Slava Konoval, Kyiv, Ukraine. Lawyer an poet.
Article by Carla Woodburn, Scots Language Centre Poetry Editor.
A'd like tae introduce Slava Konoval. Slava is a Ukrainian lawyer an poet bidin in Kyiv. Slava haes a specific admiration fur the Scots leid.
Slava contactit the Scots Language Centre an expressed his desire tae share his poetry wae us relatin tae the Russian invasion o Ukraine. At first a wisnae sure how we could publish Slava’s wirk as it wisnae Scots, an we ainly focus oan Scots content, until Slava explaint his passion fur the Scots leid, an how he’d haen twa poems translatit intae Scots fae twa different members o the Scots Language Society. A wis delitit wae this news an fur tae get the chance tae blether wae him mair, an tae publish his poetry.
Slava telt me he’s haen a connection wae, an passion fur Scotland fae he wis a wean, haein done a project in school aboot oor bonnie land, Scotland. Oor fid, oor kilts an oor bagpipes were things Slava spoke aboot wae a passion an fascination. He kens aboot oor language an aw the trouble we
hae gettin oor leid recognised an respctit as a valid leid. An aboot folk denyin the legitimacy o oor language. Slava explaint thit Ukraine haes ainly bin an independent country fur the last 30 year an made comparisons wae Scotland, oor fight fur independence, an language recognition. Slava said
Ukraine is steeped in history an rich culture, an he went oan tae again mak a comparison atween Ukraine an Scotland comparin oorkintraes, describing them baith as “rich in culture."
Whilst blethering wae Slava the discussion naturally wis dominatit wae the invasion o Ukraine an this is reflectit greatly in Slava’s poetry. Slava’s poetry describes aspects o war in a wey ainly a war civilian cuid. He writes fae the hert, wae passion an conviction, wae anger and love, an he explainit
tae me hou proud he is o his country an his fella Ukrainians. He proudly telt me that he is the first Ukrainian memmer o the Scots Language Centre. A telt him, in true Scottish hospitality, that he’s very welcome.
Slava writes poetry maistly in English, as his desire is tae share Ukraine's love fur the airts an fur tae mak Ukraine kent fir mair than jist the war, but fur it tae be kent fir its rich culture, an fur its love fur airt and poetry. He is published in monie international magazines. He enters monie competitions an he’s also haed his poetry translatit intae Irish tae. His desire is tae share his poetry internationally an spreid the guidd wird fae Ukraine wae the warld. Due tae health reasons Slava isnae fechtin in the war as a sodger, insteid he telt me thit his duty is tae share his poetry wae the warld, an A personally respect an unnerstaun his self-declairit duty. It’s a pleisure tae share Slava’s poetry an story wae us aw throu the Scots Language Centre an for tae help Slava on his mission tae promote the airt love an culture o Ukraine. Slava wis a joy tae blether wae, he haes braw manners an wis affae polite an interested, durin whit is a very traumatic an uncomfortable time fur Ukraine.
Fan div Ye Lug Intil Burevy?
Michty the tread stourin the track
Aa aroun her thare is green
The muckle barrel o the anti aircraft gun
Thare’s nae leain here, nae noo,
Aathin is stairk.
Frae sleepin laich
She’ll raise, cannie like
Aince sae bonnie
Noo gulsoch een stare
her camouflage green agin the bleck.
Stairt ane, stairt twae, fire!
The captain gaes oot the orders,
Throu the lift, the muckle slug flew aheid
Skeelie noo, wi new fun abilitie.
Poem by Slava Konoval and translatit intae Scots by George T Watt
Honour tae the Miami Polis
Ayont the sea’s blue een,
ahint the gowstie oceans,
whaur Miami Polis haud their ceetie siccar,
photies frae Ukrainian touns gien their heirts a rug.
The Buchanskyi polisman wis hauden the lass in his airms,
a near-haunt wa collapsed,
deep crater howes, fairm steadins in ruinage.
Dashelt bleck uniform, nummer plate smoort wi bluid,
heid cut bi shrapnel, but he gangs, cairries oot
a debt tae the fowk, a patriotic duty.
Syne comrades gie ower wappens frae Miami,
sae Ukrainians maun proteck their ceeties,
fir tae seelence the Russian shells,
Miami Polis ye are sae braw.
