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Early Scots
Scots language

Scots or Lowland Scots refers to the Germanic Variety derived from Middle English spoken in parts of Lowland Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border areas of the Republic of Ireland....
 describes the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
 speaking parts of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian
Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)

Northumbrian was a dialect of the Old English language spoken in the Anglo-Saxons Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with Mercian , Kentish and Late West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old English invented and employed by modern scholars....
 Old English. During this period, speakers referred to the language as "English" (Inglis, Ynglis, and variants).

Early examples such as Barbour’s The Brus
The Brus

The Brus is a long narrative poem by John Barbour with a purpose partly historical, partly patriotic. It celebrates the praises of Robert the Bruce and James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, the flowers of Scottish chivalry, opening with a description of the state of Scotland at the death of Alexander III of Scotland and concluding with the d...
 and Wyntoun
Andrew of Wyntoun

Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun was a Scotland poet, a Canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and later, a canon of St....
’s Chronicle are better explained as part of Northern Middle English than as isolated forerunners of later Scots, a name first used to describe the language later in the Middle Scots
Middle Scots

Middle Scots describes the English languages of Scottish Lowlands 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.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m6658630",this)' onMouseout='hide("m6658630")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Northumbrian_%28Anglo-Saxon%29">Northumbrian
Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)

Northumbrian was a dialect of the Old English language spoken in the Anglo-Saxons Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with Mercian , Kentish and Late West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old English invented and employed by modern scholars....
 Old English had been established in south-eastern Scotland as far as the River Forth
River Forth

The River Forth , 47 km long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some 30 km west of Stirling....
 in the 7th century and largely remained there until the 13th century, which is why in the late 12th century Adam of Dryburgh described his locality as "in the land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots" and why the early 13th century author of de Situ Albanie
De Situ Albanie

De Situ Albanie is the name given to the first of seven Scotland documents found in the so-called Poppleton Manuscript, now in the Biblioth?que Nationale, Paris, France....
 thought that the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south....
 "divides the kingdoms of the Scots and of the English" .

Political developments in the 12th century facilitated the spread of the English language.






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Early Scots
Scots language

Scots or Lowland Scots refers to the Germanic Variety derived from Middle English spoken in parts of Lowland Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border areas of the Republic of Ireland....
 describes the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
 speaking parts of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian
Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)

Northumbrian was a dialect of the Old English language spoken in the Anglo-Saxons Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with Mercian , Kentish and Late West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old English invented and employed by modern scholars....
 Old English. During this period, speakers referred to the language as "English" (Inglis, Ynglis, and variants).

Early examples such as Barbour’s The Brus
The Brus

The Brus is a long narrative poem by John Barbour with a purpose partly historical, partly patriotic. It celebrates the praises of Robert the Bruce and James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, the flowers of Scottish chivalry, opening with a description of the state of Scotland at the death of Alexander III of Scotland and concluding with the d...
 and Wyntoun
Andrew of Wyntoun

Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun was a Scotland poet, a Canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and later, a canon of St....
’s Chronicle are better explained as part of Northern Middle English than as isolated forerunners of later Scots, a name first used to describe the language later in the Middle Scots
Middle Scots

Middle Scots describes the English languages of Scottish Lowlands 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.

History

Rossscotlang1400
Northumbrian
Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)

Northumbrian was a dialect of the Old English language spoken in the Anglo-Saxons Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with Mercian , Kentish and Late West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old English invented and employed by modern scholars....
 Old English had been established in south-eastern Scotland as far as the River Forth
River Forth

The River Forth , 47 km long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some 30 km west of Stirling....
 in the 7th century and largely remained there until the 13th century, which is why in the late 12th century Adam of Dryburgh described his locality as "in the land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots" and why the early 13th century author of de Situ Albanie
De Situ Albanie

De Situ Albanie is the name given to the first of seven Scotland documents found in the so-called Poppleton Manuscript, now in the Biblioth?que Nationale, Paris, France....
 thought that the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south....
 "divides the kingdoms of the Scots and of the English" .

