Scots

[deardron]

Scots online tutorial:

http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/index.asp

A general page about Scots and its dialects:

http://www.scotslanguage.com/Scots/Scots_by_region/

[Farenhajt]

Hi guys,

Can someone please tell me how to pronounce "Auchleuchries"? And what it is exactly - a city, a village, something else?

Thanks

[Azraeltruthsay]

Hey there, if someone would please translate this phrase for me I would be quite grateful.

"I would chase the sunset with you."

It's going on a tattoo so as accurate as possible please, I don't want to be laughed at if I go to Scotland for a bad translation.

[Purple Julie]

Ah wid chase the sunset wi' ye

Don't take my word on it, but that is my translation. I'm no expert though.

Obviously it is word for word and three words are the same as Standard English. I don't know if there's a better idiomatic way of saying it.

[SaraK]

Hello there! I am an American about to marry a Scot. We are having a pendant made as an engagement present for me (I'm not really a 'diamond ring' kind of girl). The problem we're having is with the engraving. He wants it to say "Love Eternal" in Scottish Gaelic. The translation the artist came up with was "Gaol Siorraidh." Maybe I'm making too much of it, but "gaol" is also Old English for "jail," and that seems a little on the nose to me. I went online and found "Gràdh Siorraidh" as an alternative translation, but the artist insists this is a combination of Scots and Irish. Is it? I would appreciate any suggestions or alternatives. Thanks in advance for your help!

Sara

[Mulder-21]

This is the wrong subforum. You need to go to the Gaelic (Gàidhlig) subforum.

JP

[Aleco]

How do you pronounce Blide Yuil? As in British English?

(Trying Insular Scots here)

Fun to see, by the way Blid = Happy in Norwegian

*************************

It's fun to see other Orkney Dialect similarities

claa = scratch = klø
rive = tear = rive
biggit = built = bygget
heuved = swallen = hoven
morn = morning = morn (what we say when we say "God Morning")
whitemaa = seagull = måke (some places preceeded by hvite-)
keek = peep, look = kikke
maet = food = mat
hosst = cough = hoste
speir = ask = spørre
gavse = to eat ('savagely') = gafse(my dialect at least; couldn't find it in the dictionary)
nave = fist = neve

Sorry, it's not on topic

[MacMurchadha]

A canni believe 'er's a section fir Scoats 'ere

[Bentje]

is Doric easy to learn? i recently visited Aberdeen and Inverness and i found the language fascinating although i couln't read a single word!

I think the language you may have seen was Scottish-Gaelic, rather than Scots. It seems very unlikely that someone who knows English would not be able to recognise at least some written Scots words.

Here is a webpage from the Scottish Parliament written in Scots:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/l ... /index.htm
I'd imagine that most English speakers would be able to at least get the gist of it, though it might be harder if you're not already familiar with Scottish English.

Is these anything common between Doric and Gaelic?

Yes and no. Doric is a Scots variety spoken in the Northeast of Scotland, and is thus a Germanic language, whereas Gaelic is a Celtic language. So yes, they are distantly related in the sense that both are Indo-European languages, but that's essentially as far as it goes.

[ego]

I wonder if this language the taxi drivers in Edinburgh speak is Scots or just English pronounced in a Scottish way. The sure is I cannot understand them at all

[Bentje]

The thing is, it's kind of difficult to draw a clear line between Scottish English and Scots. I mean, there is some speech which is evidently Scottish English and there is some speech which is evidently Scots, but the distinction in the middle is blurred. And then, the situation is further complicated by the fact that many people who in reality speak Scots all or most of the time believe that they actually just speak 'bad' Scottish English — which is a shame, in my view.

The BBC regional dialects website seems to go to the other extreme though, where even the recordings of the ladies from Morningside are listed as being in the Scots language. Ha.

[ego]

I see. I hope it won't take me much to understand people. Perhaps I should read the basics of Scots here

[Bentje]

If you're living in Edinburgh and are working mainly with people from a middle-class background then you should be fine. Equally, many people are capable of modifying their speech to reflect the situation — in other words, quite a lot of people will automatically speak in a way that's closer to Standard English when speaking to you anyway, because they'll subconsciously assume that you'd have difficulty understanding them otherwise.

[ego]

If you're living in Edinburgh and are working mainly with people from a middle-class background then you should be fine. Equally, many people are capable of modifying their speech to reflect the situation — in other words, quite a lot of people will automatically speak in a way that's closer to Standard English when speaking to you anyway, because they'll subconsciously assume that you'd have difficulty understanding them otherwise.

That's what I was expecting too but I can't say I noticed it

[Oleksij]

If you're living in Edinburgh and are working mainly with people from a middle-class background then you should be fine. Equally, many people are capable of modifying their speech to reflect the situation — in other words, quite a lot of people will automatically speak in a way that's closer to Standard English when speaking to you anyway, because they'll subconsciously assume that you'd have difficulty understanding them otherwise.

That's what I was expecting too but I can't say I noticed it

All you need is time, ego. After several months you will have virtually no problem understanding locals.

[BloTTo]

Hello,
i'm from Germany and i have a question.
In latin there's a wisdom called "ars vivendi", which mean " The "art" to live/of life" or "Living-art" (hope you know what i mean ). I want to know, how it's called in scots-gaelic.
Please help, greeting BloTTo

[DelBoy]

You'll want the Scots Gaelic forum then, this one is for the (Germanic) Scots language.

[Hedgehog]

In Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales by Sir George Douglas there appeare unusual names 'Osla' and 'Jarm':

"two young fisher-mates of Lunna, in Shetland, were rivals for the hand of the fair Osla, daughter of Jarm."

How to pronounce them?

Thank you.

[deardron]

I think they're pronounced 'Osla' (stress on the 1st syllable) and Yarm. Osla must originate from Old Norse 'Áslaug'.

[Hedgehog]

Thank you!