Scots Leid (Scottish Grammar) 1

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Wir Ain LeidAn Innin tae Modren Scots



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1 www.scots-online.org

Everyday speech in lowland Scotland varies from speaker to speaker.This is often referred to as a speech continuum. This continuumranges from Traditional Scots, often called Braid Scots or Scotch , the Doric , the Buchan Claik or the Moray Claik and Lallans (Lowlands) –to Scottish Standard English (p.98) Thus many people in Scotlandhave access to the features of two linguistic systems and are able torange from one to the other according to the demands of thesituation in which they find themselves. Such decisions are usuallybased on stylistic and contextual factors, the use of Scots being farmore likely among the working-class and older rural people,especially those whose exposure to the anglicizing endeavours of the Scottish education system has not been longer than necessary.

This book concentrates wholly on the Traditional Scots end of thisspeech continuum. This includes archaic, and some obsoletevocabulary which has been replaced by standard Englishequivalents. Such vocabulary is still used in literary Scots.

Traditional Scots has no equivalent of 'RP'. Scots is spoken in variousdialects. The Scots orthography used here is based o regularised 18th an19th century literary practices1, and can, on the whole, be read andpronounced in any Scots dialect with the possible exception of InsularScots. The information on pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired. Lackof time, space and technology hindered me providing an adequate guideto pronunciation for each word. Both the Ten Volume Scottish National Dictionary and the Concise Scots Dictionary from SLD Ltd. providephonetic pronunciations.

If you intend using this book to learn to speak Scots, choose thedialect (p.26) you wish to learn - all dialects are equally valid.

1 See Eagle (2006) Aw Ae Wey – Written Scots in Scotland and Ulster. Available

at http://www.scots-online.org/airticles/AwAeWey.pdf



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What is Scots?

The Emergence of Scots

The first language known to have been spoken in Scotland wasPictish. The Picts occupied Scotland north of the Forth. What littleevidence there is, such as place names with the elements "Aber-","Lhan-" and "Pit-", indicate that Pictish was a Brythonic languagerelated to the modern Celtic language Welsh. Around 300 A.D. thePicts got their name from the Romans who called them Picti. Thisreferred to their supposed habit of painting their faces with bluewoad. Picti means the painted people. At the time south westScotland (Strathclyde) was occupied by another Brythonic tribe(Britons) speaking Cumbric, also related to modern Welsh. Southeast Scotland was part of a Northumbrian kingdom based on theLothians. Those people, who spoke Ænglisc or Old English as it isnow usually called, were the descendants of the Angles who hadsettled in the north of England. By 500 A.D. a tribe of people fromNorthern Ireland called the Scoti had began to settle in Argyle.These new immigrants spoke Gaelic another Celtic language, andthey called their new kingdom Dalriada. By 900 A.D. the Scoti of Dalriada had absorbed and integrated the original Pictishinhabitants and formed the kingdom of Alba north of the Forth andClyde. Shortly afterwards the British kingdom of Strathclyde becamepart of the kingdom of Alba. It wasn't long after 970 A.D. that theNorthumbrian kingdom also became part of the kingdom of Alba,creating the borders of modern Scotland that have hardly changedsince.

One of the conditions to the annexation of the Northumbrian

kingdom was that the Northumbrians were allowed to use their ownlanguage and laws. Scotland's political centre of gravity moved fromthe west Highlands into Central Scotland. Soon a situation hademerged where the Royal household was only Scots in name. Theytoo were speaking Ænglisc. At this time Ænglisc speakers calledGaelic Scottis. After the Norman invasion of England in 1066 KingDavid I of Scotland (1124-53) granted lands to many Norman



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noblemen who held lands in the Midlands and northern England.Most of the lower rank people accompanying those Normannoblemen spoke a variety of what they called Inglis, a variety heavilyinfluenced by the Anglo-Scandinavian of the Danelaw. This wouldexplain much of the Scandinavian vocabulary of Modern Scots thatcan not be ascribed to the Norse influence in The Northern Isles andCaithness. The variety of Inglis resulting from the speech of recentincomers and the natives of the south east Scotland soon gained inprestige, and by 1290 A.D. Inglis had spread up the east coast tothe Moray Firth and taken hold south of the Clyde. Only Galloway,South Ayrshire and the Highlands to the north and west remainedGaelic speaking. The wars of independence in the eleventh centurysoon separated the two divisions of Northumbrian Inglis north andsouth of the Cheviots. During the following centuries the Inglisdeveloped separately north and south of the border. In the twelfthcentury extensive trade took place between the eastern seaboard of Scotland and the Low Countries. Trading colonies were establishedin Low Countries and similarly many traders and craftspeople from

the Low Countries settled in Scotland. They too enriched thevocabulary of Scots with Dutch and Low Saxon loans. Later on theAuld Alliance with France further influenced the Inglis of Scotlandwith the addition of more Norman and central French vocabulary.Meanwhile the Gaelic had also been adding vocabulary to the Inglisof Scotland. Many terms for topographical features are of Gaelicextraction although little more was passed on due to the low regardheld for things Gaelic. The great language of learning in middleages Europe was Latin, this too influenced the Inglis of Scotlandespecially in the realms of literature and law.

The Inglis (Early northern Middle English) spoken in Northumbria

and Scotland were very much the same but the emergence of thetwo competing Political entities of England and Scotland caused ashift in their population's centre of gravity. In Scotland thepopulation looked to their capital Edinburgh and to the Inglisspoken in the Lothians as a model for a national standard, bothspoken and written. In Northumbria the population looked to theemerging standard language of the east Midlands and later the



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speech of London. The early Middle English varieties in the southand north were noticeably different, reflecting the patterns of settlement by different Anglo-Saxon tribes and Scandinavianinfluence. Those varieties did share a considerable amount of common vocabulary but later divergent pronunciation shifts furtherincreased the difference between the Northern and Southernvarieties. The emerging standard from the South soon beganreplacing the Northumbrian in the north east of England reducing itto a mere dialect. Meanwhile the Inglis of Scotland had begandeveloping into a fully fledged national vernacular being used as avehicle for both literature and legal documentation. Although earlyScottish literature, in Inglis, such as Barbour's Brus (c.1375),Whyntoun's Kronykil and Blind Harry's Wallace (c.1478) may moreaccurately be described as early northern Middle English, scholars of Scots refer to the language of the period as Early Scots.



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The Relationship of Scots to Other Germanic Languages

By the end of the fifteenth century the Inglis language of Scotlandhad become a national language and was being called Scottis todistinguish it from the language of England. The following period inthe development of Scottis, known as Middle Scots, brought forth anabundance of literature based around the Royal Court in Edinburgh

and the University of St. Andrews. Master pieces by writers such asHenrysoun (1450-c.1505), Dunbar (c.1460-c.1530), Douglas(1476-1522), and Lynsay (c.1486-1555) saw the introduction of agreat many French and Latin words into Scots. At the same time thespellings employed by these writers indicated many pronunciationchanges that were probably due to natural developments in thelanguage. By the end of the seventeenth century the continued



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influence of English writers like Chaucer and later ElizabethanEnglish literature, started to have an effect on the spelling of Scots.

The Development of English and Scots

The period after the seventeenth century ushered in and saw thegradual decline of modern Scots as a national language. During theongoing struggles of the reformation the reformers failed tointroduce a Scots translation of the Bible, instead taking the Englishversion which was already available. The written Languages, of course, posed no insurmountable problems of intelligibility for an

educated readership but the spoken word remained as different asever. After The union of the crowns in 1603 the Scottish courtmoved to London, further increasing the Status of English inScotland. Finally the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in1707 dealt the death knell to Scots as the official language of Scotland. Standard English increasingly became the language of politics, education, religion and prestige. Elocution lessons were in

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ed as the nationallanguage by the intelligentsia, although use of it for any purpose

other than literary was frowned upon. Writers such as Galt (1779-1839), Macdonald (1824-1905), Stevenson (1850-1894), Barrie(1860-1937) and Crockett (1859-1914) followed the lead set byScott by using Scots dialogue in their novels. This pan-dialectliterary Scots continued to be used through the 19 th century butlater in the period indications of different dialectal pronunciationsbegan to make an increasing appearance in written Scots.

great demand among the aristocracy, who were the first toendeavour to adopt the southern tongue in both speech and writingby eradicating Scotticisms (Scots words and grammar features).They were of course closely followed by the middle classes and thengenerally by anyone who desired to be upwardly mobile. ModernScots of course continued to be used as the vernacular of the vastmajority of the Scottish population and the centuries old ballads inthe vernacular continued to be immensely popular among allsections of society, even though the population was beingincreasingly educated in English. It was also during this period thatmany of the ballads of the Borders and the North East, that hadbeen orally handed down the centuries came to be written down.Writers like Sempill, Lady Wardlaw and Lady Grizel Baillie helpedkeep the vernacular alive as a literary medium until the eighteenthcentury revival of interest in Scots and Scottish literature.

In the eighteenth century not all the Scots intelligentsia accepted themarginalisation of Scots. Some writers, among them Ramsay (1686-

1758), Fergusson (1750-1774), Burns (1759-1796) and Scott(1771-1832) continued to use Scots. Scott introduced vernaculardialogue to his novels, to great effect. This eighteenth centuryrevival of Scots literature was based largely on current colloquialScots, although the spelling were becoming increasingly anglicised,and apostrophes substituted for some apparently missing letters,some spellings based on the standard written Scots of the sixteenthcentury court continued to be used. The revival of the eighteenthcentury continued into the nineteenth century, with the publicationof Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language(1808). Scots was once again being regard



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tieth century Scots had become the language of the soalled lower classes used only informally and more or less

of e

iters torrespondences to

sin

misconception that Scots is a debased form of English. The Scotsrevival of the twentieth century produced a resurge in the interest inScots with the publication of reference and dictionary works such asWarrack's Scots Dialect Dictionary and the 10 volume ScottishNational Dictionary. In the 1920's. A renaissance in the use of Scotsled by Hugh MacDiarmid was not just literary but also political - fora nation to regain its soul it must also regain its language.MacDiarmid found himself among many contemporaries writingboth prose and poetry. Among them Douglas Young, Sidney GoodsirSmith, Robert Garioch and Robert Mclellan. Many of these writers

were accused of artificially reinventing a language because theyrecoursed to Scots Dictionaries and older literary works to increaseand developed their already substantial native Scots vocabularies.On the other hand recourse to dictionaries and other literary worksby writers using German, French or English who wished to expandtheir vocabularies was considered an enlightening and educationalexperience - a touch of discrimination perhaps? These attempts tohave Scots hold its own continued after the Second World War, eventhough the ever expanding reach of the mass media, especiallyradio and then television, which was as good as completelypresented in Standard English, gave the whole population access toa spoken English on which they could then model their speech.

Scots was now considered the language of the tartan variety show orthe country bumpkin. Mainstream Scotland spoke English or morecorrectly Standard Scottish English, which itself retained manygrammatical traits of the older Scottish tongue.

By the twenccondemned to the pub and playground. Consequently knowledgehe 18th th ntury written tradition began to wane and tht and 19 ce

effects of education in standard English led many wrincreasingly use the English sound-to-letter corepresent their dialect’s pronunciation and even more apostropheto dicate supposedly missing letters, thus adding to the



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Literature:

Görlach, Manfred (2002) A Textual History of Scots Heidelberg: C. Winter. Jones, Charles ed. (1997) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh

University Press.Kay, Billy (1986, 1993) Scots: The Mither Tongue, Edinburgh: Mainstream,

republished with revisions, Darvel: Alloway Publishing.

McArthur, Tom ed. (1992) The Oxford Companion to the English Language, OxfordUniversity Press. Various articles by A. J. Aitken. Abridged edition, 1996.



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Parisian dialect of French

dialects is the Ausbausprache - Abstandsprache -by the linguist Heinz Kloss.

ework Kloss considered Scots to be a

Language or Dialect?

Popular culture usually thinks of a dialect as a substandard, lowstatus, often rustic form of a language, usually associated with thepeasantry, the working class or other parts of the communitylacking in prestige. Dialects often being thought of as being somekind of erroneous deviation from the norm - an aberration of the'proper' or standard form of language.The fact is that all speakers of any language are all speakers of atleast one dialect - standard English for example is as much anEnglish dialect as is any other form of English. No dialect is in anyway linguistically superior to any other.Linguistically speaking dialects are usually regarded as dialects of alanguage, that is, subdivisions of a particular language

TheThe Lancashire dialect of EnglishThe Bavarian dialect of German

Language "A language is a collection of mutually intelligible dialects" - Adefinition which conveniently characterises a dialect as a subpart of a language, and provides a criteria for distinguishing between onelanguage and another. Another criterion for distinguishinglanguages fromDachsprache framework developedUnder the terms of that framHalbsprache (half language). Ausbau referring to a variety having itsown standardized form which is used autonomously with respect to

other related languages. The Abstand refers to the distance betweenthe languages as regards mutual intelligibility. A Dachsprache isusually a standard language which 'roofs' different dialects in adialect continuum.Take for example, the Scandinavian languages, Norwegian, Swedishand Danish. These are usually assumed to be different languages.Speakers of these three languages can, with little effort, understand



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g for certain - 'language' is not

o with political, geographical, historical, sociological

erent from other varieties.

apart may not be mutually intelligible.n example of such a dialect continuum is the Romance dialect

the Iberian peninsula through Francend parts of Belgium down to the southern tip of Italy. From one

and communicate with one another. These languages have littleAbstand and are mutually intelligible.Take for example German, assumed to be a single language. Thereare varieties of German which are not understood by speakers of other varieties.What does the above prove? One thina particularly linguistic notion at all. The reason why Norwegian,Swedish, Danish and German are thought of as single languages hasas much to dand cultural reasons, as with linguistic ones.There for the term 'language' is relatively 'unscientific'. Linguistsusually refer to 'varieties of language'. There for Norwegian Swedishand Danish could be referred to as varieties of Scandinavian.

Accents

Accent refers to a variety which is phonetically or phonologically(pronunciation) diff

Dialects

A dialects is a variety which is grammatically (and perhaps lexicallydifferent) as well as phonologically different from other varieties.Dialects and accents frequently merge into each other without anydiscrete break.

Geographic Dialect Continua

A dialect continuum is a chain of mutual intelligibility acrossgeographical space. Adjacent dialects are usually intelligible but

dialects which are furtherAcontinuum stretching acrossaplace to another across this area there would be some linguisticdifferences distinguishing one place from the another. Some timesthe differences would be greater some times less, but with distance



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ludes Portuguese, Spanish,

ent ones? Low

ere in Europe a language continuum exists in the Britishles. Stretching from Cornwall to Shetland. Beat Glauser's research

cal and social factors. Before the unionf 1707 people in Scotland looked to court Scots as their linguistic

are

they would be cumulative. The further apart the places the greaterthe differences would become. As the distance increases betweenplaces communication becomes increasingly more difficult andeventually impossible. In places far apart the 'dialects' spoken aremutually unintelligible, though all across the dialect continuum achain of mutual intelligibility exists.In this example the continuum incCatalan, French and Italian. Where did one language end and theother begin?Europe has many other dialect continua. The west Germaniclanguage continuum includes Frisian, Dutch (Flemish), Low Saxon,German and Swiss German. The varieties spoken in Ostend inBelgium and Zürich in Switzerland are not mutually intelligible butare linked by a dialect continuum. Low Saxon is often regarded as adialect of Dutch on the Netherlands and a dialect of German inGermany. The same 'language' a dialect of two differSaxon is in fact a marginalised language not a dialect of eitherDutch or German.

Another dialect continuum is the north Slavic dialect continuumincluding Czech, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian and RussianAs elsewhIsinto the Scots/English linguistic border showed that thephonological an lexical borders where almost identical. One of themost marked borders in a European language continuum. This of course has to do with historiostandard whereas in England people looked to London. After theUnion people in Scotland continued using Scots as an expression of their identity. To a large extent it seems as if English stops at the

border and Scots Begins.

Autonomy and Heteronomy

Some varieties spoken in the west Germanic dialect continuumconsidered to be dialects of Dutch while others are considered to bedialects of German. This is due to the relationship these dialectsbear to their respective Dach or standard languages Dutch and



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ally

to their vernacular.imilarly with the dialects in Germany.ince heteronomy and autonomy are the result of political and

istic factors they are subject tohange. For example, until 1650 part of what is now southern

and conquestis area became part of Sweden. Forty or fifty years later these

dialecchangwith r wedish rather than Danish.Until the beginning of the 19th century the official language used inNorwan in standard

Norwegian was developed - with two orthographies - Bokmål andNyno It was e anindependent language with the acquisition of its own name,orthoconsi cots was definitely an autonomous Ausbau variety before 1707

nd grammar. At the timeo language in Europe was as standardised as they are today. The

ian Languages Norwegian, Swedish and Danish are

German. This is simply because people in the Netherlands usubelieve they are speaking Dutch, that they read and write Dutch andthat the standardising influences on their dialect will be towardsDutch, and on the whole they will look towards Dutch as thestandard language which normally correspondsSScultural rather than purely lingucSweden was part of Denmark. The dialects spoken here were thenconsidered to be dialects of Danish. As a result of warth

ts were considered dialects of Swedish although no linguistice had taken place. These dialects had become heteronomousespect to standard S

ay was Danish. It was only with the reemergance of Norway asdependent nation that a distinct, autonomous

rsk.

only in the 1920s that what we now call Afrikaans becam

graphy and standardised grammar. Before that is wasdered a form of Dutch.

Swith its own 'standardised' orthography anorthographic variation of the time was no different than in

contemporary England. It was the result of English becoming theofficial language which eventually caused Scots speakers to think of English as the standard or Dachsprache to which their vernacularwas heteronomous. Scots did not cease to be spoken in 1707.The Scandinavconsidered languages because they have distinct, codified,standardised forms, with their own orthographies, grammar books,



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ttish Standard English (p.98).

ormation taken from the packaging of a Philips energyaving lamp, in Danish, Norwegian, Czech and Slovak.

llerekanismer. Ikke egnet til bruk i helt

kkede armaturer.

sk

pretla.

svietidlách.

ky.do

Which Argum

Scots hersubdi ingpronu ents, mutually intelligible tocots speakers. English speakers often find (broad) Scots dialects

ts reaching back at least 600 years,tterly without a standard written form resulting from the fact that

dium of Scots. Even

and literatures; that correspond to three separate nation states.Many Scots who speak English do so with a Scottish accent. Theirgrammar and lexis is standard English, sometimes with traces of Scots grammar and lexis. This is obviously a dialect of English -usually called Sco

Is Scots a Dialect or a Language?

Product inf s

Kan ikke brukes i forbindelse med dimme utstyr eelektronisk av og på mlu Kan ikke bruges i forbindelse med lysdæmper og elektronitænd-sluk-ur. Ikke egnet til helt lukkede armaturer.

Nevhodné pre stmievanie, elektronické spínanie,fotobunky casové spínanie a senzory snímania intenzity sveNevhodné prevádzkovat‘ v úplne uzavretých Nevhodné pro stmívání, elektronické spínání, fotobunCasoá zarízeni a stmívací cidla. Nevhodné k použití hermeticky uzavrených svítidel.

is the language, which the dialect?

ents put forward in order to define Scots as a language are:

has at least five dialect groups and some of these are furtvided. The dialects of Scots are, with their differnciation, grammar, lexis and acc

Sunintelligible.An extensive literature in Scolahardly any education takes place through the me



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o Scots grammars have been published over the years sotely lacking here. Most people

onsider Scotland to be a Nation, and not a peripheral region of

licy on the Scots

rs the Scots language tobe an important part of Scotland's distinctive linguistic

of the language."

tive Steering Group Report (Section 3.3 §§

trong historical andcultural arguments for facilitating the use of Gaelic and

ts they mayuse at home or with their peers."

And the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement Approved byreferendum on 22 May 1998:

"Rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity.

scodification or Ausbau is not complecBritain/England.Scots is also officially recognised.

From the Scottish Education Department's Scots Language Factsheet(12.08.99) dealing with the Scottish Executive's PoLanguage:

"The Scottish Executive conside

and cultural heritage..."

"The UK Government announced on 4 June 1998 itsdecision to sign the Council of Europe Charter forRegional or Minority Languages. This came into effect asof the 1 July 2001. The Scots language will be covered by

Part II of the Charter. By applying Part II of the Charter toScots the Government will be recognising the distinctivenature and cultural value

"The Consulta53-64 'Language') has recommended that the normalworking language of the Parliament should be English butthe CSG Report recognised the s

Scots in the Parliament""This involves teachers in valuing pupils' spokenlanguage.... This makes children aware of the richness of

the language and helps them value the Sco



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and Cultural Issues

e of their cultural

t this until the cows

conomic, SocialE 3. All participants recognise the importance of respect,understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity,including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language, Ulster-Scots andthe languages of the various ethnic communities, all of which arepart of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland."And the agreement between the government of the United Kingdomof Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of Irelandestablishing implementation bodies:

"Annex 2, DEFINITIONS, Part 5, Language1.7 "Ullans" is to be understood as the variety of the Scotslanguage traditionally found in parts of Northern Irelandand Donegal. "Ulster-Scots cultural issues" relate to thecultural traditions of the part of the population of Northern Ireland and the border counties which is of

Scottish ancestry and the influenctraditions on others, both within the island of Ireland andin the rest of the world.""Annex 1, Part 5, LanguageUlster Scots- promotion of greater awareness and use of Ullans andof Ulster Scots cultural issues, both within NorthernIreland and throughout the island."

At the end of the day there is no 'scientific' way to prove whetherScots is a language or a dialect. It boils down to a body's personalpinions and prejudices. We could argue abouo

come home - or in Scots: Till the kye comes hame.



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es since the

accidental and idiosyncratic variants.

ossibility of a

In

e) standardised spelling. On the whole the SLD Ltd. (SNDA)

Written Scots

The way Scots is written has gone through many changemergence of Scots as a national language during the periodleading up to the fifteenth century. Now that Scots is no longer anofficially used national language there is of course no officiallysanctioned authority to decide which is the 'right' way to spell Scotswords. Scots Dictionaries usually record a variation of spellings incommon use. This results in writers using a mixture of spellingsreflecting historical, regional,Since the Scots Revival of the early twentieth century variousattempts have been made by Scots writers to harmonise theirorthography. The first of these was the Scots Style Sheet of 1947.The Scots Language Society's (SLS) Lallans Magazine founded in1973 publishes both poetry and prose in Scots and has through theyears contributed to, and to a certain extent led the debate on thedevelopment of Scots orthography, by frequently publishing articleson both orthography and grammar.

In 1977 the Association for Scottish Literary and Linguistic Studiesand The Scots Language Society jointly sponsored the short livedScots Language Planning Committee to look into the pstandard orthography for modern Scots.

In 1985 a number of Scots writers met at the School of ScottishStudies in Edinburgh and using their consensus as a basis, the ScotsLanguage Society published their Recommendations For Writers Scots in Lallans 24. The SLS also published an extensive list of recommended spellings in Lallans No's. 39-43.

The Concise English-Scots Dictionary (1993) and the Scots SchoolDictionary (1996), both published by the Scottish LanguageDictionaries Ltd. (SLD Ltd.) in also included recommendations for a(moragreed with the recommendations published by the SLS. Their mainobjection was to spellings based on historic rules of Scots



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guage seem more difficult

Off course an orthography needs to be selected for use in this book.The purpose of any orthographic system is to represent the spokenword. There is no reason why Scots orthography should model itself on English forms - recourse to traditional forms gives the writtenlanguage historic continuity - although with Scots, it is sensible totake the English influence that has occurred since the demise of

Scots as an official national language into consideration - especiallybecause most people in Scotland have English as their first languageof literacy. This makes the written form easier to learn. Finally, anincreasing number of writers using Scots are basing theirorthography on models very similar to that used here.

The orthography presented here is intended to be read andpronounced in any Scots dialect (polymorphemic), with the possibleexception of Insular Scots. On the whole the spellings used can befound in the Concise Scots Dictionary (CSD) published by SLD Ltd.

The chapter Scots Spelling (p.103) explains the orthographic

conventions used when choosing among, or adapting the spellingvariants in the Concise Scots Dictionary. Conventions used followthe spellings in the Scots School Dictionary (SSD) in so far as theyare consistent or cross-dialect. The SSD is also published by SLDLtd.

Base forms of words are usually spelled phonemically - not in aone-letter to one-sound manner but in a more graphemically

orthography. The SNDA's objective is to encourage the use of Scotsmore widely in the community, subsequently the SNDA contendedthat historical spellings were often unfamiliar to modern readersand they would make the lan On November the 10th 1996 The SLS and Scots Language ResourceCentre (SLRC) hosted a public meeting at the A.K. Bell library inPerth, with the aim of setting up a standing body to look into, anddevelop a 'standard' Scots orthography. Although fraught withdifficulty this endeavour was taken up and the Scots SpellingCommittee duly established.



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. In this system position, environment and overtr cluster of letters to perform

economic mannerarkers enable the same letter om

several distinct functions. Several letters or letter clusters may alsorepresent the same sound.

Compounds and derivatives tend to be spelled morphemically, theestablished grapheme bases are usually retained regardless of thephonemic alterations involved. The assumption being that thereader knows the phonemic alterations that accompany theformation of derivatives and inflections. This may be a hindrance tolearning Scots pronunciation from the spellings, but Scots spellingis geared for the convenience of native speakers, not for the learner.



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of used are presented according todialects of Scots are easily

There is no such thing as act lly valid. A standard written

avoid confusion andec tten word, the signals and

l face to face communicationere regularly heard on radio

ul ted with them as we now are. Unfortunately for us most

r where the pronunciation differs

rø:z] (ruise). /:/ indicates that the preceding vowel is long.ates that the following syllable is stressed. /ʔ/represents a

a Scottish accent.

same phonetic values in Scots, as in

nds:

Pronunciation

The pronunciatio the spellingns stheir dialect pronu iations. Allncunderstood by other Scots speakers.right or wrong diale - all are equalanguage is only necessary tomisunderstanding b ause with the wriindicators that are relied upon in verbaare missing . If all dialects of Scots wand television we wo d be as acquainwith Scouse, Brummy and Cockneyprogramming decisions are made in London, by English speakers,for an English speaking audience.IPA phonetic symbols are used. The transcriptions are broad,capturing only enough aspects of a pronunciation to show howwords differ from one another osignificantly between dialects. For narrower transcriptions consultthe literature mentioned on the relevant pages.The IPA phonetic symbols are presented thus: Phonemes /x/ andwords [/'/ indicglottal stop.Graphemes (letter strings) are often represented thus: <ui>.Pronunciation examples are given in one or more of the followinglanguages: Scottish Standard English, German or French. ScottishStandard English (p.98) is English spoken with

Consonants

Consonants usually have theEnglish.

IPA Sounds: IPA Soulike like

/b/ bat /s/ sip



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/d/ dog / ʃ / ship

thin

/j/ yet /v/ van

hich

ion

/r/ rat, is usually trilled (rolled) in Scots.

he <x> in the prefix ex is usually /gz/ between unstressed and

any speakers substitute a glottal stop /ʔ/ for /t/ and sometimes

vowels.

Vowel-Length Rule

tral Scots dialects, in.

he f y short:

IPA Sounds like:

/ɪ/ Eng. pity, Ger. Sitteg. but

/ɛ/ Eng. pen, Ger. mästen

/dʒ/ jam /t/ tip/f/ fat /t ʃ / chin/g/ good /θ//h/ hat /ð/ the

/k/ kit /w/ witch/l/ lot /ʍ/ w/m/ mat /x/ loch/n/ not /z/ zip/ŋ/ sing /ʒ/ vis/p/ pet

Tstressed vowels. Otherwise /ks/.

M

/k/ and /p/, between two

Vowels

The Scottish

The SVLR is most developed in the cenperipheral dialects not all vowels are affected T ollowing vowels are usuall

/ə/* Eng. above, Ger. Nase

/ʌ/ En

/a/ Eng. flat, Ger. Mann/æ/ Southern Eng. fat



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stressed syllables before /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/ and /r/.

, G é

/o/ Eng. toad, Ger. Boot

usually long in most dialects:

. awful (also /o /̨)/ɔ/ Eng. cot, Ger. Post

Eng. bite and Eng. buy, Ger. weit/əi/ Eng. bite and Eng. buy, Ger. weit

ally stressed, Thisa re is often ag ough many

The following vowels are usually long:InBefore another vowel andBefore a morpheme** boundary.

/e/ Eng. aim er. sehr, Fr. ét/i/ Eng. feet, Ger. Sie

/u/ Eng. food, Ger. kulant/ø/ Fr. peu, Ger. schön/y/ Ger. über, Fr. mur

The following vowels are

/ɑ/ Eng

*In unstressed positions.**A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part into which a wordcan be divided, i.e. inflexions, prefixes and suffixes etc.

Diphthongs

/aɪ/

/ʌu/ Eng. cow, Ger. Haus/oi/ Eng. boy, Ger. Heu/ju/ Eng. you, Ger. Jugend

/aɪ/ usually occurs in long environments./əi/ usually occurs in short environments.

Word Stress

In Scots the root syllable of native words is usuroot syllable is usually the first syllable of word so thetendency to stress the first syllable of forei n words, alth



Wir Ain Leid


eese massh

illustratit soiree

any words have stressed (emphatic) and unstressed forms,ese are not usually

dicated in writing. Some common spelling variations reflect the

mmonly occur.

the Englishletters <þ>

horn) equivalent to the modern <th> /ð/ (eth) as in the and <ʒ>similar to the <gn> / ɲ/ in the French

curs as <z> in many words and isronounced /j/ as in capercailzie and /ŋ j/ or /ŋ/ as in senzie and

he educationystem has unfortunately all but eradicated the Scots

nciations were / are:

pae [pe:]D dee [di:] Q quee [kwi:]

F eff [ɛf] S ess [ɛs]

romance words retain their original stress.

advert acreapryle (April) misc ief consequence Polis (Police)discord novelle

Mespecially pronouns, adverbs and some verbs. Thinuse of stressed an unstressed forms. These are indicated where theymost co The Alphabet

The Scots alphabet now consists of the same letters asalphabet, but in older and middle Scots the additional

(t(yogh) representing a soundBretagne and <y> /j/ as in the modern word year. These are of course now obsolete. (Still ocpMenzies.)

The Scots letters originally had Scots pronunciations, tspronunciations. The Scots pronu

A ah [a] N enn [ɛn]

B bae [be:] O oa [o:]C sae [se:] P

E ai [e:] R err [ɛr]

G jae [dʒe:] T tae [te:]H itch [ɪt ʃ ] U ou [u:]



Wir Ain Leid

24 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

oulou 'ulu:]ɪ, ke:] X ex [ɛks, eks]

L ell [ɛl] Y wye [waɪ]

ome letters in Scots words are not pronounced.

The <t> after medial <ch> /x/, in medial <st> and before final

cuisten .) lichtnin lightning

frichtenkirsten christen saften soften

he <t> in <ct> and <pt>.

crept

empy empty disjaskit dejected

ords a <d> after <n> and <l> may be silent.

auld old sinder separatecauld cold laund land (a tenement)haund hand roond round

I ee, ey [i:, aɪ] V vowe [vʌu] J jye [dʒaɪ] W dooble-ou, ['dubl'u:,

K kye, kae [ka

M emm [ɛm] Z (i)zed [(ɪ)dzɛd]

Silent Letters

S

<en>.

cast (pptfochten fought listen listen

frighten tichten tighten

TThese are often written <ck> and although the <t> is oftenpronounced in derived forms.

act act attempt attemptcontact contact corrupt corruptfact fact tempt tempt

Note the following exceptions:

cep except crap

perfit perfect

In many w



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eech

units but in everydaypeech there is a difference in the pronunciation of words inolation and in connected speech. The changes are usually regular

Deletion - or the loss of sounds similar to the silent lettersexplained above.

Assimilation- where a sound changes to become like aneighbouring

sound.Reduction - here vowels are reduced to /ɪ/ or /ə/. This occurs in

Scots much the same as it does in English.

Syntax and Morphology

The grammatical structure of Scots sentences can usually beextrapolated from the examples given in each section. Wherenecessary further explanation is included. The changes in wordform due to tense etc. are explained in the appropriate sections.Little effort is made to explain the differences between Scots andEnglish. These should be apparent from the examples given.

Punctuation and Use of Capital letters

Standard English usage is followed.

Other aspects of spelling, especially irregular changes due toinflexions and tense changes, are dealt with in the appropriatesections.

hunder hundred mynd remember

Connected Sp Words are of course written as separatesisan predictable. This usually involves:



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26 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

tshe Pronunciation of Scots Dialec Dialect Map



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he main dialect divisions of Scots are:

orth East Central Scots (NEC) (p.40).l Scots (WC) (p.45).

outh West Central Scots (SWC) (p.50).

nially Aberdeen Scots (p.84), Dundee Scots

theurse until recently on the whole Gaelic speaking. In

areas along the highland line Gaelic influenced Scots can be heard.

The southern extent of Scots can be identified on the basis of features which differentiate Scots from neighbouring Englishdialects, such as the pronunciation of come , the pronunciation /x/where English cognates have /f/ or /∅/, the Scots pronunciation of <wh> as /ʍ/ as against English /w/ and where r becomes theNorthumbrian ‘burr’. Beat Glauser has also shown that most of thevocabulary of what are now considered Scots words have all but

disappeared on the English side, while they are still in every day useon the Scottish side. For practical purposes the linguistic andpolitical borders are almost identical.

Dialects of course gradually pass into each other so that a mixtureof dialects occurs where one dialect merges into another. A wholeseries of maps would be necessary to represent the distribution of

T Southern Scots (S) along the Scots side of the Border. (p.29)Central Scots (CS), subdivided into:South East Central Scots (SEC) (p.35).NWest CentraSUlster Scots (U) in the north of Ireland (p.55).Northern Scots (NS), subdivided into:

rn Scots (SN) (p.61).South NortheMid Northern Scots (MN) (p.66).N Northern Scotorth s (NN) (p.72).

rkney and Shetland Islands (p.78).nsular Scots (IS) in the OUrban Scots refers to the dialects of Scots spoken i and aroundtowns and cities espec(p.85), Edinburgh Scots (p.87) and Glasgow Scots (p.89).Although the Belfast Dialect (p.91) cannot be considered Scots it

res of Ulster Scots origin.does include a number of featuGàidhealtachd (p.93) the Gaelic for the Highlands and Islands towest - were of co



Wir Ain Leid

28 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ly.

itken, A. J. (1981) "The Scottish Vowel Length Rule" in Michael Benskin and M. L.eds. So Meny People, Longages and Tonges, Edinburgh.74) The Scottish-English Linguistic Border. Lexical Aspects, Bern:

istory of the Scots Language, Edinburgh

Scotland volume 3 ,

unties of Scotland,

y mmar and Usage

a Oxford University

sounds accurate Only the main dialect differences between the areas mentioned areillustrated. The descriptions make no claim to be exhaustive. Manyworks have been written about and in local dialects. The local publiclibrary is a good source of such writings.

Literature:

ASamuels

lauser, Beat (19GFrancke.

Grant, William and James Main Dixon (1921) Manual of Modern Scots, CambridgeUniversity Press.

nes, Charles ed. (1997) The Edinburgh H JoUniversity Press.

Mather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of London: Croom Helm.

n CoMurray, James (1870-72, 1873) The Dialect of the Souther

l SocietLondon: Philologica .Purves, David (1997, revised 2002) A Scots Grammar. Scots GraEdinburgh: The Saltire Society.

Wilson, James (1926) The Dialects of Central Scotl nd, London:Press.



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apart for aand

stanrch into the

the linguistics is

as we and mey' dialect ('you and me').

e sa

<d> /d/<g<j,

<n<r/s/

<t> /t/ <v> /v/<x> /ks/

<y> /j/ <z, s, se> /z/

l < ay be pronounced /t/ in words like cupbuirdn w d and fud.

ounced / ff

dder,

er < m e

Southern Scots

Southern Scots or Border Scots as it is also known -stretch of land between Carlisle an Gretna where the CumbrianScots dialect mix - is sub tially different from the dialects of English spoken south of the Border. Beat Glauser's reseadialects on both sides of the border pointed out thatand political borders were practically identical. Southern Scotalso known the 'yo Consonants

Consonants usually have th me phonetic values in Scots (p.20),as in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ dg(e)> /dʒ/

<c, k, ck> /k/ <l> /l/<m> /m/ > /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, ce, se, ss>

<w> /w/

A fina d> mand orchard, and /ʤ/ i ords like curmud, dau<f> may be pron v/ in a few words such as cauf, staand sheaf.

<f> may be pronounced /ð/ in a few words such as lepouder, shouder and sowder.A final <t> may be pronounced /d/ after <l>, <m>, <n>,<ng> or a vowel in a monosyllable e.g. telt and selt.The <w> in the clust tw> ay be vocalised in words liktwilt, twin and twinty giving [tolt], [ton] and ['tunti].

A /j/ (<y>) before /i/ may be elided in words like year.