Political developments in the 12th century facilitated the spread of the English language. Institutions such as the burgh
Burgh

A Burgh is an Wiktionary:Autonomy corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division has existed since the 12th century, when David I of Scotland created the first Royal burghs....
s first established by David I
David I of Scotland

David I or Dabhidh Mac Maol Chaluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later List of monarchs of Scotland . The youngest son of Maol Chaluim Mac Donnchaidh and Saint Margaret of Scotland, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093....
, mostly in the south and east of Scotland, brought new communities into the areas in which they were established. Incoming burghers were mainly English (especially from Northumbria
Northumbria

Northumbria is primarily the name of both a medieval petty kingdom of the Angles people, in what is now north east England and southern Scotland, and of the earldom which succeeded it when a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom became England....
, and the Earldom of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is chiefly associated with the Hastings family....
), Dutch
Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
 and French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
. Although the military aristocracy employed French and Gaelic, these small urban communities appear to have been using English as something more than a by the end of the 13th century. Although the population of the largest burghs would have been counted in hundreds rather than thousands, radical social shift occurred whereby many Gaels became assimilated into the new social system and its language.

The increasing economic influence of the burghs attracted further English, Fleming
Flemish people

The terms the Flemish people , and the Flemings or the Flemish denote the more than six million people of Flanders, the northern half of the country Belgium — and, as well, the majority of all Belgium; the terms Fleming and Flemings denote respectively a person and the people of that community....
 and Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
n immigration. As the economic power of the burghs grew, Gaelic-speakers from the hinterland
Hinterland

The hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast....
 found it advantageous to acquire a working knowledge of English. The institutional language of the burghs consisted of vocabulary substantially Germanic
Germanic languages

The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European languages language family. The common ancestor of all the languages in this branch is Proto-Germanic, spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Pre-Roman Iron Age....
 in origin, such Anglo-Saxon terms as toft
Toft village

In England and Scotland, a toft village is a Human settlement comprising small and relatively closely packed farms with the surrounding land owned and farmed by those who live in the village's buildings....
 (homestead and land), croft
Croft (land)

A croft is a Agricultural fencing or Enclosure area of land, usually small and arable land with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has Land tenure and use of the land....
 (smallholding), ruid
Rood (Scots)

A Scottish rood was a land measurement of Anglo-Saxons origin. It was in greatest use in the South East of Scotland, and along the border, whereas in the north various other systems were used, based on the land's productivity, rather than actual area....
 (land let by a burgh), guild
Guild

File:Windsorguildhall.jpgA guild is an association of artisan in a particular trade. The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers....
 (a trade association), bow (an arched gateway), wynd
Wynd

Wynd is a Scots language word for what is typically a narrow path snaking through houses to join two major roads. In many places wynds link streets at different heights and thus are mostly thought of as being ways up or down hills....
 (lane) and raw (row of houses).

Multi-lingualism and cultural diversity became increasingly the norm after David I. People in one part of the realm could be addressed as "" (French, English, Scots and Galloway
Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Stewarty of Kirkcudbright . It is part of the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland....
-men). The end of the House of Dunkeld
House of Dunkeld

The so-called House of Dunkeld, in Scottish Gaelic language D?n Chailleann , is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of List of monarchs of Scotland from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1290....
 led to the throne being passed to three families of Anglo-French origin, the Balliol
House of Balliol

The House of Balliol was a Picardy and Anglo-Norman family who began to rule some estates in England in the reign of William Rufus. In the late 13th and 14th centuries, two members of the house were kings of Scotland....
s, Bruces and Stewart
House of Stuart

The House of Stuart, also known as the House of Stewart is an important European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century....
s. After the death of King Robert I
Robert I of Scotland

Robert I, King of the Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329....
, the kings of Scotland (with the exception of King Robert II
Robert II of Scotland

Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 and was the first of the House of Stewart. Before his accession he held the titles of High Steward of Scotland and the Earl of Strathearn....
) increasingly identified themselves with the English-speaking part of the kingdom. As a result, by the reign of King James I of Scotland
James I of Scotland

James I was nominal King of Scots from 4 April 1406, and reigning King of Scots from May 1424 until 21 February 1437....
, the political heartland of the Scottish king moved from the area around Scone and Perth
Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area....
 to the area around Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
.

By the 14th and 15th centuries, the variety of English ( that resulted from the above influences had replaced Gaelic in much of the lowlands and Norman French had ceased to be used as the language of the elite. By this time differentiation into Southern, Central and Northern dialects had perhaps occurred. Scots was also beginning to replace Latin as a language for records and literature. In Caithness
Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic Local government in Scotland of Scotland. The name was used also for the Earl of Caithness and the Caithness of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ....
, it came into contact with both Norn
Norn language

Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken on Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Caithness. After the islands were pledge to Scotland by Norway in the 15th century, it was gradually replaced by Scots language....
 and Gaelic.

