tv
June 17, 2025 at 10:40 AM
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liammcilvanney.bsky.social
Leafing through the Scottish National Dictionary and I think ‘scroosh’ really needs to make a comeback…
June 15, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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lairnscots.bsky.social
FAO teachers!

There's still time tae enter yer pupils' wirk intae the @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social Young Scots Writer o the Year competition.

www.scottishbooktrust.com/writing-and-...
Young Scots Writer o the Year Award
We’re on the lookout for talented young folk aged 11–18 writing and creating in Scots.
www.scottishbooktrust.com
June 16, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
nemoloris.bsky.social
Grateful for the TLS for this chance to compare Dunbar and Henryson to The Krankies and Bovril and pie, in a piece on the religious tradition in Scottish poetry.
www.the-tls.co.uk/literature/p...
A revelatory history of Scottish verse, from Columba to Carol Ann Duffy
Among the atheist Hugh MacDiarmid’s many contradictions was an ability to combine doctrinaire Marxism-Leninism with a vein of Christian mysticism. In his
www.the-tls.co.uk
June 11, 2025 at 3:23 PM
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waterstonesness.bsky.social
For existing poetry fans, but also for anyone who’s ever felt that poetry isn’t for them, do give Poyums by @lenniesaurus.bsky.social a try.
Bold, honest, often funny, and deeply relatable, this is a bookseller and customer favourite!
#poetry #funny #feminist #booksky #scottish #scots #fierce
In front of a blurred bookshelf background a hand holds a red paperback book - Poyums by Len Pennie. There is a minimalist illustration on the cover of a burning match, in black and yellow. The title and author text is white and a quote from Lemn Sissay reads ‘A poet who redefined what poetry is and who it is for’.
May 30, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Scots Language Centre
asls.org.uk
An aunt of mine remarked to me:
‘Ah’m no froom
Bit whan Ah see them
Ee’in the trayfi meat
It scunners me.’
I found this very striking.

—AC Jacobs, “Dear Mr Leonard”
5/6
Dear Mr Leonard A. C. Jacobs I wonder whether you'd be Interested, But one Saturday afternoon During the course of a religious discussion An aunt of mine remarked to me: ‘Ah’m no froom Bit whan Ah see them Ee’in the trayfi meat It scunners me.’ I found this very striking And it occurs to me You could use it In one of your poems. Anyway, you might want to Think about it.
May 30, 2025 at 1:26 PM