Ulster Scots
Ulster Scots
|
Ulster
is the only area outwith Scotland where Scots has survived
as a spoken language. Scots in Ulster has been under the
same linguistic pressure as Scots in Scotland. Wholescale
Scots migration to Ulster started in the early seventeenth
century. Scots settled in the northern half of the Ards
Peninsula spreading at first through Newtonards and Comber
and then across the northern half of Down. Scots also
settled from Island Magee to Glenarm and in the west as
far as Antrim town and in the North at Ballymoney. Ulster
Scots is on the whole a variant of West Central Scots.
Ulster Scots is spoken by both Protestants and Catholics. |
Wrong use of 'fair faw
ye' for 'walcome' on a sign in Ulster. |
Ulster Scots is subdivided
into:
- Western Ulster
Scots in County Derry and Donegal
- Central Ulster
scots in County Antrim
- Eastern Ulster
scots in County Down and The Ards
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in English.
For more detail see Orthography.
In some areas an Irish substrate may
lead to a /d/ <d>
before <r> being pronounced interdentally, almost
like 'dh'. A /t/
<t> may also be pronounced interdentally like 'tth'.
In other areas it may be glottalised between vowels and
finally in words like beast and juist etc. The pronunciation
of /f/ may be a
bilabial /ɸ/
and /v/ as /β/
like the <b> in Spanish habana.
| 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> |
final |
/l/ |
auld, bield, cauld,
fauld |
| <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 |
| <th> |
usually |
/θ/ |
graith, thole, thrawn |
| <th> |
usually |
/ð/1 |
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> |
central and western
usually |
/a/
/ɛ/2 |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
eastern
usually |
/ɑ/
/ɛ/2 |
aff, lang, mak,
wash, watch |
| <a> |
western
final |
/a:/ |
in awa, twa, wha |
| <a> |
eastern and central
final in
|
/ɔ/
/ɑ/ |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually |
/ɑ:/ |
haund, saund, slauchter |
| <au> |
before <ld> |
/ʌu/3 |
auld, cauld, fauld,
scauld |
| <aw> |
final
eastern and central |
/ɔ:/
/ɑ/ |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, haw, gnaw,
slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional eastern and central |
/ɔ:/
/ɑ/ |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <aw> |
final western |
/a:/ |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional western |
/a:/ |
awn, awfu, bawbee,
bawsant |
| <ai> |
initial and medial |
/e/4 |
aik, aiple, aith,
ait, braid, craitur, fain,
gaither, graith, haimer, laim
|
| <aCe> |
C=consonant |
/e/4 |
face, gate, hame,
Pace |
<ai,
aCe> |
except in |
/jɪ/5 |
aiblins, ale, ane,
ance
|
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/ |
brae, f(r)ae,
gae, sae, tae n., wae |
| <ae> |
except |
/je/5 |
ae |
| <ae> |
final A, B in |
/e:/ |
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ae> |
final C in |
/i:/ |
adae, dae, shae,
tae v. |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/e/6 |
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/7 |
bield, beir, chield,
deid, eild, heid, meidae,
peir, scrieve, shielin, spreid,
teir, threid |
| <ei> |
before /x/ |
/i/7 |
dreich, heich, skeich |
| <e> |
usually |
/ɛ:/ |
bed, ebb, esh,
fecht, gled, gless, seck,
wecht |
| <i> |
usually |
/ɪ/
/æ/8 |
drink, in, inch,
lift, licht, pit, rin
simmer, sin, stibble |
| <i> |
after /w/
and /ʍ/
often |
/ʌ/ |
whin, whisper, whit,
wid, wind, wir, wird,
wirm, wittins |
| <i> |
medial A in |
/ɪ/ |
dis, disna, dinna |
| <i> |
medial B in |
/e:/ |
dis, disna, dinna |
| <i> |
medial C in |
/i:/ |
dis, disna, dinna |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/o/9 |
boat, boss, box,
coal, cod, common, dochter,
hoast, on, rock, thocht, |
| <oo> |
usually |
/u/10 |
aboot, coont, droop,
hoose, moose, oot, scoor,
soond |
| <ou> |
usually |
/u/10 |
allou, bouk, broun,
