With online abuse on the rise during lockdown, particularly towards women, singers, artists, poets and language lovers are speaking out about after being targeted for using the Scots language.
By Rachel Mackie
Scottish folk singer Iona Fyfe writes and performs in the Scots language.
She explained that she doesn’t receive much abuse for her music, despite singing in Scots, but when she speaks or writes social media updates in the language, that’s when her Twitter feed is hit hard.
Along with the “stupid cow” and “just who does she think she is?” – comments such as: “Struth, is it not bad enough having {Janey} Godley as a toe curling embarrassment to Scotland? Do we really need to add more?” are plastered below her tweets.
A survey by Glitch shows that almost half of women have experienced online abuse since the pandemic started.
Iona said: “People think that those who speak Scots are uneducated, when they’re not.
“It’s a struggle to use it every day, if I make a point in Scots, people are less likely to take it seriously.
“People like to engage with Scots in song – people will happily sing Burns’ songs around January – but it’s almost like they won’t admit it.
“I mean, people are happy enough to sing Auld Lang Syne every year.”