Insular Scots
Insular Scots
Shetland and Orkney were colonised from Norway under Danish control in the
ninth century. The colonists spoke a Scandinavian language which came to
be known as Norn. The Islands were governed under proxy between 1321 and
1468 by the Scottish Earls of Angus, Strathearn and St. Clair. In 1468 the
Islands were offered as a dowry security for the marriage of the Danish
princess Margaret to James III. The dowry was never paid and the Islands
became part of Scotland. Eventually through Scots government and settlement
the Islands became Scots speaking although the dialect is heavily influenced
by Norn. Not only in vocabulary but also in verb construction.
Because of the significant variation within Insular Scots and its difference
to mainland Scots varieties. Insular Scots has developed orthographic
traditions of its own. Vowel length and the use of consonants varies much
more than in mainland Scots, and is impossible to represent using traditional
Scots orthography. The following can only be considered a rough
guide, see:
Robertson, T. A. and Graham, J. (1952)
Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick:
Shetland Times Ltd.
Graham, J. (1984) The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick.
Flaws, M. and Lamb, G. (1997) The Orkney Dictionary,
The Orkney Language and Culture Group, Kirkwall.
Tait, John (2000) "Some characteristics of the Shetlandic
vowel system", Scottish Language 19 , 83-99.
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in English.
An initial <d> before a vowel may
be pronounced /dj/ or
even /ʤ/.
Initial <f> (/f/)
may be pronounced /fj/
in words like fact, fauch and ferm etc.
For more detail see Orthography.
| Scots
Spellings |
Pronunciation
in words like: |
| |
| <ch> |
usually |
/x/ |
bocht, nicht, loch |
| <ch> |
Initial often |
/ʃ/ |
chap, chield, chirl,
chowk |
| <nch> |
usually |
/nʃ/ |
brainch, clinch, dunch,
hainch, inch, French |
| <tch> |
usually |
/ʧ/ |
fleetch, wratch |
| <dge> |
usually |
/ʤ/1 |
begrudge, cadge, cruldge,
fadge |
| <g(e)> |
occasionally |
/ʤ/1 |
breinge, gigot |
| <gn> |
initial |
/gn/2 |
gnap, gnaw |
| <kn> |
initial |
/kn/2 |
knap, knee, knot,
knowe |
| <j> |
initial |
/ʧ/ |
Jean, jeely, jyle |
| <ld> |
usually |
/ld/3 |
auld, bield, cauld,
elder, fauld |
| <nd> |
usually |
/nd/3 |
baund, daunder, find,
haund, sindry |
| <ng> |
usually |
/ŋ/ |
finger, hing, ingan,
single |
| <nk> |
usually |
/ŋk/ |
bink, hank |
| <qu> |
usually |
/kw/or
/ʍ/ |
acquent, quair, queen |
| <sh> |
usually |
/ʃ/ |
creash, sheep |
| <sh> |
occasionally |
/ʒ/ |
fushion, pushion |
| <th> |
usually |
/d/ |
blether, thaim, thair |
| <th> |
usually |
/t/ |
wirth, thing, thrawn |
| <th> |
final after a vowel |
/θ/ |
mooth, sooth, truith |
| <th> |
final |
/ð/
or
/d/ |
buith, meith |
| <wh> |
usually |
/ʍ/
or
/kw/ |
wha, whan, wheech,
wheel |
| <wr> |
initial often |
/wr/ |
wrack, wrang, wricht,
write |
Vowels and Diphthongs |
| vowels |
unstressed |
/ə/ |
aboot, the, oxter,
duntit, bannock, smeddum |
| <a> |
initial in |
/ə/ |
ahint, awa etc. |
| <a> |
usually |
/a/4 |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
final in |
/a/ |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually |
/a/4 |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
usually final |
/a/4 |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/a/4 |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/ɛ(:)/5 |
aiblins, aik,
aiple, ait, aith, braid,
craitur, fain, gaither,
graith, haimer, laim |
| <aCe> |
usually |
/e/6 |
alane, ale, ane,
ance, bane, face, gane,
gate, hame, mane, nane,
Pace, stane |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/7 |
ae, brae, f(r)ae,
gae, sae, tae n., wae
|
| <ae> |
except in |
/ø/8 |
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/i/, /e/9 |
beast, cheap, deave,
east, heap, hear, meat,
ream, sea, tea |
| <ea, ee> |
before /k/
(Shetland) |
/ɛ/ |
breeks, leak, speak |
| <ee> |
usually |
/i/ |
dee, dree, eetem,
freet, jeely, keep, meet,
