National Research Nuclear University «MEPhI», Russia, Moscow, arkhipova.lucy@gmail.com
The role of language as a marker of ethnic identity determines the relevance of attempts to standardize minority languages and linguistic idioms that have controversial linguistic status. The paper examines the challenges related to the standardization of the spelling in modern European minority languages with the particular focus on the Ulster-Scots and Scots languages – officially recognized minority languages spoken in Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively. The research material (dictionaries and glossaries) shows that one of the principles proposed by the normalizers of Ulster-Scots is the differentiation principle. This principle helps to delimit the minority Ulster-Scots language from the dominant English, and, consequently, to strengthen its status and preserve its ethnolinguistic vitality. One of the promising principles of creating a commonly-accepted Scots spelling seems to be the so-called «minimalistic principle» which relies on English spelling combined with traditional Scots orthography.
spelling; standardization; minority languages; Ulster-Scots; Scots
Download textFor citing: Akishina, L.S. (2022). Problems of spelling standardization of modern minority languages: the case of minority languages in Great Britain. Ethnopsycholinguistics. Moscow: INION RAN. Vol. 2(9), pp. 48-60. DOI: 10.31249/epl/2022.02.04