Editing Ulster Scots dialect

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{short description|Scots as spoken in Ulster, Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox Dialect 
|name=Ulster Scots
|nativename={{lang|sco-ulster|Ulstèr-Scotch}}<br/>{{lang|sco-ulster|Ullans}}<br/>{{lang|sco-ulster|(Braid) Scots}}<ref name="Traynor, 36" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/heritage-towns/the-heritage-towns-of-don/raphoe/ulster-scots-the-Dialect/ |title=Ulster-Scots – the Dialect of the Laggan |publisher=Askaboutireland.ie |access-date=17 April 2015 |archive-date=5 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505213112/http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/heritage-towns/the-heritage-towns-of-don/raphoe/ulster-scots-the-Dialect/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>''<br/>[[Scotch (adjective)|Scotch]]''<ref name="Traynor, 244"/><ref>Nic Craith M. (2002) ''Plural Identities—singular Narratives'', Berghahn Books. p. 107</ref>
|states= [[Ireland]]
|region= [[Ulster]]
|ethnicity= [[Ulster Scots people]]
|speakers=?
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3=[[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
|fam4=[[North Sea Germanic]]
|fam5=[[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
|fam6=[[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
|fam7=[[Scots language|Scots]]
|ancestor=[[Proto-Indo-European]]
|ancestor2=[[Proto-Germanic]]
|ancestor3=[[Proto-West Germanic]]
|ancestor4=[[Proto-English]]
|ancestor5=[[Northumbrian Old English]]
|ancestor6=[[Early Middle English]]
|ancestor7=[[Early Scots]]
|ancestor8=[[Middle Scots]]
|ancestor9=[[Modern Scots]]
|minority= [[Northern Ireland]]
|dia1= [[Glenoe dialect|Glenoe]]
|agency=The cross-border ''[[Ulster-Scots Agency|Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch]]'', established as a result of the [[Belfast Agreement|Good Friday Agreement]]
|isoexception=dialect
|glotto=ulst1239
|glottorefname=Ulster [Scots]
|ietf=sco-ulster
|lingua=52-ABA-aa<br />(varieties: 52-ABA-aar to -aat)
|map=English dialects in Ulster contrast.png
|mapcaption=Approximate boundaries of the traditional Scots language areas in Ulster, shaded in [[Turquoise (colour)|turquoise]] {{Color|turquoise|■}}. Based on ''The Scotch-Irish Dialect Boundaries in Ulster'' (1972) by R. J. Gregg.<ref name="Gregg R.J. 1972"/>}}
{{Scots language}}

'''Ulster Scots''' or '''Ulster-Scots'''  ({{lang|sco-ulster|Ulstèr-Scotch}}),<ref name="Ulster-Scots Agency">{{cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/ |title=Ulster-Scots Agency |publisher=Ulster-Scots Agency |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Anent Oorsels">{{cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotslanguage.com/usl/about-us/ |title=Anent Oorsels |publisher=Ulsterscotslanguage.com |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> also known as '''Ulster Scotch''' and '''Ullans''', is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of [[Scots language|Scots]]) spoken in parts of [[Ulster]], being almost exclusively spoken in parts of [[Northern Ireland]] and [[County Donegal]].<ref name="Gregg R.J. 1972">Gregg, R. J. (1972) "The Scotch-Irish Dialect Boundaries in Ulster" in Wakelin, M. F., ''Patterns in the Folk Speech of the British Isles'', London: Athlone Press</ref><ref name="C. Macafee 2001 p121">Macafee, C. (2001) "Lowland Sources of Ulster Scots" in J. M. Kirk & D. P. Ó Baoill, ''Languages Links: the Languages of Scotland and Ireland'', Belfast: Cló Ollscoil na Banríona,  p. 121</ref><ref>Harris, J. (1985) ''Phonological Variation and Change: Studies in Hiberno English'', Cambridge, p. 15</ref> It is normally considered a [[dialect]] or group of dialects of Scots, although groups such as the Ulster-Scots Language Society<ref>{{cite web|title=Language|url=http://www.ulsterscotslanguage.com/en/language/|publisher=Ulster-Scots Language Society|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> and Ulster-Scots Academy<ref>{{cite web|last1=Montgomery|first1=Michael|title=An Academy established and the task begun: A report on work in progress|url=http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.com/research/ulster-scots-academy-established.php|publisher=Ulster-Scots Academy|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> consider it a language in its own right, and the [[Ulster-Scots Agency]]<ref>{{cite web|title=An introduction to the Ulster-Scots Language|url=http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/what-is-ulster-scots/language/|publisher=Ulster-Scots Agency|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> and former [[Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Northern Ireland)|Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Strategy to Enhance and Develop the Ulster-Scots Dialect, Heritage and Culture 2015–2035 |url=http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/strategy_to_enhance_and_develop_the_ulster_scots_language__heritage_and_culture_2015-2035.pdf |publisher=Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Northern Ireland) |access-date=17 May 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003125000/http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/strategy_to_enhance_and_develop_the_ulster_scots_language__heritage_and_culture_2015-2035.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2015 }}</ref> have used the term '''Ulster-Scots language'''.