Wir Ain Leid

30 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

edial and finall, chowk

inch,inch, French

1 e, cruldge

1

ld> edial and final ld/2 auld, bield, cauld, elder, fauld

nk> sually ŋk/qu> sually kw/

th> sually θ/

wh> sually ʍ/4 wha, whan, wheech, wheel

ə/ ,

a> itial in ə/ash, watch

au> sually a/5

aw> sually final a/ ,

ccasionally a/ antraid, craitur,

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:IPA

<ch> m /x/ bocht, loch, nicht<ch> initial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chir<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch ha

<tch> usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadg

fadge

<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot< m /<nd> usually /nd/3 daunder, find, haund, saund,

sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single usually / ʃ / creash, sheep<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thair usually /a/ aff, lang, mak, w

<a> final in /a/ awa, twa, wha o / awn, awfu, bawbee, baws<ai> initial /e/6 aith, aiple, b

and medial fain, gaither, graith, haimer,



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aCe> e/itial in je/9

ai, xcept in jɪ/

ay> sually e/ve, east,

ea, see,

> ield, deid, eild,ae, peir, scrieve,

/x/

 usually /ɪ/13 drink, in, inch, licht,lift, pit, rin, simmer, sin,stibble

wid,

l, cod,k

, hoose,, oot, scoor, soond

doun, dout, poupit, thoum

sou, you,> usually /u/ dule, hure

laim<ae> usually /e/ brae, frae7, gae, sae, tae n.,

wae< / face, gate, hame8, Pace<ai, ae> In / ae, aik, ait, aith< e / in aiblins, ale, ane, anceaCe><ae> except /ø/10 adae, dae, shae, tae v. usually /i/11 beast, cheap, dea

heap, hear, meat, ream<ee> usually /i/ eetem, freet, jeely keep,

meet, teeth, weel, weet<ee, ea>final /əi/ dee, dree, free, knee, s

tea<ei, ie usually /i/ bield, beir, ch

heid, meidshielin, spreid, teir, threid

<ei> before /i/ dreich, heich, skeich<e> usually /ɛ/12 bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,

gless, seck, wecht

 after /w/ and /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit,wind,

/ʍ/often wir, wird, wirm, wittins<o(a)> usually /o/14 boat, boss, box, coa

common, hoast, on, roc<och> often /ʌux/dochter, thocht

<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droopmoose

<ou> usually /u/ broun, bouk, coum, couer,

<oo, final /ʌu/ allou, brou, cou, dou, fou,ou> hou, nou, oo,<uCe



Wir Ain Leid

32 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

 usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,f, unce, wund

duin, fluir,

muin, muir, muisic, ruise,

h, teugw, spew

y ile, rive, tyne, wice, wytei/ eyntment, eyster, fley

<< , ploy

<n

<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,we

/

laddie, lassie,

 usually /f ɛ sefu

maunna,

< verbial /lɪ/16 brawly, feckly, fully, geyly

Footnot

grund, truf

<ui> usually /ø/10 abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,buird, cuil, cuit,fruit, fuird, guid, luif, luim,

schuil, shuir, spuin, uise, uiss,Yuil

<eu> usually /jʌ/15beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,teuc

<ew> usually /ju/ dew, few, ne<iCe , usually /əi/ advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,Ce>

<ey> usually /ə<y(e)> final in /aɪ/ cry, kye etc.

oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noiseoy> usually /oi/ foy

ow> initial and medial /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,gowf, lowp, owse

knowe, lowe, rowe, to Suffixes

<ae> usually /ɛ Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

<ie> diminutive /ɪ/ grannie,shoppie, wifie

f / awfu, carefu, men

<na> negative /nɛ/ dinna, haesna,winna, wisna

<y, ie> adverbial and /ɪ/16 reekie, sairy, stany, stourieadjectival

ly> adlikely, uncoly

es



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next word begins with a consonant.3 To the west simplification of <nd> to /n/ occurs in all

tions.4 Some older speakers pronounce wh /xw/. It may be

ds

lf, Fr.oeuf) also occurs, including dis, disna, dinna. This is subjectto the Scots Vowel Length Rule.

The South East Central Scots pronunciation of the <ui>spelling are now very prevalent in this dialect.


<a> final /e:/ in dae, shae, tae v.<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin, fruit,

luif, luim, muin, spuin, Yuil<ui> initial long /je:/ uise<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird, muir,

muisic, ruise, shuir

 medial /ɪ/ in dis, disna, dinna11 The pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words.12 The pronunciation /æ/ also occurs.13 Before /x/, /əi/ may occur. The pronunciation /ɛ/ also

occurs. In North Roxburghshire /əi/ may occur before /g/and /ŋ/.

14 Initial <o> may be pronounced /wʌ/ in words like open,

1 This may be pronounced /ʒ/ after <n>.2 To the west simplification of <ld> to /l/ occurs finally and

when the

posi

pronounced /h/ in words like whurl and wheezle.5 <au> before /x/ is usually /ʌux/ as in sauch and slauchter.6 efore <ch>The older /ɪə/ may occur in some areas. <ai> b

may be /iu/ as in daich and laich.7 often pronounced /θ/.8 is often pronounced /(h)jɪ/ in wor

The <f> in frae isInitial /h/ before /e/like hame, hale and hairse.

9 In Teviotdale /jɛ/ occurs.10 The pronunciation /ɵ/ (Ger. Götter) or /œ/ (Ger. zwö



Wir Ain Leid

34 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ven hope. In words like coal the older /uə/may occur.

n Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History

Scotland volume 3,

nties of Scotland,y.

B dge University Press.rich: Bienne.

t ucerne: Ræber.

orchard, ort and e

15 The pronunciations /ɵ/ (Ger.Götter) or /iu/ also occur.16 The pronunciation /ɪe/ (Eng. aim, Ger. Sehr, Fr. été) also

occurs.

Literature:

Glauser, Beat (1974) The Scottish-English Linguistic Border. Lexical Aspects, Bern:Francke.

hnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" i Joof the Scots Language , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

Mather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of London: Croom Helm.

rn CouMurray, James (1870-72, 1873) The Dialect of the SoutheLondon: Philological Societ

Watson, George (1923) The Roxburghshire Word- ook, CambriWettstein, P. (1942) The Phonology of a Berwickshire Dialect, ZuZai, Rudolph (1942) The Phonology of the Moreba tle Dialect, L



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on which the standard written Scots of theh ce

unc d.

in Scots,

 /b/ <d> /d/<g> /g/

<h> /h/ <j, dg(e)> /dʒ/

<n<r

<v<x

> /j/ <z, s, se> /z/

tween, a, twal and twin y.

and final , nichtk

hainch,

tch> sually t ʃ /e, cadge, cruldge,

ld> nally when the l/

South East Central Scots

This is the dialectUniversities, Court and Royal House old was based. Though, sinthen, some changes in pron iation have occurre Consonants

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20)as in English. <C> = Consonant.

<f, ph> /f/

<c, k,ck> /k/ <l> /l/<m> /m/ > /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/

<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/<y

In West Lothian <tw> may be realised /kw/ in words likea tw t

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:

IPA<ch> medial /x/ bocht, loch<ch> initial /t ʃ /1 chap, chield, chirl, chow<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch,

inch, French usually /dʒ/ begrudg

fadge<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot< fi / auld, bield, cauld, fauld

next word begins



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36 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

nsonantld> herwise

ng> sually ŋ/

th> sually θ/

nstress vowels ə/

a> sually a/2

au> sually o /̜2 ul,

,taw

fu, bawbee, bawsant

edial

hame, Pace

ae> nal e/ ,

ae> xcept

ast,

with a co< ot /ld/ elder<nd> usually /n/ daunder, find, haund, saund,

sindry usually /ŋk/ bink, hank<qu> usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen<sh> usually / ʃ / creash, sheep<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thair<wh> usually /ʍ/ wha, whan, wheech, wheel


u ed / aboot, the, oxter, duntit,bannock, smeddum

<a> initial in /ə/ awa, ahint etc.

 final in /e/ awa, twa, wha usually final /o /̜2 aw, blaw, caw, draw, faw, gawgnaw , haw, slaw, snaw, s

<aw> occasional /o /̜2 awn, aw<ai> initial and /e/4 aiple, aik, aith, braid, craitur,

m fain, gaither, graith, haimer,laim

<aCe> /e/4 face, gate,

<aiC> except in /jɪ/ aiblins, ale, ane, ance< fi / adae, brae, dae, f(r)ae, gae

sae, shae, tae v., tae n., wae< e /je/ ae<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay<ea> usually /i/5 beast, cheap, deave, e

heap, hear, meat, ream, sea,tea



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, jeely,teeth, weel, weet

, deid, eild,ae, peir, scrieve,

/x/

 usually /ɪ/6 dis, disna, dinna, drink,in, inch, lift, licht, pit, rin,simmer, sin, stibble

and wid,

l, cod,t, on,

, hoose,

/u/ allou, bouk, broun, couer,

<uCe> usually /u/ dule, hureusually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,

grund, truff, unce, wunduiss

,in, Yuil

<muir, muisic, ruise, shuir

, heuk,

< , few, new, spewice, bide, byle, fine, fire,

<ee> usually /i/ dee, dree, eetem, freetkeep, meet,

<ei, ie> usually /i/ beir, bield, chieldheid, meidshielin, spreid, teir, threid

<ei> before /i/ dreich, heich, skeich<e> usually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,

gless, seck, wecht

 after /w/ /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit,wind,

/ʍ/ often wir, wird, wirm, wittins<o(a)> usually /o/7 boat, boss, box, coa

common, dochter, hoasrock, thocht

<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop

moose, oot, scoor, soond<ou> usually

coum, doun, dout, poupit,thoum



<ui> initial short /jɪ/<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, cuil, cuit,

duin, fruit, guid, luif, luimmuin, schuil, spu

<ui> initial long /je:/ uise

ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,

<eu> usually /ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuchleuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,teuch, teug

ew> usually /ju/ dew<iCe, yCe> /əi/8 adv



Wir Ain Leid

38 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

wyteent, eyster, fley

<y(e)> final in /əi/8 cry, kye etc.usually /oi/ Boid, noise

<oy> usually /oi/ foy, ploy

Suffixes

<ae> usually /e/ Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

<ie> diminutive /e/9 grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie, wifie

<fu> usually /fe/10awfu, carefu, mensefu<na> negative /ne/9 dinna, haesna, maunna,

winna, wisna<y, ie> adverbial and /e/9 reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

adjectival<ly> adverbial /le/9 brawly, fully, feckly, geyly

likely, uncoly

Footnotes

1 In Churnside / ʃ / may occur.2 The pronunciation /ɑ/ may also occur, especially before

<n(d)> and <ng>. In words like watter /e/ may occur.3 The pronunciation /o /̜ or /ɑ/ may also occur.

4 Initial /e/ may become /jɪ/ in words like aik, ait, and aith.This may also occur after /h/ in words like hairse, hame andhale resulting in /(h)jɪ/.

5 The pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words.6 The pronunciation /ʌ/ may occur before /l/, /kl/ and /tl/.7 To the south east before /x/ the realisation /ʌux/ may occur

in words like dochter and thocht.8 The diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs.

ile, rive, tyne, wice,<ey> usually /əi/8 eyntm

<oi>

<ow> initial and medial /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,gowf, lo p, w

/ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,w o sen

<owe> finalknowe, lowe, rowe, towe



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s /nɪ/, /ɪ/ and /lɪ/ also occur.10 The pronunciation /f ɪ/ also occurs.

iterature:

niversity Press, 443-513. Scotland volume 3,

Oxford University

9 The pronunciation

L Johnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History

of the Scots Language , Edinburgh UMather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of

London: Croom Helm.Wilson, James (1926) The Dialects of Central Scotland, London:

Press.



Wir Ain Leid

40 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

0) in Scots,

<d<f, ph> /f/ <g> /g/

<j, dg(e)> /dʒ/<c, k, ck> /k/ <l> /l/

<r

<v<x<z

,

cots Sp lings ronu :

and final

unch, hainch,

igotetween

owels and final o tenetween

owels and final

North East Central Scots

Consonants

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.2as in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/ > /d/

<h> /h/

<m> /m/ <n> /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/<y> /j/ , s, se> /z/

<l> may be pronounced /j/ in words such as blue, laik andplou giving [bju:], [jek] and [pju:] etc.In Perthshire <tw> may be realised /tw/ in words like atweentwa, twal, twinty and twist.

S el P nciation in words likeIPA

<ch> medial /x/ bocht, loch, nicht<ch> initial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl, chowk<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, d

inch, French<tch> usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch

<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge, cruldge,fadge

<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, g<ld> medial b /l/ auld, bield, cauld, elder, fauld

v f <nd> medial b /n/ daunder, find, haund, saund,

v sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single



Wir Ain Leid


sh> sually ʃ /

th> sually θ/, thair

nstress vowels ə/

a> sually a/1

au> sually o /̜1 r,

sually final w, draw, faw, gaw,

aw> o /̜1 nt, aik, aiple, ait, aith,

aCe> e/, Pace

ay> sually e/ve, east,

, sea,

ee> sually i/ ely,, teeth,

d, heid, meidae,teir, threid

ld, scrieve, shielin

<nk> usually /ŋk/ bink, hank<qu> usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion usually /ð/ blether, thaim<wh> usually /ʍ/ wha, whan, wheech, wheel


u ed / aboot, the, oxter, duntit,bannock, smeddum

<a> initial in /ə/ ahint, awa etc. final in /o /̜ awa, twa, wha u /o /̜1 aw, blaw, ca

gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw< occasionally / awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsa<ai> initial and /e/ aiblins

medial braid, craitur, fain, gaither,graith, haimer, laim

< / ale, ane, ance, face, gate,hame

<ae> usually /e/ ae, brae, f(r)ae, gae, sae,tae n., wae

<ae> except in /e/2 adae, dae, shae, tae v. usually /e/ beast, cheap, dea

heap, hear, meat, reamtea

 usually /e/ beir, deid, eilpeir, spreid,

<ie> medial /i/ bield, chie



Wir Ain Leid

42 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

,

sually ɪ/3 lift, pit, rin, simmer, sin,stibble

after <w> and /ʌ/ wid, whin, whisper, whit,ind,

o(a)> sually o/ d,, on,

ose,

broun, couer,

thoum

n, fund,grund, truff, unce, wund

initial short /jɪ/2 uiss<ui> medial short /ɪ/2 abuin, bluid, bruit, cuil, cuit,

muin, schuil, spuin, Yuil

<

< , heuk,

, few, new, spew

<< ye etc.<oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noise

usually /oi/ foy, ploy<ow> initial and medial /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,

<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich<e> usually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled

gless, seck, wecht u / drink, in, inch, licht,

w

/ ʍ / often wir, wird, wirm, wittins usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop, homoose, oot, scoor, soond

<ou> usually /u/ allou, bouk,coum, doun, dout, poupit,

<uCe> /u/ dule, hure

 usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunke

<ui>

duin, fruit, guid, luif, luim,

<ui> initial long /je:/2 uiseui> medial long /je:/2 abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,

muir, muisic, ruise, shuireu> usually /(j)ʌ/ beuch, beuk, eneuch

leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,teuch, teug

<ew> usually /ju/ dew<iCe, yCe> /əi/4 advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,

ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyteey> usually /əi/4 eyntment, eyster, fleyy(e)> final in /əi/4 cry, k

<oy>



Wir Ain Leid


<ae> usually /e/5 Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

<ie> diminutive /e/6 grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie, wifie

<fu> usually /fe/ awfu, carefu, mensefu<na> negative /ne/ dinna, haesna, maunna, winna

wisna<y, ie> adverbial and /e/6 reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

adjectival<ly> adverbial /le/6 brawly, feckly, fully, likely,

geyly, uncoly

Footnotes

1 The pronunciation /ɑ/ may also occur, especially before<n(d)>.

2 In western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce ui /ø/and towards Perthshire /y/. To the east older speakerspronounce ui /e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid, guiss, luif, luim,schuil, shuil, truith as with dae, dis, disna, dinna.

3 Towards the Highland line the pronunciation /ʌ/ may occur.It may also occur before /l/, /kl/ and /tl/ in other areas.

4 The diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs.

5 The pronunciation /i/ also occurs, especially to the west.6 In East Perthshire if the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the

preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, thepronunciation is /i/, otherwise /ɪ/.

Literature:

gowf, lowp owsen,<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,

knowe, lowe, rowe, towe

Suffixes



Wir Ain Leid

44 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

gional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History uage , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

3,

ilson, James (1916) Lowland Scotch as Spoken in the Lower Strathearn District of ford University Press.

926) The Dialects of Central Scotland, London: Oxford

Johnston, Paul (1997) "Reof the Scots Lang

Mather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volumeLondon: Croom Helm.

WPerthshire, Ox

ilson, James (1W

University Press.



Wir Ain Leid


his i a ich the famous bard Robert Burns wrote.

onso u ) in Scots,

<d> /d/<f, ph> /f/ <g> /g/

j,<l><n<r/s/<v<x

d

p

l

nch> sually n ʃ /nch

gigot,hen the

nd> sually n/

West Central Scots

T s the di lect in wh Consonants

C nants sually have the same phonetic values (p.20as in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/

<h> /h/ < dg(e)> /dʒ/<c, k, ck> /k/ /l/<m> /m/ > /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, ce, se, ss><t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/

<y> /j/ <z, s, se> /z/

<l> may be pronounced /j/ in words such as blue, laik anplou giving [bju:], [jek] and [pju:] etc.

Scots S ellings Pronunciation in words like:IPA

<ch> medial and fina /x/ bocht, loch, nicht<ch> initial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl chowk, usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch

<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge, cruldge,fadge

<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge,<ld> finally w /l/ auld, bield, cauld, fauld

next word begins with a consonant<ld> medial /ld/ elder ʒ/

wh> usually /ʍ/ wha, whan, wheech, wheel

ss els untit,

a> itial in ə/

a> nal in o /̜aund, saul,

hter,

awfu, bawbee, bawsant

edial

hame, Pace

ae> sually e/ ,

ae> xcept

ast,

, jeely,h, weel, weet

ield, deid, eild,ae, peir, scrieve,

sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, si<nk> usually /ŋk/ bink, hank<qu> usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen<sh> usually / ʃ / creash, sheep< occasionally / fushion, pushion<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn<th> usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thir<


unstre ed vow /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, dbannock, smeddum

< in / ahint, awa etc.<a> usually /a/ aff, mak, lang, wash, watch

1< fi / awa, twa, wha<au> usually /o /̜1,2auld, haud, h

saund, slauc<aw> usually final /o /̜1 aw, blaw, caw, draw, faw, gaw

gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, st<aw> occasional /o /̜1 awn, aw<ai> initial and /e/ aik, aiple, ait, aith, braid,

m craitur, fain ,haimer,gaither, graith, laim

<aCe, aCe> /e/ face, gate,<ai> except in /jɪ/ aiblins, ale, ane, ance usually /e/ day, gray, lay<ea> usually /i/3 beast, cheap, deave, e

heap, hear, meat, ream, sea,tea

<ee> usually /i/ dee, dree, eetem, freetkeep, meet, teet

<ei, ie> usually /i/3 bield, beir, chheid, meid



Wir Ain Leid


/x/

 usually /ɪ/4 dis, disna, dinna, drink, in,inch, licht, lift, pit, rin,simmer, sin, stibble

and wid,

l, cod,t, on,

, hoose,

/u/ allou, bouk, broun, couer,

<uCe> usually /u/ dule, hureusually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,

grund, truff, unce, wund

< / abuin, bluid, bruit, cuil, cuit,

luim, schuil, spuin, Yuil

uise, shuir

leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,

< /əi/7 advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,

<

<oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noise

shielin, spreid, teir, threid<ei> before /i/ dreich, heich, skeich<e> usually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,

gless, seck, wecht

 after /w/ /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit,wind,

/ʍ/ often wir, wird, wirm, wittins<o(a)> usually /o/5 boat, boss, box, coa

common, dochter, hoasrock, thocht

<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droopmoose, oot, scoor, soond

<ou> usuallycoum, doun, dout, poupit,thoum



<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uissui> medial short /ɪ

duin, guid, fruit, muin, luif,

<ui> initial long /je:/ uise<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,

muir, muisic, r<eu> usually /jʌ/6 beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,

teuch, teug<ew> usually /ju/ dew, few, new, spew

iCe, yCe>ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyte

ey> usually /əi/7 eyntment, eyster, fley<y(e)> final /əi/7 in cry, kye etc.



Wir Ain Leid

48 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

usually /oi/ foy, ploy<ow> initial and medial /ʌu/8 bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,

<ae> usually /e/ Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

<ie> diminutive /e/ grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie, wifie

<fu> usually /f ə/ awfu, carefu, mensefu<na> negative /nə/ dinna, haesna, maunna,

winna, wisna<y, ie> adverbial and /e/ reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

adjectival<ly, lie> adverbial /le/ brawly, feckly, fully, geyly,

likely, uncoly

Footnotes

1 The pronunciation /ɑ/ also occurs. In and aroundCampbeltown /a/ occurs.

2 In and around Campbeltown the cluster <auld> may bepronounced /ʌul(d)/.

3 The pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words.4 The pronunciation /ʌ/ may occur before /l/, /kl/ and /tl/

and in other words along the Highland line.5 The pronunciation /ʌ/ occurs in words like body, mony,

stamack, maun and parritch.6 In and around Campbeltown /ʌ/ occurs.7 The diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs. In and around Campbeltown

/e/ occurs before /k/.8 The diphthong <ow> may also be vocalised to /o:/

especially before /k/ e.g. bowk, gowpen, howk and snowk.9 The pronunciation /ne/ is spreading from the east.

<oy>

gowf, lowp, owsen<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,


Suffixes



Wir Ain Leid


997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History nguage , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

Burns as Spoken in Central Ayrshire,

Literature:

Johnston, Paul (1of the Scots La

Mather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volume 3,London: Croom Helm.

Wilson, James (1923) The Dialect of Robert

Oxford University Press.



Wir Ain Leid

50 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

in Scots,

 /b/ <d> /d/<g> /g/

<h> /h/ <j, dg(e)> /dʒ/

<n<r

<v<x<z

g/ and / are often /gj/ and .

nd finalial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl, chowk

hainch,

atche, cadge, cruldge,

nk> ŋk/

South West Central Scots

Consonants

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20)as in English. <C> = Consonant.

<f, ph> /f/

<c, k, ck> /k/ <l> /l/<m> /m/ > /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/<y> /j/ , s, se> /z/

/ /k /kj/ before /a, ɛ, e, ɪ, i, y/ e.ggirn, git, caird, ken and kirk etc.


<ch> medial a /x/ bocht, loch, nicht<ch> init<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch,

inch, French<tch> usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wr<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudg

fadge

<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot<ld> finally when a /l/ auld, bield, cauld, fauld

consonant begins the next word<ld> medial /ld/ elder<nd> usually /n/ baund, daunder, find, haund,

sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single< occasionally / bink, hank



Wir Ain Leid


qu> sually kw/

wh> sually ʍ/

Vowels and Di

in c.

a> nal in ɑ/

final , draw, faw, gaw,law, snaw, staw

ai> itial and e/

aCe, sually e/Ce>aiC> xcept in jɪ/

, gae, sae, tae n.,

ae> xceptin ae v.

a,

tem, freet, jeely,teeth, weel, weet

chield, deid, eild,,

 usually / ʃ / creash, sheep<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn<th> usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thair initial /ə/ ahint, awa et<a> usually /a/1 aff, mak, lang, wash, watch< fi / awa, twa, wha<au> usually /a/2 auld, haud, haund, saul,

saund, slauchter<aw> usually /a/2 aw ,blaw, caw

gnaw, haw, s

<aw> occasional /a/2 awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsant< in / aik, aiple, ait, aith, braid,

medial craitur, fain, gaither, graith,haimer, laim

 usually /e/ brae, f(r)ae

wae< e /je/ ae<ae> except /y:/3 adae, dae, shae, t<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay

<ea> usually /i/4 beast, cheap, deave, east,heap, hear, meat, ream, setea

<ee> usually /i/ dee, dree, eekeep, meet,

<ei, ie> usually /i/4 bield, beir,heid, meidae, peir, scrieve



Wir Ain Leid

52 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

e> sually ɛ/gless, seck, wecht

usually /ɪ/ drink, in, inch, licht, lift,pit, rin, simmer, sin, stibble

and wid,ind, and /ʍ/ often tins

mon,

, hoose,

/y/5 allou, broun, bouk, couer,

<uCe> usually /y/5 dule, hure

usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,grund, truff, unce, wund

, abuise, bluid, bruit,

fruit, fuird, guid, luif, luim,

Yuil<eu> usually /ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,

,teuch, teug

< usually /

yle, fine, fire,ile,

usually / 6 eynt/

 initial and medial / 7 bow

gow

shielin, spreid, teir, threid<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich

 after /w/ /ɪ/ whin, whisper, whit,

w wird, wir, wirm, wit<oa> usually /o/ boat, coal, hoast<o> usually /ɔ/ boss, box, cod, com

dochter, loch, on, rock,thocht

<oo> usually /y/5 aboot, coont, droopmoose, oot, scoor, soond

<ou> usuallycoum, doun, dout, poupit,thoum



<ui> usually /y/3 abuinbuird, cuil, cuit, duin, fluir,

muin, muir, muisic, ruise,schuil, shuir, spuin, uise, uiss,

leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch

ew> ju/ dew, few, new, spew

<iCe, usually /əi/6 advice, bide, byCe> rive, tyne, wice, wyte<ey> əi/ ment, eyster, fley<y(e)> final in əi/6 cry, kye etc.<oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noise

oy> sually oi/ f ployʌu/ t, cowp, cowt, gowd,

f, lowp, owsen



Wir Ain Leid



Suf

<nairae, swallae, windae

<fu> usually /f ɑ/ awfu, carefu, mensefugative na, haesna, maunna,

, wisna,<y, ie> adverbial and /e/ reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

l , geylylikely, uncoly

ootnotes


<ae> final /e/ in adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss

<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin,fruit, luif, luim, muin,spuin, Yuil

<ui> initial long /je:/ uise<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fuird, fluir,

muir, muisic ruise, shuir, medial /ɪ/ in dis, disna, dinna

<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,

fixes

ae> usually /e/ Americae, arrae, barrae,


<na> ne /ne/ dinwinna

adjectival

<ly> adverbia /le/ brawly, feckly, fully

F

1 The pronunciation /ɑ/ also occurs.2 ions /ɑ/ and /ɔ/ are now very prevelant. InTThe pronunciat

Nithsdale /o /̜ also occurs.3 ditional /y/ has been replaced by theIn many areas the tra

characteristic Central Scots pronunciations. This includesdinna.dis, disna and



Wir Ain Leid

54 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

pronunciation /e/ also occurs, especially inWigtownshire.

morning.

k ee dyke.In the morning. At the back of the stone wall.

Litera

hnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History ots Language , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513. . and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volume 3,

t study of comparative areas in Galloway",12, 43-60; Scottish

4 The

5 The pronunciation /u/ is now very prevalent.6 The diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs.7 The diphthong <ow> may also be vocalised to /o:/

especially before /k/ e.g. bowk, gowpen, howk and snowk.

In phrases beginning with in the, on the, at the and o the, the twowords are contracted into 'ee e' [i e] or simply 'ee' [i].

Ee e toun. Ee e mornin.In the Town. In the

Wrang ee heid. Ee bac

ture:

Joof the Sc

ather, James YMLondon: Croom Helm.

Milroy, James (1982) "Some connections between Galloway and Ulster speech",Scottish Language 1, 23-29.

iach, W. A. D. (1979,1980,1982) "A dialecRScottish Literary Journal Supplement 9, 1-16; SupplementLanguage 1, 13-22.



Wir Ain Leid


Ulster Ulstera spoken language. Scots in Ulster has been under the samenguistic pressure as Scots in Scotland. Wholescale Scots migration

Uls e early s ttled inh the Ards spreading at first through

ewto an d th Down.ett land Magee to Glenarm and in the west as

an Catholics.

to:

al

U ts in Co

u Scots,

<d<g<j,

<c, k, ck> /k/ <l> /l/<n> /n/

 /p/ <r> /r/

<v<x

<r> being pronounced interdentally, almost like 'dh'. A

Scots

is the only area outwith Scotland where Scots has survived as

lito ter started in th eventeenth century. Scots sethe northern alf of PeninsulaN nards d Comber an en across the northern half of Scots also s led from Isfar as Antrim town and in the North at Ballymoney. Ulster Scots is onthe whole a variant of West Central Scots. Ulster Scots is spoken byboth Protest ts and Ulster Scots is subdivided in

Western Ulster Scots in County Derry and DonegCentral Ulster Scots in County AntrimEastern lster Sco unty Down and The Ards

Consonants

Consonants sually have the same phonetic values (p.20) inas in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/ > /d/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ dg(e)> /dʒ/

<m> /m/

<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/<y> /j/ <z, s, se> /z/

In some areas an Irish substrate may lead to a /d/ <d>before



Wir Ain Leid

56 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

t> ly like 'tth'. Inels and finally in

ords li s The pronunciation of /f/ mayanish

ch> x/ nicht

howk/n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch, hainch,

t ʃ /

cruldge, fadge

nd,

leally /ŋk/ bink, hank

eepion, pushion

ech, wheel

owe and Di thongs

s

a> entral and a,ɛ/2

estern usually2

/t/ < may also be pronounced interdentalother areas it may be glottalised between voww ke beast and jui t etc.be a bilabial /ɸ/ and /v/ as /β/ like the in Sphabana.


< medial and / bocht, loch,final

<ch> initial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl, c<nch> usually

inch, French<tch> usually / fleetch, wratch<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge,

<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot<ld> final /l/ auld, bield, cauld, fauld

<nd> usually /n/ baund, daunder, find, hausindry

<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, sing<nk> usu<qu> usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen<sh> usually / ʃ / creash, sh<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fush<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn<th> usually /ð/1 blether, thaim, thair<wh> usually /ʍ/ wha, whan, whe

V ls ph

unstressed vowel /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, duntit,

bannock, smeddum<a> initial in /ə/ ahint, awa etc.< c / aff, mak, lang, wash, watch

wh, watch<a> eastern usually /ɑ,ɛ/ aff, mak, lang, was



Wir Ain Leid


inand

<ld> auld, fauld,

ɔ:/aw, slaw,

nd centralaw> nal a:/ w, faw, gaw,

aw> ccasional a:/ nt

ai> itial and e/4 gaither,

er, laim

xcept in jɪ/5

ae> nal A, B in e:/

ay> sually e/

a,

ee> sually i/ y,, weel, weet

, eild,

<a> western final /a:/ awa, twa, wha<a> eastern /ɔ/ awa, twa, wha

central final in /ɑ/<au> usually /ɑ:/ haund, saund, slauchter<au> before /ʌu/3 auld, bauld, c

scauld<aw> final / aw, blaw, caw, draw,

eastern /ɑ/ faw, gaw, haw, gnand central snaw, staw

<aw> occasional /ɔ:/ awn, awfu,eastern /ɑ/ bawbee, bawsanta

< fi / aw, blaw, caw, drawestern gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw

< o / awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsawestern

< in / aik, aiple, ait, aith, braid,medial craitur, fain,

graith, haim<aCe> C=consonant /e/4 face, gate, hame, Pace<ai, e / aiblins, ale, ane, anceaCe><ae> usually /e/ brae, f(r)ae gae, sae, tae n.,

wae<ae> except /je/5 ae< fi / adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ae> final C in /i:/ adae, dae, shae, tae v. usually /e/6 beast, cheap, deave, east,

heap, hear, meat, ream, se

tea usually /i/7 bield, beir, chield, deidheid, meidae, peir, scrieve,shielin, spreid, teir, threid



Wir Ain Leid

58 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ich, skeichd,

k/ɪ/ drink, in, inch, licht,

in, simmer, sin,

per, whit, wid,s

A in

edial C in i:/<o(a)> usually /o/9 boat, boss, box, coal, cod,

common, dochter, hoast,on, rock, thocht

e,

0 ,oupit,

n, fund,

/ju/ in uiss, uisert A t,

in, Yuil<ui> medial long A /e:/4 abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,

muir, muisic, ruise, shuir<ui> B usually /e:/4 abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,

ise, shuiruird,

<eu> /(j)ʌ/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,

<fire,

12 while, white, wice, wine, wyte

<ei> before /x/ /i/7 dreich, he<e> usually /ɛ:/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gle

gless, wecht, sec usually

/æ/8 lift, pit, rstibble

 after /w/ /ʌ/ whin, whisand /ʍ/ often wind, wir, wird, wirm, wittin

 medial /ɪ/ dis, disna, dinna medial B in /e:/ dis, disna, dinna m / dis, disna, dinna

<oo> usually /u/10 aboot, coont, droop, hoosmoose, oot, scoor, soond

<ou> usually /u/1 allou, broun, bouk, couercoum, doun, dout, p

thoum<uCe> usually /u/10 dule, hure usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunke

grund, truff, unce, wund<ui> initial<ui> medial sho /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin, frui

luif, luim, muin, spu

muir, muisic, ru<ui> C usually /i:/ abuise, buird, fluir, f

muir, muisic, ruise, shuirusually

teuch, teugew> usually /ju/ dew, few, new, spew

<iCe, usually /ɛi/11 advice, bide, byle, fine,yCe> ile, rive, tyne<iCe, after /w/ /aɪ/



Wir Ain Leid


<(e)y> after /w/ /aɪ/12 wey, whey, why

<y(e)> nal in /əi/11cry, kye

<<

< /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,

e, lowe, rowe, towe

Suf

<, windae


<fu> usually /fu/ awfu, carefu, mensefu

C of Strangford Lough Co.

1 Medial <th> /ð/ may also be unpronounced. A <th> before<er> is often pronounced interdentally, almost like 'tth'.

2 /ɛ/ also occurs after /k/ or before /k/, /g/ and /ŋ/.3 To the west traditional /ɔ/ or /ɑ/ also occur.

yCe> and /ʍ/<ey> usually /əi/11eyntment, eyster, fley,

and /ʍ/fi

<oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noiseoy> usually /oi/ foy, ployow> initial and medial /ʌu/13 bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,

gowf, lowp, owsenowe> final

know

fixes

ae> usually /e/14 Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae

<na> negative /ne/ dinna, haesna, maunna,winna, wisna

ie, sairy, stany, stourie<y, ie> adverbial and /e/ reekadjectival

<ly> adverbial /le/ brawly, feckly, fully, geyly,likely, uncoly

Footnotes

A and parts of Co. DownMid Antrim, North ArdsB North Antrim and points in north east Londonderry

Co. Donegal, Mid Ards and westDown



Wir Ain Leid

60 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

before <r>.5 Often /æ/. /e/ also occurs in Donegal.

ew words /i/ occurs e.g. deave. /ɛ:/ may occur before<r>.

8 Often /æ/ before voiceless sounds or clusters containingd /x/).

ɛ/ also occurs, especially in Donegal.spelled with <o> the pronunciation /ɔ/ also occurs

/12 ns / ay also occur.

ow ocalised to /o:/g wk and snowk.

14 occur.

Ulster-Scots in

ish

kelin139.

urgh Historyburg

y Press.tland volume 3,

La 23-29.

ttersn h Dialect Sl ( English Dia

4 /ɛ:/ may occur

6 In a f

7 Note the following with /e:/, bleize, elieven, screich andsieven.

them (/p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /θ/, / ʃ /, /t ʃ / anThe pronunciation /

9 In wordsespecially before <ch>.

10 The pronunciation /y/ also occurs.11 The pronunciations ɑe/ and /ɛi/ may also occur.

The pronunciatio ɑe/ m13 The diphthong < > may also be v

especially before /k/ e.g. bowk, owpen, hoDepending on stress /ɪ/ and /ɛ/ also

Literature:

Fenton, James (1995, 2000) The Hamely Tongue. A Personal Record of llansCounty Antrim, 2nd edn. U Press.

h-IrGregg, Robert (1958,1959) "Notes on the phonology of a County Antrim Scotcdialect", Orbis 7:2, 392-406; 8:2, 400-424.

Gregg, Robert (1972) "The Scotch-Irish dialect boundaries in Ulster" in Martyn Wahlone, 109-ed. Patterns in the Folk Speech of the British Isles, London: At

Johnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinbcot age, Edinof the S s Langu h University Press, 443-513.

Macafee, Caroline ed. (1996) A Concise Ulster Dictionary, Oxford UniversitMather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Sco

London: Croom Helm.Milroy, James (1982) "Some connections between Galloway and Ulster speech",

Scottish nguage 1,

Pa on, William (1880) A Glossary of Words in Use in the Counties of Antrim andDown, Lo don: Englis ociety.

Traynor, Michae 1953) The lect of Donegal. A Glossary, Dublin:Royal Irish Academy.



Wir Ain Leid


onsonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20) in Scots,sonant.

<g<j,<l><n<r

ce > /s/<v

w> /w/ <x<z

ch> edial and final x/

nch> sually n ʃ /

kn> sually tn/

d, cauld, elder, fauld

nk> sually ŋk/qu> sually kw/

South Northern Scots

Consonants

Cas in English. <C> = Con

 /b/ <d> /d/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ dg(e)> /dʒ/<c, k, ck> /k/ /l/<m> /m/ > /n/ /p/ > /r/<s, c, , se, ss<t> /t/ > /v/< > /ks/<y> /j/ , s, se> /z/


< m / bocht, loch, nicht<ch> initial /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl, chowk usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge,

cruldge, fadge<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot<gn> usually /gn/ gnap, gnaw usually /l/ auld, biel<nd> usually /n/ baund, daunder, haund, find,

sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single usually / ʃ / creash, sheep



Wir Ain Leid

62 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

th> sually θ/

wh> terrogatives f/in

owe s

ss els untit,

a> itial in ə/

a> nal in a/

chter

w,

aw> ccasional a/ai> itial and e/

edial

ane, ance, bane,,

e, sae,

sually e/st,

eat, ream, sea,

m, freet, jeely,eet

> ild,

<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich

<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thair< in / wha, whan, whaur, whit<wh> all other words /ʍ/ whaup, wheech, wheen, wh

V ls and Diphthong

unstre ed vow /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, dbannock, smeddum

< in / ahint, awa etc.<a> usually /a/ aff, lang, mak, wash, watch< fi / awa, twa, wha<au> usually /a/ auld, haud, haund,

saul, saund, slau<aw> usually final /a/ aw, blaw, caw, draw, faw,

gnaw, gaw, haw, slaw, snastaw

< o / awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsant< in / aiblins, aik, aiple, ait, aith,

m braid, craitur, fain, gaither,graith, haimer, laim

<aCe> usually /e/ alane, ale,face, gane, gate, hame, manenane, Pace, stane

<ae> usually /e/ ae, brae, f(r)ae, gatae n., wae

<ae> except in /ø/1 adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ay> u / day, gray, lay<ea> usually /i/2 beast, cheap, deave, ea

heap, hear, mtea

<ee> usually /i/ dee, dree, eetekeep, meet, teeth, weel, w

<ei, ie usually /i/ bield, beir, chield, deid, eheid, scrieve, shielin, spreid,meidae, peir, teir, threid



Wir Ain Leid


usually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,gless, seck, wecht

it,

,h> often , wittins

od,st,

moose, oot, scoor, soond

poupit, thoum> usually /u/ dule, hure

 usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,

<

fruit, fuird, guid, luif, luim,muin, muir, muisic, ruise,

, uiss,Yuil

< ly / k,uk, neuk, sheuch,

<ew> sually /ju/ d/ byle, fine, fire,

y e, tyne, wice, wyte/

< (e)> nal in / 3 c/

<oy> usually /oi/ foy, ploy

owsenglowe, growe, howe,

<e>

 usually /ɛ/ drink, in, inch, licht, lift, prin, simmer, sin, stibble

 after <w> /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit, widand <w wind, wir, wird, wirm

<o(a)> usually /o/ boat, boss, box, coal, ccommon, on, dochter, hoarock, thocht

<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop, hoose,

<ou> usually /u/ allou, bouk, broun, couer,coum, doun, dout,

<uCe

grund, truff, unce, wundui> usually /ø/1 abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,

buird, cuil, cuit, duin, fluir,

schuil, shuir, spuin, uise

eu> usual ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuleuch, leteuch, teug

u ew, few, new, spew<iCe, usually əi/3 advice, bide,Ce> ile, riv

<ey> usually əi/3 eyntment, eyster, fley

y fi əi/ ry, kye etc.<oi> usually oi/ Boid, noise

<ow> initial and /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,medial gowf, lowp,

<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe,knowe, lowe, rowe, towe



Wir Ain Leid

64 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Suffixe

usually /ə/ Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

and /i/4 reekie, sairy, stany, stourieadjectival

<ly> adverbial /li/4 brawly, fully, feckly, geyly,likely, uncoly

Footnotes

1 The traditional /ø/ prevails inland including dis, disna,

dinna, along the coast /e/ is common but both of these haveoften been replaced by the characteristic Central Scotspronunciations.


