the scots language. - robert burns birthplace web viewthe scottish government recognises the...

The National Trust for Scotland

ROBERT BURNS BIRTHPLACE MUSEUMSCOTS LANGUAGE STRATEGY

‘I think my ideas are more

barren in English than in

Scottish.’To George Thomson, April 1793

Robert Burns Birthplace Museum - Scots Language Strategy 2016

The National Trust for Scotland

ROBERT BURNS BIRTHPLACE MUSEUMSCOTS LANGUAGE STRATEGY

1 IntroductionThis strategy seeks to set out a framework for the promotion and usage of the Scots Language at the National Trust for Scotland’s Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM), Alloway and its satellite sites: Bachelors’ Club, Tarbolton and Souter Johnnie’s Gallery, Kirkoswald.

Scots is recognised as a language in its own right and on a global scale, Burns is recognised as the greatest proponent of that language. In the past, Scots has often been discredited, mocked and considered vulgar. Indeed, this still occurs in some less enlightened spheres. Recent years have seen a reversal of this with Scots regaining a much more favourable status. The relevance of Scots to RBBM and its continued renaissance and validation have led to the formation of this strategy; to strengthen Scots within the Museum setting and to reinforce the notion to our stakeholders partners and colleagues that it is very much here to stay as a part of our daily operations.

2 Scots; what is the Scots Language? Scots is one of three indigenous languages in Scotland alongside Gaelic and English. It is a comparatively young language (Gaelic being an ancient tongue) and is derived mainly from Northern Middle English. Thus, it is a sister language to English. It does however - as a result of Scotland’s varied and complex history – employ many loan words from Latin, French, Flemish, Old Norse and Gaelic.

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It is recognised that Scotland has four main dialects of Scots: Insular, Northern, Central and Southern. These can be further subdivided thus:

Insular Orkney Shetland

Northern Caithness North-East East Angus Kincardine

Central East-Central North East-Central South West Central South Central

Southern The Borders

A further broad dialect type exists outwith Scotland; Ulster Scots, which is spoken along the North-eastern fringes of Northern Ireland

3 About RBBMRobert Burns Birthplace Museum is a National Trust for Scotland property in Alloway. The site encompasses the cottage where Burns was born, dating from 1757, the land holding attached to this including formal Victorian gardens, farmland and woodland and an early 20th century Arts and Crafts building, formally the main museum but now used as a retail and educational resource space.

This is situated approximately 1km away from the museum and exhibition building, completed in 2010. The building houses the most important and largest collection of Burns related objects anywhere in the world (some 5,500 items) It also contains a café, temporary exhibition space, shop and function / learning space. The curtilage of the museum features attractive landscaped gardens and parking for vehicles.

Burns Monument was opened in 1823 and is a 70 ft. high neo-classical structure designed by William Hamilton. It is set in designed gardens and lies adjacent to the River Doon.

The Brig o’ Doon is a 15th century single span bridge - linking the banks of the River Doon next to Monument Gardens - which features

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significantly in Burns’s great narrative piece ‘Tam o Shanter’. The late medieval Alloway Auld Kirk sits nearby. This atmospheric ruin also features importantly in Tam o’ Shanter. The graveyard features many fine 18th and 19th century headstones and is the final resting place of Burns’s father and youngest sister.

The Cottage and Museum sites are linked by the Poet’s Path, a public walkway featuring sculpted artworks relating to Burns’s life, works and the culture that centres on him.

4 Demographics and Broader Policy

The 2011 census results indicated that of around 5.1 million respondents, 1.5 million could speak, read and write Scots (some 29%).

In September 2015, the Scottish Government, in conjunction with Education Scotland, launched their Scots Language Policy. From the perspective of RBBM, there are three particularly salient points in the rationale section of this document:

The Scottish Government recognises the richness of the Scots language as expressed in song, poetry and literature.

The Scottish Government regards Scots, in its written forms, as a valid means of communication.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that school education has in promoting the use of Scots.

