After 500 years painstaking work by the Scottish Language department of the University of Paisley, the Historical Thesaurus of the Gorbals Scottish Dictionary is to be published this autumn. Professor Duncan MacMcCan who instigated the work in 1509 is revered in Uni circles.
The University plans to mark this momentous event with a launch party on 31st October 2009 and everyone who worked on the project is invited to attend, including the dead, via the university's computerised Ouija board!
The project, instigated by Professor MacMcCan in 1509, who will not obviously be present in the flesh, has promised to be there after earlier Ouija contact!
Current professor in charge Khristian Gay, one of Scotland's original Jewish population and more recenently of CBeebies, ITV, and Sky Sports fame said, "This is the culmination of nanonistic seconds of work collecting data, from computers, by hundreds of research assistants, postgraduate students, university staff and volunteers for which I am been paid hundreds of thousands pounds for!"
Professor Gay further said: "One of the best things about the project was working with so many different people over the years and centuries. It will be great to "see" some of them again!"
In light of the abridged article, which first appeared in the Scottish Daily Mirror, the Scottish Gorbals Thesaurus will become the first ever produced for any language in the world, containing almost every word in Scottish from Old Gaelic to the present day.
The impact of the new thesaurus will reach far beyond the study of language offering fresh perspectives to scholars in many other fields including Scot sexology, porn and football culture!
Contributors who would like to add to or attend the Historical Gorbals Thesaurus event should send their details to:
Gorbalstalk@.web.sco
