Wir Ain Leed

West central Scots

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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

  1. The pronunciation /ɑ:/ also occurs. In and around Campbeltown /a/ occurs.
  2. In and around Campbeltown the cluster <auld> may be pronounced /ʌul(d)/.
  3. The pronunciation /e/ may occur in some words.
  4. The pronunciation /ʌ/ may occur before /l/, /kl/ and /tl/ and in other words along the Highland line.
  5. The pronunciation /ʌ/ occurs in words like body, mony, stamack, maun and parritch.
  6. In and around Campbeltown /ʌ/ occurs.
  7. The diphthong /aɪ/ also occurs. In and around Campbeltown /e/ occurs before /k/.
  8. The diphthong <ow> has also become vocalised to /o:/, especially before /k/ e.g. bowk, howk and gowpen .
  9. 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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