Some definitions of Ulster Scots may also include [[Standard English]] spoken with an Ulster Scots accent.<ref>Gregg,  R. J. (1964) "Scotch-Irish Urban Speech in Ulster: a Phonological Study of the Regional Standard English of Larne, County Antrim" in Adams, G. B. ''Ulster Dialects: an Introductory Symposium'', Cultura: Ulster Folk Museum</ref><ref name="Harris 1985 p14">Harris, J. (1985) ''Phonological Variation and Change: Studies in Hiberno English'', Cambridge. p. 14</ref> This is a situation like that of Lowland Scots and [[Scottish English|Scottish Standard English]]<ref name="Harris 1984 p119"/> with words pronounced using the Ulster Scots [[phoneme]]s closest to those of Standard English.<ref name="Harris 1984 p119">Harris (1984) "English in the north of Ireland" in P. Trudgill, ''Language in the British Isles'', Cambridge; p. 119</ref>
Ulster Scots has been influenced by [[Hiberno-English]], particularly [[Ulster English]], and by [[Ulster Irish]]. As a result of the competing influences of English and Scots, [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of Ulster Scots can be described as "more English" or "more Scots".<ref name="Harris 1985 p14"/>

==Names==
While once referred to as ''Scotch-Irish'' by several researchers, that has now been superseded by the term ''Ulster Scots''.<ref>Harris, J. (1985) ''Phonological Variation and Change: Studies in Hiberno English'', Cambridge, p. 13</ref> Speakers usually refer to their vernacular as 'Big Scots',<ref name="Traynor, 36" >Traynor, Michael (1953) ''The English Dialect of Donegal''. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, p. 36</ref> '[[Scotch (adjective)|Scotch]]'<ref name="Traynor, 244" >Traynor (1953), p. 244</ref><ref>Nic Craith, M. (2002) ''Plural Identities—Singular Narratives''. Berghahn Books. p. 107</ref> or 'the hamely tongue'.<ref>Fenton, J. (1995) ''The Hamely Tongue: a Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim'', Ulster-Scots Academic Press</ref> Since the 1980s ''Ullans'', a [[neologism]] popularized by the physician, amateur historian and politician [[Ian Adamson]],<ref>Falconer, G. (2006) "The Scots Tradition in Ulster", ''Scottish Studies Review'', Vol. 7, No. 2. p. 97</ref> merging ''Ulster'' and ''[[Lallans]]'', the Scots for ''Lowlands'',<ref>Hickey, R. (2004) ''A Sound Atlas of Irish English''. Walter de Gruyter. p. 156</ref> but also an acronym for "'''U'''lster-Scots '''l'''anguage in '''l'''iterature '''a'''nd '''n'''ative '''s'''peech"<ref name="Tymoczko M. 2003 p.159">Tymoczko, M. & Ireland, C. A. (2003) ''Language and Tradition in Ireland: Continuities and Displacements'', Univ of Massachusetts Press. p. 159</ref> and ''Ulstèr-Scotch'',<ref name="Ulster-Scots Agency"/><ref name="Anent Oorsels"/> the preferred revivalist parlance, have also been used. Occasionally, the term ''Habitual-Scots'' appears,<ref>Wells, J. C. (1982) ''Accents of English: the British Isles'', Cambridge University Press p. 449</ref> whether for the vernacular or [[Ulster Scots people|the ethnic group]].<ref>Winston, A. (1997) ''Global Convulsions: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism at the End of the Twentieth Century'', SUNY Press; p. 161</ref>

==Speaker population and spread==

During the middle of the 20th century, the linguist [[Robert John Gregg]] established the geographical boundaries of Ulster's Scots-speaking areas based on information gathered from native speakers.<ref>Gregg, R. J. (1972) ''The Scotch-Irish Dialect Boundaries'' in Ulster in Wakelin, M. F., ''Patterns in the Folk Speech of the British Isles'', London: Athlone Press</ref> By his definition, Ulster Scots is spoken in mid and east [[County Antrim|Antrim]], north [[County Down|Down]], north-east [[County Londonderry]], and in the fishing villages of the Mourne coast. It is also spoken in the Laggan district and parts of the [[River Finn (County Donegal)|Finn Valley]] in east [[County Donegal|Donegal]] and in the south of [[Inishowen]] in north [[County Donegal|Donegal]].<ref>Caroline I. Macafee (ed.), ''A Concise Ulster Dictionary''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996; pp. xi–xii.</ref> Writing in 2020, the [[Fintona]]-born linguist Warren Maguire argued that some of the criteria that Gregg used as distinctive of Ulster Scots are common in south-west Tyrone and were found in other sites across Northern Ireland investigated by the [[Linguistic Survey of Scotland]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Maguire|first=Warren|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=9781474452908|title=Language and Dialect Contact in Ireland: The Phonological Origins of Mid-Ulster English|year=2020|page=4}}</ref>

[[File:Ulster-Scots speakers in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland.png|left|thumb|The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland aged 3 and above who stated that they could speak Ulster Scots]]

The 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey found that 2% of [[Northern Ireland]] residents claimed to speak Ulster Scots, which would mean a total speech community of approximately 30,000 in the territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/USPKULST.html |title=NI Life and Times Survey – 1999: USPKULST |publisher=Ark.ac.uk |date=9 May 2003 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> Other estimates range from 35,000 in Northern Ireland,<ref name="dcalni.gov.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/index/language-cultural-diversity-r08/frequently_asked_questions.htm#q1 |title=Frequently Asked Questions &#124; DCAL Internet |publisher=Dcalni.gov.uk |access-date=17 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221094546/http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/index/language-cultural-diversity-r08/frequently_asked_questions.htm |archive-date=21 December 2010 }}</ref> to an "optimistic" total of 100,000 including the [[Republic of Ireland]] (mainly the east of [[County Donegal]]).<ref name="Ulster Scots">{{cite web |url=http://www.uni-due.de/IERC/ulster_scots.htm |title=Ulster Scots |publisher=Uni-due.de |access-date=17 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205124558/https://www.uni-due.de/IERC/ulster_scots.htm |archive-date=5 February 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Speaking at a seminar on 9 September 2004, Ian Sloan of the Northern Ireland [[Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure]] (DCAL) accepted that the 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey "did not significantly indicate that unionists or nationalists were relatively any more or less likely to speak Ulster Scots, although in absolute terms there were more unionists who spoke Ulster Scots than nationalists".{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

In the [[United Kingdom 2021 Census|2021 census of Northern Ireland]], 20,930 people (1.14% of the population) stated that they can speak, read, write and understand Ulster Scots, 26,570 people (1.45% of the population) stated they can speak but cannot read or write Ulster Scots, and 190,613 people (10.38% of the population) reported having some knowledge of it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-07 |title=Census 2021 main statistics language tables |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/census-2021-main-statistics-language-tables |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |language=en}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Status==
{{Main|Scots language#Status}}

===Linguistic status===

[[File:MoatRoadBallyhalbert.jpg|thumb|A bilingual street sign in [[Ballyhalbert]], County Down]]

The majority of linguists treat Ulster Scots as a [[variety (linguistics)|variety]] of the [[Scots language]]; Caroline Macafee, for example, writes that "Ulster Scots is [...] clearly a dialect of Central Scots."<ref name="C. Macafee 2001 p121"/>  The Northern Ireland [[Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure]] considers Ulster Scots to be "the local variety of the Scots language."<ref name="dcalni.gov.uk" /> Some [[linguists]], such as Raymond Hickey,<ref>Raymond Hickey ''Irish English: History and Present Day Forms'', Cambridge University Press, 2007. pp. 85–120</ref> treat Ulster Scots (and other forms of Scots) as a [[dialect]] of [[English language|English]]. It has been said that its "status varies between dialect and language".<ref>Crowley, Tony (2006) "The Political Production of a Language". ''Journal of Linguistic Anthropology''; Volume 16, Issue 1, pp. 23–35.</ref>

Enthusiasts such as [[Philip Robinson (author)|Philip Robinson]] (author of ''Ulster-Scots: a Grammar of the Traditional Written and Spoken Language''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/03-grammerbook.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105225837/http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/03-grammerbook.asp|url-status=dead|title=ulsterscotsagency.com|archivedate=5 January 2009}}</ref>), the Ulster-Scots Language Society<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotslanguage.com/en/language/ |title=Language |publisher=Ulsterscotslanguage.com |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> and supporters of an Ulster-Scots Academy<ref name="ulsterscotsacademy.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.org/ |title=結婚式の準備・役立つ知っておきたいこと【まとめ】 |publisher=Ulsterscotsacademy.org |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> are of the opinion that Ulster Scots is a language in its own right. That position has been criticised by the [[Ulster-Scots Agency]], with a [[BBC]] report stating: "[The Agency] accused the academy of wrongly promoting Ulster-Scots as a language distinct from Scots."<ref>{{cite news|author=Conor Spackman |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7535681.stm |title=UK &#124; Northern Ireland &#124; Ulster-Scots academy 'misguided' |publisher=BBC News |date=31 July 2008 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> This position is reflected in many of the academic responses{{clarify|date=April 2015}} to the "Public Consultation on Proposals for an Ulster-Scots Academy"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/usaig_-_consultation_-_full_responses__53_-2.doc |format=Doc |title=Public Consultation on Proposals for an Ulster-Scots Academy |publisher=Dcalni.gov.uk |access-date=17 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213050/http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/usaig_-_consultation_-_full_responses__53_-2.doc |archive-date=23 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Legal status===
{{Update section|date=December 2022}}
Ulster Scots is defined in an ''Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing implementation bodies done at Dublin on the 8th day of March 1999'' in the following terms:

{{blockquote|"Ullans" is to be understood as the variety of the Scots language traditionally found in parts of Northern Ireland and Donegal.}}

The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) Northern Ireland Order 1999,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19990859.htm |title=The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 |publisher=Opsi.gov.uk |date=5 December 2013 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> which gave effect to the implementation bodies incorporated the text of the agreement in its Schedule 1.

