Scots Online – Level 1

Scots is one of three native languages spoken in Scotland today, the other two being English and Scottish Gaelic. It’s the collective name for Scottish dialects known also as ‘Doric’, ‘Lallans’ and ‘Scotch’ or by more local names such as ‘Buchan’, ‘Dundonian’, ‘Glesca’ or ‘Shetland’. Pretty cool sounding names, right?

Scots has been spoken in Scotland for many centuries and is spoken today throughout the Lowlands and Northern Isles of Scotland, by young and old alike. At one time Scots was the national language of Scotland, spoken by Scottish kings, and was used to write the official records of the country.

It is a language that ‘branched off’ from Early Modern English (roughly around 16th/17th Century) thus sharing many similarities to the English Language. When listening to Scots, you can actually understand 70% of the spoken language if you know English! Learn this fun language, which is very easy to master.