Strathearn?

[Domehead]

Sir,
Thank you very much for your considered response. You have helped me understand and deconstruct District Tartans. I agree with your sentiments re: Dr. Smith. By deconstructive methodology, the disproportional usage of non-declarative terms & phrases establish a disconcerting trace lacking in authority:
"evidence to suggest" p22
"origin is unknown & unclear" p24
"apparently been" p26
"may well have been" p28
"may be & apparently wore" p32
"It is thought" p36
"it appears to have been" p38, etc...

I don't have access to the actual sample collections as you do. Therefore, I am bound by text-based research. The context you provide is imperative. Dr. Smith, although highly educated, often regurgitates informational errors in the same manner as tartan illustrators, and weavers, regurgitated interpretive & production errors during the C19th. We know how that turned out.

Re: Tartan For Me, I find the instructional essays in the beginning of the book interesting, particularly that concerning Gaelic & Recondite Grammar (English, Irish, Scottish use of the term Sept, in conjunction with Gaelic phonemic rules, resulting in derivative spellings of the same name or patronymic). However, taken as a whole, Dr. Smith's instructions on how to use his list are but a giant disclaimer.

Anyway, thank you very much.
The free education is not lost on me.
I do appreciate it.

Ryan M. Liddell
Domehead