The question as to which is the nearest living relative of English is a matter of discussion. Apart from English-lexified creole languages such as Tok Pisin and Bislama, Scots (Lallans), spoken mostly in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, is the Germanic variety most closely associated with English. Like English, Scots is a direct descendant of Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. The closest relative to English may be considered to be either Scots or Frisian, spoken in the Netherlands and Germany. Some consider Scots to be a dialect of English and some consider Frisian to be a dialect of Dutch. Both are recognised by the governments of their respective states as regional languages (Scots by the United Kingdom [1] and by the Republic of Ireland [2]; Frisian by Germany and the Netherlands [3]) Other less closely related living languages include German, Low German, Dutch, Scandinavian languages and Afrikaans.
So if they are recognised as regional lanuages what is the problem?