South Scots
Encyclopedia
Southern Scots is one of the names given to the dialect (or group of dialects) of Scots spoken in the Scottish Borders
counties of mid and east Dumfriesshire
, Roxburghshire
and Selkirkshire
, with the notable exception of Berwickshire
and Peeblesshire
, which are, like Edinburgh, part of the SE Central Scots
dialect area. It may also be known as Border Scots, the Border tongue or by the names of the towns inside the South Scots area, for example Teri in Hawick
from the phrase Teribus ye teri odin
. Towns where South Scots dialects are spoken include Earlston
, Galashiels
(Gala or Galae), Hawick
, Jedburgh
(Jethart), Kelso
(Kelsae), Langholm
, Lockerbie
, Newcastleton
(Copshaw or Copshawholm), St. Boswells
(Bosells) and Selkirk.
varieties; however, some vowel
realisations may differ markedly.
in may be differentiated /ən/ and /in/, for example, He wis aye gutteran aboot. and He's fond o guttereen aboot.
Yet, yince in a day, thir braes hed seen unco sichts. Thonder was the moniment A jaloozed ti be the Lilliard's Edge Memorial, so that A was stannin on bluiddy Ancrum Muir. Nae cannie daffin bull- reel splore that fearfih fecht, whan the Dooglas an the Scott wrait off a wheen auld scores an saw day-aboot wui the auld-enemy.
Threh the mids o thir verra busses wad stert the huirn oo read aboot in oor bulks: ilk sheuch an heidie-hole i thir verra rigs was den for fairce sodgers in fechtin-graith-Scots an Ingleesh in a fraineeshin, fidgin mad-keen ti teer the harrigals oot o other; ilk lirk o thir knowes wad heide the gear o war. Hei'd little need be hen-herteet that hed ti beer the ramstam onfaa threh whan the slogan waekent the waller an sterteet the fray i the gray-daylicht,-eendon throwe aa the grewsome mowlie-; whan billies fell seide-be- seide till the brae-face was traisselt an the gress ran reid wui bluid; whan naigs an troopers-the deed- ruckle glutherin i-ther weizants-war cowpeet inti ilka seike, heeds an thraws,-on till the derkeneen rowed its hap roond deed an dei-in, an garrd the hyill yins devall an take a barley. Oor forebears an ther Southron neebers coodna sit soft ava i thae days: they war everly natterin an fechtin. An-sic veeshyis fechteen as it was, tui! Folk are muckle ti mean that beide on aether seide o the Mairches atween twae prood an towty countries 'at canna grei an are aye cuissen-oot. The Borderers lang syne geh thersels an awfih leife o'd. Theirs was nae canty doon-sitteen!
Duist a hip-step-an-a-lowp, an A cam on o an- other kenspeckle landmerk-Peinelheuch. This eez the saicant sic column, A've haar'tell; for, yeh gowsty nicht (wui a wund fit ti blaw doors oot wundihs) a turbleent woare as the ordnar dang doon the firsst Peinelheuch moniment (the whulk, A unk, maun heh been buggen keinda jingle-jointeet, or maim heh cowblt on ov a gey coaggly foond ; ony o the ways, it geh a steiter, an yownt-owre it tirlt!) Bit Border folk are no that easy bett ; they juist paat up a moniment fer better an brawer be what the auld yin was. An now, aabody stravaigin the Borderland-gangers an reiders-sood ken Peinelheuch.
A'd breesteet the brae now, an the road swaipeet doon afore iz. Ay! doon ti ma caav-grund o Teviot- dale-an A lilteet a sang an whewed an yuooted, leike as A'd gane wuth, an laap an flaang as yauld-as a wuddie—boondin bleithely on wui ma' airms shuggiein lowce threh ma oxters. A was abuin-the- woarlt! A was naether ti haud nor ti binnd! If onybody hed eyed iz, hei'd heh thocht A was shuir ready for Bowden!!
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
counties of mid and east Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
and Selkirkshire
Selkirkshire
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Berwickshire to the north-east, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south...
, with the notable exception of Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
and Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a county of Scotland. Its main town was Peebles, and it bordered Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.After the local government reorganisation of 1975 the use of the name...
