The Varieties of English (Th' varieties ay sassenach)

Ah fin' it pure funay hoo th' newswoman plugs in scottish words tae th' sassenach sentences 'at she is readin'. givin' sassenach a whole new accent. when she says, “the fife astronauts will be in space fur aicht days” (0:54) she pronoonces aicht as she woods be 'spikin german. she pronoonces it as acht insteid ay simply aicht. she seems tae be tryin' tae stoaner tae pronoonce th' words correctly. in a way it seems 'at she wants tae soond classy an' th' only way tae accomplish thes is by 'spikin in sassenach. wa woods they want tae soond classy? accordin' tae th' video havin' non scottish sassenach accent will pure techt 'at they spoke an upper class sassenach. an' as history has shoon it plenty ay times, humans ur aye in a constant barnie tae reach th' top ay th' social pyramid. sae it was important tae spick a guid, fluent sassenach. e'en th' kids waur sent tae sassenach schools sae 'at they coods learn it in th' correct way (what exactly is th' correct way?). so far whit Ah hae understuid is 'at th' scottish got some ay th' sassenach words an' modified them sae 'at it woods fit their ain traditional leid. thes created a new kin' ay sassenach 'at Ah wooldn’t be able tae kin if it wasn’t fur th' subtitles. they waur slowly merged intae th' sassenach leid. it aw started when kin' Jimmy moved tae london 'at englain hud th' leaders ay th' society an' nae scootlund, accordin' tae th' video (4:00). he slowly started spreadin' th' sassenach leid by demandin' fur aw th' scotland’s churches tae conduct their services wi' his “new translated book” (4:18). sae they ended up havin' a standard sassenach but wi' a scottish accent. whit we see haur is a new variety ay sassenach, yit nae a separate new leid. thes way they (scottish) ur able tae spick in sassenach, but withit leavin' behin' thaur accent an' pride fur their nation.

NOW THE TRANSLATION!

I find it really funny how the newswoman plugs in Scottish words to the English sentences that she is reading. Giving English a whole new accent. When she says, “The five astronauts will be in space for eight days” (0:54) she pronounces eight as she would be speaking German. She pronounces it as acht instead of simply eight. She seems to be trying to hard to pronounce the words correctly. In a way it seems that she wants to sound classy and the only way to accomplish this is by speaking in English. Why would they want to sound classy? According to the video having non Scottish English accent will mean that they spoke an upper class English. And as history has shown it plenty of times, humans are always in a constant fight to reach the top of the social pyramid. So it was important to speak a good, fluent English. Even the kids were sent to English schools so that they could learn it in the correct way (what exactly is the correct way?). 

 So far what I have understood is that the Scottish got some of the English words and modified them so that it would fit their own traditional language. This created a new kind of English that I wouldn’t be able to understand if it wasn’t for the subtitles. They were slowly merged into the English language.  It all started when King James moved to London that England had the leaders of the society and not Scotland, according to the video (4:00). He slowly started spreading the English language by demanding for all the Scotland’s churches to conduct their services with his “new translated book” (4:18). So they ended up having a Standard English but with a Scottish accent. What we see here is a new variety of English, yet not a separate new language. This way they (Scottish) are able to speak in English, but without leaving behind there accent and pride for their nation. 

Episode 4:

Armstrong, Edward. “The Story of English episode 4 – The Guid Scots Tongue  – Part 1/7.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 15. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. “The Story of English episode 4 – The Guid Scots Tongue  – Part 2/7.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 15. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. “The Story of English episode 4 – The Guid Scots Tongue  – Part 3/7.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 15. Jan. 2013.