Whit's Scots?

Scots is a West Germanic language spoken in Scotland. It is recognised as a language by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the European Union. There are approximately 1.6 million speakers of the language.
 
Like any language, Scots has a number of different dialects. These include Glaswegian, Doric, Ayrshire, Edinburgh Scots, Dundonian, Borders, Fife, Shetland, Orcadian and others.

Scots is descended from Old Northern English with links to Danish, French, Gaelic and Latin. It was the language of the medieval Scottish court, spoken by Mary Queen of Scots and James VI. Scots has also been employed as a language of literary expression by some of Scotland’s best known writers like William Dunbar, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugh MacDiarmid, Edwin Morgan, Liz Lochhead and Irvine Welsh.

After a long period of neglect, Scotland’s schools are once again celebrating this unique Scottish language. And with a clearer understanding of their own Scots Language, young people in Scotland will be able to participate fully in Scottish culture, whether in the form of literature, traditional music, media, politics, business or in everyday conversation.