<ae> final /e/ in adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bruit, bluid, duin,

fruit, luif, luim, muin, spuin,Yuil

<ui> initial long /je:/ uise

<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird,muir, muisic, ruise, shuir

 medial /ɪ/ in dis, disna, dinna

2 In the North some words may be pronounced with /e/, tothe south the tendency is much stronger.

3 The pronunciation /aɪ/ also occurs.4 If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding

s

<ae>

<ie> diminutive /i/4 grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie, wifie

<fu> usually /f ɛ/ awfu, carefu, mensefuunna,<na> negative /nə/ dinna, haesna, ma

winna, wisna,<y, ie> adverbial



Wir Ain Leid


/b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is/i/, otherwise /ɪ/. /e/ may also occur.

berbrothock , Arbroath: Herald Press.1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History ots Language , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

ather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volume 3,

consonant is

Literature:

Adams, David (1996) "The Angus and Mearns Dialect" in Bothy Nichts And Bothy Days ,

Edinburgh: John Donald, 77-87.ray, Walter (1992) Parliamo AG

Johnston, Paul (of the Sc

MLondon: Croom Helm.



Wir Ain Leid

66 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Mid N

oric' or'. The name Doric comes

om ally used tobut Mid

u ave the sa es (p.20) in Scots,

<d<g<j,<l><n

<re /s/

<v

<z e

l/ m rdl]

Initial <f> (/f/) is often pronounced /fj/ in words like fact,.

Initial <g> (/g/) is often pronounced /gj/ in words like gang

ch Cromarty elided, wrongon may also

> < nounced /ɪ/ in

pper Ban before /s/ in

e Moray Firth coas /w/ in

orthern Scots

This dialect is also referred to as 'North East Scots', 'the D'the Moray Claik' and 'the Buchan Claikfr the Greek for 'rural' or 'rustic'. The term was origindescribe Scots in general now just tends to refer to theNorthern Scots dialect.

Consonants

Consonants sually h me phonetic valuas in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/ > /d/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ dg(e)> /dʒ/<c, k, ck> /k/ /l/<m> /m/ > /n/

 /p/ > /r/<s, c, c , se, ss><t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ <x> /ks/<y> /j/ , s, s > /z/

Reversal of /d/ and / ay occur in words like warld [waand field [fidl] etc.

fauch and ferm etc

and gie etc. In Buchan this may be pronounced /dj/.

In Avo and initial <h> may beinserti of /h/ occur.Before <nt>, <a>, <ai and e> may be prowords like want, kent, pent and enter.In Moray and U ff /r/ may be elidedwords such as first, hairst, hirsle, hirst, horse and purse.On th t <v> may be pronouncedwords such as nervish, raivel, vailyie, veesion, veesit and verra.



Wir Ain Leid


ch> nd final x/1 ch> itial t ʃ / owk

ch,

,

ld> sually l/aunder, haund, find,

ng> sually ŋ/

qu> sually kw/sh> sually ʃ /

wr> itial often te


a> sually a/

au> sually a/4 ter

sually final w, draw, faw, gaw,


< medial a / bocht, loch, nicht< in / chap, chield, chirl, ch<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch, hain

inch, French<tch> usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge, cruldge

fadge<g> occasionally /dʒ/ breinge, gigot<gn> initial /gn/ gnap, gnaw<kn> initial /kn/ knap, knee, knot, knowe usually /n/ baund, d

sindry usually /ŋk/ bink, hank

 occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn<th> usually /ð/2 blether, thaim, thair,<wh> usually /f/3 wha, whan, wheech, wheel< in /vr/ wrack, wrang, wricht, wri

unstressed vowels /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, duntit,bannock,

smeddum<a> initial in /ə/ ahint, awa etc. final in /a/ awa, twa, wha u /a/5 aw, blaw, ca



Wir Ain Leid

68 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

aw> ccasional a/ nt

edial

aCe> e/6,7

and , ance, bane, gane,

in ae v.

a,

tem, freet, jeely,, weel, weet

ld, deid, eild,

,

e> sually ɛ/10 gless seck, wecht

usually /ɪ/11 drink, in, inch, licht, lift, pit,rin, simmer, sin, stibble

wid,ind,

l, cod,t, on,

, hoose,

/u/11 allou, bouk, broun, coum,

<uCe> /u/ dule, hureusually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,

gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw< o / awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsa<ai> initial and /e/6,7 aiblins, aik, aiple, ait, aith,

m braid, craitur, fain, gaither,graith, haimer, laim

< / ale, gate, face, hame, Pace<ane> initial /i/8 alane, ane

medial mane, nane, stane<ae> usually /e/ ae, brae, f(r)ae gae, sae,

tae n., wae<ae> except /i/ dae, adae, shae, t<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay<ea> usually /i/6,9 beast, cheap, deave, east,

heap, hear, meat, ream setea

<ee> usually /i/6 dee, dree, eekeep, meet, teeth

<ei, ie> usually /i/6 beir, bield, chie

heid, meidae, peir, scrieveshielin, spreid, teir, threid

<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich

 after /w/ /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit,

wand /ʍ/ often wir, wird, wirm, wittins

<o(a)> usually /ɔ/11 boat, boss, box, coacommon, dochter, hoas

rock, thocht<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop

moose, oot, scoor, soond<ou> usually

couer, doun, dout, poupit,thoum





Wir Ain Leid


grund, truff, unce, wund

it, fuird,, muir, muisic,

iss, uise,

<

<y<<<< lly /oi/ ploy, foy

< howe,e, lowe, rowe, towe

Suffixe

< 16 grannie, laddie, lassie,

<fu> /f ɛ/17awfu, carefu, mensefuhaesna, maunna,

winna, wisna, sairy, stany, stourie

<likely, uncoly

ootnotes

<ui> usually /i/12 abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,buird, duin, fluir, fruluif, luim, muinruise, shuir, spuin, uYuil

<ui> after /g/ and /k/ /wi/ cuil, cuit, guid, schuileu> usually /ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,

leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,teuch, teug

<ew> usually /jʌu/13 dew, few, new, spewiCe, usually /əi/14advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,Ce> ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyteey> usually /əi/ eyntment, eyster, fleyy(e)> final in /əi/ cry, kye etc.oi> usually /oi/ noise, Boidoy> usua

<ow> initial and medial /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,

gowf, lowp, owsenowe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe,

know

s

<ae> usually /ə/15 Americae, arrae, barrae,nairae, swallae, windae

ie> diminutive /i/shoppie, wifie

usually<na> negative /nə/ dinna,

<y, ie> adverbial and /i/16 reekie

adjectivally> adverbial /li/16 brawly, feckly, fully, geyly,

F



Wir Ain Leid

70 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

sometimes pronounced /θ/ (Eng.

2 Often /d/ before <er>, especially in Buchan..

4 In Buchan fishing villages /ɔ/ before <m>, <n> and <ng>.

ronounced /v/, often having /j/ before thepreceding vowel, giving [ja:v] (awe), [bl(j)a:v] (blaw), [gnja:v]

w), [lja:v] (law) and [snja:v] (snaw) etc.əi/ (Eng. bite, Ger. weit)

r

,m t

week.7 A /k/ before <ae, aCe, ai> often produces a yod-glide +

/a/, /kja/ in words like caird, cake and curn. Similarly with<naC-> /nja/ in words like naig, nakit and naiter.

8 Moray and Nairn usually have /e/.9 Some words may have /e/. Coastal dialects, Moray and Nairn

usually have /e/.10 In coastal villages /ei/ may occur.11 Initial /k/ may be pronounced /kw/ as in kintra [kwɪntrə],

coal [kwəil]6, coat [kwəit]6 and coud [kwɪd]. Compare <ui>after /g/ and /k/ above.

12 In Moray and Nairn before /r/ the pronunciation is usually/(j)u:/.

13 Also in words like beauty and duty.

14 In Buchan /ɔi/ may occur.15 The pronunciation /e/ also occurs.16 If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding

consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is/i/, otherwise /ɪ/.

17 The pronunciation /fe/ also occurs.

In phrases beginning with in the, on the, at the and o the, the two

1 Medial and final <cht> isthaw) in words like dochter, micht and nocht etc.

3 The pronunciation /w/ may occur in some words

5 In Buchan, in words without English cognates in <-al(l)>, the<w> may be p

(gna6 In some areas the pronunciation /

occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occuafter other consonants e.g. cheenge, claes, coal11, coat11,gape, great, heeze, plate, quean, sieven, speak, squeal

e, waik, wait, wale, wa e, weave, and wheaswee, sweit, wadetc. Before /k/ the pronunciation /ɪ/ may occur e.g. speakand



Wir Ain Leid


to 'ee' [i:].hae and thir are replaced by the plural use of this and that.

he <th> is often dropped in words like this and that.

o mean 'by the time that' - Gin weit thare it'll be daurk!

e University Press.

513. g of Scotland volume 3,

n Buchan, Heidelberg:

words are contracted inT T The preposition gin is also used tg Literature:

Dieth, Eugen (1932) A Grammar of the Buchan Dialect, CambridgThe Edinburgh History Johnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed.

a nb it -of the Scots L nguage , Edi urgh Univers y Press, 443ather 986) The Lin uistic Atlas M , James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1

London: Croom Helm.Wölck, Wolfgang (1965) Phonematische Analyse der Sprache vo

Winter.



Wir Ain Leid

72 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

) in Scots,

<d<g

<c, k, ck> /k/1 <l> /l/<n> /n/

 /p/ <r> /r/

<v<x<z

nalch> itial often t ʃ /

,

t ʃ /ften ck

knee, knot, knowen the ld, fauld

nd> sually n/

North Northern Scots

Consonants

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20as in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/ > /d/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ <j, dg(e)> /dʒ/

<m> /m/

<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ > /ks/<y> /j/ , s, se> /z/

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:IPA<ch> medial and fi /x/ bocht, loch, nicht< in / chap, chield, chirl, chowk<nch> usually /n ʃ / brainch, clinch, dunch, hainch

inch, French<tch> usually / fleetch, wratch<ock> final o /əg/1 bannock, hillock, lassieo<dge> usually /dʒ/ begrudge, cadge, cruldge,

fadge<g> usually /dʒ/2 breinge, gigot<g> occasionally /t ʃ / gigot, gin

<gn> Initial /gn/ gnap, gnaw<j> Initial /t ʃ / Jean, jeely, jyle<kn> Initial /n/3 knap,<ld> final whe /l/ auld, bield, cau

next word begins with a consonant usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single



Wir Ain Leid


nk> sually ŋk/

sh> sually ʃ /sh> ʒ/

mit

wr> ften initial

Di gs

nstress d vowels ə/

a> sually a/6 h

au> sually a/7

terinal w, draw, faw, gaw,

aw> ccasional a/ nt

edial

aCe> sually əi/8

ae> sually e/

sually e/st,

eat, ream, sea,

m, freet, jeely,

 usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen final often /d/ droukit, it, mairit, sem<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn<th> usually /ð/4 blether, thaim, thair<wh> usually /f/5 wha, whan, wheech, wheel< o /vr/ wrack, wrang, wricht, write

Vowels and phthon

U e / aboot, the, oxter, duntit,bannock, smeddum

<a> initial in /ə/ ahint, awa etc. final in /a/ awa, twa, wha usually f /a/ aw, blaw, ca

gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw< o / awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsa<ai> initial and /əi/8 aiblins, aik, aiple, ait, aith,

m braid, craitur, gaither, graith,haimer, fain, laim

 except in /i/ adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ae> except in /əi/8 claes<ay> u / day, gray, lay<ea> usually /əi/8 beast, cheap, deave, ea

heap, hear, mtea

<ee> usually /i/ dee, dree, eete



Wir Ain Leid

74 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

eetild,

<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeichusually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,

gless, seck, wechtit,

,, wir,

od,er,

, hoose,or, soond

coum, doun, dout, poupit,

 usually /y/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,grund, truff, unce, wund

<ui> usually /i/10 abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,

muin, muisic, ruise,

< /ju:/ buird, fluir, fuird, muir, shuir

leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,

<<y ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyte

< in /əi/ cry, kye etc.

<owd,

keep, meet, teeth, weel, w<ei, ie> usually /əi/8 beir, bield, chield, deid, e

heid, meidae, peir, scrieve,shielin, spreid, teir, threid

<e>

 usually /ɛ/9 drink, in, inch, licht, lift, p

rin, simmer, sin, stibble, whinwhisper, whit, wid, windwird, wirm, wittins

<o(a)> usually /o/ boat, boss, box, coal, ccommon, loch, on, dochthoast, rock, thocht

<oo> usually /y/ aboot, coont, droopmoose, oot, sco

<ou> usually /y/ allou, bouk, broun, couer,

thoum<uCe> usually /y/ dule, hure

cuil, cuit, duin, fruit, guid, luif,luim,schuil, spuin, uise, uiss, Yuil

ui> before <r><eu> usually /ju/11 beuch, beuk eneuch, heuk,

teuch, teug

ew> usually /jy/ dew, few, new, spewiCe, usually /əi/12advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,Ce>

<ey> usually /əi/ eyntment, eyster, fleyy(e)> final

<oi> usually /oi/ Boid, noiseoy> usually /oi/ foy, ploy

<ow> initial and /ʌu/ bowt, cowp, cowt, g



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<knowe, lowe, rowe, towe

Suffixe

nairae, swallae, windae

< /f ɛ/ awfu, carefu, mensefu

< erbal endings /t/ scunnert, selt, telt/it/14 duntit, skelpit

ctivally,

likely, uncoly

ss, /k/ may also be pronounced /g/.2 In Caithness initial /ʧ / may occur.3 and Easter

Ross /kr/ may occ4 Initial <th> may be omitted in words like the, thair, thare,

d thoo.5 In Cromarty /w/ some words in

other areas. In the Black Isle and Easter Ross <wh> may be

6 In the Black Isle and Easter Ross /əi/ may occur before <n><ng>.

7 Also /ɑ/ before <l>, <n>, <r> and <ch> /x/. In Caithness

8 .

medial gowf, lowp, owsenowe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe,

s

<ae> usually /ə/ Americae, arrae, barrae,

<ie> diminutive /i/13 grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie, wifie

fu> usually<na> negative /nə/ dinna, haesna, maunna,

winna, wisnat, it> v

<y, ie> adverbial and /i/13 reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

adje<ly> adverbial /li/13 brawly, feckly, fully, gey

Footnotes

1 This is usual in Caithne

In Caithness /kn/ may occur. In the Black Isleur.

thee anprevails. It may occur in

omitted or replaced by /h/ in words like wha, whan, whaseand whit.

and

the cluster <auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.The pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant



Wir Ain Leid

76 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

a.11 The pronunciation /jɔ/ may occur in words like eneuch.12 The pronunciation /oi/ may occur in words like bide, byke,

line and pipe.13 If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding

consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is/i/, otherwise /ɪ/.

14 In Caithness the pronunciations are /d/ and /əd/. This alsooccurs as /ɪd/ for final <et> in worlds like lempet andpacket.

Initial <th> is often silent in pronominals like the, thay, thare etc.and this and that.Thae and thir are replaced by the plural use of this and that.

Older speakers still differentiate the present participle and thegerund (verbal noun). In older Scots the present participle waswritten <and> /an(d)/and the gerund <ing> /ɪn/. Thesepronunciations are still used.

Present Participle: He wis aye stravaigan aboot.He was always roaming around.

Gerund: He's fond o stravaigin aboot.He likes roaming around.

The diminutive suffix <ock> is pronounced /əg/ and may bewritten <ag>: The wee bairnag - The small child.

Literature:

Johnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language , Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

Mather, James (1978) "The dialect of Caithness", Scottish Literary Journal Supplement

9 In the Black Isle and Easter Ross before /g/ and /x/ thepronunciation /əi/ may occur in words like big, nicht, pigand sicht.

10 The pronunciation /ø/ or /y/ may occur in dis, disna anddinn



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and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volume 3,6, 1 16.

ather, James Y.MLondon: Croom Helm.

Nicolson, D. B. (1907) "Dialect" in J. Horne ed. The County of Caithness, Wick: W. Rae,60-68.



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78 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

colonised from Norway under Danishe a Scandinavian

a he Islands wereover nder p between 1321 and 1468 by the Scottish Earlsf Angus, Strathearn and St. Clair. In 1468 the Islands were offered

as a dto James III. The dowry was never paid and the Islands became partof Scthe Islands became Scots speaking although the dialect is heavily

fluenced by Norn. Not only in vocabulary but also in verb

th ificant var hin Insular Scots and itsdeveloped

e of nd is

o nt using tr

nsige of the

.kney

ge 19 ,

u Scots,

<g<j,<l><n

Insular Scots

Shetland and Orkney werecontrol in the ninth century. The colonists spoklanguage which came to be known s Norn. Tg ned u roxyo

owry security for the marriage of the Danish princess Margaret

otland. Eventually through Scots government and settlement

inconstruction.Because of e sign iation witdifference to mainland Scots varieties. Insular Scots hasorthographic traditions of its own. Vowel length and the usconsonants varies much more than in mainland Scots, aimpossible t represe aditional Scots orthography.

The following can only be co dered a rough guide, see:Robertson, T. A. and Graham, J. (1952) Grammar and UsaShetland Dialect, Lerwick: Shetland Times Ltd.Graham, J. (1984) The Shetland Dictionary , LerwickFlaws, M. and Lamb, G. (1997) The Orkney Dictionary , The OrLanguage and Culture Group, Kirkwall.Tait, John (2000) "Some characteristics of the Shetlandic vowelsystem", Scottish Langua 83-99.

Consonants

Consonants sually have the same phonetic values (p.20) inas in English. <C> = Consonant.

 /b/ <d> /d/<f, ph> /f/ > /g/<h> /h/ dg(e)> /dʒ/<c, k, ck> /k/ /l/<m> /m/ > /n/



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<r r/

<v

<y> /j/ <z, s, se> /z/

An initial <d> before a vowel may be pronounced /dj/ or even

< fact,

s like:

nch> sually n ʃ /

dʒ/1

gn> sually gn/2

kn> sually kn/2 nowe

, elder, fauldaund,

quair, queen

/ ʃ / creash, sheep

th> sually d/

th> nal

 /p/ > /<s, c, ce, se, ss> /s/<t> /t/ > /v/<w> /w/ <x> /ks/

/ʤ/.Initial f> (/f/) may be pronounced /fj/ in words likefauch and ferm etc.

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in wordIPA

<ch> usually /x/ bocht, nicht, loch<ch> Initial often /t ʃ / chap, chield, chirl, chowk usually /t ʃ / fleetch, wratch

<dge> usually / begrudge, cadge,cruldge, fadge

<g(e)> occasionally /dʒ/1 breinge, gigot initial /t ʃ / Jean, jeely, jyle<ld> final /ld/3 auld, bield, cauld<nd> final /nd/3baund, daunder, find, h

sindry<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single<nk> usually /ŋk/ bink, hank<qu> usually /kw/ acquent,

/ʍ/<sh> usually<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ pushion, fushion usually /t/ wirth, thing, thrawn<th> final /θ/ mooth, sooth, truith< fi /ð/ buith, meith



Wir Ain Leid

80 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

owe and Di thongs

in

a> nal in a/

final , draw, faw, gaw,law, snaw, staw

ai> itial and ɛ(:)/ t,

aCe> sually e/6 e,

(r)ae, gae, sae,

ae> xcept in ø/8

ast,

d)tem, freet, jeely,

t, teeth, weel, weetd,

e,

ei> efore /x/ i/

/d/<wh> usually /ʍ/ wha, whan, wheech, wheel

/kw/<wr> initial often /wr/ wrack, wrang, write, wricht

V ls ph

Unstressed vowels /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, duntit,bannock, smeddum

<a> initial /ə/ ahint, awa etc.<a> usually /a/4 aff, mak, lang, wash, watch< fi / awa, twa, wha<au> usually /a/4 auld, haud, haund, saul,

saund, slauchter<aw> usually /a/4 aw, blaw, caw

gnaw, haw, s<aw> occasional /a/4 awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsant< in / 5 aiblins, aith, aiple, aik, ai

medial gaither, haimer, braid, laim,fain, graith, craitur

 usually /e/7 ae, brae, f tae n., wae

< e / adae, dae, shae, tae v.<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay<ea> usually /i, beast, cheap, deave, e

e/9 heap, hear, meat, ream, sea,tea

<ea> before /k/ /ɛ/ breeks, leak, speak(Shetlan

<ee> usually /i/7 dee, dree, eekeep, mee

<ei, ie> usually /i, beir, bield, chield, eild, deie/9 heid, meidae, peir, scriev

shielin, spreid, teir, threid usually /ɛ/10 bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled,gless, seck, wecht

/ɪ/11 drink, in, inch, licht, lift, pit,rin, simmer, sin, stibble, whin,

, wittins

common, dochter, hoast, loch,

<or, soond

< , hure

<

ird, guid, luif, luim,

muin, muir, muisic, ruise,in, uise, uiss,

<

<<y ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyte<

< kye etc.<<<

<


 usually

whisper, whit, wid, wind, wir,wird, wirm

<o(a)> usually /ɔ/12 boat, boss, box, coal, cod,

on, rock, thochtoo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop, hoose,

moose, oot, sco<ou> usually /u/ allou, bouk, broun, coum,

couer, doun, dout, poupit,thoum

uCe> usually /ø/8 dule usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund,

grund, truff, unce, wundui> usually /ø/8 abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,

buird, cuil, cuit, duin, fluir,fruit, fu

schuil, shuir, spuYuil

eu> usually /ø/13 beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk,leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch,teuch, teug

ew> usually /ju/ dew, few, new, spew,iCe, usually /əi/ advice, bide, byle, fine, fire,Ce>ey> usually /əi/ eyntment, eyster

y(e)> final in /ai/ cry,oi> usually /ɔe/ Boid, noiseoy> usually /ɔe/ foy, ployow> initial and /ʌu/14bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd,

medial gowf, lowp, owsenowe> final /ʌu/14flowe, glowe, growe, howe,



Wir Ain Leid

82 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Foo

2

3 d> are often pronounced /l/ and

4 areasr /ɑ/. The

5 rs. In peripheral areas it maybe diphthongised. In parts of Orkney before /p/, /t/, /k/,

occur.6 On Whalsay after /k/ and /g/, /je/ may occur as in cake

ter /w wamein

ma /i/

7 In Orkney /i/ may occur.8 The pronunciation /Y/ (Ger. Fülle) also occurs.

Note /ø/ in dis, disna and dinna.On the island of Stronsay pronunciations similar to those of Central Scots occur with /ɪ/ in abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,cuil, cuit, dis, disna, dinna, duin, fruit, fuird, guid, luif, luim,muin, schuil, spuin, uise and Yuil etc., and /e:/ in buird, dae,fluir, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir, tae v. and uiss. In Orkney/(j)u/ may occur before /p/The pronunciation /Y/ (Ger. Fülle) also occurs.

Note /ø/ in dis, disna and dinna.On the island of Stronsay pronunciations similar to those of Central Scots occur with /ɪ/ in abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,cuil, cuit, dis, disna, dinna, duin, fruit, fuird, guid, luif, luim,muin, schuil, spuin, uise and Yuil etc., and /e:/ in buird, dae,fluir, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir, tae v. and uiss. In Orkney/(j)u/ may occur before /p/.

9 Orkney usually has /i/ but Shetland may have /ɪ/ or /e/.

tnotes

1 Often pronounced /ʧ /.Now usually only among older speakers. In Shetland <kn>may occasionally be pronounced /hn/.Syllable final <ln> and <n/n/.In some areas /ɔ/ and /æ/ may also occur. In some<au> and <aw> may also be pronounced/ɔ/ ocluster <auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.In west Shetland /e/ also occu

/ʧ /, /f/, /s/ and / ʃ /, /æ:/ may occur as in aik, aiple, ait,craitur. In Orkney /i/ may

[kjek]. In Orkney af /, /əi/ may occur as in[wəim]. In some dialects <ane> is pronounced /in/ as

alane, ane, bane, gane, ne, nane and stane. In Orkneymay occur before other consonants.



Wir Ain Leid


, /e/ may occurs in some areas. In the outer islesdiphthongisation may occur.

efore

12 In some areas the pronunciation /o/ also occurs and on Yell

e pronunciations /Y/ or /(j)u/ may also occur.

buin at da fyshin. Dey wir buin at da fyshin.

e been fishing. They had been fishing.

10 Before /r/

11 In Orkney /i/ may occur before /g/, /k/ and /m/, and b/l/, /ɛ/ may occur. Before /x/ diphthongisation to /əi/ or/ae/ may occur as in nicht. A preceding /k/ may be realised/kj/ some times also /t ʃ /.

before /x/, /əu/ may occur as in brocht, loch, thocht.13 Th14 In some words the pronunciation /u/ may occur in Shetland

and /ɔ/ may occur in Orkney.

The perfect and past perfect tenses are formed with the verb tae berather than the verb tae hae i.e.

I'm(A'm been at the fishin.) (Thay war been at the fishin.)A hae been at the fishin. Thay haed been at the fishin.

I hav



Wir Ain Leid

84 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

onsonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20) in as in

at traditionally have Medial and Final <ch> /x/ are

d whisky have /ʍ/. /w/ is spreading among the youngest

words like thaim, that and this is often elided i.e.

owels and diphthongs are generally pronounced the same as Mid

Scots pronunciation /i/

w the pronunciation /ju/ has

spread in Aberdeen Scots

Aberdeen Scots Spoken in the city itself and increasingly in surrounding areas.Like all urban dialects Aberdeen suffers from a loss of muchparticularly Scots vocabulary. The pronunciation of Aberdeen Scotsis essentially Mid Northern Scots (p.66).

CEnglish.Words thincreasingly taking the English pronunciation in words with Englishcognates i.e. bought (bocht), draught (draucht), enough (eneuch),laugh (lauch), night (nicht), right (richt), rough (roch), sight (sicht)and tight (ticht) etc. /x/ remains in words with no English cognateslike loch but pronunciations with /k/ are spreading among theyoung.Initial <wh> pronounced /f/ is still widespread but words like white,whin an

speakers.The initial <th> in'em, 'at and 'is.The is often elided to 'ee' /i/.

VNorthern Scots (p.66).The <ui> generally takes the Mid Northernbut /u/ is spreading in many common words with English cognates.In words like dew, few, spew and nereplaced the traditional /jʌu/.Glottal stops for final /t/ and /k/ and medial /t/in words like bat,

night, bottle, watter and back, are not wideexcept among the young. The /t/ often simply being omitted.



Wir Ain Leid


ects Dundonian also suffers from a loss of

ionally have Medial and Final <ch> /x/ nowwords with English

cognates

possible in rapid speech in

final glide /-(j)əl/ or epenthetic vowel may occur in words likebirl and [e:rʌm] airm etc.

a>, <au> and <aw> have the northern pronunciation /a/ e.g. aff,awbody,

baw, waw, awfu, blaw, braw and chaw etc.<ai> and <a(consonant)e> are usually pronounced /e/ but /ɛ/ mayoccur before/r/ and in some words like gaither, jaiket, maiter andskail.<ea> is usually /e/ in words like beast, cheap, cheat, fear, leave,neat and seat etc.<ei> is usually /e/ in words like deif, heid, leid (metal), reid etc.

Dundee Scots

Like other urban dialmuch traditional agricultural and countryside vocabulary. Dundeelies just inside the South Northern Scots (p.61) dialect 'border'subsequently the pronunciation of Dundee Scots shares somefeatures with North East Central Scots (p.61).

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20) in as inEnglish.Words that traditgenerally take the English pronunciation incognates i.e. bought (bocht), draught (draucht), enough (eneuch),laugh (lauch), night (nicht), right (richt), rough (roch), sight (sicht)and tight (ticht) etc. /x/ remains in words with no Englishlike loch.Initial <wh> is pronounced /ʍ/ in common with North East CentralScots.

The initial <th> in words like thing, naething and think is oftenpronounced /h/.<h> 'dropping' is seldom but isunstressed pronouns like he, her and him etc. His is often rendered[(h)i:z].

Vowels and diphthongs are usually similar to those of thesurrounding dialects but note the following:Aspyle, byle,<alang, crabbit, drap, shak, tak, tap, twa, awa, wha, faw,



Wir Ain Leid

86 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

in words like gie, piece, sieven etc.i> is usually /ɪ/ but /ʌ/ also occurs i.e. brither, cliver, finger, girn,

ds

(ma) etc.he <ui> generally takes the pronunciation /e/ but is often /u/

uithe (sooth), ruise, and in many common words with

Scots dialects

in words like borrae, nairae, orra, swallae and

. but final <-t> e.g.lypt etc. may also be /d/ e.g. couart and drount etc.

<ie> is usually /i/<git, hing, iver, wir, wis and yit etc. with /ɪ/ but birl, fit, lift, lip, whitand will etc. with /ʌ/.The well-known Dundee marker is the pronunciation /ɛ/ in worlike by, buy, ay, forby, fry, cry, pie, sky, drive, five, size and diaryetc. This also occurs where English cognates have replaced theScots words i.e. eye (ee), I (A), lie (lee) and myTbefore <v>, <th> and <z> in words like buith (booth), muive(move), sEnglish cognates.Note dinna, didna, juist and tae (to) with /ɪ/.In words with English cognates the <eu> is usually pronounced /u/i.e. beuk (book), heuk (hook), leuk (look) and teuk (took) etc. inparticularly Scots words e.g. speugie /ju/ may also occur.Glottal stops are often seen as the hallmark of urbanespecially for final /t/ and /k/ and medial /t/ in words like bat,

night, bottle, watter and back.Adverbial and adjectival <(l)y> varies between /e/ and /i/. Similarlywith final <-(a)e>windae etc. <-fu> is /fi/ e.g. awfu.The negative <-na> is /na/ e.g. canna, dinna, didna, isna, neednaand winna etc.The past tense <-it> is usually /ɪt/ e.g. barkit, crabbit, dytit, glaikit,hackit, hallockit, nakit, pentit and sleekit etcc Literature:

McCluskey, Mick (1990) Dundonian for Beginners, Edinburgh: Mainstream.



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g towns such as Bonnyrigg,

sis essentially South east Central Scots (p.35).

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20) in as inEnglish.Words that traditionally have Medial and Final <ch> /x/ nowgenerally take the English pronunciation in words with Englishcognates i.e. bought (bocht), draught (draucht), enough (eneuch),laugh (lauch), night (nicht), right (richt), rough (roch), sight (sicht)and tight (ticht) etc. /x/ remains in words with no English cognateslike loch but pronunciations with /k/ are spreading.Initial <wh> /ʍ/ is still widespread but is increasingly being

replaced by /w/ in words like whales and wheel etc.The initial <th> in words like thing, naething and think is oftenpronounced /h/.<thr> may be rendered /r/ in words like three.Medial <th> rendered as /r/ is occasionally encountered in wordslike bother (bather), brother (brither) and mother (mither).<h> 'dropping' is seldom but is possible in rapid speech inunstressed pronouns like he, her and him etc.

Vowels and diphthongs are generally pronounced the same as SouthEast Central Scots.The <ui> generally takes the Central Scots pronunciation but /u/ is

usual before <v>, <th> and <z> in words like buith (booth), muive(move), suithe (sooth), ruise, and in many common words withEnglish cognates.In words with English cognates the <eu> is usually pronounced /u/i.e. beuk (book), heuk (hook), leuk (look) and teuk (took) etc.In many words of Latin origin the pronunciation /i/ has beenreplaced by the English pronunciation e.g. bapteese (baptise),

Edinburgh Scots

Spoken in the city itself and surroundinDalkeith and Penicuik. The speech of North Berwick, Dunbar,Haddington and Tranent is also heavily influenced by this dialect.Like all urban dialects 'Embra' suffers from a loss of muchparticularly Scots vocabulary. The pronunciation of Edinburgh Scot



Wir Ain Leid

88 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

), ceevil (civil), oreeginal (original), eetem (item),eety (pity) and leeberal (liberal) etc.

obleege (obligepThe diphthong /ʌu/ before /k/ is usually vocalised to /o/ e.g. bowk(boak), fowk (folk) and yowk (yolk) etc.Glottal stops are often seen as the hallmark of urban Scots dialectsespecially for final /t/ and /k/ and medial /t/ in words like bat,night, bottle, watter and back. The initial /t/ in the infinitive markertae and where the target syllable is unstressed may be glottalized.



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Glaswegian is spoken in the city itself

east Lanarkshire variety is spoken in

, Leadhills and Prestwick.

nunciation of Glasgow Scots is

tionally have Medial and Final <ch> /x/ now

),

ds with no English cognates

hales and wheel etc.he letter <t> often becomes /r/ across words e.g. let it [lɛrɪʔ].

<th> in words like thing, naething and think is oftenronounced /h/.

ʌrʌ], [brʌ] (brither) and mother [mʌrʌ] (mither).The is often rendered [rə] as in "we are ra people".

Glasgow Scots

Fondly known as 'the Patter',and well established in the surrounding towns such as Clydebank,Paisley, Renfrew and Rutherglen, and increasingly gaining influencearound the Firth of Clyde in Cambeltown, Dumbarton, Gourock,Greenock and Rothesay. AnAirdrie, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Denny, Motherwell, Strathavenand Wishaw. An Ayrshire variety is spoken in Carstairs, Irvine,KilmarnockLike all urban dialects Glaswegian suffers from a loss of muchparticularly Scots vocabulary, though very innovative at coining newterms e.g. boggin, malkie, stotter, bampot and heidbanger, manybecoming quite widespread. The proessentially West Central Scots (p.45).

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (p.20) in as inEnglish.

Words that tradigenerally take the English pronunciation in words with Englishcognates i.e. bought (bocht), draught (draucht), enough (eneuchlaugh (lauch), night (nicht), right (richt), rough (roch), sight (sicht)and tight (ticht) etc. /x/ remains in worlike loch but pronunciations with /k/ are spreading.Initial <wh> /ʍ/ is still widespread but is increasingly beingreplaced by /w/ in words like wTThe initialpThe <thr> is often/r/ in words like three.

Medial <th> rlike brother [br

endered as /r/ is occasionally encountered in words



Wir Ain Leid

90 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

hthongs are generally pronounced the same as Westentral Scots.

stair etc. the /e:/ is often

Scots pronunciation but /u/ orand <z> in words like buithruise, and in many common

rds of Latin origin the pronunciation /i/ has beenplaced by the English pronunciation e.g. bapteese (baptise),

nserted before the final /r/ in

he vowel in reid, sieven, hieven, niver and iver is usually /ɪ/ or /ɛ/.

orra and tobbacca isronounced /ʌ/.

etc. issually pronounced /nʌ/ though /ne/ is spreading from the east.

The d o /o/ e.g. bowk(boakGlottal stops are often seen as the hallmark of urban Scots dialectsespec ial /t/ in words like bat,night

Vowels and dipCIn words like fluir, hair, rare andpronounced / ɛ:/ before /r/.The <ui> generally takes the Centraleven /ø/ is usual before <v>, <th>(booth), muive (move), suithe (sooth),words with English cognates.In words with English cognates the <eu> is usually pronounced /u/or even /ø/ i.e. beuk (book), heuk (hook), leuk (look) and teuk(took) etc.In many woreobleege (oblige), ceevil (civil), oreeginal (original), eetem (item),peety (pity) and leeberal (liberal) etc.An epenthetic vowel /ʌ/ is often iwords like girl, airm, film and torn.T

The final <a(e)> in words like barrae, fellae, mpThe negative suffix <-na> in words like canna and dinnau

iphthong /ʌu/ before /k/ is usually vocalised t), fowk (folk) and yowk (yolk) etc.

ially for final /t/ and /k/ and med, bottle, watter and back.

Literature:

Hagan, Anette I. (2002) Urban Scots Dialect Writing , Bern: Lang.acafee, Caroline (1983) Varieties of English Around the World: Glasgow, Amsterdam:MBenjamins.



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Belfast Dialect

lthoe cclude a number of features of

peaking areas to the north andouth h of Belfast contains numerous

s originrought to the city by 19th and 20th century incomers from Down

nd clart.

aiting on ye for til wash the car.I'm waiting for you to wash the car.

Typically Scots use of the auxiliaries (p.177) will, would, should,could, might and can avoiding, 'shall', 'ought' and 'may'.

Scots use of is and was and the verb inflexion -s (p.200).

Yer man and me is... Him an me has...Your husband and I are... Him and I have...

Him and me eats everything Him an me was...Him and I eat everything. Him and I were...

A ugh the Belfast dialect can notb onsidered Scots it doesinUlster Scots origin. Belfast liesbetween Ulster Scots (p.55)ss . Consequently the speecvocabulary, grammar and syntactical features of Scotband Antrim.

