The Story of English Episode Four: Gaelic

Thes episode focuses purely oan th' scottish accent an aw as scottish influence oan th' spreid an' evolution ay th' sassenach leid. an' they mentioned aberdeen, sae ay coorse Ah got aw excited. it's a pure strange hin' tae ken 'at someain is a natife sassenach speaker an' 'en nae kin a wuid they say when they spick it. thes happened a coople times tae me durin' th' episode an' Ah was huir uv a grateful fur th' subtitles. the part abit rabbie burns was interestin' coz Ah huvnae reid much ay his poetry an' did nae ken 'at he was sae against th' sassenach leid. Ah only kent 'at he was a famoos scottish poit an' 'at he hud written auld lang syne. haur is a mair traditional version ay th' sang played oan bags, an' haur is a mair modern version ay th' sang, also played oan bags, yit shows incorporation ay sassenach graphite loons styles loch rock intae a huir uv a traditional part ay scottish culture.

Ah also foond it sad 'at th' sassenach leid an' culture was daein' sae much damage tae th' heelain culture ay scootlund. Ah fin' th' accent frae 'at area bonnie an' charmin'. th' fact 'at those tois wee jimmies, john northguid an' calum kin', hud felt th' need tae change th' way they spoke when they moved intae th' lowlands coz ay th' way they waur bein' treated fur their gaelic accents is sic' a sham. we mentioned thes in class a wee bit, 'at coontries ur takin' oan sassenach an' therefair natife languages ur havin' trooble survivin'. when compared tae india, thaur ur mony similarities in th' way sassenach reached baith areas: by force. however, india noo functions largely in sassenach an' knowin' th' leid can be considered a sign ay class an' education. in heelain scootlund, thes isnae th' case. th' traditional leid ay gaelic is fightin' tae bide alife an' keep th' culture ay th' area frae bein' forgotten.

Translation:

This episode focuses purely on the Scottish accent as well as Scottish influence on the spread and evolution of the English language. And they mentioned Aberdeen, so of course I got all excited.

It's a really strange thing to know that someone is a native English speaker and then not understand a word they say when they speak it. This happened a couple times to me during the episode and I was very grateful for the subtitles.

The part about Robert Burns was interesting because I haven't read much of his poetry and did not know that he was so against the English language. I only knew that he was a famous Scottish poet and that he had written Auld Lang Syne. Here is a more traditional version of the song played on bagpipes, and here is a more modern version of the song, also played on bagpipes, yet shows incorporation of English music styles like rock into a very traditional part of Scottish culture.

I also found it sad that the English language and culture was doing so much damage to the highland culture of Scotland. I find the accent from that area beautiful and charming. The fact that those two boys, John Northgood and Calum King, had felt the need to change the way they spoke when they moved into the lowlands because of the way they were being treated for their Gaelic accents is such a shame.

We mentioned this in class a little bit, that countries are taking on English and therefore native languages are having trouble surviving. When compared to India, there are many similarities in the way English reached both areas: by force. However, India now functions largely in English and knowing the language can be considered a sign of class and education. In highland Scotland, this is not the case. The traditional language of Gaelic is fighting to stay alive and keep the culture of the area from being forgotten.

"The Guid Scots Tongue." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.