Wir Ain Leed - Mid Northern Scots

Mid Northern Scots

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Mid Northern Scots

This dialect is also referred to as 'North East Scots', 'the Doric' or 'the Moray Claik' and 'the Buchan Claik'. The name Doric comes from the Greek for 'rural' or 'rustic'. The term was originally used to describe Scots in general but now just tends to refer to the Mid Northern Scots dialect.

Consonants

Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (pronunciation) in Scots, as in Standard English.

Reversal of /d/ and /l/ may occur in words like warld [wardl] and field [fidl] etc.
Initial <f> (/f/) is often pronounced /fj/ in words like fact, fauch and ferm etc.
Initial <g> (/g/) is often pronounced /gj/ in words like gang and gie etc. In Buchan this may be pronounced /dj/.
Before <nt>, <a> and <e> may be pronounced /ɪ/ in words like want, kent, pent and enter.
In Moray and Upper Banff /r/ may be elided before /s/ in words such as first, hairst, hirsle, hirst, horse and purse.
On the Moray Firth coast <v> may be pronounced /w/ in words such as nervish, raivel, vailyie, veesion, veesit and verra.

For more detail see Orthography.

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:

<ch> medial and final /x/¹Medial and final <cht> is sometimes pronounced /θ/ in words like dochter, micht and nocht etc. bocht, loch, nicht

<ch> initial /ʧ/ chap, chield, chirl, chowk

<nch> usually /nʃ/ brainch, clinch, dunch, hainch, inch, French

<tch> usually /ʧ/ fleetch, wratch

<dge> usually /ʤ/ begrudge, cadge, cruldge, fadge

<g(e)> occasionally /ʤ/ breinge, gigot

<gn> initial /gn/ gnap, gnaw

<kn> initial /kn/ knap, knee, knot, knowe

<ld> usually /l/ auld, bield, cauld, elder, fauld

<nd> usually /n/ baund, daunder, haund, find, sindry

<ng> usually /ŋ/ finger, hing, ingan, single

<nk> usually /ŋk/ bink, hank

<qu> usually /kw/ acquent, quair, queen

<sh> usually /ʃ/ creash, sheep

<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion

<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn

<th> usually /ð/²Medially often /d/ before <er>, especially in Buchan. blether, thaim, thair

<wh> usually /f/³The Pronunciation /w/ may occur in some words. wha, whan, wheech, wheel

<wr> initial often /vr/ 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/ aff, lang, mak, wash, watch

<a> final in /a:/ awa, twa, wha

<au> usually /a:/⁴In Buchan fishing villages /ɔ/ before <m>, <n> and <ng>. auld, haud, haund, saul, saund, slauchter

<aw> usually final /a:/⁵In Buchan, in words without Standard English cognates in <-al(l)>, the <w> may be pronounced /v/, often having /j/ before the preceding vowel, giving [ja:v] (awe), [bl(j)a:v] (blaw), [gnja:v] (gnaw), [lja:v] (law) and [snja:v] (snaw) etc. aw, blaw, caw, draw, faw, gaw, gnaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw

<aw> occasional /a:/ awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsant

<ai> initial and medial /e/⁶In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. waik and wait etc.^,⁷A /k/ before <ae, aCe, ai> often produces a yod-gilde + /a/, /kja/ in words like caird, cake and curn. Similarly with <naC-> /nja/ in words like naig, nakit and naiter. aiblins, aik, aiple, ait, aith, braid, craitur, fain, gaither, graith, haimer, laim

<aCe> C=consonant /e/⁶In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. claes, gape, plate, wade, wale and wame etc.^,⁷A /k/ before <ae, aCe, ai> often produces a yod-gilde + /a/, /kja/ in words like caird, cake and curn. Similarly with <naC-> /nja/ in words like naig, nakit and naiter. ale, face, gate, hame, Pace

<ane> usually /i/⁸Moray and Nairn usually have /e/. alane, ane, ance, bane, gane, mane, nane, stane

<ae> usually /e/ ae, brae, f(r)ae, gae, sae, tae n., wae

<ae> except in /i/ adae, dae, shae, tae v.

<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay

<ea> usually /i/⁶In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. great, quean, speak, squeal, weave, and wheat etc. Before /k/ the pronunciation /ɪ/ may occur e.g. speak.^,⁹Some words may have /e/. Coastal dialects, Moray and Nairn usually have /e/. Before /v/ and /z/ the pronunciation may be /əi/ or /ɪ/ in reason and season. beast, cheap, deave, east, heap, hear, meat, ream, sea, tea

<ee> usually /i/⁶In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. cheenge, heeze and swee etc. Before /k/ the pronunciation /ɪ/ may occur e.g. week. dee, dree, eetem, freet, jeely, keep, meet, teeth, weel, weet

<ei> usually /i/⁶Some words may have /e/. In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. seiven and sweit etc.^,⁹Some words may have /e/. Before /v/ and /z/ the pronunciation may be /əi/ or /ɪ/ in heiven and seiven. beir, deid, heid, meidae, peir, spreid, teir, threid

<ei,
ie> usually /i/ bield, chield, eild, scrieve, shielin

<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich

<e> usually /ɛ/¹⁰In coastal villages /ei/ may occur. bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled, gless, seck, wecht

<i> usually /ɪ/¹¹Initial /k/ may be pronounced /kw/ as in kintra [kwɪntrə]. drink, in, inch, licht, lift, pit, rin, simmer, sin, stibble

<i> after <w> and <wh> often /ʌ/ whin, whisper, whit, wid, wind, wir, wird, wirm, wittins

