The linguistic landscape of Scots in the 21st century

In the changing socio-political landscape of Scotland, debates on the Scots language have come to the fore. But what exactly is Scots? In this talk, I address this question by examining the social and linguistic landscape of Scots, both spoken and written, and the highly differentiated varieties therein. Where is Scots spoken, and by whom? How is it evolving through time? How does geography impact on the linguistic structures used? Who writes in Scots, and in which contexts? Are governmental policies in place for the Scots language? More generally, how might a profile of the linguistic landscape of Scots in the 21st century inform on future debates?