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Reference.org
Scots language
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<p>Scots is a <a href="/facts/West_Germanic_languages/PbeIH9Jz">West Germanic</a> <a href="/facts/Variety_(linguistics)/QyllMQha">language variety</a> <a href="/facts/Anglic_languages/hN398Vyo">descended from</a> <a href="/facts/Early_Middle_English/dj1wHvwd">Early Middle English</a>. As a result, <a href="/facts/Modern_Scots/Cf65MbDe">Modern Scots</a> is a <a href="/facts/Sister_language/jmpB4w0H">sister language</a> of <a href="/facts/Modern_English/etWbLYRj">Modern English</a>. Scots is an official language of <a href="/facts/Scotland/VGwbbxB2">Scotland</a>, a regional or minority language of Europe, and a vulnerable language by <a href="/facts/UNESCO/QSbkRv3o">UNESCO</a>. In a Scottish census from 2022, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots. </p><p>Most commonly spoken in the <a href="/facts/Scottish_Lowlands/HK60gGaD">Scottish Lowlands</a>, the <a href="/facts/Northern_Isles/eUl0MpHn">Northern Isles</a> of <a href="/facts/Scotland/VGwbbxB2">Scotland</a>, and northern <a href="/facts/Ulster/K1cCQJBV">Ulster</a> in <a href="/facts/Ireland/35vYxXdP">Ireland</a> (where the local <a href="/facts/Dialect/gJ7uQQoj">dialect</a> is known as <a href="/facts/Ulster_Scots_dialect/IacTD5r7">Ulster Scots</a>), it is sometimes called Lowland Scots, to distinguish it from <a href="/facts/Scottish_Gaelic/KMI4MmzJ">Scottish Gaelic</a>, the <a href="/facts/Celtic_language/edRrGrMF">Celtic language</a> that was historically restricted to most of the <a href="/facts/Scottish_Highlands/wJoWjcUe">Scottish Highlands</a>, the <a href="/facts/Hebrides/zsj2EcdF">Hebrides</a>, and <a href="/facts/Galloway/bCMID3QX">Galloway</a> after the sixteenth century; or Broad Scots, to distinguish it from <a href="/facts/Scottish_Standard_English/VT54VbX9">Scottish Standard English</a>. Most Scottish people's speech exists on a <a href="/facts/Dialect_continuum/0QAuqxp3">dialect continuum</a> ranging between Broad Scots and Standard English. </p><p>Given that there are no universally accepted <a href="/facts/Language_or_dialect/gJ7uQQoj">criteria for distinguishing</a> a language from a <a href="/facts/Dialect/gJ7uQQoj">dialect</a>, scholars and other interested parties often disagree about whether Scots is a dialect of <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a> or a separate language. </p>