18 Jan 2010

Puzzle of division between the Scottish and English language

It is a debate that has divided scholars since ... well, possibly the 7th century, when two languages with a common Germanic root — Old English — took their separate courses. One became standard English, the other developed its own vocabulary, and became Scots. Language? Dialect? Unintelligible slang? The answer is as much political as linguistic. But no one can deny the difference.

Read more about how English became more dominant than Scottish