The declaration made by the British Government regarding the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] reads as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CV=1&NA=&PO=999&CN=999&VL=1&CM=9&CL=ENG |title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No.&nbsp;148 |publisher=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The United Kingdom declares, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Charter that it recognises that Scots and Ulster Scots meet the Charter's definition of a regional or minority language for the purposes of Part II of the Charter.}}

This recognition differed significantly from the commitments entered into under the Charter in relation to Irish, for which specific provisions under Part III were invoked for the protection and promotion of that language. The definition of Ullans from the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) Northern Ireland Order 1999 above was used on 1 July 2005 Second Periodical Report by the United Kingdom to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe outlining how the UK met its obligations under the Charter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/local_and_regional_democracy/regional_or_minority_languages/2_monitoring/2.2_States_Reports/UK_report2.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225044134/http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/local_and_regional_democracy/regional_or_minority_languages/2_monitoring/2.2_States_Reports/UK_report2.pdf|url-status=dead|title=PDF|archivedate=25 December 2009}}</ref>

The [[Good Friday Agreement]] (which does not refer to Ulster Scots as a "language") recognises Ulster Scots as ''"part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland"'', and the Implementation Agreement established the cross-border [[Ulster-Scots Agency]] (''Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch'').

The legislative remit laid down for the agency by the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) Northern Ireland Order 1999 is: "the promotion of greater awareness and the use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island".

The agency has adopted a mission statement: ''to promote the study, conservation, development and use of Ulster Scots as a living language; to encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and to promote an understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots people.''<ref name="Ulster-Scots Agency"/> Despite the Agency's reference to Ulster Scots as "a language", this eliding of the distinction between Ulster Scots as a linguistic form, and "Ulster Scots culture" broadly referring to cultural forms associated with the Scottish-descended population, continued thereafter.

The [[Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006]]<ref>{{UK-LEG|path=ukpga/2006/53/contents|title=Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006}}</ref> amended the [[Northern Ireland Act 1998]] to insert a section (28D) entitled ''Strategies relating to Irish language and Ulster Scots language etc.'' which [[inter alia]] laid on the Executive Committee a duty to "adopt a strategy setting out how it proposes to enhance and develop the Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture." This reflects the wording used in the [[St Andrews Agreement]] to refer to the enhancement and development of "the Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?locID=199&docID=2931 |title=Home – Department of Taoiseach |publisher=Taoiseach.gov.ie |date=19 May 2009 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> There is still controversy on the status of Ulster Scots.<ref>McCoy, Gordon, and O'Reilly, Camille (2003) "Essentialising Ulster? the Ulster-Scots Language Movement". In ''Language and Tradition in Ireland''. [[Maria Tymoczko]] & Colin Ireland, eds. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.</ref>

==History and literature==
{{See also|History of the Scots language}}

[[File:Ballygally Castle staircase.jpg|thumb|[[Middle Scots]] inscription "Godis Providens Is My Inheritans" over the main entrance door leading to the tower in [[Ballygally Castle]]]]
A large numbers of [[Scots language|Scots]]-speaking [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowlanders]], some 200,000, arrived during the 17th century following the 1610 [[Plantation of Ulster|Plantation]], with the peak reached during the 1690s.<ref name="Montgomery & Gregg 1997: 572">Montgomery & Gregg 1997: 572</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=July 2020}} In the core areas of [[Scottish people|Scots]] settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one.<ref>Adams 1977: 57</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Literature from shortly before the end of the unselfconscious tradition at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is almost identical with contemporary writing from Scotland.<ref name="Montgomery & Gregg 1997: 585">Montgomery & Gregg 1997: 585</ref> W. G. Lyttle, writing in ''Paddy McQuillan's Trip Tae Glesco'', uses the typically Scots forms ''kent'' and ''begood'', now replaced in Ulster by the more mainstream [[Old English|Anglic]] forms ''knew'', ''knowed'' or ''knawed'' and ''begun''. Many of the modest contemporary differences between Scots as spoken in Scotland and Ulster may be due to dialect levelling and influence from Mid Ulster English brought about through relatively recent demographic change rather than direct [[Language contact|contact]] with Irish, retention of older features or separate development.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

The earliest identified writing in Scots in Ulster dates from 1571: a letter from Agnes Campbell of County Tyrone to [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]] on behalf of Turlough O'Neil, her husband. Although documents dating from the Plantation period show conservative Scots features, English forms started to predominate from the 1620s as Scots declined as a written medium.<ref name="Scots 2003">Corbett, John; McClure, J. Derrick & Stuart-Smith, Jane (eds.) (2003) ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scots'', Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press {{ISBN|0-7486-1596-2}}</ref>

In Ulster Scots-speaking areas there was traditionally a considerable demand for the work of Scottish poets, often in locally printed editions. These include [[Alexander Montgomerie]]'s ''The Cherrie and the Slae'' in 1700; shortly over a decade later an edition of poems by [[Sir David Lindsay]]; nine printings of [[Allan Ramsay (1686–1758)|Allan Ramsay]]'s ''The Gentle shepherd'' between 1743 and 1793; and an edition of [[Robert Burns]]' poetry in 1787, the same year as the Edinburgh edition, followed by reprints in 1789, 1793 and 1800. Among other Scottish poets published in Ulster were [[James Hogg]] and [[Robert Tannahill]].