Vocabulary items include such words as thon, scallion, weans,mebbe (maybe), jouk, keek, skelf, polis, crack, farl (fardel), oxter,neb, scunner, stour, redd aAy and ye for 'yes' and 'you' are almost universal.

Grammatical and syntactical features include:

The use of for til and for to (and the use of on after waiting):

'm w

He's come over for to see the film.

ch the film.He's come over in order to wat



Wir Ain Leid

92 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

thers are:

shopping.

e?How come I wasn't picked for the team?

carried over intocotti ard (p.98) also occur in Mid Ulster English.

influence - eventhan some Ulster

<wh> may well be due

an, Maud andt, pick and fish etc. and the diphthong

əi/ or /aɪ/ in words like bide, Friday, rise, wife and white etc.

ard English - Dialect Variation and

Belfast, Belfast: Balckstaff.

O

See thon tree, our Jim planted it.See that dress, my sister's for buying it.

She's away for theHe's very fond of the swimming.

What for would I go ther

Most of the Scots grammatical features and idiomsS sh Stand EnglishSome Belfast phonology also shows Scotspreserving the system of vowel length more clearlyScots dialects themselves.The retention of the pronunciation /ʍ/ for

to Scots influence.The pronunciations /ɑ/ in words like bad, hand, mfraud etc. /æ/ in words like bi/ Literature:

Harris, J. (1985) Phonological Variation and Change Studies in Hiberno-English,Cambridge University Press.

enry, Alison (1995) Belfast English and StandHParameter Setting, University of Ulster.

Milroy, James (1981) Regional Accents of English:



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àidhealtachd

lands and Islands to the westwere of course until recently on the whole Gaelic speaking.

vocabulary, pronunciation andwhich until relatively recently,

ere Gaelic speaking.

ben beinn mountaina pile of stonesa social gathering

clachan clachan hamlet

glen gleann valleyfire

lakepartan partan (edible) crab

her dowry

older literature representations of how Gaelic speakersat is unlikely today since access

th ots has long been available to allrough universal education in Scottish English. Some of the most

A hae twa muckle fush.

he <th> /θ/, in a final position may be pronounced /s/. Written

G Gàidhealtachd - the Gaelic for the High-Gaelic has had an influence on thegrammar of Scots spoken in areas,wSome well known Scots words of Gaelic origin are:

Scots Gaelic English English

cairn cárnceilidh ceilidh

cranreuch crannreothadh hoar-frost

ingle aingeal

loch loch

tocher toc Inpronounced Scots were frequent. Thto e phoneme inventory of Scthfrequent pronunciations (p.20) are:

The vowel /ɪ/ may be pronounced /ʌ/.

I have two big fish.

T<s> or <ss> here.

Hae ye seen Macbess?



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94 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

mooss.I think there's a fly in my mouth.

I had a hot bath this morning.

t the beginning of words <th> /θ/ may be pronounced /ts/.

tae pe.Things aren't what they seemed to be.

Uss onytsun' un t' kustie?

he <th> /ð/, may be pronounced /t/, /s/ and / or /sz/.

is is my house.

It's further down the lane.

he p ay be repl > here.

e. He was taking it to be shorn.

airk.the field.

Shaimass (Seumas) haes shust been made a sershant.

Have you seen Macbeth?

A sunk tare's a flee un ma

A haed a het bass tus mornin.

A

Tsun's ussna whut tay seemt

Is anything in the chest?

T

Tus uss ma hoose.Th

T' tusser day.The other day.

Hut's furszer doun t' loan.

T ronunciation /z/ m aced by /s/, written <ss

Tus uss a yowe. He wuss taen ut tae pe shuirn.

This is a ew

T' usser yowess wuss left un t' pThe other ewes were left in

The /ʒ/ as in pleasure may be pronounced / ʃ / as in shut.



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en t.

/b/ may be pronounced /p/.

un.Bring the box into the cabin.

Hae ye seen ma pet kait?

Scots nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. Gaelic only

to

Ga e repeated for emphasis.

Ut'ss a weet, weet day. She'ss a gut, gut lassie.

he pronoun A (I) may be replaced by masel, influenced by the

Masel wull raw ye tae yer shup.

James has just be promoted to sergean A

Prung t' pox un t' cap

A /d/ may be replaced by /t/.

A haed a gut trunk wi hum.I had a good drink with him.

A /g/ may be replaced by /k/

Have you seen my pet goat?

In

has masculine and feminine, many neuter words may be referredas she.

She'ss no lang syne buggit. (The hoose)It's been built recently. (The house)

In elic the adjective may b

It a very wet day. She's a very good girl.

T

Gaelic 'mi-fein'.

I will row you to your ship.

In Gaelic the preposition 'air' (on), is used for on, in, o (of) and tae(to). This may occur as on in Gaelic influenced Scots.



Wir Ain Leid

96 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Ut'ss gut on ye. T' dug dee'd on me.ne. fforts.

s uss gaun wr me.

T' horse run awa on me.The horse ran away though I did my best to hold it.

Gaelic only has a single verb form 'tha' for am, is and are, similarlyGaelic 'bha' means both wis (was) an war (were).

Masel uss gauld. Ma haunds uss aw clarty.I am cold. My hands are all dirty.

Tus dug uss gut, gut. Whut uss tsir?This dog is very good. Which are these?

T' pairnss wuss here.The children were here.

The Gaelic relative sentence using that may be used in place of asimple sentence.

Ut uss me tsat uss t' fermer an you tsat uss t' cottar.I am the farmer and you are the cottager.

Tenses. The verb 'to be', is the only Gaelic verb having a presenttense. In Gaelic the present tense is usually formed by using a thepresent tense of the verb 'to be' and a verbal noun. As a result of substituting the Gaelic prepositions 'ag', 'aig' with at and 'air' with

Well do The dog died in spite of all my e

He wuss wirkin on me. Put a quaisten on me.He was nasty to me. Ask me a question about it.

A body dud sometsun' on me.Someone did something to me.

Tsun's ang onThings are going wrong for me.



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ccur:

She wuss at sayin. She said.She wuss efter sayin. She had said.She wat pe at sayin. She would say.

would have

sayin. She will say.ter sayin. She will have said.

efter (after), the following may o

Gaelic Gaelic influenced Scots English

Tha i ag radh. She'ss at sayin. She says.Tha i air radh. She'ss efter sayin. She had said.Bha i ag radh.Bha i air radhBhitheadh i ag radh.Bhitheadh i air radh. She wat pe efter sayin. She

said.Bithidh i ag radh. She wull pe at

ll pe ef Bithidh i air radh. She wu



Wir Ain Leid

98 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ken with a Scottish accent.e-class urban Scots is described

most other

el Length Rule also affects SSE (p.21).

Scottish Standard English

SSE is essentially standard English spoSSE as spoken by educated, middlhere. The pronunciation (p.20) differs from that of varieties of English.


The Scots Vow

/i/ beak, bee, peer, weak, weir/e/ bay, day, pair, pane/ɛ/ bed, fern, heard, herd, merry/ɪ/ bid, bird, bitter, wanted/ʌ/ butter, fur, hurry, putt, sofa/a/ bad, bard, calm, father, marry, palm, pam, path

t, cough, fork, long, paw

/u/ boot, full, good, poor, pool, pull, put/o/ boat, cord, hoard, soar, stole/ɔ/ caught, co , pot, sword

brown, down, house, mouse, out

s because SSE is rhotic i.e.nd not vocalised to /ɪə/, /ɛə/,k in England Speak). Thus the

of /r/.

bun [bʌn] burn [bʌrn]bad [bad] bard [bard]

/aɪ/ buy, rise, sly, tie, tied, why/əi/ night, rice, sight, slide, tide, while/ʌu//oi/ b oise, toyoy, n

SSE has less vowels than other varietie<r> is pronounced /r/ after vowels a/ʊə/ and /ɜ:/ as in RP (How posh folpairs sawed/soared and pores/paws are distinct, and the followingare only distinguished by the presence

bee [bi:] beer [bi:r]bay [be:] bear [be:r]fen [f ɛn] fern [f ɛrn]bid [bɪd] bird [bɪrd]



Wir Ain Leid


oo [mu:] moor [mu:r]row [ro:] roar [ro:r]

enity have /i/. RP has /ɛ/.

merge /ɪ/, /ɛ/ and /ʌ/ before /r/ to /ə/.on-initial /t/ is often realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/.

ave a distinctive SSE pronunciation:

December [dɛzɛmbər] [dɪsɛmbə][lɛnθ] [lɛŋθ]

th [strɛnθ] [strɛŋθ][lʌk ʃə[rɑ:zb[rɪəla

[tɔ:təs] [wɛnz

[wɪð]

m

pot [pɔt] port [pɔrt]

fern, bird and hurt may merge in some accents.In words like serene - serenity and obscene - obscenity the secondsyllable of serenity and obsc Consonants

Consonants are much like those of RP but:SSE differentiates between <wh> /ʍ/ and <w> /w/ i.e. which [ʍɪt ʃ ]and witch [wɪt ʃ ]./p/, /t/ and /k/ are not aspirated in SSE.The consonant /r/ is often /ɾ/. Some speakers have /ɹ/, thesespeakers usuallyN<ch> pronounced /x/ only occurs in a few specifically Scots words

like loch and dreich.

Some words h

SSE RP

lengthstrengluxury [lʌgʒəri] rɪ]raspberry [rasbɛrɪ] rɪ]realise [ri:ʌlaɪ:z] iz]

though [θo:] [ðou]tortoise [tɔ:rtoiz] ]Wednesday [wɛdnzde dɪ]with [wɪθ]



Wir Ain Leid

100 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

any ss and tortoisess

on , bve the main he second syllable:

mentable and preferably.

rammar and Vocabulary

he grammar of SSE is much the same as standard English but SSEinf and . SSE

as a al vocabulary not present in standard English. This

he grammarfluences SSE:

he Scots use of modal verbs i.e. many speakers do not use 'shall'

e u and have (got) for

eed o a erbs. Need may occurthe us ly as is want.

come as well?

He may come later.

come. He must come.

do that.He didn't need to do that. He needn't have done that.

My hair needs washed. My hair needs washing.

Stress

M words have different stre than in RP. Porpoisehave equal stress on each syllable. In the following the main strein the final syllable: advertise aptize, realize and recognize etc.The following ha stress on tla G Tis luenced by Scots grammar idiom to varying degreesh range of legis often anglicized versions of Scots vocabulary.T following are common examples of how Scotsin T

and 'may' and use would instead of 'should'.Might and will maybe ar sed for possibilitycompulsion.N to, use to and dare t re used as main vin passive, and is also ed non-progressiveThe verb have is used more like an auxiliary.

SSE Anglo English

Will I see you after? Shall I see you later?Can I come as well? May IHe might come later. He may come later.

He'll maybe come later.I would, if I was you. I should, if I were you.He has got toShe has to leave. She must leave.I don't need to do that. I needn't

He doesn't dare to talk. He didn't dare talk.



Wir Ain Leid


to be washed.

ast night.ve a good time last

night? night?

he passive is usually expressed with get i.e. I got told off.

more pay. more pay.. ee him.

f SSE is the than '-n't':

. You aIsn't h

e? Can't? Don't

Didn'

ot a .e. He isn't still not working. Nobody woulddream of not coming.Verbs of motion are often elided before adverbs of motion: I'll awayhome then. and The cat wants out. etc.The is used as in Scots i.e. To take the cold. To get sent to thehospital. To go to the church.

Non-reflexive use of the pronoun self i.e. How's yourself today? andIs himself in? etc.Anybody, everybody, nobody and somebody are used in preferenceto anyone, everyone, no one and someone.

Yet may occur with non-perfective forms of the verb:

My hair needsI'm needing a cup of tea. I need a cup of tea.He'd a good time last night. He had a good time lHad you a good time last Did you ha

T Some verbs are used progressively:

He was thinking he'd get He thought he would get

I was hoping to see him I hoped to sThey were meaning to come. They meant to come

A well known marker o use of not rather

He'll not come. He won't come.

You're not wanted ren't wanted.Is he not coming?. e coming?Can you not com you come?Do you not want it you want it?Did he not come? t he come?

N lso negates verbs i



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102 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Anglo English

I scolded her..

'CTT

SSE

Did you buy one yet? Have you bought one yet?He is here yet. He is still here.

The adverbial particle follows the verb:

He turned out the light. He turned the light out.They took off their coats. They took their coats off.

Many Scots idioms and phrases have been carried over into SSE.

How are you keeping? How are you?I doubt he's not coming. I expect he isn't coming.Away to your bed. Go to bed.That's me away. I'm going now.I've got the cold I've got a cold.It's for your Christmas. It's your Christmas present.

I gave her a row.He gave me a fright. He frightened meI'm finished it. I'm finished.I ll get you home. I'll take you home.

heerio just now! Goodbye for now!o go the messages. To go shopping.he back of nine. Just after nine (o' clock).



Wir Ain Leid


Scots

e based on an analysis of 18 th and 19th

don't always adhere to the 'rules'

in

Spelling

The spellings used here are based on frequently used non-regionalTraditional Scots. These arcentury spelling conventions, historical practice and etymology,applied consistently. They can to the most part, be read andpronounced in any Scots dialect, with the possible exception of Insular Scots. On the whole the spellings used can be found in theConcise Scots Dictionary published by the SNDA. The followingexplains the spelling conventions used when choosing among andadapting the spelling variants in the Concise Scots Dictionary.Conventions used generally follow the spellings in the Scots SchoolDictionary (SSD) in so far as they are consistent or cross-dialect. TheSSD is also published by the SNDA.Some spellings of courseexplained here. Those are considered 'established spellings'because dictionaries usually have only one entry for the word inquestion.

Words in Scots are often divided into three groups:

1 Shared vocabulary consists of words which are both commonto English and Scots (and other languages as well), oftenspelled the same in both languages. Many people mistakenlyrefer to these words as 'English Words' - this is the result of an anglocentric view of the world. The German languageuses all, Arm, Dame, Finger, Hand and Land these words arecommon to both English and German.

2 Close cognates are words which are common to English andScots (and other languages as well), but which are

pronounced (and spelled) differently in Scots i.e. aw, airm,and haund etc.

3 Words particular to Scots. Many people refer to these as'Scots words', an by implication assume the words in theprevious groups are somehow not 'Scots words'. This isbased on the false assumption that anything that occurs



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104 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

English can't be Scots. The fact is that all the words in theseether they occur in other

ome words which only have a slightly different pronunciation in

that because aord is spelled the same as in English it is pronounced as such.

r but in a more graphemicallyconomic manner. In this system position, environment and overt

ct functions. Several letters or letter clusters may alsopresent the same sound.

the

ions involved. The assumption being that the

atives and inflections. This may be a hindrance toots spelling

geared for the convenience of native speakers, not for the learner.

same as in English but have a differentronunciation in Scots e.g. aunt(ie), swap, want and wash etc.

ftenilent.)

as in Scottish English usually

modate the Scots pronunciation, e.g. lenth and strenth etc.

groups are Scots words whlanguages or not.

Orthographic Conventions

SScots than in Scottish English (usually the vowel sound), generallyhave same the spelling as in English. Do not assumewBase forms of words are usually spelled phonemically - not in aone-letter to one-sound manneemarkers enable the same letter or cluster of letters to performseveral distinre Compounds and derivatives tend to be spelled morphemically,

established grapheme bases are usually retained regardless of thephonemic alteratreader knows the phonemic alterations that accompany theformation of derivlearning Scots pronunciation from the spellings, but Scis Some words are spelled thep<a(u)> as in /a/. Bull, full v. and pull etc. /ʌ/. Bind, find andwind v. etc. /ɪ/. (Note in those words the final <d> is os

Words that sound the same in Scotsretain the same spelling e.g. come, door, for, hear, some, the,tongue and young etc., except where a Scots spelling has becomeestablished or the words have a different 'stressed' form, e.g. A (I),an (and), ma (my), thare and thaim etc.In some words the spellings may differ slightly in order toaccom



Wir Ain Leid


e. buff, bak, ban, lib, licht, seck,

ed by <e> i.e. birse, carse, dulse, ense,

he spelling <a> for the vowel sound in words like aff, at, back,bak, bap, lat, rax, tak, tap, wad, wash and watch etc.

he spelling <a> is usually used finally for the vowel sound in

words like ken, gled, fermnd yett etc.

,ins etc.

æ/ also occurs in Ulster before voiceless sounds or clusters

e above words with .

he spelling for the vowel sound in words like dubs, bull,

chwa /ə/ may be represented by <a, e, i, o> or in unstressed

Short vowels are usually written with:A final consonant or consonants i.tint, wat and wid etc.Two consonants followgirse, grilse, mense, merse and winze etc.

T

Twords like awa, twa and wha etc.

The spelling <e> for the vowel sound ina The spelling for the short vowel in words like bird, brig, findkist, shilpit, whisper, will, wir, wird, wirm, wirthy and witt

The pronunciation often varies between /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ especially after<w> and <wh>./containing them.Some writers spell some of th Tdrumly hunder and pull etc.

Spositions i.e. aboot, the, oxter, loanin, bannock and smeddum.

Long vowels are usually written with:

pronounced /o(:)/.single consonant followed by <e> i.e. bane, fere, bode and hure

The absence of a following consonant i.e. <e> in be and we /i(:)/,also /e(:)/, in wi /i(:)/ also /ɪ/ and /ə/. The <y> in by is oftenpronounced /ɪ/, /i/ and /e/ (especially in the West and Ulster) alsooccur. <o> in jo and no is usuallyAetc.



Wir Ain Leid

106 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ear, weet, dreich, bield, gloam,

pleas, tease - teas etc.

/u(:)/ in wordsc.

w> is usually used where English cognates have

auld> is often pronounced /ʌul/ in Ulster.ote laund has an unstressed vowel in compounds and is spelled

braw, draw, gnaw,w, maw, saw, and claw etc.

gal

he spelling <ai> is usually used initially and medially . The

Two letters <au, aw, ae, ai, ay, ea, ee, ei, ie, oa, oo, ou> i.e. faw,glaur, snaw, brae, bairn, day, f hoose, broun etc. and very rarely <aa> in, for example, haar.

The spelling <e(Consonant)e> is usually always pronounced /i(:)/e.g. here and fere etc.The final lexical <e> in verbs preventing homographs of pluralnouns in brouse - brous, please - The spelling <u(consonant)e> for the vowel soundwhere the spelling is established e.g. dule and hure et The spelling <a<all>, giving: aw, awbody, baw, caw and haw etc.Some writers use <aa> instead of <aw>.

The spelling <au> is usually used initially and medially, giving:auld, cauld, caunle, draucht, haund, laund, saund and wauken etc.

The cluster <Nland e.g. hieland and Scotland etc.

The spelling <aw> is usually used finally, giving:laA few exceptions exist e.g. bawbie and bawsant.

The spellings <ae>, <ai>, <a(consonant)e>, for the monothonvowel sound in words like brae, hain and hame etc.

The spelling <ae> is usually used initially and finally, and

occasionally medially, giving: ae, frae, sae, strae and faem etc.

Tpronunciation often varies between /e(:)/ and /ɛ/, especially before/r/, giving: aiple, airm, bairn, braith, cairt, dairn, daith, jaiket, pairt,sair, shairp, stairt and wairm etc.

The digraph <ea> is used in common with many English cognates.



Wir Ain Leid

Though in English the spelling represents two pronunci


ations /i(:)/

depending on therd, lead v., heap,

sh, ease, meal, meat, gear, sea, tea, and fear etc.,here /e(:)/ is usually prevalent in words of Romance origin.

words like early,

cots also uses the traditional digraph <ei> to.

d weir etc.

fore /x/ is usually pronounced /i/ in allialects (p.26).

heich etc.

ei> and <ie> spellings, these/i(:)/.

or example: chief, deil, lief, neir, neist, nieve, scrieve and speir.

sh English e.g. read (past tense). Some writers use

he digraph <ee> is pronounced /i(:)/ in all Scots dialects (p.26).

as in "meat" and /ɛ/ as in "head".In Scots the <ea> is usually either /i(:)/ or /e(:)/lexeme or dialect (p.26) in words like eat, east, beabeast, read, creawThe pronunciation /ɛ/ may occur before /r/ inearn, hearth, learn and pearl etc.

Srepresent the /i(:)/ or /e(:)/ pronunciationsEspecially where English cognates are spelled using <ea> as inEnglish "head".Scots <ei> is used initially and medially giving: eild, eith, beir,breid, breinge, deid, deif, dreid, heid, leid n., meidae, peir, pleisur,seicont, sweir, teir v. anExcept medially before <v> and <ld>, and in shared words where<ie> is used giving: bield, chield, elieven, scrieve, sieven, shield and

shielin etc.

The digraph <ei> bedGiving: dreich, heich and skeich and w A number of words have established <words are usually always pronounced withFSome writers may use the spelling <ei> in all of the above.

The spelling <ea> is retained in words pronounced the same in

Scots and Scotti<e> for this sound in all words.

TFreend, permeesion, wee, freet, neebour, weel, weet and een etc.Except in Southern Scots where root final it is /əi/.



Wir Ain Leid

T

108 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

he spelling <ee> is retained in words pronounced the same incots and Scottish English. e.g. creep, feel and seek etc.

i(:)/ whilend in allof <ee>,

wordse same or similar to English. <y> is usually used for adverbial

fully, geyly, likely, specially, sairly,huirly and uncoly etc.

Northern dialects and East Perthshire aariation of /i/ and /ɪ/ occurs, where /i/ occurs when the preceding

npredictably using <ie> ory> will be found in this book.

ing in <ie> the <ie>

d of many other words, especially nouns. e.g.

For the sake of orthographic consistency some writers use either<ie> or <y> in all these

<o> and <oa> have m ts but some

.

SSome writers use the spelling <ee> /others use <ei> or <ie> for this souwords. Other writers use a mixture<ei> and <ie>.

The traditional terminal digraph <ie> is used fordiminutives giving: grannie, laddie, lassie,shoppie and wifie etc.

<ie> and <y> are used for forming adjectives,<ie> tends to be used in particularly Scots words and <y> inthendings giving: reekie, pernicketie, sairy, stany, stourie, brawly,bonnily, cannie, cannily, feckly,sThe pronunciation is usually /e/ in Central Scots dialects, but /i/

and /ɪ/ also occur. Invvowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/or /z/. Otherwise /ɪ/.

The internal inconsistency causedby u<Some writers simply use one or the other.

When forming the participle from verbs endchanges to <y> giving cairyin and coueryin etc.

<ie> is used at the engie and hie etc.

words.

erged to /o/ in many dialecretain the distinction between /ɔ/ and /o/. In Mid Northern Scots/wəi/ may occur before /t/ e.g. coat and gote etc



Wir Ain Leid


The spelling <oo> is used for thevowel sound in words like hoose,boot and soond in order to avoid

ts spelling <ou> is used in all other words whereconfusion with the English pronunciation is unlikely. Many writersuse either <ou> or <oo> The digraph <ou> is nexcept in Southern Scots s pronounced /ʌu/.

The spelling <ui> for the

nant)e> for the diphthong in wordse,

rice and lice etc. Particularly Scots words are often spelled with

elling <y> is used inords like wynd and also in mynd (mind)

ike find and bind etc. -

e <y(consonant)e> in all words with this diphthong.

e , <ey> are usedords like aye

tc.nts this sound initially and finally in

aconfusing <ou> with the Englishpronunciation.The traditional Sco

for this sound in all words.

early always pronounced /u(:)/ in Scots,, when final, it i

vowel sound in words like guid, ruif, tuim,spuin, puir, juist and truith etc.

Diphthongs are usually written with two letters <ey, eu, oi, oy,

ow(e)> and <y(e)> etc.

The spelling <i(consopronounced similarly in Scots and Scottish English e.g. wife, knif ththe traditional Scots <y(consonant)e> e.g. dyke, fyle, syne and tyneetc.

The traditional spwand kynd (kind) in order to indicate theScots pronunciation difference from words l

rhyme with 'pinn(ed)'.Some writers us

Th spellings <y>, <ye>for the diphthong in w(always), ay (yes) and kye e

The spelling <ey> represe



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words like eydent, eyster, cley, gey and wey etc.

, eneuch, teuch, leuk, teug, teuk,

egins or ends with thisiphthong <ew> is used, giving: ewest,

dowy, fowk, lowpand cowp etc.

ore <k>, may beocalised to /o/ e.g. bowk, fowk and yowk etc.

vowel in the first syllable isoubled giving blatter, watter, verra, fremmit, biggit, dizzen,

he following letters are not doubled. <h, j, q, v, w, x,> and <y>.

nd with a single consonant letter double it in theadjectives

drappin -drappit, het

ress and bizz etc.ouble consonants are avoided where simple differences to English

aimer hammer maiter matter

The spelling <eu> in words like beuk,deukneuk and heuch etc.

Where a word bdnew and tew etc.

The spellings <ow> and <owe> (finally)for the diphthong in words like growe,growthe, thowe, howf,

The diphthong <ow> in some of thesewords, especially bef

v

As in English, in disyllabic words where the first syllable is stressed,the consonant following the singleddonnert and butter etc.T Many verbs that epresent and past participles, and past tense, as do somefor the comparative and superlative i.e. drap -- hetter - hettest.

<f, l, s> and <z> are usually doubled after short vowels i.e. baff,

nyaff, dwall, mell, bass, bDspelling exist.

aiple apple mairy marrycairy carry mainer mannerhjaiket jacket



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Consonants are not usually doubled after long vowels anddiphthongs i.e. ail, kail, gean, neep, heid, loan, heuk, stale and tynetc.

ense and past perfect of verbs

itially where it usually represents /t ʃ / in words like chield, cheetiews <r> in words like airch. Otherwise

tch> is usually used e.g. catch and pootch etc.

ch, inch, French, painch etc.

pelling <c> for /s/ is usually used before the letters <e> and

i>. Such words are generally of Romance origin, giving: censor,

itial <c> for /k/ is usually used:

efore the vowel sound (a few exceptions) spelled <ui>,

:

ai> and <ae>, and <ui>

eThe internal consonant in the past tlike sell, tell, spell, kill and coff become single giving selt, telt, spelt,kilt and coft etc.

The spelling <ch> for /x/ in words likeloch, dreich, brocht and nicht, exceptinand chowk or where it follo< The cluster <nch> is always pronounced /n ʃ / giving: brainch,clinch, dunch, hain The s

<ceevil, cedent, ceil and mediciner etc.

In Before vowels, spelled <a>, <ai>, <au>, <aw>, <o> <oa>, <oo>,<ou> and ,bbefore the diphthong spelled <ow>, <owe>,before <l> and <r>,giving caw, caw, caddie, carle, caird, cairt, cleid, creash, cou, cloot,croun, coff, corrupt, cosie, coar, cruldge, cushat, cowp, cowt, cley,

cryne, cuist and cuit etc.

Initial <k> is usually used Before the vowels spelled <e> and <ei>, <ee> and <ea>.A few exceptions with the vowels spelled <exist,



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efore <n>, giving keek, keeng, kebbock, Keith, kelter, ken, kye,

iving scantlins, sclaff, sclate, sclent, scaud,caur, scaw, scone, scoor, scunner, scrieve and scuip etc.

:

spelled <ai>, <ae> and <a(consonant)e>,nt)e> and

he terminal <ck> is used at the end of words like beck, feck, and

anged to <elt> in the past tense and

<ld> is

ast tenses) of many words. In order to achieve

ed with the <nd>,.g. haund and soond, and haundit and soondit. Entries in

before the diphthong spelled <i(consonant)e> and<y(consonant)e>,bkyte, kythe, kail, kaim and knife etc.

Initial <sc> for /sk/ is usually used:Before the vowels, spelled <a>, <au>, <aw>, <o>, <oa>, <oo>,<ou>, and <ui>,before the diphthong spelled <ow> and <owe>,before <l> and <r>, gs Initial <sk> is usually used Before vowelsbefore the diphthong spelled <i(consona<y(consonant)e>,giving skail, skaith, skelf, skelp, skeel, skirl, skive, skyme and skite

etc.

Tpuddock etc.

The terminal <le> is used in words like muckle, soople andtrauchle. This should be chpast participle to give soopelt and trauchelt etc.

In Many dialects (p.26) the terminal <d> of <nd> andusually silent but is often pronounced in the derived forms(especially p

orthographic consistency such words are spelledictionaries often include the terminal <d> in brackets, e.g.haun(d), soon(d), sen(d).In many words the final <d> of a medial <nd> is also silent. Manywords no longer have the <d> pronounced at all. Such words arenow spelled using a medial <nn> or <n>.Here spellings like bind, blind, find and wind are considered



Wir Ain Leid


r representing the vowel /ɪ/. Some writers use spellingske finn(d) in order to show the Scots pronunciation.

he final <g> in thing is often silent. It is used in writing becauseffix for the gerund or present participle.

his word is cognate with German Ding and Scandinavian ting.

or <s'>.

/x/..g. laifs, wifes, wife's, hooses, lochs and threaps etc.

usually occurs in plurals ending with <es>nd after a vowel sound or /b/, /d/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /v/, /ð/

steams, gie's, his, hers and thairs etc.

s, uiss

ting

, /n/,

.g. coorse, grilse, hoose, manse, mense and traipse. etc.Final <se> is usually pronounced /z/ after long vowels and

lj/. This has led tonumber of variants using the spellings <z>, <y>, <n> and <ng>.

nyie,

adequate foli The initial <th> in thanks, thing, awthing and think is oftenpronounced /h/.Tthe final <ing> is not the suTFinal <the> to indicate the voiced consonant /ð/ in bathe, kythe,laithe and skaithe etc.

The pronunciation /s/ or /z/ for final <s> or elided and genitiveforms with <'s>The pronunciation /s/ usually occurs after /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /t/,/θ/ andeThe pronunciation /z/a

and /ŋ/.e.g. dous, haunds, ludges, Final <ss> is usually pronounced /s/ e.g. miss, bliss, bresand wiss etc.Final <se> is more complicated and it may be worthwhile consula pronunciation dictionary.Final <se> is usually pronounced /s/ after short vowels /l//p/ and (long vowels before) /r/.e

diphthongs.

e.g. jalouse, lowse, phrase, please and uise etc.

<z> for /z/ is seldom used in Scots, though it does occur in somewords as a substitute for the older <ʒ> (yogh) representing thepronunciations / ɲ/, / ɲ j/ and /nj/. <lʒ> became /ae.g. brulzie - brulyie, gaberlunzie - gaberlunyie, senzie - se



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114 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ackenn Menzies -ingis etc.

lottal stops /ʔ/ are not indicated in writing. Many speakersotta r /t/ and sometimes /k/ and /p/,

etween two vowels.

nglish and Scots cognates

Eng s ar y d ent fromts i ellin s may be

lings of ce the 'rules'

a ' form of cots!

ifferent Consonants

in ted low ble, wherenglish has it after <m>.

English Scots English Scots

chamber chaumer shamble skemmle

timber timmernumber nummer tumble tummle

ber member memberSeptember September November November

nti nal > ilent. Ins unced.

p or ed.

candle caunle thunder thunner

Cockenzie - Cockennie, Mackenzie - M ie andM Gsubstitute a gl l stop fob E Many Scots and lish word e derived b irect descthe same source. Some insigh nto the sp g of Scotgained by comparing the spelling of Scots words to the speltheir English cognates. There are of course ex ptions toexplained here.These comparisons in no way imply English is 'corruptedS D

Scots has no 'b' the accen or any fol ing syllaE

amber lammer rumble rummle

cumber cummer thimble thimmleembers emmers

Note.

Dizember Decem

As previously me oned the fi <d> after <n is usually smany words the historic <d> in medial position is not pronoIn such words the s elling <n> <nn> is us



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wonder wunner

self sel sheriff shirra

cots often has no medial and final 'v' where English does.

delve del leave lea'

dove dou over ower

In some words Scots has no final 'th', where English does.

uncoquoth quo with wi

s

withy widdie

cots often has <k> or <ck> where English has

e of Scandinavian origin.

church kirk such sic

Scots often has no final 'f' where English does.

S

calves caur have hae

devil deil love lue

even e'en serve sergive gie silver sillerharvest hairst twelve twal

mouth mou (uncouth)

Letter Difference In some words Scots has <dd> where English has <th>.

smithy smiddie stithy stiddie

S<ch>. The Scots <k> or <ck> is often claimed to

b

birch birk larch larickbitch bick stitch steekbreeches breeks stretch streek

itchy yeukie thatch thack



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116 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

cots often has <scl> where English has <sl>.

sk lis

share skare shelf skelf

<dge>.

edge and sled sledge.

calf cauf malt maut

psaumfalse fause salmon saumon

al

lish has final <all>.

stall stawfall faw wall waw

and <owe> finally, where English

S

slant sclent slender sclenderslate sclate slice sclice

Scots often has < > where Eng h has <sh>.

shambles skemmels

Scots often has <g> or <gg> where English has

bridge brig ridge rigdredge dreg sedge segedge on egg

Note the exceptions h

Scots often has <au> where English has <al>.

calm caum palm paumchalk cauk psalm

half hauf salt sauthalse (neck) hause scald scaud

Note stalk, t k and walk.

Scots usually has <aw> where Eng

all aw hall hawball baw small smawcall caw

Scots often has <ow> medially



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boll bowe hollow howee

bolt bowt poll power rowe

gold gowd stolen stowen

Note the exception: sodger soldier.

fold fauld told tauld

Note the exceptions:

hold haud soldier sodger

Scots the position of <r> is often switched compared to the

christen kirsten rhubarb rhubrubtruff

grass girse wart wrat

cots often has a pronunciation variation between / ʃ / and /s/ in

.

has <ol(l)>.

bolster bowster knoll know

colt cowt oll

golf gowf

Scots often has <aul> where English has <ol>.

bold bauld old auldcold cauld scold scauld

solder souder

Inpreceding or following vowel in English.

burnt brunt proverb provrib

curb crib turf

modern modren wrestle warstle

pretend pertend

Smany words of Norman French origin. These words may be spelledusing <s>, <c> or <sh>

cinders shinders notice notish



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118 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

/wəl/.

o igin riginal

baptise bapteese oblige obleege

eetem pity peetyliberal leeberal position poseetion

Scots often has <-fee> where English has <-fy>.

Scots often has where English has .

simmer

<e> lish

brass bress glad gledglass gless

fast fest hasp hesp

> where English has <a>. Especially in wordsith <r> + consonant.

gusset gushet officer offisherhoarse hairsh sow (clothes) shewmince minsh vessel veshel

The <ual> in some words may be pronounced

actual gradual annual

In some words f Latin or , Scots has kept the opronunciation /i(:)/ where English has /ɪ/ or /ai/.

civil ceevil original oreeginalitem

licence leeshence spirit speerit

Note. seestem system.

magnify magnifee satisfy saitisfeemodify modifee signify seegnifee

nut nit summer

Scots often has where Eng has <a>.

clasp clesp

Scots often has <aiw

arm airm saddle saidle



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harp shairpfather faither warm wairm

> sh

long lang strong strangpat throng thrang

sob sab top tap

hase>.

bone bane one anestane

cole kail sore sair

wet weet

Scots<e>,

whelk wulk word wird

bedraggle bedraigle s

manner mainer yard yaird

Scots often has <a where Engli has <o>.

crop crap soft saftdrop drap song sang

pot

Scots often has <a(consonant)e> where English<o(consonant)

home hame stonelone lane

Note the exceptions in <ai>.

rope raip whole hail

Note. open remains so in Scots.

Scots often has <ee> where English has <e>.

fret freet well weel jelly jeely

Note the exception reid red.

often has or after <wh> and <w> where English has, or <o>.



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wirmwoman wumman

> nant e> where English has <oi>

spylechoice chyce voice vyce

Note.

ile oil queir choirryal royal

e erningwing ake of

implicity /x/ has been throughout this book.

bought bocht might v. micht

Note the exception, 'delight' comes from Old French 'deliter'.

t pronounced 'delicht' in Scots and is written (andpronounced) 'delite'. Burgh is usually written with <gh> in

whorl whurl worm

Scots often has <y or /x/ where English has <gh>.

Most dialects of Scots have a G rman like Ich/Ach rule govthe pronunciation of <ch>. <ch> is pronounced /ç/ follofront vowel, and /x/ following a back vowel. For the sas

bright bricht night nichtfight fecht rough rochfright fricht sight sichthigh heich thought thochtlaugh lauch tough teuchlight licht weight wecht

might n. maucht

The English spelling arose by analogy with 'light'. The word isno

Scots.



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<oo nglis .

about aboot out ootd roond

nd soond(healthy)

mourn murn

colour colour though tho

oun shower shouertouel

drown droun tower touer

some words Scots often has final <aw> where English has final

Scots often has > where E h has <ou>

house hoose rounmouse moose sou

our oor sound soond

(noise)

Scots often has where English has <ou>.

found fund mount muntfountain funtain mountain muntainground grund

Among the exceptions are:

country kintra thought thochtenough eneuch through througroup group tour tour

Scots often has <ou> where English has <ow> medially.

brown broun gown gouncower couer powder poudercrowd croud power pouercrown crdown doun towel

flower flouer town tounfowl foul

In<ow>.

blow blaw row (line) raw



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122 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

crow craw show shawlow law snow snawmow maw throw thraw

In some words Scots often has final<ae> where English has final <ow>.

w oft < English

a ae anadaeAmerica Americae China Cheenae

some words Scots has <ou> where English has final <ow>.

bow bou how houw

elbow elbuck

he Anglo-Saxon long <o> /o:/ became /ø/ and /y/ in older Scots,

arrow arrae pillow pillaebarrow barrae shadow shaidaebellows bellaes sorrow sorraeborrow borrae swallow swallaefollow follae widow weedaemarrow marrae window windaemeadow meidae yellow yellaenarrow nairae

Similarly in some ords Scots en has final ae> wherehas final <a>.

algebr algebr Canada C

alpha alphae omega omegae

In

allow allou cow cou

brow brou nou no

Exceptions to the above are:

bellow buller furrow furrbelow ablo minnow minnin

Tthen spelled <ui> and <u(Consonant)e> respectively. Now generallyspelled <ui> or <eu> (see below) in Modern Scots and usually



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s.his remains /ø(:)/and /y(:)/ peripheral dialects. In parts of Fife,

dia parts of , N ts d /k/ it

tra i when

done duin refuse refuise

ford fuird spoon spuin

use v. uise

moor muir (young cuithe

has.

do dae to tae

e.g. dae do, did did, duin done and dis does.

