North East Central Scots
North East Central Scots
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in Standard English.
<l> may be pronounced /j/
in words such as blue, laik and plou giving [bju:],
[jek] and [pju:]
etc.
In Perthshire <tw> may be realised /kw/
in words like atween, twa, twal, twinty and twist.
For more detail see Orthography.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciationin
words like: |
| |
| <ch> |
medial and final |
/x/ |
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> |
occasionally |
/ʤ/ |
breinge, gigot, |
| <ld> |
medial between vowels and final often |
/l/ |
auld, bield, cauld,
elder, fauld |
| <nd> |
medial between vowels and final |
/n/ |
daunder, find, haund,
saund, 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/ |
blether, thaim, thair |
| <wh> |
usually |
/ʍ/ |
wha, whan, wheech,
wheel |
Vowels and Diphthongs |
| vowels |
unstressed |
/ə/ |
aboot, the, oxter,
duntit, bannock, smeddum |
| <a> |
initial in |
/ə/ |
ahint, awa etc. |
| <a> |
usually |
/a/1The
pronunciation /ɑ/ may also occur, especially
before <n(d)>. |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
final in |
/ɔ:/2The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ may also occur. |
awa, wha, twa |
| <au> |
usually |
/ɔ:/2The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ may also occur. |
auld, haud, haund,
slauchter, saul, saund |
| <aw> |
usually final |
/ɔ:/2The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ may also occur. |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/ɔ:/2The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ may also occur. |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/e/ |
aiblins, aik, aiple,
ait, aith, braid, craitur,
fain, gaither, graith, haimer,
laim |
| <aCe> |
C=consonant |
/e/ |
ale, ane, ance,
face, gate, hame, Pace |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/ |
ae, brae, f(r)ae,
gae, sae, tae n., wae
|
| <ae> |
except in |
/e/3In
western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/ and towards Perthshire
/y/. To the east older speakers pronounce ui
/e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena. |
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/e/ |
beast, cheap, deave,
east, heap, hear, meat,
ream, sea, tea |
| <ee> |
usually |
/i/ |
dee, dree, eetem,
freet, jeely, keep, meet,
teeth, weel, weet |
| <ei> |
usually |
/e/ |
beir, deid, eild,
heid, meidae, peir, spreid,
teir, threid |
| <ie> |
medial |
/i/ |
bield, chield, scrieve,
shielin |
| <ei> |
before /x/ |
/i/ |
dreich, heich, skeich |
| <e> |
usually |
/ɛ/ |
bed, ebb, esh,
gled, gless, fecht, seck,
wecht |
| <i> |
usually |
/ɪ/4Towards
the Highland line the pronunciation /ʌ/
may occur. It may also occur before /l/, /kl/
and /tl/ in other areas. |
drink, in, inch,
licht, lift, pit, rin,
simmer, sin, stibble |
| <i> |
after <w> and <wh> often
|
/ʌ/ |
wid, whin, whisper,
whit, wind, wir, wird,
wirm, wittins |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/o/ |
boat, boss, box,
coal, cod, common, dochter,
hoast, 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> |
C=consonant |
/u/ |
dule, hure |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
initial short |
/jɪ/3In
western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/ and towards Perthshire
/y/. To the east older speakers pronounce ui
/e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena. |
uiss |
| <ui> |
medial short |
/ɪ/3In
western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/ and towards Perthshire
/y/. To the east older speakers pronounce ui
/e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena. |
abuin, bluid, bruit,
cuil, cuit, duin, fruit,
guid, luif, luim, muin,
schuil, spuin, Yuil |
| <ui> |
initial long |
/je:/3In
western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/ and towards Perthshire
/y/. To the east older speakers pronounce ui
/e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena. |
uise |
| <ui> |
medial long |
/je:/3In
western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/ and towards Perthshire
/y/. To the east older speakers pronounce ui
/e/ e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena. |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <eu> |
usually |
/(j)ʌ/ |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, new,
spew |
<iCe,
yCe> |
C=consonant
|
/əi/5The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs in long positions. |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wice, wyte |
| <(e)y(e)> |
usually |
/əi/5The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs in long positions. |
cry, eyntment, eyster,
fley, kye |
| <oi, oy> |
usually |
/oi/ |
Boid,foy, noise,ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/ |
bowt, cowp, cowt,
gowd, gowf, lowp, owsen |
| <owe> |
final |
/ʌu/ |
flowe, glowe, growe,
howe, knowe, lowe, rowe,
towe |
Suffixes |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/6The
pronunciation /i/ also occurs, especially to
the west. |
Americae, arrae, barrae,
nairae, swallae, windae |
| <ie> |
diminutive |
/e/7In
East Perthshire 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/ |
laddie, lassie, grannie,
shappie, wifie |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fe/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/ne/ |
daena, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
| <y, ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/e/7In
East Perthshire 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/ |
reekie, sairy, stany,
stourie, |
| <ly> |
adverbial |
/le/7In
East Perthshire if 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 |
Footnotes
- The pronunciation /ɑ/
may also occur, especially before <n(d)>.
- The pronunciation /ɑ:/
may also occur.
- In western parts of Fife older speakers still pronounce
ui /ø/
and towards Perthshire /y/.
To the east older speakers pronounce ui /e/
e.g. buit, duin, guid,
guis, luif, luim, schuil,
shuil, truith as with dae,
daes, daesna, daena.
- Towards the Highland line the pronunciation /ʌ/
may occur. It may also occur before /l/,
/kl/ and /tl/
in other areas.
- The diphthong /aɪ/
also occurs in long positions.
- The pronunciation /i/
also occurs, especially to the west.
- In East Perthshire 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/.
Literature:
Wilson, James (1916) Lowland Scotch
as Spoken in the Lower Strathearn District of Perthshire,
Oxford University Press.
Wilson, James (1926) The Dialects of Central Scotland,
London: Oxford University Press.
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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