Teuchter
Encyclopedia
Teuchter is a Lowland Scots
word originally used to describe a Scottish Highlander
, (in particular a Gaelic speaking Highlander.), although in modern parlance it is used by urban
Scots to describe any rural dweller. Like most such cultural epithets, it can be seen as offensive, but is often seen as amusing by the speaker. The term is contemptuous, essentially describing someone seen to be uncouth and rural.
There are three main theories on the etymology of the word:
One folk etymology/urban myth is that during the First World War
, many members of the Highland regiments were pipers. A book of sheet music for the pipes is called a "tutor", and when pronounced with the pre-aspiration
of Gaelic accents when speaking English, this sounds like "teuchter".
has performed and recorded a sketch where a teuchter visiting the city marvels at a bus as "a hoose wi wheels") though such stories often end with the apparently naive teuchter triumphing through hidden wiliness.
The archetypal cartoon teuchter is the cartoon character Angus Og, created by Ewan Bain.
A teuchter is the hero of Bill Hill
's The Portree Kid, which parodies the song Ghost Riders in the Sky as "The teuchter that cam frae Skye".
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
word originally used to describe a Scottish Highlander
Gàidhealtachd
The Gàidhealtachd , sometimes known as A' Ghàidhealtachd , usually refers to the Scottish highlands and islands, and especially the Scottish Gaelic culture of the area. The corresponding Irish word Gaeltacht however refers strictly to an Irish speaking area...
, (in particular a Gaelic speaking Highlander.), although in modern parlance it is used by urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
Scots to describe any rural dweller. Like most such cultural epithets, it can be seen as offensive, but is often seen as amusing by the speaker. The term is contemptuous, essentially describing someone seen to be uncouth and rural.
Derivation
The word also shows up as cheuchter, chuchter, choochter but has no universally accepted etymology. From relative obscurity, it gained currency around 1910.There are three main theories on the etymology of the word:
- a purely Gaelic derivation from tuath t̪ʰuə "peasantry, tenantry" or deoch tʲɔx "drink" (borrowed into Scots as teuch) plus an agent-formingAgentive endingAn agentive ending in the English language is the use of the suffix -er, -or, -ist, or -ian at the end of a verb in order to create a noun meaning "someone or something that does the action the verb describes." The corresponding suffixes are called agent suffixes.Examples include provider and...
suffixSuffixIn linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-air or -adair - a derivation from the Scots adjectiveAdjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
teuch "physically or mentally strong, tough" plus a suffix - a derivation from the Scots nounNounIn linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
teuchit/teuchat "lapwingLapwingVanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
"
One folk etymology/urban myth is that during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, many members of the Highland regiments were pipers. A book of sheet music for the pipes is called a "tutor", and when pronounced with the pre-aspiration
Preaspiration
In phonetics, preaspiration is a period of voicelessness or aspiration preceding the closure of a voiceless obstruent, basically equivalent to an -like sound preceding the obstruent. In other words, when an obstruent is preaspirated, the glottis is opened for some time before the obstruent closure...
of Gaelic accents when speaking English, this sounds like "teuchter".
Humour
Like other rural stereotypes, teuchters commonly feature in jokes (Billy ConnollyBilly Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
has performed and recorded a sketch where a teuchter visiting the city marvels at a bus as "a hoose wi wheels") though such stories often end with the apparently naive teuchter triumphing through hidden wiliness.
The archetypal cartoon teuchter is the cartoon character Angus Og, created by Ewan Bain.
A teuchter is the hero of Bill Hill
Bill Hill
William Cicero Hill was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the National League from 1896-1899.-External links:...
's The Portree Kid, which parodies the song Ghost Riders in the Sky as "The teuchter that cam frae Skye".