Scots Online — Veesitor's Beuk

Name: Charles Dornan 2005-07-01
Email: charles.dornan@btconnect.com
Hamepage:
URL: http://
Airtit bi: Juist comin ower it.
Airt:

I have never read such rubbish. There is no such thing as a 
Scots language. I was born and brought up in Scotland and 
have never heard anyone speak anything like the supposed 
Scots that I have encountered on this website.At the very 
most Scots is an abortion, a language that might have 
developed given a different set of political circumstances. As 
it is, the most that I will concede is that there are some local 
dialects that retain some vocabulary items specific to 
Scotland but they have no currency beyond their locality and 
the deep grammar of the speakers is standard English.The 
poetry of Henryson and Barbour is beautiful but it is the 
language of the far distant past and has no relevence to 
modern inhabitants of Scotland,ninety nine per cent of whom 
are native speakers of English.

Name: Mary Heller 2005-06-20
Email: MHeller909@aol.com
Hamepage:
URL: http://
Airtit bi: Juist comin ower it.
Airt:

Hey!  Wow.  What a find.
I'm writing from the U.S.  I need help wi' a Scots phrase.
I'll be performing the ballad "The Great Silkie" next week -- just me and 
my guitar.  I'm pretty sure I understand what's going on in the song:  a 
young woman drives a hard bargain with a strange visitor.   The phrase 
that throws me is "ba lily wean."  It's not in the Scots on line dictionary.
The lyric is easy to find if you're not familiar with the song -- just Google 
the title.
Thanks -- Mary Heller.
P.S.  My great-grandmother was a Scot named Stephens.  MH

Wabmaister:

The ba bit is an expression used when lulling a child to sleep as in 
hishie-ba, lily could refer to the ailments aphthae or icterys, a 
wean is of course a child. So it probably means lulling  a child to 
sleep that is suffering from aphthae or icterus, or simply a child that is as 
white and beautiful as a narcissus.

Name: Colin Maxwell 2005-06-10
Email: maxwell@esatclear.ie
Hamepage:
URL: http://www.geocities.com/anulsterscot
Airtit bi: Juist comin ower it.
Airt:

Greetin's frae an Ulster Scot doon in Cork in tha Irish 
Republic. A met a mon tha day frae Australia at Blarney 
Castle whose fowk left Ulster fae Australia aroun 1838. He 
had a Scots gaelic Bible frae aroun thon time...only tha OT 
an tha fower Gospels though. Better gae an do some wark!

Name: Michael Kirk 2005-05-26
Email: hallhouse76@hotmail.com
Hamepage:
URL: http://
Airtit bi: Juist comin ower it.
Airt:

Am a fifer, west fifer at that an av a fue guid wordies fur ye 
how aboot Neebour's and dey

Name: Graham 2005-05-07
Email: lallandermg@yahoo.co.uk
Hamepage:
URL: Speikers an lairners
Airtit bi: Juist comin ower it.
Airt: Nor-east Scotlan

A've juist funnd oot aboot this wee beuk , A'm a  speiker o the 
Scots leid an a'm wunnerin gin onieane kens onie speikers 
curns aroon the nor-east o Scotlan or gin onieane wad lyke ti 
hae a crak wi iz i the Scots leid throu e-mail.  
aefauldlie. Graham.