Some words descended from the long <o> now have .

brother brither mother mitherfoot fit other ither

Note. wid wood isn't descended from long <o>.

Where the Anglo-Saxon long <o> /o:/ was followed by /k/ or /x/

<oo> in English. Similarly with Scandinavian and Romance wordTAngus and Ulster /e(:)/ occurs. In northern lects andUlster /i(:)/ occurs where in Mid orthern Sco after /g/ anis /wi(:)/. In Cen l Scots and parts of Ulster t became /ɪ/short and /e:/ when long.

blood bluid palm luif board buird pool puilbrute bruit poor puircool cuil roose ruise

floor fluir school schuil

fruit fruit sure shuirgood guid Thursday Fuirsdayloom luim use n. uissmoon muin

coal-fish)

In some of the above the Central Scots pronunciationestablished itself in the spelling

ado adae shoe shae



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124 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ted to <eu> in Scots. Pronounced /(j)u/ or /(j)ʌ/ialect (p.26). Similarly with Scandinavian words.

look leuk

enough tough teuch

In some words Scots has no final <e> as in English <ure>.

ture naiture pictur

ventur

ma sh has <be>.

asideatweenayont

the sound shif epending on dd

book beukbough beuch nook neuk(cliff) heuch plough pleuch(ditch) sheuch (ravine) cleuchduck (bird) deuk (sparrow) speug

eneuchheuk hook tug teuglaughed leuch

creature craitur nalecture lectur picturmixture mixtur venture

Note. secure, siccar.

ny words Scots has initial <a> where EngliIn

because acause beneath aneathbefore afore besidebehind ahint betweenbelow ablo beyond



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he Articles

does not refer to a particular person or object.

An awfu day.

In colloquial speech a is often

ving an egg for dinner?

.yard.

So together.

lly used before nouns.

e wi an ae lass.

t

plural of a, ae, ane and anhings named by the noun.

T The Indefinite Article

The indefinite article 1 The indefinite article is a [ə], emphatic [a]. The indefinite article

becomes an before vowels.

A finger. A man. A yowe. An airm.A finger . A man. A ewe. An arm. An awful day.

used before both consonants andwels.vo

Are ye haein a egg tae yer tea?Are you ha

A seen a ingine doun the railwey yairdI saw an engine down at the railway

metimes the indefinite article is omitted al

Thair's mony ane dis that. Mony time.Many a one does that. Many a time.

2 Ae [e:, je:] is the adjectival form of ane and means 'single' or'solitary' or the 'only one' and is usua

The young man d oot the discga o

The young man lef the disco with only one girl.

3 The indefinite pronoun some is themeaning an unknown number of the t

Some o thae flouers is wiltit.



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126 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Some of those flowers are wilted.

Some people are meeting at church.

he D

1 e [ðə] refers to a particular person or object.Scots usage often prefers the definite article over the indefiniteart

He wis feelin hungert an eatit the bit breid.

Efter he telt her it wis throu she gaed aff wi the tear in her

er it w t with a tear in hereye.

s twal pe piece.Tablet costs twelve pence a piece.

They each had a stout walking stick.

Special uses of the definite article. Before the names of these the

Scots English

springThe simmer summer

umn

onanday. Monday.

The Fuirsday etc. Thursday etc.

Some fowk's trystin at the kirk.

T efinite Article

The definite article th

icle.

He was feeling hungry and ate a piece of bread.

ee.After he told h as finished she lef

Taiblet cost nnies the

Thay haed a stoot walkin stick the piece.

2asons and days of the week.

The ware

The hairst autThe winter winterThe MThe Tysday. Tuesday.The Wadensday. Wednesday



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Are you going to the game on Saturday?

It's cold in winter.

kirk. Doun the schuil.

ea. On the knock.

at the bouls.game of bowls.

He begoud the dealin.He began trading.

utter's aye gaun up.s always increasing.

es.

Th .o

Tomorrow morning.

e m ist o ye.Most of you.

Are ye gaun til the gemme on the Seturday?

Hit's cauld in the winter.

Before many nouns.

Awa til the the toun. AtOff to church. In town. In school.

Up the stair. Fish tae the tUp stairs. Fish for dinner. O' clock.

Sent til the jyle. A gemmeSent to goal. A

Doun the brae. Wi the train.Down hill. By train.

The price o the milk an the bThe price of milk and butter i

In a number of adverbial phras

The nou. e day. The morn The nicht. Just now. T day. Tomorrow. Tonight.

The morn come aicht day. The morn's nicht.

Tomorrow week. Tomorrow night.

The streen / yestreen. The morn's morn(in).Yesterday (evening).

Thegither. The baith o ye. Th aTogether. Both of you.



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128 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

iter o a poond or twa.ake of a few pounds.

year.

The definite article is often used colloquially instead of apossessive pronoun.

The wife. The guidman.My (your or his) wife. My (your or her) husband.

The wife wis in the gairden wi's.My (your or his) wife was in the garden with me.

She clawed the mutch aff me.She tore off my cap.

The sodger wis wantin the helm.The soldier was lacking his helmet.

Hou's the guidman the day?How is your husband today?

Before the names of diseases.

The measles. The brounkaities. The haingles.Measles. Bronchitis. Influenza.

The gulsoch. The cauld. The buffits. The rheumatise. Jaundice. Cold. Mumps. Rheumatism.

Before the names of trades, occupations, sciences anddepartments of learning.

Ma son's learnin the carpenterin.My son is learning carpentry.

A shillin the piece. For the maA shilling each. For the s

The corn's guid the year.The corn is good this



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He kens the chemistry gey guid.He knows chemistry very well.

She's guid at the Laitin. He canna speak the French.She is good at Latin. He can't speak French.



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130 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ouns

object,lace hese.

The gender of nouns is not indicated by their sound but by their

le, female, either sex oran inanimate object.

dug dog bick bitch

girl

e

cle.

N

Nouns are words used as the name of a person, animal,p or quality, or a collection of t 1

meaning. Nouns are either male, female, common or neutraldepending on whether they denote a ma

2 Singular nouns.

Some nouns have different forms for male and female.

Male Femaleboar boar sou sowbrither brother sister sisterbull bull cou cowcowt colt filly fillydrake drake deuk duck

eme/uncle* uncle auntie auntfaither father mither motherguidman husband guidwife wifeguid-sir grandfather auld-dame grandmotherkeeng king queen queenlad boy lassloun ** boy quean girlman man wumman womannevoy nephew niece niece

staig stallion meir maretuip ram yowe we

*eme is the maternal un**loun and quean [kwəin] are typical of northern Scotsvarieties.



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Machines, ships and boats etc., countries and the like often takethe feminine and are addressed by the pronoun she.

The bus is late today.

Regular plurals are formed by adding s.

churn – churns bobbin – bobbins

, wife the Scots plural

lifeslives s

s it takes the

o form the

rash – Ra cat ches

Some nouns are usually or only used in the plural, or they have a

ess ash(es) parritch porridge

breeks trousers severals* several

scissors

rap

erbs are

She's late the day. (The bus)

3

haund – haunds kirn – kirns pirn – pirnshand – hands

Note that in words like knife, laif, life, thief is regular.

knifes laifs thiefs wifesknives loaves thieves wive

If the singular noun ends in a sibilant (his ing) sound

ending es, or where the noun ends with an e, s, tplural.

hoose – hooses shes ch – cathouse – houses rush – Rushes catch – catches

special meaning when used in the plural.

bellaes bellows plainstanes pavement

brose soup shearsbroth soup tangs tongsduds rags tawse leather stlichts lungs*Severals refers to several persons or things.

Some nouns are only used in the plural. Accompanying v



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onsti

cauld.old.

f the more

calvescattle

ee eye een eyes

loose louse lice lice

moose mouse mice miceowse ox owsen oxen

shuin shoesteeth

n women

(en) (brothers) andtree (tree) treen (trees) existed.

So s

cod cod cod

deer deer deer deerdozens

gait goat gait goatsouse

used as if to denote their c tuent parts.

The parritch! The'r real guid the day.The porridge! It is really good today.

Thir kail will be owerThis broth will be too c

4 Scots contains a number of irregular plurals. Some o

common ones are:

Singular Pluralcauf calf caurcou cow kye

fit foot feet feetguiss goose geese geese

man man men men

shae shoetuith tooth teethwumman woman weeme

Older forms brither (brother) - brether

5 me nouns have the ame form in singular and plural.

Singular Pluralbirse bristle birse bristlescod

dizzen dozen dizzenfish fish fish* fish

groose grouse groose gr



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igsherrin herring herrin herring

pease pea pease peas

swine pigstroot trout troot trout

Th f f represents a quantity of individual 'fishes'.

. (A pair of scissors.)

Many nouns take the same form as the verb with which they are

co

Verb Noun

stap stap step

It's no ma blame. That's an ill lauch. Tak tent o the stap.t. tep.

Tae is often used in conjunction with nouns and verbs to form

traction, attachment and motionwards.

brig is gaun up.

gryce pig gryce p

horse horse horse horsesnowt bullock nowt cattle

saumon salmon saumon salmonsheep sheep sheep sheepswine pig

e plural fish represents a mass o ish. The plural fishes

Note: A scissor

Leuk at aw thae fish. A hae five fishes.Look at all those fish. I have five fish(es).

6

nnected.

blame blame faultlauch lauch laugh

stap stap stop

It's not my faul That's an evil laugh. Mind the s 7

compounds implying addition, atto

Ye shoud stop, the tae-You ought to stop, the draw-bridge is being raised.

The dealer selt the gear for the tae-come.



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d the equipment for profit.

i't.e boat along.

gdiscount.

ae-name.He keeps his dog in a lean-to. That's only his nickname.

Dim sma t or contempt arefor e noun (ies forplurals) and are often preceded by wee.

astie.The little girl. A little dog. The little beast.

YeA little bit more. You little soft headed person.

A hooseockie. The wifeockie. The muckle feardie.The big coward.

He's a aries.He's m darlings.

Nouns of measure and quantity.

Number and quantity are sometimes designated by nouns andsometimes by adjectives.After cardinal numbers, nouns of measure, usually remainunchanged in the plural. The noun is usually followed by thepre ften omitted before afol

The dealer sol

The tae-draucht o the swaw is takkin the boat wThe attractive force of the waves is carrying th

The man bocht sae muckle he wis gien a bit tae-breid.The man bought so much that he was iven more by way of a

He keeps his dug in a tae-faw. That's juist his t

8 Diminutives.

inutives expressing llness, endearmenmed by adding ie, ock or even ockie to th

The wee lassie. A wee duggie. The wee be

A wee bittock mair. wee saftie.

A little house. The little woman.

The pleuchie. daftie. Ma wee deThe ploughman. ad. My little

9

position o before a pronoun, but o is olowing noun.



Wir Ain Leid


rund.es. of land.

ile awa. Five hunderwecht.Three feet long. Four miles away. Five hundredweight.

I gave him two pounds. Six pounds (Sterling)

Twa gless o beer. A guid wheen months.eer.

She's twal year auld. Ten stane o hay.. Ten stones of hay.

Aicht score o sheep. Sieven dizzen o eggs..

A wl

No

A small quantity may be expressed by:

A small, a little. Only a little child.

.

Give me a little (bit of) oil. A (little) lock of wool.

Gie's a wee drap kail.

A wee thocht whisky. A hair o aits.A small portion of oats.

Twa poke o tatties. Fower acre o gTwo bags of potato Four acres

Three fit lang. Fower m

A gied him twa poond. Sax pund (weight).

Two glasses of b A good many months.

She is twelve years old

Eight score sheep. Seven dozen eggs

A wee drap ile. ee bit breid.A little drop of oil. A ittle bit of bread.

uns of quantity.

A wee, a bit. Juist a wee bit wean.

Gie's a wee thing(ie) ile. A tait o oo

Give me a small drop of (cabbage) soup.

A small whisky.



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136 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

A grain soordouk. A wee titch saut.A littl

A few may be expressed by:

eets. A pickle nits.A few turnips. A few drinks. A few nuts.

A somewhat larger quantity may be expressed by:

ifes.en.

uid pickle fishes.A good few fish.

.

A muckle hott muck. A daud o kebbock.. cheese.

A nievefu bere. A rowth o pouts.. oung game birds.

A gowpanfu o grosets.s.

Other expressions of measurement and quantity are:

ck o fowk thinks that.She's the pick of them all. Most people think so.

A little buttermilk. e salt.

A wheen neeps. Twa-three w

A curn o fowk. A guid wheen auld wA few people. A good few old wom

A g

A considerable quantity may be expressed by:

A hantle stanes. A great deal mairA large amount of stones. A great deal more.

Very much dung A chunk of

A fistful of barley An abundance of y

Two (cupped) hands full of gooseberrie

She's the wale o thaim aw. The fe

The hail clamjamfrie.The whole mob. All the odds and ends.



Wir Ain Leid


Gie's the tither hauf. That wis juist the tae hauf o't.

emainder may remain here.

e other.

Nouns have three cases; nominative, objective and possessive.

he possessive singular is formed by adding 's to the nominative

The bairn's fit. The wife's ring.Th

The dug's bane. The horse's heid.

Note the subtle difference in meaning of:

He said he saw a cow's head at the door.

id she saw a cow's head at the door.

Give me the other half. That was the one half of it.

A niver seen the likes o thae.I never saw anything like those.

The lave can bide here.The r

He'd taen the tane an she'd taen the tither.He'd taken one and she'd taken th

10 Case.

The nominative names the subject. The objective denotes theobject. The possessive denotes possession.

The nominative and the objective are the same.T(insert apostrophe).

The child's foot. e wife's ring.

The dog's bone. The horse's head.

He said he seen a cou's heid at the door.

(the head of a living cow looking in).

She said she seen a cou-heid at the door.She sa



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138 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

(the severed head of a dead cow).

The possessive plural is formed by adding s' to the nominative.

rings.Dugs' banes. Hooses' windaes.

win

Where the plural is not formed by adding s' or es' to the singular,'s i

Kye's milk.. Cow's milk.

1 Nouns denoting inanimate objects do not usually take thepo nging to, being

By the governed noun withthe preposition o (of) in between them.

The upper end of town. The lower end of town.

Herts-caud. Heidsheet. Hausebane.

. bed. Collarbone.

ween the nouns.

he bridge.

Yowes' horns. Wifes'

Ewes' horns. Wives' rings.Dogs' bones. Houses'

dows.

s added to the nominative plural.

Men's buits. Weemen's clash.Men's boots. Woman's gossip

1

ssessive. In such cases a sense of belo

connected with or being used for is expressed:

placing the governing noun before

The heid o the toun. The fit o the toun.

By simply forming a compound noun by placing the governednoun in front of the governing noun.

Heartburn Sheet for the top of a

By sometimes inserting a hyphen is bet

Toun-heid. Brig-end.The town centre. The end of t

Lum-tap.



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ends on word stress and

as a noun) is formed byadding in to the verb root. As in English the final e of the verb isdro

The beirin o praisents is furthie.The bearing of presents is pleasant.

The batin o dugs is ill-kyndit.The beating of dogs is cruel.

He's fond o speakin til his feres.He's fond of speaking to his comrades.

Spak o lowpin ower a linn.Spoke of jumping over a deep pool.

Bitin an scartin's Scots fowk's wooin.Biting and scratching is Scottish peoples' way of wooing.

13 Most nouns describing occupations or the person carrying outthe action implied by the verb were formed by adding ar to theverb in middle Scots. That pronunciation has become /ər/, nowusually spelled er. Some older forms spelled ar still exist.

bak baxter baker

cot cottar cottagerferm fermer farmerflesh flesher butcher jyne jyner joinerlee leear liarlowp lowper jumpermak makar poet (maker)

The top of the chimney.

The use or non use of a hyphen depmorphological behaviour.

12 The verbal noun (a verb functioning

pped.



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penter paintersaidler saddler

r - suere to sew.

pentsaidleshear shearer reapershew shewster sempster(suere)* souter cobblerwab wabster weaver

*From Latin Suto



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ronotext, or as a dummyng.

The relative indefinite refers toit iNo rred to asthe bouk and a dead body is also a corp, plural corpse.

y.That does one good. If one visits someone.

A body's sel. A body wadna skaithe thairsel.One's self. One wouldn't injure oneself.

2 Thaim is also used indefinitely.

Thaim that wants tae eat parritch can eat parritch.Those who wish to eat porridge may eat porridge.

Gie't back til thaim that's aucht it.Give it back to whom it belongs.

3 Other indefinite pronouns are:

awbody everyone onything anything

awthing everything some someilk ane each (one) somebody someoneocht anything something somethingonybody anyone

Ilk ane o ye tak a gun. Awthing's ill.

Pronouns

P uns are words used instead of nouns, noun phrases etc.already known or understood from the consubject or object (eg. it) with little or no meani Indefinite Pronouns

1 no particular person and in Scotss a body.te that in Scots a living or dead body is usually refe

That dis a body guid. Gin a body trysts a bod



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a gun. Everything is bad.Dae ye hae ocht for me?

g a tair

Does anyone know where my trousers are?

A antin tae gang til the dance the morn's nicht.Everyone wants to go to the dance tomorrow night.

Is anything good on at the cinema this evening?

Each one of you take

Do you have anything for me?

Something wis makkin a sair dirdum.Something was makin ible noise.

Dis onybody ken whaur ma breeks is?

wbody's w

Is thare onything guid at the picturs the nicht?



Wir Ain Leid


The demonstrative pronouns point out objects.

Singular Pluralthis this thir thesethat that thae thoseyon (thon)* yonder yon (thon) yonder

*Yon (thon) indicates something that is further away in spaceor time.

Thir's guid neeps. Thae's bonnie weans.These are good turnips. Those are pretty children.

Yon's a muckle tree. That'll dae fine.That's a big tree over there. That will do nicely.

Thon war grand times. This is a braw day.Those were great days - long ago. This is a beautiful day.

This dug's awfu frichtsome. That hoose is gey an braw.This dog is very frightful. That house is very nice.

Yon ben is happit wi snaw.That mountain over there is covered in snow.

Thir fowk canna thole the cauld an thae fowk disna like thesun.These people can't bear the cold and those people don't like

the sun.

In Mid Northern and North Northern Scots this and that are asplurals rather than thir and thae:

This hooses is aucht the laird.These houses belong to the landowner.

Demonstrative Pronouns



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wfu veecious.Those rams are terribly vicious.That tuips is a



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to three sets of people.

son refers .he s the son s en to.he t the erson, persons or thing or things

Personal pronoun singular.

Th objectives names theob

on singular: ye you ye, you you

3. Person singular: it, hit* it it, hit* it

The use of thoo as the 2. person familiar singular and ye as the2. person formal singular along the lines of the German 'Sie' and'Du of the twentiethcentury. They still survive in Shetland as du and you. Thoo wasoft ird person.

Thoo is... Thoo haes... Thoo will... Thoo comes...

The 1 Person singular A is always written with a capital letter.Th ften person objectivesingular me in combination with verbs. Often shortened to 's.

Lat us gang oot the nicht.Let me go out tonight.

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns refer The first per to the person or persons speakingT econd person refers to per or persons pokT hird person refers to pspoken of.

1

e nominative names the subject and the ject.

Nominative Objective1. Person singular: A I me me2. Pers3. Person singular: he he him him

3. Person singular: she she her her

* Emphatic forms.

' survived in most dialects until the beginning

en used with a verb having the same form as the th

You are... You have... You shall... You come...

e plural us is o used instead of the 1st

Gie's the haimer.Give me the hammer.



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no gaun tae come wi's? Will ye hae's Bess?th me? Will you marry me Bess?

Personal pronoun plural.

1. Person plural: we* we us, hus** usyeyou you

3. Person plural: thay they thaim them

Southern Scots and also beused as an unstressed substitute for us.

vz, ɪs, ɪz], unstressed [(ə)s, (ə)z], e hvz].ms o and yes bly

originated in Ireland are quite widespread in Scotland.orm of t usually written as

Thaim is often used indefinitely (not referring to a particular.

You'll no gar me dae ony o thae things.l me to se things.

Come Yuil we'll gie't thaim.e'll give it to them.

on the polis.If they don't give it back to us we will call the police.

No one asked us if we wanted to go.

We own that. It wasn't them at all.

ants it.Give it to those who want it.

Are yeAren't you going to come wi

2

Nominative Objective

2. Person plural: yeyou you

*We may be pronounced oo [u] in

**Us [vs, mphatic [hɪz,The plural for f you, youse e, which proba

The unstressed f haim is thum, notsuch.

person) to represent 'he', 'them', 'those' and 'whoever'

You will not compe do any of tho

When Christmas comes, w

Gin thay dinna gie's it back we'll caw

Naebody speirt at us gin we wantit tae gang.

We aucht that. It wisna thaim ava.

Gie't thaim that w



Wir Ain Leid


We are always fighting each other.

nou.They and I are not on friendly terms at present.

ally.We and they are not very friendly.

3 When two pronouns, one of which is it come together, itgenerally follows the other pronoun.

Gie's it. Gie him it. A gied her it.Give it to me. Give it to him. I gave it to her.

Thay gied me it. Did ye tell him it?They gave it to me. Did you tell it to him?

A'll gie ye it. Ye'll no gie's it back again.I'll give it to you. You won't give it back to me again.

She'll gie thaim it. A'll tell ye it.She'll give it to them. I'll tell it to you.

it may be abbreviated to 't.In eastern dialects when it is abbreviated after a vowel or a voicedconsonant it may be pronounced /d/.

A hae leukit awgates for't. A dinna care aboot nane o't.

I've looked everywhere for it. A don't care for any of it.

Ye'll see't or lang. A'll gie ye't.You'll see it before long. I'll give it to you.

A coudna dae't. That'll pit him frae't.I couldn't do it. That'll put him off it.

Us an thaim is aye fechtin.

Me an thaim's no chief the

Hus an thaim's no awfu p



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148 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

He's by wi't. He shoud pou't oot the nou.

of different persons come together the firstperson is generally put first.

g the r. Me an him's guid pals.He and I are good friends.

He's past it. (as good as dead) He should pull it out now.

4 When two pronouns

Me an you'll gan githeYou and I'll go together.



Wir Ain Leid


ossesses (owns) something.

ibutively

wir, oor ouron yer,

your yourhis

3. Person her her thair their

Alt thepo o them is

ry.carry.

behind them.

It's no aft onybody finds thair wey here.It is seldom that anyone finds their way here.

Ilka's tae dae thair bit for the kirk fête.Everyone has to do his (or her) bit for the church fête.

Note the following usage of possessive pronouns.

Come awa tae yer tea. A haena gotten ma denner yit.Come along to tea. I haven't had (got) dinner yet.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate who p 1 Used attr

Singular Plural1. Person: ma my2. Pers yer,

your your3. Person his

3. Person its, hits* its*Emphatic form.

hough the following quantitative nouns are singularssessive pronoun referring t used in the plural.

Awbody haes thair ain draff-poke tae caiEveryone has his (or her) own draff-sack to

Whan a body's wrang wi thair mynd.When a person is wrong in his (or her) mind.

Somebody's left thair fitmerks ahint thaim.Someone has left his (or her) footmarks



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150 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

til his supper.He has gone home for supper.

2 dictively or absolutely.

s yours yours yours3. Person singular: his his

hers theirs

hat's ma a ld touer. That aued is mine.

va.It's no good at all.

ose i ut thairs isna.our house wn but theirs isn't.

Thair schame for tae mak siller's mair better nor his.h n his.

Lippen til her, she kens wir thochties anent it.ideas about it.

He's awa hame

Used pre

Singular Plural1. Person singular: mines mine wirs/oors ours2. Person singular: your

hers thairsits, *hits its

*Emphatic forms.

T u ld byre's mines.That is my old tower. That that old cow sh

Are ye siccar that's yours? Hit's nae guid aAre you sure that is yours?

Yer ho s fawin doun bY is falling do

Their plan to make money is better t a

Trust her, she knows our



Wir Ain Leid


Reflexive pronouns indicate that the action turns back upon thesu

The reflexive pronouns are formed by adding sel to thepossessives (p.149). The suffix sel is usually used collectively andthe

Plural1. Person: masel myself wirsel(s), ourselves

oorsel(s)yourself yersel(s) yourselves

the sel o ye

thairsel(s)hersel herself

elf

the sel o't

He wis twa year younger nor masel.

Weel, it'll no mend itsel.itself.

Masel an Dauvit gaed hame.

Gin it wisna for masel it wadna hae happent.

A telt ye we micht can mend it wirsel.

Reflexive Pronouns

1bject.

suffix sels individually.

Singular

2. Person: yersel

3. Person: himsel,* himself thaimsel(s) themselveshissel

itsel, its*hitsel,

*Emphatic forms.

He was two years younger than me.

Well, it won't repair

David and I went home.

If it wasn't for me it wouldn't have happened.

I told you we may be able to repair it ourselves.



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Gang awa yer twa sels. Coud ye dae that yersels?s?

Ma brither kens fowk that mends awthing thairsels.es.

We can dae awthing wirsels.g ourselves.

Sels may be used independently.

Gang awa yer twa sels.Go away both of you.

2 The reflexive pronoun can be intensified by inserting ma ain ormine ain before sel. The form ma nain is the result of a wrongdivision of mine ain.

A made it aw ma ain selI made it entirely by myself.

Gie's the scissor an A'll cut it ma nain sel.Give me the scissors and I'll cut it myself.

3 The possessive of the reflexive pronoun is formed by adding ainto the possessive form of the simple pronoun.

That's ma ain dug. She canna thole her ain fowk.That is my (own) dog. She can't endure her own people.

4 The word lane or lee lane, plural lanes is used in much the sameway as sel.

She wis sittin her lane. A wis aw ma lee lane.She was sitting by herself. I was by myself. (all alone)

We gaed wir lanes. He leeved his lane.

Go away both of you. Could you do that yourselve

My brother knows people who repair every thing themselv

We can do everythin



Wir Ain Leid


ves. He lived alone.

The auld aik stuid its lane.They stood by themselves. The old oak stood by itself.

Gin ye'd hae telt him he wad hae stuid by his lane.od alone.

Is she on her own?

We went by oursel

Thay stuid thir lane.

If you had told him he would have sto

Is she by her lane?



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154 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

terrogatives ask questions.

1 d female, singular and plural.

whom?Possessive: whase? whose?

e?Whom did you see?

To whom does this house belong?

Whase shuin's thae?Whose is the television? Whose are those shoes?

Th minative and objective is

Whit, Whilk corresponding to English 'which' is consideredobsolete, whit may be used in its place.

Whit dae ye want tae yer tea?What would you like for your dinner?

Whilk gate dae A tak til the bus stance?Whit gate dae A tak til the bus stance?Which road do I take to the bus stop?

Whit haund will ye tak?Which hand will you take?

Whit dug haes the langest lugs?Which dog has the longest ears?

Interrogative Pronouns

In

Male an

Nominative: wha? who?Objective: wha?

Wha's that? Wha did ye seWho is that?

Wha belangs this hoose?

Wha's aucht the televeesion?

2 e Neuter in plural and singular no



Wir Ain Leid


Whit like is it? Whit's the time?What is it like? What time is it?

'why?'

Why must you go home?

ae ye coft thae flouers?

flowers?

Whit for no tak the dug wi ye?

Whit for no shoud A gie him it back?

3 Whit for? is used in Scots to ask

Whit for maun ye gang hame?

Whit for hWhy have you bought those

The negative is whit for no? meaning 'why not?'

Why not take the dog along?

Why shouldn't I return it to him?



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156 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

elati

elative pronouns introduce information referring to the previousart o sentence:

The kemp that won the gowd medal wis awfu prood.edal was extremely proud.

he clause 'that won the gowd medal' provides information relative

These relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns.

Th and female, and each case is that(w ed to 'at, not to be confused withthe preposition at.

Th and wham (whom) areAnglicisms found in poetry.

guid gits.All who get little good are gluttons.

The fellow who lives next door.

The people who are coming to visit.

Give it back to those who own it.

Th

R ve Pronouns

Rp f the sentence (clause). In the

The champion who won the gold m Tto the 'kemp'.

1 e relative pronoun for maleho, which, that) often shorten

e relative pronouns wha (who)

Thay are aw gluttons that little

The chield that steys neist door.

The fowk that's comin tae veesit.

Gie't back tae thaim that's aucht it.

at may be made possessive by adding 's

The rinners that's feet is sair.The runners whose feet hurt.

The man that's dug dee'd.



Wir Ain Leid


2 ronouns appear in constructions such as that +possessive pronoun (p.149)

d that his dug's deid.

The woman whose shopping is lost.

So ted. Prepositions arefrequently omitted at the end of a sentence.

Thare's no mony fowk (that) steys in thon glen.There are not many people who live in that valley.

Ma freend's a dochter (that) uised tae be in the schuil.My friend has a daughter who used to be at school.

We haed this Soothren lass (that) cam tae wir schuil.

We had this English girl who came to our school.

The machine (that) ye milk the kye (wi).The machine with which you milk the cows.

Thare's juist the ane o us (that's) been tae Cupar afore.

The man whose dog died.

The laddies that's baw's tint.The boys whose ball is lost.

The wifie that's washin wis duin.The woman whose washing was finished.

Shadow p

The laThe boy whose dog is dead.

The wifie that her messages is tint.

The man that his darg's duin.

The man whose work is done.

3 metimes the relative pronoun is omit



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e of us who has been to Cupar before.

Wh after a statement. It isno rature. Whilk maybe replaced by that, with, if necessary, a corresponding changeof

He said that he haed tint it, whilk wisna whit he wantit tae

hear.ot what he wanted to hear.

The wirkers howkit a sheuch in whilk the foonds wis liggit.nds wis liggit in.

ations were laid.

The pat wi whilk the maid byles watter.The pat that the maid byles watter wi.The pot in which the maid boils water.

There's only on

The shop (that) A bocht it (frae).The shop from which I bought it.

4 ilk as a relative pronoun is only usedw obsolete in speech but still occurs in lite

idiom.

hear.He said that he haed tint it, an that wisna whit he wantit tae

He said he had lost it, which was n

The wirkers howkit a sheuch, that the foo

The workers dug a trench in which the found



Wir Ain Leid


s

o nane none

ld ng to

thae fo ntit tae kento

aething dae in the schames.

t ba er.I got nothing back from my ten pounds.

You are either everything or nothing to him.

Negative Pronoun

naebody n onenaething nothing nocht nothing

Naebody wad hae ocht tae dae wi her.No one wou have anythi do with her.

Nane o wk wa her aither.None of those people wanted know her either.

The'r n for teenagers taeThere is nothing for teenagers to do on the housing estates.

A gat noch ck frae ma tenn

Ye're aither awthing or naething wi him.



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160 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ns

everything something somethingny a one the otherthing

ne find

the twa o ye.f you.

her

Other Pronou

ane anither one another ony anyaw ither thing everything else ony ither body anyone elseawbody everyone onybody anyoneawthing everything sic suchbaith both some someilk / ilka each / every some ither someone else

bodyilka body everyone somebody someoneither other, someither some other

each otherivery hottmony ane ma the tither

yocht an

It's no aft onybody finds thair wey thare.It isn't often that anyo s their way there.

Ye're aither awthing or naething wi him.You're either everything or nothing to him.

Ilka body kens thair ain best wey. BaithEveryone knows their own best way. Both o

Sic an sic a body's gaun tae be mairit.So-and-so is going to be married.

Thay war baith like itThey were both alike.



Wir Ain Leid


limit theirposition.

Adjectives<ie> or where words are shared with or similar to English <y>ma < <en> or <ern> are alsoused to form adjectives.Th predictably using <ie> or<y> will be found in this book. Some writers simply use one orthe o

t. gate.

The smoky chimney.

key.

.r.

ly old woman. A beautiful joyous day.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words added to nouns to qualify them or todenotation by reference to quality, number or 1 are usually formed from nouns and verbs by adding

y be used. <fu>, some>, <n> and

e internal inconsistency caused by un

ther.

A creashie cloo A stanyA greasy cloth. A stony road.

The duddie claes. The reekie lum.The ragged clothes.

The stourie brace. The grippy puggie.The dusty mantlepiece. The grasping mon

Awfu dreich wather A waefu chield.Awfully dull weathe A woeful fellow.

An awfu mishanter. A fearsome beast.An awful mishap. A fearsome beast.

A gruesome carline. A braw lichtsome day.A ghast

A winsome young man. A waesome ongaun.A charming young man. A sad going on.

The stanern waw. The treen buirds.The stone wall. The wooden boards.



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tattie-bogle.A straw scarecrow.

Th verbsmay also be used as adjectives.

ddie.The soaked dog. The scared boy.

The soopit fluir. The drucken man.

The cuisten baw. The shoddit horse.

The thrawn wifie. The thruishen corn.T

Suffixes and prefixes.

The suffix <fu> implies the subjective condition.

uithfu chield.A timid little dog. The honest fellow.

chtfu Dominie.The melancholy widow. The thoughtful headmaster.

The suffix <like> can be attached to adjectives to qualify the

me

She gied a wicelike ootcome sae weel pitten on.arance so well dressed.

The auld plane-tree wis vainishtlike.The old sycamore tree had a shrunken appearance.

A straen

2 e past participles of (p.190)

The droukit dug. The feart la

The swept floor. The drunk man.

The cast ball. The shod horse.

The obstinate woman. he threshed grain.

3

A fearfu wee dug. The s

The waefu weedae. The tho

aning.

She presented a good appe



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uffix <lin> or <lins> signifies 'way', 'condition' or'direction'.

e.It is a fierce east wind. The half-grown boy.

The prefix <cam> signifies 'awry'.

dochter.The crabbed old fool wouldn't let me see his daughter.

oud a unraivel't.The rope was so tangled that I couldn't untangle it.

ae's gey an camsteirie nowt.

A crooked walking-stick. Those are extremely unruly cattle.

Th ull of the quality of'.

krif.

the day.

The nicht wis black-like. It wis a black-kin o a nicht.a blackish night.

The s

It's a snell eastlin wind. The hauflins laddi

He wis blindlins fou yestreen.He was blind drunk last night.

The camsheuch auld gowk wadna lat me see his

The raip wis sae camshauchelt A c n

A cammelt crummock. Th

e suffix <rif> 'abundant' signifies 'f

The bairn's awfu wauThe baby is awfully wakeful.

It's a gey an cauldrif dayIt's an extremely cold day today.

4 Adjectives may be formed by suffixing <like> or <kin>.

The night was blackish. It was

Siclike fowk gars me grue.Such people make me shudder.



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5 sicsic

Such a kind of day as I've had, so cold as it is.

6 whit kin o) is used both singularly and in the plural andcan mean, depending on situation or context, 'what kind of?' or'wh whiten becomes

Whit year wis thay mairit in?

e)?

?

Ad their form in the plural, the

fol

sethis this thae these

rge

can (sic kin). With the indefinite article added siccan becomesna.

Sicna day as A hae haed, siccan cauld as it is.

Whiten (

at sort of?' With the indefinite article addedwhitna.

Whit kintra dae ye come frae?Which (part of the) country do you come from?

In which year were they married?

Whiten baccie's that?

What kind of tabacco is that?

Whiten fowk dis siclike?What kind of people do such like?

Whitna body's yon?What kind of a person is he (or sh

Whitna cou's it ye hae?What kind of a cow is it that you have

7 jectives don't usually change

lowing exceptions exist.

Singular Pluralthat that thir tho

little little muckle much, lamony many



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rather than thir and thae.

ctives point out objects.

Definite demonstrative adjectives refer to a particular person or

ite pluralthis this thir those

thayo

sic such sic suchthe

This and thir refer to objects near the person speaking.That and thae refer to objects near the person spoken to.Yon (thon) refers to objects farther off in place or time.

Northern Scots uses this and that as the plural of this and that.

s is thir?I don't like these potatoes. Whose are those children?

Dae ye see yon tree?

ric

In Mid Northern and North Northern Scots this and that areused as plurals

8 Demonstrative adje people and

object.

Definite singular Defin

that that e theseyon (thon) that n (thon) that

(the) tither the other tithers the others

A dinna like thae tatties. Whase bairn

Do you see that tree over there?

A aft mynd o yon time.I often think of that time (long ago).

He's a ht timmer-heid thon.

That man is a downright blockhead.

A haena seen him this lang time.I haven't seen him for a long time.

She haedna seen him this mony a year.She hadn't seen him for many years.



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particular

Singular Plural

ony any ony any

e dug A hae.Is any porridge left? It's the only dog I have.

tither. r anes.

ke aiples.

She bought another bag of apples.

The chields speirt whit ither haed.

ons ng er.ore The

Comparative Superlative

icher laichestlang long langer langest

If the adjective ends with ee the comparative and superlative areformed by adding -er and -est respectively e.g. wee (small), wee-

Indefinite demonstrative adjectives do not refer to anyperson or object.

the ae* the only,a certain one

anither another ither(s) others*ae is the adjectival form of ane.

Are thare ony parritch left? It's the a

A wad liefer hae the He didna hae ony itheI would rather have the other. He didn't have any others.

She coft anither po

The fellows inquired what each other had.

9 Adjective comparisons.

In single syllable words comparis are formed by suffixi(comparative) and est (superlative)The comparative expresses m or greater degreesuperlative expresses the most or highest degree.

braw nice brawer brawestheich high heicher heichestlaich low la



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Note the comparative of like - liker meaning more like.In comparative is formed byprefixing mair, and the superlative is formed by suffixing maist.

e.

The hoose is the muckle maist biggin in the toun.lding in town.

s double comparatives are used.

weeter nor hinney.an honey.

Comparative Superlativebest besthintmaist rearest

ill bad waur warst worstless leastmair most

muckle much mair maist mostist next

air and maist are used with uncountable nouns.Negative Adjectives.

er, wee-est.

words of two or more syllables the

The tree's mair muckle nor the hoosThe tree is larger than the house.

The house is the largest bui

Sometime

He's mair aulder nor me. It's mair sHe's older than me. It's sweeter th

The maist bonniest lassie.The prettiest girl.