Poem by Slava Konoval and translatit intae Scots by Rab Wilson
Listen tae Carla interview Slava Konoval on Express Yourself on Sunny Govan Radio
Scots-Yiddish: A Dialect Re-imagined
The Jewish immigrants from Tsarist Russia and Eastern Europe brought to every city in which they settled a mother language, the mamaloshen, known as Yiddish, along with Hebrew, their language of religious observance. When the home language brushed up against local languages, interesting mixter-maxter combos could arise, such as the Yinglish of New York and Hollywood shmaltz. In Scotland, Yiddish speakers found Scots easy to absorb into their patter, as Scots and Yiddish share a common sound world, including especially the voiceless velar fricative ? that ch sound which comes from the back of the throat in words like loch.
Scots-Yiddish is said to have been particularly spoken by the trebblers, a Scots-Yiddish word for the travelling salesmen who would take the Edinburgh train to Fife and ply their wares in towns and villages where they had no option but to converse in Scots. Much of what little we know of Scots-Yiddish comes from the anecdotal account of David Daiches in his 1957 autobiography, Two Worlds: An Edinburgh Jewish Childhood. Daiches tells of how Jewish immigrants, not yet knowing any English, could chat with Scots speakers, with mutual intelligibility. Such was the similarity of the soundscape. He describes it as a short-lived language, probably flourishing between 1912 and 1940. Daiches regretted that the opportunity had been missed to record the speech of Scots-Yiddish speakers in the 1920s and 1930s, the golden years of Scots-Yiddish. Writing in 1957 he lamented: But nobody had thought of it then, and it was too late now.
Yet it was still possible, in 1957, to find an occasional old person who spoke the dialect. And, even today, there remain traces in memory and literature. An article by Professor Fred Freeman in Cencrastus magazine (No 51, Spring/Summer 1995) introduced me to the remarkable Scots-Yiddish Poems of Avrom Greenbaum. Known mainly as a playwright and leader of Glasgow’s Avrom Greenbaum Players, Greenbaum published a handful of Scots-Yiddish poems in the early 1960s in Glasgow’s Jewish Echo. His poems, available in the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre in Garnethill, are not entirely forgotten. Notably, Fiona Brodie recites his Address to the Fress, a Scots-Yiddish pastiche of the Address to the Haggis, at the annual Burns Supper of Glasgow Reform Synagogue. The poem begins in praise of the traditional Jewish spicy noodle (lokshen) pudding :
Lives there a man sae thrawn and frugal
Wad turn up his neb at lokshen kugel?
Another poet, A.C.Jacobs, toiled with his mixed identity as a Scots Jew from the Vilna (Lithuania) part of Glasgow: A bit east of the Gorbals/ In around the heart. In Dear Mr Leonard (Collected Poems & Selected Translations, Menard Press,1996), Jacobs cites a remark of an aunt, who, in the course of a conversation, says:
Ah’m no froom
Bit whan Ah see them
Ee’in the trayfi meat
It scunners me.
Froom is Yiddish for orthodox/observant, while trayfi is non-kosher food, such as pork.
Three years ago, the late David Kaye recalled hearing a snatch of conversation on the street in the Gorbals, this would have been in the 1950s. In response to a neighbour’s question, Ach, are you weel?, came the response: Oy, vay’z mir, ich hob ayn gey sair heid. Over the weeks that followed, this authentic fragment of Scots-Yiddish played in my head. I must have been dreaming about how a Scots-Yiddish speaking trebbler would acquire a gey sair heid as one morning I woke up with a half-formed story in some kind of Scots and Yiddish mish-mosh. It featured a trebbler’s misadventures in Fife and his return, having lost his money and his wares doun at some ferm in Fife. The Trebbler’s Tale which resulted is around 5% found Scots-Yiddish, the rest being reimagined and reconstituted from the component languages.
So, does Scots-Yiddish have a future? If, as may well be, I am inspired to write in Scots-Yiddish, I will not pretend that I am an authentic speaker of the dialect. Rather, it is a game in which the melding melodies of two lovely languages can be enjoyed. For fun and yet with a certain sadness at the loss of the dialect and a fond remembrance of those who spoke it. Always with an ear open for any fragmentary traces which may remain. I hope others may join me in this playful endeavour and enrich modern Scots with what Leo Rosten called The Joys of Yiddish.
