Scottish newspapers, language and identity

Scottish identity is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon, but studies have shown it is something that is increasingly valued by the Scots themselves. For newspapers in Scotland, appealing to readers' sense of Scottish-ness, shared culture and identity is clearly an important selling point: witness the growth in Scottish editions by the UK press or supplements such as the Sunday Times' Ecosse. My book starts from the premise that language has a symbolic as well as a communicative role in society, and that it can be a very powerful force in the construction or maintenance of identity. On this basis, I examine the potential link between the use of Scottish language (specifically Scottish words and phrases, hereafter referred to as 'lexis') by the Scottish national press, and their distinctively Scottish identity. I argue that the use of Scottish lexis is a significant factor in the maintenance of a Scottish identity for the Scottish national press which helps it to relate to its largely Scottish readership.

The book begins by briefly outlining the cultural, political and linguistic landscape in present-day Scotland, before moving on to discuss in more depth what is meant by 'Scottish language' and 'Scottish identity', both challenging topics in their own right, and probing the importance and influence of the relationship between newspapers and their readers. The research is based on analysis of a sizeable collection (or corpus') of newspaper texts. Data from four Scottish national newspapers (two broadsheets and two tabloids) are compared with data from a UK broadsheet and a UK tabloid. Thus we can investigate to what extent the Scottish press is differentiated by its use of identifiably Scottish language. The questions this study will raise what part does Scottish lexis play in this construction /maintenance of a distinctively Scottish identity? Are we looking at a uniform Scottish? Should we rather be thinking in terms of a multifaceted Scottish identity, where national identity is mediated by regional and social class identities? To what extent are these identities stereotypical or formulaic in their representations of Scottish-ness? How much Scottish lexis do these newspapers actually contain, and how Scottish is Scottish enough? This book also asks where and why Scottish newspapers use Scottish lexis. Is this confined to particular parts of the newspaper and if so, why and what conclusions can we draw?

The corpus is in two parts: the earlier part covers newspapers published during 1995, two years before the Scottish devolution referendum and four years prior to the inauguration of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. The latter part of the corpus focuses on newspapers published during 2005. Thus the book presents snapshots of language use in 1995 and 2005, and also allows us to see whether the use of Scottish language by the newspapers has changed over the decade. This book investigates whether the institution of the Scottish Parliament has had any discernible effect on the newspapers' use of Scottish lexis. Do Scottish newspapers still rely on the use of Scottish lexis to help them maintain their Scottish-ness, or has the reinstatement of the Scottish Parliament after a gap of some 300 years made this linguistic construction of Scottish-ness less important? Finally it considers what implications this research has for understanding of Scottish identity, and whether the evidence of the effectiveness of 'playing the language card' offers a salutary lesson for UK newspapers wishing to break into the Scottish market. The main focus is linguistic but in passim reference will be made to other areas of research such as sociological and historical viewpoints where appropriate. The research is both qualitative and quantitative in approach. The newspaper evidence is used to test and develop the questions raised, thus real data and argument are closely integrated.