The University enquires whether Scots language has a future or is “just for Burns night”.
The future of the Scots language is under review as a new research project is launched by the University of Glasgow.
The collaborative project has the additional support of The Royal Society of Edinburgh; aiming to push an agenda that prioritises a community-driven Scots language policy, the project hopes to centralise the traditional dialect back amongst its people.
Enquiring whether Scots is “just for Burns Night”, the research project currently has a survey underway to analyse the nation’s opinions and attitudes towards the Scots dialect, and its future. Four key areas thought to have a significant impact on the future use of Scots include: education, media, arts and culture, and policy-making.
The survey results will subsequently inform the project’s series of workshops, bringing together linguists and stakeholders to examine the public’s responses in detail. In the autumn of 2021, the project will culminate in a final symposium, where a consensus on the future of Scots will be finalised, with research findings to be published in the following winter.
The Future of Scots project is partnered with Education Scotland, as well as Oor Vyce to help deliver a programme of research activities in 2021. The latter is a campaign group for the recognition and protection of Scots as a legal language.
The link to complete the Future of Scots survey can be found here.
