Scottish English

Scottish English is the set of English dialects spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardized variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard English may be defined as 'the characteristic speech of the professional class and the accepted norm in schools'. IETF language tag for 'Scottish Standard English' is en-Scotland.Click on a coloured area to see an article about English in that country or region Scottish English is the set of English dialects spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardized variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard English may be defined as 'the characteristic speech of the professional class and the accepted norm in schools'. IETF language tag for 'Scottish Standard English' is en-Scotland. In addition to distinct pronunciation, grammar and expressions, Scottish English has distinctive vocabulary, particularly pertaining to Scottish institutions such as the Church of Scotland, local government and the education and legal systems. Scottish Standard English is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum, with focused broad Scots at the other.Scottish English may be influenced to varying degrees by Scots.Many Scots speakers separate Scots and Scottish English as different registers depending on social circumstances. Some speakers code switch clearly from one to the other while others style shift in a less predictable and more fluctuating manner. Generally there is a shift to Scottish English in formal situations or with individuals of a higher social status. Scottish English resulted from language contact between Scots and the Standard English of England after the 17th century. The resulting shifts to English usage by Scots-speakers resulted in many phonological compromises and lexical transfers, often mistaken for mergers by linguists unfamiliar with the history of Scottish English. Furthermore, the process was also influenced by interdialectal forms, hypercorrections and spelling pronunciations. (See the section on phonology below.) Convention traces the influence of the English of England upon Scots to the 16th-century Reformation and to the introduction of printing. Printing arrived in London in 1476, but the first printing press was not introduced to Scotland for another 30 years. Texts such as the Geneva Bible, printed in English, were widely distributed in Scotland in order to spread Protestant doctrine. King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England in 1603. Since England was the larger and richer of the two Kingdoms, James moved his court to London in England. The poets of the court therefore moved south and 'began adapting the language and style of their verse to the tastes of the English market'. To this event McClure attributes 'the sudden and total eclipse of Scots as a literary language'. The continuing absence of a Scots translation of the Bible meant that the translation of King James into English was used in worship in both countries. The Acts of Union 1707 amalgamated the Scottish and English Parliaments. However the church, educational and legal structures remained separate. This leads to important professional distinctions in the definitions of some words and terms. There are therefore words with precise definitions in Scottish English which have either no place in English English or have a different definition. The speech of the middle classes in Scotland tends to conform to the grammatical norms of the written standard, particularly in situations that are regarded as formal. Highland English is slightly different from the variety spoken in the Lowlands in that it is more phonologically, grammatically, and lexically influenced by a Gaelic substratum. Similarly, the English spoken in the North-East of Scotland tends to follow the phonology and grammar of Doric.