SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1725 Title : Scots Tung Wittins 74 Author(s): Robert Fairnie Copyright holder(s): Name withheld Text Foremaist edeetion o the year! – Foremaist edeetion o the century! – Foremaist edeetion o the millennium! Nummer 74 Jan. 2000 Keepin a guid Scots tung in yer heid's nae guid! Lat it oot an uise it! Scots Tung WITTINS Eydentlie uphaudin the Scots Leid Campaine e-screive: [CENSORED: emailaddress] Ph. [CENSORED: phonenumber] 2000!(Y2K) GIN ye'r readin this, chances is the warld haesna dreed some awfu gruesome weird an life, as we ken it, aye gauns on – for the noo. Walcome tae the oncome. Gaun forrit agin aw it haes tae thraw at ye wi yer heid haudit heich an a guid Scots tung in yer mooth. It saired wir forebeirs weel throu guid times an sair times doon throu history sae here howpin it sairs us an oor's for anither thoosan year. ~~~ooo~~~ A Ful Blawn Stramash! ON the 17t o December, BBC1's Reporting Scotland cairiet a report aboot the difference in fundin gien tae Ulster Scots in compare wi whit's gien tae the Scots language. Speakin tae the BBC's Ken McDonald, Stuart McHardy sayed, "If this situation isnae addressed, fowk like masel an ithers will hae tae start leukin tae tak the government tae international law because, it appears tae me that we'r bein directly discriminated agin bi wir ain government in direck contradiction tae international law tae which, this British Government are signatories." Cathy Peattie MSP, Labour member for Fawkirk East an maimber o the Cultur an Sport Comatee, sayed, "I think funding will be increased. Rhona Brankin, the Minister for Culture, who is keen tae develop a cultural strategy, has already assured that the Scots language is included in the early documents and she is keen tae see the Scots language encouraged and funded in Scotland." Ken McDonald feinisht aff wi, "The Scots lobby in Scotland are delighted that Ulster Scots is getting a million but say that Scots here should be getting millions more. If not, they're threatening this stooshie could become a full blown stramash." ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Storytellin Bursary THE Scottish Storytelling Centre, as pairt o its Bi-lingual Storytelling Initiative, is pittin forrit 2000 bursaries for up-an-comin storytellers. The ettle o the bursary is tae keep an ee on twa-leidit up-an-comin storytellers uisin aither Scots or Gaelic as thair primary language medium bi cleikin thaim wi experienced storytellers in Scotland an fendin a backgrund study program. Tae qualify for the scheme ye maun be:- a) Ower 16 b) Bidin in Scotland for 2 year or mair c) Hae a direck experience o live oral storytellin in tradeetional an/or modren form d) Fluent in the uiss o Gaelic an/or Scots as a language medium e) Commitit tae the oncome an exercise o yer ain storytellin airt Thaim gittin bursaries will be gien a co-ordinatin tutor an will be expeckit tae pit in 12 weeks ful time lairnin an practice (or its maik) workin wi estaiblished an experienced storytellers. The Bursary will fend a siller grant o £2400 tae kivver traivel an leevin costs an ludgins whaur necessar. A faurer soum haes been set aside for ilka bursar tae kivver costs o experienced storytellers an onie eikit on coorse fees. Tae speir for the 2000 Bursaries for storytellin in Gaelic or Scots, send a CV an kivverin screive tae Joanna Bremner, Co-ordinator, The Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43, High Street, Edinburgh bi 6t. Januar 2000. Applicants will be walit bi interview, that'll include the inlat tae share some o yer ain stories frae yer existin experience. ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Tung WITTINS on the wab. The Scots Tung Wittins can be vizzied or doon-loadit an prentit (noo in HTML format forbye) frae the wab-steid o :- The Scots Speikers Curn, Glesca. Wab-steid backin :- http://www.mlove.free-online.co.uk/ A hard copie o STW is sent free o chairge tae aw maimbers o Scots Tung. Maimbership subscreivins is £4 peyed ilka September. (£5 furth o United Kinrik) ~~~ooo~~~ Burns Picter tae Beir the Gree in 21t. Century? [NOTE: image here of Robert Burns in original] ALLOWAY Productions haes lat it be kent thay ettle tae mak a £20m picter aboot Robert Burns an his luve for Mistress Nancy MacLehose, a weel tae dae mairriet wumman frae Edinburgh, an thay howp it will be the biggest Scottish picter syne Braveheart. Heidit bi the kenspeckle Scottish actor an producer, James Cosmo, that taen pairt in Mel Gibson's gree beirin picter anent William Wallace, the hail o the picter will be makit in Scotland. Proveesionally tae be cried Clarinda, an screivit bi the Scottish screiver, Andrew Gerard, the picter will be foondit on the plooman poet's fey luve affair wi Mistress Agnes Maclehose. The affair wis cairiet oot maistlins bi wey o heidie letters screivit unner the by-nems o Sylvander an Clarinda. It wis for Clarinda that Burns screivit ane o his best kent luve sangs, Ae Fond Kiss. The projeck haes drawn the tent o