Wir Ain Leed

This Scots-Online site is essentially an introduction to written non-regional Traditional Scots.     Tweet

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Contents Navigation Menu at top of Page! What is Scots? Language or  Dialect Pronunciation Orthography The Articles Nouns Pronouns Adjectives Numbers Auxiliary and  Modal Verbs Verbs Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Greetings Days, Months  and Years Colloquialisms     Idioms Proverbs Dictionary

Everyday speech in lowland Scotland and Ulster varies from speaker to speaker. This is often referred to as a speech continuum. In Scotland that continuum ranges from Traditional Scots, often called Braid Scots, the Doric, the Buchan Claik or the Moray Claik and Lallans (Lowlands) - to Scottish Standard English. In Ulster that continuum may range from the local variety of Scots to Standard English spoken with an Ulster Scots accent. Thus many people in Scotland and Ulster have access to the features of two linguistic systems and are able to range from one to the other according to the demands of the situation in which they find themselves. Such decisions are usually based on stylistic and contextual factors, the use of Scots being far more likely among the working-class and older rural people, especially those whose exposure to the anglicizing endeavors of the education system has not been longer than necessary. This web site concentrates wholly on the Traditional Scots end of this speech continuum. This includes archaic, and some obsolete vocabulary which has been replaced by Standard English equivalents. Such vocabulary is still used in literary Scots. Traditional Scots has no equivalent of 'RP'. Scots is spoken in various dialects. The Scots orthography used here can, on the whole, be read and pronounced in any Scots dialect. The information on pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired. Lack of time, space and technology hindered providision of an adequate guide to pronunciation for each word. Both the Ten Volume Scottish National Dictionary and the Concise Scots Dictionary provide phonetic pronunciations, see SLD Ltd and The Dictionar o the Scots Leid.

If you intend using this site to learn to speak Scots, choose the dialect you wish to learn - all dialects are equally valid.

I hope the information at this site is of assistance.
Feel free to comment on anything - especially mistakes and suggestions for improving user friendliness - I regularly update and improve this site. It's worth while calling back every few months.

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This version June 18 2002

COPYRICHT

Aw richts is pitten by. Nae pairt o this darg shuid be doobelt, hained in ony kin o seestem, or setten furth in ony shape or by onygate whitsomeiver, 'ithoot haein leave frae the writer afore-haund.

A hae nae pleens whan the abuin is duin for tae fordle the Scots leed in eddication, sae lang's naebody is makkin siller oot o't. Ony speirins, write us.

COPYRIGHT

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

I have no objections if the above is done in order to further the Scots language in education, as long as no one is making money from it. Any questions, write to me.

© Andy Eagle 1996 - 2002

Tak tent o the Scots leed - an uise hit!

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