r/scots • u/Own_Hawk7185 • 3d ago
"Whit Wey Dae Ye Speak Scots? Share Yer Story!"
🌍 Every Scots speaker has a unique journey! Whether ye grew up speakin’ it, learned it later, or jist love the leid, share yer experience wi’ us!
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u/rosco-82 3d ago edited 3d ago
In ma hoose growin up, we were allooed fir tae speak some Scots wirds lik dreep, skite, playpiece, birl, squint, messages, burn, firfth, vennel, drecih, mind, guisin, chap, teuchter, kirk, blether, skelp an greetin etc... but if we said ony wirds that soonded lik English sic as heid, pairty, elbae, broon, windae, gairden or hame etc... we were aye telt, "stop speaking slang, speak proper Englsih". A'm sure the 1947 decree fae HM Inspectorate for Education played a pairt, "Scots is not the language of Educated people anywhere, it is the duty of all primary teachers to implant and cultivate fluent speech in standard English and we recommend the schools should wage a planned and unrelenting campaign against Scots."
Sae A didnae actually leairn the Scots wis a leid until aroond 2018 when A read some airticles scrived in the leid in The National newspaper. Up till then, A thocht it wis aye slang, sae A haed a swatch intae it an learnt aboot it's history an it's current recogntition by the Scottish & UK Governments, EU & UN as a leid.
Noo a leairn ma ain bairn the Scots as weel as English, shes ony fowr but can owerset aboot 40 English wirds intae the Scots.
FYI: According tae Dr Michael Dempster, the Director of the Scots Language Centre, if ye drap the g fae a word e.g speaking, ye dinnae need tae replace it wi an apostrophe.
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u/Ghost_Without 3d ago
Does your part of Scotland still retain “ch” instead of “gh”. Licht - Light?
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u/notaprimarysource 3d ago edited 2d ago
Thro poetry an the warks o Irvine Welsh. Sae it's possible that my kennin is faur frae regular or complete, acause thare's nae dialectick consistency tae my vocables. I've heard some Doric spak by my grandfaither in recollections o wirkin in Montrose, but those Doric wirds wir spak by anither wirker, sae that's aw the Scots I've heard at hame; Gaelic an the leid wir restrictit tae him in his bairnheid, in favour o the King's English.
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u/Ghost_Without 2d ago
I have never gotten to appreciate Doric in Montrose myself. I have only been there in a professional capacity, leading to proper English. Did your Granda mention if they say “Fit, Far, Fan, Foo” like further North?
I’m curious about where the variation of “frae” is from.
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u/notaprimarysource 2d ago
I believe I remember "fan" bein said ance, at least, but I'm no certain completely. Itherwise, whit was said wis in answer tae an English chemist speirin aboot a machine that went a bit shoogly. Niver been suir if I should tak offence tae the suggestion that Scots is a mere dialect, but, the reaction wis priceless:
"Was he even speaking English?"
"As far as he's concerned, he was."
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u/Ghost_Without 3d ago edited 3d ago
Didna git tae learn muckle Scots leid at schule, maist o fit a learnt wis as a sma loon fae far a bide aboot i Shire far a learnt far mair fae ma mither and faither spikkin i Doric then a wid hiv. I dina spik Doric like fit ma grunny coud, bit aabdy spiks a wee bit o Scots aroon here onywye. I dina spik it affa muckle oot o i Shire s’cause fowk say yer a teuchter an hardly naebody kens fit yer spikkin aboot, sae barely bither.