Scottish Dictionary

I don't have any photos of speech, so I will just insert a few pictures I have taken around here in the last week. I find reading to be more interesting when there are pictures, don't you? 

Taken in Wick

But I do have a funny video clip, which I hope to attach at the end. So, if I am successful, you will have that to look forward to. 


The Scots have their own way of speaking. You probably already know that. 

Yes, they have a Scottish accent, which is fun to listen to, but I really enjoy their expressions as well.

Along the Wick River - looks like fall/autumn

There seem to be different dialects, or regional differences, depending on where you live in Scotland. 

A real Scot can tell you, based on how another Scot speaks, just where in Scotland they are from. I hear the same is true of the English and England.

This should not surprise me, since this is similar to the US. You can tell someone is from Boston, New Jersey, New York and Texas, for sure. Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia all have their twang as well. And I have heard it said that the Northwest has an accent as well, although I cannot seem to hear it. To me, they just talk plainly.

Wick

People from Pennsylvania (my relatives) definitely have their way of speaking. They have not only their special 'Cove' sound (which is local to Morrison's Cove, where they all grew up), but they have expressions that are particular to that region.

For instance, they say 'pop' instead of soda. They use directional words to indicate places. You go 'down' the lane, 'down' to Lancaster, 'out' to Altoona, and 'in' to Martinsburg.

old Wick Library 

When my children were young, they would babble. My dad always said they were speaking Dutch.  Sometimes that is what the Scottish sound like. 

Hopefully, Mike will write a post soon about his first golfing experience here. It would be way more fun to video record him to hear him imitate what he experienced, but if he actually does write it, you won't want to miss reading it.

I met a farmer a couple of months ago who definitely sounded "Scottish." He hardly seemed to open his mouth or move his lips and so his words all strung together. There was a lot of intonation and expression, but not much distinction between words. I pride myself in thinking that I think I understood at least half of what he said, getting the gist from the context.

Thurso Beach

However, I think he is an exception. 

Most Scots I know speak pretty clearly and I can understand almost everything they say. The exception is usually when they use expressions that I am not familiar with.

Like once, I dropped into my friend's place of business and popped my head into her office to say hello. However, I startled her and she exclaimed that I must have been wearing my 'brothel creepers.'

Thurso Beach - love those clouds

I have watched British shows for quite a long time - way before I ever knew I would live in the UK again. I think that all started when the kids got me hooked on "Dr. Who" some years ago (which, by the way, was playing on the TV when I was living in England as a child. I distinctly remember the Daleks.)

I think listening to these shows have attuned my ear somewhat to the English language in its varieties. Mike does not watch those shows with me, so I find that when we are in the same situation, Mike will have a confused look on his face that says, "Whaaat?"  So I will often interpret for him.  LOL!

Thurso Beach - tide is waaay out

Besides watching several seasons of "Dr. Who" (with lots of different English accents), I also watched "Sherlock" (with Benedict Cumberbatch), "Doc Martin," "Broadchurch" with David Tennant (takes place in the south of England), and "Vera," which takes place in Northumberland, and has a very strong accent. I think I understood about 2/3 of what was said in that show, getting the gist of it through context.


However, this summer,I discovered closed captioning (!!) and engaged it (!!). Now I can read what they are saying as well as hear it.

Thurso River - tide is very low

Now I say, "Of course that is what they said," but that is probably because I am hearing and seeing the words at the same time. 

But sometimes I read the words and say, "Are you kidding? I would never have understood that because it doesn't even make sense when I see the words!"  

For instance, the TV series called "Shetland" takes place on the Shetland Islands. They speak Scottish there. And they celebrate something called "Up Helly Aa." Excuse me? Try having someone say those words to you without seeing at them.  

Thurso River

So, while I would love to just be taking notes all over the place and recording not only what people say but how they say it, I think it would annoy people. 

So, I listen to people talk, whisper to myself what I heard, and then tell myself, "now remember that." But I don't. So, here is just a little bit I will share with you.

Thurso River Bridge - from the other side of our house

A few Scottish expressions:

catch them up = bring someone up to date on a situation
away with the fairies = ditsy, like our expression 'dumb blonde'
queue up = get in line
proper - if it's raining hard, it's a 'proper rain'
go through = go into the other room
they go 'to university' or 'to uni'and 'to hospital' instead of going to THE university or hospital

looking at the bridge from our balcony

Sometimes they just have different words for a familiar item:
trainers =sneakers
wee = small
trolley = shopping cart
wadding = batting (used it quilts)
boot = trunk of the car
fringe = bangs on your head
tatties = potatoes
neeps = turnips
minging = terrible
lassie = girl
bairn = small child or baby
fear = for (like 'what for?')
dinnae = don't (I dinnae have any trainers)
cannae - can't
deed = dead
craid = cried
bonnie = pretty
aye = yes  (LOVE this one)  
ring = call (I'll ring you on the mobile)
mow-bile = cell phone
lift = elevator or a ride (ride the lift  - or - I'll give you a lift)
cinema - the movie theater
whippy - a soft served ice cream in a cone

Looking the other way at Thurso River from our balcony

A lot of what they say is the same - it's just slightly different sounding. For instance,

look = luke (like the name)
book =buke (ryhmes with Luke)
early = air-lee
tools = tu-ells
Amazon = Amazun
Europe = Year-up
Orkney Islands = Ort-knee
out = oot
about = a-boot
good = gewd/gude (same sounds as Luke)

The big thing is to drop the middle consonants:
water = wah -er
little = lih - uhl
I truly wish that I could think of more at this time, because I really love hearing these words. But you get the idea. 

All I am trying to say is that the Scottish are really great people and I absolutely love the way they talk. I wish I had such a great accent and such fun expressions of speech. 

Actually - true story - I was here about a week and was with a friend in a public building. A person came in and started asking what courgettes are (they are zucchinis) and she wanted to know how to cook them. Well, I had just learned that new word - courgette - and I eat lots of zucchini and love it - so I piped in a super easy and delicious way to cook it. As soon as I started speaking, her head popped up and she whipped around until she saw me and blurted out, "I love your accent!"  

I have an accent! 
It made my day.

Well, soon I hope to be able to not only attach video clips to my blog, but also play them. Apparently it will not be today. I can get it to paste but not play. So, I encourage you to go to YouTube and watch the following. I find it hilarious. Here is the title and the link, in case you want to just copy and paste. 

Burnistoun - Voice Recognition Elevator in Scotland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAz_UvnUeuU

If this post makes you want the full Scottish language experience for yourself, book a trip!

We will not mind being used as a Bed and Breakfast, but you will need to get on our calendar if you get excited about coming here next summer.