LALLANS magazine is the anely dedicatit publication that’s prentit exclusively in the Scots leid. It is the leeterary component o the Scots Language Society (or Scots Leid Associe) wha’s wabsite can be foun at http://www.lallans.co.uk/ index.php

The Scots Language Society wis foundit in 1972 an is still gangin strang the day! Lallans magazine wes first publisht in 1973. The first editor (an thair hae bin a wheen!) wis the kenspeckle Scots language poet JK Annand. The ettle o the magazine wis an is tae gie an exclusive platform fir scrievers in Scots, be they amateurs wha juist hae an occasional interest in the leid, or academics writin faur-i-the-buik essays an articles anent serious aspects o leeterature an Scots culture.

In its earliest incarnations the magazine wis a gey hamelt production but nouadays it kythes aa the braw typesettin an content o ony quality leeterary magazine. The magazine an its website attract a global readership – wi fowk frae aa airts o the warld contributin poems, essays, articles tae Lallans an tae the leeterary Sangschaw competition that it rins evri year. The Lallans Sangschaw is fiercely competed! Writers in Scots vying wi ilk anither tae lift the MacDiarmid Tassie ilk year.

A wheen o readers, it seems, dinnae “get” or unnerstaun Scots. Ilka week this column gets tweets that border oan “hate crimes” frae fowk wha shuid ken better an wha sadly juist huvnae the knowledge that Scots isnae “bad English” or “slang”, but is indeed ane o the three indigenous leids o Scotland that hus an auncient, prood an byordnar rich canon o warks in global leeterature. It is ane o the duties o this column tae persevere wi sic fowk an howpfully inform these sad individuals an aiblins educate thaim re the Scots leid – this week ah encourage thaim tae source a copy o Lallans magazine in order that they micht read an see fir theirsels that likesay Scotland enjoys ane o the maist fouthie tradeetions in ony language i the warld. We shuid o be richtly prood o this an celebrate it.

Ither Lallans editors hae bin the likes o the noted playwright David Purves, or John Law (a dauntless champion o the Scots leid) whiles the nou we hae a jynt editorship wi Dr Kenneth Farrow an Elaine Morton – baith o wham wark tirelessly tae support an promote Scots language.

Evri year the SLS/Scots Leid Associe haes an annual collogue. The collogue stravaigs roond Scotland an is held in various airts; this year it wis held in Perth, an wi a contemporary ee it taen a strang feminist slant, wi the theme Takin Tent O Weemen. Papers wir gien bi weemin memmers o the SLS, celebratin an heizin the great warks o writers sic as Marjorie Fleming, Christian Johnston, Marion Angus an Violet Jacob.

Anither airm o the SLS that dis aefauld important wark is Scotsoun. Scotsoun is a braid archive o recordins o the Scots leid that wis the brainchild o the late Dr George Philp. No lang afore George passed awa the SLS taen ower the Scotsoun archive an they add til’t an impruive it year oan year. This past while the SLS hae bin advertisin a new CD o the famous Doric poet Violet Jacob’s poems, read bi canny readers in Scots sic as Sheila Mann, Lisa Simmons an George T Watt. Thair are hunners o titles in the Scotsoun Makars Series archive, itsel a treasure trove o national importance! Digitising an makkin this archive available online is an ongoing labour o luve fir the SLS. Check it oot oan the SLS wabsite.

Lallans aye-an-oan alsae haes regular new short stories in Scots, an’s alsae a vehicle fir new drama an theatre wark in Scots. The magazine taks tent o the internet an there’s a regular feature that jalouses onything o interest oan the warld wide wab that pertains tae the Scots leid, agane takkin in a global perspective. The contemporary warld o national an international politics is weel represaintit tae; ony (pre-Brexit!) European directives or papers frae the European Pairliament that relatit tae language policy or maitters that pertained tae relevant language issues wir aye owerset intil Scots an prentit in the magazine. These owersettins wir duin maistly bi academics warkin in the field o the Scots leid an sae readers wir gien access tae cuttin edge political ongauns furthset likesay in their ain tung – juist as it wid be in ither European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL) airts o Europe wi the likes o Catalan, Welsh, Frisian, Walloon, an abune 40 ither lesser uised leids lik Scots athort Europe. Minority leids arenae unique til Scotland ye ken – mind an tak tent o that ma Twitter monkey friens!

The magazine brings til its readership’s attention the braw wark that conteenues apace wi Scots scrievers owersettin national an international warks intil Scots; the likes o Julia Donaldson’s The Reiver Rat owerset bi the novelist James Robertson, else David Walliams’ Billionaire Bairn owerset bi Matthew Fitt. Donaldson’s classic wark o bairn’s fiction The Gruffalo hus itsel bin owerset intil aa the local dialects o Scots – includin Ayrshire bi yours truly!

In a Scotland whaur we hae abandoned that “Scots cringe” that aince tried tae mak us ashamed o oor ain language, Lallans, is a true champion o a leid an literature that punches way abune its weicht oan the national an international stage; dae yer weans a favour an subscribe!


Rab Wilson is a Scots poet and health campaigner