| Scottish Cant | |
|---|---|
| Scots-Romani | |
| Native to | United Kingdom |
| Region | Scotland |
| Ethnicity | Scottish Romani |
Native speakers | 460 in Scotland (2011)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | trl |
| Glottolog | trav1235 |
Scottish Cant,Scots Romani,Scotch Romani or theScottish Romani language is acant and variety of theRomani language spoken byLowland Romani (Lowland Gypsies), who primarily live in theScottish Lowlands.[2]
Up to 50% of Scottish Cant originates from Romani-derived lexicon.[3]
TheScottish Gaelic element in the dialects of Scottish Cant is put anywhere between 0.8% and 20%.[2]
The percentage of traditional Romani lexical vocabulary is said to be up to 50% of thelexicon; some examples are:[2]
Scottish Cant uses numerous terms derived from Scots which are no longer current inModern Scots as spoken by non-Travellers, such asmowdit "buried",mools "earth", both frommuild(s), andgellie, fromgailey (galley), "a bothy".[2]
Loans from Gaelic include words like:[2]
Hamish Henderson and other folklorists recorded various conversations about the Scottish Cant language, with speakers includingLizzie Higgins andJeannie Robertson.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] He also recordedBelle Stewart singing a version of "Dance to Your Daddy" in both Cant andScots.[11]
