Community / Giving the mother tongue the respect it deserves
New book highly praised by linguists from around the world establishes Shaetlan as a language in its own right
DISMISSED as inferior and portrayed as ‘slang English’ for hundreds of years, Shetland’s native tongue has finally been confirmed as a language and is already being used as a case study in university courses around the world.
In a new book, published today (Thursday), linguist Dr Viveka Velupillai presents a detailed academic analysis of Shaetlan’s vocabulary and grammar and concludes that based on the linguistic data, “[it] should be considered a language in its own right, rather than a dialect of some other language”.
Co-authored by Roy Mullay, Shaetlan: A young language wi aald røts also draws on a number of local Shaetlan speaking contributors in the non-academic part of the book to help make it more accessible to a wider audience than just the academic community.
These are: Hazel Adamson, Helen Balfour, Julie Dennison, Ronnie Eunson, Bobby Hunter, John Goodlad, Alison Rendall and Claire White.
Besides its academic significance, the book is set to have wider cultural and even political implications in that it corrects historical context, removes stigma and strengthens identity and self-confidence.
Former seafood executive and the author of several books himself Goodlad said Velupillai has “breathed fresh life into Shaetlan”.
“Using her linguistic experience and skills she has shown us that what we have is a language not a dialect,” he said.
“Establishing Shaetlan as our own language that we can be proud of will be a huge boost for our sense of place and confidence.”
Rendall added: “After generations of islanders being told to speak properly it is difficult to shake off the sense of inferiority, we have in speaking in our native tongue.
“It is important now that we start to recognise that Shaetlan is so much more than ‘twartree’ cute or novelty dialect words and to take ownership of our language, culture and heritage.”
Velupillai, a linguistics professor at the University of Giessen, in Germany, has been working on ‘Da Shaetlan Project’ for the last ten years.
Her work has already been compared by some to that of the Faroese academic Jakob Jakobson who published his famous linguistic study on the language spoken in Shetland back in the 1890s.
“The book is bilingual, with Shaetlan as the default and English as accompanying sections,” Velupillai told Shetland News on Thursday while unpacking a pallet of boxes with books.
“This is to show by action that Shaetlan is fully as refined as any other language in the world, and can be used for any and every topic, including abstract theoretical ones.”
Praised by linguists from around the globe, Velupillai’s description of Shaetlan is already used as a case study for so-called Mixed Languages, where languages have more than one ancestor.
“The bulk of the grammar comes from the Scandinavian ancestor (Norn, now extinct), while the bulk of the vocabulary comes from the Anglian ancestor (Scots),” she continued.
“Linguists have put forth theories that Mixed Languages have their grammar from the original settlers while they have their vocabulary from the new, more powerful settlers.
“The Shaetlan data confirms this and is another reason why the language is now a case study in university courses around the world.”
For Mullay, who has been working with Velupillai on the Shaetlan project, including the I Hear Dee website and social media posts, since 2016, the publication of the book could well be the beginning of a renaissance in the use of the mother tongue – a hope that is shared by all contributors.
“Dis book really shaas whit Shaetlan is capable o whin it’s gien da time an dedication it ocht tae git,” Mullay said. “Hit shaas at de’r nae raison at Shaetlan canna be øsed fir ivvryday writeen onywhar at’s relevant ti Shetland – da cooncil could be øsin it in dir website an da repoarts dey draa up, Shetland companies could be advertisin wi it, wir local news wid be a ideal candidate fir it – d’er very little it canna dø, becis it is a language at’s as güd as capable as ony idder.”
Photo: Shetland News
Balfour meanwhile recalled how she first met Velupillai while still a teenager, attending a lecture during an early visit of hers to Shetland.
“Her passion for Shaetlan was so exciting and as a young person who spoke the language, I felt a huge amount of pride that she was so interested in it.
“Viveka and Roy’s passion for ensuring that Shaetlan is seen as a language in its own right, which can be used in academic work, as well as in everyday use, is a super development for making sure that our language is given the respect it deserves.”
Eunson added: “Shetland has been waiting since Jakob Jakobsen’s famous linguistic study of the 1890s for a truly professional, comprehensive and academically sound explanation of the language spoken by Shetlanders.
“If this volume had been available in classrooms a long time ago thousands of young folk would have known the self-confidence and pride in their culture which can only come from using their own language.”
“It is important now that we start to recognise that Shaetlan is so much more than ‘twartree’ cute or novelty dialect words and to take ownership of our language, culture and heritage.” (Alison Rendall)
Dennison meanwhile emphasised how the book should not just be teaching material at universities but also become part of the local school curriculum.
“Da book is bøn highly praised bi linguists an academics aa ower da wirld, an it’s noo bein øsed in dir ain teacheen material,” she said.
“An I wid love tae see it bein øsed here, bi midder tongue spaekers an bi lairners. Dis book’ll gie fokk da confidence tae øse da language at means dat much til aa o wis, tae trukk oot da stigma o øsin it, an alloo it tae growe an thrive ower da isles.
“We hae a duty tae lairn wir bairns it, an tae no blaem dem fir no pickin it up whin dey hae nae formal sküleen in it, yit.”
Mullay meanwhile went one step further by drawing the comparison with Faroe.
“We need onnly look as far as wir neebirs in Faroe, whar whit wis wance pejoritively caaed ‘gøtudansk’ (“street Danish”) is noo dir prood national language, an hit’s da first language ony Faroese body wid reck fir in ivvryday øsige dere,” he said.
“Ivvry street sign, ivvry news atricle, ivvry TV an wireless programme, dir Government an dir laas is in Faroese first afore onythin idder.
“Dir peerie community at’s sae muckle laek wir ain is maniged dat muckle wi dir language, an de’r nae raison we couldna be døin da sam if da time an effort wis pitten in.
“Maebbi if we haed as muckle confidence as dem we’d hae wir tunnels laek dem an aa!”
Shaetlan: A young language wi aald røts by Viveka Velupillai & Roy Mullay is published by the project’s own bookshop here, priced £34 (hardback) and £20 (digital). It will also be available at the Shetland Times bookshop, the Peerie Shop, the Loose Ends Shop and the Uradale online shop.
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