This evening, Thursday, Dec. 31, at gatherings the world over, many will raise a glass and sing these familiar words “Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” They are the first line of a poem-song written by Robert Burns in 1788 and commonly called Auld Lang Syne.

Auld Lang Syne was originally written in the 18th-century Scot language spoken by Burns. Some of the lyrics, such as “we twa hae run about the braes.” (we two have run about the hillsides) are rather incomprehensible to English speakers today.

Other phrases like “tak a cup o’kindness” are...