Question about ability in Scots on the 2011 census

Residents of Scotland will be faced with a new question on the forthcoming census. Question 16 asks whether the person can understand/ speak/ read and/or write English/ Scottish Gaelic and/or Scots (see the official Scottish census site here).

 

Scottish Gaelic and Scots are defined, for the benefit of those residents who don't know:

Scots is the collective name for Scottish dialects known also as 'Doric', 'Lallans' and 'Scotch' or by more local names for example 'Buchan', 'Dundonian', 'Glesca' or 'Shetland'.

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language, descended from Old Irish, which is one of the national languages of Scotland. It is also commonly known as Scots Gaelic or Gáidhlig.

There is also a short paragraph about the history of Scots and how it differs from English. Examples given are more/most (English) vs mair/maist (Scots), cry (English) vs greet (Scots) and disgust (English) vs scunner (Scots).

 

There is also a link to a special website, which has been set up, Aye can, where those needing to answer the question on the census can hear and read Scots and find out more about it.

 

Comments

[North Face Down]

Very, very nicely done!