Ye'll nae learn English here, lassie

LONDON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Scottish officials are outraged that London bureaucrats told a visa applicant she wouldn't learn English as well in Scotland as in England.

Linguistic experts and politicians accused the officials of delivering "a gross insult" to Scotland when they refused a Russian woman's visa application for a 10-week study course.

The Telegraph said Friday a letter explaining why she had been refused questioned her assertion that her father would pay for the course and said that English language courses were available in Russia.

It added: "You cannot satisfactorily explain why you have chosen to attend an English course in Scotland rather than your other options of Oxford or Cambridge, where you should face less difficulty understanding a regional accent."

Professor Charles Jones, an expert in English Language at Edinburgh University, said the reasoning behind the decision was outrageous.

"It is like saying that if she were to go to London University she would end up speaking like a cockney," he said.