Imamura, Mari
As a young Japanese female entering Scotland in 1997, I had no knowledge whatsoever of Scots. Yes, I knew about Gaelic but Scots was simply a blank sheet. My first exposure to Scots was on a bus in Aberdeen where I listened to local kids chatting in a rather distinct manner. On a later occasion in a local bookshop I listened to two old ladies talking in a similar, but in many ways quite different manner from the youngsters. It was only later that I discovered that the school kids and pensioners were speaking in local dialects of Scots. I was intrigued by these incidents not only because their speech sounded unique but also because it seemed to represent a culture that was 'indigenous' to the area. Indeed, there are many foreigners who are fascinated by indigenous culture and are often among those who are keenest to learn and understand the language.
As part of my own research, I had the opportunity to speak to teachers in the North East of Scotland about their views of Scots. There I was surprised to learn that Scots was often perceived as a 'foreign' language by those who actually live in Scotland. Some went as far to argue that the language was alien to many of them, as they had never actually experienced listening to the language. The underlying assumption seems to be an image of Scots as an old, rare, rural language, and this was argued by some to be rather different from the local dialect that many children actually speak in their daily lives. It often seems as if there were two different types of Scots.
The idea of Scots as being old may have been formed more strongly by the non-native speakers and may be very different from what Scots means to those who actually use it. As far as my research is concerned, Scots taught in school settings tended to emphasise its historical roots but, as some teachers argued, such an approach could marginalise the maintenance of the Scots that is spoken by children as part of their daily existence. This may represent a challenge for educationalists as to how one bridges the gap between the two.