10 Irregular comparison.

guid good betterhint rear hinder

little little leastmony many maist

naur near naurer ne(haund)

Mony, mair and maist are used with countable nouns.Muckle, m

11 Negative adjectives



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<w roughly

That wis ae wanchancie mishanter.

es na

etin.I have no money in my pocket. It's no good crying.

e the nicht.

the twa. Nane o thaim.None of the two. None of them.

wa o ye'll gang.Neither of you shall go.

Negative attributes can be expressed by adding less to the nounor verb.

sodger.The careless little boy. The pithless soldier.

hing tae dae.

an> is a negative prefix corresponding to ‘un’.

That was one unfortunate accident.

Thon bourtree is awfu wanshapen.Yonder elder tree is awfully

deformed.

The tint gear wis wanawnt.The lost belongings were

unclaimed.

Yer dochter's a wansonsie wee lassie.Your daughter is a mischievous little girl.

Negative adjectiv e and nane.The negative adjective nae is used before nouns.

A hae nae siller in ma pootch. It's nae guid gre

Thare's nae body hamThere's no one at home tonight.

Nane o

Thare'll nane o the t

The careless wee laddie. The fushionless

A hairmless wee laum. A thochtless t



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A harmless little lamb. A thoughtless thing to do.

2 Se ed asadjectives.

ive Superlativeabuin above buiner buinmaist

blomaist

aneath beneath nether neathmaistben* in benmaist

nethereasterinner

naur near naurer neist(haund)oot out ootmaistup up upper upmaist

wast west waster wastmaist

*ben is only used to refer to the innerroom of a dwelling.** In colloquial speech in is often shortened to i' in unstressedpositions before consonants and is sometimes written assuch.

13 The nouns of number, quantity and distribution are often used asadjectives, others are:

Yon's an orra chield.

That is an odd fellow.

It's no aft that the sun's oot for sae lang.It is infrequent that the sun shines for so long.

Thare's no mony fowk come.There are only a few people who have come.

1 veral nouns, adverbs and prepositions of place are us

Comparat

ablo below netherafore before foremaist, firstahint behind hinder hintmaist

doun down dounmaisteast east eastmaistin** in inmaist



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onal blast of wind.

ons.hi solete

lk m ced by

Aye nou an than thare's an antrin blast o wind.Every now and then there is an occasi

14 The interrogative adjectives are:

Interrogatives ask questi'w bThe older whilk corresponding to English ch' is now o

in speech but may occur in literature. Whi ay be replawhit.

Whilk cou's that? Whilk haund will ye takWhit cou's that? Whit haund will ye tak?Which cow is that? Which hand will you take?



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Nu 1

Ordinalfirst

nt second

x saxt sixth

event eleventhtwelfththirteenthfowerteenth

fifteent fifteenth

intiet twentieth

cond

hfowertiet fortieth...hundert hundredth

hh

mbers

The cardinal and ordinal adjectives are:

Cardinalae / ane one firsttwa two seicothree three thrid thirdfower four fowert fourthfive five fift fifthsax sisieven seven sievent seventhaicht eight aicht eighthnine nine nint ninthten ten tent tenthelieven eleven elitwal twelve twaltthriteen thirteen thriteentfowerteen fourteen fowerteentfifteen fifteen... ...twinty twenty twtwinty-ane* twenty-one twinty-firsttwenty-firsttwinty-twa twenty-two twinty-seicont twenty-se... ...thritty thirteen thrittiet thirtietfowerty forty...hunder hundred

thoosand thousand thoosandt thousandtmillion million milliont milliont



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* Usage used to be ane an twinty, twa

ccasionally the cardinal is used for the

The sieventeen September.

verses.

Ae d is used before nouns.The form wan is very widespread in Scotland, it may be aHib lace of ae or ane but aean

that cam til the pairty.The only person who came to the party.

win the bingo.I only needed one number in order to win the bingo.

The abbreviated forms of the ordinal adjectives are:

2 Numerals can be used in the plural to signify groups.

fives saxes sievens aichts...s sixes sevens eights...

an twinty etc.Oordinal.

The seventeenth of September.

We will read the aichteen chaipter, fowerteen an fifteen verses.We shall read the eighteenth c er, fourteenth and fifteenthhapt

also means the only or single 'one' an

ernian import. Wan may be used in pd ane aren't interchangeable.

The ae body

Ae day we'll hae a vacance.One day we'll have a holiday.

A wis juist wantin the ae nummer for tae

1st, 2nt, 3d, 4t. etc.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.

anes twas threes fowersones twos threes fours five

3 Multiples are:



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single dooble treeple three-ply

Groups of people arranged by number in games or activities arede

twasome, threesome, fowersome, aichtsome.

ls. A threesome at the gowf.Two people playing marbles. Three people playing golf.

?Shall we dance the eighthsome-reel?

Hou aboot a fowersome at the cairts?us playing cards?

or quarterhalf third quarter...

Other expressions involving numbers are:

bentover a few midday meal

ond

the one afternoon meal (tea) twelve months (year)

single double triple triple

4noted by suffixing some.

A twasome at the glessy bou

Will we dance the aichtsome-reel

How about four of

5 Fractions are:

hauf thrid fowert

continuing the same as the ordinal adjectives.

6

twafauld twa-three twal-oors

folded double (denner)the tane* fower-oors towm

*the tae before nouns.

He wis twafauld frae eild.He was bent double with age.



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174 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

g round.

x to mond.la six years.

ors.

rs.

7

meenit(s) minute(s)

Directly after cardinal numbers, nouns (p.130) of measure,us unch e plur

He coud rin a hunder yaird in fowerteen seicont.

It teuk him elieven meenit for tae rin twa mile.

eleven minute

A'v been waitin on her twa oor the nou.

Dinna fash, we'll win tae in guid oor.

Twa-three pals is comin roond.A few friends are comin

He'd no seen his fowks thir last sa wHe hadn't seen his people for these st

Come hame for yer twal-oCome home for dinner.

It's aither the tane or the tither.It's either one or the other.

Dinna forgit an be hame by fower-ooDon't forget to be home for tea.

Telling the time.

Time is divided into.

seicont(s) second(s)

oor(s) hour(s)

ually remain anged in th al.

He was able to run a hundred yards in fourteen seconds.

It took him s to run two miles.

I've now been waiting for her for two hours.

Don't worry, we'll get there in good time.



Wir Ain Leid


A s' bide a wee meenit langer.

ell rly..

I told you to be here on the dot. (punctually)

You've been waffling for hours and hours.

It half-hourbefore the next hour, this has largely been replaced by thesta lf-hour after the

ho ressure. A fullhour is called a stricken-oor.

ble answers are:

nock.

Risin twal. Twa meenit afore twal.nutes to twelve.

Twinty til fower. A quarter til three. Gin ten oors.ten o'clock.

The back o five. Ten efter sieven. Twinty frae sax.

I'll stay a little longer.

She shoud be here at the meenit.She should be here straight away.

The kirk b jowes ooThe church bell rings hourly

A telt ye tae be here on the meenit heid.

Ye'v been haiverin for oors an oors.

used to be standard practice in Scots to reckon the

ndard English practice of reckoning the ha

ur. No doubt through media and educational p

Whit's the time? What time is it?To which possi

Twa oors. Sax oors. Ane oors.Two o'clock. Six o'clock. One o'clock.

Hauf-aicht. Hauf-ane. Three on the kHalf-past seven. Half-past twelve. Three o'clock.

Approaching twelve. Two mi

Twenty to four. Quarter to three. Before



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st seven. Twenty to six.

midnicht midnightmorningnooncrack of dawn

creichin lood at e’en.ning.

.

e.

er.

a bed for tae wirk at the keek o day.rk at the crack of

Shortly after five. Ten pa

Other expressions connected with times of the day are:

dayligaun duske’enin evening mornefternuin afternoon nuinforenicht evening screich o dayforenuin morning sindoun sunsetgloamin just after sunset twal-oors middaykeek o day crack of dawn wee-oors early morning

The paitricks wis sThe partridges were screeching loudly in the eve

The muin gied us licht thon mirk Seturday e’en.The moon gave us light that dark Saturday evening

The mornin an forenuin wis awa cantie likThe (early and late) morning passed pleasantly.

The morn we're gaun tae hae a forenicht thegithTomorrow we are going to have a get-together in theevening.

The freenge o the lift's reid in the late gloamin.The fringe of the sky is red in the late twilight.

A wis up oot mI was up and out of my bed in order to wo

dawn.

A hae a tryst at the keek o nuin.I have an appointment at mid-day.

The nicht afore the morn A wis set on wi a dug.Last night I was attacked by a dog.



Wir Ain Leid


presented as:

cht.

ha portant properties:

y adding na.eginning of a question.

er an event or state is possible orre to do something is being expressed.

Sco used inood o

isreferhe a ect of the verb is the doer of the action,

Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

Auxiliary verbs may best be explained by using the followingsentence as an example:

Andro micht hae been biggin a bield.Andrew may have been building a shelter.

biggin is the main verb conveying the major bits of meaning in thesentence. Auxiliary verbs add bits of meaning onto the main verbbiggin the action may then be

possible - mihaving been in the past - hae / hiv (emphatic).hae [he] and [hɛ] in southern Scots. Hiv [hɪv, hʌv] and [hɛv] innorth east central and west central Scots.being in progress rather than as complete – been.

Auxiliary verbs ve two im

they can b negatede bthey can occur at the b

Modal verbs indicate whethnecessary or whether a desiThese verbs have:

no in ending.no s ending.the general properties of auxiliary verbs.

In ts auxiliary verbs are rarely the subjunctive mood (them expresses the mode or ma f an action or of a snner tate of being), the indicative (the mood of the verb that expresses fact)p red in its place.T ctive infinitive (the subj



Wir Ain Leid

178 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

the verbal idea being expressed without reference to person,nu sive infinitive (theubject is the person or thing that sustains, rather than performse a ce a xpresseditho ).

en til. ted.Is this hoose tae lat? Is this house to be let?

he present participle (in or of the present tense) with the verb tae

A'm thinkin. A'm no sayin that. A'm no carin.e.

The infinitive expresses or is in the mood that expresses the

dae do

hae / hiv* have

will will

**Probably obsolete, replaced by will.

Be

hit are ye for nou?ill you have now?

mber or time) is used in preference to the passth ction of the verb, the verbal idea on gain being ew ut reference to person, number or time

active infinitive passive infinitiveHe's no tae lipp He's not to be trus

Tbe (to be) is frequently used.

I imagine. I won't say that. I don't car 1

verbal idea without reference to person, number or time.

be becan can

daur dare

maun mustsall** shall

*Emphatic forms.

for indicates the sense of 'want'.

A'll no be for that the nou. WI don't want that at the moment. What w

A'm no for nae mair.I don't want any more.



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In icates

Shall you be there? Yes, but you shall. I'll give it to you.

.do it.

wi ppositio

A see a body will hae been speakin wi ye.

That's duin, A will can gang awa hame saitisfee'd.

In questions will is used to express 'do you wish me to?'

e? will A come roond the morn?Shall I go and get one? Shall I come around tomorrow?

Div form of dae.

hae tae come?e to come?

Sa often shortened to s' [z] (oftenillo

A s' uphaud.

Maun only expresses the conclusive meaning. Obligation is

the first person will ind simple future.

will ye be thare? Ay but ye will tho. A'll gie ye't.

A will dae that. A'll daur him dae'tI shall do that. I'll dare him to

ll is also used to indicate su n.

I see someone has been speaking to you.

That is finished, I shall be able to go home satisfied.

Will A gang an git an

is an interrogative and emphatic

Div ye hae ony? Div ADo you have any? Do I hav

ll indicates an intention. Sall isgically written 'se).

A s' wad. A s' gie ye ma warrandice.I will wager. I'll give you my guarantee. I will uphold.

Ye s' no be here - A s' aye be thare.You will not be here - I will still be there.



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Ye maun gang hame. Ye maun be forfochten..

e)

job by nine.

(Otherwise someone else will get it.)

A hae tae tak the kye oot. A hiv tae gang tae ma wark.I must go to work.

need a grannie.must other.

n o i can, git

They are allowed to play outside until eight in the evening.

en whan it teems.hool children are allowed to come in when it rains

expressed by hae tae and need tae.

You must go home You must be exhausted.(It is time to ...) (judging by your appearanc

Ye maun speir anent theYou must inquire about the job by nine.

I must take the cows out(side).

Ye need tae pent the hoose. A tae caw mYou must paint the house. I call grandm

She'll hae tae can lauch. A hae tae dae't nou.She must be able to laugh. I must to do it now.

Permissio r ability is expressed by the inf nitive use of tae and git + gerund.

A'll no can gang the morn.I won't be able to go tomorrow.

Ye can hae the day aff the morn.You may have the day off tomorrow.

Thay gat gaun til the gemme.They were allowed to go to the match.

Thay git daffin ootby till aicht in the e’en.

The schuil-bairns gits tae come bThe scheavily.



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In colloquial speech hae is often shortened to a after coud, haed,mi

He coud a duin it. A wad a haed tae dae't.ad to do it.

A wad a coud a duin it.

Past and present tense.

be am amwaswere

hae / hiv haes has* haed haddid

will will wad *** wouldcobu

daur daurs dares durst daredten his.

th. Haed may be written hid.om written

id written daed.***su(l)d [sud] is an older and literary form which is still often

*****The emphatic form of could is sometimes written cud.wɪd] in many northern dialects

He coud hae gien ye scotch.u scotch.

Ye wad thocht he haed duin it.

cht, shoud and wad.

He could have done it. I would have h

I would have been able to have done it.

2

Infinitive Present Past

is is wisare are war

dae* dis does didsall shall shoud su(l)d ** should, ought

can can ud**** couldmaun must id had to

*Haes [hez, hɪz, hʌs, hɛz]. Haes may be writHaed [hɪd, hʌd], [hɛd] in Perthshire and southern Scots and[hed] in the nor**Dae is strictly speaking a <ui> word but is selddui, Dis may be written daes and d

used. The emphatic form of shoud is often written shid/shud.****Note: Scots often omits hae (have) after wad.

Coud is pronounced [k

He could have given yo



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A daur say, it micht hae been waur.

I kent the days whan less wad serred him.have been satisfied with less.

It buid tae be. A buid tae gang.

Bairns shoud haud thair tongues.Who would have thought it. Children should keep quiet.

Many of the lambs have died.

You should learn to look before you leap.

I could of told you that. He and I have had a game.

ut not conversely. Scots usually uses weare and thay are.

is is used.

Is thae yours?

The windows were all closed. Are those yours?

We were all asleep. That will be all for now.

f. louers.Him and I are not on friendly terms. Those are pretty flowers.

You would have thought he had done it.

I daresay, it may have been worse.

I knew the days when he would

It had to be. I had to go.

Wha wad thocht it.

Mony o the laums haes dee'd.

Ye shoud learn tae leuk afore ye lowp.

A coud hae telt ye that. Me an him haes haed a gemme.

Plural subject nouns combine with is and wis.Wis may replace war b

After a sibilated consonant the full form of Is can however be abbreviated to 's.

The windaes wis aw steekit.

That'll be aw for nou. We wis aw asleep.

Me an him's no chie Thir's bonnie f



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The swallaes is come.Those are fine cattle. The swallows have come.

Those who come first are served first.

The laums is oot in the pairk.

In the singular and plural the past tense of the auxiliary verb beis xcept before or after the pronoun thaywh

Whaur wis ye gaun?were you going?

Beasts wis cheaper than.ere cheaper then.

Thay war baith ben the hoose.ere in the house.

ApNo t oftenused in written Scots.

ThAre the? equivalent to 'is there?' or 'are there?'ThWa

mair o yer kin?f your sort?

e at nicht.t.

That's fine nowt.

Thaim that comes first's first serred.

The lambs are out in the field.

usually wis or war. Eere it is usually war

Ye wis thare, wis ye no?You were there, were you not? Where

We wis gaun hame.We were going home. Cattle w

War thay baith thare?Were both of them there? Both of them w

ostrophe abbreviations.wadays only the shorter versions exist. These are no

e'r equivalent to 'there is' or 'there are.'

e war equivalent to 'there was.'r the? equivalent to 'was there?

Ance the war a man. Are the monyOnce there was a man. Are there many more o

Are the onybody in? The'r no nae timIs there anyone in? There's no time at nigh



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So es

ht can come the morn.

He micht coud dae't.

A shoud can mend the skathie.

She'll can tent the bairn.

He'll hae tae coud dae't.le to do it. (in the future)

oud muck the byre.the cow shed. (condition)

airt.

t.

that.able to say that.

She wad coud milk the kye gin she ettelt.

The'r a man doun thare.There's a man down there.

The warna hauf sae muckle dichtin duin than.There wasn't half as much cleaning done then.

uth of the Forth, Scots us many double modal constructions.

He micHe may be able to come tomorrow.

He may be able to do it. (in the future)

I ought to be able to repair the fence.

She'll be able to look after the child.

He'll have to be ab

He shoud coud tak it wi him.He ought to be able to take it with him. (in the future)

The lad maun cThe lad should be able to clean

The horse maun can hurl the c

The horse can surely pull the car

Ilka bairn in the toun will can sayEvery child in town ought to be

She would be able to milk the cows if she tried.



Wir Ain Leid


ed to be able to swim far, but not now.

Ulster Scots still uses the older present habitual be [bi:] and besing that extends over a period of time.

e. They play football on Seturday.

elfast.

Ne

The auxiliary verbs are usually negated by affixing na. Somechange their spelling and / or pronunciation in the process.

Infinitive

dae dinna* don't

maun maunna mustn't

won't

aena may hinna.

Thay uisst tae coud soum faur, but no the nou.They us

[bi:z] for a state of be

It dis be rainin here aft. Thay be playin fitbaw on Seturday.It often rains her We be frae Coleraine. She bes wirkin in Belfast the nou.We are from Coleraine. She is now working in B

Burns Nicht dis be celebrate in Ulster.Burns Night is celebrated in Ulster.

Fish bes selt at the mercat ilka Friday.Fish are sold at the market every Friday.

We bes at the dancin ilka Seturday.We go dancing every Saturday.

3 gative infinitive.

be binna be notcan canna can't

daur daurna daren'thae haena* haven't

sall** sanna shan'twill winna

*Dinna and h be written daena and



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inna.Note disna and haesna which may be written daesna and

by

:

f the l except immediately following a

s .rated from the verb by somending s (p.200).

Binna feart. A haena ony ingans.aven't any onions.

. You mustn't go.

She has no intention to wash the floor.

l her h .He daren't tell her he was on a drinking bout.

He canna heeze thon muckle stane.'t g ver there)

shortened to di' [de] and

it wis.

Divna is an emphatic and interrogative form of d

hisna.** Largely obsolete. Replaced will and winna.

These usually occur

In all persons o plurapersonal pronoun.Where the ubject is a plural nounWhere the plural pronoun is sepaother word or words. See The verb e

Don't be scared. I h

A dinna ken yer brither. Ye maunna gang.I don't know your brother

He winna skelp the wean. A daurna tell.He won't slap the child. I daren't tell.

He maunna tak mair aiples.He mustn't take more apples.

She sanna wash the fluir.

He daurna tel e wis on the bash

He can lift that lar e stone (o

In colloquial speech dinna is oftencanna to ca' [ka].

Di' dae that. A di' ken wha



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who it was.

a' dae that.He can't tell you where it is. I can't do that.

Negative present.

am amna am not

haes haesna hasn't

*Disna may be written daesna.

wi'san you arena helpin ava.

and you aren't helping at all.

She hasn't seen him and he doesn't know where he is.

Am

5

war warna weren't

Don't do that. I don't know

He ca' tell ye whaur it is. A c

4

Present

is isna isn'tare arena aren't

dis disna* doesn't

A amna gaun hame acause she isna comin

I am not going home because she isn't coming with me

She haesna seen him an he disna ken whaur he's at.

and are usually take the full form of the adverb.

A'm no weel. Ye're no blate.I'm not well. You're not shy.

Negative past.

Pastwis wisna wasn't

haed haedna* hadn'tdid didna didn't



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shoud shoudna shouldn’t

micht michtna mightn't

ch

ae gie's a haund.

e in winter

en whaur't is.it is.

muckle thocht.ought.

His new shirt didn't fit. He ought not annoy himself.

A wadHe wouldn't come. I wouldn't eat it if you paid me.

it.I couldn't say anything about it. I couldn't bear to think of it.

A coudna dae't. A michtna hae tae.I couldn't do it. I mightn't have to.

Interrogative sentences (questions) usually begin with one of theauxiliary verbs followed by the subject unless they begin with aninterrogative pronoun or adverb.Div is an emphatic and interrogative form of dae.

Am A no richt? Are ye siccar? Wha did ye see?Am I not right? Are you sure? Who did you see?

wad wadna wouldn'tcoud coudna couldn't

*Note haedna whi may be written hidna.

A wisna gaun tae big a hoose in the winteran thay warna gaun t

I wasn't going to build a housand they weren't going to help me.

Daena speir at him he michtna kDon't ask him he mightn't know where

A haedna gien the seetiationI hadn't given the situation much th

His new sark didna ser. He shoudna fash hissel.

He wadna come. na eat it gin ye peyed me.

A coudna say a hott aboot it. A coudna beir tae think on



Wir Ain Leid


Div ye no ken? Canna ye come?

and the negative answer is na or

If no auxiliary verb is used, the sentence may begin with a verb.

Where did you hear that? Where did you go to school?

Dinna ye ken?Don't you know? Don't you know? Can't you come?

Can ye no come? Wad ye like a bittock?Can't you come? Would you like a bit?

The affirmative answer is aynae, or colloquial naw.

D'ye want an ice? Ay thanks!Would you like an ice cream? Yes please!

D'ye want yer heid duntit? Nae!Would you like your head bashed? No!

D'ye ken whaur Rab is? Na.Do you know where Robert is? No.

Think ye sae? Cam ye by Fawkirk?Do you think so? Did you come past Falkirk?

Whaur haurd ye that? Whaur gat ye yer schuilin?



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190 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

erbs

n, occurr . ced:e present t

tense e r have).e present

uld have

im lish. A'mame aid

been

nen ter.

nn ir.tomor n ov

t, gi in

erf their

after aw

V Verbs indicate an actio ence or state Events can be plain present tim i.e. the ense e.g. is (is).in past time i.e. the pas .g. wis or hae / hiv (was otas having taken place in the past but are relevant to thtime, the perfect. e.g. haes (has).

1 Scots often uses the continuous tense w re Englishhe woa simple tense.

A'm thinkin means much the same as 'I agine' in Engdoutin means much the as 'I'm afr ' in English.s

A'm thinkin we wad telt tae gangI imagine we would have been told to leave.

A'm doutin that thare will be wittins a t the mishanI'm afraid there will be news about the accident.

This also occurs with other tenses and verbs.

A'll pit ma buits on the morn, an be ri in ower the muI'll put my boots on row and ru er the moor.

Ye wad git a sair fric n he wis com alive again.hYou would get a terrible fright if he came back to life.

2 The past tense and the past perfect of strong verbs.

Strong verbs form the pastvowels.

and past p ect by changing

In some verbs the past perfect is for by adding nmedand r.



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articiple)

(d) n)

drink drink drank drucken, drunkendruive, driv

faw fall fell fawn

find find fand fund

freeze eze fruize frozen

de, hod hidden, hodden

hitten

mistak istake misteuk mistaen

read read rade read(en)

ride ride rade rid(den)

Infinitive Past Past perfect(Present tense) (Past tense) (past p

be be wis, war beenbate beat bate batenbeir bear, carry buir bornbegin begin begoud beganbend bend bent bentbid bid bid, bade biddenbind bind band bundblaw blow blew blawnbluid bleed bled bledbide endure bade biddencan can coudcast cast cuist cuistencome come cam, come cam, come(ding strike dang dungdraw draw drew drawn

drive drive druive

fesh fetch fuish fuishen

flee fly flew flewenfling fling flang flungforgit forget forgat forgotten

fregit got gat gottengreet cry grat gruttenhide hide ha

hit hit hatlat let luit latten

mquit rid, quit quat quat, quitten

rin run ran, run ran, run



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192 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

enn

sall and uld.

cons ge their

the south.dition o wh finitive ends

n origin do not ad or ed in the

me ve d d, en or n

ending ( pro /.

shae shoe shod shodditshall* shall shoudshear shear, clip shuir shornsit sit sat sittenslide slide slade sliddenspeak speak spak spokenstaund stand stuid stuidenstraw strew strawed strawnstrick strike strack strickenstrive strive struive strivensweir swear swuire sworntak tak teuk taenteir tear tuir tornthresh thrash thruish thruishthrive thrive thruive thri'en, thriveweir wear wuir wornwin reach / won wan wunwrite write wrat(e) written

*Also older forms s(o)ud /s 3 The past tense and the past perfect of weak verbs.

Verbs that end with b, d, g, k, p and t by adding it.Verbs that end with il, en, ch, sh, ss and f by adding t.Verbs that end with a onant followed by le chanending to elt.Verbs that end with r have either t or (e)d, especially inOtherwise by the ad f ed or d ere the inwith a vowel sound or silent e.

Verbs that end with ee by adding 'd.Verbs of French or Lati d t, it, dpast perfect.The past perfect of so rbs is forme by adding eafter aw.In some dialects the e)d may be nounced /t

Infinitive Past Past perfect



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to

nditother

acquent acquaint acquentit acquentawe owe aucht auchtbend bend bent bentbirrie bury birriet birrietbou bow, bend boud boudburn burn brunt bruntbuy buy bocht bochtbyle boil bylt byltcaw call, drive cawed cawedcairy carry cairit cairitdee die dee'd dee'ddow to be able docht dochtdrap drop drappit drappitdreid dread dreidit dreiditdroun drown drount drount, droufash trouble, b fasht fashtfear fear/scared feart feart

fill fill filt filtgae* go gaed gane, wentgar compel gart gartgaither gather gaithert gaitherthae have haed haen, haedhurt hurt hurtit hurtitkeep keep keep(i)t keep(i)tkeek peep keekit keekitken know kent kentkill kill kilt kiltlaid load laid(it) laid(it), laidenlear learn leart leart

leave, lea'leave left leftlee lie (fib) lee'd lee'dlicht light lichtit lichtitlift lift liftit liftitlig lay liggit liggitloss lose lost lostlue love lued lued



Wir Ain Leid

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repair

redd arrange redd redd

rowe roll rowed rowed

said sain, saidsee*** see see'd, saw seen

socht

ser serve serred serred

skailt skailt

slippit slippit

souk suck soukit soukit

eep soopit soopitspeir inquire, ask speirt speirtspyle spoil spylt spyltstang sting stang(i)t stangit

stastap stop stappit stappit

lowse loosen lowsed lowsedleuk look leukit leukitlike like likit likitmairy marry mairit mairitmean mean meant meantmend mend, ment, mendit ment, menditmey may michtmiss miss misst misstmynd mind, remember mynt, myndit mynt, mynditneed** need needit needitpent paint pentit pentitpey pay peyed peyedpou pull poud poudrap rap rappit rappit

rot rot rottit rotten

saw saw (wood) sawed sawn

say say

seek seek socht(en)send send sent sent

shae shoe shod shoddenshairp sharp shairpit shairpitshuit shoot shuitit shottensinge singe singed singedskail spillsleep sleep sleepit sleepitslip slip

soum swim soumed soumedsoop sw

stap step stappit ppit



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httaitho

walk tratreadit, treaden

** uiswad(dit)wa

r chtirth befall wo

isyir

rnative.ve is used co dic

g.

w jurnal.u p e teapot?

Note ce b n the verb d thed wi means 'used to' in the sense of being

in then at

red past.nce b e

So e verbs have both stron s, especially in the

streek stretch streekit, strauc strauchttaigle hinder taigelt geltthink think thocht chttraivel travel, traivelt ivelttread tread treadit, treadtuim empty tuimt tuimtuise** use uised edwad wed wad(dit)wale choose waled ledwirk***** work w ocht wrow to wort rdwiss wish wisst w styird bury yirdit dit

* Gang ([gaŋ, gan], Mid Northern [gjaŋ, gɪŋ]) is an altefor gae** The rb see lloquially to in ate a desire to behanded somethin

See's o er thon Coud ye see's the teapat?Pass me that magazine over. Could yo ass me th

*** the differen etwee uise (use) announ uiss (use). Uisein the habit of or familiar with. Uisst tae means 'used to'sense of something fulfilling a functio or something thoccur in the**** Note the differe etween the verb wirk (work) and thnoun wark (work).

4 m g and weak formpast perfect.

Infinitive Past Past perfect



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196 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

git

iddenst,

caucht,

link it it

it

n

te home

edt pit

[hi:rd or he:rd]

leuch, laucht leuchen, lauchtleap leap lap(e), leapit lip(pen), leapit

made, makkit mademaw mow mew, mawed mawn

pat, pit pat, pit(ten)

eat eat ett, eatit eatenbake bake beuk, bakit beuk, bakenbig build bug, big biggen, biggitbrak break breuk, brak brucken, brakbring bring brang, brung

brocht(en) brochten(en)bide stay bid, bade bid, bade, bburst burst barst, bra bursten,

burstit burstitcatch catch cotch, cotch(en),

catcht caucht, catchtchuise choose chuise, chuist chosen, chuistcleid clothe cled, cleidit cled, cleiditcleek hook, claucht, cleek claucht, cleekcraw crow crew, crawt, crawncreep creep crap, creepit cruppen, creepcome come cam, comed come(n), comeddae do did, duin duin

daur* dare durst daurd*, durstdrink drink drank drunken, druckefecht fight focht, feucht, fochten,

fechtit feuchten, fechtiflit mov flittit flittit, flittenflyte scold flait, flytit flytitgie give gae, gied gien, giedgrowe grow grew, growed grawn, growgrip seize grap, grippi grippen, griphae have haed haen, haedhaud hold held, haudit haudenhear hear haurd, heard haurd, heard

hing hang hang, hingit hung, hingitlauch laugh

lowp jump lowpit lowpen, lowpitmak make

pit put



Wir Ain Leid


pruived pruived, pruivenquit rid, quit quat(e) quat, quitten

uive, rived riven, rivedw, sawed sawn, sawed

climb sclam, sclimmt sclimmt, sclumsauld, seltsetten

shak shake sheuk, shakkit shakken, sheuken,

shape shape shape shapen shapit,

uit shoot shot, shuitit shot(ten), shuititsing sing sang, singit sung, singit

edspittit

spreid spread sprad, spreidit sprad, spreiditack, sticken

stickit,

steal steal staw, stealt stowen, stealteitit swatten, sweitit,

teacht, taucht, teachttell tell tauld, telt tauld, telt

thr wnthr eidit

treat treat treat(it) treat

wuishen, washtweet wet wat, weetit wat(ten), weetit

wund, windit,

*The past perfect of daur when followed by a noun or complex

In simple sentences Scots prefers the word order Subject - verb –

pruive prove

rive tear rsawe sew sesclimsell sell sauld, seltset set set

shakkit

shew sew shewed shewn, shewedsh

snaw snow snew, snawed snawn, snawspit spit spat, spittit spitten,

stick stick stack, stickit st

sweit sweat swat(tit), swteach teach taucht,

thraw throw, twist ew, thrawed threwen, thrathreid thread eidit thred, thr

tyne lose tyned, tint tyned, tintwash wash wuish, washt

wind wind wand, windit

verb phrase is daurd.

5adverb - (adjective) object.

He sneckit aff the licht.



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198 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

oisted the heavy stones up.

verb - (adjective) object – adverb.

ed with verbs) means 'in orderto'.

A gaed for tae git it.He came to eat his dinner. I went to get it.

d in.There was space to get your hand in.

p a gemme.You'll come to make up a game.

or tae see't.He meant to go. They all went to see it.

No llowed by a pastparticiple (referring to an action that is past).

The child would like to be taken home at four o' clock.

My car needs to be washed.

In Scots want also has the meaning 'to be lacking'.

antit the means.cked the means.

He switched the light off.

She hingit oot the washin.She hung the washing out.

The wirkers heezed up the wechty stanes.The workers h

English prefers Subject -

6 The infinitive marker, for tae (us

He cam for tae eat his denner.

The war room for tae git yer haun

Ye'll come for tae mak u

He ettelt for tae gang. Thay aw gaed f

7 te that want and need are regularly fo

The bairn wants taen hame at fower oors.

Ma caur needs washt.

A didna want the will but A wI didn't lack the will but I la



Wir Ain Leid


The young bride disna want tae dae wantin the new shuin an

ide doesn't w out the new shoesAnd trousseau.

No and se

9 before verbs to strengthen them and

A begrudge no gaun tae see ma grannie.ndmother.

The Pape's gaun tae besaunt thon mairtyr.at martyr.

She beteacht aw her siller til the man frae the insurance.

Ye'll hae tae besmairten yersel afore ye gae oot.

The rievers bewaves thair veectims.

Dinna ettle tae begowk me.

Sae lang's fowk's born barefit the souter winna want a job.As long as people are born barefoot the cobbler won't lack a job.

muntin.The young br ant to do with

8 te the uses of leuk em.

It leuks like thay winna come.It looks as if they won't come.

It seems like naebody's hame.It seems as if no one is at home.

The prefix be can be used

to make nouns into verbs.

I regret not going to visit my gra

The Pope is going to canonise th

She entrusted all her money to the insurance agent.

You'll have to tidy yourself up before you go out.

The robbers lay in wait for their victims.

Don't attempt to fool me.



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200 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

10 he verb inflexion s. (Northern Subject Rule) When a verbtense, the

verb remains the same.

WeI come first. We go there.

that fine.I know that well. We know that well.

ay say he's ower auld.They come to do it. They say he is too old.

e laddies? Thay'v went.They are coming too. The boys? They have gone.

The verb ending s, occurs:

In ral ollowing apersonal pronoun (see above).

Us auld fowk kens that fine.We old people know that well.

ays sae.so.

ies efter.afterwards.

.pment.

Timmediately follows a personal pronoun in the present

A come first. gang thare.

A ken that fine. We ken

Thay come for tae dae't. Th

Thay are comin an aw. Th

all persons of the plu except immediately f

Thaim that says he's ower auld.Those who say he is too old.

It's us that gangs til the schuil.It's us who go to school.

You anes says that ilka day.You ones say that every day.

That's whit thay caws it here. It's us that sThat is what they call it here. It's us who say

Thaim that dis thair hamewark gits sweetThose who do their homework receive sweets

It's thaim an us that haes aw the graithIt's us and them who have all the equi



Wir Ain Leid


Me an you kens that fine. Thaim an us gangs thegither.Us and them go together.

Him an her gies nae grief.ble.

Me an her dis bonnie pentins.

Thaim an him haes braw motors.

Where the subject is a plural noun.

Ma brakes haes went.

Fowk that comes unbidden, sits unserred.

ts.Old men die and children soon forget.

When the cows come home.

As the days get longer the cold gets stronger.

k that haes sair feet canna daunder.People who have sore feet can't go for walks.

hat dis guid gangs tae hieven.Children who do good go to heaven.

Where the subject of the verb includes two pronouns.

You and I know that well.

Him and her don't cause trou

Her and I do nice paintings.

He and they have nice cars.

Weemen kens that fine.

Women know that well. My brakes have gone.

People who come uninvited, sit unserved.

Auld men dees an bairns suin forgi

Whan the kye comes hame.

As the days lenthens the cauld strenthens.

Fow

Bairns t



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202 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

b by some

il are.ere.

izza.

inks h re

Some people from Jedburgh thinks he's right, but others from

Where the infinitive is used for a narrative past the verbso en in the first person singularand after a single personal pronoun.

And in we came.

e nou A ae come the morn.id. w.

cative (the mood of the present tense expressingfact).

The present indicative is usually formed by adding s to theinf

ve Present indicative

Where the plural pronoun is separated from the verother word or words.

Us twa wh es gangs thUs two sometimes go th

Us three whiles haes pUs three sometimes have pizza.

You anes says whit you means.You ones say what you mean.

You anes aye dis that on a Seturday.You ones always do that on a Saturday.

Some fowk frae Jeddart th e's richt, but ithers frae hemainteens the contrair.

Here maintain the opposite.

metimes takes the ending s ev

A niver sees him nou. An in we comes.I never see him now.

Cut that oot th says. A says no tStop that now I sa I said not to come tomorro

11 The present indi

initive.

Infiniti



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greet cry greets crys

juidge judge juidges judges

skail spill skails spillsm

smue smile smues smiles

wirk work wirks works

He knows where to go.

ays to look after your car.

2 Int gin with a verb insteadof

ast Athol?

Single syllable verbs used to be negated by affixing na or nae.

I don't care a bit. He doesn't know where she is.

eat eat eats eatsgie give gies gives

hae have haes has

lowp leap lowps leapspech pant pechs pants

skelloch screa skellochs screamsshak shake shaks shakes

smuirich kiss smuirichs kisses

wiss wish wisses wishes

She dis that aw the time. He kens whaur tae gang.She does that all the time.

She washes the fluir ilka Monanday.She washes the floor every Monday.

It peys tae tak tent o yer caur.It p

1 errogative sentences (questions) may be

an auxiliary (p.177).

Think ye sae? Cam ye by Athol?Do you think so? Did you come p

13 Negative verbs.

A carena a tait. He kensna whaur she is.



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204 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ken whaur she is.

yit. He'll no care a tait.I'm not finished yet. He won't care a bit.

Th nse

gang till the

I nearly bought the holiday, but I couldn't go until the end of t.

A niver gotten stairtit till nine. A will niver iver dae drogs.at no time take drugs.

Negative or unpleasant attributes may be indicated by the prefixmi

That wickit man mislippens his bairns.

eemptoms.toms.

The painter was extremely dismayed by the downpour.

4 In rring to an action thatis roughly contemporaneous ) was formed by adding and to the

A amna duin yit. He'll carena a tait.I'm not finished yet. He won't care a bit.

These are now usually replaced by modal verb forms or no.

A dinna care a tait. He disnaI don't care a bit. He doesn't know where she is.

A'm no duin

e usual negative with past te verbs is niver.

A naurhaund coft the haliday, but A coudnaHint end o Augist sae A niver coft it.

August so I didn't buy i

I didn't get started until nine. I will

s.

That wicked man neglects his children.

The mediciner miskent the sThe physician mistook the symp

A misdout wir lads'll win the gemme.I doubt our boys will win the game.

