Pro-indy Twitter users more likely to use Scottish words

Twitter users who back Scottish independence are more likely to use Scots words in their posts '“ except when tweeting about the referendum issue itself, according to a university study.

Independence supporters gather in Glasgows George Square Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

Researchers at Edinburgh University conducted a computer-based study of thousands of tweets written during the 2014 referendum campaign looking at how people’s use of language was related to their identity, views and discussion on the debate.

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Scottish words – such as oor, yersel or bairns – were used more frequently by users who favoured pro-independence hashtags, but not necessarily in the same posts, the research showed.

In the first large-scale study of its kind in the UK, experts found that people whose tweets suggested they identify as Scottish nationalists were more likely to use language that reflected this.

They also found that tweets with hashtags relating to the referendum, from either side of the debate, featured fewer identifiably Scottish words than other posts.

The findings suggest that users reduce their use of Scots words in tweets related to the independence referendum not necessarily because of the topic, but because the hashtag broadens the audience, as indicated by previous studies.

Dr Sharon Goldwater, of the university’s School of Informatics, said: “People might be expected to use Scottish words more when discussing the referendum, but interestingly the opposite is true: this is probably because tweets with hashtags are intended to be seen by a broad audience.”

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Researchers from the University used computing techniques to identify thousands of tweets relating to the Scottish referendum.

They then carried out a statistical analysis of users and their posts to explore how people’s use of language related to their position in the debate.

The study, presented at the European Association for Computational Linguistics conference, was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.