Minding Our Language, Sunday 8th November, BBC 2 NI, 9pm
Date Posted: October 30, 2015
In a new two-part Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund programme, comedian Tim McGarry goes on his own unique “journey” to learn more about Ulster-Scots.
Minding Our Language, starting on BBC Two Northern Ireland on Sunday 8 November at 9pm, sees Tim embark on a one-man exploration of the history of the Scots language from its beginnings in Northumbria to its arrival in Ulster right through to the present day.
In the first programme, Tim begins his quizzical quest by going right back to the origins of the Scots language in dark ages Northumbria. He hears from experts how this minority Anglo Saxon language in an overwhelming Gaelic speaking Scotland became the dominant one in Scotland by the 14th Century. He also learns how, by the 15th and 16th Century, Scots was the language of the Scottish Royal Court and how, in the early 17th Century, the Plantation then brought the Scots language to Ulster.
In the first programme, Tim also explores the rich literary tradition of the Scots language from Barbour’s ‘The Brus’ through to the Makar Poets. The programme features contributions from a range of commentators and Scots and Ulster-Scots language experts.
In the second programme, Tim McGarry continues his quest Tim discovers how Scottish poets like Robbie Burns and Hugh MacDairmid kept Scots literature burning bright and how Ballycarry poet James Orr is regarded by many literary experts as the equal of Burns.
The series has been made by the Hole In The Wall Gang, with assistance from the Northern Ireland Screen Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.
