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Names in Scots - Personal
As one might expect, Scots speakers have traditionally had their own forms of first and family names, just like every language community. For example, though the name David was often written the same as in England, it was pronounced with a different sound on the ‘a’, while –d endings were c... more
Names in Scots - Places in Scotland
This section of the website is intended to provide a guide to Scots forms of personal and place names. There are few areas where the process of smothering Scots is more apparent than in its names for people and places. Around the year 1800 – though the process varied from place to place – it ... more
Craigmillar baby books
The Craigmillar Books for Babies scheme has been going for 10 years. As well as work done in the community there are colourful illustrated rhyme cards which can be downloaded. These include several Scots rhymes: Ally Bally, Wee Willie Winkie, Rain on the green gress, Katie Beardie, Three Craws. w... more
Booktrust advice for baby books
Scottish Booktrust have a pamphlet on reading with young children, aimed at parents and carers. It is available in Scots: 'Stertin-up wi buiks'
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Names in Scots - countries abroad
As with personal and place names, the use of names in Scots for countries has been smothered in modern times because officialdom in Scotland has preferred the English forms. A particular trait of Scots country names is that many end in –ae or –y rather than the convention in English which oft... more
Read the Lorimer New Testament
For more information about Lorimer's Scots New Testament visit
www.booksfromscotland.com/Book more
Ellie an da sail needle
Written and read by Iris Sandison from the album Hansel o Stories published by Hansel Cooperative Press http://www.hanselcooperativepr
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Nort Atlantik Drift - photography and poems from Shetland
Well known Shetland writer Alan Jamieson's latest collection of poems was launched in December 2007. In Nort Altalntik Drift, from Luath Press, Jamieson mixes mythology, autobiography and history with photographs in a beautiful book not only for Shetlanders, but everyone who has visited, or dream... more
Entries invited for Doric Competition
Entries are now invited as part of the Doric Festival writing competition. Competitors must either write a poem, short story or one-act play to be submitted by the deadline of 19 September 2008. Entries should contain a title page, the category entered, name of the entrant, and home address and t... more
Conversation Now Translated into Scots
The Scottish Government’s 'National Conversation' document, published in the autumn of 2007, has now been translated into the Scots language. Ministers Linda Fabiani and Maureen Watt are to be congratulated for taking the decision to include Scots. Both of the ministers, who are currently explo... more
Two hundred years of Scots dictionaries
It is now two hundred years since the Rev John Jamieson (1759-1838) published the first dictionary given over entirely to the Scots language, in 1808. Jamieson was born and brought up in Glasgow and was also a student in Glasgow and Edinburgh before being appointed pastor at Forfar in Angus in 17... more
Anniversary of oldest surviving document in Scots
The month of March marks the anniversary of the oldest entire text in Scots, strictly speaking. On 12 March 1380 (1379 old calendar) Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk put his seal to a letter (see text below) which is now the oldest original document – wholly in Scots – to survive. To this we may ... more
Oldest act of government in Scots
In the year 1397 – apparently during the month of April – a General Council of the Kingdom was held at Stirling. The significance of this Council for Scots was the statute that it passed in the name of King Robert III (ruled 1390-1406). The Statute of Stirling is now the earliest surviving a... more
New series of books from Scottish Dictionaries
The people at Scottish Language Dictionaries have created a new series of little books based on the Scots language which are called ‘Say it in Scots.’ Brand new this month, and published by ‘Black and White Publishing’, these little books have been designed to inform and entertain the rea... more
Jings, Crivens! Oor Wullie`s turning English
Anne Hoyer from Heidelberg University has been carrying our research into the language used in the Sunday Post's Oor Wullie cartoon strip. Hoyer has discovered that Wullie is using less Scots than he was when the spiky haired lad first emerged from Dudley Watkins' imagination over 60 years ago. T... more
Kidnapped Translated
It won't be the first time that Kidnapped has been translated but it surely is the first time the Stevenson novel has been rendered in Scots and as a graphic novel too. Kidnappit is the latest product from Scots language children's publisher Itchy Coo and will be on sale from 1st February. The bo... more
Plays in Scots for Schools
Roy McGregor and Liz Niven have edited a new book entitled 'Scottish Plays for Schools' through the Association for Scottish Literary Studies and published by Hodder Gibson. This work includes six short plays in Scots which may be read or performed and have been written by the following: 'Hierogl... more
New book scratches an itch
A newly published book from Itchy Coo - entitled 'Geordie's Mingin Medicine', which is a translation from English into Scots of a Roald Dahl work, has now reached number one in Waterstone's children's bestseller charts. This comes after the success of Itchy Coo's 'The Eejits' (another Dahl transl... more
Book of Scots terms
Artist Scott Simpson has illustrated a series of Scots words by assigning a character to each one. These include 'ned', 'clype', 'crabbit' and many other well known words. Wrongly reported by the Daily Record as "classic slang terms", these words drawn from the Scots language will be immediately ... more
Association for Scottish Literary Studies
The Associe for Lair in the Leetraturs o Scotland (Association for Scottish Literary Studies) is haudin its yearly confeerance at the Netherbow Theatre, 43-45 High Street, Embra. The day is tae be cryed ‘Dramatising Scotland’ an will veeage throu the hail reenge o dramatic veesions an taks on... more
Revisiting the Makars
The Text Society for Leids o Scotland (Scottish Text Society) is tae haud the first in a screed o twa-yearly lectures in honour o Angus McIntosh. At 5.15pm on 7 Januar Professor Felicity Riddy will gie a paper cryed ‘Revisiting the Makars’ in the David Hume Touer, George Square, Embra. Thir ... more
Convention o Modren Leids Associe
Professor John Corbett, fae the Versity o Glesca, will be giein a paper cryed ‘The Future Oors? The Scots Language in Iain M Banks’s Feersum Endjinn and Matthew Fitt’s But ‘n’ Ben a Go Go’, as a pairt o the Convention o the Modren Leids Associe (Modern Languages Association) tae be he... more
Aye write in Glesca
As pairt o Glesca's Aye Write fest the will be a day gien ower tae the Scots leid, cryed 'Writing in Scots: A series of three linked workshops', sponsored bi the Langage Comatee o the Associe for Lair in the Leetraturs o Scotland (Association of Scottish Literary Studies). This will stert at 11am... more