What language is spoken in Scotland? A review of the languages of the Kingdom of Scotland

Scotland is a small kingdom that is part of the UK. It is in the north of the island, and on land with Scotland borders England. The capital of the kingdom is the city of Edinburgh, which occupies the second largest place after Glasgow.

Scotland: past and present

Scotland used to be independent. But this trend has been preserved to this day. Even compared with Wales and England, the modern Scottish kingdom can be described as the most autonomous. Scotland is filled with antiquity and a romantic spirit. It is in Scotland that the oldest tree grows in Europe, the population is 40% red-haired, and the symbol of the country is the unicorn.

What language is spoken in Scotland?

In modern Scotland, three languages are officially accepted: standard English, English-Scottish or Scotch, and Scottish Gaelic. In this case, the first of these is the dialect of generally accepted English. It is Anglo-Scottish - it's a spoken language in Scotland. On it communicates a large part of the population that lives on the plains of the kingdom. The number of speakers of this dialect is about 1.5 million people. A lot of local people use mixed forms - something between standard English and English Scottish.

Features of English Scottish

In fact, it is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of what language is spoken in Scotland. Modern scots are divided by researchers into several broad subgroups: the Anglo-Scottish language of the central, northern, southern, and island region of the country. In addition, linguistic scholars place special emphasis on the fact that the modern Scottish kingdom is characterized by constant ethnic mixing. At the same time, there is an assimilation of languages. Therefore, modern scots, although it retained a lot of his native vocabulary, is filled with a multitude of words that are part of the alien languages: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and others.

Why did dialects arise?

What is the reason for this difference in the use of English Scottish? Perhaps the reason for this is not only external conquests. The Scottish kingdom at the early stages of its formation was distinguished by its multi-tribal composition. In this case, a large role was played also by the division of the terrain into flat and mountainous. They were opposed not only in their ethnic composition. The way of life, the peculiarities of housekeeping, was also different.

Attempts to revive the Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic, unfortunately, belongs to endangered languages. It belongs to the Celtic group. The number of its carriers is getting smaller and smaller every year. And now only about 50 thousand inhabitants of the kingdom communicate with him. The modern government of Scotland is taking a series of measures to popularize the Gaelic language in the country.

To this end, a bilingual policy on education was proclaimed. In Gaelic, liturgy began to take place in the temples. The revival of the Gaelic decided to support the Air Force Company. On television in Scotland, you can see a lot of broadcasts in Gaelic. This news, entertainment and educational programs.

The influence of Scandinavian culture on Scotland

In the XI century, the Vikings conquered many of the Scottish islands. This happened before the Scandinavians reached their main goal - the British Isles. For the Vikings, the Scottish kingdom in those days was a significant point of sale. It was on the road from Baghdad to Newfoundland. The Vikings always warned their allies that the Scots should stay away. For the Scandinavians, Scotland was a dark place full of dangers. Scots seemed to them cruel and inspiring awe, and in what language they speak in Scotland, the conquerors could not understand.

Despite all these factors, the Vikings still managed to found settlements in Scotland, and the Scandinavian culture had a great influence on the local. Including, the language was also affected. It is considered, for example, that the word "kilt" came from the Scandinavian kjalta. It is impossible to say with certainty which language in Scotland was more exposed to outside influences. Some researchers believe that the similarity between the English Scottish and Scandinavian language is much greater than with the traditional English.

Standard English in Scotland

It will be especially interesting to know what language is spoken in Scotland, to those who study English. After all, if the standard English language is here one of the official, does this mean that the foreigner will easily communicate with the Scots? However, this is a big mistake. In the UK, standard English is considered correct regardless of the region. But in Scotland, in fact, it is used by only a small part of the population - 3-5%. And even these residents use this version of English, which will be far from official. Their dialect will be incomprehensible to those who study the standard language.