Say it in Scots - A New Series from Scottish Language Dictionaries

Say it in Scots is a brand new series of pocket-sized books written by members of staff of Scottish Language Dictionaries and published by Black and White Publishing. The books are light-hearted in tone but full of interesting facts and fascinating quotations from the Middle Ages to the present day about the Scots, their country and the Scots language. They will appeal to native Scots speakers, and offer visitors to Scotland the chance to learn about the richness of our language. We are delighted to announce the launch of the first four titles: Scottish Place Names, Scottish Weather, Wha’s Like Us? and Scottish Wildlife.

In Scottish Place Names, Maggie Scott takes you around the country from Dumfries to Shetland to explain the meanings of the place names that make up today's Scotland. Scottish Place Names is a fascinating, entertaining and informative guide to the Scots language and to Scotland—it is a thoroughly researched book by a highly respected place-name scholar.

Scottish Weather, by Chris Robinson and Eileen Finlayson, celebrates the varied climate of Scotland and helps you know whether to expect skalva, a smirr or a gandaguster. So, when you encounter a rorie bummler, Banff bailies, horse guts or pouthered lawyers, you won’t be taken by surprise.

Whether the Scots character is influenced by the beauty and hardship of the countryside, by work, culture, folklore or the many incomers who have found a welcome here over the centuries, one major influence is the Scots language. How we describe ourselves is part of who we are. In Wha’s Like Us?, Chris Robinson draws on The Dictionary of the Scots Language to provide many insights into how we see ourselves and how others see us.

Scottish Wildlife by Chris Robinson brings together unusual facts, bizarre beliefs, amusing rhymes and descriptive local names for birds, beasts, sea creatures and creepy-crawlies. Again the wealth of quotations in the Dictionary of the Scots Language provides informative, charming and evocative examples of wildlife words.

Although these books are light-hearted and mainly aimed at the tourist and gift market, they are full of information and have all the scholarship of Scotland’s great historical dictionaries behind them.