During the reign of Mary , Queen of Scots, the people of the South west of Scotland used Gaelic. A brief glance at the old "toon" [farm steading] names is revealing. "Craigdarroch", "Auchengee" Farden Reoch" "Creoch" "Brockloch" "Polquhirter" "Polquwhaup" are all cases which lie within five miles of my birthplace. Most of those names stem from old Gaelic. The Scots toungue has something in common with most "languages". It derives from the influences which came into the lives of the people over the centuries. Many words now accepted as "Scots" are the result of old Anglo saxon influence. Some words, like "tassie" [cup], crauvat" [scarf, or tie], are from contact with the French. "Kirk" , "bairn", etc., are Scandinavian. It's some time since I looked with any concentration at a dictionary, but I can clearly remember the italics following most words--"from the French'---"from the German"----"from Latin"--etc.. All language groups have evolved similarly due to changing circumstance. It is plain in fact that at the present day new words and expressions are popping up continuously due to the global phenomenon of modern communications and
interest in entertainment and constant virtual contact with other language groups.