Mak Forrit

This is a bit follae-up tae my post frae afore, ‘Tap 10 wirds the Scots language haes gien the warld’. Ane o the wirds ben yon piece wis convene, at I notit wis no sae meikle a innovation o Scots as it wis a borraein frae aither Laitin or French at appeared in Scots aroond echty year afore it did in English.

Syne 17t November, there haes been a social muivement gaun on in Fraunce cried the Yellae Jaiket (gilets jaunes) muivement. The muivement gits its name fae the heich visibility yellae jaikets the protesters weir. The muivement is mair or less spontaneous, an haes nae real heid ane.

The original ettle o the muivement wis the protest agin the waux in petrol prices. But it tite wirtht till a general revolt agin social injustice, agin the lack o participative democracy an agin the preses Macron an the thir-days Forrit (En Marche) government.

Onybody keekin roond the door yestreen an seein me laid oot on ma back on the fluir, heid ablo the computer desk, could be forgien for thinkin tae theirsel, ‘O Goad, she’s deid!’

But than they wad hear the sweirin an ken it wis juist me lyin amang the stourie taigle o wires ahint the prenter tryin wi baith haunds tae wrassle oot yet anither o ma crushed, manky cairds grippit like a vice atween the machine rowers.

Anent hou I cam tae be slitterin aboot wi the prenter in the first place, I hae tae gae back a week or twa. Ye see, it haed come tae me that I micht hae a shottie at makkin ma ain Yuil cairds!

The fowk o Scotland haes aye haed a wey wi wirds, frae the poyetry o the 15t an 16t centuries tae the ‘Scottish people Twitter’ o the day. Sae it’s nae surprise that ower the centuries the Scots language haes gien the warld some braw wirds. Here’s oor tap ten (in nae particular order).

A puckle times o late I hae seen something tae mak ma hert lowp wi delicht.

Kennin me an ma guidman wad be in Perthshire toward the back end o the year, a freend speirt haed we iver been tae see the ‘Enchauntit Forest’? This is an oot-o-doors soond an licht shaw that comes intae its ain in the Faskally widlands ootby the wee toun o Pitlochry for aboot fower weeks in October, whan the nichts are drawin in.

Nou we did ken aboot this seein as in ither years we haed aft been in Pitlochry aroond hairst time an seen the advertisements for it. The Enchauntit Forest Community Trust haes been pittin on this spectacle for aboot ten year an it’s a guid thing they dae; the siller it brings is uised tae gie support tae worthy causes roond aboot.

Edward Langshanks wis mairchin north, an a fecht wis inevitable. It wis ane the Scots warna likely tae win. Wallace at this stage makkit ae decision that wad gie his force an advantage. Kennin that the giant English airmy wad hae need o great stores o supplies, he draggit them deeper intae Scotland. Mair nor thon, he pit mony ferms tae the torch. Wallace, guairdian o the Scots fowk, set the fertile ferms o the Lothians ablaze. He wantit tae stairve England’s airmy.

The ploy wisnae faur awa fae wirkin.

Wallace cam fae nae place, gaithert thegither thoosands o common fowk in Scotland wi some orra glamour o personality or skeel, an wi the grumly, switherin support o the Scottish nobility, he gied the English ane o the great skelpins at Stirlin Brig. But there’s sae mony haivers spake aroond Wallace that ye maun feel that MacDiarmid micht hae been scrievin as weel aboot Wallace as Burns wi the lines, ‘Mair nonsense has been uttered in his name / Than in ony’s barrin’ liberty and Christ.’

Afore the simmer, I writ in ma afore gane airticle anent hou there is specific skeels that us humans haes that ither species disnae. But hou can we forder thir capacities?

Mony human skeels appear tae hae developit in the situation in prehistoric East Africae whaur, acqueesh 135,000-90,000 year syne, there wis several drochts. Thir drochts wis brithert wi a chynge in material cultur. Archaeologists thinks this suggests some o the maist important intellectual skeels developit by wir species, like spikkin an abstract thocht, kythed at this time.

This mebbes appluised a richt muckle cousie for humanity. It turnt oot the early humans wis gittin a inlat for intellectual capacities tae develop.

Syne we’r aw on the subject nou o whit mis-uisses o the leid a Scots spikker is or isnae alloued tae feel affrontit bi — whither it’s sneistie Disney-Pixar memes or the Diet Scots on American telly programmes — can ah lat ye in on wan o ma ain wee wirry-carles? Ye’ll hiv heard it yersel, nae dout; yon thocht-terminatin cliché that signifies maximum woke wi minimum ettlin, thirls sympathy for the cause wi sweirtness tae hear anither wird aboot it, an it gangs like this:

“Oh, one of my friends is a Gaelic speaker, and he…”

Weel… ay. Yin o the tapmaist kenmerks o oor mansplainy times is that there’s naither need nor prerogative tae haud tae the maiter at haund, especially gin ye ken naething aboot it an hiv nae interest in learnin. We mebbes dinnae aw ken awfu muckle aboot the Scots leid, but we’v aw got a freend or twa that spiks Gaelic, or is ettlin tae — an sae maist o us hiv got a hale wheen o richt-on opinions on the subject. Hou important the leid is, hou necessar that we aw fecht tae preserve it an pass it ontae oor bairnfowk. Mun, juist staundin here sayin aw this maks ye feel like Martin Luther King oot on the steps o the Capitol…

Invitit oot tae a Mexican-style eatin howff twa weeks back I could hear the chiels at the fit o the buird daurin ither hauflins if they haed the smeddum tae tak the chilli challenge. I dout I haed e’en seen a chilli whan I wis their age, an it got me thinkin on the muckle chynges ower time in oor wey o eatin. Oor victuals the day ar sae different …