From Inglis to Scots (FITS): Mapping sounds to spellings

There is no contemporaneous linguistic evidence for the emergence of 'Inglis', the northern variety of English known later as Scots. This gap in the evidential record is frustrating as it is during this period (i.e. between c.1100 and c.1375) that the full Scottish state was established and the regional language known today as Scots began to flourish as its national language. We know that Inglis evolved from the northern variety of Old English known as Old Northumbrian. Unfortunately, Old Northumbrian is itself poorly documented, although sufficient materials survive to show that by 1100 the English of the north was already recognizably different from that of the south.
One of the most striking aspects of materials written in Scots between 1375 and 1500 is the sheer number of spelling variants for what are single words with fixed spellings in present day standard written English: the word 'town', for example, is spelled no fewer than 26 ways in pre-1500 Scots. Such diversity of spelling is unsurprising: only when a national written standard began to emerge in the 16th century did spellings become fixed. Studies of other, non-standard, medieval varieties of English have found that spelling variation is almost always the result of regional and/or temporal differences in the diffusion of linguistic change. There is every reason to believe that the spelling variation present in pre-1500 Scots texts has a similar explanation. 15th-century Scots 'full', for example, apparently shows the effects of a change known as 'l-vocalisation' (a process by which the 'l' sound is replaced by a vowel or semivowel), whereas 15th-century Scots 'full' does not. These two variant spellings of 'full' thus provide evidence for a difference in the underlying spoken language, a difference that remains evident today in the contrast between and pronunciations of 'full'.
Our goal is to investigate systematically the extent of spelling variation evident in a large corpus of local documents written in Scots between 1380 and 1500. Taking as our starting point the probable phonetic shape of each word at c.1100, we will trace its development through to its set of attested spellings in our corpus. This will involve: (i) determining the likely pronunciations behind each early Scots spelling; and (ii) mapping a path across the evidential gap, i.e. specifying how each spelling and its (reconstructed) pronunciation evolved from its Old English (where possible Old Northumbrian) input form. From this we will catalogue, in a Corpus of Changes, all the linguistic developments involved. Our microscopic study of pre-1500 Scots spellings will thus help us to re-write the phonological history of early Scots.
At a time of widespread interest in questions of national identity in the UK, research concerned with questions of national and linguistic origins is especially timely. Our project will contribute a deeper understanding of the linguistic history of Inglis, Scots and English and of the relationship between them.

Whilst detailed analysis of the mapping between spelling and pronunciation in Older Scots might seem, at first, to have little applicability in the modern world, it is exactly this kind of meticulous work which underlies the description of earlier stages in the history of any language. Without it we cannot know how the highly distinctive form of speech that evolved in Scotland in the Middle Ages developed, how a nascent Scottish national language emerged, or how it related (and relates) to language in England and beyond. In the same way that we cannot understand the history of English without examining how the language of Chaucer or Shakespeare developed, we cannot fully appreciate the literature of Barbour or Burns without discovering how the language they used came into being. At a time when questions of national status (inextricably linked to questions of national origins) are at the fore in Scotland and the UK, research which helps us to understand our linguistic origins is very timely indeed. The impact of our proposed research is, thus, considerable for anyone interested in the history (linguistic and political) of Scotland, and the origin, nature and status of the Scots language and its relationship with English.
Our research is directly relevant to those concerned with language policy in Scotland, e.g. the Scots Language Working Group (SLWG), which was asked by the Scottish Executive to recommend policies concerning Scots. Inevitably, bodies such as the SLWG, in dealing with what has been considered to be a minority language or collection of divergent English dialects, need to begin by defining and explaining the linguistic status of Scots, usually in reference to English. This linguistic status is a result of the history of the language, and a key part of that history is the period during which early medieval northern English ('Inglis') morphed into Scots. Given the central importance of Scots in the definition of Scottish identity and status (cf. the inclusion of a question on Scots in the 2011 census), this is much more than a question of academic interest, since language policies and strategies concern everyone who lives and is educated in Scotland. It is crucial that these policies are founded firmly on thorough linguistic research.
The political and social situation in which Scots exists means that people in Scotland are particularly aware of and interested in questions of language use and history. Indeed research by the Scottish Government (www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/ 06105123/0) shows that there is wide public interest in the Scots language in Scotland, from practical, political, and personal perspectives (after all, many people in Scotland speak forms of Scots). People want to know more about their national language, its origins and its relationship with English, just as people want to know about the history of their families, localities and nation. In the same way that archaeological digs or analyses of historical documents are the necessary first step in historical research and are themselves of interest to members of the public, our work on the origins and development of Scots orthography and pronunciation will be foundational for an understanding of the Scots language. As indicated under 'Pathways to Impact', we aim to demonstrate the relevance and inherent worth of our research to a number of non-specialist audiences. We will show them how our research uncovers the ways in which people in medieval Scotland (such as the famous Scottish Lowlander William Wallace) actually wrote and spoke. This research is, then, more than a theoretical academic pursuit (although it certainly is that too) - it is also an attempt to understand and reveal a crucial part of the cultural wealth of Scotland and the UK.