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Scots Language Centre Centre for the Scots Leid

Scots Language book at Number One in National Bookshop Charts

1st November 2006

A book written entirely in Scots has reached the top spot in Waterstone's bestseller chart in Scotland. Itchy Coo's translation of the children's classic The Twits by Roald Dahl has in its Scots incarnation, The Eejits, sold thousands of copies since its launch in September. Translated by Scots writer Matthew Fitt, it has become one of the fastest selling books in Scotland.

In spite of claims that Scottish people no longer speak nor are interested in Scots, a text in Scots currently sits at Number One in the country's largest bookstore's charts. It is hoped that all organisations in Scotland (and beyond) will take note of the fact that there is a clear public demand for writing in Scots. However in spite of this book's success and of other Scots books in recent years, there continues to be very little official recognition for a language spoken by 1.6 million EU citizens.

For more information, go to: www.itchy-coo.com/