Billy Kay (writer)

Billy Kay
Born1951
Galston, East Ayrshire, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)Writer, broadcaster and language activist
Notable workScots: The Mither Tongue
AwardsMark Twain Award (2019); Scots Media Person of the Year (2019)

Billy Kay (born 1951) is a Scottish writer, broadcaster and language activist.[1] He developed an early interest in language, studying English, French, German and Russian at Kilmarnock Academy and English literature at the University of Edinburgh.[2]

His study of the history and status of the Scots language, Scots: The Mither Tongue, his most notable work, was later adapted for a television series,[3] and an audiobook, recorded after setting up a home studio during the COVID-19 lockdown. Kay thought that many people would not have heard 'how the language sounds' in major Scots literature such as Barbour's Brus, R.L. Stevenson's Thrawn Janet, works by MacDiarmid and Burns or the Border Ballads covered in his book: a sound version, he said, would 'fill a big gap' in people's 'knowledge and appreciation of a great tradition'.[4]

  1. ^ Devine, Thomas Martin; Logue, Paddy (18 November 2002). Being Scottish: Personal Reflections on Scottish Identity Today. Polygon. ISBN 9781902930367 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Smith, Graham R., "Billy Kay", in Parker, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus No. 20, Spring 1985, pp. 2 - 7, ISSN 0264-0856
  3. ^ Hearn, Jonathan (18 November 2000). Claiming Scotland: National Identity and Liberal Culture. Polygon at Edinburgh. ISBN 9781902930169 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Hannan, Martin (20 November 2021). "Scots author Billy Kay releases Scots: The Mither Tongue as audiobook". The National. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.