Letter: Scotching myth of native tongue

READING Colin Wilson's defence of the Doric (Letters, 10 October), reminded me that it was time for me to go to the defence of my own native tongue, which is Scotch.

This has been under vicious, brainwashing attack since the Second World War. David Murison, who was otherwise an excellent scholar, had an irrational wee noarie that the language should be called "Scots". Then, all the primsie preciosities, to show how superior they were, followed on like a wheen of yowes through a lunkie hole. This led to their impugning the knowledge of those patriots who still called their language "Scotch".

In the 18th century, language scholars pointed out that "The Scots language is Scotch", which is the name given by Burns. This was the name used by every major writer until well into the 20th Century.

As I have always spoken the same language as Burns, Scotch is my name for the Lowland Tongue.

Robert Pate, Newton Stewart