[[Image:Plaque poetry Writers Square Belfast Robert Huddlestone.jpg|thumb|Poetry by [[Robert Huddlestone]] (1814–1887) inscribed in paving in Writers' Square, Belfast]]
That was complemented by a poetry revival and nascent prose genre in Ulster, which started around 1720.<ref name="Robinson 2003">Robinson (2003) ''The historical presence of Ulster-Scots in Ireland'', in ''The Languages of Ireland'', ed. Cronin, Michael & Ó Cuilleanáin, Cormac; Dublin: Four Courts Press {{ISBN|1-85182-698-X}}</ref> The most prominent of these was the ''[[Weaver Poets|rhyming weaver]]'' poetry, of which, some 60 to 70 volumes were published between 1750 and 1850, the peak being in the decades 1810 to 1840,{{clarify|date=April 2015}} although the first printed poetry (in the [[Burns stanza|Habbie stanza]] form) by an Ulster Scots writer was published in a [[broadsheet]] in Strabane in 1735.<ref>Hewitt, John, ed. (1974) ''Rhyming Weavers''. Belfast: Blackstaff Press</ref> These weaver poets looked to Scotland for their cultural and literary models and were not simple imitators but clearly inheritors of the same literary tradition following the same poetic and orthographic practices; it is not always immediately possible to distinguish traditional Scots writing from Scotland and Ulster. Among the ''rhyming weavers'' were [[James Campbell (poet)|James Campbell]] (1758–1818), [[James Orr (poet)|James Orr]] (1770–1816), [[Thomas Beggs]] (1749–1847), [[David Herbison]] (1800–1880), [[Hugh Porter (poet)|Hugh Porter]] (1780–1839) and [[Andrew McKenzie (poet)|Andrew McKenzie]] (1780–1839).

Scots was also used in the narrative by Ulster novelists such as [[W. G. Lyttle]] (1844–1896) and [[Archibald McIlroy]] (1860–1915). By the middle of the 19th century the ''[[Kailyard school]]'' of prose had become the dominant literary genre, overtaking poetry. This was a tradition shared with Scotland which continued into the early 20th century.<ref name="Robinson 2003"/> Scots also frequently appeared in Ulster newspaper columns, especially in Antrim and Down, in the form of pseudonymous social commentary employing a folksy first-person style.<ref name="Scots 2003"/> The pseudonymous Bab M'Keen (probably successive members of the Weir family: John Weir, William Weir, and Jack Weir) provided comic commentaries in the ''Ballymena Observer and County Antrim Advertiser'' for over a hundred years from the 1880s.<ref name="Ferguson 2008"/>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:This is the cover of a book containing the Gospel of Luke in both Ulster Scots and the 1611 AV.png|thumb|''[[Gospel of Luke]]'' in Ulster Scots, 2009<ref>The vowels in ''Guid'' and ''Luik'' are separate [[phoneme]]s. Previous Scots translations spell the name ''Luke''. (Nisbet c.1520, Smyth 1901, Lorimer 1985) The usual Modern Scots spelling is ''Doctor'': "One eminent in learning and able to instruct others in matters of theology or religion"</ref>]] -->
A somewhat diminished tradition of vernacular poetry survived into the 20th century in the work of poets such as Adam Lynn, author of the 1911 collection ''Random Rhymes frae Cullybackey'', John Stevenson (died 1932), writing as "Pat M'Carty", and John Clifford (1900–1983) from East Antrim.<ref>Ferguson, Frank (ed.) 2008, ''Ulster-Scots Writing'', Dublin: Four Courts Press {{ISBN|978-1-84682-074-8}}; p. 21</ref> In the late 20th century the poetic tradition was revived, albeit often replacing the traditional [[Modern Scots]] orthographic practice with a series of contradictory [[idiolect]]s.<ref name="abdn.ac.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/Reviews/Falconer_Frank%20Ferguson.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004160937/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/Reviews/Falconer_Frank%20Ferguson.shtml|url-status=dead|title=abdn.ac.uk|archivedate=4 October 2013}}</ref> Among the significant writers is [[James Fenton (Ulster-Scots poet)|James Fenton]], mostly using a blank verse form, but also occasionally the Habbie stanza.<ref name="Robinson 2003"/> He employs an orthography that presents the reader with the difficult combination of [[eye dialect]], dense Scots, and a greater variety of verse forms than employed hitherto.<ref name="abdn.ac.uk"/> The poet [[Michael Longley]] (born 1939) has experimented with Ulster Scots for the translation of Classical verse, as in his 1995 collection ''The Ghost Orchid''.<ref name="Ferguson 2008"/> The writing of Philip Robinson (born 1946) has been described as verging on "[[Postmodern literature|post-modern]] kailyard".<ref name="Ferguson 2008">Ferguson, Frank, ed. (2008) ''Ulster-Scots Writing''. Dublin: Four Courts Press  {{ISBN|978-1-84682-074-8}}</ref> He has produced a trilogy of novels ''Wake the Tribe o Dan'' (1998), ''The Back Streets o the Claw'' (2000) and ''The Man frae the Ministry'' (2005), as well as story books for children ''Esther, Quaen o tha Ulidian Pechts'' and ''Fergus an tha Stane o Destinie'', and two volumes of poetry ''Alang the Shore'' (2005) and ''Oul Licht, New Licht'' (2009).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ulsterscotslanguage.com/en/texts/biography/philip-robinson/ |title=Philip Robinson |publisher=Ulsterscotslanguage.com |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref>

A team in Belfast has begun translating portions of the Bible into Ulster Scots. The Gospel of Luke was published in 2009 by the Ullans Press. It is available in the YouVersion Bible Project.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://www.bible.com/bible/885/luk.1.usnt |title=Luik |publisher= Bible.com}}</ref>

