Linguistic Staundartisation – ma thochts

Posted by Duncan

Seems I canna finn the comment function oniemair, sae I’ll jist hae tae gie ma thochts on Iain’s blog i ma ain post.

Whan Iain says:

“It’s mair nor feifteen year sin the Comatee on Scots Spellin stertit its work, sae is it no time tae stert pouin aw thur transmogrified screivins wrutten the day , taegaither an stop fechtin agin ilkither like a curn o wee bairns argie-bargien ower whae haes whit sweetie,whan the poke o sweeties ir aw the self-same.”

he haes a guid pynt.  Hou is it that efter sae lang we aye dinna hae a staundart spellin seistem?  Weil, ae thing is that we dinna hae onie central body that wad mak shair awbodie wad follae it.  Gin we assume for a wee that a curn o academics haes got thegither an efter muckle heid-bangin come up wi a staundart... than whit?  Wi nae Scots equivalent tae the Académie française, wha wad keep awbodie i line?  The dictionaries coudna dae it theirlane, though they micht prent their new dictionars conform tae the new staundart.  As it stauns the nou, their policy is tae raicord the maist common spellins – an I dout thon’s the richt wey.

Scots is (slawly) warkin taewards a mair unifeid spellin seistem.  Gin ye leuk at Scots frae thirty or fowerty year syne, the variation is a guid deal wider nor it is the nou, I dout.  Gin Scots is yaised mair i the schuills this will continue (specially syne the Consise Scots Dictionar an the English-Scots ane frae the SND disna hae ower monie variants), but o course we maun caw canny wi leavin aw the wark tae the schuills.

I’m also no a hunner percent shair that a single staundart is sic a braw thing.  I’d be mair for haein a staundart for formal prose (govrenment documents, the Bible, text-beuks etc.) but aye haein fowk yaisin their ain dialecks i local newspapers, blogs, poesy, muisic (aw this tae naethin o actually speakin i their dialecks).  The range o dialecks we hae ocht tae be seen as flexibilty an ties tae local identities, raither nor muckle stanes blockin the gate tae a staundart for aw.  I dout maist fowk wad hae leittle fyke wi kennin baith their ain dialeck an a naitional staundart – gin there wis better eddication, braidkestin an publication o course.

Sae ma view micht be:  Staundart – aye, but no on its ain.

 

That’s aw for the nou,

Dunc

 

Sang o the week:  Phoenix – Negru Voda (check out a live version wi the fiddle solo - braw!)

 

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