Greater Govanhill launches Scots language project for our next magazine: Govanhill: Wit Aboot Yae?'
Greater Govanhill is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £5,374 from the Scots Language Publication Grant, managed by the Scottish Book Trust. This vital funding will support the creation of a special new magazine edition dedicated primarily to the Glaswegian Scots dialect.
by Mikael Phillips
We’re launching a Scots language writing group and we want you to be part of it! The project, working under the title Govanhill: Wit Aboot Yae?, aims to produce a 44-page magazine written mostly in the vibrant, everyday language of our neighbourhood. Working with 10 writers over the next few months, we’re building our 21st issue of the magazine together.
Celebrating the Voices of Govanhill
Glaswegian Scots is an integral part of our city’s identity: expressive, humorous, deeply rooted in our community. However, it is often stigmatised or overlooked in mainstream media.
With this next edition go the mag, we’re seeking to validate and amplify the lived experience of all Glaswegians, no matter where you’re from, and give this rich, evolving language the space it deserves.
We believe that by dedicating an entire issue to the dialect, we can foster pride, reduce stigma, and create powerful cultural connections through our shared dialect, which exists on a beautifully vast spectrum of its own.
A Tool for Inclusion and Exchange
In keeping with Greater Govanhill's multilingual mission, this special edition will also serve as a tool for inclusion with selected articles written in Scots being translated into other community languages spoken in Govanhill (including Urdu, Czech, and Romanian) and vice versa, promoting empathy and mutual understanding.
Plus, some content will also be published in plain English to ensure accessibility for newer residents and those who are still building their language skills, using the dialect as a friendly pathway to local culture.
The project will be led by our experienced editorial team, with writer and editor Mikael Phillips taking a lead role, bringing his passion for Scots language and culture to the project.
Get Involved: Writers and Creatives Wanted!
This magazine will be co-created with the community. We are now calling on local contributors, writers, photographers, and illustrators to get involved. Join us on Wednesday the 19th of November from 7pm to hear from some professional local Scots language writers discussing how to write in Scots and how to generate an idea, plus we’ll be officially kicking off our Scots language writing group, which will offer 10 local writers fortnightly Scots writers’ group drop-in sessions to support contributors in exploring writing in the dialect, share work, and receive feedback as we work towards the 21st issue of Greater Govanhill Magazine together, with guest facilitators at some of the sessions.
Sign up to take part here: bit.ly/ScotsWriting
Celebrating together
A public launch event and a live one-off radio show on Radio Buena Vida to celebrate the finished magazine. The 4,000 free copies of Govanhill: Wit Aboot Yae? will be printed and distributed across the Southside roughly four months after our project kick-off, being distributed in spring of the new year.
Keep an eye on our noticeboard and newsletter for the official announcement of the launch event and the open call-out for writers!
Greater Govanhill would like to thank the Scottish Book Trust and the Scots Language Publication Grant for supporting this essential project.
