The Scots Language Centre (SLC) has launched a support website to coincide with the start of the 2022 Scottish census.
From 28 February to 20 March, everyone in Scotland can fill out the Census online. “Census day” is 20 March.
As part of Scotland’s Census, everyone living in Scotland will be asked if they can understand, speak, read, or write the Scots language. We will also be asked what our primary language is.
The SLC has created a website to support Census respondents in assessing their capabilities in Scots. The site is linked directly from the Census’ guidance notes for completing the Census.
The www.AyeCan.com website provides examples to help people answer the language questions about their Scots skills. SLC will be sharing information videos between now and Census Day across its social media channels and using the hashtag #AyeCan.
The recent addition of the Scots language question has raised concerns that more people are unaware of their proficiency, affecting responses. Scots questions were first included in the Census in 2011, and 1.5 million people responded that they spoke Scots. It is unlikely that any two Scots speakers will speak the same way, compounding the issue.
On the AyeCan website, videos of Scots speakers and audio samples cover all the traditional dialect regions and second or additional language Scots speakers. There are various examples of written Scots to support respondents in identifying their Scots literacy skills. There are also introduction videos explaining the questions on the Census.
The SLC encourages everyone unsure how to answer the language questions to review the material on the website to help decide if they understand, speak, read, or write Scots and if Scots is their primary language.
The Scots Language Centre is the foremost organisation providing information about the Scots language. It is committed to growing awareness, support, and increased learning about the Scots language.
It’s the ambition of the SLC to create the largest, most accurate resource for the Scots language available and to ensure it is accessible for users of all ages interested in the Scots language.
Dr Michael Dempster, director of the Scots Language Centre, said:
“We’re delighted to launch AyeCan.com, our Census website. The Scots Language Centre aims to help preserve the Scots language and expand the popularity, understanding, and appreciation of Scots and those who speak it in all its forms.
“Scots may be understood as a language spoken in other parts of Scotland or an older form of our language. It is a living, vibrant part of day-to-day Scottish culture, the primary form of communication for many of us, and it is critical for future service provision to know how many use it.
“We believe that by giving people a centralised resource to hear, read and see Scots in motion, they can better gauge their ability when answering the Census questions.
“The Census must be as accurate as possible, and we believe this exciting resource will be welcome for users of all ages assessing their own Scots skills and usage.”