Keith has been named as the first winner of the Scots Toun prize, an award established this year to recognise communities which support and encourage the use of the Scots language.
Judges were impressed with the many positive steps taken by the community in Keith to encourage the use of the local dialect. Initiatives designed to encourage the language have included using Scots in street names, projects involving school children and activities centred round Mither Tongue, a Keith based business which produces gifts and stationery with a Scots language theme.
Commenting on the judges decision, Michael Hance, Director of the Scots Language Centre, said, The application from Keith was extremely impressive. A number of agencies have been involved in developing initiatives which encourage folk in Keith to value their linguistic heritage, to make the local dialect more visible and to see the potential of the language in terms of tourism and business. This was a joint effort involving local business, the community council and language enthusiasts. There is no doubt that the Scots language is alive and well in Keith and that it is seen as a vital part of local identity and culture there.
The Scots Toun award is administered by the Scots Language Centre. Judges awarded three prizes with Keith receiving the top spot and a cheque for 6000. Other winners included the Reading Bus based in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh, and the East Ayrshire town of Muirkirk which is aiming to use the language as part of its regeneration programme.
The judging panel was made up of Prof Donna Heddle of University of the Highlands and Islands, Chris Waddell, Head of Education at the Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Dr Dauvit Horsbroch, Language and Information Officer at the Scots Language Centre and Michael Hance, Director of the Scots Language Centre.
The prize will be presented at a ceremony in Keith on Thursday 19th June.

Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotlands Languages, said: This Scots Toun prize has encouraged communities to look at how they use the language to celebrate their unique identity and I know that the judges were impressed by all of the entries. I would like to congratulate Keith for being the first town to win this award and hope that the prize money will help develop its Scots programmes even further.
 
The success of the local work in Keith; the Reading Bus in the North East and the community of Muirkirk are great examples for other cities, towns and villages that want to make more of their Scots heritage and I am confident we will see their achievements increase as these awards grow.

 
Maggie Cruickshank, who is a long standing local campaigner for Scots said: "Having been awarded the prestigious accolade of Scotland's first Scots Toun, this is a wonderful opportunity for Keith to shine, and continue its mission to get the message across that Scots is a sister language of English and it's time we started to reclaim it, encouraging our children and grandchildren to speak it with confidence and pride.
 
"With an official figure now existing for the number of Scots speakers in Scotland at 1,541,693 (40,849 in Moray), and Scots Language Co-ordinators recently appointed within the education system, it is at long last beginning to enjoy the increased credibility and support it so richly deserves.
 
"King James VI, himself a Scots speaker and writer, abandoned it when he commenced ruling from England in 1603, Robert Burns halted its decline by ignoring all advice to write exclusively in English, and now my home town is in a unique position to proudly continue his priceless legacy what an honour."