===Since the 1990s===
[[Image:Multilingual sign Department Culture Leisure Arts Northern Ireland.jpg|thumb|A sign for the Northern Ireland [[Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure]]. It shows the [[Irish language|Irish]] translation (middle) and a translation in a form of Ulster Scots (bottom).<ref>''Fowkgates'' is a [[neologism]] (based on "folkways"), the traditional Scots word being ''cultur'' [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=culture&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=entry&dtext=dboth dsl.ac.uk]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313205044/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=culture&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=entry&dtext=dboth |date=13 March 2007 }} (Cf. ''pictur'' [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=721&startset=29470508&query=PICTER&fhit=pictur&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit dsl.ac.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313170917/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=721&startset=29470508&query=PICTER&fhit=pictur&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit |date=13 March 2007 }}). The Scots for leisure is ''leisur(e)'' {{IPA|[ˈliːʒər]}}, ''aisedom''  [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=994&startset=10381976&query=EASEDOM&fhit=easedom&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit (''easedom'')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313205033/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=994&startset=10381976&query=EASEDOM&fhit=easedom&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit |date=13 March 2007 }} is generally not used outwith the north-east of Scotland and is semantically different.</ref>]]

In 1992 the Ulster-Scots Language Society was formed for the protection and promotion of Ulster Scots, which some of its members viewed as a language in its own right, encouraging use in speech, writing and in all areas of life.

Within the terms of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages the British Government is obliged, among other things, to:
*Facilitate and/or encourage of the use of Scots in speech and writing, in public and private life.
*Provide appropriate forms and means for the teaching and study of the language at all appropriate stages.
*Provide facilities enabling non-speakers living where the language is spoken to learn it if they so desire.
*Promote study and research of the language at universities of equivalent institutions.

The [[Ulster-Scots Agency]], funded by DCAL in conjunction with the [[Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht]], is responsible for promotion of greater awareness and use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island. The agency was established as a result of the [[Belfast Agreement]] of 1998. Its headquarters are on [[Great Victoria Street, Belfast|Great Victoria Street]] in central [[Belfast]], while the agency has a major office in [[Raphoe]], County Donegal.

In 2001 the Institute of Ulster Scots Studies was established at the [[University of Ulster]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/ulsterscots/intro.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524052224/http://www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/ulsterscots/intro.html|url-status=dead|title=University of Ulster|archivedate=24 May 2011}}</ref>

An Ulster Scots Academy has been planned with the aim of conserving, developing, and teaching the language of Ulster-Scots in association with native speakers to the highest academic standards.<ref name="ulsterscotsacademy.org"/>

The 2010 documentary ''The Hamely Tongue'' by filmmaker Deaglán O Mocháin traces back the origins of this culture and language, and relates its manifestations in today's Ireland.

====New orthographies====
[[File:Looking for the "Cludgies"^ - geograph.org.uk - 637820.jpg|thumb|A trilingual sign at [[Strule Arts Centre]] in [[Omagh]] showing English, Irish (middle) and a form of Ulster Scots (bottom)<ref>An ''ingang'' is simply an entrance or entry [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=2904&startset=19735065&query=INGANG&fhit=ingang&dregion=entry&dtext=snd#fhit SND: Ingang]. ''Cludgie'' is a slang term for water-closet.[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=cludgie&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both SND: Cludgie] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321183603/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=cludgie&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both |date=21 March 2012 }}. ''Warkschap'' an [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] respelling of what tradition would likely render ''warkshap''.</ref>]]
By the early 20th century the literary tradition was almost extinct,<ref>Montgomery, Michael Gregg, Robert (1997) 'The Scots language in Ulster', in Jones (ed.), p. 585</ref> though some 'dialect' poetry continued to be written.<ref>Ferguson, Frank (ed.) (2008) ''Ulster-Scots Writing'', Dublin: Four Courts Press; {{ISBN|978-1-84682-074-8}}; p. 376</ref> Much [[language revival|revival]]ist Ulster Scots has appeared, for example as "official translations", since the 1990s. However, it has little in common with traditional Scots [[orthography]] as described in Grant and Dixon's ''Manual of Modern Scots'' (1921). [[Aodán Mac Póilin]], an [[Irish language]] activist, has described these revivalist orthographies as an attempt to make Ulster Scots an independent written language and to achieve official status. They seek "to be as different to English (and occasionally Scots) as possible".<ref name="aodan">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/stateapart/agreement/culture/support/cul2_c013.shtml |title= Language, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland |first1=Aodan |last1=Mac Poilin  |work=A State Apart  |publisher=BBC NI |date=9 February 1999 |access-date=17 April 2015}}</ref> He described it as a hotchpotch of obsolete words, [[neologism]]s (example: {{lang|sco|stour-sucker}}<ref>The Scots form would be [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=souk&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=snd souker] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321184937/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=souk&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=snd |date=21 March 2012 }}</ref> for ''[[vacuum cleaner]]''), redundant spellings (example: {{lang|sco|qoho}}<ref>The [[History of the Scots language|Older Scots]] spelling was usually [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=quha&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dost quha] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321184850/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?query=quha&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dost |date=21 March 2012 }}.</ref> for ''who'') and "erratic spelling".<ref name="aodan"/> This spelling "sometimes reflects everyday Ulster Scots speech rather than the conventions of either modern or historic Scots, and sometimes does not".<ref name="aodan"/> The result, Mac Póilin writes, is "often incomprehensible to the native speaker".<ref name="aodan"/> In 2000, John Kirk described the "net effect" of that "amalgam of traditional, surviving, revived, changed, and invented features" as an "artificial dialect". He added,<blockquote>It is certainly not a written version of the vestigial spoken dialect of rural County Antrim, as its activists frequently urge, perpetrating the fallacy that it's ''wor ain leid''. (Besides, the dialect revivalists claim not to be native speakers of the dialect themselves!) The colloquialness of this new dialect is deceptive, for it is neither spoken nor innate. Traditional dialect speakers find it counter-intuitive and false...<ref name = kirk>Kirk, John M. (2000) "The New Written Scots Dialect in Present–day Northern Ireland" in Magnus Ljung (ed.) ''Language Structure and Variation''; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell; pp. 121–138.</ref></blockquote>

