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Scots Language Centre Centre for the Scots Leid

Alison Miller – The Point o Tinsal

Alison Miller's 'The Point o Tinsal' was commissioned by Dictionaries of the Scots Language in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. Read the poem here 👉 https://dsl.ac.uk/aitken100/alison-miller/

Recently appointed the ‘Orkney Scriever’ by the National Library of Scotland, Alison Miller is working to raise the profile, understanding and appreciation of Orcadian and Scots by producing original work and working with local communities in Orkney.

A writer in both Orcadian and English, Alison is a published author and has written short stories, essays and poetry reflecting on life in Orkney, island life, language and literature.

Orkney Scots is often grouped together with Shetland Scots under the umbrella term ‘Insular Scots‘. Certainly, both are differentiated from other regional varieties by their degree of Norse influence, but they differ from each other in a number of ways, not least in their intonation.

As a lasting tribute to DOST and all those involved in its making, we have commissioned five poems in celebration of Scots and its extensive history. The poems, written in a variety of local vernaculars, were published on St Andrew’s Day 2021.