Why Harry may soon be spelling in Scots

Published on Saturday 23 February 2008 10:39

Publisher wants Potter in 'mither tongue'

HIS magical adventures have been translated into 60 languages, from Swedish to Lithuanian, Korean to Icelandic.

In Vietnam and the Faroe Islands, Albania and Pakistan, readers can enjoy the adventures of Harry Potter and his fellow wizards in their native tongue.

But soon Harry, Ron and Hermione might be casting spells and battling Lord Voldemort in a dialect much closer to home – broad Scots.

Edinburgh-based Scots language publisher Itchy Coo has set its sights on transforming the boy wizard's speech into the kind of brogue more likely to be found in an Oor Wullie annual.

And Itchy Coo founder Matthew Fitt – who has already worked on translating books by Roald Dahl into Scots – believes revamping one of the world's most popular children's books into Scots will encourage a new generation to be proud of their brogue and do better in school.

His plan comes after a national audit of the language revealed Scots is spoken by around 1.6 million people and a decision by the Scottish Government to include documents written in Scots on its website. A revamp of the schools curriculum to include special provision for Scots is also on the cards.

Although Harry Potter author JK Rowling has not yet been approached for the go-ahead, she is known to be a keen supporter of Scots – two years ago she offered a poem from one of her books for auction to help fund publication of an updated Scots dictionary.

Securing the right to translate Harry Potter would be a major coup for the tiny publishing firm, whose catalogue already includes Scots versions of books by children's favourite Dahl and Robert Louis Stevenson. Dahl's book The Twits has become The Eejits and gone on to become a Scottish bestseller, while the RLS classic, Kidnapped, is retitled Kidnappit.

Last year, one of its original titles, Katie's Moose – penned in Scots and aimed at nursery children – beat off stiff competition to win the Early Years category in the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books 2007.

Fitt believes the nation is on the verge of understanding the importance of keeping Scots alive.

"I got leathered for saying anything in Scots when I was young," he admits. "But the Scots language is part of us and it's part of Scotland – and if we want to be a modern country, we have to be comfortable with all that the country has to offer. About a third of the population speaks Scots but their language is not really reflected by official society in Scotland."

The trend towards embracing Scots has been boosted by the Scottish Government decision to translate its National Conversation document into Scots on its website. It describes Alex Salmond as 'First Meinister, the Richt Honourable Alex Salmond', and refers to 'fowk' having the 'richt tae decide the wey we'r govern't'.

The upturn in the 'mither tongue's' fortunes is further boosted by moves to include Scots in the school curriculum – prompted by a campaign led by teachers and language supporters who believe providing Scots materials in schools can help improve education standards.

Matthew, who co-founded Itchy Coo in 2002 with fellow writer James Robertson, says there is evidence to prove that using Scots in schools can improve education prospects for many youngsters, whose confidence soars when they are encouraged to speak in their 'ain tongue'.

"Children don't want to use Scots words in class in case they are told off," he explains. "They are told from the age of five that the language they hear and they speak is wrong – and that has an impact on a person's confidence. A 'bilingual' approach, so they can go between English and Scots, can improve their confidence."

Education minister Maureen Watt recently called for children to be taught in Scots, saying: "Now is the time for the children of Scotland to rediscover Scots. When being taught well, Scottish schoolchildren learn about what constitutes good English, likewise they should be guided on the value and place of the Scots language."

Fitt believes translating Harry Potter into Scots would encourage reluctant readers to tackle the bestsellers – particularly older boys. "We're hoping that it's something we can do and, although it's an idea at the moment, we know there are children out there who would really benefit from it. Many Scots children understand English but Scots speaks to their heart as well as their head."

Information about Itchy Coo books, www.itchy-coo.com