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 Standard 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 |
/ɔ:/1The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ also occurs. In and
around Campbeltown /a/ occurs. |
awa, twa, wha |
| <au> |
usually final |
/ɔ:/1The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ also occurs. In and
around Campbeltown /a/ occurs.,
2In
and around Campbeltown the cluster <auld> may
be pronounced /ʌul(d)/. |
auld, haud, haund,
saul, saund, slauchter |
| <aw> |
initial and medial |
/ɔ:/1The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ also occurs. In and
around Campbeltown /a/ occurs. |
aw, blaw, caw,
draw, faw, gaw, gnaw,
haw, slaw, snaw, staw |
| <aw> |
occasional |
/ɔ:/1The
pronunciation /ɑ:/ also occurs. In and
around Campbeltown /a/ occurs. |
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> |
in |
/ɪ/ |
daes, daesna, daena |
| <ae> |
except |
/je/ |
ae |
| <ay> |
usually |
/e/ |
day, gray, lay |
| <ea> |
usually |
/i/3The
pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words. |
beast, cheap,
deave, east, heap, hear,
meat, ream, sea, tea |
| <ee> |
usually |
/i/ |
dee, dree, eetem,
freet, jeely, keep, meet,
teeth, weet, weel |
| <ei> |
|
/i/3The
pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words. |
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/4The
pronunciation /ʌ/ may occur before /l/,
/kl/ and /tl/ and in other words along
the Highland line. |
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/5The
pronunciation /ʌ/ occurs in words like
body, mony, stamack, maun and parritch. |
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/6In
and around Campbeltown /ʌ/ occurs. |
beuch, beuk, eneuch,
heuk, leuch, leuk, neuk,
sheuch, teuch, teug |
| <ew> |
usually |
/ju/ |
dew, few, spew,
new |
<iCe>,
<yCe> |
C=consonant |
/əi/7The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs. In
and around Campbeltown /e/ occurs before /k/. |
advice, bide, byle,
fine, fire, ile, rive,
tyne, wyte, wice |
| <(e)y(e)> |
usually |
/əi/7The
diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs. In
and around Campbeltown /e/ occurs before /k/. |
cry, eyntment, eyster,
fley, kye |
| <oi, oy> |
usually |
/oi/ |
Boid, foy, noise,
ploy |
| <ow> |
initial and medial |
/ʌu/8The
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 |
/fə/ |
awfu, carefu, mensefu |
| <na> |
negative |
/nə/9The
pronunciation /ne/ is spreading from the east. |
daena, 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 and gowpen .
- 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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