What's your Scottishness?

Is there such a thing as Scottishness?

We hear it from the visitors, we see it on TV and read about it - Scottishness as a characteristic, as a unique way of viewing ourselves and other nationalities. Without falling into 'caricatures' of tea towels with all the accomplishments the country has on it's proud list we thrive on that 'something', that Scottishness.

Be it a haggis supper or a swig of irn bru we all have that connection, that link which grounds us in our small but big country - big in character and tradition. Recently I spotted a Scots dictionary in a charity sale so with this new purchase I browsed not exactly sure of what I was looking for and was quickly overwhelmed by the absolute amount of words....

Some may think that visitors with Scottish connections wear it like a badge of achievement but I would too. Scotland oozes culture: the kilt, the fringe, the scenery and wait - the folks? That is certainly an aye! The diversity within the wee country at the top of Great Britian is mind blowing - from Edinburgh to Glasgow - less than an hour away and some may claim two very different species. First the accent then the 'who is the friendliest' debate which Glasgow probably wins hands down.

Often it is when we are abroad we realise the affection others may have regarding Scotland. Various images and beliefs may be held: we have great football, we like a good time and of course the whisky factor - a series subject indeed.

the language

Historically it is rich in stories and architecture however personally I never realised quite how beautiful Edinburgh is until I lived away from it. When elsewhere I lost my strong accent because I had to speak differently to be understood - many years later and it is coming back. Recently I confessed something wild - as a child I thought I spoke a bad version of English. Corrected at Primary for saying 'soor' instead of 'sour' I felt like I had been stunned.

Now there are an abundance of childrens books in Scottish as should be the case. But Scottish is what exactly? A dialogue? another language? Are we reduced to a 'bad case' of a defective mother tongue? An article said that in Scotland our brains develop in the same way as bilingual people! With all considered - we understand it all - American English and standard English but those wee unique words that feel like hame; auld, dug, toon and so on....

On the big screen

There has been no shortage of big promotions either intentional or not - Braveheart, Trainspotting and The Da Vinci code all revealing differing aspects of the country and perhaps even awakening Scots to the rich historical relevance and potential future paths.

Scotland is not Kevin Bridges or JK Rowling or River city but something else entirely: a great wee nation maybe at a pivotal moment in time (heading to America this summer!) With a very unique set of attributes, history, beauty and language, accent and above all 'a voice'.