, which are, like Edinburgh, part of the SE Central Scots
Central Scots
Central Scots is a group of dialects of Scots language. It was spoken by Robert Burns.Central Scots is spoken from Fife and Perthshire to the Lothians and Wigtownshire, often split into North East Central Scots and South East Central Scots , West Central Scots and South West Central Scots ....
dialect area. It may also be known as Border Scots, the Border tongue or by the names of the towns inside the South Scots area, for example Teri in Hawick
Hawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
from the phrase Teribus ye teri odin
Teribus ye teri odin
Teribus ye teri odin or teribus an teriodin is popularly believed to have been the war cry of the men of Hawick at the Battle of Flodden Field, and still preserved in the traditions of the town...
. Towns where South Scots dialects are spoken include Earlston
Earlston
Earlston , formerly Ercildoune, is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is situated on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland.-Early history:...
, Galashiels
Galashiels
Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often shortened to "Gala" .Galashiels is a major commercial centre for the Scottish Borders...
(Gala or Galae), Hawick
Hawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
, Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
(Jethart), Kelso
Kelso, Scotland
Kelso is a market town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence...
(Kelsae), Langholm
Langholm
Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:...
, Lockerbie
Lockerbie
Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...
, Newcastleton
Newcastleton
Newcastleton, or Copshaw Holm is a village in the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border of Scotland with England. The village is in Liddesdale and is on the Liddel Water, and is the site of Hermitage Castle.-History:...
(Copshaw or Copshawholm), St. Boswells
St. Boswells
St Boswells is a village on the south side of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders. It lies about 1 mile SE of Newtown St Boswells on the A68 road....
(Bosells) and Selkirk.
Phonology
Southern Scots phonology is generally similar to that of the neighbouring Central ScotsCentral Scots
Central Scots is a group of dialects of Scots language. It was spoken by Robert Burns.Central Scots is spoken from Fife and Perthshire to the Lothians and Wigtownshire, often split into North East Central Scots and South East Central Scots , West Central Scots and South West Central Scots ....
varieties; however, some vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
realisations may differ markedly.
- ch may be realised /xw/ after back vowelBack vowelA back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
s, for example lauch (laugh) and sauch (willow). The cluster och is often realised /ɔux/, for example bocht (bought), coch (cough), dochter (daughter), focht (fought), socht (sought)and troch (trough) often written bowcht, cowch, dowchter, fowcht, sowcht and trowch in dialect writing. After front vowelFront vowelA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also...
s the realisation is /ç/, occasionally with a yodPalatal approximantThe palatal approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is '...
-glide before it. - ld and nd are usually elidedElisionElision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce...
to /l/ and /n/ in East Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire. - a (vowel 17) is often /æ/. Note final a (vowel 12) in awa (away), twa (two) and wha (who) is often realised /eː/, often written awae, twae and whae in dialect writing.
- aw and au (vowel 12) may be realised /ɒː/ rather than /ɑː/ or /ɔː/ as in Central Scots dialects, for example aw (all), cauld (cold), braw (handsome), faw (fall) and snaw (snow), often written using a(a) in dialect writing.
- In some areas ai or a(consonant)e (vowel 4 or 8) may be realised /ɪə/ rather that /e(ː)/, for example baith (both), braid (broad), cake, claes (clothes), grape (grope), kail (cole), laid (load), laif (loaf), made, raip (rope), saip (soap) often written beeath, breead, keeak, cleeaz, greeap, keeal, leead, leeaf, meead, reeap, seeap in dialect writing. When the vowel occurs initially the realisation is often /jɪ/ for example acre, aik (oak), aits, (oats), ale, ane (one) and ance (once) often written yicker, yick, yits, yill, yin and yince in dialect writing. Similarly after /h/ in hale (whole), hame (home) and hairse (hoarse) often written hyil, hyim and hyirs(c)h) in dialect writing. The realisation /ɪə/ may also occur for final ae in for example spae (foretell).
- In some varieties e (vowel 16) may be realised /æ/ rather than /ɛ/, for example bed, het (heated), yett (gate), etc.
- Final ee (vowel 11) is usually realised /ei/, for example dree (endure), flee (fly), lee (lie, fib), see, thee (thigh) and tree, often written drei or drey, flei or fley, lei or ley, sei, sey, thei or theye and trei or trey in dialect writing.
