Word o Mou

Get yersel alang tae the wabpages for Radio 4's "Word of Mouth" and hae a listen tae this week's programme afore it vanishes on Tuesday: it's aw aboot Scots, and there's braw conversations wi the guid fowk fae Scottish Language Dictionaries (whase siller, like that o the Scots Language Centre has been taen awa); Bill Wilson MSP; poet, critic and academic Robert Crawford; and poet, screiver, educator, upsteerer, upheezer and general grand gallus uphauder o the rauchle tung, Matthew Fitt.

Warkshops

The Aye Write! festival is daein three linked warkshops anent writin in Scots the morn. I cannae get, but it's a braw-lookin event. Jim McGonigal will talk aboot yaisin Scots and Scottish texts wi the bairns o immigrants and asylum seekers, and Chris Robinson will talk aboot the dictionaries that we hae for the langage. The wabsite aye says that the thrid session will be wi Liz Niven on the yiss o Scots in schuils, but I hae heard that Rab Wilson is daein it on Burns insteid.

SLC's Activism and Politics Pages

The Activism and Politics pages on the Scots Language Centre's wabsite has been rejiggit a bittie. There a page o links tae orra documents and organisations and, on sindry ither pages, ye can keep up whit wir MSPs is sayin and speirin anent Scots.

The link abuin will tak ye tae the pages in English; tae see them in Scots, ye hae tae click on the reid "Show content as Scots" button in the tap richt o yer browser (let's cry it a "stravaiger") and navigate back throu the "Promoting Scots" tab tae the Activism and Politics section.

Doric Film has a Wabsite

A whilie syne, I blogged aboot The Scotsman's report o a Doric film, "One Day Removals", bein shot. Weil, there nou a wabsite for the film, wi picters, a synopsis and links tae reviews. There no a trailer yet, but hit's comin soon. The feinishin date is this month and, gin ye believe the Daily Record (there a quaistion for ye!), "One Day Removals" will brak aa records for the yiss o the F word in a Scottish film.

Looks like the film is a black comedy. There naething wrang wi that avaa, but it'd be guid tae hae some serious film drama that's aa in Scots nou and then. Comedy is braw an aa. We seem tae be guid at it in Scotland, but the feck o Scots ower aften thinks on their ain langage as bein funny in itsel, whit isnae richt. Fowk needs tae hear it in ither settins tae see whit it can dae.

Is Chynge A-Comin?

Weil is it no a whilie sin I postit here! There a fair bittie gaun on in the Scots warld for us tae catch up on. The Scots Govrenment has decidit tae haud an audit o provision for the language. There no muckle information at the link, but the maist encouragin bit for onybody that's interestit in Scots is this:

Research is therefore required to ... identify potential opportunities to expand provision, either as part of, or in addition to, the manifesto commitments the Scottish Government has given for Scots.

We'll hae tae wait an see whit comes o yon. Hit will be the first Govrenmental research intae the state o Scots that I ken o, and it comes efter the Meinister for Schuils and Skeels, Maureen Watt, telt a meetin o the Cross-Pairty Group on Scots that there nae siller for a Macpherson report for Scots.

Forby the audit, whit comes fae the office o the Meinister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, the Maureen Watt, wis writin in the Sunday Herald a week or twa syne that schuilbairns shuid hae the chance tae learn Scots: It is important that Scots is considered no less valuable than other languages.

Through the Curriculum for Excellence, we want to ensure pupils are exposed to the literature and languages of Scotland by teachers using relevant, real-life and enjoyable resources. ...

the Scottish government is committed to promoting and developing the use of the Scots language - where better to start than in our schools?

Now is the time for the children of Scotland to rediscover Scots.

Shairly aabody that cares aboot Scots will welcome thae words.

The Poetry o Ma Ain, Ma Native Land

I hae juist the nou pitten ma entry for the McCash Poetry Competition in an envelope. I dinnae normally get ma competition entries in that aheid o time, but I'm awa neist week ower the deidline. It juist happenit that I had ae-twae ideas in ma heid that fittit in wi the competition's theme when I seen the announcement in The Herald a whilie syne. Yon wis a piece o guid fortune I hivnae had afore wi this competition. The last time it happenit wis wi the poetry postcaird competition for national poetry day in 2002, an I wis yin o the winners yon time. I'm pretty cantie wi the poems I'm sendin in, but we'll see whether they get onywhaur!

The theme is "This is my own, my native land," a line fae Walter Scott's lang narrative poem, "The Lay of the Last Minstrel". It seems a bittie queer-like that a Scots poetry competition shuid tak a quotation in English for its theme, whaiver wrote it, but it's a guid subject tae get fowk screivin aboot at a sic time o muckle political chynge.

Speakin o the political chynge, there nae dout in ma mind that hit has led tae a shift in the atmosphere o Scotland. Ither fowk's sayin the yae thing and I hae anecdotal evidence: I wis bletherin wi a frein that wirks in the Pairlament's education service a day or twa syne, an she tellt me that, since the election, there aye queues for tickets for tae get in and see the Pairlament in action, even for debates ither nor First Meinister's quaistions. It's a hale ither quaistion gif this confidence, interest an momentum will bide or dwine and dee, but wi The Herald gettin a forum anent the constitutional future o the nation roadit and giein it's poetry competition ower tae discussion whaur we are the nou as a kintrae, I'm hopefu it'll bide a bittie.

Doric Film

The Scotsman reports the day that a new feature film that's aa in Doric, "One Day Removals", has feinishit shootin. There no muckle detail in the airticle, but I funt the production company's wabsite. Looks like there'll be a wabsite for the film afore lang. Here howpin it's a braw piece o wark that dis weil.

Spreidin the Words

Souns like ma Scots is infectin ma (English) wife! I cam doun the stair the ither day tae fin her singin "Three Craws" tae the bairn. Anither time, I heard her singin the chorus fae "The Miner's Lullaby". Forby, she's been talkin aboot bein in a fankle and giein the bairn a shoogle. Braw stuff!