teeth, weel, weet |
<ei,
ie> |
usually |
/i/, /e/9 |
bield, beir, chield,
deid, eild, heid, meidae,
peir, scrieve, shielin, spreid,
teir, threid |
| <ei> |
before /x/ |
/i/ |
dreich, heich, skeich |
| <e> |
usually |
/ɛ/10 |
bed, ebb, esh,
fecht, gled, gless, seck,
wecht |
| <i> |
usually |
/ɪ/11 |
drink, in, inch,
licht, lift, pit, rin,
simmer, sin, stibble, whin,
whisper, whit, wid, wind,
wir, wird, wirm, wittins |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/ɔ/12 |
boat, boss, box,
coal, cod, common, dochter,
hoast, loch, on, rock,
thocht |
| <oo> |
usually |
/u/ |
aboot, coont, droop,
hoose, moose, oot, scoor,
soond |
| <ou> |
usually |
/u/ |
allou, bouk, broun,
couer, coum, doun, dout,
poupit, thoum |
| <uCe> |
usually |
/ø/8 |
dule, hure, |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
usually |
/ø/8 |
abuin, abuise, bluid,
bruit, buird, cuil, cuit,
duin, fluir, fruit, fuird,
guid, luif, luim, muin,
muir, muisic, ruise, schuil,
shuir, spuin, uise, uiss,
Yuil |
| <eu> |
usually |
/ø/13 |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, new,
spew |
<iCe,
yCe> |
usually |
/əi/ |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wice, wyte |
| <ey> |
usually |
/əi/ |
eyntment, eyster |
| <y(e)> |
final in |
/ai/ |
cry, kye etc. |
| <oi> |
usually |
/ɔe/ |
Boid, noise |
| <oy> |
usually |
/ɔe/ |
foy, ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/14 |
bowt, cowp, cowt,
gowd, gowf, lowp, owsen |
| <owe> |
final |
/ʌu/14 |
flowe, glowe, growe,
howe, knowe, lowe, rowe,
towe |
- Often pronounced /ʧ/.
- Now usually only among older speakers. In Shetland
<kn> may occasionally be pronounced /hn/.
- Syllable final <ln> and <nd> are often
pronounced /l/
and /n/.
- In some areas /ɔ/
and /æ/ may
also occur. In some areas <au> and <aw>
may also be pronounced/ɔ/
or /ɑ/. The
cluster <auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.
- In west Shetland /e/
also occurs. In peripheral areas it may be diphthongised.
In parts of Orkney before /p/,
/t/, /k/,
/ʧ/, /f/,
/s/ and /ʃ/,
/æ:/ may
occur as in aik, aiple, ait,
craitur. In Orkney /i/
may occur.
- On Whalsay after /k/
and /g/, /je/
may occur as in cake [kjek].
In Orkney after /w/,
/əi/ may
occur as in wame [wəim].
In some dialects <ane> is pronounced /in/
as in alane, ane, bane, gane, mane, nane and
stane. In Orkney /i/
may occur before other consonants.
- In Orkney /i/
may occur.
- The pronunciation /Y/
(Ger. Fülle) also occurs.
Note /ø/
in dis, disna and dinna.
On the island of Stronsay pronunciations similar to
those of Central Scots occur with /ɪ/
in abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit,
cuil, cuit, dis, disna,
dinna, duin, fruit, fuird,
guid, luif, luim, muin,
schuil, spuin, uise and Yuil
etc., and /e:/
in buird, dae, fluir, muir,
muisic, ruise, shuir, tae
v. and uiss. In Orkney /(j)u/
may occur before /p/.
- Orkney usually has /i/
but Shetland may have /ɪ/
or /e/.
- Before /r/,
/e/ may occurs
in some areas. In the outer isles diphthongisation may
occur.
- In Orkney /i/
may occur before /g/,
/k/ and /m/,
and before /l/, /ɛ/
may occur. Before /x/
diphthongisation to /əi/
or /ae/ may occur
as in nicht. A preceding /k/
may be realised /kj/
some times also /tʃ/.
- In some areas the pronunciation /o/
also occurs and on Yell before /x/,
/əu/
may occur as in brocht, loch, thocht.
- The pronunciations /Y/
or /(j)u/
may also occur.
- In some words the pronunciation /u/
may occur in Shetland and
/ɔ/ may occur in Orkney.
The perfect and past perfect tenses are formed with the
verb tae be rather than the verb tae hae
i.e.
I'm buin at da fyshin.
(A'm been at the fishin.)
A hae been at the fishin.
I have been fishing. |
Dey wir buin at da fyshin.
(Thay war been at the fishin.)
Thay haed been at the fishin.
They had been fishing. |
An excellent Shetlandic website is 
Imbuis ta Shaetlan
Examples of the Orkney dialect can be found at
Sigurd
Towrie's excellent website about the Orkneys
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