Doric dialect (Scotland)
Encyclopedia
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialect
s of Scots
spoken in the northeast of Scotland
.
but during the twentieth century it became increasingly associated with Mid Northern Scots.
The term possibly originated as a jocular
reference to the Doric
dialect of the Ancient Greek
language. Greek
Dorians lived in Sparta
amongst other places, a more rural area, and were supposed by the ancient Greeks to have spoken laconically and in a language that was thought harsher in tone and more phonetically conservative than the Attic
spoken in Athens
. Doric Greek was used for some of the verses spoken by the chorus
in Greek tragedy
.
As The Oxford Companion to English Literature
explains:
Use of the term Doric in this context may also arise out of a contrast with the anglicised speech of the Scottish capital, because at one point, Edinburgh
was nicknamed 'Athens of the North'. The upper/middle class speech of Edinburgh would thus be 'Attic', making the rural areas' speech 'Doric'. According to another source, 18th century Scots writers like Allan Ramsay
justified their use of Scots (instead of English) by comparing it to the use of Ancient Greek Doric by Theocritus
.
dialects but:
Some vowel
realisations differ markedly from those of Central Scots
dialects.
period writing from the North East of Scotland adhered to the literary conventions of the time; indications of particular "Doric" pronunciations were very rare. The 18th century literary revival also brought forth writers from the North East but, again, local dialect features were rare, the extant literary Scots conventions being preferred. In later times, a more deliberately regional literature began to emerge.
In contemporary prose writing, Doric occurs usually as quoted speech, although this is less and less often the case. As is usually the case with marginalised languages, local loyalties prevail in the written form, showing how the variety "deviates" from standard ("British") English as opposed to a general literary Scots "norm". This shows itself in the local media presentation of the language, e.g., Grampian Television
& The Aberdeen Press and Journal
. These local loyalties, waning knowledge of the older literary tradition and relative distance from the Central Lowlands ensure that the Doric scene has a degree of semi-autonomy.
Doric was used in a lot of so called, 'Kailyard' literature
, a genre that paints a sentimental, melodramatic picture of the old rural life, and is currently unfashionable. This negative association still plagues Doric literature to a degree, as well as Scottish literature in general.
The most famous novelist to use Doric in his novels was George MacDonald
from Huntly, a friend of Mark Twain
, who is commonly considered one of the fathers of the Fantasy
genre, an influence on C. S. Lewis
and J. R. R. Tolkien
.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon
's Scots Quair trilogy is set in the Mearns
and has been the basis of a successful play and television series. It is very popular throughout Scotland and tells the story of Chrissie, an independent-minded woman, mainly in a form of English strongly influenced by the rhythms of local speech.
A version of Aesop's Fables
has been published in Doric, as well as some sections of the Bible.
The North East has been claimed as the "real home of the ballad" and, according to Les Wheeler, "91 out of a grand total of (Child's) 305 ballads came from the North East - in fact from Aberdeenshire", which makes the usual name of "Border Ballad" a misnomer put about by Sir Walter Scott.
Contemporary writers in Doric include Sheena Blackhall, a poet who writes in Doric and Scottish Gaelic, Mo Simpson, who writes in the Aberdeen Evening Express and peppers her humour column with "Doricisms" and Doric words. The Doric has also featured in stage, radio and television, notably in the sketches and songs of the Aberdeen-based comedy groups Scotland the What?
and the Flying Pigs.
(1864 - April - 1941).
Doric
Translation
hotel decided to use a Doric voice for their lift
. Phrases said by the lift include "Gyaun Up" ɡʲɑːn ʌp (Going up), "Gyaun Doun" ɡʲɑːn dun (Going down), "atween fleers een an fower" əˈtwin fliːrz in ən ˈfʌur (between floors one and four).
