When people refer to 'Scots' as a language, what do they mean.?

Question

Sorry about using a stereotype, I'm sure nobody in Scotland really uses phrases like this, but by Scots do they mean the language pretty similar to English with a lot of "Scottish words" like "Och aye the noo ye wee scunner" or do they mean the Gaelic language that is very similar to Irish?

Answer 1

Scots, or 'leland scots' (I think it has a couple of other names), is the language you hear on 'Burns night'.  It is similar in origin to 'English' English, but evolved separately from it for some hundreds of years.  The Germanic tribes which settled in the lowland areas of Scotland established their own kingdoms and were separated from the tribes settled in England, both by Geography and the Danish Kingdoms of the North of England.  'Braw Scots' has its own grammar, vocabulary, literature and poets, though the English language in the UK has coalesced in the past couple of centuries.

Scots Gaelic,  ( pronounced 'gallic' in Scotland) is another dialect of the Gaelic spoken originally in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.  (Where the language is/was known as 'Erse' and 'Manx' respectively).  It is a 'Goidelic' celtic language, distinct from the languages which form the 'Brittonic'  group of celtic languages (Welsh, Cornish, & Breton).  In Ireland this is also known as Gaelic (but pronounced 'gaylik').   The versions of Gaelic now spoken in Scotland (mostly in the North West and Hebrides), and in the 'gaeltacht' areas of Ireland, are closely related and share spellings.  They are pronounced in very different ways however, and the language has been fragmenting for some centuries.  There are distinctly different versions spoken in closely situated islands, and in Ireland 'Ulster Gaelic' deriving from a Scottish variant was the language of the North.  There are now about four local dialects of the language spoken in Ireland.

Answer 2

It is our accents and some people do say thing like ya we scunner, or baw heed,  and various others but it depends where you are in Scotland as we all have different accents, Glasgow is mixed with common and polite accents, fife say a ken are weel, meaning I know her well but Glasgow don't, Ayrshire is different from Glasgow but similar to fife and Aberdeen is similar to fife but dont adjust the tone. My aunt lives in Manchester and met someone from Scotland and new exactly what part of Glasgow with the accent. No matter what we are all nice friendly people.

Answer 3

They mean the accent.  It's not as bad as people who call it "Scotch" - my mother is Scottish and that drives her crazy.

Answer 4

they mean Rabbie Burns type language usually.

Answer 5

It is Rabbie burns Miss Cool

Answer 6

Its meant as the traditional Scottish language..

The kind of language used in Rabbie (Robert) Burns' poems...

http://www.bartleby.com/6/76.html

And yes people in Scotland say "Och aye" on a daily/hourly/minutely/whatever basis. Its a very common phrase.. but you'd never hear someone say "och aye the noo" although.

"Scunnered" is also used..

Answer 7

Shona its Robert Burns :)

Answer 8

They mean the accent.