North Northern Scots
North Northern Scots
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in Standard English.
In Avoch and Cromarty initial <h>
may be elided, wrong insertion of /h/
may also occur.
For more detail see Orthography.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciationin
words like: |
| |
| <ch> |
medial and final |
/x/ |
bocht, loch, nicht |
| <ch> |
initial often |
/ʃ/ |
chap, chield, chirl,
chowk |
| <nch> |
usually |
/nʃ/ |
brainch, clinch, dunch,
hainch, inch, French |
| <tch> |
usually |
/ʧ/ |
fleetch, wratch |
| <k, ck> |
final often |
/g/1This
is usual in Caithness. |
bannock, hillock, lassieock |
| <dge> |
usually |
/ʤ/ |
begrudge, cadge, cruldge,
fadge |
| <g> |
usually |
/ʤ/2In
Caithness initial /ʧ/ may occur. |
breinge, gigot |
| <g> |
occasionally |
/ʧ/ |
gigot, gin |
| <gn> |
Initial |
/gn/ |
gnap, gnaw |
| <j> |
Initial |
/ʧ/ |
Jean, jeely, jyle |
| <kn> |
Initial |
/n/3In
Caithness /kn/ may occur. In the Black Isle
and Easter Ross /kr/ may occur. |
knap, knee, knot,
knowe |
| <ld> |
final when the next word begins with
a consonant |
/l/ |
auld, bield, cauld,
fauld |
| <ld> |
otherwise |
/ld/ |
elder |
| <nd> |
usually |
/n/ |
baund, daunder, find,
haund, 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 |
| <t> |
final often |
/d/ |
droukit, it,
mairit, semmit |
| <th> |
usually |
/θ/ |
graith, thole, thrawn |
| <th> |
usually |
/ð/4Initial
<th> may be omitted in words like the, thair,
thare, thee and thoo. |
blether, thaim, thair |
| <wh> |
usually |
/f/5In
Cromarty /w/ prevails. It may occur in some
words in other areas. In the Black Isle and Easter
Ross <wh> may be omitted or replaced by /h/
in words like wha, whan, whase and whit. |
wha, whan, wheech,
wheel |
| <wr> |
often initial |
/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/6In
the Black Isle and Easter Ross /əi/ may
occur before <n> and <ng>. |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
final in |
/a:/ |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually |
/a:/7Also
/ɑ/ before <l>, <n>, <r>
and <ch> /x/. In Caithness the cluster
<auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/. |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
usually final |
/a:/ |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw
|
| <aw> |
occaisional |
/a:/ |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/əi/8The
pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant. |
aiblins, aik, aiple,
ait, aith, braid, craitur,
fain, gaither, graith, haimer,
laim |
| <aCe> |
C=consonant |
/əi/8The
pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant. |
alane, ale, ane,
ance, bane, face, gane,
gate, hame, mane, nane,
stane, Pace |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/ |
ae, brae, f(r)ae
, gae, sae, tae n., wae |
| <ae> |
except in |
/i/ |
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ae> |
except in |
/əi/8The
pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant. |
claes |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/əi/8The
pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant. |
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 |
/əi/8The
pronunciation /e/ is becoming predominant. |
beir, deid, heid,
meidae, peir, spreid, teir,
threid |
<ie,
ei> |
usually |
/i/ |
bield, chield, eild,
scrieve, shielin |
| <ei> |
before /x/ |
/i/ |
dreich, heich, skeich |
| <e> |
usually |
/ɛ/ |
bed, ebb, esh,
fecht, gled, gless, seck,
wecht |
| <i> |
usually |
/ɛ/9In
the Black Isle and Easter Ross before /g/ and
/x/ the pronunciation /əi/ may
occur in words like big, nicht, pig and sicht. |
drink, in, inch,
licht, lift, pit, rin,
simmer, sin, stibble, whin,
whisper, whit, wid, wind,
wir, wird, wirm, wittins |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/o/ |
boat, boss, box,
coal, cod, common, dochter,
hoast, loch, on, rock,
thocht |
| <oo> |
