Alternate History No union -> Scots language
- Thread starter Buba
- Start date
Skallagrim
Well-known member
English didn't fully replace Scots in OTL, despite concerted efforts, particularly after the Act of Union. If Scotland is never dynastically and/or politically linked with England (by which I mean that James VI of Scotland never becomes monarch of England), the influence of English is going to be significantly decreased. In more recent times, we'll see that Scots will be influenced by English due to cross-border mass media-- but presumably still to a lesser degree than Scots was "anglicised" in OTL.
Since Scots was the language of Scotland's emerging sense of patriotism and national identity, Gaelic wouldn't be a threat, either. Indeed, in the period after the Wars of Scottish Independence, the key works of patriotic literature were all written in Scots. And even before James VI (who was himself a great proponent of Scots over Gaelic), the people of Scotland almost universally referenced Gaelic as Yrisch or Erse ("Irish"), and their own language (now called "Scots") as Scottis.
As such, I suspect that in the absence of any union between Scotland and Ireland, English will never get a meaningful foorhold except as a second language, and Gaelic will probably go completely extinct (instead of continuing an increasingly marginal existence, as in OTL). Conversely, without James becoming king in England, there will be no Plantation of Ulster-- or if there is, there won't be many settlers from Scotland. Meaning no Scots in Northern Ireland, and (possibly) an unchallenged supremacy of Gaelic on all that isle.
Since Scots was the language of Scotland's emerging sense of patriotism and national identity, Gaelic wouldn't be a threat, either. Indeed, in the period after the Wars of Scottish Independence, the key works of patriotic literature were all written in Scots. And even before James VI (who was himself a great proponent of Scots over Gaelic), the people of Scotland almost universally referenced Gaelic as Yrisch or Erse ("Irish"), and their own language (now called "Scots") as Scottis.
As such, I suspect that in the absence of any union between Scotland and Ireland, English will never get a meaningful foorhold except as a second language, and Gaelic will probably go completely extinct (instead of continuing an increasingly marginal existence, as in OTL). Conversely, without James becoming king in England, there will be no Plantation of Ulster-- or if there is, there won't be many settlers from Scotland. Meaning no Scots in Northern Ireland, and (possibly) an unchallenged supremacy of Gaelic on all that isle.
Skallagrim
Well-known member
Don't know about Knox, but as far as I know, the only translation into Scots was unpublished. Only in the 18th century did a Scots translation get published.
However... this is because the official translation into English was sponsored by... well, the name "King James Bible" gives it away, doesn't it? James I and VI again! If he's just James VI of Scotland, then it's not unrealistic that the ATL "King James translation" ends up being the Scottish national translation... into Scots.
The very thing that was enormously advantageous to English as disadvantageous to Scots in OTL might end up given Scots a big boost in this ATL. (And without James I, the English end up with a different "definitive translation"; I do think the ultra-Calvinist "Geneva bible" is still eventually going to be put aside.)