The Aims section of the document contains the following point which is particularly relevant to RBBM.

promote the acquisition, use and development of Scots in education, media, publishing and the arts;

The policy also contains a series of 6 practical steps:

create awareness amongst all stakeholder groups that Scots is one of the three historical indigenous languages of Scotland and should therefore be afforded equal respect;

promote a coherent approach to the planning, learning, teaching and assessment of Scots within the context of related national policy and the National Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) implementation plan;

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provide access to relevant resources which encourage the use and study of Scots within the framework of related national policy and the CfE implementation plan;

Encourage all stakeholder groups to develop and implement Scots language policies;

Continue to provide support for organisations which actively contribute to the preservation and promotion of Scots language; and,

Encourage partnership working between all groups and bodies with an interest in supporting the Scots language.

At RBBM we have adopted these as modified aims and objectives to create deliverable objectives in demonstrating our commitment for the Scots language.

The last of these practical steps should be strongly considered when working with the Scottish Government and associated agencies. The RBBM strategy will seek also to use Scots Language as a medium to show commitment to Unesco’s agenda for Intangible Culture; by focussing on elements such as Scots language, song and storytelling, both in RBBM and outwith as a means to developing outreach projects.

5 Education, Learning and AccessAt RBBM we aim to deliver on Scots Language provision for learning through three main routes:

1) Ensuring that visitors continue to have access to use and learn from our collection (physically and online) of Burns related material and the Scots Language contained therein.

2) Maintain the high standards of Scots Language provision already in place in interpretive media and ensure that commitment to Scots based interpretation is enshrined throughout any developmental changes in future.

3) To continue and expand our education programmes be they formal – for schools and tertiary institutions; adult learners; volunteers or outreach customers – or, through informal programming such as events and family provision.

All of these areas have great potential in offering provision for Scots Language learning.

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6 InterpretationRBBM already uses a great deal of Scots in the interpretation of the exhibition space and Burns Cottage. The following section contains information from two sources (Robert Burns Birthplace Interpretive Plan and Evaluation for the use of Scots Language at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway: A Report on Findings) both explaining the rationale and educational benefits behind the decisions to take this approach.

“One of RBBM’s main aims, and the main focus of its GLOs (Generic Learning Outcomes), is to celebrate the life and works of one of the most popular writers in the world. The museum is therefore as much about language as it is about the man who once used that language to communicate and to create the poems and songs for which he is famed today. It was therefore decided that Scots should be well represented within the interpretation at RBBM rather than relying on a tokenistic nod towards the language in the design of graphics, decorative details, menus etc.”

Robert Burns Birthplace Interpretive Plan (April 2011 Revision)

“The Generic Learning Outcomes (GLOs) for Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM) include the following….

Knowledge and Understanding

We will provide opportunities for visitors to enhance their knowledge and understanding of:

The Scots language.

Skills and Abilities

We will provide opportunities for visitors to develop the following skills and abilities:

Understanding what Burns was writing about and why.

Reciting Burns’s poetry and/or reading and speaking in Scots.

Enjoyment, creativity and inspiration

We want our visitors to:

Want to learn more about Scots/extend their Scots vocabulary.”

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Robert Burns Birthplace Interpretive Plan and Evaluation for the use of Scots Language at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway: A Report on Findings

Before taking a decision on approach, an extensive evaluation programme was carried out. This involved consultation with potential visitors, Scots language experts and museum staff across the UK.

Based on the findings of the evaluation, the following approach was decided on and adopted:

An introductory panel is displayed within the museum to explain the use of Scots and encourage visitors to read, enjoy and interact with the language.

The Scots language is used in audio recordings in the Cottage and the museum. Recordings of Burns’s works are also presented as Burns wrote them.

In terms of text provision, the interpretive story panels within the museum – which introduce the main interpretive themes and sub-themes – are presented in Scots with glossed words presented beneath in English, reflecting Burns’s approach to writing (Scots text prepared by James Robertson). Object labels and explanatory text for museum interactives are presented in English in order to maximise access, although the content of some interactives includes an exploration of the Scots language. Dual language throughout was considered but space is restricted and it was felt that presenting visitors with a wall of text would be too off-putting on a psychological level. Scots words are also presented on the walls of the cottage and museum, in the entrance foyer to the museum (hanging from the ceiling) and in a range of sculptural elements across the site.