In 2005, Gavin Falconer questioned officialdom's complicity, writing: "The readiness of Northern Ireland officialdom to consign taxpayers' money to a black hole of translations incomprehensible to ordinary users is worrying".<ref>Falconer, Gavin (2005) "Breaking Nature's Social Union – The Autonomy of Scots in Ulster" in John Kirk & Dónall Ó Baoill eds., ''Legislation, Literature and Sociolinguistics: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland'', Belfast: Queen's University, pp. 48–59.</ref> Recently produced teaching materials, have, on the other hand, been evaluated more positively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etini.gov.uk/ulster_scots.pdf|title=An Evaluation of the Work of the Curriculum Development Unit for Ulster-Scots|publisher=Stranmillis University College|access-date=17 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326190713/http://www.etini.gov.uk/ulster_scots.pdf|archive-date=26 March 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Sample texts===
The three text excerpts below illustrate how the traditional written form of Ulster Scots from the 18th to early 20th century was virtually indistinguishable from contemporary written Scots from Scotland.<ref name="Falconer, G. 2006. p.94">Falconer, G. ''The Scots Tradition in Ulster'', Scottish Studies Review, Vol. 7/2, 2006. p.94</ref>

''The Muse Dismissed'' ([[Hugh Porter (poet)|Hugh Porter]] 1780–1839)

:Be hush'd my Muse, ye ken the morn
:Begins the shearing o' the corn,
:Whar knuckles monie a risk maun run,
:An' monie a trophy's lost an' won,
:Whar sturdy boys wi' might and main
:Shall camp, till wrists an' thumbs they strain,
:While pithless, pantin' wi' the heat,
:They bathe their weazen'd pelts in sweat
:To gain a sprig o' fading fame,
:Before they taste the dear-bought cream—
:But bide ye there, my pens an' papers,
:For I maun up, an' to my scrapers—
:Yet, min', my lass— ye maun return
:This very night we cut the churn.

''To M.H.'' (Barney Maglone<ref>Robert Arthur Wilson</ref> 1820?–1875)

:This wee thing's o' little value,
::But for a' that it may be
:Guid eneuch to gar you, lassie,
::When you read it, think o' me.

:Think o' whan we met and parted,
::And o' a' we felt atween—
:Whiles sae gleesome, whiles doon-hearted—
::In yon cosy neuk at e'en.

:Think o' when we dander't
::Doon by Bangor and the sea;
:How yon simmer day, we wander't
::'Mang the fields o' Isle Magee.

:Think o' yon day's gleefu' daffin'
::(Weel I wot ye mind it still)
:Whan we had sic slips and lauchin',
::Spielin' daftly up Cave Hill.

:Dinna let your e'en be greetin'
::Lassie, whan ye think o' me,
:Think upo' anither meetin',
::Aiblins by a lanward sea.

From ''The Lammas Fair'' (Robert Huddleston 1814–1889)

:Tae sing the day, tae sing the fair,
::That birkies ca' the lammas;
:In aul' Belfast, that toun sae rare,
::Fu' fain wad try't a gomas.
:Tae think tae please a', it were vain,
::And for a country plain boy;
:Therefore, tae please mysel' alane,
::Thus I began my ain way,
:::::Tae sing that day.

:Ae Monday morn on Autumn's verge
::To view a scene so gay,
:I took my seat beside a hedge,
::To loiter by the way.
:Lost Phoebus frae the clouds o' night,
::Ance mair did show his face—
:Ance mair the Emerald Isle got light,
::Wi' beauty, joy, an' grace;
::::Fu' nice that day.

The examples below illustrate how 21st century Ulster Scots texts seldom adhere to the previous literary tradition, ''Yer guide tae the cheenge-ower'', perhaps being a rare exception. Instead there has been an increase in the use of somewhat creative phonetic spellings based on the perceived sound-to-letter correspondences of [[Standard English]], i.e. dialect writing, as exemplified in ''Alice's Carrànts in Wunnerlan'' or the adoption of a more esoteric "amalgam of traditional, surviving, revived, changed, and invented features"<ref name = kirk/> as exemplified in ''Hannlin Rede''.

