#Scribbler 2: Promoting Ulster Scots Some Ideas (part 2)

 

After posting the first part (of what has inadvertently become a short series of posts.) The following excellent question came up, “The question might be what do those "Residual" Ulster Scots speakers do next to develop their attachment or usage of Ulster Scots? And possibly how to link with the "Scholarly" side of Ulster Scots?”

 

Firstly, I’m writing another post to better explain “residual” and “scholarly” Ulster Scots.  I know what I mean but I want to be very clear so that I’m not misunderstood.  Then secondly, this is my first try at the “development” “attachment” part.  I make no claim that these ideas are fully developed, but they are a start and after all metal sharpens metal.  They might end up a good idea, they might not, but either way it is good to challenge your thinking, and I might stumble upon a better idea because I have walked this way.  So here we go, and in the order I jotted the ideas down.

 

Encouragement to keep going

Cricket, test cricket, a game that can last five days and still end in a draw, is the greatest game in the world!  It plays out like a great novel, brimming with drama, with twists and turns, and the reality that playing for a draw on the afternoon of the fifth day can be tantamount to the struggles of life.  Anyhow, consistently the greatest bowler I have ever seen was Glenn McGrath, and what was his advice, what was his secret, what was the key to unlock the great mystery?  Line and length, line and length, six balls an over, line and length, every over in every spell, line and length.  McGrath had natural ability, but lots of people have natural ability, McGrath trained hard, but professional athletes all train hard, or you won’t last; McGrath was part of a great team, but lots of people are part of great teams.  So there you have it, the secret, bowl the right ball in the right place over after over.  Eventually the break would come; the batsman gets worn down and makes a mistake; the ball gets some unexpected movement on the seam or through the air.  We will leave the cricket but not the lesson, greatness is found in consistency, the high standard of doing the right thing in the right way over and over again.  So whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, over and over again, year in year out. 

 

Invest in the right things – whatever they are!

Time is more precious than money, now think about how you look after your money!  This may seem off topic but it isn’t, consumerism is a trick, and the worst part is fashion, you buy an expensive magazine, that tells you what expensive cloths you should wear, and what expensive shops to buy them from, (but we don’t need to worry about where they come from, that’s all far enough out of sight).  Ever see a picture of someone from the 70s or the 80s all dressed up, what do you think of the fashion?  Tell the truth?  Would you put it on for anything but a fancy dress party? But now look at a working man, boiler suit and safety boots, transient fashion not getting a look in.  Books, and music, and quality items are of their time, but their value and longevity are clear.  So do what will last even when it doesn’t seem that cool.

 

Turning self-regulation into self expression

I hate to say this, but the biggest problem Ulster Scots usage has ever faced is self-regulation.  “Don’t say that, if you said it at X, people will think you are stupid.”  And before we get historically uppity, self regulation happens all the time, here’s the equation “Action X will result in assumption Y by person Z.”  But the worst part is “Z”, the personal consequences, if I am assumed to be stupid, let’s stick to the stupid one, then I will not get opportunity “A, B or C” or will be overlooked for possibility “E, F or G.”  The problem with the self regulation of residual Ulster Scots is that it will never be used and then die out.  And an oral tradition that is not recorded, or written, may as well never have happened, and worse still for lack of evidence, it can be argued that it never happened. 

 

What works really well – but why?

Let us think of something successful that is of us but not from us.  Why are Burns nights so successful?  Firstly there is a date, you don’t have to think about it, Burns equals 25^th January, obviously the poetry isn’t limited to then, but in this busy world, Burns has a foot hold because there is a date.  Secondly there is a person, why put the person second, because there are many brilliant poets and writers the world knows nothing of because they don’t have a day.  But Burns, as in Robert Burns the person, is a great writer, and how shall we put it, a colourful character.  Thirdly, there is a liturgy and ritual, the address to the Haggis, the pipes, the toast, the tartan cloths, the commonality of food, yet within the liturgy and ritual there is room for self expression and addition.  The ritual and liturgy makes it clear it is a burns night, everyone does their part, then people are able to make it their own night.

 

What would you do with £0, £10, £100, £1k, £10k, £1m?

The last thing is a question that came to me writing my notes, and this is a completely none original question: “what would you do if you had: £0, £10, £100, £1k, £10k, £1m?” But it can only be one thing. 

 

£0, share the dictionary section of the USN website.

£10, give someone a copy of the Hamely Tongue.

£100, borrow / rent a room and organise a talk of the Ulster Scots language.  (This is my poorest idea and only used it because it was all I could think of!)

£1k, produce a set of word cards, English on one side Ulster Scots on the other.  There would be two sets one for children the other for adults.

