Consonants usually have the same phonetic values (pronunciation) in Scots, as in Standard English.
/r/ rat, is usually trilled (rolled) in Scots.
* Most dialects of Scots have a German like Ich/Ach rule governing the pronunciation of <ch>. Pronounced /ç/ (Ger. Ich) initially or following a front vowel, and /x/ (Ger. Bach) following a back vowel.
Glottal Stops
Many speakers substitute a glottal stop /ʔ/ for /t/ and sometimes /k/ and /p/, between two vowels or final /t/.
Vowels
Note the The Scots Vowel Length Rule:
The following vowels are usually short:
The following vowels are usually long:
In stressed syllables before /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/ and /r/.
Before another vowel and
Before a morpheme** boundary.
The following vowels are usually long in most dialects:
*In unstressed positions.
**A morpheme is the smallest meaningful part into which a word can be divided, i.e. inflections, prefixes and suffixes etc.
Dipthongs
/aɪ/ usually
occurs in long environments.
/əi/ usually occurs in short environments.
See the Spelling Guide spelling guide for further detail.
Other Symbols
ː Shows that the previous vowel
is long.
ˈ Shows that the following syllable
is stressed.