Free online sessions celebrating Dundee’s history, culture and dialect have been launched for people who want to learn a bitty mair about the city.
Weel-kent faces from the city’s cultural scene have created Dundee’s Scots Language to raise awareness of the words used by many Dundonians, as well as their origins.
Hosted by writer and presenter Alistair Heather, the free sessions will be informal and encourage participants to produce their own stories in Dundee Scots.
Guest hosts including poet and performer Gary Robertson, singer Sheena Wellington and writer and broadcaster Billy Kay will share their expertise and support participants.
Alistair said: “Sessions like these will help get fowk thegither in difficult times an gie them a confidence boost wi their language.
“Thoosans o Dundee fowk are bilingual, able tae speak baith Scots an English. This ability should be a celebrated source o confidence.
“Scots emerged fae the fowk that bide here. Its oors. Hopefully these sessions can gie the language a positive dunt here in Dundee.
“I’d like tae see mair Dundee Scots visible aroon aboot us in the city, I’d like tae read mair newspaper airticles, books an stories, and see mair social media posts an viral videos in the language.
“I’m delighted that Sheena Wellington, Billy Kay, Gary Robertson an ithers are gonnae drap in wi their expertise an guid humour tae help spreid their enthusiasm for the language.”
Scots has been spoken for centuries but is now classed as vulnerable by the United Nations.
Recently campaigners have been fighting for its protection, highlighted in a series of articles, Spikkin Scots, by DC Thomson.
It is hoped these weekly sessions, supported by the Maryfield Community Regeneration Forum and Dundee United Community Trust (DUCT), will help speakers understand the value of Scots and help revive it.
Paul Wilson, head of community development at DUCT, said: “The sessions Ally and his guest hosts are planning will be fantastic in improving the awareness of Scots as a minority language.
“Scots is widely used in everyday life in Dundee and raising awareness of this minority language will help to empower those who currently speak the language, give confidence to those who have stopped using the language and also help improve the mental health and wellbeing of those attending the sessions.”
Many Dundonians say their dialect was corrected growing up, as Scots was deemed a slovenly version of English.
Among them is Dundee city councillor Lynne short, who plans to join the sessions.
She said: “I’m delighted that this opportunity is being brought to the city.
“I very much fall into the bracket of having had my pronunciation corrected as a child and now feel uncomfortable using Scots, however I do like to continue to take ownership of words and use them within my communications.
“I hope to be able to join in the sessions and feel as comfortable using my own language as much as those that I had to use when working overseas.”
The sessions start on January 21.
Registration, via Eventbrite, is free by searching Dundee’s Scots Language Sessions but places are limited.
