Say it in Scots: Wha's Like Us?


Dr Chris Robinson

Category Language
Pub Date April 2008
ISBN 1845021975
Extent 145x110mm
Price £4.99
Format Pbk, 145x110 mm
Plate/IllustrationsB & W illustrations

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Say It in Scots is a series of pocket books designed to inform and entertain the reader about the wonderful, rich and varied language of Scots.

The people of Scotland have a reputation for being many things – honest, dour, courageous, argumentative and sometimes even mean. Very often, these characteristics are opposite sides of the same coin. Whether the Scots character is influenced by the beauty and hardship of the countryside, work, culture, folklore or the many incomers who have found a welcome over the centuries, one major influence on the way Scots see themselves is their language. How we describe ourselves is part of who we are.

Dr Chris Robinson has spent many years studying the history of the Scots language and has discovered some amazing facts about where the words we use come from. However, you might not be too surprised to know that there are far more Scots words for sinners than for saints!

In Wha’s Like Us?, Chris Robinson gives us an informative and amusing look at how we see ourselves, at our attitudes to work, love, money, envy, anger and entertainment and at some of the best Scots words and phrases we use to describe the Scottish psyche.

Author information

Dr Chris Robinson is the director of Scottish Language Dictionaries. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh and has taught Scots and English since the 1980s. She currently lectures for the University of the Highlands and Islands.