Recuperating Older Scots in the early 18th century

Smith, J. J. (2020) Recuperating Older Scots in the early 18th century. In: Peikola, M. and Bös, B. (eds.) The Dynamics of Text and Framing Phenomena: Historical Approaches to Paratext and Metadiscourse in English. Series: Pragmatics and beyond new series (317). John Benjamins Publishing Company: Amsterdam ; Philadelphia, pp. 267-287. ISBN 9789027207883 (doi: 10.1075/pbns.317.11smi)

Abstract

In early 18th-century Scotland, a group of writers and printers appeared who were engaged, as a community of practice, on the recuperation of Scots verse composed some two hundred years earlier. In doing so they have a claim to be the ‘inventors’ of Scots, bringing about what literary critics have regularly referred to as the ‘vernacular revival’. In this chapter, the editorial work of two key figures – Allan Ramsay and Thomas Ruddiman – is examined. It is shown how features of ‘expressive form’ in their editions, such as spelling and punctuation, can be related closely to the paratextual materials supplied. It is also shown how Ramsay’s and Ruddiman’s editorial practices relate closely to their own ideological interests.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Keywords: Spelling, punctuation, textual criticism, Scots, poetry, print, manuscript, ideology, Jacobitism, Enlightenment.
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Smith, Professor Jeremy
• Authors: Smith, J. J.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics; P Language and Literature > PE English
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
• ISBN: 9789027207883
• Published Online: 18 November 2020