The national library of Scotland has published an online resource to help people learn about the Scots language, and the concept of ‘Scotticisms’, during the Scottish Enlightenment.

The resource features seven different sources, including a description of lectures designed to help those who speak ‘ a corrupt dialect of English’; an essay written in support of ‘the Scoto-Saxon tongue’; and, of course, Hume’s lists of Scotticisms, published in order to help those ‘as would avoid Scotticisms in speaking or writing’.

The educational resources accompanying the sources feature various discussion points, focussing on attitudes towards Scots; prejudice towards regional dialects; the links between language and identity; and language status.