The Scots language has been seen in combination with political independence and as one means to achieve this independence. The revolution in the literary sense was supposed to act as a forerunner of the revolution in the "real" political sense. Literary independence for Scots has been achieved, but it has become clear that there is no such simple link between linguistic and political nationalism in Scotland. Ricarda Weissenberger traces the development of Scottish literature, pointing out the roots of the Scottish literary Renaissance and its initiator, Hugh MacDiarmid. It was the Renaissance writers' intention and their use of language which counts as the crucial connection to today's writers. Irvine Welsh's novel "Trainspotting" is taken as one example of modern Scottish fiction, its importance in the context of the Scottish literary tradition being shown by help of linguistic and thematic analysis.

The author: born 1972; Study of English und Art at the University of Siegen; Study in Glasgow, Scotland (University of Strathclyde); State Examination (English and Art); thesis in English Linguistics: "Socio-regional variation and identity: The speech situation in Scotland"; lectureship at George Watson's College in Edinburgh, Bildungszentrum in Plettenberg and Theodor-Heuss secondary school in Hagen; artistic work and residence in Frankfurt.