While the attack agin the Gaelic leid is weel kent, the attack on Scots is affen left oot oor histories. But stertin wi the Scuils Inspectorate o 1845, the authorities stertit tae ding doun the Scots leid, throu the scuils, an syne amang the community, as pairt o a policy tae centrify an staundartise. This policy grew ever baulder as a wheen teachers beltit bairns for speakin in Scots an gart them speak Soothron, a leid thay didna for ordnar hear in thair hames, wark or community an didna richtly ken hoo tae soond. Even the kirk meenister in thae days paraphrased the Bible for thaim that didna read Inglis.

As the 20t century dawed a new threit stertit tae kythe: the mass media. The fact that the war nae programmes throu Scots whan radio an televeesion stertit in the 1920’s, an Scots wisna quotit in the scuils, meant that the war nae place for Scots speakers tae bigg an uphaud thair ain leid ayont poyems an antrin newspaper airticles. An noo Scots fowk cuid hear Soothron soondit aw the time throu the radio, picture-hoose an syne the televeesion as it ett awa at thair ain leid a bittie at a time. The’r nae doot that muckle o the richness o the Scots leid haes been tint ower the hunner year bygane.

Nanetheless, gin yer forebears belanged ony pairt o the Lawlands, or Caitnes, Orkney or Shetland, it wad’a been Scots that thay spak as thair mither tongue an affen Scots wis the wrutten leid forby. Thay wad’a met wi narra nebs agin thair langage on the pairt o the scuils, government depairtments, an media ootlets, at ony time fae the 1840’s onwards, jist like Gaelic.

As ye speir-oot yer faimly history, an gae forder back, ye’ll find mair an mair documents wrutten in Scots, an forby documents in Soothron full o Scots terms. This is pairt an paircel o the culture o Scots faimly history.