- eu (vowel 7 before /k/ and /x/ see ui) is often realised /iu/, for example beuk (book), eneuch (enough), ceuk (cook), leuk (look) and teuk (took).
- ou, also oo (vowel 6) when final is realised /ʌu/, for example brou (brow), cou (cow), dou (dove), hou (how), nou (now), fou (full), pou (pull), sou (sow), allou (allow), throu (through) and you often represented by ow(e) in dialect writing.
- ow, owe (root final) (vowel 13) may be /ɔu/ rather than /ʌu/ in bowe (bow), howe (hollow), knowe (knoll), cowp (overturn), yowe (ewe), etc.
- ui (vowel 7) is often realised /ø/ or /y/, however an unrounded realisation as in Central Scots is now widespread, for example, abuin (above), cuit (ankle) and guid (good). Unrounding to [eː] is now common in adae (ado), buird (board), dae (do), fluir (floor), fuird (ford), shae (shoe) and tae (to~too).
Grammar
The present participle and gerundGerund
In linguistics* As applied to English, it refers to the usage of a verb as a noun ....
in may be differentiated /ən/ and /in/, for example, He wis aye gutteran aboot. and He's fond o guttereen aboot.
Sample text
From Mang Howes an Knowes by Elliot Cowan Smith (1891–1917)Yet, yince in a day, thir braes hed seen unco sichts. Thonder was the moniment A jaloozed ti be the Lilliard's Edge Memorial, so that A was stannin on bluiddy Ancrum Muir. Nae cannie daffin bull- reel splore that fearfih fecht, whan the Dooglas an the Scott wrait off a wheen auld scores an saw day-aboot wui the auld-enemy.
Threh the mids o thir verra busses wad stert the huirn oo read aboot in oor bulks: ilk sheuch an heidie-hole i thir verra rigs was den for fairce sodgers in fechtin-graith-Scots an Ingleesh in a fraineeshin, fidgin mad-keen ti teer the harrigals oot o other; ilk lirk o thir knowes wad heide the gear o war. Hei'd little need be hen-herteet that hed ti beer the ramstam onfaa threh whan the slogan waekent the waller an sterteet the fray i the gray-daylicht,-eendon throwe aa the grewsome mowlie-; whan billies fell seide-be- seide till the brae-face was traisselt an the gress ran reid wui bluid; whan naigs an troopers-the deed- ruckle glutherin i-ther weizants-war cowpeet inti ilka seike, heeds an thraws,-on till the derkeneen rowed its hap roond deed an dei-in, an garrd the hyill yins devall an take a barley. Oor forebears an ther Southron neebers coodna sit soft ava i thae days: they war everly natterin an fechtin. An-sic veeshyis fechteen as it was, tui! Folk are muckle ti mean that beide on aether seide o the Mairches atween twae prood an towty countries 'at canna grei an are aye cuissen-oot. The Borderers lang syne geh thersels an awfih leife o'd. Theirs was nae canty doon-sitteen!
Duist a hip-step-an-a-lowp, an A cam on o an- other kenspeckle landmerk-Peinelheuch. This eez the saicant sic column, A've haar'tell; for, yeh gowsty nicht (wui a wund fit ti blaw doors oot wundihs) a turbleent woare as the ordnar dang doon the firsst Peinelheuch moniment (the whulk, A unk, maun heh been buggen keinda jingle-jointeet, or maim heh cowblt on ov a gey coaggly foond ; ony o the ways, it geh a steiter, an yownt-owre it tirlt!) Bit Border folk are no that easy bett ; they juist paat up a moniment fer better an brawer be what the auld yin was. An now, aabody stravaigin the Borderland-gangers an reiders-sood ken Peinelheuch.
A'd breesteet the brae now, an the road swaipeet doon afore iz. Ay! doon ti ma caav-grund o Teviot- dale-an A lilteet a sang an whewed an yuooted, leike as A'd gane wuth, an laap an flaang as yauld-as a wuddie—boondin bleithely on wui ma' airms shuggiein lowce threh ma oxters. A was abuin-the- woarlt! A was naether ti haud nor ti binnd! If onybody hed eyed iz, hei'd heh thocht A was shuir ready for Bowden!!