Also in 2006, Maureen Watt
of the SNP
took her Scottish Parliament
ary oath in Doric. She said "I want to advance the cause of Doric and show there's a strong and important culture in the North East." She was required to take an oath in English beforehand. There was some debate as to whether the oath was "gweed Doric" ɡwid ˈdoːrɪk or not, and notably it is, to a certain extent, written phonetically and contains certain anglicised forms such as "I" rather than "A", and "and" instead of "an":
"The spelling of this and the preceding word in Sc. is irregular, but ay = yes, and aye = always, seem to predominate. Both words in Sc. are markedly diphthongal but not identical in pronunciation. N.E.D. and Un. Eng. Dict. prefer ay = always, and aye = yes, the first of which rhymes with the ay series of Eng. words like say, day, etc., while the second does not. The Concise Eng. Dict. spells ay = yes, and aye = ever, always.")
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s of Scots
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...
spoken in the northeast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Nomenclature
The term Doric was used to refer to all dialects of Lowland ScotsScots 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...
but during the twentieth century it became increasingly associated with Mid Northern Scots.
The term possibly originated as a jocular
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
reference to the Doric
Doric Greek
Doric or Dorian was a dialect of ancient Greek. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon. Together with Northwest Greek, it forms the...
dialect of the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
language. Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
Dorians lived in Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
amongst other places, a more rural area, and were supposed by the ancient Greeks to have spoken laconically and in a language that was thought harsher in tone and more phonetically conservative than the Attic
Attic Greek
Attic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek". It is sometimes included in Ionic.- Origin and range...
spoken in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Doric Greek was used for some of the verses spoken by the chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
in Greek tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
.
As The Oxford Companion to English Literature
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
The Oxford Companion to English Literature first published in 1932, edited by the retired diplomat Sir Paul Harvey , was the earliest of the Oxford Companions to appear...
explains:
- "Since the Dorians were regarded as uncivilised by the AtheniansAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, 'Doric' came to mean 'rustic' in English, and was applied particularly to the language of NorthumbriaNorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
and the Lowlands of ScotlandScottish LowlandsThe Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....
and also to the simplest of the three orders in architectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
."
Use of the term Doric in this context may also arise out of a contrast with the anglicised speech of the Scottish capital, because at one point, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
was nicknamed 'Athens of the North'. The upper/middle class speech of Edinburgh would thus be 'Attic', making the rural areas' speech 'Doric'. According to another source, 18th century Scots writers like Allan Ramsay
Allan Ramsay (poet)
Allan Ramsay was a Scottish poet , playwright, publisher, librarian and wig-maker.-Life and career:...
justified their use of Scots (instead of English) by comparing it to the use of Ancient Greek Doric by Theocritus
Theocritus
Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC.-Life:Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems commonly attributed to him have little claim to...
.
Phonology
Most consonants are usually pronounced much as in other Modern ScotsModern Scots
Modern Scots describes the varieties of Scots traditionally spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster from 1700.Throughout its history, Modern Scots has been undergoing a process of language attrition, whereby successive generations of speakers have adopted more and more features from...
dialects but:
- In BuchanBuchanBuchan is one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by the council in 1996, when the Aberdeenshire unitary council area was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994...
the clusterConsonant clusterIn linguistics, a consonant cluster is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word splits....
cht, also ght, may be realised /ð/ in a few words, rather than /xt/ as in other dialects, for example: dochter (daughter), micht (might) and nocht (nought), often written dother, mith and noth in dialect writing. - The clusters gn and kn are realised /ɡn/ and /kn/, for example gnaw, gnap, knee, knife, knock (a clock) and knowe (knoll).
- In Buchan, towards the coast, th followed by er may be realised /d/, rather than /ð/ as in other dialects, for example: brither (brother), faither (father), gaither (gather) and mither (mother), often written bridder, fadder, gaider~gedder and midder in dialect writing.
- wh is realised /f/, rather than /ʍ/ as in Central ScotsCentral ScotsCentral 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 ....
dialects, for example whit (what) and wha (who), often written fit and fa(a) in dialect writing. - The cluster wr may be realised /vr/, rather than /r/ as in Central Scots dialects, for example wratch (wretch), wrath, wricht (wright) and wrocht (wrought~worked), often written vratch, vrath, vricht and vrocht in dialect writing.
