Here's why Scots is definitely its own language and not a dialect

But flying in the face of over a thousand years of linguistic history, Labour peer George Foulkes stirred up controversy over the weekend by claiming that Scots was merely a dialect of English.

With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the unique history of Scots and why it is a distinct language.

Is Scots a language?

While there is no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing languages and dialects, the rich history, cultural importance and distinct character of Scots sets it apart as its own tongue. 

In an official capacity, Scots is recognised as an indigenous language by the Scottish Government which describes it as “an essential element of the culture and heritage of Scotland”. 

Beyond Scottish shores, its languagehood is recognised by the Council of Europe as a regional or minority language and also by Unesco which registers it as a vulnerable language.

It is also very widely spoken across the country. Compared to Scottish Gaelic, which is commonly accepted as its own language, Scots is far more widespread. In the 2011 Scottish Census, 1.5 million people reported that they could speak Scots, which was more than a fifth of the population. In the same report, 87,100 people said they had some Gaelic language skills.

There are four main Scots dialects listed by the Scots Language Centre – Lowland, Central, Northern (often called Doric and spoken throughout Aberdeenshire), and Insular (based on Orkney and Shetland).

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History of Scots

Scots developed from the language of the Angles who arrived in Scotland around 1400 years ago. The language evolved and diverged from its sister speech in England throughout the middle ages until it became its own distinct tongue.

Scots became the dominant tongue in Scotland, even being the chosen speech of royalty at one point.

King James VI of Scotland I of England noted the difference between English and Scots in his non-fiction work Some Reulis and Cautelis to Be Observit and Eschewit in Scottis Poesie.

Writing in Scots he said: "For albeit sindrie hes written of it in English, quhilk is lykest to our language..."

This translates in English to: “For though several have written of (the subject) in English, which is the language most similar to ours...”.

While speaking Scots became increasingly unfashionable among high society following the Acts of Union, the language was kept alive by literary figures like Robert Burns in world-famous works including Auld Lang Syne and Tam O’Shanter. Burns’s works were particularly significant as they gave a lasting voice to nationalist sentiments in Scotland at a time when Scottish identity was becoming less popularly represented.

The language continued to suffer throughout the 20th century due to the dominant use of English in popular western culture. However, in the last decade there has been significant renewed interest in the language as several popular English books have been translated into Scots, including The Gruffalo, the Harry Potter books and several works by Roald Dahl.

Popular recognition of the tongue was further bolstered by Spotify creating a Scots language listening setting on its service.