Scots: The mither tongue [Hardcover]

Billy Kay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1986

In this revised edition of a classic of contemporary Scottish culture, Billy Kay vigorously renews the social, cultural, and political debate on Scotland’s linguistic future. He compares Scottish with other European lesser-used languages, and celebrates its survival in its various dialects, literature, and song.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* One of the best 100 Scottish books ever written... if I had my way there would be copies of these books in every home in the land' - Alan Taylor, Scotland on Sunday * 'The Scots tongue, like most of the world's minority languages, is under pressure and Billy Kay in this excellent and cognent survey draws together the strands of our concern' - Daily Express * 'Kay is the best writer on his own language I have read since Burchfield on English; and his book shouldbe put in schools for it is capably seditious - The Herald * 'Moving, delightful, even inspiring - Edinburgh Review" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Billy Kay is the author of Knee Deep In Claret: A Celebration of Wine and Scotland (0952362619) and editor of The Dundee Book: An Anthology of Living in the City (1851587950) and The Complete Odyssey: Voices from Scotland's Recent Past (0748661751). He lives in Fife. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 191 pages
• Publisher: Mainstream (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851580336
• ISBN-13: 978-1851580330
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,838,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Scotland's dialects, December 29, 2011

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AnneJoyce - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Scots: The Mither Tongue (Paperback)

This is a great book for Scots, their descendants, or anyone who has visited Scotland and wondered why there are so many different "languages". As always, Billy Kay does an incredible job, comparing and contrasting the dialects by geographical regions. He does not omit the finer differences within these regions, e.g. within a 50 mile radius of Glasgow there are numerous variations, each having quite different words for the same subject. He tells of people who feel that speaking Scots is wrong, many believe it is slang. Depending on the geographical area, the dialect can be musical and a delight to the ear, others may sound coarse and grating. This is a book that should be passed around to spread the word.