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 differ markedly from those of 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 ....
dialects.
- a (vowel 17) before /b/, /ɡ/, /m/ and /ŋ/ may be /ə/ or /ʌ/ rather than /a(ː)/.
- aw and au (vowel 12), sometimes a or a' representing L-vocalisation, are realised /aː/, rather than /ɑː/ or /ɔː/ as in Central Scots dialects, for example aw (all), cauld (cold), braw (brave, handsome, fine, splendid), faw (fall) and snaw (snow), often written aa, caal(d), braa, faa and snaa in dialect writing. In Buchan, in some words the stemWord stemIn linguistics, a stem is a part of a word. The term is used with slightly different meanings.In one usage, a stem is a form to which affixes can be attached. Thus, in this usage, the English word friendships contains the stem friend, to which the derivational suffix -ship is attached to form a new...
final w may be realised /v/, often with a /j/ glide before the preceding vowel, for example awe [jaːv] (awe), blaw [bl(j)aːv] (blow), gnaw [ɡnjaːv], law [ljaːv], snaw [snjaːv] (snow) and taw [tjaːv]~[tʃaːv] often written yaave, blyaave, gnaave, snyaave and tyauve~tyaave~chaave in dialect writing. - In some areas ai or a(consonant)e /e(ː)/ (vowel 4 or 8) may be realised /əi/ after /w/, dark /l/Velarized alveolar lateral approximant-See also:* Lateral consonant* Velarization* l-vocalization* Ł...
and occasionally after other consonants, for example claes (clothes), coal, coat, gape, wade, waik (weak), wait, wale (choose) and wame (belly), often written clyes, kwile, kwite, gype, wyde, wyke, wyte, wyle and wyme in dialect writing. A preceding /k/ or /n/ may produce a /j/ glide, with the vowel realised /a/, for example caird [kjard] (card), cake [kjak], naig [njaɡ] (nag) and nakit [njakɪt] (naked). The cluster ane is realised /en/ in Moray and Nairn but is usually /in/ in other areas, for example, ane (one) ance (once), bane (bone) and stane (stone), often written een, eence, been and steen in dialect writing. - ea, ei (vowel 3) is usually /i(ː)/, though the realisation may be /e(ː)/ along the coast and in Moray and Nairn. The realisation may also be /əi/ in, for example, great, quean (girl), seiven (seven), sweit (sweat), weave and wheat, and /ɪ/ before /k/ in, for example, speak, often written gryte, quine, syven, swyte, wyve, fyte and spik(k) in dialect writing. Before /v/ and /z/ the realisation may be /ɪ/ in, for example, heiven (heaven), reason, season and seiven (seven), often written hivven, rizzon, sizzon and sivven in dialect writing.
- ee (vowels 2 and 11), e(Consonant)e (vowel 2). Occasionally ei and ie with ei generally before ch (/x/), but also in a few other words, and ie generally occurring before l and v. The realisation is generally /i(ː)/ but may be /əi/ after /w/, dark /l/ and occasionally after other consonants in, for example, cheenge (change), heeze (lift) and swee (sway), often written chynge, hyse and swye in dialect writing.
- eu (vowel 7 before /k/ and /x/ see ui), sometimes ui and oo after Standard English also occur, is generally /ju/ in for example, beuk (book), eneuch (enough), ceuk (cook), leuk (look) and teuk (took).
- Stem final ew (vowel 14) may be realised /jʌu/ in, for example, few, new and also in beauty and duty, often written fyow(e), nyow(e), byowty and dyowty in dialect writing. Before /k/ the realisation may be /ɪ/ in, for example, week, often written wyke in dialect writing.
