When the first edition of this book was published I believed that it could and should have a fairly limited life. This belief was founded on the idea that, such is the closeness of language, thought and subject matter, the future of such books would be based on the disciplines of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences and that, consequently the best people to write such a text were those who knew the rhetoric of their own disciplines more intimately than a generalist ever could. The teaching of a discipline, I have long held, should include as an inalienable component the teaching of how to write in that discipline, just as the Roman scholar-statesman Cicero had inveighed in his De Oratore against ‘that absurd, needless and deplorable conception, that one set of persons should teach us to think, and another teach us to speak’.

To some extent this has come to pass – but only to some extent. There are now student manuals on how to write in some disciplines, particularly history, English literature, psychology, philosophy and sociology. What I did not foresee is the extent to which many of the old disciplinary boundaries have begun to blur, and the extent to which new inter-disciplinary ‘studies’ subjects have come to characterise the offerings of arts and social science faculties. Much in the climate of thought (and rhetoric) has changed. As a result, there still seems to be a good case for a general book such as this one, in which I have taken the opportunity to engage with these new developments. Moreover, many other things have moved on.

In Chapter 2, it was suggested that there is no one Scottish identity but rather that it is a shifting, dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon and that national identity is likely to be mediated by local and class identities. This chapter investigates whether this hypothesis is supported by the data by looking for evidence of regional/local (Edinburgh/Glasgow) and class (tabloid/broadsheet) identities in the newspaper corpus. Chapter 2 also underlined the significance of the symbolic as well as the communicative function of language and argued that language could function as a cultural totem or signifier. For totems to be effective, they must be visible and recognisable as such. Thus they depend on the familiar: shared knowledge and cultural mores, the formulaic and the stereotypical. Discussion in Chapter 2 suggested that historicity and heritage were important facets in national identities, and stressed the vertical (historical) as well as horizontal (contemporaneous) axis. The present chapter investigates the extent to which this vertical axis can be identified in the newspapers' use of formulaic features. Formulaic language and Scottish stereotypes offer familiar and reliable ways of invoking a sense of Scottishness and so this chapter also deals with the quotations, allusions, proverbs and sayings, idioms and other fixed expressions and recurring collocations that were noted in the newspaper texts. It considers the potential sources for these and asks what their significance is in the newspapers' construction and maintenance of a Scottish identity.

The words of that old Scottish toast can perhaps be seen as arrogant self-congratulation, particularly by those who are not Scots, but it does capture an important ingredient of Scottishness – the sense of being part of a distinctive and exclusive group. This chapter deals with the question of identity, and in particular with notions of Scottish national identity. What are the components of such an identity, and how is it constructed and/or maintained? Is it a static phenomenon, or is it a dynamic, constantly evolving entity, open to modification and reformulation? Many linguists (for example Edwards 1985; Le Page and Tabouret-Keller 1985; Joseph 2004) have argued that there is a link between language and identity, and this chapter investigates the symbolic functions of language and asks what part it might play in an ongoing construction and/or maintenance of Scottishness and Scottish national identity.

What Constitutes Identity?

Identity is both a complex and a fascinating phenomenon. At a basic level, identity is about who we are, and who and what we identify with. However, identity is also about who we want to be, and how we wish to be seen by others.

Joseph (2004: 3–5) distinguishes between individual (or ‘personal’) identities and group identities, claiming that ‘your’ ‘deep’ ‘personal identity is made up in part of the various group identities to which you stake a claim’.

This chapter gives an overview of the complex linguistic situation in Scotland and links it to discussion of the language of the newspapers. It outlines how the linguistic situation that exists in present-day Scotland arose, and suggests various ways to make sense of the range of Scottish varieties encompassed by the superordinate term Scottish-English. A range of questions surrounds the status of Scottish-English varieties: whether they are best described as discrete languages in their own right or alternatively as dialects of English; the existence or absence of a Scottish standard variety; and status and register constraints. Also under discussion are issues such as how people in Scotland feel about the language they use, focusing particularly on their self-awareness, ambivalent attitudes and the frequently encountered linguistic insecurity. Finally, this chapter considers the relevance and implications of these factors for an analysis of Scottish newspaper texts.

As discussed briefly in Chapter 1, this study is concerned with those language varieties in Scotland I have collectively termed Scottish-English. Scottish-English is a localised form of British English, and, on a global scale, of World English. The varieties within Scottish-English (including the two key varieties Scots and Scottish Standard English) are characterised to varying degrees by the inclusion of Scots lexis and idiom, Scottish grammatical features (both syntactic and morphological), Scottish pronunciation, and, in the written mode, sometimes by distinctive orthography.

This chapter makes a comparison between the pre- and post-devolution phases of the corpus, and asks whether there have been any changes in the use of Scots lexis by the newspapers. If so, what conclusions can be drawn, and what explanations can be offered?

What Analysis of Newspaper Language can Teach us about Scottish Identity

As was argued in section 4.2, newspapers and national identity are crucially linked. As discussed in sections 4.2 and 4.4.5.1, both Anderson (1991) and Billig (1995) considered the media to be central to the development and maintenance of a sense of an imagined national community (for Anderson print media was key). McCrone claims that

As discussed in Chapter 4, newspapers have, for many years, been seen both as barometers of society and as powerful agents in fostering a sense of national identity. Andersen's (2001) study found that ‘those who read Scottish newspapers are more likely to have a strong Scottish identity’ though failed to reach firm conclusions as to the cause of this correlation. Was it that those who have a stronger sense of Scottish identity were more likely to read Scottish newspapers because they ‘cater’ for their viewpoint, or alternatively did more frequent reading of Scottish newspapers actually increase a sense of Scottish identity?