Ulster Scots language
| Ulster Scots | |
|---|---|
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Ulstèr-Scotch, Ullans, (Braid) Scots,Scotch |
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| Native to |
Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland |
| Region | Ulster |
| Official status | |
|
Recognised minority
language in |
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| Regulated by | The cross-border Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch, established as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, promotes usage. |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | ulst1239 |
| Linguasphere | 52-ABA-aa |
Approximate boundaries of the traditional Scots language areas in Ulster, shaded in turquoise. Based on The Scotch-Irish Dialect Boundaries in Ulster (1972) by R. J. Gregg.
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Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (Ulstèr-Scotch), also known as Ullans, generally refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. Some definitions of Ulster Scots may also include Standard English spoken with an Ulster Scots accent. This is a situation like that of Lowland Scots and Scottish Standard English with words pronounced using the Ulster Scots phonemes closest to those of Standard English. Ulster Scots has been influenced by Hiberno-English, particularly Mid-Ulster English, and by Ulster Irish. As a result of the competing influences of English and Scots, varieties of Ulster Scots can be described as 'more English' or 'more Scots'.
The Scots language was brought to Ulster during the early 17th century, when large numbers of Scots speakers arrived from Scotland during the Hamilton and Montgomery Settlements and the Ulster Plantation. The earliest Scots writing in Ulster dates from that time, and until the late 20th century, written Scots from Ulster was almost identical with that of Scotland. However, since the revival of interest in the Ulster dialects of Scots in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, new orthographies have been created, which, according to Irish language activist Aodán Mac Póilin, seek "to be as different to English (and occasionally Scots) as possible."
While once referred to as Scotch-Irish by several researchers, that has now been superseded by the term Ulster Scots. Speakers usually refer to their vernacular as 'Braid Scots', 'Scotch' or 'the hamely tongue'. Since the 1980s Ullans, a portmanteau neologism popularized by the physician, amateur historian and politician Ian Adamson, merging Ulster and Lallans, the Scots for Lowlands, but also an acronym for “Ulster-Scots language in literature and native speech” and Ulstèr-Scotch, the preferred revivalist parlance, have also been used. Occasionally, the term Hiberno-Scots is used, but it is usually used for the ethnic group rather than the vernacular.
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Wikipedia