Wir Ain Leed

South Northern Scots

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South Northern Scots

Consonants

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

For more detail see Orthography.

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:
    IPA  
<ch> medial and final /x/ nicht, bocht, loch
<ch> initial /ʧ/ chield, chowk, chap, chirl
<nch> usually /nʃ/ brainch, clinch, dunch, hainch, Inch, French
<tch> usually /ʧ/ fleetch, wratch
<dge> usually /ʤ/ fadge, begrudge, cadge, cruldge
<g> occasionally /ʤ/ gigot, breinge
<gn> usually /gn/ gnap, gnap
<kn> usually /tn/ knap, knee, knot, knowe
<ld> usually /ld/ 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, queen, quair
<sh> usually /ʃ/ creash, sheep
<sh> occasionally /ʒ/ fushion, pushion
<th> usually /θ/ graith, thole, thrawn
<th> usually /ð/ blether, thaim, thair
<wh> interrogatives /f/ wha, whan, whaur, whit
<wh> all other words /ʍ/ whaup, wheel, wheech, whin

Vowels and Diphthongs

vowels unstressed /ə/ aboot, the, oxter, duntit, bannock, smeddum
<a> initial in /ə/ ahint, awa etc.
<a> usually /a/1From Dundee to Arbroath /ɛ/ may occur before /b/ and /g. aff, lang, mak, wash,watch
<a> final in /a:/2The pronunciation /ɔ:/ is spreading in Angus. awa, twa, wha
<au> usually /a:/2The pronunciation /ɔ:/ is spreading in Angus. auld, haud, haund, saul, saund, slauchter
<aw> usually final /a:/2The pronunciation /ɔ:/ is spreading in Angus. aw, blaw, caw, draw, faw, gnaw, gaw, haw, slaw, snaw, staw, bawbee, bawsant
<aw> occasional /a:/2The pronunciation /ɔ:/ is spreading in Angus. awn, awfu, bawbee, bawsant
<ai> initial and medial /e/ aiblins, braid,craitur, aik, aiple, ait, aith, fain, gaither, graith, haimer, laim
<aCe> C=consonant /e/ ale, face, gate, hame, Pace
<ane> usually /i/ alane, ane, ance, bane, gane, mane, nane, stane
<ae> usually /e/ ae, brae, f(r)ae, gae, sae, tae n., wae
<ae> except in /ø/3The traditional /ø/ prevails inland including daes, daesna, daena, in West Angus /y/, in Kincardinshire /i/ and along the coast /e/ is common but those have often been replaced by the characteristic Central Scots pronunciations.

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:
    IPA  
<ae> final /e/ in adae, dae, shae, tae v.
<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss
<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin, fruit, luif, luim, muin, spuin, Yuil
<ui> initial long /je:/ uise
<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir
<ae> medial /ɪ/ in daes, daesna, daena

adae, dae, shae, tae v.
<ay> usually /e/ day, gray, lay
<ea> usually /i/4In the North some words may be pronounced with /e/, to the south the tendency is much stronger. 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 /i/4In the North some words may be pronounced with /e/, to the south the tendency is much stronger. beir, deid, heid, meidae, peir, spreid, teir, threid
<ie, ei> usually /i/ bield, eild, chield, scrieve, shielin
<ei> before /x/ /i/ dreich, heich, skeich
<e> usually /ɛ/ bed, ebb, esh, fecht, gled, gless, seck, wecht
<i> usually /ɛ/ 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 /o/ boat, boss, box, coal, cod, common, dochter, 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> usually /ø/3The traditional /ø/ prevails inland including daes, daesna, daena, in West Angus /y/, in Kincardinshire /i/ and along the coast /e/ is common but those have often been replaced by the characteristic Central Scots pronunciations.

Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:
    IPA  
<ae> final /e/ in adae, dae, shae, tae v.
<ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss
<ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin, fruit, luif, luim, muin, spuin, Yuil
<ui> initial long /je:/ uise
<ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir
<ae> medial /ɪ/ in daes, daesna, daena

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 /ju/ beuch, beuk, eneuch, heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk, sheuch, teuch, teug
<ew> usually /ju/ dew, few, new, spew
<iCe,
yCe>
C=consonant /əi/5The pronunciation /aɪ/ or /ae/ also occurs in long positions. advice, bide, byle, fine, fire, ile, rive, tyne, wice, wyte
<(e)y(e)> usually /əi/5The pronunciation /aɪ/ or /ae/ also occurs in long positions. cry, eyntment, eyster, fley, kye
<oi> 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/6If 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/. /e/ may also occur. grannie, laddie, lassie, shappie, wifie
<fu> usually /fɛ/ awfu, carefu, mensefu
<na> negative /nə/ daena, haesna, maunna, winna, wisna
<y, ie> adverbial and adjectival /i/6If 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/. /e/ may also occur. reekie, sairy, stany, stourie
<ly> adverbial /li/6If 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/. /le/ may also occur. brawly, feckly, fully, geyly, likely, uncoly

Footnotes

  1. From Dundee to Arbroath /ɛ/ may occur before /b/ and /g/.
  2. The pronunciation /ɔ:/ is spreading in Angus.
  3. The traditional /ø/ prevails inland including daes, daesna, daena, in West Angus /y/, in Kincardinshire /i/ and along the coast /e/ is common but those have often been replaced by the characteristic Central Scots pronunciations.

    Scots Spellings Pronunciation in words like:
        IPA  
    <ae> final /e/ in adae, dae, shae, tae v.
    <ui> initial short /jɪ/ uiss
    <ui> medial short /ɪ/ abuin, bluid, bruit, duin, fruit, luif, luim, muin, spuin, Yuil
    <ui> initial long /je:/ uise
    <ui> medial long /e:/ abuise, buird, fluir, fuird, muir, muisic, ruise, shuir
    <ae> medial /ɪ/ in daes, daesna, daena

  4. In the North some words may be pronounced with /e/, to the south the tendency is much stronger.
  5. The pronunciation /aɪ/ or /ae/ also occurs in long positions.
  6. 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/. /e/ may also occur.

Literature:

Adams, David (1996) "The Angus and Mearns Dialect" in Bothy Nichts And Bothy Days, Edinburgh: John Donald, 77-87.
Gray, Walter (1992) Parliamo Aberbrothock, Arbroath: Herald 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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