4.3 A brief history of the Shetland dialect

In this section, you are going to focus on the Shetland dialect as an example of a distinct dialect of Scots. You will learn about the history of the dialect and how aspects of this history can still be recognised in the dialect today.

Activity 7

  • As you read the text on the Shetland dialect, make notes in the form of bullet points on what you consider to be the key aspects of the history of the Shetland dialect.

Here is an example:

  • A now extinct language called Norn was once spoken in Shetland, Orkney and Caithness.Shetlanders kept speaking Norn longer than the people in Orkney and Caithness.
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Answer

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  • transition to Scots was quicker in Orkney and Caithness than in Shetland, due to their closer proximity to the Scottish mainland
  • transition from Norn to Scots was made all the easier due to Scots already containing many Scandinavian borrowings
  • Shetlanders cultivated a bilingualism which enabled them to communicate on two levels with the dialect considered to be on the lower level
  • Scots spoken in Shetland today is heavily Anglicized due to popularity of American TV and culture, increased mobility of people, together with the increasing influence of the internet
  • today the Shetland dialect is spoken far less than ever before
  • in the 2011 census Shetland dialect had highest percentage of speakers across the whole of Scotland, tied first with Aberdeenshire
  • being able to speak good English trumped the ability to speak good Scots - no small part due to the role played by English as the language of education
  • Scots speakers who can also speak English are bilingual but are neither viewed by other Scots, nor by themselves, as bilingual.

The dialect of Scots spoken in the Shetland Isles has been strongly influenced by Norse, Scots and English. Each of the three languages has influenced the linguistic features of the islands over their history as each of the three respective nations have dominated the Shetland Isles at different times.

From around the 9th century to the 17th, the people of Shetland spoke Norn – a North Germanic language belonging to the same group as Norwegian. Norn is now extinct, but was once spoken in Shetland, Orkney and Caithness.

The transition to Scots was quicker in Orkney and Caithness than in Shetland due to their closer proximity to the Scottish mainland. It then accelerated in 1468–69 when Shetland and Orkney were pledged to Scotland by the Danish as the dowry of Princess Margaret of Denmark when she married King James III of Scotland.

Whilst Shetlanders took longer than their southern neighbours to gradually move from speaking Norn to Scots it is not surprising that they eventually did. Once the Northern Isles were officially part of Scotland, the influence of law and religion in particular began to impact the previously Scandinavian culture of Shetland.

The Scots language, which was increasing in use, was itself being influenced by English as written Scots began to be modified to resemble English in more and more ways. The transition from Norn to Scots was made all the easier due to Scots already containing many Scandinavian borrowings, such as:

O.NkimaSc. kirnEng. churn
O.NbyggjaSc. bigg Eng. to build
O.NheptiSc. heftEng. handle
O.N*illrSc.** illEng.*** bad

Footnotes  

*O.N. = Old Norse

Footnotes  

** Sc. = Scots

Footnotes  

*** Eng. = English
(Examples from The Shetland Dictionary p.xii)
John J. Graham, author of The Shetland Dictionary

John J. Graham wrote in the Introduction to his word book, The Shetland Dictionary,

“a mother tongue is not easily eradicated [...] Shetlanders cultivated a bilingualism which enabled them to communicate on two levels, although in social terms there was no question but that the dialect was on the lower level. While the use of English to strangers was justified ostensibly as ‘good manners’ this custom was undoubtedly a tacit recognition of the socially inferior role to which the dialect had been relegated.”

(1979, p. xii)

The Scots spoken in Shetland today is heavily Anglicized – just as with the rest of Scotland – due to the globalization of English. Popularity of American TV and culture, increased mobility of people, together with the increasing influence of the internet, means many people believe we are now at a linguistic point in time where Shetland dialect is spoken far less than ever before.

Having said that, the data gathered in the 2011 Scottish census showed 49% of people living in Shetland identified themselves as Scots speakers. This was the highest percentage across the whole of Scotland, tied first with Aberdeenshire.

Whilst there is substantial evidence that Shetlanders have a great passion for their local dialect (exemplified by the volunteer-run dialect promotion group based on the Isles: Shetland ForWirds [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ) it has been the case for many decades that being able to speak good English trumped the ability to speak good Scots – the same situation exists today as described by Graham when writing in 1979 (p. xvi).

This is in no small part due to the role played by English as the language of education. At the same time, it highlights an important point not only for this unit, but of this entire course: that Scots speakers who can also speak English are bilingual but are neither viewed by other Scots, nor by themselves, as bilingual.

Activity 8

Now go over your notes what you have learned about Scots dialects in this unit so far.

Write a paragraph of about 50 to 100 words summarizing the key things you have learned about dialect diversity in Scotland. Then reveal our model answer and compare it with your own.

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Answer

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Speakers in Shetland, Orkney, Caithness and the North East (the four furthest North of the ten dialects) tend to view their dialect as distinct from Scots. Whereas those within the next six (covering the central belt and southern areas of Scotland) will generally consider themselves as Scots speakers.

At an academic level, researchers studying Scots for linguistic purposes will often isolate one particular dialect or geographical area from another, as there can be vocabulary and features of grammar that are unique to that one dialect or region.

4.2 Dialects of Scots in today’s Scotland

4.4 Dialect diversity and bilingualism