In an area the size of Alabama we have a half-dozen "lesser" languages spanning the northern half of the United Kingdom, all dominated by English, but both historically, and orthographically having little in common and they are to a large part mutually unintelligible.

There is no single language that has ever historically been spoken by all Scots. In the southern areas, Lowland Scots traditionally was the norm. Gaelic was spoken in central and northern areas. The off-shore islands to the far north (Orkney Isles and Shetland Isles) spoke 'Norn' (a form of Old Norse). Words from this extinct language still pepper the speech of the people who live on the islands.

To add to the intrigue, there are many different dialects and variations of words depending on what city, or area, the speaker is from. It's all part of the mystery and charm of Scotland!

Although traditional Gaelic is still spoken in some areas, today Scotland is moving towards becoming a fully dual-language country (English and Scots Gaelic). 'Scottish English' is what is spoken by the majority of Scots.

Publication Date: Jan 1, 2017
ISBN/EAN13: 1537718290 / 9781537718293
Page Count: 312
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 6" x 9"