Speaking of remnants and recalling that word loch, pronounced the same in Scots and Yiddish, Ephraim Borowski told me of a house in Glasgow’s Newlands suburb which had the name Lochinvant. There is, of course, no such place. But loch is one of those happy homophones as it is Yiddish for hole. And vant is wall. The house had been given the Scots-Yiddish name: Hole in the Wall. So, if I ever write about that imaginary Scots-Yiddish shtetl of my daydreams, perhaps the name of the place will be Lochinvant?
David Bleiman is an Edinburgh poet, writing in English, Scots and a little Yiddish and Spanish. The Trebbler’s Tale, winner of the 2020 Sangschaw Prize, is included in his first pamphlet, This Kilt of Many Colours. His pamphlets are available at https://poetrykilt.bigcartel.com/
Poem of the week : Reflections
Reflections Have ye ony comprehension Ae whit lassies have tae face? Fechtin tooth an nail Tae gain respect in every space. It’s no aboot the stuff I say, Or whit A try tae write, It’s the way A look while daein it – Have ye ever heard such shite? A long fur days when A […]
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Animal Ferm: Chapter I
Mr Cameron, o the Kirklands Ferm, haed sneckit the hen-hooses for the nicht, but wis ower fou wi drink tae mind and steek the pop-holes. Wi the ring o licht frae his lantren jowin frae side tae side, he hytert athort the yaird, kickit aff his buits at the back door, haed ae last swallie frae the beer bowie ben the scullery, and stoitert up til his bed, whaur Mrs Cameron wis aaready snorin awa.
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Ben Wur Ain Inner Hoose, Scots in Scots Law - Jon Kiddie
Advocate Jon Kiddie of Terra Firma Chambers explores the use of the Scots language in Scots law.
(1) ‘That the Court of Session, or College of Justice, do, after the Union, and notwithstanding thereof, remain, in all time coming, within Scotland, as it is now constituted by the Laws of that Kingdom, and with the same Authority and Privileges, as before the Union…’
(2) And, thus Article XIX of the Treaty of Union of 1707 preserved our Scots law and legal system notwithstanding the two parliaments determining to become a single Parliament of the United Kingdom.
(3) Scots law is an anomaly of the English-speaking legal world. While English common law forms the basis for many other legal systems, it is not so with Scots law. And, while Scotland too has its own common law, it developed much later,[1] is in many important aspects quite distinctive, and, in theory at least, shares its claim as a base element with Roman law. Hence, in comparative legal studies, Scots law is known as a ‘mixed system’, which has drawn both on its own common law customs as well as its more academic ‘civil’ tradition of scholarly endeavour.
(4) So, what of the Scots language in our law ? Here the situation is somewhat more complex. First, and notwithstanding that, in linguistic terms, the distinction between language and dialect might be moot (at least for modern practical purposes), Scots does enjoy some recognition as a language in its own right, e.g. by the Scottish Government itself,[2] as well as by UNESCO.[3] In terms of historical analysis, it is hard to dispute its language credentials, where it essentially evolved out of the same group of Germanic languages imported to these islands by the Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes et al, following the Roman evacuation in the mid-5th century BC. Variously, the evolution of English, on the one hand, and, on the other, Scots, has been both divergent and convergent, e.g. divergent during the Great Vowel Shift of 1400—1700 BC, yet convergent during the reign of King James VI and I (lived, 1566—1625), and subsequently. Thus, to this extent, if Scots is merely a dialect of English, then by the same standard English is also merely a dialect of Scots (and perhaps more so, where Scots actually retains certain features of the original languages that English has lost)
(5) Two or three centuries pre-Union, Scots was definitely the language of law. This much is clear from certain Acts of the (original) Scottish Parliament still in force today, e.g. the Leases Act 1449, which is short enough for replication here in its entirety:[4]
Of takis of landis for termes
Item it is ordanit for the sauftie and fauour of the pure pepil that labouris the grunde that thai and al vthiris that has takyn or sal tak landis in tym to cum fra lordis and has termes and yeris thereof that suppose the lordis sel or analy thai landis that the takaris sall remayn with thare takis on to the ische of thare termes quhais handis at euir thai landis cum to for sic lik male as thai tuk thaim of befoir.
(6) Yet, the new Parliament of 1707, being common to the entire UK, and particularly in the larger context of societal linguistic levelling,[5] it was inevitable that the language of statute would align. And, that it did so is also clear, e.g. from the Acts of Union themselves,[6] as well as from certain more imminently pre-Union legislation such as the (Scottish) Claim of Right Act 1689, which is linguistically very similar to the (English) Bill of Rights 1689, i.e. written largely in English as opposed to Scots, albeit perhaps not according to the same orthography.
