Scots Language Awards 2024: DORIC BOOTCAMP!

Weel duin tae DORIC BOOTCAMP! wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Educational Project o the Year in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now!

The Scots Language Awards are in the Cumnock Toon Ha, Cumnock in pairtnership wi East Ayrshire Cooncil on 14th September at 7pm. Tickets fir the ceremony are available tae buy here: https://eastayrshireleisure.com/events/scots-language-awards/.

We askit Jamie Fairbairn o DORIC BOOTCAMP! thae speirins.

Tell us aboot yersel or yer ootfit.
Doric Beetcamp is an inclusive residential immersion coorse fer Doric, a safe space fer learners ti hae a shottie at deepenin their kennins in a judgement free zone aboot aathin tae dee wi Doric. Set in bonnie Portsoy at e Sail Laft Bunkhoose, the coorse attracted folk fae as far as Dusseldorf, Rome an Lumphanan! The idea fer Doric Bootcamp came fae international journalist Andreas Wolff, fa spiert at ma at e 2023 Scots Language Awards fit wye we dinna hae mony Doric courses an workshoppies fer learners, in e same wye we hae a fair pucklie gaelic spikker courses. Gweed idea – let's dee it! So we set aboot luikin fer venues an tutors fae Banff Academy, newly trained fae the Open University coorse fer teachers, masel an ma colleague Aidan fae e Broch. Alang wi local orra loon, ballad singer Dougie Hay, an storyteller Jacky Ross, we aa hid a whale o a time explorin Doric, validatin e language an heezin up self confidence. Abdy's wintin tae come back neist year, but fer 3 nichts nae twa, so that there's mair time fer individual tutoring! We wis affa lucky tae get a grant fae e Doric Board tae mak it happen.

Whit wis it got ye involvit wi the Scots leid?
As a geography teacher it wis explorin widder wirdies an landscape names at got me intil it as a dominie at scweel. Wi a love o language, Scots poetry, folk music an sang it wis richt up ma street tae mak Scots an interdisciplinary integratit pairt o the curriculum. Fae sivven pupils in 2014, we noo hae ower a hunner ilkie year, an aboot 10 dominies trainit up tae teach it.

Why dae ye feel it is important tae use Scots in everyday life?
Billy Kay's wirds 'tak tent or it's tint' hud true – use it or lose it. We hae tae hud gyaan spikkin e mither tongue finiver we can. It's a gallus tongue an it's kept gyaan fer hunners o years, but we canna be complacent, and bairns an muckle fowk need a heeze up tae validate oor noble tongue fer generations tae come. Places lik Aiberdeenshire hae 64.1% o fowk (2022 census) wi Scots skills. Fit are we deein fer them? We're deein fit we can, but mair is needed.

Dae ye hae a favourite Scots phrase or saying?
Yer a lang time deid! It kinna encourages ye tae get on wi fit ye love, think important an hae a purpose tae dee.

Is there a Scots speaker who inspires you?
Ilkie year, as a dominie, there be ae young buddy I teach fa gets on an spiks their mither tongue fitiver's gyaan aon aroon aboot them, they winna shift, an they teach us aa new wirdies an inspire baith teachers an pupils aroon them. They are ma heroes.

Do you hear Scots spoken regularly in your local area? Have you noticed any changes over time?
I hear Scots ilkie day o ma life in aboot Fitehills, far I bide, Banff, Portsoy, Cullen, the Broch an in e kintraside. E latest census pit folk wi Scots skills in Aiberdeenshire at 64.1%, an we hae a duty tae validate them. Wi the generations it's true wirdies are tint, an bairns say things like – at's fit ma grannie says. But it true an aa tae say at bairns are scrievin mair Scots nor ever afore…..on their phones! Sae monie bairns text ilkanither in Scots ayenoo, an efter DORIC BOOTCAMP, I set up a Whatsapp Group tae hud e Doric claik gyaan amon e group, which hopefully will growe ilka year.

Ony particlar career heighlichts
The muckle pleesure is seein fit the bairns come up wi in their projects at scweel – aye brilliant an fu o imagination an creativity. Ma favourite is their imaginary islands, wi guides or myths an legends in Scots. Ither highlichts is bein lucky eneuch tae win Scots scweel o the year 2020, an gettin Scots Champion 2022 an Scots Spikker 2023. Anither highlicht fer me has been ma involvement as a tutor an unit scriever o the Open University Scots CPD coorse fer dominies.

Wha’s yer plans fir the days aheid?
Weel, we'll hud gyaan runnin DORIC BOOTCAMP neist year! We'll hud gyaan expandin Scots at Banff Academy, an gettin mair bairns an dominies involved. And we'll hud gyaan trainin up teachers aa ower Scotland wi the Open University Coorse.

The Scots Language Awards are in the Cumnock Toon Ha, Cumnock on 14th September at 7pm. Tickets are available to buy here: https://eastayrshireleisure.com/events/scots-language-awards/ There wull be some grand entertainmint oan the nicht tae, includin a recital fae Billy Kay, Susie Briggs, alang wi musical performances fae Claire Hastings an Sèan Gray.

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