West central Scots
West Central Scots
This is the dialect in which the famous
bard Robert Burns wrote.
Consonants
Consonants usually have the same phonetic
values (pronunciation)
in Scots, as in English.
<l> may be pronounced /j/
in words such as blue, laik and plou giving [bju:],
[jek] and [pju:]
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 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 |
/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> |
initial in |
/ə/ |
ahint, awa etc. |
| <a> |
usually |
/a/ |
aff, lang, mak,
watch, wash |
| <a> |
final in |
/o̜/1 |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually final |
/o̜/1,2 |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
initial and medial |
/o̜/1 |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/o̜/1 |
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,
ai> |
except in |
/jɪ/ |
aiblins, ale, ane,
ance |
| <ae> |
usually |
/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/3 |
beast, cheap,
deave, east, heap, hear,
meat, ream, sea, tea |
| <ee> |
usually |
/i/ |
dee, dree, eetem,
freet, jeely, keep, meet,
teeth, weet, weel |
| <ei, ie> |
usually
|
/i/3 |
bield, beir, 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/4 |
dis, disna, dinna,
drink, in, inch, licht,
lift, pit, rin, simmer,
sin, stibble |
| <i> |
after /w/
and /ʍ/
often |
/ʌ/ |
whin, wirm, whisper,
whit, wid, wind, wir,
wird, wirm, wittins |
| <o(a)> |
usually |
/o/5 |
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,
coum, couer, 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, guid, fruit, muin,
luif, luim, schuil, spuin, Yuil |
| <ui> |
initial long |
/je:/ |
uise |
| <ui> |
medial long |
/e:/ |
abuise, buird, fluir,
fuird, muir, muisic, ruise,
shuir |
| <eu> |
usually |
/jʌ/6 |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, spew,
new |
<iCe>,
<yCe> |
C=consonant |
/əi/7 |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wyte, wice |
| <ey> |
usually |
/əi/7 |
eyntment, eyster, fley |
| <y(e)> |
final in |
/əi/7 |
cry, kye etc. |
| <oi> |
usually |
/oi/ |
Boid, noise |
| <oy> |
usually |
/oi/ |
foy, ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/8 |
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,
shoppie, wifie |
| <fu> |
usually |
/fə/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/nə/9 |
dinna, haesna, maunna,
winna, wisna |
| <y, ie> |
adverbial and adjectival |
/e/ |
reekie, sairy, stany,
stourie |
| <ly, lie> |
adverbial |
/le/ |
brawly, feckly, fully,
geyly, likely, uncoly |
Footnotes
- The pronunciation /ɑ/
also occurs. In and around Campbeltown /a/
occurs.
- In and around Campbeltown the cluster <auld>
may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.
- The pronunciation /e/
may occur in some words.
- The pronunciation /ʌ/
may occur before /l/,
/kl/ and /tl/
and in other words along the Highland line.
- The pronunciation /ʌ/ occurs
in words like body, mony, stamack, maun and parritch.
- In and around Campbeltown /ʌ/
occurs.
- The diphthong /aɪ/
also occurs. In and around Campbeltown /e/
occurs before /k/.
- The diphthong <ow> has also become vocalised
to /o:/ especially
before /k/ e.g.
bowk, howk, gowpen and snowk.
- The pronunciation /ne/ is spreading from the east.
Literature:
Wilson, James (1923) The Dialect
of Robert Burns as Spoken in Central Ayrshire, 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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