Name calling

THE suggestion by Robert Veitch (Letters, 16 January) that we should return to calling our Lowland language English has a great deal of history behind it. For the better part of 1,000 years the language was known as English, after the Engle, who occupied south-east Scotland from the early 630s. Edinburgh had fallen by 638AD.

This name, among many Scots, was carried on up to the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Our people have has as much right to use English for its name as the people of England. It would also stop the ridiculous bickering about Scots, Scottish and Scotch.

ROBERT PATE

Old Edinburgh Road

Minnigaff, Newton Stewart

Wigtownshire

Colin Wilson may or may not be correct with his view as to whether Scots is a language. There is an equal view that English is merely badly pronounced French, so I suspect the debate will go on and on.

One has to ask what the purpose of a language is. Surely it is a means by which we make ourselves understood? That being so, we should consider the benefits of the particular in linguistic terms of promoting a language (or dialect) spoken and/or understood by a very small percentage of Scotland's population.

To perpetuate Scots would be a wonderful thing in itself, keeping it as a cherished inheritance, but it won't help anyone else understand us and that is rather the point these days, is it not?

ANDREW HN GRAY

Craiglea Drive

Edinburgh

Colin Wilson makes a number of statements about Scots, such as that all common usages are in English dictionaries (Letter, 15 January). The reason Scots words are included is that popular writers like Sir Walter Scott used much Scots dialogue and his readers required meanings. Equally, Burns was quoted at length in older poetry books. But it is to be noted that these dictionaries always describe the words as (Scots) ie Scottish. This does not confirm Mr Wilson's suggestion that Scots is therefore English.

The request by Mr Wilson for standardisation is answered by the following quotation from a modern scholar: "The entire world needs a diversity of … linguistic entities for its salvation, for its greater creativity, for the more certain solution of human problems, for the greater rehumanisation of humanity in the face of materialism, for fostering greater esthetic, intellectual and emotional capacities for humanity as a whole, indeed for arriving at a higher state of human functioning." (Joshua A Fisher, 1982)

IAIN WD FORDE

Main Street

Scotlandwell, Kinross-shire