Scots Matters

Abstract

Little attention has been paid so far to the complex linguistic situation of Scotland. In so far as the European Council is concerned Scots is regarded as a minority language, yet the UK government does not recognise it as an official language. In this paper I argue against the opinion of many scholars that Scots is a language on its own right and not a dialect of English. In order to do this, I have taken into consideration a range of different factors, such as the distinctive history of Scotland, the complexity of the concepts of language and dialect and what factors are said to define a language. Then, I have proceeded to present a number of different theories that are currently held by different linguists about Scots. Following the theory of the minority language, I continue to support my claim by means of practical examples. Those examples illustrate the arbitrariness by which some varieties are considered languages and others dialects. I also present the reader with some parallels of the Scots situation in Europe and I dispute the long held pretension that Scots is linguistically too similar to English to be considered a language. Finally, I underline the importance of education as a means to safeguarding the future of Scots.