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Scots Language Centre Centre for the Scots Leid

Scots and Polish Lexicon

5th June 2014

Occasionally and increasingly so these days other language communities have produced guides to the Scots language, designed for those who may visit or work in Scotland. One such recent publication is A Scots-Polish Lexicon / Leksykon szkocko-polski by Kasia Michalska who, in her own words, points out that many visitors to Scotland ...are surprised by the linguistic variety of the country when they discover Scots and Gaelic are spoken as well as English. Michalska, who is a native of Gdansk (or Danskin in Scots), lives and works in Edinburgh and approached the Scots Language Centre some time ago for advice about the language. Since then she had produced this very useful guide to Scots for Poles living, working in, or just visiting Scotland. The book provides Scots vocabulary, examples of grammar, expressions and quotes, giving the equivalents in both English and Polish. It is interspersed with commentary on Scottish traditions and a series of recipes too. The cultural, historical and social background of key words is explained, together with commentary about certain place-names around the country. Michalska comments that it is her purpose to make Poles aware of the existence of Scots a job that UK and Scottish agencies have done very little to advance and to show them what Scots is and how it is used in everyday life. We feel sure, though, that this book will interest many beyond the Polish community as well. The lexicon is a paperback (125pp) priced at 9.95 and is available from Steve Savage Publishers Ltd in London (www.savagepublishers.com ).