Scotch on the Rocks: Literary Identity and Linguistic Anxiety in Enlightenment Scotland

Abstract

AbstractThe Enlightenment literati of Scotland were confronted with a linguistic conundrum. In order to be accepted on an equal footing by English critics, they recognised the need to conform their language precisely to the ‘polite’ model of their southern neighbours. But many also realised that national dignity required that such conformity should not appear servile. The resulting tension led not only to friction between the Scots themselves but also to an anxiety which constituted a crisis of identity. An analysis of the conceptual context of ‘Scotticisms’ in correspondence and publications of the time allows some insight into an uneasy component of Enlightenment identity.