Language ideologies in the context of Scots language revitalisation: exploring the perceptions of Scots amongst stakeholders in education

Coeyman, Louis (2026) Language ideologies in the context of Scots language revitalisation: exploring the perceptions of Scots amongst stakeholders in education. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis explores language ideologies in the context of language revitalisation with a focus on Scots, a minoritised language understood as being closely related to English. A number of government initiatives providing support for Scots at the official level and in education have been introduced in Scotland over the last decade, including the 2015 Scots Language Policy and the Scottish Languages Act 2025. However, despite supportive measures, Scots is not generally perceived as a language in public opinion and lacks an official standard. As a consequence, its use in formal domains such as education, which plays a critical role in the support of minority languages, currently remains limited even in light of the recent developments.

To understand the misalignment between the perceptions of the public about Scots and top-down policies identifying it as a language, and to determine the best ways of supporting it and its speakers through future initiatives, this research studies language ideologies to examine the critical issues and debates surrounding Scots. More precisely, this thesis explores perceptions of Scots amongst stakeholders in education and aims to identify and investigate the types of ideologies in the Scots context, as well as assess how they influence language revitalisation efforts. It does so by employing a thematic analysis to examine the data collected from seven focus groups comprising 38 stakeholders in education (students, teachers, parents, and Education Scotland staff) in two distinct rural and urban contexts: the Scottish Northeast and the Glasgow area.

The analysis in this thesis reveals a number of key ideologies that emerged from the focus groups in relation to the perceived status of Scots as a language, its potential need for a standard, and its shifting place in school. By bringing to light how individuals perceive their language and what they envision for it, this thesis offers recommendations that may inform language policy and educational strategies related to Scots.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council grant number AH/R012717/1.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
• Funder's Name: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Supervisor's Name: O'Rourke, Professor Bernadette, Smith, Professor Jennifer, Kopaczyk-McPherson, Professor Joanna and Eunson, Mr Bruce
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86132
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 16 Jul 2026 12:48
• Last Modified: 17 Jul 2026 14:28
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86132