usually |
/y/ |
aboot, coont, droop,
hoose, moose, oot, scoor,
soond |
| <ou> |
usually |
/y/ |
allou, bouk, broun,
coum, couer, doun, dout,
poupit, thoum |
| <uCe> |
usually |
/y/ |
dule, hure |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
usually |
/i/10The
pronunciation /ø/ or /y/ may
occur in daes, daesna and daena. |
abuin, abuise, bluid,
bruit, cuil, cuit, duin,
fruit, guid, luif, luim,
muin, muisic, ruise, schuil,
spuin, uise, uiss, Yuil |
| <ui> |
before <r> |
/ju:/ |
buird, fluir, fuird,
muir, shuir |
| <eu> |
usually |
/ju/11The
pronunciation /jɔ/ may occur in
words like eneuch. |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/jy/ |
dew, few, new,
spew |
<iCe,
yCe> |
C=consonant |
/əi/12The
pronunciation /oi/ may occur in words like
bide, byke, line and pipe. |
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/ |
bowt, cowp, cowt,
gowd, gowf, lowp, owsen |
| <owe> |
final |
/ʌu/ |
flowe, glowe, growe,
howe, knowe, lowe, rowe,
towe |
Suffixes |
| <ae> |
usually |
/ə/ |
Americae, airae, barrae,
nairae, swallae, windae |
| <ie> |
diminutive |
/i/13If
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 |
| <ock> |
diminutive |
/əg/ |
bannock, hillock, lassieock |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fɛ/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/nə/ |
daena, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
<t,
it> |
verbal endings |
/t/
/ɪt/14In
Caithness the pronunciations are /d/ and /əd/.
This also occurs as /ɪd/ for final <et>
in worlds like lempet and packet. |
scunnert, selt, telt
duntit, skelpit |
<y,
ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/i/13If
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/13If
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 |
- This is usual in Caithness.
- In Caithness initial /ʧ/
may occur.
- In Caithness /kn/
may occur. In the Black Isle and Easter Ross /kr/
may occur.
- Initial <th> may be omitted in words like the,
thair, thare, thee and thoo.
- In Cromarty /w/
prevails. It may occur in some words in other areas.
In the Black Isle and Easter Ross <wh> may be
omitted or replaced by /h/
in words like wha, whan, whase and whit.
- In the Black Isle and Easter Ross /əi/
may occur before <n> and <ng>.
- Also /ɑ/
before <l>, <n>, <r> and <ch>
/x/. In Caithness
the cluster <auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.
- The pronunciation /e/
is becoming predominant.
- In the Black Isle and Easter Ross before /g/
and /x/ the pronunciation
/əi/ may
occur in words like big, nicht, pig and sicht.
- The pronunciation /ø/
or /y/ may occur
in daes, daesna and daena.
- The pronunciation /jɔ/
may occur in words like eneuch.
- The pronunciation /oi/
may occur in words like bide, byke, line and pipe.
- 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/.
- In Caithness the pronunciations are /d/
and /əd/.
This also occurs as /ɪd/
for final <et> in worlds like lempet and packet.
Initial <th> is often silent in
pronominals like the, thay, thare
etc. and this and that.
Thae and thir are replaced by the plural
use of this and that.
Older speakers still differentiate the
present participle and the gerund (verbal noun). In older
Scots the present participle was written <and>
/an(d)/and
the gerund <ing> /ɪn/.
These pronunciations are still used.
| Present Participle: |
He wis aye stravaigan aboot.
He was always roaming around. |
| Gerund: |
He's fond o stravaigin aboot.
He likes roaming around. |
The diminutive suffix <ock>
when pronounced /əg/
and may be written <ag>: The wee bairnag
- The small child.
Literature:
Mather, James (1978) "The dialect
of Caithness", Scottish Literary Journal
Supplement 6, 1-16.
Nicolson, D. B. (1907) "Dialect" in J. Horne
ed. The County of Caithness, Wick: W. Rae, 60-68.
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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