Scottish English

of the professional class [in Scotland] and the accepted norm

in schools"

such as the Church of Scotland, local government and the education and legal systems.

continuum, with focused broad Scots at the other.
Scottish English may be influenced

to varying degrees by Scots. Many Scots speakers separate Scots and Scottish English as different registers depending on social circumstances.
Some speakers code switch clearly from one to the other while others style shift in a less predictable and more fluctuating manner. Generally there is a shift to Scottish English in formal situations or with individuals of a higher social status.

Scots to the 16th-century Reformation and to the introduction of printing.
Printing arrived

in London in 1476, but the first printing press was not introduced to Scotland for another 30 years.
Texts such as the Geneva Bible, printed in English, were widely distributed in Scotland in order to spread Protestant doctrine.

However the church, educational and legal structures remained separate. This

leads to important professional distinctions in the definitions of some words and terms. There are therefore words with precise definitions in Scottish English which have either no place in English English or have a different definition.

conform to the grammatical norms of the written standard, particularly

in situations that are regarded as formal. Highland English is slightly different from the variety spoken in the Lowlands in that it is more phonologically, grammatically, and lexically influenced by a Gaelic substratum. Similarly, the English spoken in the North-East of Scotland tends to follow the phonology and grammar of Doric.

coda.
Although other dialects have merged non-intervocalic /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/ before /r/ (fern–fir–fur merger), Scottish English

makes a distinction between the vowels in fern, fir, and fur.

differently, as are pour and poor.
/r/ before /l/ is strong. An epenthetic vowel may occur between /r/ and /l/ so that girl and world are two-syllable

words for some speakers.

common in names and in SSE's many Gaelic and Scots

borrowings, so much so that it is often taught to incomers, particularly for "ch" in loch.

are in some other varieties.
In most varieties, there is no /æ/-/ɑː/ distinction;

therefore, bath, trap, and palm have the same vowel.
The happY vowel is most commonly /e/ (as in face), but may also be /ɪ/ (as in kit) or /i/ (as in fleece).
/θs/ is often used in plural nouns where southern English has /ðz/ (baths, youths, etc.); with and booth are pronounced with /θ/.

in other varieties of standard English, for example with some stative

verbs (I'm wanting a drink). The future progressive frequently implies an assumption (You'll be coming from Glasgow?).
In some areas perfect aspect of a verb is indicated using "be" as auxiliary with the preposition "after" and the present participle: for example "He is after going" instead of "He has gone" (this construction is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic).

phrases such as I've got the cold/the flu, he's at the school, I'm

away to the kirk.
Speakers often use prepositions differently. The compound preposition off of is often used (Take that off of the table). Scots commonly say I was waiting on you (meaning "waiting for you"), which means something quite different in Standard English.

are other syntactical structures:
What age are you? for "How old are

you?"
My hair is needing washed or My hair needs washed for "My hair needs washing" or "My hair needs to be washed".[30]
I'm just after telling you for "I've just told you".
Amn't I invited? for Am I not invited?
Note that in Scottish English, the first person declarative I amn't invited and interrogative Amn't I invited? are both possible.