meradorm:

English speakers: did you know that when you learn English, you get a FREE bonus language? Due to mutual intelligibility (when two languages are closely related enough that you can understand one if you know the other), if you are fluent in English, you can read literature in Scots. Because of the colonization and disenfranchisement of the Scottish people, it isn’t very popular to write in Scots and authors get told nobody will read their books, so I HIGHLY suggest you do. Support colonized people writing in their own language! Support Scots!

Suggested Scots lit:

Trainspotting (cult classic about the life and times of heroin addicts, mostly known for the movie adaptation, but it was a book first. Probably the easiest to read on the list for people who know English but don’t know Scots.)

Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy (a darkly comic family drama, involves interesting topics like invisible disability, is in fact very funny)

But’n’Ben A Go-Go (Scots cyberpunk! Suggest you start with one of the other books above and get used to Scots before tackling this one though. This is written in “What if Scots, but it’s the future so it evolved some?” so reading it is definitely hard mode. But if you’re up for the challenge, it’s some solid SF.)

These are just three. Please add on with other books in Scots if you have any recommendations.

Lastly: Here is an online Scots-English dictionary to help you out, should you need it. Happy reading!

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