Scots | |
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Scots: Scots leid | |
Native to | United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland |
Region | Scotland: Scottish Lowlands, Northern Isles, Caithness, Arran and Campbeltown Ulster: Counties Down, Antrim, Derry and Donegal |
Native speakers | 100,000 (1999) 1.5 million L2 speakers Total: 17% to 85% of the Scottish population speak it to some degree |
Language family | |
Early forms: | |
Official status | |
Official language in | None — Classified as a "traditional language" by the Scottish Government. — Classified as a "regional or minority language" under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by the United Kingdom in 2001. — Classified as a "traditional language" by The North/South Language Body |
Recognised minority language in | Scotland |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | sco |
Scots is a West Germanic language. It is sometimes called Lowland Scots or Lallans. It is not Scottish English but the two are similar. Scottish English is a dialect of English and Scots is a separate language.Ulster Scots is a form of Scots found in the north of Ireland. Scots is very different from the Scottish Gaelic language, which is a Celtic language.