Wir Ain Leed — Aspects of Colloquial Speech
Tags
Tags are added to questions in order to prompt the person spoken to, to agree with the speaker's statement. In requests, tags ask the person spoken to, to agree with and act on the speaker's request.
Tag questions.
Is Shona at home, is she?
Did you start to play truant, did you?
Are you still working at the rubbish dump, are you?
Have you just had your teeth removed, have you?
The negative tag usually contains no. It indicates that the person speaking expects a positive response.
Jimmy has gone, hasn't he?
Fiona can swim, can't she?
Jock will give you it, won't he?
The tag eh is often added to questions and requests.
Let me put my coat on, won't you?
It's not too big, is it?
We know him quite well now, don't we?
Put the chest down there, won't you?
You are taking her to the cinema, aren't you?
Be good to my daughter, won't you?
Other frequently used tags are:
You don't go for that sort of girl, no?
You told her about it, yes?
He's not trying to take all of it, not really?
I shall be with you on Monday, right?
You aren't intending to reach home in this weather, surely?
Great confidence is expressed by speakers who use the tags eh or shuir at the beginning of a statement. This invites the person spoken to, to confirm the speaker's expectation, producing in effect a tag question.
Of course the Pope is a Catholic?
Of course Kairien's baby is a boy?
In some dialects, particularly in the west of Scotland, a sentence final but with no referential meaning may occur.
Like the other farmers, we were hoping it was going to rain.
I've heard about that too, I think.
Well, kind of, my mother always worries.
I've only been in there a few times.
Focusing devices
Focusing devices are used to introduce items into the conversation or to give prominence to items which the person speaking wishes to introduce into the conversation. The most frequently used words for these purposes are see, ken and like.
See those old houses. My father built one.
See you, chum. If you do that again, I'll thump you!
.Know Morag. She just wouldn't do it.
She's in the hospital, you know, to have a kidney transplanted.
I went down town, and the police were there.
It was, well, four years since I saw him.
He has his dog that gives him company.
Interjections
The summoning interjection is hey or haw.
Hey, you with the red hair!
Hey, where do you think you are going?
Some of the common assertive interjections are:
Some of the commonest interjections of surprise and astonishment are:
Some of the interjections used to express disgust are:
confound it.
fie.
Impatience is often expressed using the interjection och or ach.
Troubles or worry are often expressed by using the interjections och, hoot and s'truith, s'trowth = God's truth.
Resignation or submission to something that can't be avoided may be expressed with aweel = Oh well!
Assent is often expressed using weel-a-weel = Well oh well.
Sympathy and sorrow are often expressed by using the following interjections.
woe is me!
now then!