Scots (along with Gaelic and Welsh) suffered a blow in the 1870s when compulsory schooling was introduced in Britain. This meant that all youngsters were educated only through the medium of English and were forbidden to use their native tongue in the classroom, in some cases being beaten for doing so.
This led to a culture of Scots being regarded as inferior, a language spoken by those of limited intellect, when in fact it had a rich vocabulary of its own. This belief persisted well into the 20th century. Even parents took it on board, refusing to pass their native language onto the children as they saw it as useless (okay, these sentiments apply more to the Celtic languages, which were totally unrelated to English). Scots was seen as "bad" English.
Today, it is more acceptable to use Scots words in public life and that's the way it should be. Why should anyone be ashamed of their linguistic background? What gives anyone the right to say that one language/dialect is superior to another.
Most Scots people now speak the Scottish variety of English peppered with a few words of auld Scots, as well as regional expressions. The Scots words are more common among older people and in rural areas, but they're still being used.
This led to a culture of Scots being regarded as inferior, a language spoken by those of limited intellect, when in fact it had a rich vocabulary of its own. This belief persisted well into the 20th century. Even parents took it on board, refusing to pass their native language onto the children as they saw it as useless (okay, these sentiments apply more to the Celtic languages, which were totally unrelated to English). Scots was seen as "bad" English.
Today, it is more acceptable to use Scots words in public life and that's the way it should be. Why should anyone be ashamed of their linguistic background? What gives anyone the right to say that one language/dialect is superior to another.
Most Scots people now speak the Scottish variety of English peppered with a few words of auld Scots, as well as regional expressions. The Scots words are more common among older people and in rural areas, but they're still being used.