Welcome to

For many years, the late A. J. Aitken took upon himself the responsibility of publishing periodic reviews of work on Scots. The bibliography that follows is greatly indebted to him. I have also had the benefit, as his literary executor, of access to his personal collection of work on Scots. J. Derrick McClure as author of the “Year’s Work” in the Scottish Literary Journal must also be gratefully acknowledged together with his successor, W. F. H. Nicolaisen.

The bibliography that follows is fairly full, but it is selective, in the belief that scholars will generally find it more useful to be directed to the more important and/or more recent contributions, in the first instance. Further materials will be found in the works listed under “Surveys and Bibliographies” below. I have not listed bibliographies whose contents are already fully covered here. Items are entered in more than one section if appropriate. A researcher interested in a particular area of Scots should be able to use this classified bibliography as a starting point. A personal choice of the most important works is marked with an asterisk, giving precedence to more recent and more accessible work.

This bibliography is focused very much on linguistic work. The language of particular creative writers and literary genres is, of course, touched upon to a greater or lesser extent in critical writings, but these are not dealt with here as such. Textual criticism is also neglected here. The study of place names is another area that is not fully covered. Nor is ethnography.

The coverage of reviews is rather haphazard. I have included a few that I have found useful out of those that happen to have come to my attention.

I would be very grateful to hear of any items that users feel should be added to this bibliography, and for assistance in keeping it as up-to-date as possible. I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to everyone who has helped with this compilation, and particularly to Iseabail Macleod and Michael Montgomery for their meticulous reading of the whole bibliography (prior to updating). Any errors are my own responsibility. THERE ARE SOME GAPS IN THE INFORMATION, INDICATED IN BOLD CAPITALS, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP IN FILLING THEM.

The initial keying in of this bibliography was funded by the University of Aberdeen as an Elphinstone Institute project.

Many thanks to those who have sent information and corrections. From the 2003 update onwards, the bibliography will be maintained by Prof. Marina Dossena. Please send copies of newly published papers to her at

Università degli Studi di Bergamo,

Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere,

Piazza Rosate 2 - 24129 Bergamo, Italy

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Introductory remarks (by Marina Dossena)

It is a great pleasure and an honour for me to take over in the task of maintaining this bibliography. I know I can rely on the co-operation of scholars working in the field of Scottish linguistics to help the continuation and enrichment of this very valuable collection, and I wish to thank in advance all those who shall provide relevant information. I also hope you will not hesitate to let me have your suggestions for improvements.

Please note that plans are under way to transform these pages into a proper online database – watch this space!