Bill Wilson MSP

Scottish Dictionary Anniversary to be Celebrated by Postage Stamp Issue?  MSP calls for Parliamentary Debate on Scots Language Dictionaries.

Dr Bill Wilson, MSP for the West of Scotland, today lodged a Parliamentary motion titled “Commemorative Stamps for 200th Anniversary of Scots Language Dictionary and Funding for Complete Modern Scots Dictionary”.  The motion was flagged for “member’s business” which means that Dr Wilson is calling for it to be debated in the Scottish Parliament.

Explaining his motion, Dr Wilson said, “John Jamieson led the way.  Two hundred years ago his Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language set the standard for lexicography.  The Oxford English Dictionary followed in its wake, so you could argue that this was yet another ground-breaking Scottish achievement, like rubber tyres, penicillin and ATMs.  As the adhesive postage stamp was, arguably, also invented by a Scot — James Chalmers — what could be more appropriate than to commemorate John Jamieson’s achievement by issuing stamps?”

Dr Wilson continued, “What John Jamieson did not have the resources to do, however, was to produce a complete dictionary of Scots, including the words shared with English.  How would he have reacted to learn that two hundred years later we still lack an up-to-date complete dictionary of the language?

“I regard this as shameful, and it must be a significant handicap in the struggle to eliminate discrimination against the Scots language.  It prevents the development of automated translation and spell-checkers, and must make it harder to teach the language.

“In this day and age, when projects such as ‘Language at Letham’ have demonstrated the very real and multiple benefits that can come from introducing Scots to the school curriculum, and when we are approaching the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns — an event that Scotland should capitalise on — it is a national disgrace and embarrassment that the Scottish Language Dictionaries organisation, responsible for the major dictionaries of the Scots Language, is having to operate on a shoestring, with no immediate prospect of being able to produce a complete modern dictionary.

 “I very much hope,” Dr Wilson said, “that other MSPs will support my motion and give me the opportunity to explain this matter of national importance in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.”

Commenting on Dr Wilson’s motion, Dr Christine Robinson of Scottish Language Dictionaries, said, “We can justly be proud of Scotland's achievements in lexicography, from Jamieson's first two substantial volumes to the vast online Dictionary of the Scots Language. But this great body of work needs to be maintained and taken forward.

“Recently, St Ninian's Primary School in Stirling made the data from their 'Word from the Weans' project available to us.  Their work clearly showed the enthusiasm for Scots among young people, and the words they chose might provide inspiration for the design of stamps to commemorate John Jamieson’s dictioinary.  We want to secure for the children of Scotland as full and up-to-date a record of their linguistic heritage as possible, in a form that can take full advantage of developments in IT.  For this, a complete dictionary is essential.“

Notes to Editors

1.  Full text of motion

Short Title: Commemorative Stamps for 200th Anniversary of Scots Language Dictionary and Funding for Complete Modern Scots Dictionary

S3M-01669 Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): That the Parliament notes that 2008 is the 200th anniversary of John Jamieson’s extensively researched An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, a book dedicated to the Baron of Renfrew, known also as the Prince of Wales, which included words from Renfrewshire and elsewhere in Scotland; notes that this dictionary set new standards in lexicography and has influenced two centuries of lexicographers, including Sir James Murray, the founding father of the Oxford English Dictionary, and those presently working for the Scots language dictionaries organisation; regrets, however, that two centuries after the publication of An Etymological Dictionary there is still no complete modern dictionary of the Scots language which includes words Scots shares with the related language, English; notes that this anomaly prevents the production of an effective spell-checker for Scots and makes automated translation impossible;  believes that the existence of such a complete dictionary would raise the status of the Scots language and help prevent possible discrimination against the language and its speakers in the west of Scotland and elsewhere, and would welcome investigation of the feasibility of both providing adequate funds for the production of such a dictionary and the issuing of stamps to commemorate John Jamieson’s remarkable achievement.

2.  Detailed briefing on John Jamieson and the history of Scots dictionaries

3.  Two of Dr Wilson’s previous press releases on the Scots language (the second is on the “Language at Letham” project)

A “Moose” in Every House? MSP asks Minister to Support Scots Reading Initiative.

Promoting the Scots language would have many benefits, says MSP.

4.  Dr Christine Robinson and Scottish Language Dictionaries

Christine Robinson
Director
Scottish Language Dictionaries
27 George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LD
0131 650 4149
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk
http://www.dsl.ac.uk
http://www.scuilwab.org.uk

5.  Famous Scots and their achievements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scots