(7) Thus, from the Union the language of statute, both North and South of the border, would be and remains English.
(8) Yet, by virtue of said preservation of Scots law, the Scots language would nonetheless also retain some level of importance. Accordingly, when the Claim of Right Act 1689 was cited in the recent prorogation debate in front of the Inner House of the Court of Session,[7] our highest civil court concluded of the government’s decision to prorogate parliament that:
‘Put shortly, prorogation was being mooted specifically as a means to stymie any further legislation regulating Brexit.’[8]
Where the word ‘stymie’ itself may be of uncertain origin, yet tends to be closely associated with Scots usage, and is thought to derive from golf, which is, of course, a game of Scottish invention.
Institutional Writers
(9) These are erstwhile scholars of Scots law (now dead), whose treatises and other writings are considered definitive, or at least highly authoritative, and although not written in Scots might nonetheless display some Scots linguistic influence or tendency, for example:
James Dalrymple, Viscount of Stair (lived, 1619—1695), Institutions of the Law of Scotland
Andrew McDowall Bankton (lived, 1685—1760), Institute of the Laws of Scotland in Civil Rights
John Erskine of Carnock (lived, 1695—1768), Principles of the Law of Scotland
David Hume, Baron of Ninewells (lived, 1757—1838), Commentaries on the Law of Scotland, Respecting Trials for Crimes
George Joseph Bell (lived, (lived, 1770—1843), Principles of the Law of Scotland
Archibald Alison, (lived, 1792—1867, English-born), Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland
Terminology for Legal System, Pairt Ane
(10) It perhaps goes without saying that, our legal system being having been preserved, many words and terms remain in use to this day, e.g. for courts, types of judges, and procedures, which are of Scots legal origin, yet might appear foreign (or confusing) to an English-speaking lawyer from another jurisdiction absent any training in our system. To what extent these might be considered part of the Scots language per se is perhaps open to debate, especially where every jurisdiction has its own innate and distinctive terminology, much of which might be foreign even to lay citizens subject to its law, and more particularly where some of them are even Latin (yet where the same Latin is not used elsewhere). In any event, obvious examples include:
Court of Session, i.e. equivalent of the English High Court and Court of Appeal, where the Court of Session operates both its Outer House (cases at first instance) and Inner House (appeals)
Lord President / Lord Justice General
Lord Justice Clerk
Sheriff Court, i.e. broadly speaking equivalent of the English County Court, yet also with criminal jurisdiction similar to the English magistrates’ court / Crown Court
Sheriff Officer, i.e. equivalent of an English bailiff, pronounced ‘bay-lif’
Bailiff, i.e. an officer appointed by the Scottish Government to enforce fishing rules, here pronounced ‘bay-ley’
Advocate, i.e. ‘barrister’, although the two professions are not entirely identical North and South of the border, and where English barristers do also sometimes call themselves ‘advocates’ in a general sense
Avizandum, i.e. the procedure where a judge ‘makes avizandum’ to consider his/her judgment in civil litigation.
