ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a social semiotic approach to understanding the song performance of Scotland as an internal Other within the union with the United Kingdom. The idea of Scotland and Scottishness as an alterior or marginal identity within this union can be found in many songs, from the medieval Border Ballads to Jacobite and contemporary songs in the traditional canon. The analytical approach in this chapter combines the social semiotic and narratological approaches of Burns, Fludernick and Van Leeuwen. Scots and English-language traditional songs that directly address the alterity of Scotland within the United Kingdom represent a particular tradition that has been a powerful source of creative inspiration for Scottish singers for generations. Hamish Henderson was one of the very few people in Scottish culture whose influence did reach out across Gaelic, Scots and English communities. For any multimodal analysis, the starting point must of course be multimodal, that is performances of songs, videos or tunes from an emic perspective.
