Capitalising on the City: Edinburgh’s linguistic identities

Scott, MR

Abstract

This paper examines the linguistic identities of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city,
and the contexts in which they are currently used. The city is known by a range of
different names that are linked with its historical and contemporary identities as
they are represented in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish English and Scots. In terms of its
etymology, the name Edinburgh is part Celtic and part Germanic, but in modern
usage it exists within the official and standard discourses of the dominant language
variety, Scottish English. It is the form of the name most usually employed in other
British and International Englishes. In modern Scottish Gaelic, the city is called
Dùn Èideann, and of those designations which could qualify as Scots, the best
known is probably the nickname Auld Reekie “Old Smoky”, made popular in 18
th
century literature and still in use today. Particular attention is drawn here to the role
that these toponymic identities play in relation to the place identity of the city. Each
name resonates with different narratives of history and culture, which, although
subjectively shaped at the individual level, share at least sufficient prototypical
meaning for them to be employed effectively (and further shaped and manipulated)
in a variety of public and commercial contexts. It is argued here that the ways in
which these three toponymic layers describe the city reveal a complex paradigm
of contested space, and that by better understanding the uses of these names we
can better understand the linguistic politics of the city’s image and the current roles
played by Scotland’s languages.

Citation

Scott, M. Capitalising on the City: Edinburgh’s linguistic identities

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Deposit Date: Aug 2, 2013
• Journal: Collegium
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Pages: 115-131
• Publisher URL: http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/journal/volumes/volume_13/index.htm
• Related Public URLs: https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/38602/13_06_scott.pdf?sequence=1