Did you know that the media has been misrepresenting Scottish names for years?
If not, we’re here to set the record straight. Scottsian Names have always had a strong connection with history and culture, but due to centuries of influence from Western Europe many people are unaware of their true meaning. In this blog post, we will discuss 6 things that the media hasn’t told you about Scottish names!
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The Media’s Misrepresentation of Scottsian Names
The media’s portrayal of Scottish names has been the subject for some heated discussion in recent weeks. The Washington Post set off this firestorm when they published an article on their website called “Meet Scotland’s New First Lady: Melania Trump.” In it, reporter Amy Argetsinger mispronounces Mrs. Trump’s name as “Melanie Zahn-aht” and then goes on to list a number of allegedly Scots words that she believes are used by the first lady.
Though many believe the issue is not with how these names are pronounced but rather what they actually mean, here we will focus solely on pronunciation because there is little disagreement about translations between spellings (such as whether “Zahn-aht” is said “Donald Trump’s wife Melanie Zahn or whether it should be pronounced as “Melana”).
The Washington Post reporter, Amy Argetsinger, mispronounces Mrs.
Trump’s name as “Melanie Zahn-aht” and then goes on to list a number of allegedly Scots words that she believes are used by the first lady. Though many believe the issue is not with how these names are pronounced but rather what they actually mean, here we will focus solely on pronunciation because there is little disagreement about translations between spellings (such as whether “Zahn-aht” is said ‘President Donald J. Trump’ s wife Melanie Zahn or whether it should be pronounced as “Melana”).
Some people might think that pronouncing Scottish words by their English translation is the right way to go. However, this leads to a number of issues such as how phonetic transliteration and orthography affect pronunciation. For example, some Scots would pronounce “Zahn-aht” without an ‘h’ sound because they believe it should be pronounced as “Melana” while others may spell it with the letter h in order for it to sound like Donald Trump’s wife Melanie Zahn. This causes confusion between what someone intends when writing and what another person reads or hears from them resulting in multiple possible interpretations which can lead to argument amongst those involved.
The media has not only misrepresented these
In England, Scotland’s most popular girl’s names are Emma and Sophie.
There has been a decline in the use of traditional Scottish naming practices since the 1800s.
Scottish last names can be traced back to both Gaelic and Norman origins.
The meaning behind many Scottish surnames is still shrouded in mystery due to lack of documentation during this time period.
Celtic naming was often passed on from family lineage instead of individual parents choosing their own child’s name for themselves.
A common misconception about Celtic or Gaelic languages is that they all sound alike when spoken aloud but there are actually several regional dialects which vary greatly even with neighboring countries such as Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
One of the common misconceptions about Scottsian names is that they are all last names but this not always true as many times the child may have both a first name and surname or just one name without either one.
Media’s Misrepresentation: The media often portrays Scottish culture in visually appealing ways such as with castles, kilts, bagpipes etc., however it doesn’t shine a light on some of its more prominent traditions which include naming customs. So when you hear people discuss “Scotish” sounding like an animal (ugh) what they’re really referring to is how Celtic speakers sound rather than Scots themselves speaking English since there are several regional dialects for them too!
As if being misrepresented in the media wasn’t enough, Scots have to deal with being misrepresented by foreigners who speak English as an international language.
The Media’s Misrepresentation: The media often portrays Scottish culture in visually appealing ways such as with castles, kilts, bagpipes etc., however it doesn’t shine a light on some of its more prominent traditions which include naming customs. So when you hear people discuss “Scotish” sounding like an animal (ugh) what they’re really referring to is how Celtic speakers sound rather than Scots themselves speaking English since there are several regional dialects for them too! As if being misrepresented in the media wasn’t enough, Scots have to deal with being misrepresented by foreigners who speak English as an international language.
The Scots themselves who speak English are commonly misrepresented in the media by foreigners who don’t know how to say their names properly and thus they sound like an animal (ugh). This is due to Celtic speakers that have a different pronunciation of words than those from other parts of England or Scotland for example, which is why it can be difficult for people outside these regions to understand them.
There’s also regional dialects such as Doric spoken in Aberdeenshire, each with their own charm!
In understanding this, one must also consider that many Scottish surnames only existed because of immigration where immigrants would take on new last names upon arriving in the UK. So if you were born and raised Scotish but have a name that is not Scottish, you’ll be able to empathize with those who don’t know what your family’s history was.
Non Scotish people often pronounce our names wrong because they’ve been taught in school and English language textbooks how it should sound – but this isn’t even the traditional way of saying these words! It can take some time for them to get used to hearing new pronunciations or accents as many Scots now have an accent when speaking English only due to immigration.
One thing most immigrant Scots will tell you about their experiences trying to work abroad is running into problems where employers hire British staff instead of non native speakers despite having more experience than others simply based on their nationality. This means they are often passed over for promotion and it’s an issue that needs to be looked at as the UK leaves the EU. – Because of this, many Scots choose not to use their accents in English out of fear they will lose opportunities when applying for jobs which can also limit public speaking engagements or activism work abroad. Even if a Scot is fluent in another language such as French or Arabic, employers may still discriminate against them based on how their name sounds – so there are some natural barriers imposed by socioeconomic inequality even before these people are able to get through job interviews! – It’s often tempting for immigrants who want to integrate into society here because it feels like we’re assimilating but this doesn’t mean Scotland has no room left for new culture
