Is Scottish an ethnicity?

[Anonymous]

I know this question may sound stupid, but since I am really unsure as to whether Scottish is an ethnicity or not, I would appreciate it if someone could explain this to me.
I know that Swiss is not an ethnicity, and neither is British: both are nationalities. But it seems like Scottish, English , and Irish are all separate ethnicities. Am I right?

[Saskatchewan]

Technically, Highland Scots and Lowland Scots are separate ethnicities. The former is more Celtic in culture, often speaking scots gaelic and descending from the Irish. The Lowland Scots are closer related to the English tend to speak a Scottish variation of English, and settled in Northern Ireland in the 1500s where they became the Scots Irish, who later came to settle in Appalachia and other North American frontier regions in the 17th and 18th centuries.

From an old website "medievalccotland (dot) org":
"n the 16th century, the language of the Scottish Lowlands, including the towns and royal court, was Scots; it was closely related to contemporary English.[1] Since Scottish Lowlanders spoke a very similar language to the English and historically had had similar cultural influences, as well as varying degrees of contact with England, 16th century Scottish Lowland names were very similar in general to 16th century English names, though there were differences in detail. However, Lowland names were quite different from the names of Scottish Highlanders (who spoke Gaelic rather than Scots)."

From "scottish-at-heart":
"For a long time Scotland has at war with (or in conflict with) England.
There was also a clear division - and no love lost - between the Scots who lived in the Highlands (north) and those who lived in the southern Lowland areas.
The Highland and Lowland areas had very different cultural practices, traditions, and even languages."

[evenlift]

It's difficult to answer, because these words don't have set meanings.

Ethnicity can refer purely to one's genes (interchangeably with race, or as a sub-category of race), or it can also include components of culture, language, etc.

Nationality is definitely a more political term than ethnicity. But, often, these days, it is used as a purely legal term (for example, 'British nationality' is a legal term in British law). This has been especially true since the rise of nationalism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as a result of which most multi-national empires were replaced by many nation-states. So, for example, people talked of 'the German nation' even before there was an independent, unified state called 'Germany'. That said, for example, people still talk of 'the nation of England' and 'the Scottish nation', even though they went in the opposite direction, ceasing to be independent states over three centuries ago.

[Asker]

Ah.
Thank you for your answer.

[Anonymous]

Only those who descend from the ancient Scotts and Celts are ethic Scottish.

[lanternhill]

My family for instance descends from the Brythonic Celts (Britons) of what is now Ayrshire but was once part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde (Ystrad Clud), in the Old North (which sounds super epic). Sooo... original Scottish wayyyyyyy back.
Anyway. You can be born and raised in Scotland but be of Russian descent and therefore nationally Scottish but ethnically Russian.
(I think. Ethnicity is about linguistic/cultural/racial affiliation, as far as I understand, but nationality is a citizenship thing.)

[Asker]

Yes, I agree.
Thank you for your answer.

[Anonymous]

"Ethnicity" is different things to different people.

If you're thinking biology, a set of genes that a group of people that have interbred over time share, then it could be said that there is a Scottish ethnicity. But many people who live in Scotland wouldn't be part of it.

You go even finer, and say that there is a lowland Scot ethnicity and a highland Scot ethnicity. Ethnicities could be defined for each of the islands.

Or, you could zoom out and say that there is an Anglo-Celtic ethnicity shared by many people in the British isles.

Or zoom out again and say there is a northern European ethnicity. Or a Caucasian ethnicity. Or an Indo-European one.

It's generally all pretty pointless.

[THE_Godfather]

You are correct! They are from Scotland.
You are also correct in saying "Scottish" NOT Scotch. Scotch is a drink NOT a person.

[Your_boss]

Scotch is a person

[Asker]

Your_boss: According to the dictionary, "Scotch" is an old-fashioned term. Today you are more likely to hear "Scot."

[THE_Godfather]

@Your_boss NO Scotch is a drink. "I'll have a scotch & soda!"
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Scotch

[Zorax]

Yes, Scottish are separate ethnicity, they are more related to Irish, Welsh and Cornish, rather then English .

[Asker]

Thank you for your answer.

[Zorax]

You're welcome ;)

[26ukdude]

No you are wrong. Scottish, English , and Irish are NOT separate ethnicities either, they are separate nationalities. Traditionally people from those countries are the same ethnicity which is white/caucasian.

Nationality and ethnicity are different.

[Zorax]

Wrong, white is not an ethnicity, it's a race. Nationality is only like... a citizenship... So their nationality is British, but English , Scottish, Irish, Cornish and Welsh are separate ethnicities - because English are Germanic ethnicity, whilst Scottish, Irish etc are all Celtic ethnicity.

[Asker]

How are they separate nationalities? They are all considered British.
White / Caucasian is not an ethnicity. It's a race.
And yes, I know that nationality and ethnicity are different.

[Zorax]

Asker, I never said they were separate nationalities, I said they were separate ethnicities... you said that you know the difference between nationality and ethnicity, right? Scottish people are Celtic ethnicity, English people are Germanic ethnicity, so they are not the same. But their nationality/ citizenship is the same (British).

[Asker]

Zorax: I was actually talking to 26ukdude :)

[guy23454]

It is both a nationality and ethnicity. It can refer to things located in or from the nation of Scotland (e. g. Scottish Whiskey, a Scottish city, the Scottish English border.) On the other hand the word "Scottish" can also refer to the indigenous group who inhabit the northern part of great Britain. This includes the diaspora around the world who have never even set foot in the country.

[Nuns_in_Heat]

It's a nationality... cuz Scottland is a nation...

Mind=Blown

[Asker]

Well, France is also a nation, and "French" is an ethnicity. Just because a country is a nation doesn't mean it can't be an ethnicity.

Mind = Not Blown

[Nuns_in_Heat]

Spent some time on google...
Hey I'm human, you're right. I apologize for the sarcasm. :)

[Asker]

Nah, it's cool :)

[Saskatchewan]

France has ethnicities in regions that go back many centuries. Normandy - mostly descended from Vikings, Bretons (of Celtic origin) in the northwest, Alsatians (german speaking) in the northeast, Basques (speaking a pre-indo-euron the left side of the Spanish border, Catalans on the right side (starting with the nation of Andorra.) And within that there are further ancient complexities.

[Anonymous]

No, they're Anglo-Saxon. Scottish is a nationality.

[Zorax]

Scottish are not Anglo-Saxon, they are Celtic.

[TheAceholeSupreme666]

Yes, it is.