Scottish creation

Scots is a language from Early Middle English, part of the West Germanic family. It’s mainly spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, Northern Isles, and northern Ulster in Ireland, where it’s called Ulster Scots. Sometimes, it’s referred to as Lowland Scots to differentiate it from Scottish Gaelic, or as Broad Scots to set it apart from Scottish Standard English. Modern Scots and Modern English evolved from the same medieval English form. The Scottish government recognizes Scots as an indigenous language. It’s seen as a regional language in Europe and is classified as vulnerable by UNESCO. In the 2022 Scottish census, over 1.5 million people reported speaking Scots. Debate exists about whether Scots is a language or a dialect. This stems from a lack of universal criteria for such distinctions. Scholars often disagree, especially regarding its relationship with English. Broad Scots and Standard English sit at opposite ends of a linguistic spectrum. Scots is sometimes viewed as a form of English, despite having unique dialects. Others argue it’s a separate Germanic language, much like Norwegian is to Danish.