The penter wis sair mistrystit wi the onding.

1 middle Scots the present participle (refe



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unciation had becomeindistinguishable from that of the verbal noun in most dialects.Du evive theold modernpronunciation the form in is used here.In final e is dropped whenfor verb ends with ie the iechanges to y.

He came bearing presents. He was staying outside.

th.He hated having to work on Sunday.

She wis batin the dug.

He's aye cairyin on lik a daft fuil body.id fool person.

The dug wis coueryin doun whan the thunner clappit..

One common word survives with a form of the older participle.

He was always willing to do it.

The laums willintly gaed til the slauchter.

The lambs willingly went to the slaughter.

Note that the irregular present participle of gae is gaun.

A'm gaun hame, thare's nocht tae dae.I'm going home, there is nothing to do.

verb. By the twentieth century the pron

ring the Scots revival some Scots writers started to rer form spelling the present participle an. In line with

words like bide, side, ride and hate theming the present participle. Where the

He cam beirin praisents. He wis bidin ootby.

He wis hatin haein tae wirk on the Sauba

She was beating the dog.

He's always behaving like a stup

The dog was cowering when the thunder clapped

He wis aye willint tae dae't.



Wir Ain Leid

206 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ive use of the present participle.

ht, are ye?o ope tonight, do you?

a word you say.

Scots prefers the use of present

th wn.

Progress

He wisna likin it an the lassie he wis wi wisna likin it.He didn't like it and the girl he was with didn't like it.

We warna wantin tae big a new hoose.We didn't want to build a new house.

Ye're no intendin tae open thon bottle o wine the nicYou don't intend t n that bottle of wine

He's no liftin a wird ye say.He doesn't understand

participle to the infinitive.

Thay aye conteena wirkin till the whistle blaws.They always continue to work until the whistle blows.

He stairtit speakin til his feres.He started to speak to his comrades.

It wis glaikit lea'in the dug in the hoose its lane.It was thoughtless to leave e dog in the house on its o

Ettle at eatin less gin ye're ower wechty.Try to eat less if you're over weight.



Wir Ain Leid


or other adverbs,or accompanying

ircum

orlly when they are placed after verbs.

ember to proceed carefully.

Adareadjective ends in ie the adverb ma by changing ie to ianTh ctably using <lie>

simply use one

backwards ilkawey everyway

ays

why?

Adverbs

Adverbs are words added to verbs, adjectivesexpressing some modification of the meaningc stance.

1 nerally adverbs take the same form as the verb rootGeadjective, especia

It's real guid ale. A'm awfu fauchelt.It's really good ale. I'm terribly tired.

Mynd an caw cannie.Rem

2 verbs are mostly formed by suffixing ly or lies. Some adverbs

formed by suffixing s, lins, gate(s) and wey(s). Where they be formed

d adding ly.e internal inconsistency caused by unpredi

or<ly> will be found in this book. Some writersor the other.

aiblins perhaps ilkagate everywayairselinsawgates everywhere maistlins almostbrawly splendidly mebbes maybebrawlies splendidly onygate anywaycannily cautiously onyweys anywhereendweys st sidelins sidewraight on

geylies rather much whit wey how?hauflins half, partially whiles sometimeshidlins secretly

Ye aiblins micht come ower.Perhaps you might come over.



Wir Ain Leid

208 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Some adverbs are formed using the prefix be.

t the brigThe shepherd's hut is to the west of the bridge across the

Betimes ye hear a gowk in the shaw.in the copse.

n

The caller nor’lin wind blew athoot lissins.

Adjectives used as adverbs.

Adjectives usually remain unchanged when being used asadverbs.

tae ye.I'm very busy. I'm terribly obliged to you.

an daft.Take it easy/be careful. He's quite mad.

eel the day.The dog was nearly mad. I'm very well today.

He's richt fou the nicht. She wis greetin sair.He's very drunk tonight. She was crying bitterly.

Thon baurley-bree gangs doun brawlies.That whisky goes down splendidly.

3

The shielin's bewas ower the burn.

stream.

Sometimes you hear a cuckoo 4 The suffix le implies direction towards, lin(s) implies directio

from.

He gaed twa mile eastle.He went two miles eastwards.

The fresh north wind blew without respite.

5

A'm awfu thrang. A'm tairible obleeged

Caw cannie. He's cle

The dug wis naurhaund wuid. A'm real w



Wir Ain Leid


He's no sair pleased. Her tongue gangs constant.leased. nstantly

Anything else. I was struck quite dumb.

Am

haurdly hardly, barely

thoroughly likely probably

letely

fully* fully geyly a good deal

uite', 'rather more than', 'agood deal' and 'on the whole'.

er fully nor the floor.I knew him very well. A good deal courser than flour.

lly that. A s' likely be thare.

s.

He's not greatly p Her tongue is cowagging.

A haed clean forgotten. Nae ither body.I had quite forgot. No body else.

Ony ither thing. A wis fair dumfoondert.

ong the few exceptions are:

alanerly entirelybrawly splendidly,

feckly mostly shuirly surelyfreely comp uncoly very much

*Fully expresses the sense of 'q

A kent him brawly. Coors

FuQuite that. I shall probably be there.

A coud haurdly thole the dule.

I could barely endure the suffering.

He wad shuirly gie't whase aucht.He would surely give it to whom it belong



Wir Ain Leid

210 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

an daft. A'm clean duin.He's quite mad. I'm quite exhausted.

t. icht.I was struck quite dumb. He's quite drunk to night.

Scots has a number of words that express the concept of 'very'.

tairib nowt.

No michty muckle. Thae's real fine neeps.

leased about it. That's a very old one.

ny adjectives when the

Je foruisua

ordina Jeanie's usually a good child.

I told you that doesn't normally happen.

7 terrogative and relative adverbs.

The words fair and clean also express the sense of 'quite'.

He's cle

A wis fair dumfoonder He's fair clean fou the n

He wis taen awa awfu suddent.He was taken away very suddenly.

Thae's le fineThose are exceedingly fine cattle.

Not very much. Those are very fine turnips.

He's no sair pleased wi it. That's a richt auld ane.He's not greatly p

6 Adverbs may also be formed from ma

preceded by the preposition 'for'.

Ay that's the fare for ordinar. anie's a guid bairnl.Yes that's the ry fare.

The politeecian gied a better speech nor for ordinar.The politician gave a better speech than as usual.

A telt ye that disna come on for common.

In



Wir Ain Leid


Interrogatives ask questions and relatives refer to the precedingpa out. Some of theco lated to uns in form andmeaning.

herehou how whilk* which

hit f than then whiten** what kind of

whit wwhy

this this yon (thon) that over there

therewha who

way

* Whilk is now obsolete but may occur in literature. Whilk may

efinite te s whitna'what kind of a'.

AdverbsPlace Time Manner or Case

gative: why? whaur? whan? whit wey?r?

, why,it wey,

hit forDemon- this, that, here, thare, nou, than, this wey,

on yonder, yon time sae, that,thonder yon wey

thi distance.

rt of the sentence. Demonstratives pointmmonest adverbs are re the prono

here whaur where

nou now whit whatsae so w or why

thare there ey whythat that why

this wey this way yonder(thonder) over

whan when yon (thon) wey that

be replaced by whit.**With the ind article added whi n become

Pronouns

Intero- wha? hou? why?

whit(en)? whit foRelative: why whaur whan hou

whit wh

w

Strative: yon, th

Yon (thon) and yonder (thonder) refer to ngs at a



Wir Ain Leid

212 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

him? ??

thare. job?e. id you ta

She was so proud.

wey no?

t.

Many prepositions of place and time are used adverbially.

ablo below ahint behinddoun down

afore before up up

Ad

aboutsr off

abreed abroad inby inside

Hou? is often used to ask for a reason, as is why?

Hou did ye no speir at Hou noWhy didn't you ask him Why not?

Bide Hou come ye teuk theStay ther Why d ke the job?

He wis weel whan A seen him. It's no that ill.He was well when I saw him. It's not so bad.

Why wis ye no comin? Whaur ye gaun?Why weren't you coming? Where are you going?

Whan did he come? A dinna think it.When did he come? I don't think so.

Hou's aw wi ye? She wis that prood.

How do you do?

Gang ower yonder. Whit for? WhitGo over there. For what reason? Why not?

A will that. Whit for no? A telt ye thaI'll do so. Why not? I told yo so.

8

aboot about

abuin above oot out

verbs of place.

aback behind here awa hereabeich aloof hyne awa fa



Wir Ain Leid


in ower insidenear, nearly

ajee awry naurby near, nearlyanyway

tby outsideawa away, along oot ower acrossawa aff leaving ower farther off

off home owerby over the wayewherewhere

back back thare awa thereaboutsthare idehegit

ewest near, close by whaur wherewhaur awa whereabouts

'er where everhame home yont along, through

Och! Whaur awa gat ye that auld creukit penny?uts did y ed old penny?

She fuish in ower the bottle an pat doun the kebbock.e and put the cheese down.

He wrocht ootby. Oot ower her bed.ors.

Come awa ben an gang but.

d go into the outer room.

The cooncil's schames gangs aft agley.

Sit yont a bittock. Shut tae the door.Close

aff off agley off the straight naur(haund)

asteer astir onygateaside beside oo

awa by at home,

awgates everywhere somegate somayont beyond. somewey some

backarts backwards oot outsby past t her together

faur farforrit forwards whaur e

haufgate(s) half-way

Oh! Whereabo ou get that crook

She brought over the bottl

He worked out of do Out of her bed.

Come on into the inner room an

The council's plans often go wrong.

Sit a bit farther along. the door.



Wir Ain Leid

214 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

A bide but an ben wi him.

Here awa, thare awa, haud awa hame.

The'r no sic a thing here awa. Come inby.There's no such thing hereabouts. Come indoors.

She's aboot again efter a spell o the haingles.ng influenza.

A hae leukit awgates for't. A'll awa by.I'm going home.

Coud ye lay that by for me?

It'a a difficult horse tae keep in aboot.

He's awa aff. Haud oot ower.

He wis naurhaund deid. The'r naebody in.There's no one in.

Lay in tae yer darg. Come in ower.r.

Are ye comin yont the clachan?village?

A'm no throu yit. She wis telt richt oot.yet. She was told outright.

He's no tae lippen til. He stays naurhaund.

He and I live together in the same house.

Hither, tither, make for home.

She's on the move again after havi

I've looked everywhere for it.

Is it possible to reserve that for me?

it's a difficult horse to control.

He's leaving. Keep away.

He was nearly dead.

Commence your work. Come neare

Are you coming through the

I haven't finished



Wir Ain Leid


He lives nearby.

The'r nae dout aboot that. Back an forrit.Backwards and forwards.

A'm awa for tae howk tatties. Gang awa hame.es. Go along home.

Dae ye ken gin the schuil's in?

Gang an cleek up wi thae childer.se children.

She coud sair lay aff aboot horse.lk about horses.

Dinna ettle for tae slip awa. she wis awa wi't.

She was off with it.

is awa he tattie ho

that y

you ov

k write.te te.

He's not to be trusted.

There's no expecting that.

I'm off in order to dig for potato

Do you know if school's assembled?

Go and become friendly with tho

She could sorely ta

Don't try to leave quietly.

He's up aboot Buchan somewey.He's somewhere in Buchan.

Can ye no haud yer bairn in aboot.Can't you keep your child under control.

He w frae t wkin.He was unable to dig for potatoes.

Ye war sair fair wabbit e sleepit in.

You were so tired that erslept.

Dinna ma on ye canDon't pre nd you can wri

Hirsle yont.Shuffle along to the other end.



Wir Ain Leid

216 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

He cam oot wi a frichtfu skelloch.

Dinna cast oot wi yer wee brither.ur

At lenth the bairn's won ower.

Dinna fash yersel it'll suin cast up.will soon turn up.

The hail hoose wis throu ither.

Is the kirk throu?

Adverbs of time and number.

ile mony's the time oftena while sin some time ago ne'er never

eist nextr never

again again no aft seldom

aye always/still sin sincesu

synever till untill

anich ght

in a wee shortly, soon the nou at presentwhan when

es sometimesmony time many a time yit yet

He uttered a frightful scream.

Don't quarrel with yo little brother.

At last the baby has fallen asleep.

Don't trouble yourself it

The whole house was disorderly.

Is the church (service) finished?

9

a wee a little wh

ae day one day naft(en) often nive

ance once nou nowawa ago nous an thans now and then

belyve soon in soon

efter after e then/agoe'erfaur back long ago th thenfernyear last year the n t toni

iver everlang for long whil



Wir Ain Leid


sterday

Auld lang syne. No the nou.

Syne A gaed hame. Syne he cam ben.Then I went home. Then he came in.

g w e's aye t

ay a s na.

haund.

uin gither.

ne day so we'll go out t

A hae seen that mony the time.

No as iver A haurd onywey.mes h mes. hat I eve ate.

I'm still struggling on.

Bide a wee.time new him. Stay a little.

yestreen ye

Long, long ago. Not just now.

It's a lan hile sin syne. H il the fore.It's a long time since then. He's still alive.

Whiles n whileSometimes yes and sometimes no.

Aye wice ahint the It's thritty year awa.Always wise after the event. It's thirty years ago.

Ae day s we'll gang oot the

O on ogether.

I've seen that often.

It's a gey lang while sin than.It's a very long time since then.

He comes here whiles.He co ere someti Not t r heard at any r

A hiv etten that mony time. A'm aye warstlin on.

I've eaten that often.

Ae time faur back A kent him.At one long ago I k

Auld lang syne we wis pals.Long, long ago we were friends.



Wir Ain Leid

218 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

r his darg.For many a day now, he has got to work late.

Ance on a day, a while sin, thare leeved three wee swine.Once upon a time, some time ago, there lived three little pigs.

0 Adverbs of quantity, manner and degree.

li ,ch

a thocht the least bit like eneuch likely, possibly,

mebava at all muckle much

r ney an almostprobably, nearly, almostperhaps

y,at any rate, anyhow

very wellclean absolutely, ower excessively, too

e'en even richt rightw, someway

teven on even, straight, throu done, finished

, li e withvery much

maist almost

kin o somewhat, weel well

Scoof 'very', 'remarkably', 'thoroughly' etc.

This mony a day he haes been late fo

1

a heap a great deal, ke like, as it werevery mu probably

enoughalike similar/same be perhaps

awthegithe similarlybelike naur(haund)

brawly finely, elegantl onywey at least,

completely

eneuch enough somegate somehoeven even hat so, that

correctfine very well ken associat

juist just, really,simply, truly

rather, thoroughly,easily

ts has a number of adverbs and expressions for the concept



Wir Ain Leid


Ve d fo

It's wirth twa poond onywey.

Ye hae pitten in ower muckle saut.

She's a wee thing daft. That's a thocht ower lang.he least bit too long.

A wis kin o (weys) feart like. A'm gey (an) thrang the nou.y just now.

ken him fine.. ow ell.

in.s very You've come too early.

hat's good he's very eccen

nae gu Are ye no throu yet.

e can do it

gu

er. indertI was a little

rra, real, fell, unco, gey (an) an u.

It's worth two pounds at any rate.

You have put in too much salt.

She's a little mad. That's t

I was somewhat afraid. I'm very bus

Juist that. A Just so I kn him w

She wis muckle thocht o. Ye hae comed ower suShe wa well thought of.

That's guid eneuch. She's unco queer.T enough. S tric.

That's id ava (at aw).That's no good at all. Haven't you finished yet.

He can dae't fine. A naurhaund cowpit.H easily. I nearly overturned.

He's a fell id meenister.He's a remarkably good clergyman.

She's a hantle sicht bett A wis h a wee thing.She's much better. delayed.

A'm no verra weel like, the day.



Wir Ain Leid

220 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

m not very w re, today.

ea ster.I was so s

him v l.

Like eneuch A'll be thare.

Ma horse is fell weel comed in nou.ell trained now.

1 Other adverbs and adverbial expressions are.

a maiter o as much as lat be leave aloneef(er) rather

t aloudance eerant specially for mair by taiken more over

may be, perhapsan aw that and all that nae dout no doubt,

ng doubtlesshowever

etceteraover

mair at the last by wi't past with it,as good as dead

verthelessaw weys in every way suiner sooner, rather

ehow or

by wi't done for, that wey in that way,d like that

nter on the contrarydeed indeed, the lenth o as far as

I' ell, as it we

He cam a h p aboot En A wis that feart.He often came to Anstruther. cared.

A kent him brawly. She juist gabbert even on.I knew ery wel She simply jabbered incessantly.

It gangs even throu.It goes straight through. I shall very likely be there.

My horse is thoroughly w 1

abee as it is alone li

aff-luif off-hand lood oo

that alonealowe alight, on fire mebbe

sort of thian that and so on, naither

an aw also, oweras well, too

at anepush

atweel in any case still an on ne

but only somewey somother

as good as deabyordinar extraordinarily the co



Wir Ain Leid


the w it goesense else tho though, indeed

rou over,ame

forby besides throu ither anyhow,

we(foreign)

housomeiver however

No

The fish wis sae lang as ma airm.The fish was as long as my arm.

Thae pease is byordinar fine.

rdinarily fine.

We gaed hame sae as tae ceuk the denner.We went home in order to cook dinner.

Milkin kye an aw that.

ren got as far as the stream.

aiter o twinty poond in ma det.He left with as much as twenty pounds in my debt.

She's his auntie somewey.

to be sureeent indeed wey o't ho

for aw that notwithstanding, th

completed all the s

in confusionfurrin abroad el-a-whit certainly

hail on steadily,right along

te the use of sae and as.

Those peas are extrao

Milking cows and all that sort of thing.

Is he gaun furrin? He is eent.Is he going abroad? He is indeed.

The rin awa bairns gat the lenth o the burn.

The runaway child

He gaed awa a m

She's his aunt somehow or other.



Wir Ain Leid

222 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ang nt.go fo lone.

It's no milk naither. The lum's alowe.

He brocht his sin an aw.

no.

ather go home. Read it aloud.

rby.sides.

.

In English 'only' has a negative sense thus the answer : 'No (of

12

Ne

no not ne'er never

Dinna g ance eera Wis it tho?Don't r that a Was it indeed?

It's not milk however. The chimney is on fire.

A'd as lief bide at hame.I'd rather stay at home. He brought his son too.

Mebbe ay, Mebbe na. He's by wi't.Perhaps yes, perhaps He's past recovery.

Deed ay! It wisna that wey ava.Yes indeed ! It wasn't like that at all.

A wad suiner gang hame. Read it lood oot.I would r

An mony mair foAnd many more be

His time wis throu Lat's abee.His time was over. Leave me (us) alone.

In Scots the word anely has an affirmative sense.

It's anely five mile tae Glesgae - Ay but it's up the brae.It's only five miles to Glasgow - No but it's uphill.

course) but it's uphill'.

Negative adverbs.

gative adverbs are:



Wir Ain Leid


nane none no aft rarely, seldom

No often combines with the comparatives sae (so) and that (so).

He's no that ill.She is not as mad as you think. He is not so ill.

airm. I canna find him nae gate.It is rarely so warm. I can't find him anywhere.

annie aboot thon horse.There is something not so safe about that horse.

Single syllable verbs and adverbs used to be negated by affixingna or nae.

ensna whaur she is.I don't care a bit. He doesn't know where she is.

rena a tait.I'm not finished yet. He won't care a bit.

These are now usually replaced with modal verb forms or no.

A dinna care a tait. He disna ken whaur she is.doesn't know where she is.

A'm no duin yet. He'll no care a tait.care a bit.

Double negatives are very common.

na nane naither.Nothing else. Besides she hadn't any.

no at aw not at all niver neverno ava not at all nae gate nowhere

naetheless nevertheless

She's no sae gyte as ye think.

It's no aft sae w

Thare is something no that c

A carena a tait. He k

A amna duin yet. He'll ca

I don't care a bit. He

I'm not finished yet. He won't

No nae ither thing. She haed



Wir Ain Leid

224 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

A niver eats nae beef. A haena seen her nae gate.

A dinna care aboot nane o't.I don't care for any of it.

A dinna tak nae mair nor a gless.I don't take more than a glass.

He's no nae waur.He's no worse.

She haedna nane naither.She hadn't any either.

The'r no nae time at nicht.There's no time at night.

The horns niver gits nae size.The horns never get to any size.

A'm no gaun tae gie ye naething.I'm not going to give you anything.

The'r nae sic a thing nae place nou.There's no such thing anywhere

now.

Thare niver wis naething like it.

There never was anything like it.

Ye canna lippen on him wi naething.You can't trust him about anything.

A niver haurd it get naething else.I never heard it called anything else.

I never eat any beef. I haven't seen her anywhere.



Wir Ain Leid


f adverbs.13 Comparison o

Adverbs form their comparative and superlative in the same wayas adjectives. See under adjective comparisons (p.166).



Wir Ain Leid

226 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Prepoent or circumstance

tc

ion and movement.

in front of, facing

in ower insideinto, inside

) nearo of

on / upont out

ootoo

beneath oot ower outside, across,concerning, beyond

from underoutside of, beyondover, across

ndthrou through

tountill

unner underupwith

wiootnt

Prepositions

sitions are words that are used before pronouns, nouns orequivalents to express position, movemtheir

e . relative to or affecting them.

1 Prepositions of posit

ablo below fornen(s)taboot about frae (fae) fromabuin above in* inaff off aff o away from, by intae, intilafore before, in front of naur(haundagin againstagley off line onahint behind ooalang along o out of alenth along otby outsideamang among ot on out of aneathanent

opposite oot unneraside beside ootwiat at owerathin within roond roundathort across, over roond aboot arouathoot withoutatween between tae**, tilatweesh between till

awa awayayont beyond upby by, beside widoun down outsideefter after yo alongendlang alongfor for



Wir Ain Leid


e

repositions.

Us

The tither's no bad but thay're aboot it.t the same.

Aboot Brochty.ry.

Tak yer auld plaid aboot ye.

Come in aboot the hoose. He gaed aboot the pairk.

Come into the house. He went around the field.

Uses of aff.

Aff often expresses the source of something.

f that man.The boy didn't want to be beaten by that man.

He was worrying himself because of you.

He took my coat away from me.

A teuk it aff him.I got the bread from mother. I took it from him.

Scots uses o (of) where English omits it.

**In colloquial speech in is often shortened to i' beforconsonants and is often written as such.

Particular syntax and idiom are connected to many p

es of aboot.

The other's not bad but they're abou

In the neighbourhood of Broughty Fer

Take your old plaid around you.

The lad wisna wantin baten af

He wis fashin hissel aff you.

He teuk the coat aff me.

A gat the breid aff ma mither.



Wir Ain Leid

228 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

collop aff o the sou.A small cut from the pig.

Scots uses amang (among) where English uses 'in'.

He wrocht ootby amang the rain.

Ower the muir amang the heather.

The bairns wis oot amang the snaw.n were out in the snow.

Us

Angry at him. Whit are ye at?him. What do you mean?

me at a name for't.for it.

hoot lissins.

the grue at her.

You may become disgusted with her.

She asked me about my work.

t me.That drunkard wanted to strike me.

Tak thon joug aff o the tap bink. A bitTake that jug off the top shelf.

He worked outside in the rain.

Over the moor in the heather.

The childre

She tint her gowd ring amang the saund.She lost her gold ring in the sand.

es of at.

Angry with

A canna coI can't think of a name

She lat at him atShe attacked him without respite.

Ye can tak

She speirt at me anent ma wark.

That drunken man wantit tae lay a



Wir Ain Leid


late.I must ask you why you were late.

They were always talking to me about it.

myWe are having a game of rummy.

.The train arrived at approximately four in the evening.

Us

a wi't.for.

wi't.

i.e. towards the back.

In the entrance, back from the street.

ses of by.

uld by me.He was off his head. She's older than me.

A'll tak thaim aw by that ane.one.

Thae aiples is by thair best.

A need tae speir at ye hou ye war

Thay war aye at me anent it.

We are haen a gemme at the rum

The train cam in aboot fower at e’en

es of awa.

He wun awa hame. The boat wis awHe slipped off home. The boat was done

The auld man wis awa wi't. Weel, that's awa

The old man was dead. Well, that's it lost.

Uses of back.

Back

Back the close.

U

He wis by himsel. She's a

I'll take them all except that



Wir Ain Leid

230 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

past their best.

By the glesses. A cam by the wey o Perth.. I came via Perth.

A ken nocht waur by her.her.

ist twa fowk steyin here by masel.There's only two people living here besides me.

Don't trouble yourself girl, there are others besides him.

Us

ben indicates movement into the inner room.

Gang ben the hoose. Come ben the hoose.m.

tes movement into the outer room.

It's in the outer room (kitchen).

Sco h retains it.

Those apples are

Beside the glasses

know nothing worse about

We haed ither kins by thae.We had other kinds besides those.

The beuk wis written by Shuggie Broun.The book was written by Hugh Brown.

Thare's ju

Dinna fash yersel lass, thare's mony by him.

es of but and ben.

Go into the inner roo Come in (to) the house.

but indica

It's but the hoose.

ts omits 'to' after doun (down) where Englis

A'm gaun doun the shops.I'm going down to the shops.

Doun the hoose.



Wir Ain Leid


Us

Whit ye efter? He ran efter the dug.He

Chap an aks efter her. It's ten efter twal.er. It's ten past twelve.

Uses of for.

He winna taigle for fear o missin the bus.

ou, ony wey.I'm not scared of you, at any rate.

Tell Jock A wis speirin for him.

for ony uiss. It's for nae mainer o uiss.s of no use.

A winna kneel doun for fylin ma breeks.ng my trousers.

Shoud we gang roond an caw for wir pals?o round and call on our friends?

hat would you like?

In the best room.

Doun the watter.Down (along) the river.

es of efter.

What do you want? ran after the dog.

Knock (in order) to ask for h

He won't dawdle in order to avoid missing the bus.

A'm no feart for y

Give my regards to Jock.

It's noIt's not of any use. It'

I won't kneel down for fear of dirtyi

Shall we g

A'm for a cauld ale. Whit ye for?I'd like a cold ale. W

Tell yer brither A wis aksin for him.



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232 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

health.

A wis stairvin for hunger.ow. I was starving of hunger.

speir for her? A cam for tae see ye.Won't you ask after her? I came to see you.

eir for her haund.

Uses of frae (fae).

Frae is a literary form - fae being except inSouth West Central Scots and Southern Scots where it is

pro Frae often expresses cause.

The old man died of the cold.

A'm no feart frae speeders.rs.

A'm gaun tae git kilt frae ma faes.

s.

I've been put off that idea.

My sister was slapped by the teacher.

Tell your brother I was asking after his

Thir horse is gaun daft for watter.These horses are going mad for want of water.

It's makkin for snaw.It looks like it's about to sn

Will ye no

A will spI shall ask for her hand in marriage.

common in speech,

nounced thrae .

The auld carle dee'd frae the cauld.

I'm not scared of spide

I'm going to get killed by my enemies.

Other use

A hae been pitten frae that thochtie.

Ma sister wis skelpit frae the teacher.



Wir Ain Leid


?Where do you come from? He's unable to work.

That is different than this.

Us

Wit omits 'to' after in where EnglishretIn colloquial speech in is often shortened to i before consonants,ma

She ran in the hoose. A gat it in a praisent.present.

Lay yer luif in mines lass.

She didna want ither fowk tae hear sae she said it in til hersel.want other people to hear so she whispered.

Uses of o.

A'm the better o that. He's the waur o drink.or drink.

Tak a swatch o this. Can ye mynd o wha't wis?is. Can you remember who it was?

na blythe o wir meetin John.

The bairns is awfu crouse o the Yuil.

Whaur d'ye come frae He's awa frae his wark.

That's different frae this.

es of in.

h verbs of movement Scotsains it.

ny writers also use this form.

She ran into the house. I got it as a

Lay your palm in mine girl.

She didn't

I'm the better for that. He's worse f

Take a critical look at th

He wisHe wasn't pleased with us meeting John.

The children are exited over Christmas.



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read o yer beuk. A'm bored o this beuk.I'm bored with this book.

We canna mak a better o't A daur say.

Nane the better o yer speirin.g.

The gorblin wis in o its nest.est.

Thare's a queer thing o that lassie.

Efter aw thon ettle ye'd be better o a rest.be better for a rest.

Maugre o his sair fit he traipsed til the shops.ot he trudged to the shops.

Uses of on.

Shout to him before he goes.

How long must I wait for that train?

Think about where she is. Waiting for a bus.

airit on ma brither.She mistreats her shoes. She's married to my brother.

Can ye no mak up on him?I waited an hour for him. Can't you overtake him?

Gie's aLend me your book.

I suppose we can't improve on it.

None the better for your askin

The fledgling was inside its n

There's a strange thing about that girl.

After all that endeavour you'd

In spite of his sore fo

Shoot on him afore he gangs.

Hou lang maun A wait on thon train?

Think on whaur she is. Waitin on a bus.

She's sair on her shuin. She's m

A waitit an oor on him.



Wir Ain Leid


Don't pretend that you can write.

Can't you remember about that fellow?

Cry on Willie tae come ower.

thon braw lassie.I am fond of that beautiful girl.

plaid.Where did you discover that old plaid.

toun.I happened to meet Hamish by chance in town.

t.You won't be able to make much of it.

Call to Tom to come here.

Dinna mak on ye can write.

Can ye no mynd on thon chield?

Call William to come over.

A wadna lippen on Scotrail.I wouldn't depend on Scotrail.

She wis fair on me efter A duntit her caur.She was fair to me after I hit her car.

Ma guid-sir gaed on a stick.My grandfather went supported by a stick.

He did it on himsel.He did it on his own account

Lief is me on

Whaur'd ye faw on thon auld

A happent tae faw on Hamish in the

Ye winna can mak muckle on'

Cry on Tam for tae come here.

Ye aye yoke on the prentice.



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236 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

You always find fault with the apprentice.

Many lies are told about that old slag.

Us

Sco retains it.

The schuil wis oot. He teuk the thochtie oot a beuk.

explain what you were doing in the woods?

Jurnalists speirs oot the wittins thay're efter.nforma r.

Us

The wife hit me ower the heid.ead.

She wis taen in ower by the swick.

A spak til him ower the phone.

Ye canna tak in ower sicna mensefu chield..

s haurd tae faw ower.rd to fall asleep.

Mony lees is made on thon auld limmer.

es of oot.

ts omits o (of) after oot (out) where English

School was finished. He took the idea from a book.

We cam oot the shop an gaed ower the brig.We came out of the shop and went across the bridge.

Can ye redd oot whit ye war daein in the wids?Can you

Journalists track down the i tion they are afte

es of ower.

My wife hit me on the h

She was deceived by the swindler.

I spoke to him by telephone.

You can't deceive such a sensible fellow

Whan ye're auld it'When you're old it's ha



Wir Ain Leid


clike wirds afore a leddy.I couldn't repeat such words in front of a lady.

The baby had thrown the ball out of the window.

aw the time?Do I have to insist all the time?

Ta (in the mood that expresses, theverbal idea without reference to person, number or time). Til isus the definite or indefinite articlean ots usually before words thatbegin with a vowel or the letter h.Th with verbs (p.190), means 'inord

A gaed for tae git it.

I went to get it.

mme.You'll come to make up a game.

gang. .

.and.

Scots omits tae as a sign of the infinitive where English retains it.

He kens better nor say siclike.to s

Did ye write him?

A coudna come ower si

The bairn haed thrawn the baw ower the windae.

Dae A hae tae threap ower ye

e is used with the infinitive

ually used before nouns, withd in Central and Southern Sc

e infinitive marker, for tae, useder to'.

He cam for tae eat his denner.

He came to eat his dinner.

Ye'll come for tae mak up a ge

He ettelt for tae Thay aw gaed for tae see'tHe meant to go. They all went to see it.

The war room for tae git yer haund inThere was a space to get in your h

He knows better than ay suchlike.

Did you write to him?



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238 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Other uses of tae and til.

dicht the bink.I told her to do that. I told her to wipe the shelf.

My mother sewed it for me.

Look at that pretty picture.

Ma faither's a jyner tae tred.

She haed a bairn tae ma cuisin.

A spak til him ower the phone.

A'm juist a puir man tae you.man compared with you.

Shirra.I told it to her. She was the Sherrif's daughter.

rk.The minister went off to church.

David worked for Mr. Gourlay.

ear til the laverock?Near to his daughter. Can you hear the lark?

No tae whit it ance wis.

A telt her tae dae that. A telt her tae

Ma mither shewed it tae me.

Leuk tae thon bonnie pictur.

My father is a joiner by trade.

She had a baby with my cousin.

I spoke to him by telephone.

I'm a poor

A telt it til her. She wis dochter tae the

The meenister gaed awa til the ki

Dauvit wrocht tae Mr. Gourlay.

Naur til his dochter. Can ye h

Not in comparison with what it once was.



Wir Ain Leid


A maun leuk gin thare's a bit post tae him.

a.

Us

Send that paircel throu the post.

We gaed throu auld times thegither.

A wis waukrif an gat up throu the nicht.

Uses of up.

Sco

redd up yer accoont?Are you going to settle your account?

Could you adjust my carburettor?

Us

wi a fremmit chield.with a strange fellow.

I must check if there's some mail for him.

A'm gaun tae hae a fried egg tae ma tea.I'm going to have a fried egg for te

He cam til a hoose amang thae braes.He came to a house in those hills.

es of throu.

Send that parcel by post.

We talked about old times together.

I was wakeful and got up during the night.

ts omits 'to' after up where English retains it.

Are ye gaun up the braeheid?Are you going up to the hilltop?

Are ye gaun tae

Coud ye redd up ma carburettor?

es of wi.

A didna speak wi him. He camI didn't speak to him. He came



Wir Ain Leid

240 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

press cause.

gang wi the bus.

that gat ns.who g ren.

ld.ld.

.

Ot

She's gaun tae mairy wi ma brither.

A wrocht wi him fower year.im.

Tak tent nou - dinna faw wi bairn!

Scots uses wi where English uses 'by' or to ex

The aits wis etten wi the mice. She'llThe oats were eaten by the mice. She'll go by bus.

It wis thair weans battert wi some ither weaIt was their children ot battered by some other child

She wis rin ower wi a bus forenent the hoose.She was run over by a bus in front of her house.

We misst the bus wi sleepin in.We missed the bus because we overslept.

She wis gey pitten on wi the wey ye dresst.She was impressed by the way you dressed.

The wind's sae snell ye coud dee wi cauThe wind is so severe you could die of co

The bairn coudna git sleepit wi the lichtnin.The child couldn't sleep owing to the lightning

The polis wis set on wi a muckle dug.The policeman was attacked by a large dog.

her uses of wi.

She's going to marry my brother.

I worked for four years for h

Take care now - don't get pregnant!



Wir Ain Leid


Other particular usages of prepositions are.

ongauns.I will write to the mayor concerning those going-ons.

ore the door.Sit nearer the fire. He stood in front of the door.

he tap an ye're abuin the toun.Go up the hill and over the top and you are above the town.

The new causey wisna athin the schame.The new causeway wasn't within the plan.

e heuch.He lives beyond the home farm over the way from the quarry.

There's no love lost between those two.

He stood between the door and the window.

rk.The dog is under the table. Opposite the church.

rit athort the kintra.So many travellers going to and fro across the country.

Don't leave your belongings lying all over the house.

Thay war sittin aside ither. He wrocht ayont the brae.ond the hill.

e y dlangon

A s' write the provost anent thae

Sit intil the ingle. He stuid af

Gang up the brae an ower t

He bides oot ower the mains ower bi th

Thare's nae luve tint atween thae twa.

He stuid atweesh the door an the winnock.

The dug's aneath the buird. Anent the ki

Sae mony traivelers gaun back an for

Dinna lea' yer gear liggin athort the hoose.

They were sitting side by side. He worked bey

Throu th ett an en the pad.Through the gate and al g the path.



Wir Ain Leid

242 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

a urn.

The trout swam along the shallows.

I won't go inside her door.

oor.I never put a foot inside it. Just inside the door.

g him.At long last the law acted against him.

ad.Peep outside the door along the road.

waw.I won't go inside her door. The bicycle is against the wall.

rn.He's appearing before the judge tomorrow.

I ran along side her down the slope.

nt anent her.her.

Pre

aboot about frae (fae) fromgin by, before

at at in in

een or* ill,

The birks side the bThe birches beside the stream.

The troot soumed alang the shallaes.

A winna gang in ower her door.

A niver pit a fit intil't. Juist athin the d

At lang an last the law gaed a in

Keek oot ower the door yont the ro

A winna gang in ower her door. The cycle's agin the

He's appearin anent the juidge the mo

A rin anent her doun the brae.

She fell agin the bink. He turShe fell against the bench. He turned to face

2 positions of time.

afore before

athin within naur nearatween betw t before



Wir Ain Leid


sin since, goc o

th the co

Be hame by twal. A'll be hame afore ye.. I'll be home before you.

Hit's aboot ten efter aicht. It's gey naur the twal o nicht.eight.

Whit time's the dance at?begin?

A biggit the waw or denner time.

It'll tak atween twinty an thritty meenit langer.

.

Can ye come athin the neist oor?

eenit syne.

.The lecture starts in twelve minutes.

3

/ tae in comparison with maugre in spite of,despite

by by aefter after syne sin e (the time of), ag

*Not to be confused wi njunction or (or).

Be home by twelve

It's about ten past It's nearly midnight.

When does the dance

I built the wall before dinner time.

It'll take between twenty and thirty minutes longer

Can you come within the next hour?

The train gaed elieven mThe train left eleven minutes ago.

The bus'll gang in aboot sax meenit.The bus will leave in approximately six minutes.

The lectur stairts in twal meenit

Other prepositions are:

by



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244 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

nlessg

for for wi withforby besides wioot without

.

Aicig

leg. oot maugre o the rain.g. ite of the rain.

g wi him.o him.

re o his sair haund.re hand.

e an wee Donald.and little Donald.

Pre

The forms o the, in the, at the and on the are often shortened toen shortened to t’ee. Wi the is often shortened

to w’ee. By the is often shortened to b’ee and tae shortened to

binna except / u o of but without / except wantin short of/lackin

like like

He's auld by me. It brunt lik madHe's older than me. It burned furiously.

