Ayes don’t have it as sheriff bans Scots yes in court

A SHERIFF has banned the use of the Scots affirmative "aye" from his court.

Sheriff Lindsay Wood ordered people appearing from custody at Stirling Sheriff Court yesterday afternoon to stick to the word "yes".

Sheriff Wood, an Arbroath solicitor, sits regularly as a visiting sheriff at several central Scotland courts. When one accused, Ryan Seath, responded "aye" to a question about whether he accepted a bail condition, the sheriff barked: "Next time you appear in court you don’t say aye, you say yes. Do you understand that?"

A shocked-looking Seath, 18, quickly replied "yes".

Seath, of St Ninians, Stirling, who pled not guilty to charges of vandalism and breach of the peace, was bailed to return for trial on 3 December.

It is not the first time that the word "aye" has caused controversy in the Stirling court.

In 1993, former sheriff James Nolan held 18-year-old Kevin Mathieson in contempt for repeated use of "aye".

Mathieson had again responded "aye" after being told by Sheriff Nolan that he had to answer "yes" or "no", and asked whether he understood. Sheriff Nolan ordered Mathieson to be taken to the cells where he was held for 90 minutes.

The incident led to questions in the House of Commons, with six Liberal Democrat MPs, including Menzies Campbell, a leading Scots advocate, tabling an early-day motion noting that "aye" was recognised throughout Scotland as a clear alternative to the word yes. The motion pointed out that "aye" was the only word acceptable in the Commons as an alternative in a vote and asserted "its use should be universally accepted in courts in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom".

Derrick McClure, a Scots language expert, of the University of Aberdeen, said yesterday: "Aye is a perfectly acceptable word for ‘yes’. I thought these sheriffs would have learned some sense by this time.

"It happens to have disappeared from use in England, but not in Scotland, which is why it’s now thought of as a Scots word."

He added: "Everybody in Scotland knows what it means, and it is ridiculous that there should be any stigma towards using it."