We Have A New Offical Language In Britain!

Britain has a rich and complex history, particularly when it comes to its languages. English is the de facto language in the United Kingdom, used throughout the four constituent countries, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. Each constituent country has its own different language laws which protect its own languages. As of November 2025, Scots has been recognized as an official minority language in Scotland. Now what exactly is Scots? Scots like English is a Germanic language which developed from old English which was brought to the lowlands of Scotland in the fifth century by the Angles. It's mutually intelligible with English to varying degrees and depending on the speaker. In modern times up until last year it's been considered as a dialect of English, not a language in its own right. Its official status caused some controversy with some saying it's not a language at all. What makes a language distinct from a dialect? Well, let's take a look at the history of Scots because in my mind, it's far more than simply a corrupt version of English. Old English in the early medieval period had four major dialects. The northern part of England, the Scottish borders, and the lands spoke North Umbrean, distinct from the English spoken in Mercia or further south. By the 12th century, as Scotland consolidated its independence from England, Scots began to become distinct from North Umbrean, it took influences from GI, which was spoken in the Highlands, and due to separation with England, it developed independently. English was becoming standardized as well south of the border with southern English taking precedent over northern English. This caused more separation between Scots and English. The Norman conquest changed English quite dramatically, but Scotland, having not been conquered, was less influenced by Norman French. During the 14th to 17th centuries, Scots was standardized in Scottish government, law, and literature. Kings and queens were Scotsspeakers, not English speakers. Elizabeth I was said to speak Scottish, as well as many other languages, including English, of course, which shows that historically Scots was considered separate from English. An envoy to Queen Mary of Scotland remarks how she spoke Scottish before switching to speaking to him in French. There's also a Scots translation of the Bible, which helped further standardize Scots. Here's a passage from it. See how much you can understand. Any witness shall not raise rise up against a man for only inequity or for any sin whatsoever that he sinnth at the mouth. A twah or three witnesses saw the mater. How much of that did you understand? Let me know in the comments and I'll put the English translation in the video description. In6003, King James of Scotland became King of England after Elizabeth left no heir. James was a native Scotsspeaker, as was his son Charles II. But by the time Charles III came to power, Scots was no longer in use in the Scottish courts, as Charles was born and bred in England. In 1707, after the act of union which brought England and Scotland together, English was now in Scottish schools. Scots became a vernacular language spoken at home but not written in or used in legal proceedings. This led to it being confined to the working class. It's a classic case of language attrition. Classism is unavoidable when talking about Scots with a huge stigma surrounding modern Scots speakers who face prejudice due to the way that they speak. So should modern Scots be considered as a language? It's mutually intelligible with English, but language isn't just a tool for communicating with one another. It's also a way to preserve culture, a way of thinking, and a way to define nationality. By recognizing Scots, efforts can be made to standardize it once again, to teach it in schools. Those who speak Scots at home won't feel as much social pressure to speak English in order to fit in or to have social mobility. 46% of Scottish people say that they speak Scots as well as English. So at what point does a dialect become a language? There isn't any set formula. And within Scots, there are four dialects, some of which are less similar to English than others. They both share their origins in old English. But to say that Scots is a dialect of modern English is to misunderstand Scots completely. Languages are also defined for political reasons, not purely linguistic. Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian are categorized as separate languages. But up until the split of Yugoslavia, it was considered one language, and they are 95% mutually intelligible with each other. I think our differences should be celebrated, and so should our shared heritage. The world is slowly slipping into one big homogeneous blob. So protecting our languages is important. I'm not Scottish, but I do feel like sometimes in England we're losing our own language quirks to Americanization. Perhaps that's a good analogy if you're an English person watching this and you're not seeing the point in celebrating Scots.