Comments on: Speaking Scots

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:58:39 +0000

Very interesting. It’s weird, you know, I’ve lived in Scotland for the best part of 20 years and I’ve never lost my south of England accent. I do, though, tend to use Scots vocabulary. I must sound very strange saying, “I ken what ye mean, I was pure scunnered and all” in my Dorset brogue.

By: Identifying words « Second Hand Shopper

Identifying words « Second Hand Shopper — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:15:28 +0000

[...] Vikki commented in her guest post on Scottish-English, there are some words that just relay their specific meaning so much better than any translation. [...]

By: Vikki

Vikki — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:43:33 +0000

Kay – Interesting that your use is the total opposite of how it’s used in Scotland!

Joe – I’ve never heard of shoodery. It’s lovely though. I always called it a high shoulder, which I think is the standard term (?)

I love oxter as well. My mum taught me to sing (to the verse melody of Magic Moments) “I’ll never forget the smell of your sweat from under your oxters” And if you sing it in a genteel way it causes guffaws galore when you’re wee!

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:05:29 +0000

Hmmm a collie buckie’s a new one on me but it comes up a lot on Google. I’d call it a coaxy. I can’t imagine where either might come from.

When my dad used to put me on his shoulders it would be called a “shoodery” – “Da, gonny geez a shoodery?”

Is your armpit your “oaxter”? I’d like to find out if any of these words (not “shooder”, obviously) have roots in Gaelic. I’m off to find a Gaelic dictionary…

By: Kay

Kay — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:00:46 +0000

Vikki, We used to use clarty as in “are you going to a clarty party” when we were getting dressed up to go out. That is from the north east of England. My students sometimes find my accent, not that I think I have much of a one, a bit of a puzzle.

By: Vikki

Vikki — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:42:46 +0000

Haha! Yes, Joe, it would’ve been quite an effort if you had! Apologies for misreading…

I’d like to know about a particular word too. I think it’s east coast, but I’ve had loads pf people from the east coast know nothing about it when I’ve said it, and that’s the term Collie Buckie for a piggyback ride. I have never said piggyback in my life, but lately, I’ve been getting a lot of raised eyebrows when I say collie buckie. Does anyone know where it came from?

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:34:45 +0000

Vikki,
I didn’t mean to give the impression that I spoke RP for the whole class, only a few sentences but they we’re genuinely surprised why I didn’t speak like that all the time.

I had always wondered where the scots word for child “wean” (pronounced wayne) comes from. I was in Norn Iron and heard people talking about yous uns, us uns, them uns, the big uns and yes you’ve guessed it …the wee uns. “Bairn” is used on the east cost and wean is only used on the east which has had more contact with Norn Iron. Another mystery solved.

By: Vikki

Vikki — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:21:11 +0000

Yeah, that’s how I would use them. Like a knackered, but with fed up in it too. It can also mean puzzled too, like a crossword can scunner ye…

By: Roisin Muldoon

Roisin Muldoon — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:05:14 +0000

We have ’scunnered’ in Norn Iron as well – only it’s more like ’scundered’ and it can mean either really fed up with someone or something “I’m that scundered with this ironing I’m away for a cup of tea” or it can mean really embarrassed “Aye did you see me coming out of the toilets with me skirt tucked into me knickers? Pure scundered, hi!”

Are either of the Scots translations close?

By: Vikki

Vikki — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:40:26 +0000

Caroline – Speaking on behalf of all Scottish people (hahahahahaha!) I would say, pepper yer speech with as many Scots words as you like! I definitely don’t feel as if you would be stealing anything, it’s spreading the joy more than anything!

Funnily enough though, a word I used to use a lot I don’t like to use as much because it was hijacked a bit by the media and turned into something nasty and judgemental…the word chav. I’m not sure if its origins are entirely Scottish as I was told it was an old gypsy word and it was just an informal word for person (like guy…). But I had been saying it since I was wee….

Joe – I don’t know how you could’ve kept up RP for a whole class! It’s interesting though – we obviously still need more regional accents out in the world!