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TheScottish National Dictionary Association (SNDA) was founded in 1929 to foster and encourage the use of the Scots language, in particular by producing a scholarly dictionary ofmodern Scots.[1][2][3] This primary aim was fulfilled in 1976 with the completion of the 10-volumeScottish National Dictionary (SND),[4] covering the language from 1700 to 1976. Material for SND is drawn from a wide variety of written and oral sources of Lowland Scots from Shetland to Ulster. SND was produced under the editorial direction of William Grant (from 1929 to 1946),[5] and of David Murison (from 1946 to 1976).[6][7]
After theScottish National Dictionary was completed, with its Supplement, in 1976, the Association went on to produce theConcise Scots Dictionary (1985) under the leadership ofMairi Robinson.[8] In 1986Iseabail Macleod became editorial director,[9] and the SNDA began to produce a range of smaller Scots dictionaries, including thePocket Scots Dictionary (1988) andScots Thesaurus (1990). The Association also established an ongoing Word Collection in order to create a constantly updated resource on modern Scots. In the 1990s, the SNDA responded to an increasing focus on Scots in the classroom by producing reference materials for schools, including theScots School Dictionary (1996) andGrammar Broonie (1999), a guide to Scots grammar with the text written in Scots by SNDA editor, Susan Rennie.[10] In the same period, the Association turned its attention towards electronic resources, publishing bothCannieSpell, the first Scots spellchecker,[11] and theElectronic Scots School Dictionary on CD-ROM in 1998.[12] In 2001, the SNDA was a partner with theUniversity of Dundee in a major digitisation project to create the onlineDictionary of the Scots Language (DSL), under the direction of Drs Skretkowicz and Rennie.[13] The DSL project digitised the complete first edition texts of both theScottish National Dictionary and theDictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue to create a free online resource, which was published in 2004.[14]
In 2002, when the relatedDictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue Project reached completion, a new organisation,Scottish Language Dictionaries (SLD) was formed to further Scottishlexicography. Building on the work of The Scottish National Dictionary Association and the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, in 2021, Scottish Language Dictionaries became an SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) and changed its name to Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL). It is a registered charity in Scotland with theOSCR number SC032910.[15] DSL also undertakes a wide programme of educational work throughout Scotland, with people of all ages and abilities.
