The Doric, or ‘e Doric as it is often pronounced, is a name widely used and understood in the North East of Scotland. It is also the name of the Doric Festival which occurs every autumn. When we mention this name in 2010 it probably conjures up a picture of North East Scotland, possibly of farming and fishing communities, certainly of tradition, and also of a distinct dialect of the Scots language – often difficult for other Scots speakers and impossible to monolingual English speakers. So much so that some people would be forgiven for thinking (as a few have even claimed) that Doric and Scots are different things. The Doric is distinct at a regional level, certainly, but is still part of the Scots language at a national level. But the idea of the Doric as a North East phenomenon, and a North East phenomenon alone, is very recent. As once again we celebrate the Doric Festival, the Scots Language Centre looks at the word Doric and the history behind it. On the left hand menu you will find a series of articles describing aspects of this wonderful dialect of Scots.