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Mary Irvine – Use Yir Ain Tongue, A conversation with Ann MacKinnon

Balloch poet Ann MacKinnon is a strong proponent of the Scots language firmly believing that people would benefit from learning this language. I sat down with Ann to hear more about her belief.

Scots is a very old language but, because it’s so closely linked to English, people sometimes fail to recognise it as a distinct language. For many years it was discouraged in schools. It was thought  it would be a disadvantage to you when you went out into the wider world but, in fact, I believe that having a second language is a decided advantage.

It’s as necessary to preserve Scots as it is to preserve Gaelic. English is an international language which we all learn but that does not mean that we should discard Scots as a means of communicating certain concepts where there are no equivalents in English. As I am talking now I am in a ‘swither’ as to how to explain my passion for the Scots language and I can’t think of an equivalent English word for that great idea of sitting ‘swithering.’ Indeed I go off into a ‘dwam’ as I try to decide whether to ’gie my ideas laldy’ or to try a more reasoned approach.

To my mind, it is always an advantage to be bilingual, offering so many opportunities to describe things in different ways and Scots is a great vehicle for the use of humour.

I find people may claim that they don’t know any Scots but if you nudge them a little, they will come out with a few words e.g. most of them know ‘blether’ or ‘glaikit.’ Sometimes they don’t even realise certain words they use every day are, in fact, Scots like’ scunner’ or ’dreich.’

Our own language is important and should not be regarded as slang.  The Tom Leonard poem, ‘The Six o’ Clock News’ shows the attitude that some people have to Scots. In it he says that people do not take you seriously if you speak with a strong accent or use Scots words. In fact, they regard you as ‘scruff.’

Having a second language is indeed an advantage. It helps us to think about the vocabulary we use and work out when one word is better that another. We all adapt our vocabulary to suit the occasion and having Scots simply gives us another tool to use. So be proud and use’ yir ain tongue.’

We all know that Scots can be used to great effect for humour but I like to attempt to write poems in Scots  on more serious subjects. I wrote about asylum seekers in the poem, ‘Nae Economically Active Me,’ which describes the plight of some of the people who come to this country and are not allowed to work. In it the woman says,

‘I’m willing tae wark masel tae the bane

 Fur this country that a noo ca hame.’

You may say that Scots is not everyone’s own language and that is true but, for the non-Scots speakers, it can be fun to play around with some of the words and see if they can come up with equivalents in their own language.

We too should be proud of our ‘ain tongue’ and willing to use it and share it.

There should be ‘ nae hauf- way hoose. ‘

Ann is passionate about the Scots language so, when she was offered this year’s position of Makar for the Federation of Writers Scotland she willingly accepted the honour and is now working in talks, workshops and events.

Ann writes poems in both Scots and English, My final question to her ’How do you decide when to write in Scots and when to write in English’  the reply was simple, ‘The poem decides.’

In the style of Gandhi Ann’s passion is the quiet but firm side of activism.

Mary Irvine, March, 2025

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