From ''Yer guide tae the cheenge-ower'' (digitaluk 2012)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/71784/DG31101719_1c_Ulster-Scot_3Mth.pdf |title=Digital Television Information Brochure |publisher=Digital.co.uk |access-date=17 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125070407/http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/71784/DG31101719_1c_Ulster-Scot_3Mth.pdf |archive-date=25 November 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

:Dae A need a new aerial?
:Gin ye hae guid analogue reception the nou, ye'r like no tae need tae replace yer ruiftap or set-tap aerial for the cheenge-ower – thare nae sic thing as a 'deegital aerial'. But gin ye hae ill analogue reception the nou, ye'll mebbe need tae replace it.
:Find oot by gaun til the aerial-pruifer on '''Teletext page 284'''. Anither wey is tae wait until efter the cheenge-ower for tae see if yer pictur's affect.

From ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice's Carrànts in Wunnerlan]]'' (Anne Morrison-Smyth, 2013)<ref>Carroll, Lewis. 2013. ''Alice's Carrànts in Wunnerlan' '';, tr. Anne Morrison-Smith. 2nd edition. Cathair na Mart: [[Michael Everson|Evertype]], {{ISBN|978-1-78201-011-1}} (1st edition 2011 {{ISBN|978-1-904808-80-0}})</ref>

:The Caterpillar an Alice lukt at ither fur a quare while wi'oot taakin: finally the Caterpillar tuk the hookah oot o its mooth, an spoke tae hir in a languid, dozy voice.
:"Wha ir yae?" said the Caterpillar.
:This wusnae a pooerfu guid openin fur a yarn. Alice answert brev an baakwardly, "A—A harly know, Sir, jest at this minute—at least A know wha A wus this moarnin, but heth, A hae bin changed a wheen o times since thin."
:"What dae yae mean bae that?" said the Caterpillar sternly. "Explain yersel!"
:"A cannae explain maesel, A'm feart, Sir," said Alice, "baecaas A'm naw maesel, yae see."
:"A dinnae see," said the Caterpillar.
:"A cannae mak it onie mair clear," Alice answer, while polite, "fur A cannae unnerstan it maesel tae stairt wi; an baein sae monie different sizes in yin dae haes turnt mae heid."

From ''Hannlin Rede'' [annual report] ''2012–2013'' ([[Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs|''Männystèr o Fairms an Kintra Fordèrin'']], 2012)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dardni.gov.uk/dard-business-plan-2012-13-ulster-scots.pdf|title=Hannlin Rede 2012–2013|trans-title=Annual Report 2012-2013|language=sco|publisher=Department of Agriculture and Rural Development|access-date=17 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005055129/http://www.dardni.gov.uk/dard-business-plan-2012-13-ulster-scots.pdf|archive-date=5 October 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

:We hae cum guid speed wi fettlin tae brucellosis, an A'm mintin at bein haleheidit tae wun tae tha stannin o bein redd o brucellosis aathegither. Forbye, A'm leukkin tae see an ettlin in core at fettlin tae tha TB o Kye, takkin in complutherin anent a screengin ontak, tha wye we'll can pit owre an inlaik in ootlay sillert wi resydentèrs. Mair betoken, but, we'll be leukkin forbye tae uphaud an ingang airtit wi tha hannlins furtae redd ootcum disayses. An we'r fur stairtin in tae leukk bodes agane fur oor baste kenmairk gate, 'at owre tha nixt wheen o yeirs wull be tha ootcum o sillerin tae aboot £60m frae resydentèrs furtae uphaud tha hale hannlin adae wi beef an tha mïlk-hoose.

==See also==
*[[Ulster Scots people]]
*[[Unionism in Ireland]]
*[[Dictionary of the Scots Language]]
*[[History of the Scots language]]
*[[Languages of Ireland]]
*[[Languages in the United Kingdom]]
*[[British literature in languages other than English]]
*[[W.F. Marshall]]
*[[Mid-Ulster English]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ulsterscots BBC Ulster-Scots]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007d4s0 BBC A Kist o Wurds]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t3nsk BBC Robin's Readings]
*[http://www.ulsterscotslanguage.com/ The Ulster-Scots Language Society.]
*[http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.com/ Ulster-Scots Academy.]
*[http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/uscots.htm Pronunciation of Ulster Scots.]
*[http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/awaeoo.pdf Aw Ae Oo (Scots in Scotland and Ulster)] and [http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/AwAeWey.pdf Aw Ae Wey (Written Scots in Scotland and Ulster)]
*[http://www.ulster-scots-learning.org.uk/library/sounds/amy_carmichael.mp3 Listen to an Ulster Scots accent.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090316084847/http://www.soundcomparisons.com/Eng/Direct/Englishes/SglLgAntrimTrad.htm 'Hover & Hear' Ulster Scots pronunciations], and compare with other accents from the UK and around the World.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/stateapart/agreement/culture/support/cul2_c011.shtml Language, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland.]
*[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6734/is_26/ai_n28530601 Public policy and Scots in Northern Ireland.]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/voices/ulsterscots/index.shtml Ulster Scots voices (BBC site)]
*[http://www.ulster-scots.co.uk/ Ulster-Scots Online.]
*[http://www.Ullans.pro.ie Website promoting Ullans to the Gaelic community of Ireland.]

{{British-Irish Council|state=collapsed}}
{{Languages of the United Kingdom}}
{{Languages of Ireland}}

{{Ireland topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster Scots Dialects}}
[[Category:Languages of Ireland]]
[[Category:Languages of Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Scots dialects]]
[[Category:Ulster Scots|+Dialects]]