Great Scottish books to get Scots translation

A number of books with Scottish roots are to have their first lines translated into Scots.

Works such as Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Peter Pan are to get the Scots treatment in a new project designed to promote the language.

Braw Beginnings is being run as part of Scotland's Year of Stories, with Scots language ambassador Alistair Heather leading the work for VisitScotland.

Mr Heather said: “This project is fun. It gies us a fresh way of looking at the literature we ken well. And it gies us a chance tae enjoy wir Scots tongue in a new environment. It’s a re-exploration.

“We’ve a lot to be proud of here. Two things I love introducing visitors and newcomers to Scotland to are our literature and the joy of the Scots language. This project emphasises both. Hopefully folk enjoy it and enjoy discovering how much great writing has Scottish connections.

“A love of literature and a complex multilingualism has marked oot Scotland for centuries. In the thoosan years since we’ve existed, the language o state has been Gaelic, Scots, then English. Aw three contribute to wir history, wir present and wir literature."

With 1.5 million speakers, Scots is the most widely spoken indigenous language in Scotland, according to the 2011 Scottish Census. Another 267,000 people said they could understand Scots, but not read, write or speak the language.

Scots language ambassador Alistair Heather will lead the translation work for Visit Scotland. PIC: BBC Alba.

VisitScotland said inspiration for the project came from Scottish Twitter, with some claiming the site had helped to revive the use of Scots in the 21st century.

Marie Christie, VisitScotland head of events development, said: “This project sees some of the world’s best-known books with Scottish links translated into Scots as a way to showcase the language to an even wider audience. We hope it will encourage visitors to try speaking some Scots and find out more about the language when holidaying here, especially during Scotland’s Year of Stories.

“Scots and the country’s other languages are all part of our unique culture, which can only truly be experienced in Scotland, strengthening the experience we know means so much to visitors.”