Hollywood studios areddies for distreebutin the picter an, wi Burns clubs aw ower the warld frae China an Russia tae Americae, it is howped the furth o Scotland mercat intrest will be muckle. We ken that the Scots leid will kythe in Burns' sangs an poems but we howp that it will kythe an aw in the feck o the dialogue. ~~~ooo~~~ Mair Aboot Burns. ROBERT Burns haes been votit the heidmaist Scot o aw time, dingin Sir William Wallace an Robert the Bruce intae saicont an third place, bi the kenspeckle fowk that kythes in Who's Who In Scotland. ASDA, in the rin-up tae Yule, prentit the words o Auld Lang Syne on the back o its till lines efter fundin oot that 74% o fowk in the country didna ken thaim. Naw, thay didna say whit country but fine dae we ken. ~~~ooo~~~ Say Aye Tae A Pie! ANE o wir maimbers frae Auld Reekie haes telt us that her local baxter in Canonmills haes a poster bi the Scotch Pie Club up in the windae wi the slogan "Say Aye Tae A Pie". Ee grippin stuff!! Neist Forgaitherin Mon. 14t. Februar 2000 7.30pm tae 9.00pm Sma Lounge. Brunton Ha, Musselburgh. Nae Smokin Signs. SCOTS Tung's Nae Smokin signs haes been pit up in maist o the shops that wis sellin wir Christmas cairds an thay'v proven richt faur ben an ee grippin. Twa wifies staunin in a queue waitin tae git tae the coonter o Monktonha Post Office wis heard haein a guid gaun crack an ane says tae the ither, "Oh! see tae thon NAE SMOKIN thing up thare! It's written the auld Scotch wey. Isthat no nice tae see?" [NOTE: image here of the 'nae smokin' sign in original] Copies o the signs wis pit up months ago in the Brunton Ha's Comatee Rm. C whaur Scots Tung haes its forgaitherins an nane o thaim haes iver been taen doon yet. The wumman that haes owerance for thae things in the Brunton Ha, the Policy an Business Manager, wis gien twa copies tae see if she micht want tae pit thaim up oniewhaur else in the biggin an she wis fair awa wi thaim an thocht she cuid git thaim photie-copied in colour an laminated at the East Lothian Cooncil heid offices in Haddington. We telt her thare wis nae leemit tae the nummer o copies she cuid tak an if the rest o the Cooncil's offices wantit copies, juist tell thaim tae help thirsels. She speirt us tae pit the Cooncil's name an logo on thaim an sayed she wad stert wi a prent run o aboot 20/30 an she greed an aw tae offer thaim tae aw the ither cooncil offices in East Lothian an tae aw the libraries forbye. We'll keep ye telt whit happens here an if oniebodie else feels like speirin thair ain Cooncil tae dae the same, juist gie us a phone an we'll post aff a maister copie. ~~~ooo~~~ Collogue for 6t. Year Schuil Collegianers. THE abuin Collogue, rin bi the Eddication Comatee o the Scots Language Resource Centre, taen place at Lauder College, Dunfermline on the 11t Nov. The Collogue wis awfu weel tendit wi a hunner an aicht collegianers forbye twintie teachers. The day wis stertit aff wi twa readins frae major Scottish screivers then taen the form o workshops for collegianers tae screive an lairn aboot the Scots language an leeteratur. Workshops wis fendit for the teachers an aw on maiters tae dae wi the schuil curriculum. The word comin back frae the collegianers an teachers wis that the collogue wis a muckle success an noo that thay'v pree'd the puddin, thay'r aw leukin forrit tae bigger helpins in the oncome. Liz Niven, Convener o the Eddication Comatee, shuid be weel pleasured wi her ain inpit tae the collogue an the muckle heize it haes nae doot gien tae the staunin o the Scots language in Scottish eddication. Scots Tung taks its proverbial bunnet aff tae her. ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Language Christmas Cairds 1999. HERTIE YULE, oor Scots language Yule caird for Christmas 1999, haes been a richt rin-awa success this year. Tho at the time o screivin, the hinnermaist nummers haedna been coontit, we can jalouse that, wi the fower thoosan o thae abuin cairds we got prentit an the anes we haed left ower frae ither years, we maun hae selt somewhaur aroond five an a hauf thoosan cairds this year. Wi nineteen hunner bein aboot the best we'v haed in bygane years, this gies ye a meisure o hou weel we'v duin an bunnets haes tae be taen aff agane tae Sheena for sic a braw paintin, tae Janet for the weel admired poem an tae the lave o the team for the computer design work, greetins, credits an composeetion. As the mannie sayed, "This ane micht be a hard ack tae follae." Sixteen shops makit a guid profit oot o wir cairds this year wi Jock's Lodge Post Office tappin the leet at ower five hunner an fifty cairds selt an telephone sales haes been a guid three fower times up on ither years. The PO tae haes duin weel, no juist for the postage on individual cairds, but wi the postin o parcels o cairds an aw in repone tae telephone orders. But whit Scots Tung is maist pleasured wi abuin awthin is the fack that, if ye jalouse that ilka caird is juist read bi twa fowk, that means that mair nor eleeven thoosan pair o een haes been exposed tae the screivit Scots language an thay ken noo that aw Christmas cairds daesna hae tae be screivit in English. ~~~ooo~~~ THREE INTAE 2000 = ??? THE Scottish Book Trust set oot tae merk the new millennium bi speirin a wheen o fowk thair chyce o buiks tae tak wi thaim intae 2000 if thay kent thay war juist allooed tae tak three. Bi the time ye read this the die will hae been cuist an a leet o buiks micht weel be postit areddies on thair wabsteid at:- http//:www.scottishbooktrust.com Is onie o the tap three the anes you wad hae walit? ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Language Facksheet. THE abuin Scots Language Facksheet, that wis pitten oot bi the Scottish Executive in August 1999, gied a leet o aw the siller that wis gien bi thaim for the uphaud o Scots Language bodies. Ane bodie leetit wis the Scottish Poetry Library that got £22,500 for 1999-2000. Ane o wir maimbers screivit tae the Scottish Executive pyntin oot that the SPL wisna a Scots language bodie for it kivvert aw three o Scotland's languages; Scots, Gaelic an English sae thay cuidna richtlie eik the hail o thon £22,500 as siller gien tae Scots. Oor maimber haes juist gotten a screivit repone frae the Scottish Executive greein this wis a mistak an the SPL shuidna hae been eikit in wi that leet at aw. Thay'r gaun tae pit oot a new correckit vairsion o the facksheet. ~~~ooo~~~ Is 2000 the year for Scots tae haud back frae bein 'polite'? MAIST o us, apairt frae the younger anes, haes been brocht up in sic a wey that whan oniebodie speaks tae us in 'polite' English, it's conseedered ill mainnert tae no speak 'polite' back, sae the'r still some Scots leid bodies an indiveeduals, but no aw thaim, that communicates wi the Estaiblishment in naethin else but English. Scots Tung is o the consait that „polite' shuid be a twa wey gait an oniethin spoken or screivit in Scots shuid be gien a „polite' Scots repone but, apairt frae that, we wad threap an aw that onie time we dinna uise Scots, at least in Scotland, we juist weaken it anither tait an ding anither English nail intae the mither tung's coffin. Thon juist eiks tae the English coccoon that the Estaiblishment carries aboot wi it (if nae Scots comes oot yer mooth, the'll be scant o Scots gaun in yer lugs) an gies it a fause consait o hou monie fowk uises Scots. We canna git ower tae the Scottish Executive an the Estaiblishment that Scots is a leevin language that isna juist confined atween the batters o a buik or tae the stage, if the only contack thay hae wi us is in English. A guid new millennium resolution for us micht weel be tae pit wir auld creenges an polite habits ahint us an tae be mair aggressive wi oor uiss o baith the spoken an screivit Scots language. Aiblins it wadna be wicelike tae speir for a ful blawn boycott o the English language but we shuidna haud back in bein mair feckfu tae gar the Scots language kythe in places it haesna been walcome tae in the bygane. In aboot five year o Scots Tung screivin letters in Scots, it haesna aince haed ane sent back wi a request tae hae it owerset intae English. Ilka ane haes been unnerstuid an, tho a haundfu haes gotten a repone screivit in Scots, the feck haes haed tae mak dae wi an English repone. Maist fowk in the Estaiblishment wad raither git somebodie tae owerset the letter for thaim than awn tae no bein able tae unnerstaun the mither tung. 2000 is the time for Scots upsteerers tae fling thair creenge back intae the faces o the Estaiblishment an gar an English creenge. Makars' Neuk Sae lat us glent juist lik thon tree Crouse an hertie wi neibours be Win abuin daurk an dowie days An shoother yin anither's waes. J.C. Cousin. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience Audience size: N/A Text details Method of composition: N/A Word count: 2448 General description: monthly newsletter Text medium Leaflet/brochure (prospectus): Text publication details Published: Publisher: Scots Tung Publication year: 2000 Part of a longer series of texts: Name of series: Scots Tung Wittins Text type Article: Prose: nonfiction: Other: mixed text type Author Author details Author id: 95 Forenames: Robert Surname: Fairnie Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1930 Educational attainment: College Age left school: 16 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Consultant Marine Structural Engineer (Retired) Place of birth: Musselburgh Region of birth: Midlothian Birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Musselburgh Region of residence: Midlothian Residence CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Fisherman Father's place of birth: Musselburgh Father's region of birth: Midlothian Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Fishwife Mother's place of birth: Musselburgh Mother's region of birth: Midlothian Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work Language: German Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In Germany to communicate with two grandsons Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Wherever Scots is understood