Paper short abstract:

This contribution focuses on a contested tongue in Scotland, exploring how the use of Scots can operate as a platform for identity construction, belonging and locality - not just for established population groups, but also for newcomers to Scotland.

Paper long abstract:

Language is a key dimension of migration. it has the capacity to draw and re-draw boundaries as well as extending and transcending the boundaries of social identity beyond conventional concepts of class structure, ethnicity, gender and nationalism (Nic Craith 2005). This contribution focuses on a contested tongue in Scotland to explore how the use of Scots can operate as a platform for identity construction, belonging and locality - not just for established population groups but also for migrants, minorities and refugees. The theoretical framework is Kockel's thesis on performing identities which distinguishes between public and private identities in xenological and autological terms (Kockel 2007). Performing in the traditional Scots tongue is an autological act when used by a Scots-speaking individual to affirm one's self-identity. At the same time, it connects such individuals to a collective ideological heritage which has been strongly influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution. The focus in this paper is primarily on "new Scots". Using Scots as their medium in which to write and perform, these non-indigenous creatives explore not just Scotland's linguistic heritage, but also the socio-political legacy expressed in and through the Scots tongue. The paper examines the role a contested language can play in identity construction and a sense of belonging at transnational level. It investigates how heritage practices in a contested language can express uniqueness at a local level, while also promoting social cohesion within a European ideal of "unity in diversity".