Sorcha of Uist

Sorcha of Uist
Born	Sorcha mid-June, 1701AD Dunvegan, Skye, Scotland
Died	1738AD or 1739AD (Aged 37) Dunvegan, Skye, Scotland Unknown, likely early-onset Alzheimer's
Resting place	Not publicly available
Nationality	Scottish
Fields	Historical linguistics, language preservation
Known for	An Etymological Dictionary of Scotland's Norse and A Description of Scotland's Norse
Partner	Possibly her closest friend, Dorcha of Edinbane.

Sorcha of Uist was a Scottish linguist from the Isle of Skye. She was the first to compose a proper description of the, at the time, nearly extinct Scots Norse language, she also wrote the first full dictionary of the language. She would never see the dictionary completed, as she was afflicted by some kind of neurodegenerative disease, likely early-onset Alzheimer's, that forced her to be bed-bound. The dictionary would be completed postmortem by her friend, and possible partner, Dorcha of Edinbane.

She is considered possibly the single most important figure to the Scots Norse language, as her dedication to documenting the language can be directly linked to it still living, and to the slow revitalization that has been going on since the mid 1700's.

Life

Not much about Sorcha's life is known, as very little of it was ever recorded. We get a few glimpses into it from the writings of Dorcha, especially from letters between the two (which were often romantically charged).

Early life

Sorcha was born in mid-June, 1701 to a lone mother in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, her father having died before her birth. The exact cause of his death is unknown, but it was disease of some kind, possibly Alzheimer's (thus establishing a family record of it). Growing up in Dunvegan, she was raised Christian, which would influence her attitude towards things till her adulthood.

As a young teen, it seems Sorcha took an interest in linguistics after hearing her grandparents conversing in Scots Norse, a language which the young girl had never heard until then. Following this, Sorcha would take an interest in trying to write the language, using her native tongue of Gàidhlig as a basis for figuring it out, which would later give rise to the spellings she uses in her works.

Adulthood

As an adult, Sorcha's interest in linguistics only grew, and she began trying to find more speakers of Scots Norse, eventually concluding that "... In my time, there mustn't be more than 150 speakers of this tongue [Scots Norse] left". Following this, she would begin her work on documenting the language as spoken by the youngest of the natives.

In her mid 20's, she'd grow closer to her childhood friend, Dorcha, and potentially become partners, with some evidence of them being intimate at least twice. In letters between the two, they would often end with "arr grònn u n'elshc u mec tel tù", a phrase from Scots Norse that translates as "My love for you is ever-growing".

Death

Sorcha died either in late 1738 or early 1739, at the age of 37. The exact cause of her death is unknown, it was most certainly a neurodegenerative disease, but which is likely not determinable. The disease was called "dementia" by those close to her, but "dementia" often referred to any neurodegenerative disease at the time, though it is most likely it was Alzheimer's.

Works

Scots Norse

Sorcha dedicated over half her life to the documentation and preservation of Scots Norse, in which she was extremely successful. Her work would technically start around age 15, when she first got interested in linguistics, as she'd quickly start trying to write the language, using what she knew of Gàidhlig to do so. These early spelling attempts would greatly influence her later spelling system for Scots Norse, which itself is the basis of the modern spelling system, hence the overall Scottish-ness of the spellings.

Out of all her works, her most important are An Etymological Dictionary of Scotland's Norse and A Description of Scotland's Norse. These two texts are together the most important documents regarding Scots Norse, as they are the earliest complete description of the language. Both are mainly focused on Western Scots Norse, but the 2nd includes a short description of Skye Scots Norse, based on the speech of her family. The 2nd also includes a description of the last holdouts of Mannish Scots Norse, which would die within the decade after she passed.

Dorcha

Sorcha's relationship with Dorcha is often described as a close friendship, especially by more conservative leaning groups, but it is extremely likely they were actually lovers who hid their relationship from others, as homosexuality was treated extremely poorly at the time. Based on letters back and forth between the two, it becomes extremely apparent there existed at least some affection between the two. Further evidence comes from Sorcha's journal, which, while in fragmentary condition, contains text describing how the two would often share a bed, both at day and night. The journal also contains a few short descriptions of several "stevnmòt", seemingly a word for "date" (eg. "meeting between lovers").

The two met around age 10 and would quickly become friends, but their relationship wouldn't grow intimate till their early 20's, and from Sorcha's journal we can assume they began living together around age 23, which she'd seemingly explain to her family as being for work, writing in her journal "I explained to my parents the arrangement with my bèt, saying it was for research purposes, furthering with the information that Dorcha speaks Scots Norse"