South West Central Scots
South West Central Scots
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in Standard English.
/g/
and /k/ are often
/gj/ and /kj/
before /a, ɛ,
e, ɪ, i, y/ e.g.
girn, get, caird, ken and
kirk etc.
For more detail see Orthography.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciation in
words like: |
| |
|
IPA |
|
| <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> |
finally when a consonant begins the
next word |
/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> |
occasionally |
/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> |
usually |
/a/1The
pronunciation /ɑ/ also occurs. |
aff, mak, lang,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
initial in |
/ə/ |
ahint, awa etc. |
| <a> |
final in |
/ɑ/ |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually |
/a/2The
pronunciations /ɑ:/ and /ɔ:/
are now very prevelant. |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
usually final |
/a/2The
pronunciations /ɑ:/ and /ɔ:/
are now very prevelant. |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/a/2The
pronunciations /ɑ:/ and /ɔ:/
are now very prevelant. |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/e/ |
aik, aiple, ait,
aith, braid, craitur, fain,
gaither, graith, haimer, laim |
| <aCe> |
C=consonant |
/e/ |
face, gate, hame,
Pace |
<aCe,
aiC> |
except in |
/jɪ/ |
aiblins, ale, ane,
ance |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/ |
brae, f(r)ae, gae,
sae, tae n., wae |
| <ae> |
except |
/je/ |
ae |
| <ae> |
except in |
/y:/3In
many areas the traditional /y/ has been replaced
by the characteristic Central Scots pronunciations.
This includes daes, daesna and daena.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciation
in words like: |
| |
|
IPA |
|
| <ae> |
final in |
/e/ |
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 in |
/ɪ/ |
daes, daesna, daena |
|
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/i/4The
pronunciation /e/ also occurs, especially in
Wigtownshire. |
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/4The
pronunciation /e/ also occurs, especially in
Wigtownshire. |
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 |
/ɪ/ |
drink, in, inch,
lift, licht, pit, rin,
simmer, sin, stibble |
| <i> |
after /ʍ/
and /ʍ/
often |
/ɪ/ |
whin, whisper, whit,
wid, wind, wir, wird,
wirm, wittins |
| <oa> |
usually |
/o/ |
boat, coal, hoast |
| <o> |
usually |
/ɔ/ |
boss, box, cod,
common, dochter, loch, on,
rock, thocht |
| <oo> |
usually |
/y/5The
pronunciation /u/ is now very prevelant. |
aboot, coont, droop,
hoose, moose, oot, scoor,
soond |
| <ou> |
usually |
/y/5The
pronunciation /u/ is now very prevelant. |
allou, bouk, broun,
couer, coum, doun, dout,
poupit, thoum |
| <uCe> |
usually |
/y/5The
pronunciation /u/ is now very prevelant. |
dule, hure |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
usually |
/y/3In
many areas the traditional /y/ has been replaced
by the characteristic Central Scots pronunciations.
This includes daes, daesna and daena.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciation
in words like: |
| |
|
IPA |
|
| <ae> |
final in |
/e/ |
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 in |
/ɪ/ |
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/6The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs in long
positions. |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wice, wyte |
| <ey> |
usually |
/əi/6The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs in long
positions. |
cry, eyntment, eyster,
fley, kye |
| <oi> |
usually |
/oi/ |
foy, Boid, noise,ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/7The
diphthong <ow> has also become vocalised to
/o:/, especially before /k/ e.g. bowk,
howk and gowpen. |
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/ |
grannie, laddie, lassie,
shappie, wifie |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fɑ/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/ne/ |
daena, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
| <y, ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/e/ |
reekie, sairy, stany,
stourie |
| <ly> |
adverbial |
/le/ |
brawly,
feckly, fully, geyly, likely,
uncoly |
Footnotes
- The pronunciation /ɑ/
also occurs.
- The pronunciations /ɑ:/
and /ɔ:/
are now very prevelant.
- In many areas the traditional /y/
has been replaced by the characteristic Central Scots
pronunciations. This includes daes, daesna
and daena.
| Scots Spellings |
Pronunciation
in words like: |
| |
|
IPA |
|
| <ae> |
final in |
/e/ |
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 in |
/ɪ/ |
daes, daesna, daena |
- The pronunciation /e/
also occurs, especially in Wigtownshire.
- The pronunciation /u/
is now very prevelant.
- The diphthong /aɪ/
also occurs in long positions.
- The diphthong <ow> has also become vocalised
to /o:/, especially
before /k/ e.g.
bowk, howk and gowpen.
In phrases begining with in the, on the,
at the and o the, the two words
are contracted into 'ee e' [i e]
or simply 'ee' [i].
Ee e toun.
In the Town. |
Ee e mornin.
In the morning. |
Wrang ee heid.
Wrong in the head. |
Ee back ee dyke.
At the back of the stone wall. |
Literature:
Milroy, James (1982) "Some connections
between Galloway and Ulster speech", Scottish
Language 1, 23-29.
Riach, W. A. D. (1979,1980,1982) "A dialect study
of comparative areas in Galloway", Scottish Literary
Journal Supplement 9, 1-16; Supplement 12, 43-60; Scottish
Language 1, 13-22.
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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