Although the use of Scots was found to be a popular concept with potential visitors during the evaluation programme, visitor feedback to this approach should continue to be monitored. At the time of writing, evaluation of the new museum is currently taking place and a large focus of this is to explore reactions to the use of Scots at RBBM. Evaluation should continue to take place on-site and changes made to reflect visitor feedback. Robert Burns Birthplace Interpretive Plan (April 2011

Revision)

7 Corporate Scots?

We intend to replicate this already successful approach to Scots Language interpretation across the broader workings of RBBM i.e. to examine the potential for Scots language application in the commercial elements of the site (retail and catering)

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Areas we will consider include:

Café Menus Family activities Scots Language competitions and offers Feedback opportunities (with attached benefits) Signage (bilingual)

Shop Signage Offer

Web and Social Media presence Scots word of the week Media releases bilingual Scots Blogs

Broader site Tours given in Scots Bilingual signs

Communications Scots emails Bilingual Documents Scots articles for press and newsletters

Branding system A branding system to be developed for appropriate items and services which suggests added value due to the Scots language elements.

8 Staff Capacity DevelopmentMost staff at RBBM will use Scots, to varying degrees, although many are not comfortable with the idea or are unaware as to how much Scots they actually use. If RBBM genuinely wishes to promote Scots as a legitimate language then it should treat it as one. The following suggestions regarding staff capacities and development may help with this process;

All staff should be encouraged to become more familiar and comfortable with Scots to the point where they use it in appropriate situations (e.g. its usage among visitors with poor English would not be recommended) This includes staff from a non-Scottish or non Scots speaking background

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It should not be presented as an alternative to English or more or less valuable or valid; it should be presented as an equal, complementary language.

A level of attainment in Scots should be developed and offered to staff with an attached badging system identifying them as ‘Scots Speaker’

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Aim Actions Time1 Create awareness amongst all stakeholder groups that Scots is one of the three historical indigenous languages of Scotland and should therefore be afforded equal respect;

Statement on website + copy of this strategy July 2016

Develop staff capacities for Scots usage and promotion: offer staff Scots language tuition with an attached badging system identifying them as ‘Scots Speaker’

Start summer 2016 - Ongoing

Upside Doon: music with a Scots accent August 2016

Annual Scots Language Day? (Possibly 31st July, the day Kilmarnock Edition published)

July 2016 / Ongoing

2 Promote a coherent approach to the planning, learning, teaching and assessment of Scots within the context of related national policy and the national Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) implementation plan;

Launch event for Scots Language Strategy, inviting senior Trust staff and other influencers

Summer 2016

Ensure Scots is included in all future Learning Workshops for schools with the relevant CfE outcomes appended

Ongoing

3 Provide access to relevant resources which encourage the use and study of Scots within the framework of related national policy and the CfE implementation plan

Develop a Scots language fund to pay for future Scriever appointments, Sangschaw and project developments.

Autumn 2016

Explore options for Scots Language resource centre at RBBM

Spring 2017

Scriever (poet in residence) post created and renewed on a biannual basis

August 2016 (Launch)

4 Encourage all stakeholder groups to develop and implement Scots language policies

Use this strategy as a lever to encourage the broader NTS to develop and implement a Scots Language policy in line with its Gaelic one

Autumn 2016

Scots language conference (as part of Scots Language Day) Summer 2017

5 Continue to provide support for organisations which actively contribute to the preservation and promotion of Scots language;

Continue Learning Manager support for the The Scots Language Centre Council

Ongoing

Learning Manager to continue role as appointed Education Scotland Scots Language Ambassador

Ongoing

Annual awards ceremony for achievement in the use of Scots (literature, music, comedy, etc) called ‘the rabbies’ or ‘the andies’

Winter 2016 - ongoing

6 Encourage partnership working between all groups and bodies with an interest in supporting the Scots language

Devise ongoing Projects and strengthen partnership with Ayrshire Opera Experience

Summer 2017

Article in Scots in Ayrshire Magazine Monthly Ongoing

Develop) a Sangschaw festival to be run on a biannual basis 2017 – Biannual thereafter

Scots radio slot on West FM Summer 2016 onwards