- ui (vowel 7) is realised /i(ː)/ and /wi(ː)/ after /ɡ/ and /k/. Also u(consonant)e, especially before nasals, and oo from the spelling of Standard English cognates, in for example, abuin (above), cuit (ankle) and guid (good), often written abeen, queet and gweed in dialect writing. In Moray and Nairn the realisation is usually /(j)uː/ before /r/ in, for example, buird (board), fluir (floor) and fuird (ford), often written boord, floor and foord in dialect writing. The realisation [i(ː)] also occurs in adae (ado), dae (do), shae (shoe) and tae (to~too).
Literature
North East Scots has an extensive body of literature, mostly poetry, ballads and songs. During the Middle ScotsMiddle Scots
Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 13th century its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English...
period writing from the North East of Scotland adhered to the literary conventions of the time; indications of particular "Doric" pronunciations were very rare. The 18th century literary revival also brought forth writers from the North East but, again, local dialect features were rare, the extant literary Scots conventions being preferred. In later times, a more deliberately regional literature began to emerge.
In contemporary prose writing, Doric occurs usually as quoted speech, although this is less and less often the case. As is usually the case with marginalised languages, local loyalties prevail in the written form, showing how the variety "deviates" from standard ("British") English as opposed to a general literary Scots "norm". This shows itself in the local media presentation of the language, e.g., Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
& The Aberdeen Press and Journal
Press and Journal (Scotland)
The Press and Journal, often called the P&J, is a daily regional newspaper serving the northern counties of Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness...
. These local loyalties, waning knowledge of the older literary tradition and relative distance from the Central Lowlands ensure that the Doric scene has a degree of semi-autonomy.
Doric was used in a lot of so called, 'Kailyard' literature
Kailyard school
The Kailyard school of Scottish fiction was developed about the 1890s as a reaction against what was seen as increasingly coarse writing representing Scottish life complete with all its blemishes. It has been considered as being an overly sentimental representation of rural life, cleansed of real...
, a genre that paints a sentimental, melodramatic picture of the old rural life, and is currently unfashionable. This negative association still plagues Doric literature to a degree, as well as Scottish literature in general.
The most famous novelist to use Doric in his novels was George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
from Huntly, a friend of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, who is commonly considered one of the fathers of the Fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
genre, an influence on C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Lewis Grassic Gibbon was the pseudonym of James Leslie Mitchell , a Scottish writer.-Biography:...
's Scots Quair trilogy is set in the Mearns
Mearns
Mearns can refer to*Mearns Academy* Mearns, Alberta* Mearns Castle*Mearns Castle High School* Mearns FM* Mearns Primary School* Kincardineshire, the County of Kincardine, The Mearns in Scotland* Newton Mearnsin biology:...
and has been the basis of a successful play and television series. It is very popular throughout Scotland and tells the story of Chrissie, an independent-minded woman, mainly in a form of English strongly influenced by the rhythms of local speech.
A version of Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
has been published in Doric, as well as some sections of the Bible.
The North East has been claimed as the "real home of the ballad" and, according to Les Wheeler, "91 out of a grand total of (Child's) 305 ballads came from the North East - in fact from Aberdeenshire", which makes the usual name of "Border Ballad" a misnomer put about by Sir Walter Scott.
Contemporary writers in Doric include Sheena Blackhall, a poet who writes in Doric and Scottish Gaelic, Mo Simpson, who writes in the Aberdeen Evening Express and peppers her humour column with "Doricisms" and Doric words. The Doric has also featured in stage, radio and television, notably in the sketches and songs of the Aberdeen-based comedy groups Scotland the What?
Scotland the What?
Scotland the What? were a Scottish comedy revue act comprising William "Buff" Hardie, Stephen Robertson and George Donald.Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson first met in the Aberdeen Student Show in 1952. George Donald, another University of Aberdeen student, wrote music for the 1954 Student Show, but...
and the Flying Pigs.
Sample text
Gin I was God by Charles MurrayCharles Murray (poet)
Charles Murray was a poet who wrote in the Doric dialect of Scots. He was born and raised in Alford in north east Scotland. However he wrote much of his poetry while living in South Africa where he spent most of his working life as a successful civil engineer...