Sist, i.e. the procedure of putting litigation on hold, the English equivalent of which is ‘stay’
Leave, e.g. ‘leave to appeal’, where the English equivalent is ‘permission’
Reduce, i.e. to declare null a legal document, instrument or decision, where the English might use ‘set aside’ or ‘quash’
Confirmation, i.e. the procedure for appointment of an executor in the estate of a deceased individual, where the English equivalent is ‘probate’
Delict, i.e. a civil wrong, where the English equivalent is ‘tort’, hence ‘delictual’ and ‘tortious’
Culpable homicide, i.e. manslaughter
Plagium, i.e. abduction
Terminology for Legal System, Pairt Twa
(11) Yet, certain other words and terms that remain in use do have a distinctively more Scots flavour to them. Perhaps the most obvious, and most frequently used, is ‘assoilzie’, the verb, which is pronounced ‘assoiley’ where the ‘z’ actually represents the letter ‘yogh’, otherwise sometimes rendered ? (the same as in the traditional Scottish shop name, John Menzies):
Assoilzie, i.e. to vindicate or absolve the defender in civil litigation, i.e. to grant absolvitor
Scots Laws
(12) Beyond said terminology for our legal system, some of our actual laws and legal concepts also have a more distinctively Scots flavour, albeit the extent to which these remain in use is debatable, and likely varies depending on practice area. Examples include:
Anent, i.e. in respect of or concerning
Bairn’s part, i.e. a child’s right to succeed to part of his/her deceased parent’s estate
Eavesdrop, i.e. a servitude right to allow one’s house to drip water onto a neighbour’s property, and nothing to do with clandestinely listening in on someone else’s conversation
Furth of, i.e. beyond the borders of
Hamesucken, i.e. assault on a homeowner in his/her own home
Haver, i.e. a custodian of documents or other tangible items, and not a verb meaning to talk nonsensically or uninterestingly
High Court of Justiciary, i.e. our highest criminal court, where ‘justiciary’ derives from ‘justiciar’, being a now obsolete term for the Lord Justice General
Law burrows, i.e. a rare yet still competent civil procedure for seeking financial security against criminal acts
Poind, i.e. a form of debt enforcement against the debtor’s moveable property, pronounced ‘pind’
Riever, i.e. a robber
Spuilzie, i.e. civil theft (note the use of yogh again, where this word is pronounced ‘spooley’)
Stouthrief, i.e. burglary
Tack, i.e. a lease (as in the Leases Act 1449, above), hence ‘tacit relocation’, i.e. where a lease renews itself by automatic operation of law
Tailzie, i.e. a now obsolete right of certain heirs to succeed to the deceased’s estate (again, note yogh)
Teind, i.e. 10% of revenue from land, erstwhile used to pay clergymen
Thole, i.e. to tolerate, e.g. ‘to thole an assize’, meaning to stand trial, where ‘assize’ refers to the jury, who are ‘seated’ i.e. ‘assis’ in French (form ‘asseoir’, to sit)
Tinsel, i.e. forfeiture, e.g. ‘tinsel of the feu’
Tocher, i.e. dowry, now obsolete
Umquhile, i.e. formerly, cognate = ‘onetime’ (?)
Zairs / yairs, i.e. fishing enclosures (again, yogh)
Use of Scots by Scots Lawyers / Lawyers in Scotland
(13) Nowadays, undoubtedly a lawyer practising in Scots law can thrive with no knowledge of the Scots language per se. Indeed, there are numerous non-indigenous lawyers who do this, and also a certain number of indigenous Scots lawyers who practise law ‘furth’ of Scotland, yet relying on legal training undertaken in this country. English, Anglicized and other non-Scots accents abound across our legal system.
(14) However, to an extent it depends on practice area. Those dealing with the public at large, e.g. solicitors in general practice, and perhaps criminal advocates, may benefit from understanding the parlance of their clients, sometimes considered ‘vernacular’ parlance, and which very often includes Scots, to varying degrees. Hence the apocryphal war story of the genteel advocate examining a witness in a prosecution:
Advocate: And, what did you do next ?
Witness: Ah jist went oer the road tae the garage fur tae get crisps an ginger.
Advocate: I see. And, can you please tell the court, what were the surnames of these two gentlemen whom you met, Chris and Ginger ?
And, finally for a bit of fun, the special defences and other defences known to Scots criminal law as explained by sometime Scots senior lawyer and dinner party raconteur:
Criminal Special Defences
Alibi — ‘Ah wisnae there’
Incrimination — ‘It wisnae me, a big boy done it & ran away’
Self Defence — ‘He banjoed me first’
Consent — ‘He wanted me tae dae it’
Coercion — ‘He made me dae it’
Insanity — ‘Ah’m no the full shilling’
Automatism — ‘Ah wisnae feelin’ masel’
Other Criminal Defences
Necessity — ‘Ah hud tae dae it’
Provocation — ‘He wis askin’ fur it
1. In English law, the term ‘common law’ is used to refer to the law of the land common to that land, as handed down by custom and tradition, and as recognised as such by English courts, where it owes its original inception to legal unification during the reign of King Henry II (reigned,1154—89), e.g. the Treatise of Glanvill, which codified English law, thus supplanting manorial & ecclesiastic jurisdictions, & imposing royal justice across the entire nation; by contrast, in Scotland it was not until the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1747 that any analogous endeavour was undertaken.
3. United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization
4. As still in force, where part was repealed by the Statute Law Revision (Scotland) Act 1906
5. At least among the so-called learned classes
6. Union with Scotland Act 1706, and Union with England Act 1707
7. Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland [2019] CSIH 49
8. Per Lord President Carloway, para.54