Last night’s edition of “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” the NPR news quiz, featured a story that I wasn’t prepared to believe, involving the Scots Wikipedia, in which I wasn’t prepared to believe either. It seems there is an attempt to render the contents of Wikipedia in the Scots language (as opposed to Scots Gaelic, which is another Wikipedia). But the effort has gang agley, as it was revealed that an American teenager has contributed no less than 20,000 articles in what is claimed to be some kind of weird parody Scots language with only a tangential relationship to what Scottish people actually speak. Multiple “airticles” have been closed until an investigation can be completed.
Here’s the airticle on Vincent van Gogh, so you can decide for yourself.
Van Gogh’s pentin o himsel
Vincent Van Gogh ( 30 Mairch, 1853– 29 Julie 1890) wis a Dutch penter. Aifter failin a puckle jobs he decidit tae acome an airtist. He went tae bide in Paris wi his brither cried Theo, that wis an airt dealer, an met monie weel kent airtists that holpit an influenced him.
He flitted tae the toun o Arles an bade wi anither airtist, Paul Gauguin. The twa argied aa the time, an aifter a while Vincent cut aff pairt o his earlobe an sent it tae a hure. His mental troubles became that bad, he haed tae be admit tae an institute, whaur he did awa wi hissel an dee’d twa days later. Theo dee’d frae grief, some time later.
Van Gogh juist sauld the ae pentin in his life for a puckle siller, but his pentins are nou warld-famous, wi many uphaulyn him ae the great post-impressionist penter.
Elsewhere, the article states:
Followin recent revelations, Scots Wikipedia is presently reviewin its airticles for muckle leid inaccuracies.
Beaucoup de mickle fait un muckle, as hardly anyone ever says.
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