But care or pain. ht score o sheep.Without care or pain. E ht score of sheep.

A man wantin a GangA man short of a le Go out in sp

Ye're aither awthing or naethinYou're either everything or nothing t

He'll lear hou tae dae't, maugHe'll learn how to do it, despite his so

Thare wis naebody forby masel in the wids.There was no one besides me in the woods.

No tae whit it ance wis.Not in comparison with what it once was.

A hae nae horse binna ma cuddiI have no horses besides my donkey

4 positions in colloquial speech.

ee. Tae the is oft

’ae.

The heid ee toun. At the back ee kirk.



Wir Ain Leid


Ee muckle hoose. Twice ee day.

A haena been ee toun yit. Thay wis rowin ee fluir.rolling on the floor.

A skelp ee lug. Ee conter.

He bides ee ither side o Crief.

and on to the floor.

He wis in t’ee craig. Tae sowp w’ee deil.He was up to the neck (in it). To drink with the devil.

A'm no gaun’ae dae't. A'm gaun’ae gie ye something.I'm not going to do it. I'm going to give you something.

Ye hae the wrang sou b’ee lug.You have the wrong pig by the ear.

A'm gaun awa t’ee wall for watter.

I'm going along to the well for water.

5 Relative clauses

In the sentence:

The wifie that coft the maumie grosets wis wankent.

The highest part of town. At the back of the church.

Ee gloamin. Ee morn. Ee back end ee yearIn the twilight. In the morning. At the end of the year.

In the mansion house. Twice a (in the) day.

I haven't been into town yet. They were

A slap on the ear. On the contrary.

He stays on the other side of Crief.

It fell oot his haund ee fluir.

It fell out of his h



Wir Ain Leid

246 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

n who bought the ripe gooseberries was unknown.

end of relative clauses and arefre y om

t h

n't got home

The woma

The clause 'that coft the maumie grosets' provides informationrelative to the 'wifie'. These are usually introduced by the relativepronoun that (p.156).

Prepositions occur only at thequentl itted.

).The merca staund (that) A boc t it (fraeThe market stall from which I bought it.

At the wall's a raip (that) ye can pou the bucket back up (wi).At the well is a rope with which you can pull the pale back up.

A haena been til a dance yit that A haena gotten hame (frae)the sel same nicht.I haven't been to a dance yet from which I have

The same night.



Wir Ain Leid


ords.

1 Ma

after whan when, whilefrae (fae) from the time that whaur where

Frae is a literary form - fae beingSouth West Central Scots an t ispro FraTh

He's duin nocht but eat frae he gaed in.He

Ot

naither neitherthanere, before, until,or**sosince

besides, than syne then, since(from the time that)thatthough

e

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that connect sentences, clauses and w

ny common adverbs and prepositions are also used asnjunctions.co

afore before tae / til toefter

hou how, why whit wey why

common in speech, except ind Southern Scots where i

nounced thrae .

e it waukens the bairn is etin.gree child is crying from the time that it awakes.

's done nothing but eat since he went in.

2 her conjunctions are:

aither either(a)cause because noran and oras as / thanbaith both saeby in comparison with, sin

binna unless, exceptbut but, except, without thatcep except, unless thofor for, notwithstanding tae until

that whan whil



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248 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

except, unlessyet

gin if, whether

m.**Note or meaning 'ere', 'before' and 'until' is a different word

Ye are auld by me. He haes mair nor A thocht.more than I thought.

Ye'll see't or lang. Cause a wisna bidden.

Bide here or A retour. Wheesht or ense A'll belt ye.

An ance wir wames is fou.

Oh, if only they were gone. If for once our stomachs are full.

You're white except where you are bald.

Gif Jimmie says it's weel it's weel.If Jimmy says it is well it is well.

Everyone except my friends came.

Ye'll be droukit or ye win hame.

You'll be soaked before you get home.

Shoud A tak this ane or that ane?

A didna ken gif he wad come or no.

for fear lest wiootgif* if, whether yit

*Note gif is now obsolete and is usually a literary for

than or meaning 'or'.

You're older than me. He has

You'll see it before long. Because I wasn't invited.

Wait here until I return. Be quiet or else I'll hit you.

Och, gin thay war awa.

Ye are white but whaur ye are beld.

Awbody but ma freends cam.

Should I take this one or that one?

I didn't know whether or not he would come.



Wir Ain Leid


dae gin ma caur winna stairt?What shall I do if my car won't start?

Ye'll no git ben binna ye weir yer kirk-claes.You'll not get in unless you wear your best clothes.

He wis auld sin A mynd.He's been an old man as long as I can remember.

Siller's rife nou by't wis in oor day.Money is plentiful now compared with what is was in our day.

Thare wis mair as sieven hunder fowk come til the gaitherin.More than seven hundred people had come to the gathering.

3 Note the use of an (and) + a verb in infinitive phrases. Infinitive -in the mood that expresses, the verbal idea without reference toperson, number or time.

Ettle an mend the gairden yett by the morn.Try to repair the garden gate by tomorrow.

Mynd an bring her back afore twal.Remember to bring her back before twelve.

She canna mynd an dae whit she's telt.She can't remember to do what she's told.

4 An (and) is used to introduce verbless subordinate clauses(cannot function as sentences in their own right, but perform an

adjectival, adverbial or nominal function) that express surprise orindignation.

He haed tae heeze aw thae pallets an him wi his sair airm.He had to hoist all those pallets. Him having a sore arm.

She haed tae daunder fower mile an her aicht month biggen.

Whit will A



Wir Ain Leid

250 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

to wander for four miles. Being eight monthsnt.

She hadpregna



Wir Ain Leid


reetings

ve their expressions for 'how do you do?'

u? How are your pigeons?

like?

To

hank ye. No bad conseederin. A canna compleen.Nicely - Thank you. Not bad considering. I can't complain.

. I've been worse. Same to you.

Gu reoft

G 1 The various dialects ha

Hou's aw wi ye? Hou's yer dous?How is everything with yo

Hou d'ye fend? (South West) Whit fettle? (Borders)How are you managing? What state (are you in)?

Hou ye lestin? (Borders) Whit like? (North East)How are you lasting? What (are things)

Whit wey are ye? (Ulster)How are you?

these may be answered:

Brawly - T

Hingin by a threid. A hae been waur. Sae faw ye. Just managing

2 ests who are in a hurry and often unwilling to take a seat a

en told.

It's sae cheap sittin as staundin.It is as cheap sitting as standing.

3 In Pubs or other places where people gather a common invitationto join in is.

Come intil the body o the kirk. Join the company.



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252 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

When parting.

eReturn soon.

Ne eds often gree

f 'fit w the feet of the brideor bridegroom the night before the wedding.

At ov w ho

Lang mey yer lum reek.Live long and happily.

Mey the best ye hae iver seen be the warst ye'll iver see.

May the best you have ever seen be the worst you will eversee.

Mey the moose ne'er lea' yer girnal wi the tear drap in its ee.May the mouse never leave your grain store with a tear drop inIts eye.

Mey ye aye keep hail an herty till ye're auld eneuch tae dee.May you always stay whole and hearty until you are oldenough to die.

Mey ye aye juist be sae happy as A wiss ye aye tae be.

May you still be as happy as I always wish you to be.

7 When writing letters the usual form of address is Ma freend, Mafere or Guid billie corresponding to the English Dear. Formalletters begin with Guid Sir, Guid Mr. (Maister) or Mem (Madam)corresponding to the English Dear.

Other terms of address are:

4

Haste y back.

5 wlyw are ted with.

Happy fit.

Refers to the custom o ashin', washing

6 the new year or when m ing into a ne use.



Wir Ain Leid


Miss Misterr fellow

holdehold

Fa od wishesch or now

Fare ye weel Farewell See ye efter See you later

Miss MaisterDame Lady Chield Gentleman oMistress Misses Guidman Husband or

male head of houseSir Sir Guidwife Female head of hous

Letters may be ended with the following:

Formal InformalAefauldly Sincerely ir faw Best/goYours aye faithfully eery-bye Goodbye f

Wrong use o 'fair faw ye' for 'walcome' on a sign Ulster.f in



Wir Ain Leid

254 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

s of the week and months of the year are:

ryle AprilFriday Friday Mey May

June July

Sunday Sunday Augist AugustSeptember

November November

Come roond Seturday first.ay.

A canna - hou aboot Seturday neist?

2 The important festivals and holidays are:

ay Beltane MaydayHandsel 1st Monday of Whitsunday Whitsun

y Lammas 1st AugustCaunlemas Candlemas Michelmas Michaelmas

ay Hallae e’en Hallowe'enMairtinmas Martinmas

Ess Wadensday Ash Wednesday Sowans nicht Christmas evetmas, Yule

Hunt the gowk April fools day Hogmanay New year's eve

Days, Months and Holidays

1 The day

Monanday Monday Januar JanuaryTysday Tuesday Februar FebruaryWadensday Wednesday Mairch MarchFuirsday Thursday Ap

Seturday Saturday JuinSaubath Sabbath Julie

SeptemberOctober October

Dizember December

Come round next Saturd

I can't - how about next Saturday but one?

Ne'er's day New year's d

Monanday new yearBurns nicht 25th Januar

Bannock nicht Shrove TuesdFastern's e’en Shrove Tuesday

Pace Easter Yuil Chris



Wir Ain Leid


Colloquial Speech

Ta the personsp ent. In requests,tags to, to agree with and act on thespeaker's request. Tag questions.

bbish dump, are you?

, have you?

Th ates that the personsp

Jock will gie't ye, will he no? Jock will give you it, won't he?

The tag eh is often added to questions and requests.

It's no ower muckle, eh?

Aspects of 1 Tags.

gs are added to questions in order to promptoken to, to agree with the speaker's statem

ask the person spoken

Did ye stairt tae jouk the schuil, did ye?Did you start to play truant, did you?

Are ye aye at the scaffie's yaird, are ye?Are you still working at the ru

Ye hivna juist haed yer teeth oot, hiv ye?Have you just had your teeth removed

Is Shona hame, is she?Is Shona at home, is she?

e negative tag usually contains no, it indiceaking expects a positive response.

Jimmie haes gane, haes he no? Jimmy has gone, hasn't he?

Fiona can soum, can she no?Fiona can swim, can't she?

Lat me pit ma coat on eh?



Wir Ain Leid

256 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Let me put my coat on, won't you? It's not too big, is it?

We know him quite well now, don't we?

Ye are takkin her til the picturs, eh no?You're taking her to the cinema, aren't you?

Pit the kist doun thare eh?

Be guid tae ma dochter eh?

Other frequently used tags are:

You don't go for that sort of girl, no?

You told her about it, yes?

He's not trying to take all of it, not really?

I shall be with you on Monday, right?

to reach home in this weather, surely?

ce is expressed by speakers who use the tags ehor shuir at the beginning of a statement. This invites the person

tation, producing ineffect a tag question.

Of course the Pope is a Catholic?

We ken him gey an weel nou, eh?

Put the chest down there, won't you?

Be good to my daughter, won't you?

Ye dinna gang for that kin o lassie, na?

Ye telt her anent it, ay?

He's no ettlin tae tak aw o't, no really?

A'll be wi ye Monanday, richt?

Ye're no mynt tae win hame in this wather, shuirly?You aren't intending

Great confiden

spoken to, to confirm the speaker's expec

Shuir the Pape's Catholic?



Wir Ain Leid


Of course Kairien's baby is a boy?

Focusing devices are used to introduce items into theco n or prominen rsonspeaking wishes to introduce into the conversation. The most

e pu d like.

...see those old houses, my father built one.

n ye dae that again A'll dunt ye!...see you chum, if you do that again I'll thump you!

A gaed doun the toun like, an the polis...I went down town, and the police...

e f n him.e I saw him.

He has his dog , it keeps him company.

ve a kidney

3

inte

Hey, you wi the reid heid!Hey, you with the red hair!

Eh Kairien's bairn's a laddie?

2nversatio to give ce to items which the pe

frequently used words for thes rposes are see, ken an

...see thae auld hooses, ma faither bug ane.

...see you pal, gi

...ken Morag, she juist wadna dae't.

...know Morag, she just wouldn't do it.

It wis, weel, lik ower year sin A seeIt was, well, four years sinc

He haes his dug like, gies him company.

...She's in the infirmary, ken, tae hae a neir transplauntit.

...she's in the hospital, you know, to hatransplanted.

Interjections.

The summoning rjection is Hey or haw.



Wir Ain Leid

258 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

eed , certainlyth, truly youtainly

haud on stop whowe

d

possible

feech, feuchfie.

n expressed urjections

ided

g Well oh well.re often d by using the following

nounae! nonow then!

Haw, whaur d'ye think ye're gaun?Hey, where do you think you are going?

Some of the common assertive interjections are:

atweel ind ma certes mybi fegs by fai mynd ye mindcertes cer Nyod God

indeed cedeed wheesht silenwow

Some of the commonest interjections of surprise annt are:astonishme

Bletheration nonsense hech heh

e uscrivens Christ defend us losh Lord savfaith megstie me mighty Godfegs

haivers nonsense niver im

terjections used to express disgust are:Some of the in

dozen't. .confound it.

fte n och.Impatience is o sing the interjectioTroubles or worry are often expressed by using the inteoch, hoot and s'truith = God's truth.

can't be avoResignation or submission to something thatmay be expressed with aweel = Oh well!

d usin eel =Assent is often expresse weel-a-wrow a eSympathy and sor express

s.interjection

ochone unae!woe is me!



Wir Ain Leid


i uage whosevidual words.

auld horn.the start.

e tae be seen be seen withhim.

ae this as that. o this than that.

t wi ye. you.wi him. h him.

.

e on? (tak on) ing my leg?. .

the waw.

s of a feather.rgy.

Idioms

Id oms are distin s peculiar to a langctive expressionmeaning is not always determinable from their indiScots is especially rich in such expressions.

A bonnie fechter. A game chicken.A cadger's cur A worthless thse. ing.A fiddler's biddin. A last-minute invitation.A kent face. An acquaintance.A new tout on an Old hat.A tee'd baw. A success fromA thocht sham I was ashamed towi him.A tulchan. A stuffed shirt.A wad liefer d I would rather dA'll gar ye claw whaur it's no I'll give you what for.yeukie.A'll see day aboo I'll be even withA'm no that f I'm not so familiaur ben ar witA s' warrand. I'll bet, I'll be bound.Abuin yer feet. Beyond one's means.Aff the fang. Not in the mood.Aff the gleg. Off the mark.Ahint the hau In arrearsnd , after the event.Are ye throu? Are you finished?Are Are you pullyou takkin mAs weel suin as s The sooyne ner the betterAt the hinder end. In the long run.Atween the wind an In dire poverty.

Auld claes an pa Routine.rritch.Auld in the horn. Astute.Aw ae oo. All the same, birdAw yer pith. With all one's eneAw the airts. All localities or directions.Awa tae fremd. Gone away from home.



Wir Ain Leid

260 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

y. r.

ore. ive).d.

d the widdie. erheads.

with it..

r.

Birl the wilkies. Turn somersault.

yer gird.

ict.

jowl.

nger.Come (back) wi the blind Return only after a long time.

dy's hurl.

ngthening of

ruce.

rae daith. .e.

ne's fate.the

Awbody's bod A sycophant, a sail trimmeAks a blissin. Say grace.Aye til the f Still be around (alBe at ae wird. Stick to one's worBe at the knag an Be at loggBe at twa. Be at variance.Be daein wi't. Be contentBe in the wey o Be in the habit of.Beck an bou. Curry favouBetter sin as syne. Better sooner than later.Bi his wey o't. According to him.

Bou yer hoch. Sit down.Caw Do one's thing.Cadgers is aye crackin Always talking shop.on creuk saidles.Cauf kintra. Native distrCaw cannie. Proceed carefully.

Caw the crack. Chat.Chowk for Side by side.Cleek in wi. Associate with.Cock the wee fi Have a tipple (drink).

cairier.Cowp somebo Upset someone's plans.Crap an ruit. Entirely.Creep in / oot. Shortening / le

daylight.Creash the luif. bribe.Crouse in the craw. Confident in speech.

Cry barley fummle. Ask for a tDance yer lane. Jump for joy.Dee a fair st Die a natural deathDort at... Over nursDoun the stank. Down the drain.Dree yer weird. suffer oDroun the miller. Put too much water in

whisky.



Wir Ain Leid


oot on... s temper with...it.

For ance an aye. For ever.

ruptcy

on yer thoum. ourself.specially for

rae.stances.

or. rossed in.

Gat the bree o't. ore the brunt of it.

pin like a raw gorb. Gaping like an unfledged bird.

rack wi. versation with.ith / married to.

Glack yer mittens. Grease one's palm.maw bouk.

Hae yer ain adae. Have one's hands full.

wheesht.e cuddie reekin.

nd for nieve.Her tongue wad clip cloots. She has a sharp tongue.

g the lugs.Hingin in the brecham. Pulling one's weight.

Faw loose oneFeel black affront Feel deeply ashamed.Flee laich. be unambitious.Flee laich, flee lang. Fly low, fly long.

First come, first serred. First come is first served.Gae til the bent. Abscond.Gae-lattin. Letting-go. BankGang agley. Go astray.Gang an whistle Go and chase yGang ance eerant. Go for that alone. (

that purpose)Gang doun the b To deteriorate in health or

circumGang hail-heidit f Be absolutely engGang the messages. Do the shoppingGang til the gate. Be ruined.

B

GauGit laldie. Get a beating.Gie's yer crack. Give me your news.Git amends o. Get one's own back.Git intae... Get familiar with...Git on the c Start a conGit yokit tae. Get started w

Guid gear in s Much in little.Hae an ee til. Have a liking for.

Hae nae brou o this. Have no liking for this.

Haud yer Be silent.Haud th Keep the pot boiling.Haud tryst. Keep one's word.Hau Abreast.

Hin Mope.



Wir Ain Leid

262 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

aken. ed, made the

Hyne (faur) awa. Far away, at a great distance.f.

hae the like. hat sort

s its howe. as it's hollow.k. ours.

In room o. In place of.

cost ye a bonnie penny. a lot.

It's a tee'd baw. It's all cut and dry, It's all sewn

ch

His/her breid's b He's/she's arrivgrade.

Hyne til/tae... As far as, to the distance oIlka body disna Not everyone has to that of thing.Ilka hicht hae Every height hIll comes upo waur's bac It never rains it p

In the wey o. About to.It winna pottie. It won't wash.It'll It'll cost youIt's a gey while nou. It's a fairly long time ago now.

up.It's drappin suit. Walls have ears.It's mony a needless preen You needn't have taken so muye hae pitten in. trouble to dress up.

.

gang by. ast. Juist aw the like o thae things. Just all that sort of thing.

Lang mey yer lum reek. Live long and healthy.

g him. n juice.Lat licht. Let it be known. Disclose a fact.Lat sit. Leave alone or leave off

It's weel wared on him It serves him right.ns. Jock Tamson's bair Common humanity.

jaw Jouk an lat the Duck and let the splash go p

Juist that. Quite so.

Kaim yer hair backarts. Annoy one. .Kist o whistles. A pipe organLad o pairts. Talented youth.

Lat at... Attack...dinLat his ain wand Let him stew in his ow



Wir Ain Leid


the waw. barrassing

erthemselves.

wper. ler.

dle. .

m the blue.

a kirk or a mill o't.yer kail.

mebbe umhum.

y wirds, muckle drouth. g makes one thirsty.

ye. you.ne nor...

.

e dance nor d on the sidelines.

etite, incapable of.s he lats on. pretends.

e.

ht.

tering light.orry for one's self.

out of joint..

n pianaes. Jock Needle Jock Preen. loose.

Lat that flee stick til Drop a particularly emsubject.

Lat the bairns fend for thairsels. Let the children look aft

Leein like a horse co lying like a horse-deaLief is me on... I am fond of...Like a hen on a het gir To be on tenterhooksLike a set mill. At a standstill.Like a slung-stane. Like a bolt froLike yer meat. Well-fed looking.Like wha but him. As bold as brass.Made up wi. Pleased with.Mak Make or mar it.Mak saut tae Earn a living.Mak wey o anesel. Commit suicide.Mebbe ay an Perhaps yes and perhaps

doubtful.Mon Much talkin

Muckle guid mey it dae Much good may it doNae faurer ga As recently as...Nae great cowp Not much worth.Naither eechie nor ochie. Neither one thing or another.Naither ta To stanhaud the caunleNo able for. Having no appNo sae deif a Not as deaf as heNo weel. Unwell.O that ilk. Of the same namOn the heid o. Occupied with.Oot o thoc Beyond belief.

Pit his gas at a peep. Show him in an unflatPit on a sair face. Look sPit oot yer ee. Put one's nosePith o hemp. Hangman's ropePease brose a A state of genteel poverty.Play Play fast andPlunk the schuil. Play truant.



Wir Ain Leid

264 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

d the thrapple. roat.

rry. .u amang he

s parritch. s crystal.hy.

ng.

r nor she's bonnie. n she's pretty.t'ae ee. of her

er's) eye.

haddie. addock.th.

cted English

ukie.ance.

hert. e's heart.conceit o ion of one's

on o. g for.

ls.ill oot. ething.

.an the buffet. 's pride.

Raise the tuin. Start the tune.Rax somebody's craig. Hang someone.Red Clear the thRedd yer crap. Get it off your chest.Rin wuid. Go mad.Sae black's a slae. As black as a sloe.Sae boss's a baurel. As empty as a barrel.Sae broun's a be As brown as a berrySae cantie as a so As happy as a pig in tglaur. mud.Sae fou as a piper. As drunk as a piper.Sae plain a As clean aSae teuch's a widdie. As tough as a witSae eith as kiss ma luif. As easy as winkiSaut somebody's brose. Get revenge.Set doun the barrae. Failed in business.She's bette She's better thaShe's her mither's She's the apple

(mothSmaw fowk. People of humble rank.Smilin like a bylt Smiling like a boiled hSouk in wi. Ingratiate oneself wiSpeak pan-laif. Talk with an affe

accent.Staund like a sto Rooted to the spot.Staund yont. Keep one's distSteek yer Harden onTae hae a guid To have a good opinyersel. self.Tak a noti Develop a likin

Tak a rise oot o. Make fun off.Tak a tellin. Heed a warning.Tak yer wird again. Change one's tune.Tak ower the coa Call to account.Tak something Be upset about somTak tent. pay attentionTak the bit Swallow oneTak the dorts /dods. Sulk.



Wir Ain Leid


ert. Affect deeply.Make a fool of.

That cut him down to size/shutHim up.

The life and soul of the affair.us.

make head nor

nag.hands on it.

ance.world.

e an illicit love affair.e subject.

time on., able for.

ait for.

rvive.time.

Whan it comes til the bit. When the crunch comes.

Tak the hTak the lend o.Tak the rue. Feel remorse, Have second

thoughts.That liddit his mill. That shut him up.That pat his gas at the peep. That shut him up.

.That pat the branks on him That'll niver craw in yer crap. You'll never smell that.That's gey naur the bit. That's nearly right.

five-aichts. The average man.The commonThe stang o the trump.The unco guid. The self righteoThe while back. For some time past.The'r a bee in his bunnet. There is a bee in his bonnet.Thare wis naither tap, tail nor I couldn't

f it.main til't tail oThare's a drap in the hoose. Walls have ears.

Thare's a whaup in the raip. There's a shakeThare's ma thoum on that. Let s

Think anesel nae sheep's Consider oneself of no smallshank. importThis side o time. In thisTrail the poke. Beg.Trail the weeng. HavTurn the crack. Change thTyne the heid. Lose one's temper.Tyne time on. WasteUp tae. Equal toUp tae hie-doe. Approaching panic.

Wairm the lugs. Beat the ears.Wait on. WWauk yer wits. Sharpen one's wits.We niver dee'd o winter yit. We'll su

nWeel tae. Well oWeemen's kittle cattle. Women are ticklish people.



Wir Ain Leid

266 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

When it occurs to me.What do you dislike about...

Whit's yer will? What did you say?ave

ep.Ye needna fash yer thoum. You needn't worry about it.

Whan it comes up ma back.Whit ails ye at...

Win awa. Die/leWin ower. Fall asle



Wir Ain Leid


ro ibs, freits or sawes in Scots, are short familiaray truth or moral lesson.

de is suin buskit an a short horse is suin wispit.

th

on.

me haes nae lugs.reason.

e fug.

Proverbs

P verbs, called provrs ings expressing a supposed

A'll big nae saundy-mills wi ye.I'll not be friendly to you.

A bonnie briA pretty bride needs little decoration; a small horse littlegrooming.

A cauld needs the ceuk sae muckle the doctor.I need it like a hole in the head.

A gien cou shoudna be leukit in the mouDon't look a gift horse in the mou

A greedy gutsie ee ne'er gat a fou wame.Greedy persons are never satisfied.

A guid dug ne'er barkit aboot a bane.Good servants don't look for rewards.

A guid name's suiner tint nor wA good name is sooner lost than gained.

A hungersome waA hungry person can't listen to

A rowin stane gaithers naA rolling stone gathers no moss

A sent him awa wi a seed in his teeth.I sent him away with a flea in his ear.



Wir Ain Leid

268 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

A shored tree staunds lang.

A smaw buss is better nor nae bield.r than no shelter.

Ae man's meat is anither man's pushion.oison.

Early creuk the tree that guid crummock wad be.y do better

es his tuils.

without hope.

ld dog new tricks.

ut nane o want o mense.uld soon have more money.

ang.

Threatened folk live long.

A small bush is bette

One man's food is another man's p

Those who don't succeed very well at first maafterwards.

An ill shearer aye blamA bad workman always blames his tools.

As ae door's steekit anither opens.We are never left entirely

As daft as a yett on a windy day.As mad as a hatter.

Auld sawes speaks suith.Old proverbs tell the truth.

Auld speugies is ill tae tame.It's difficult to teach an o

Aw compleen o want o siller bIf they had more sense they wo

Aw things haes an end, an a pudden haes twa.All things have an end, and a sausage has two

Aye tae eild but niver tae wit.Always growing older but never wiser.

Bairns maun creep or thay g



Wir Ain Leid


ry well at first may do betterafterwards.

Be led up the garden path.

a freend fremmit.Better a stranger for one's friend than a friend who has become a

Better a moose in the pat nor nae flesh.ush.

Better a tuim hoose nor an ill tenant.bad tenant.

Better a wee buss nor nae bield.

Better hauf an egg nor a tuim dowp.

Better ma freends thinks me fremmit as fashious.eldom visits than

Beauty's muck whan honour's tint.

Cairy saut til Dysart.

Those who don't succeed ve

Be taen til the fair.

Better a fremmit freend nor

stranger.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the b

Better an empty house than a

Any port in a storm.

Better half a loaf than no bread.

Better my friends think me stranger due to stroublesome due to too many.

Better mak yer feet yer freends.Run for your life.

Better suin nor syne.

Better sooner than later.

Beauty is of no value when honour is lost.

Carry coals to Newcastle.



Wir Ain Leid

270 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Caukin the claith afore the wab be in the luim.ched.

Caw saut til Dysart.

Claw ye ma back an A'll claw yersurs.

Craft maun hae claes but suith gangs nakit.truth goes naked.

Cuttin afore the pynt.e hatched.

Dancin like a hen on a het girdle.

Dinna speak o raip til a chield that's faither wis hingit.

E’enin orts is guid mornins' fother.w.

Facts is chields that winna ding.

Fell twa dugs wi the ae bane.

Gie a beggar a bed an he'll pey ye wi a loose..

Gie yer tongue mair halidays nor yer heid.an your head.

Git the whistle o yer groat.

Counting your chickens before they are hat

Carry coals to Newcastle.

If you scratch my back I'll scratch yo

A craftsman must have clothes but

Counting your chickens before they ar

Like a cat on hot bricks.

Don't talk of rope to a man whose father was hung.

What is despised today may be valued tomorro

Facts cannot be denied.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Give a beggar a bed and he'll pay you with a louse

Give your tongue more holidays th



Wir Ain Leid


Hae ither towe on ane's rock.

He's no the berry (nor yit the buss it growed on).

He's waur tae watter nor tae corn..

He haed a tongue that wad clip cloots.

He haes a crap for aw corn.

He kens the laid frae the croun o the causey.

.

He kens whilk side his bannock's buttert on..

He stummles at strae an lowps ower a linn.He finds difficulties only where he wants to.

He shoud hae a hail powe that caws his neebour neetie nou.shouldn't throw stones.

He that's angry opens his mou an steeks his een.

aks unadvisedly, without investigating the

e chanter.which you have no aptitude.

.

Be paid in one's own coin.

Have other fish to fry.

He's not the clean potato.

He's fonder of drink than food

He would talk the hind legs off a donkey.

All is fish that comes to his net.

He knows how many beans make five

He knows which side his bread is buttered on

People who live in glass houses

The angry man spematter.

He that's scant o braith shoudna meddle wi thNever begin anything for

He that blaws in stour fills his ain een



Wir Ain Leid

272 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

inds himself in it.

se for it.

He wad skin a loose for the tauch..

He winna rive his faither's bunnet.

His mither canna see daylicht til him.oy.

Ilk blad o girse keeps its ain dew.

It's a bare muir that ye gang throu an no find a heather cou.

oose.A shy cat makes a proud mouse.

it's ain nest.It's an evil person who harms one's own.

ock sing nor the moose cheep.

It's guid tae begin weel, but better tae end weel.

It's ill bringin but, whit's no ben.

He who stirs up trouble f

He that sleeps wi dugs maun rise wi flaes.He who keeps bad company will be the wor

He that will til Cupar maun til Cupar.A wilful man must have his way.

No source of gain is beneath his miserly attention

He'll never fill his father's shoes.

He's his mother's white haired b

Mind your own business.

It's a long lane that has no turning.

It's a blate cheetie that maks a prood m

It's an ill bird that fyles

It's better tae hear the laver

The outdoor life is the better.

Make hay while the sun shines.

You can't have your cake and eat it.



Wir Ain Leid


It's like butter in the black dug's hause.

It's no the rummlin cairt that faws ower the brae.son who dies first.

It's past joukin whan the heid's aff.oor after the horse has bolted.

Keep something for a sair fit.

Keep yer ain fish-guts tae yer ain seamaws.

Kinnle a caunle at baith ends an it'll suin be duin.you'll soon be dead.

Lat the belled wether brak the snaw.s.

Lig the heid o the sou til the tail o the gryce.

a het girdle.Like a cat on hot bricks.

belt.You can't silence me.

Bestow no empty praise.

the haund.Many marry for money.

It's no use crying over spilt milk.

It's not the likeliest per

It's too late to lock the stable d

Keep something for a rainy day.

Charity begins at home.

Go to bed late and rise early and

Tried leaders are best in emergencie

Balance gains and losses.

Like a Hen on

Ma tongue isna unner yer

Makna tuim ruise.

Mony ane for laund, taks a fuil by

Muckle whistlin for little redd laund.



Wir Ain Leid

274 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Much cry for little wool.

ver lichtlied his ain leeks.No man speaks ill of what he values most.

uin unless ye pey ma souter.Don't criticise something you know nothing about and is none of

Ne'er gang til the deil wi a dishcloot on yer heid.

Ne'er lat yer feet rin faster nor yer shuin.

Ne'er lat yer gear owergang ye.

Ne'er pit yer haund oot faurer nor yer sleeve will rax.

Niver tak a forehaimer tae brak an egg. (whan ye can dae't wi the

Pit twa pennies in a pootch an thay'll creep thegither.eep together.

Raise nae mair deils nor ye can lig.

Reek follaes the fairest, beir witness tae the creuk.

Nae gairdener i

Ne'er find faut wi ma sh

Your business.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Don't outstrip your resources.

Pride not yourself in your riches.

Spend no more than you can afford.

back o a knife).To crack a nut with a sledgehammer.

No see daylicht til.Be blind to one's fate.

Oot the hie-gate is aye fair play.Honesty is the best policy.

Put two pennies in a purse and they will cr

Don't start anything you can't stop.

Excellence is accompanied by envy.



Wir Ain Leid


Rive the kirk tae theik the queir.

Saut somebody's kail.

Set a stoot hert til a stey brae.The harder the task, the more determination is needed.

Tak a hair o the dug that bit ye yestreen.A hangover cure!

Tak help at yer elbucks.Heaven helps those who help themselves.

That'll no set the heather alicht.That won't set the Thames on fire.

The deil's gane ower Jock Wabster.The fat's in the fire.

The eemock bites sairer nor the clock.It is dangerous to interfere with a man seriously engaged inbusiness.

The keeng ligs doun an the warld rins roond.No man is indispensable.

The pruif o the pudden's in the the preein o't.

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting.

The thing that's duin is no tae dae,There's no time like the present.

Thare's a dub at ilka door.There's a skeleton in every cupboard.

Rob Peter to pay Paul.

Have a rod in pickle for.



Wir Ain Leid

276 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

ape thair weird.ate.

Yo le's property.

girdle

Thare's a flae in ma hose.I'm in trouble.

Thare's aye some watter whaur the stirkie drouns.No smoke without fire.

Thare's mair room athoot nor athin.An apology for passing wind.

Thay are fremmit freends that canna be fasht.They are strange friends who can't be bothered.

Thay gang faur that disna meet ae day.The world's a small place.

n's wyliecoat but canna shWe can shape wir bairWe can shape our children’s clothes but not their f

Ye are feart for the day ye niver seen.You are worrying unnecessarily.

Ye canna gaither berries aff a whinbuss.Don't go to ill-tempered people for favours.

Ye coud hae bund me wi strae.You could have knocked me down with a feather.

Ye cut lang whangs aff ither fowk's ledder.u make very free with other peop

Ye shape shuin by yer ain shauchelt feet.To judge others by yourself.

Ye wad wheedle a laverock frae the lift.You have a winning way with you.

Yer breid's bakkit, ye can hing up yer



Wir Ain Leid


You have achieved all you aimed at.

Yer mynd's aye chasin mice.Your wits are wool-gathering.

Yer tongue gangs like a laum's tail.lking.You are never done ta



Wir Ain Leid

278 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

nd

nglish

1932

1890,

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Adams G.B. ‘How to Pronounce Older Scots’ in ‘Bards and Makars’.Glasgow University Press 1977

Adams G.B. The Dialects of Ulster in English Language in Ireland. O77Muirithe (Ed.) Dublin 19

Aitken A.J. ‘Lowland Scots’. University of Edinburgh for they Studies. 1973Association of Scottish Literar

Aitken A.J. ‘Scots’ in The Oxford Companion to the Englishrd 1992Language, OUP, Oxfo

Aitken A.J. ‘Variation and Variety in Written Middle Scots’ inEdinburgh Studies in English and Scots.

Aitken A.J. Is Scots a Language? In English Today No.3 July 1985gth Rule in So Meny PeopleAitken A.J. The Scottish Vowel-Len

Langages and Tonges. Eds. Benskin and Samuels, 1981itken ialects in Language in the BritishA A.J. Scottish Accents and D

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... 2 .... 2

The Relationship of Scots to Other Germanic Languages ...................... 5 The Development of English and Scots .................................................. 6

Language or Dialect? .............................................................................. 10 Language.............................................................................................. 10 Accents................................................................................................. 11 Dialects ................................................................................................ 11 Geographic Dialect Continua................................................................ 11 Autonomy and Heteronomy ................................................................. 12 Is Scots a Dialect or a Language? ......................................................... 14

Written Scots .......................................................................................... 17 Pronunciation ......................................................................................... 20

Consonants .......................................................................................... 20 Vowels.................................................................................................. 21 Diphthongs .......................................................................................... 22 Word Stress .......................................................................................... 22 The Alphabet........................................................................................ 23 Silent Letters ........................................................................................ 24 Connected Speech................................................................................ 25 Syntax and Morphology ....................................................................... 25 Punctuation and Use of Capital letters ................................................. 25

The Pronunciation of Scots Dialects ....................................................... 26 Dialect Map .......................................................................................... 26 Southern Scots ..................................................................................... 29 South East Central Scots....................................................................... 35 North East Central Scots....................................................................... 40 West Central Scots................................................................................ 45

South West Central Scots...................................................................... 50 Ulster Scots .......................................................................................... 55 South Northern Scots ........................................................................... 61 Mid Northern Scots............................................................................... 66 North Northern Scots ........................................................................... 72 Insular Scots ......................................................................................... 78

Contents

What is Scots?........................................................................................

The Emergence of Scots .....................................................................



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284 V. 1.3 © 2008 Andy Eagle

Scots .................................................................................... 84 Dundee Scots ....................................................................................... 85

... 87 .. 89

............. 91 Gàidhealtachd ...................................................................................... 93

Scottish Standard English ....................................................................... 98 Vowels and Diphthongs ....................................................................... 98

ts .......................................................................................... 99 Stress...................................................................................................100

..100 103 104

................................................114 125 .125

efinite Article .............................................................................126 ouns................................................................................................... 130

............................................................................... 141 Indefinite Pronouns .............................................................................141 Demonstrative Pronouns .....................................................................143 Personal Pronouns...............................................................................145 Possessive Pronouns ...........................................................................149 Reflexive Pronouns..............................................................................151 Interrogative Pronouns........................................................................154 Relative Pronouns................................................................................156 Negative Pronouns ..............................................................................159 Other Pronouns ...................................................................................160

Adjectives ............................................................................................. 161 Numbers............................................................................................... 171

Auxiliary and Modal Verbs.................................................................... 177 Verbs .................................................................................................... 190 Adverbs ................................................................................................ 207 Prepositions.......................................................................................... 226 Conjunctions ........................................................................................ 247 Greetings.............................................................................................. 251 Days, Months and Holidays .................................................................. 254 Aspects of Colloquial Speech ............................................................... 255

Aberdeen

Edinburgh Scots ................................................................................

Glasgow Scots ....................................................................................

Belfast Dialect..........................................................................

Consonan

Grammar and Vocabulary..................................................................

Scots Spelling .......................................................................................

Orthographic Conventions ..................................................................

English and Scots cognates .................

The Articles ..........................................................................................

The Indefinite Article ..........................................................................

The DN

Pronouns ...............



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TIdioms T .................................................................................................. 259 TProverbs T ............................................................................................... 267 TBibliography T ......................................................................................... 278 TContentsT............................................................................................... 283



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Scots Leid (Scottish Grammar) 1