(1864 - April - 1941).
Doric
- GIN I was God, sittin' up there abeen,
- Weariet nae doot noo a' my darg was deen,
- Deaved wi' the harps an' hymns oonendin' ringin',
- Tired o' the flockin' angels hairse wi' singin',
- To some clood-edge I'd daunder furth an', feth,
- Look ower an' watch hoo things were gyaun aneth.
- Syne, gin I saw hoo men I'd made mysel'
- Had startit in to pooshan, sheet an' fell,
- To reive an' rape, an' fairly mak' a hell
- O' my braw birlin' Earth,--a hale week's wark--
- I'd cast my coat again, rowe up my sark,
- An' or they'd time to lench a second ark,
- Tak' back my word an' sen' anither spate,
- Droon oot the hale hypothec, dicht the sklate,
- Own my mistak', an, aince I cleared the brod,
- Start a'thing ower again, gin I was God.
Translation
- IF I were God, sitting up there above,
- Wearied no doubt, now all my work was done,
- Deafened by the harps and hymns unending ringing,
- Tired of the flocking angels hoarse with singing,
- To some cloud edge I'd saunter forth and, faith,
- Look over and watch how things were going beneath.
- Then if I saw how men I'd made myself
- Had started out to poison, shoot and kill [fell],
- To steal and rape and fairly make a hell
- Of my fine spinning Earth -- a whole week's work --
- I'd drop my coat again, roll up my shirt,
- And, ere they'd time to launch a second ark,
- Take back my word and send another flood [spate],
- Drown out the whole shebang, wipe the slate,
- Admit my mistake, and once I'd cleared the board,
- Start everything ["all-thing"] over again, if I were God.
Recent developments
In 2006 an AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
hotel decided to use a Doric voice for their lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
. Phrases said by the lift include "Gyaun Up" ɡʲɑːn ʌp (Going up), "Gyaun Doun" ɡʲɑːn dun (Going down), "atween fleers een an fower" əˈtwin fliːrz in ən ˈfʌur (between floors one and four).
Also in 2006, Maureen Watt
Maureen Watt
Maureen Watt is a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland since 2006.Born in Aberdeen to a farming family, she was a secondary school teacher in Social Studies in England and moved back to Scotland to work in the oil sector.She was sworn in as MSP on 19...
of the SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
took her Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
ary oath in Doric. She said "I want to advance the cause of Doric and show there's a strong and important culture in the North East." She was required to take an oath in English beforehand. There was some debate as to whether the oath was "gweed Doric" ɡwid ˈdoːrɪk or not, and notably it is, to a certain extent, written phonetically and contains certain anglicised forms such as "I" rather than "A", and "and" instead of "an":
- "I depone aat I wull be leal and bear ae full alleadgance tae her majesty Queen Elizabeth her airs an ony fa come aifter her anent the law. Sae help me God."
Select vocabulary
The most distinctive and common Doric phrase is Ay ay, fit like?, "Hello, how are you?" (Ay Ay, whit like? - ay is sometimes spelt aye. The SND also states:"The spelling of this and the preceding word in Sc. is irregular, but ay = yes, and aye = always, seem to predominate. Both words in Sc. are markedly diphthongal but not identical in pronunciation. N.E.D. and Un. Eng. Dict. prefer ay = always, and aye = yes, the first of which rhymes with the ay series of Eng. words like say, day, etc., while the second does not. The Concise Eng. Dict. spells ay = yes, and aye = ever, always.")
- A'm awfu sair needin the lavvy - (awfu pronounced 'affa') I am bursting for the toilet.
- A'm fair dancin mad - I am in a rage.
- A'm fair forfochten - I am very tired.
- ay is't - reply to the greeting fine mornin
- ay fairly or ay michty ay - yes indeed.
- aye peckin or peckin awa - Literally "Always pecking." The reply to Fou's yer doos?
- the Broch - FraserburghFraserburghFraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
also BurgheadBurgheadBurghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...
near Elgin. - caumie doun! - Calm down!
- Causey Mounth - the road over the "MounthMounthThe Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of Strathdee in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e. "the Mounth". The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic monadh which in turn is akin to the Welsh mynydd, and may be of Pictish origin...
" or Grampians - come awa ben the hoose for a fly an a piece - Welcome. Come in and I'll make you a cup of tea and something to eat.
- Claik - the Doric dialect of BuchanBuchanBuchan is one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by the council in 1996, when the Aberdeenshire unitary council area was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994...
fishing villages - dinna be coorse or A'll skelp yer dowp - Don't be naughty or I will smack your bottom. dock can also be used instead of dowp.
- fa? (wha?) fit? (whit?) fit wey? (whit wey?) faur? (whaur?) fan? (whan) - "who? what? what way? why? where? when?"
- far aboots? (Whaur aboots?) - Whereabouts? (Aberdeen is nicknamed "Furry Boots City" from a humorous spelling of far aboots - furry boots.)
- far div ye bide? (Whaur div ye bide?) - "Where do you live?"
- fit? (Whit) - "What?"
- fit like? (Whit like) - A greeting, essentially, "How are you doing?", to which the response might be "Nae bad. Yersel?" "Aye tawin on", "Fine, thanks" or "juist tyauvin awa'"
- fit ye deein? (Whit ye daein?) - "What are you doing?"
- fit's adee? (Whit's adae?) - "What's wrong?"
- foggy bummer - BumblebeeBumblebeeA bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
- for a filie (for a whilie) - for a long time
- fou lang (hou lang) - how long
- fou's yer dous? (Hou's yer dous?) - literally "how are your pigeons?", now used as "how are you?" A stock phrase, not so often used in speech as to send up Doric.
- futrat (Whitrat) - WeaselWeaselWeasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
or other Mustelid, but commonly used for ferretFerretThe ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
now. - gealt - cold
- gie's a bosie! - "Give me a hug!"
- gulsochs - sweets, cream cakes, doughnuts, caramels etc.
- knapdarloch - dung hanging in knots in wool round a sheep's bottom
- louns an quines (louns an queans) - Lads and lassies, boys and girls. (NB loun or loon has no derogatory connotation in Doric)
- min - Man, as in Ay ay, min.
See also
- Modern ScotsModern ScotsModern Scots describes the varieties of Scots traditionally spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster from 1700.Throughout its history, Modern Scots has been undergoing a process of language attrition, whereby successive generations of speakers have adopted more and more features from...
- ShetlandicShetlandicShetlandic, usually referred to as Shetland by native speakers, is spoken in the Shetland Islands north of mainland Scotland and is, like Orcadian, a dialect of Insular Scots...
- Ulster Scots
- Norn languageNorn languageNorn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Caithness. After the islands were pledged to Scotland by Norway in the 15th century, it was gradually replaced by Scots and on the mainland by Scottish...
Further reading
- Harper, NormanNorman HarperNorman Harper is an author, book editor, journalist and broadcaster, and for 27 years was a writer, features editor, and latterly leader-writer and columnist with the Scottish newspaper, the Press and Journal...
, Spik O The Place (Canongate BooksCanongate BooksCanongate Books is a Scottish independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh; it is named for The Canongate, an area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prizewinner Life of Pi...
, 1998)
External links
- Technical description of Doric pronunciation
- Aw Ae Wey—Written Scots in Scotland and Ulster
- Doric page at Scots Language Centre
- 'Hover & Hear' Doric pronunciations, and compare with other accents from the UK and around the World.
- Hear Doric spoken aloud
- The Doric Festival
- Scottish MSP takes oath in Doric
- Anglic Language Varieties of Northern Scotland (from the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- original link down). - List of Doric Words and English Translations
- Doric set to dae the business
- Hotel lands uplifting Doric voice
- 'Fit Like, Yer Majesty?' a book of Doric poems published in 2008