couer, coum, doun, dout,
poupit, thoum |
| <uCe> |
usually |
/u/10 |
dule, hure |
| <u> |
usually |
/ʌ/ |
bund, burn, drunken,
fund, grund, truff, unce,
wund |
| <ui> |
initial |
/ju/ |
in uise, uiss |
| <ui> |
medial short A |
/ɪ/ |
abuin, bluid, bruit,
duin, fruit, luif, luim,
muin, spuin, Yuil |
| <ui> |
medial long A |
/e:/4 |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <ui> |
B usually |
/e:/4 |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <ui> |
C usually |
/i:/ |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <eu> |
usually |
/(j)ʌ/
|
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
leuch, leuk, heuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, new,
spew |
<iCe,
yCe> |
C=consonant |
/ɛi/11 |
advice, bide, byle,
fire, fine, ile, rive,
tyne |
<iCe,
yCe> |
after /w/
and /ʍ/ |
/aɪ/12 |
wice, wine, while,
white, wyte |
| <ey> |
usually |
/əi/11 |
eyntment, eyster, fley,
|
| <(e)y> |
after /w/
and /ʍ/ |
/aɪ/12 |
wey, whey, why |
| <y(e)> |
final in |
/əi/11 |
cry, kye etc. |
| <oi> |
usually |
/oi/ |
Boid, noise |
| <oy> |
usually |
/oi/ |
foy, ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/13 |
bowt, cowp, cowt,
gowd, gowf, lowp, owsen |
| <owe> |
final |
/ʌu/ |
flowe, glowe, growe,
howe, knowe, lowe, rowe,
towe |
Suffixes |
| <ae> |
usually |
/e/14 |
Americae, airae, barrae,
nairae, swallae, windae |
| <ie> |
diminutive |
/e/ |
grannie, laddie, lassie,
shoppie, wifie |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fu/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/ne/ |
dinna, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
| <y, ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/e/ |
reekie, sairy, stany,
stourie |
| <ly> |
adverbial |
/le/ |
brawly, feckly, fully,
geyly, likely, uncoly |
Footnotes
- Mid Antrim, North
Ards and parts of Co. Down
- North Antrim and points in north east Londonderry
- Co. Donegal, Mid
Ards and west of Strangford Lough Co. Down
- Medial <th> /ð/
may also be unpronounced. A <th> before <er>
is often pronounced interdentally, almost like 'tth'.
- /ɛ/ also
occurs after /k/
or before /k/,
/g/ and /ŋ/.
- To the west traditional /ɔ/
or /ɑ/ also
occur.
- /ɛ:/
may occur before <r>.
- Often /æ/.
/e/ also occurs
in Donegal.
- In a few words /i/
occurs e.g. deave. /ɛ:/
may occur before <r>.
- Note the following with /e:/,
bleize, elieven, screich and sieven.
- Often /æ/
before voiceless sounds or clusters containing them
(/p/, /t/,
/k/, /f/,
/s/, /θ/,
/ʃ/, /ʧ/
and /x/).
The pronunciation /ɛ/
also occurs, especially in Donegal.
- In words spelled with <o> the pronunciation/ɔ/
also occurs especially before <ch>.
- The pronunciation /y/
also occurs.
- The pronunciations /ɑe/
and /ɛi/
may also occur.
- The pronunciations /ɑe/
may also occur.
- The diphthong <ow> has also become vocalised
to /o:/ especially
before /k/ e.g.
bowk, gowpen, howk and snowk.
- Depending on stress /ɪ/
and /ɛ/ also
occur.
Literature:
Milroy, James (1982) "Some connections
between Galloway and Ulster speech", Scottish
Language 1, 23-29.
Fenton, James (1995, 2000) The Hamely Tongue. A Personal
Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim, 2nd edn.
Ullans Press.
Gregg, Robert (1958,1959) "Notes on the phonology
of a County Antrim Scotch-Irish dialect", Orbis
7:2, 392-406; 8:2, 400-424.
Gregg, Robert (1972) "The Scotch-Irish dialect boundaries
in Ulster" in Martyn Wakelin ed. Patterns in
the Folk Speech of the British Isles, London: Athlone,
109-139.
Macafee, Caroline ed. (1996) A Concise Ulster Dictionary,
Oxford University Press.
Patterson, William (1880) A Glossary of Words in Use
in the Counties of Antrim and Down, London: English
Dialect Society.
Traynor, Michael (1953) The English Dialect of Donegal.
A Glossary, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.
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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