- Adam Jack Aitken
Adam Jack Aitken (1921–1998) was a Scottish
lexicographer .Jack Aitken was born in
Edinburgh , grew up inBonnyrigg ,Midlothian , and was educated atLasswade High School . After serving in theRoyal Artillery duringWorld War ll , he returned to theUniversity of Edinburgh to continue his teaching career and to research the origins of the Scots andCeltic languages .He assisted
Sir William Craigie in the compilation of theScottish National Dictionary andThe Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue , now available online as theDictionary of the Scots Language . After Craigie he took over the The Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue as editor and completed the first of those in 1976. Aitken also instigated a new reading program of ancient manuscripts and historic papers in order to increase the reach and accuracy of the dictionary. Upon completion in 2000 the dictionary was dedicated to him.Aitken is also well-known for his formulation of the
Scottish Vowel Length Rule , also known as Aitken's Law. He also developed a numbering system for the Scotsvowels which enabled a better understanding and description of the historical development of those.
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