Your comments

Eddie frae Ballymena
Ah dinnae know whit all the fuss is aboot.Ah was born an bred in Co Antrim, as was ma faither, his faither, and so on all the way back til 1607, when ma fowks came here frae Argyll in Scotland. Some fowk likes tae catagerize hoo ivrywan else tawks - ma fowks hae bin tawkin this wey fer donkeys, an if they wanna cal it Ulster Scotch, let em; efter all ah wid cal mesel ulster scotch as ah wiz born in ulster an ma famly is scotch. Is no drivin any bigger a wedge between me and and the man doon the road, an anywan that thinks it is needs their heid felt.

John James from Aghyaran,Tyrone
I speak certain words everyday that are no doubt ulster-scots and can be attributed to the migration of people between the northern half of ireland and scotland for centuries. However, I also speak english with gaelic influences, and am proud of that fact. I recognise ulster-scots as a dialect and gaelic as a language and what I speak as a mixture of both, I think thats how many people talk in North Tyrone,East Donegal,Derry, Antrim and Down.

James Henderson
My interest is genealogy and the language of my great great grandparents and their parents born in Ulster. When the 18th century Ulster families migrated, what language did they bring to their new countries. Did they have to learn proper English in order to survive? Or did they retain their Ulster tongue for a time?

Steve Musgrave
There is nothing devisive about the term Ulster Scots it is an apt description of the tongue.I was raised incalfrnia in my grannys house ,who was from balleymoney(born 1882 matilda foster)Listening to the gop brought back many memories and a desire to relearn many of the words, and speech I had as a child. San Diego California

Richard Archibald from Ballymoney
Aidan, English and Scots are Germanic languages (Ulster Scots being a regional form of Scots). SCOTTISH Gaelic, Irish and Manx are Goidelic languages which are a branch of the Celtic languages.

bill simpson, Seattle US
The 'misuse' of the word 'Ulster' has always bewildered and angered me. The attempt to associate me, (Belfast born and raised), with another country, Scotland, equally so. By all means, use the correct term 'N. Ireland', but lets forget trying to implicate N. Ireland citizens in the same pot as 'others' who misuse the term 'Ulster' frequently. In my mind the pushing of the so-called 'ulster-scots culture' is an attempt to put a bigger 'tribal' wedge between the protestant and catholic people of N. Ireland. The planting of the north region of Ireland 300 or so years ago was a criminal act which 'us protestants' should not feel the least bit, (not 1 iota), guilty about; unless of course you were there?. However, lets recognise it for what it was and move on. One usually has to 'qualify' remarks when addressing some of our own N. Ireland citizens, because they are such a fragile and sensitive lot; unless of course, they are doing 'the addressing', that is. Just let me say that; I am a proud Belfast man, an exservice-man with 9 years served and very happy to be a citizen of N. Ireland and the UK. But please, lets walk away from this 'ulster-scots' debacle; it's intentionally devisive.

Jim Murdock from Loughgall
The words of Jim fenton and the late W.F. Marshall should be made compulsive listening. Here the Ulster man will learn the genetics of his native tongue, and the contribution made to this tongue by the native Irish, the Scots and of course the strong Warwickshire influences Our language/s enrichment is in no small measure due to the English of the authorised version of the Holy Bible, the writings of Milton and Shakespeare. Keep up the good work and thank you for this major contribution which will assist many in their search for their linguistic roots.

Aidan Work from Wellington,New Zealand.
Isn't the Ulster-Scots-English language in the same families of languages as Scots-English,Scots-Gaelic,Manx,& Erse? Can anyone please provide some information?

John Blisard
Trevor Miskelly is certainly a good Ulster-Scots speaker and promoter - I wish the Agency all the best in keeping this language alive.