Ulster Scots is a dialect spoken in the Ulster region of Northern Ireland. This Germanic language, of Scottish origin, is very close to British English, and has been largely influenced by Irish Gaelic terms. A language at the crossroads of genres, rather harmonious, and with a strong sense of identity and history!
The Ulster Scots are said to have been born among the Scot people, who originated in Ireland during the Celtic period (and later gave their name to Scotland).
By this time, they were already speaking Scot, a language blending Gaelic-Irish sounds and their own “Scots” terms.
From century to century, this people traveled widely, gradually settling in Scotland and the rest of Brittany. From then on, their language changed, being clearly influenced by the English spoken on the British Isle.
This now modernized language didn’t land in Northern Ireland until the 17th century, during the Ulster Plantations, when British settlers, along with a handful of Scots, landed in the area to make it their permanent home. The language then developed, and has been passed down through several generations of Scots, right up to the present day…
Today, the status of Ulster Scots is still a matter of debate, with some linguists regarding it as a language in its own right, while others regard it as a dialect derived from English and Irish Gaelic…
