BURNS'S LANGUAGE - A CONDENSED SUMMARY OF A TALK GIVEN TO THE LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret

A linguistic analysis of Robert Burns’s language focuses on vocabulary size and composition, the proportions of Scots versus English, and patterns of syntax and pronunciation where ascertainable. The summary discusses how Burns modulates between Scots and Standard English as poetic strength, and rejects purely literary criteria such as meter sound-values. It classifies Burns’s poems by degrees of Scottish linguistic features, from “English English” to “Scots English” and “General Scottish” scripta, illustrating with representative examples.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Burns's Language

Approach and scope

Vocabulary size and composition

Scots vs. English modulation

Classification of poem series

Examples and reading implications

# BURNS'S LANGUAGE:A CONDENSED SUMMARY OF A TALKGIVEN TO THE LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND by Thomas Crawford [At the beginning of my talk,I gave a brief account of the ScottishRegional Dialects at the present time,and of their history. Cyclo-styled sheets_were issued,containing examples of Burns's language atali levels:English English,Scots English,General Scottish,SpecialVocabularies,and Regional Dialect proper. In approaching Burns's poems fram a linguistic point of view,it isnecessary to put aside such purely literary considerations as the "soundvalues"of the verse,or the poet's prefcrence for verbs of motion,simplesimiles,and the personification of abstract ideas. Instead of examiningthese matters,the linguist must concentrate on such questions as thetotal size of Burns's voca bulary;the relative proportions of the Scotsand English sides of his vocabulary,syntax and pronunciation(so far asthese can be ascertained);the significance to be ascribed to Burns's useof Scots and English,sometimes in different poems and sometimes in thecourse of a single poem;and the extent to which Burns's poetic vocabularywas a specifically Ayrshire or South-Western one, 00 (1)Burns's poetic vocabulary consistssome 11,400 words ,of whichroughly 2,000 are specifically Scots words,as opposed to easily recog-nizable phonetic variants of Standard literary words(e。g.unlawfu!forunlawful). From a purely quantitative point of view this means that Burnshad a largcr poetic vocabulary than Milton's 8,000 words -but,as might beexpectcd,it is not nearly so large as Shakespeare's,yhich has beenvariously estimated at betwecn 15,000 andwords(3)。 If,however,we verc to include Milton's prose works in our estimate of his totalvocabulary,the final number would obviously be much greater than 8,000.The same would apply to Burns's vocabulary too,though to a lesser extent.The 712 pages of his correspondence(all,except for one letter,and a fewfacetious passages and phrases scattered throughout the correspondence, 1.J.B。Rcid,Complcte Concordance to the Poems and Songs of Robert Burns,Glasgow 1889,Preface。 2. This is the approximate number of words glossed in The Poetry ofRobert Burns.edd.W.E.Henley and T。F。Henderson,4 vols.,Edinburgh1896-7,Vol.IV,Pp.115-176. 3.The ostimate that Shakespeare used 15,000 words and Milton 8,000 wasmade by Marsh in the 19th century.And cp 0。Jespersen,Growth andStructurc of the English Language,Oxford 1948,p.199. 22. writton in standard literary English)would almost certainly increase hisknown vocabulary to at least 14,000 words -and diminish the proportionwhich distinctivcly Scottish words bear to the whole. It is wrong to over-estimatc the degree of conflict in Burns'smind botvcen Scots and English linguistic forms. Literary StandardEnglish camc as naturally to him as vernacular Scots,anid he recognizedthe ability to modulate into Standard as a source of poetical strength.In tho vords of a contemporary witness: Then I pointed out some cvident traces of poeticalimitation in his verses,privately,he readilyacknowledged his obligations,and even admittedthe advantages he enjoyed in poetic compositionfrom the copia verborum,the command of phraseology,which the knowledge and use of the English andScottish dialects afforded him....(4) Burns's poems can be arranged in series according to the number ofspecifically Scottish linguistic featurcs which they contain. First,therc arc pocms written in what might be called "English English"-ie.,works which on the printed page do not appear to differ from SouthernEnglish picces written in mid-eighteenth century Literary Standard,withits sct forms(e.g.,heroic couplet,formal ode)and characteristic pocticdiction. Examples are the "Address to Edinburgh"and "It was the charmingmonth of May." It must be remembered that as read aloud by a Scot evenpoems of this first group would sound differently from the same poems readby an Englishman,though these phonetic variations a

FAQs

What linguistic factors does the talk focus on when analyzing Burns’s poems?

It concentrates on vocabulary size, Scots–English proportions, and the significance of Burns’s use of Scots and English in single or different poems, including syntax and pronunciation where possible.

How large is Burns’s poetic vocabulary according to the summary?

Burns’s poetic vocabulary is described as roughly 11,400 words, with about 2,000 specifically Scots words (as distinct items rather than phonetic variants of Standard words).

How are Burns’s poems organized in the summary?

They are arranged into series based on the number of specifically Scottish linguistic features, including poems in “English English,” poems wholly in “Scots English,” and poems in “General Scottish” scripta with technical vocabularies, archaisms, proverbs, idioms, and colloquialisms.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret