Natives

Language and Tongues

Scotland....

...has a multiple linguistic heritage.

Officially, the language is English

and it is this tongue that the majority of the Scottish natives use regularly. But a tongue called

Lowland Scots

(from the same Teutonic root as English, but split apart from it sometime during the early Middle Ages) is still widespread and considered as quite dominant.

Will Scots (otherwise known as Lallans)

be classified as a language, or will it be as a dialect, continues to be a popular debate, and it should be noted that authors' having a key role in the recent literary renaissance currently encompassing Scotland are writing using various forms of Scots.

More Scots?

There are more regions with different vernacular forms of Scots, with Doric, spoken in north-east, and the Shetland and Orkney Islands' which reveals a strong Norse influence.

Scottish Gaelic, once was the ancient language of the Highlands

and of all the islands, and dominated the country, but now it may be that less than 60,000 people use it. But it has been recognized as having great social and cultural importance, and thus, measures in education, broadcasting, publishing, and the arts have been put into action to guarantee its continued existence.

And other tongues such as Urdu, Punjabi and Cantonese

are also added to the mix, although much more recently as a result of immigrant migration.

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