You say Toe-MAY-to, I say Toe-MAH-to, let's call the whole thing off!

[EoganOg@aol.com]

Poster: EoganOg@aol.com

There are muckle fowk oot thar wha'd critasize ither fowk wha talk diff'renty
an tha narm.  Historicaly speakin' it happens wi' frequency.  It happent
recently in schuels in Scotia whaur the wee bairns wad be punished for
speakin' their ain leid, jist like what their faithers spak back on the fairm.
It happent heer in oor ain America tae the native Indians wha were farced tae
gae awa fae their hames an' live at boardin' scheuls whaur they were aye
beaten fer speakin' their native leid.  Mar recently thar wis ae fuss o'er the
thoucht that "Ebonics" wis a valid way o' speakin' an' writin'.

The mar I learn aboot the hist'ry o' ma mither tongue, aa its evolutions an
changes, the mar I respect aa the muckle varieties within it.  I recognize
that there is nae sik a thing as a "richt" an a "wrang" way o speekin.  The
impairtant thing is that the guid fowk yer tryin' tae tawk wi' can unnerstan'
ye.

Theday, oor "Guid Scots Tongue" is bein' taucht in the scheuls, written in
buiks, an' recognized as valid.  Ither sik leids an' varieties are likewis
gettin' mar recognition.  A guid thing in ma buik!

Noo, I ken that us fowk in the SCA usin wards sik as "smalls" fer bairns,
"feastocrats" fer cooks, "dragons" fer oor cars, an the like, disnae campare
tae leids o' ae ethnic group sik as I gied examples of aboon.  But the
principle o' the matter, tae me innywas, still stans.  Some fowk choose tae
use wards sik as these as a pairt o' the sub-culture o' the SCA.  Wha am I tae
tell 'em nae?  I generally don't use 'em mesel' but that's ma ain choice.  Ma
point is that gin I ken what they are speakin' aboot an' *they* ken asweel, it
is no ma place tae tell them, "Ye cannae speak that way here, it's no period!"
The fowk are tryin' an that's gey muckle better than those wha don't.

Noo I realize that those wards are no period, an' the point o' this game is
larnin' an relivin' medieval times.  Sae it is impairtant tae educate fowk an
I pairsonally like it whan people mind us that "car" is a period ward, an
"children" likewise.  (Ay, an "cook" asweel).  It mak's us think on what we're
sayin.  It educates.  Educatin' is guid.  What I'm sayin' is please dinnae
punish fowk fer usin' those wards gin they were only tryin' to tauk wi' ye, an
ye ken what they mean weel eneuch.

Why am I writin this mailin' in Scots?  Because years ago my ain peepul were
tauld, "Ye cannae speak that way here."  In the process o' the educatin' o'
them, they were punished for how they spoke.  Jist a mindin' for us no tae dae
that here.  We aa play this game thegither!

Noo, gin I live past aa these papers I maun write fer ma univairsatie, I'll
see ye aa efter!

Aye,
Eogan Albanach
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