<o(a)> usually /ɔ/¹²The pronunciation /o/ may also occur. Away from Aberdeen <o> (/ɔ/) and <oa> (/o/) may be distinguished. boat, boss, box, coal⁶In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. coal and coat etc., cod, common, dochter, hoast, loch, on, rock, thocht

<oo> usually /u/ aboot, coont, droop, hoose, moose, oot, scoor, soond

<ou> usually /u/¹¹Initial /k/ may be pronounced /kw/ in coud [kwɪd]. Compare <ui> after /g/ and /k/ below. allou, bouk, broun, coum, cour, doun, dout, poupit, thoum

<uCe> C=Consonant /u/ dule, hure

<u> usually /ʌ/ bund, burn, drunken, fund, grund, truff, unce, wund

<ui> usually /i/¹³In Moray and Nairn before /r/ the pronunciation is usually /(j)u:/. abuin, abuise, bluid, bruit, buird, duin, fluir, fruit, fuird, luim, luif, muin, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir, spuin, uiss, uise, Yuil

<ui> after /g/ and /k/ /wi/ cuil, cuit, guid, schuil

<eu> usually /ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch, teuch, teug

<ew> usually /jʌu/¹⁴Also in words like beauty and duty. dew, few, new, spew

<iCe,
yCe> C=consonant /əi/¹⁵In Buchan /ɔi/ may occur. advice, bide, byle, fine, fire ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyte

<(e)y(e)> usually /əi/ cry, eyntment, eyster, fley, kye

<oi, oy> usually /oi/ Boid, foy, noise, ploy

<ow> initial and medial /ʌu/¹⁶Before /k/, /jo/ may occur. bowt, cowp, cowt, gowd, gowf, lowp, owsen

<owe> final /ʌu/ flowe, glowe, growe, howe, knowe, lowe, rowe, towe

Suffixes

<ae> usually /ə/¹⁷The pronunciation /e/ also occurs. Americae, arrae, barrae, nairae, swallae, windae

<ie> diminutive /i/¹⁸If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is /i/, otherwise /ɪ/. grannie, laddie, lassie, shappie, wifie

<fu> usually /fɛ/¹⁹The pronunciation /fe/ also occurs. awfu, carefu, mensefu

<na> negative /nə/ daena (dinna), haesna, maunna, winna, wisna,

<y, ie> adverbial and adjectival /i/¹⁸If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is /i/, otherwise /ɪ/. reekie, sairy, stany, stourie

<ly> adverbial /li/¹⁸If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is /li/, otherwise /lɪ/. brawly, feckly, fully, geyly, likely, uncoly

Medial and final <cht> is sometimes pronounced /θ/ in words like dochter, micht and nocht etc.
Medially often /d/ before <er>, especially in Buchan.
The Pronunciation /w/ may occur in some words.
In Buchan fishing villages /ɔ/ before <m>, <n> and <ng>.
In Buchan, in words without Standard English cognates in <-al(l)>, the <w> may be pronounced /v/, often having /j/ before the preceding vowel, giving [ja:v] (awe), [bl(j)a:v] (blaw), [gnja:v] (gnaw), [lja:v] (law) and [snja:v] (snaw) etc.
In some areas the pronunciation /əi/ occurs, usually after /w/ and a dark /l/. This may also occur after other consonants e.g. cheenge, claes, coal¹¹, coat¹¹, gape, great, heeze, plate, quean, seiven, speak, squeal, swee, sweit, wade, waik, wait, wale, wame, weave, and wheat etc. Before /k/ the pronunciation /ɪ/ may occur e.g. speak and week.
A /k/ before <ae, aCe, ai> often produces a yod-gilde + /a/, /kja/ in words like caird, cake and curn. Similarly with <naC-> /nja/ in words like naig, nakit and naiter.
Moray and Nairn usually have /e/.
Some words may have /e/. Coastal dialects, Moray and Nairn usually have /e/ for <ea>. Before /v/ and /z/ the pronunciation may be /əi/ or /ɪ/ in heiven, reason, season and seiven.
In coastal villages /ei/ may occur.
Initial /k/ may be pronounced /kw/ as in kintra [kwɪntrə], coal [kwəil]⁶, coat [kwəit]⁶ and coud [kwɪd]. Compare <ui> after /g/ and /k/.
The pronunciation /o/ may also occur. Away from Aberdeen <o> (/ɔ/) and <oa> (/o/) may be distinguished.
In Moray and Nairn before /r/ the pronunciation is usually /(j)u:/.
Also in words like beauty and duty.
In Buchan /ɔi/ may occur.
Before /k/, /jo/ may occur.
The pronunciation /e/ also occurs.
If the preceding vowel is /i/ or /əi/, or the preceding consonant is /b, d, ð, g, v, ʒ/ or /z/, the pronunciation is /i/, otherwise /ɪ/.
The pronunciation /fe/ also occurs.

In phrases beginning with in the, on the, at the and o the, the two words are contracted into 'ee' [i:] .

Thae and thir are replaced by the plural use of this and that.
The <th> is often elided in words like this and that, especially in Buchan.

The preposition 'gin is also used to mean 'by the time that' - 'Gin we get thare it'll be daurk!

Doric is a mailing list for discussion and debate in and on the Scots Language and the Doric Dialect, especially as used in the North East of Scotland.

Literature:

Dieth, Eugen (1932) A Grammar of the Buchan Dialect, Cambridge University Press.
Wölck, Wolfgang (1965) Phonematische Analyse der Sprache von Buchan, Heidelberg: Winter.
Mather, James Y. and H. H. Speitel (1986) The Linguistic Atlas of Scotland volume 3, London: Croom Helm.
Johnston, Paul (1997) "Regional variation" in Charles Jones ed. The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh University Press, 443-513.

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