£10k, a book of classic and original poetry and stories, gather from various writers of different styles.  The book would be beautifully presented, design and layout is vital.  The poems and stories would have the language explained very simply ie “sheugh = stream”.  But there would be boxes giving academic, historical, practical and simple ideas for usage.  But the book is only a means to an end, there would be a methodology for usage, online community, deeper online content, a strategy of who would be given it.  If say this was to be used during Ulster Scots Language week, a chapter could relate to a day, BUT the book wouldn’t state the day and date, this protects the longevity of the work.  If this was done enough in advance people could rift of the ideas: to write, or do paintings, or make handy-crafts.  It opens the possibility for interaction with schools, or community groups, or individuals, or who or whatever.  I can see this all in my minds-eye, it’s the idea that got me most excited, it’s enough money to do something really exciting but not too much to become an overwhelming, bureaucratical nightmare.

£1m, living history park, it has to be fun, but you learn something, for tourist, and schools, and days out, this would be a bureaucratical nightmare so only one sentence will suffice.

 

Conclusion

So there you go my ideas, for better or worse, they may be helpful or they might not be, but no harm done either way.

#Scribbler 1: Residual Ulster Scots (part 1)

Ulster / Scots Thoughts

Over the last while I’ve been suffering from a wild dose of imposter syndrome.  Two things have done it.  If you would have told me a year ago I’d be on the radio reading one of my poems, I wouldn’t have believed you, about either the poem or the wireless.  Truth be told, I wouldn’t have believed you even if you said the poem I’d be reading was someone else’s. 

 

Anyhow I was on the radio, twice in fact.  That’s the first bit, the second bit was the words I used, lots of Ulster Scots words.  They were the words and cadence of speech I fondly recalled.  It wasn’t a hobby, or an academic exercise, or a cultural statement, it was recollections.  The poems just happened, I had a few ideas that wanted to be expressed, then the ideas found words, and then the words found poetry.  You see, I don’t believe I’m some kind of Ulster Scots expert, and this is the second part of the imposter syndrome.  I just used the words I knew, the words of home, the words of long ago, the words that fitted the thoughts. 

 

Added to this there are a few other things that just happened.  This all coincided with Ulster Scots Language week.  As a personal opinion, I’d rather hear poetry read, so I read my poems and used the recording equipment I already happened to own.  This wasn’t a plan, or an experiment, it just happened, it was serendipity.  And for all the life of me, I’ve now this imposter syndrome.

 

So, for my own peace of mind I needed to think my way through this.  As I did, I realised there were two modes of Ulster Scots, now it’s important to hear what I’m saying, these two modes aren’t separate or different, they are sides to a coin, and these two are very important to one another, and the two are not contradictory.

 

Firstly there is residual Ulster Scots, and then secondly there is Scholarly Ulster Scots.  The definition of terms is always vital for clarity of thought, and visa versa, clear thought always gives clear terms.  So I had better define my terms.  As I understand my term, residual Ulster Scots are the words and cadence of speech that have naturally survived.  In some places its a lot, in others a little, but either way its always been there.  The Ulster Scots I know is residual, that which has survived.  This doesn’t make it better or worse, it just makes it what it is.

 

Now, scholarly Ulster Scots, as I define it, is that which focuses on the Ulster Scots linguistically: in its etymology, grammar, historical usage, traditional spellings, and the many variations thereof, and so on.  A scholarly understanding of Ulster Scots does not require the residual, after all if this was true no one could learn any other language.  But mere aften than not, the greater your interest in the Hamely Tongue, the more likely your interest will become more scholarly, at least to some level. 

 

The residual is authentic*, but often limited, the words were learnt orally from hearing them, but this was not teaching, it was not structured tuition, it was what you happened to hear, and also it was what the other person had happened to hear, then happened to remember and then happened to still use. 

 

However, it was in the 1990’s that things changed, a number of books were published throughout that decade, and these publications have had a huge impact.  I might add what I’m about to mention all pre-dates 1998, the year of the Belfast Agreement, or as its also called the Good Friday Agreement.  In 1995 James Fenton set out “a personal record of Ulster Scots in County Antrim”, his work was entitled “The Hamely Tongue”.  Hame is home, so hamely is the home place.  The word “language” has its root in the Latin word “lingua”, that is “tongue”.  Fenton simply set out the language or tongue of home.  Then in 1997 Philip Robinson published, “Ulster-Scots a grammar of the traditional written and spoken language.”  There was also the less well known “Barnish, Co Antrim Dialect Dictionary” (1993) by M & F Montgomery.  Yet the publication of lists of words and phrases was no new invention, as it had been happening in newspapers and pamphlets down through the years.  Here the work of Mark Thompson is invaluable as he finds and shares on his blog such things! The Hamely Tongue, the words, or language, or tongue of our home was hidden in plain sight, and the light hadn’t gone out. 

 

Anyhow, having said all that, I’m not sure if it was being told to stop speaking that way when I was young, or attaining the heady heights of an F in my English Language GCSE.  And just in case you’re interested English ‘Lit’ was dumped in third year at the first possible opportunity, but either way, this is still a wild strange thing!  But if the ideas find words, and the words find poems, I’m sure I’ll still find somewhere for them, and the Hamely Tongue will be a part of it.

* Having re-read this I wish to add, the word "authentic" is used as a description and not a contrast.  I believe "Scholarly Ulster Scots" is also authentic.