South East Central Scots
South East Central Scots
This is the dialect on which the standard written Scots
of the Universities, Court and Royal Household was based.
Though, since then, some changes in pronunciation have
occurred.
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in English.
In West Lothian <tw> may be realised
/kw/ in words like
atween, twa, twal and twinty.
For more detail see Orthography.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciation
in words like: |
| |
|
IPA |
|
| <ch> |
medial and final |
/x/ |
bocht, loch, nicht,
|
| <ch> |
initial |
/ʧ/1 |
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> |
finally when the next word begins with
a consonant |
/l/ |
auld, bield, cauld,
fauld |
| <ld> |
otherwise |
/ld/ |
elder |
| <nd> |
usually |
/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 |
/ʃ/ |
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> |
usually |
/a/2 |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
initial in |
/ə/ |
awa, ahint etc. |
| <a> |
final in |
/e/3 |
awa, twa, wha, |
| <au> |
usually |
/o̜/2 |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
usually final
|
/o̜/2 |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/o̜/2 |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/e/4 |
aiple, aik, ait,
aith, braid, craitur,
fain, gaither, graith, haimer,
laim |
| <aCe> |
C=consonant |
/e/4 |
face, gate, hame,
Pace |
<aCe,
aiC> |
except in |
/jɪ/ |
aiblins, ale, ane,
ance |
| <ae> |
final |
/e/ |
adae, brae, dae,
f(r)ae, gae, sae, shae,
tae v., tae n., wae |
| <ae> |
except |
/je/ |
ae |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day,gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/i/5 |
beast, cheap, deave,
east, heap, hear, meat,
ream, sea, tea |
| <ee> |
usually |
/i/ |
dee, dree, eetem,
freet, jeely, keep, meet,
teeth, weel, weet |
<ei, ie>
|
usually |
/i/ |
beir, bield, chield,
deid, eild, heid, meidae,
peir, scrieve, shielin, spreid,
teir, threid |
| <ei> |
before /x/ |
/i/ |
dreich, heich, skeich |
| <e> |
usually |
/ɛ/ |
bed, ebb, esh,
fecht, gled, gless, seck,
wecht |
| <i> |
usually |
/ɪ/6 |
dis, disna, dinna,
drink, in, inch, licht,
lift, pit, rin, simmer,
sin, stibble |
| <i> |
after /w/
and /ʍ/
often |
/ʌ/ |
whin, whisper, whit,
wid, wind, wir, wird,
wirm, wittins |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/o/7 |
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> |
usually |
/u/ |
dule, hure |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
initial short |
/jɪ/ |
uiss |
| <ui> |
medial short |
/ɪ/ |
abuin, bluid, bruit,
cuil, cuit, duin, fruit,
guid, luif, luim, muin,
schuil, spuin, Yuil |
| <ui> |
initial long |
/je:/ |
uise |
| <ui> |
medial long |
/e:/ |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <eu> |
usually |
/ju/ |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, new, spew |
<iCe,
yCe> |
C=consonant |
/əi/8 |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wice, wyte |
| <ey> |
usually |
/əi/8 |
eyntment, eyster, fley |
| <y(e)> |
final in |
/əi/8 |
cry, kye etc. |
| <oi> |
usually |
/oi/ |
Boid, noise
|
| <oy> |
usually |
/oi/ |
foy, 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/ |
Americae, airae, barrae,
nairae, swallae, windae |
| <ie> |
diminutive |
/e/9 |
grannie, laddie, lassie,
shoppie, wifie |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fe/10 |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/ne/9 |
dinna, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
| <y, ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/e/9 |
reekie, sairy, stany,
stourie |
| <ly> |
adverbial |
/le/9 |
brawly, feckly, fully,
geyly, likely, uncoly |
Footnotes
- In Churnside /ʃ/
may occur.
- The pronunciation /ɑ/
may also occur, especially before <n(d)>
and <ng>. In words like watter /e/
may occur.
- The pronunciation /o̜/
or /ɑ/ may
also occur.
- Initial /e/
may become /jɪ/
in words like aik, ait, and aith.
This may also occur after /h/
in words like hairse, hame and hale resulting in /(h)jɪ/.
- The pronunciation /e/
may occur in some words.
- The pronunciation /ʌ/
may occur before /l/,
/kl/ and /tl/.
- To the south east before /x/
the realisation /ʌux/
may occur in words like dochter and thocht.
- The diphthong /aɪ/
also occurs.
- The pronunciations /nɪ/,
/ɪ/
and /lɪ/
also occur.
- The pronunciation /fɪ/
also occurs.
Literature:
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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