Orthography

Some orthographic features differing Northern Middle English and Early Scots from other regional variants of written Middle English are:

The notable use of the Northern subject rule
Northern subject rule

The Northern Subject Rule is a grammatical pattern inherited from Middle English. Present tense verbs may take the verbal -s suffix, except when they are directly adjacent to one of the personal pronouns I, you, we, or they as their subject....
, which according to one hypothesis, is thought to have arisen through contact with the Celtic languages of Britain during the early medieval period. Another hypothesis proposes a possible path of developments from the reduction of verbal affixes followed by originally enclitic postverbal pronouns.


The forms of the third person plural pronoun
Pronoun

In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun with or without a Determiner , such as Wiktionary:you and Wiktionary:they in English language....
  they/their/them (derived from Old Norse) which later moved southwards to replace the older Southern he/here/hem forms (derived from Old English). One reason why the Northern forms were ultimately successful is that they got rid of the ambiguity of early Southern Middle English he (which could mean 'he', 'they', or even in some dialects 'she') and hir(e), her(e) (which could mean either 'her' or 'their').


The reduced set of verb
Verb

In syntax, a verb is a word that usually denotes an action , an occurrence , or a state of being . Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its grammatical tense, grammatical aspect, grammatical mood and grammatical voice....
 agreement endings originating in the 9th or 10th centuries. In Northern Middle English, in the present tense, in all persons and numbers but the first singular, which had –e, the ending was –(e)s; and in Scotland even the first person singular was occasionally –s. Whereas the Old English and Southern and Midlands Middle English pattern had –e, -(e)s(t), -(e)th in the three persons of the singular and –(a)th (-(e)n in the Midlands) in all persons of the plural.


Loss of the Old English prefix ge- often y- or i- further south.


The single syllable northern infinitive
Infinitive

In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English language, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the grammatical particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives....
 (sing rather than the Old English singan), whereas the past participle -en inflection was used in the South. The final
Silent E

Silent e is a writing convention in English language spelling. When reading, the silent letter e at the end of a word signals a specific pronunciation of the preceding vowel letter, as in the difference between "rid" and "ride" ....
 e
Silent E

Silent e is a writing convention in English language spelling. When reading, the silent letter e at the end of a word signals a specific pronunciation of the preceding vowel letter, as in the difference between "rid" and "ride" ....
 was silent in the North but still pronounced further south.


The northern present participle
Participle

In linguistics, a participle is a derivative of a non-finite verb verb, which can be used in compound Grammatical tense or Grammatical voice, or as a Grammatical modifier....
 –and, whereas –inge(e), -ynge(e) was used in the South, and the northern past participle of strong verbs, in for example, drive(n) and southern ydrive.


The Scottish -yt/-it for the past tense
Past tense

The past tense is a verb grammatical tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past of the current moment , or prior to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future ....
, the northern form was usually -yd/-id where further south -ed was used.


In the North and in the Northeast Midlands evidence from poetry indicates a pattern unlike that of Old English reflecting contact with a Scandinavian-influenced one. Whereas in the West Midlands and Southern dialects of early Middle English the verb-second
V2 word order

Verb-second word order, in syntax, is the rule in some languages that the second Constituent of declarative main clauses is always a verb, while this is not necessarily the case in other types of clauses....
 (V2) pattern of Old English is largely maintained.


Other differences between Northern and Southern Middle English were the adoption of function words of Norse origin, but also phonological effects such as the replacement of Old English // sh by // sk, sc and // and // for the palatalized // and //. Other phonological differences included the simplification in the initial sc/sh- // fricative to // (suld, should; sall, shall). The retention of Old English long a in where, further south, this long a had "rounded" to an open o: (hayly holy, ane one, wald would awne own, hald hold). The practice of indicating a long vowel by means of a following –y or –i: (boite boot, doyne done, soyne soon, boythe both). The spelling quh for wh, ch for gh or 3, 3 /for /, y for th, double ff to indicate unvoiced final consonants (haiff have, gyff give) and, of course, the use of words, or forms of words, that were common only in the northern dialects.


By the end of the period when Middle Scots
Middle Scots

Middle Scots describes the English languages of Scottish Lowlands 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....
 began to emerge, orthography
Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Orthography is derived from Greek language ????? orth?s and ???fe?? gr?phein ....
 and phonology
Phonology

Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system....
 had diverged significantly from that of Northern Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
.

Vocabulary

The core vocabulary is of Anglo-Saxon origin although many of the differences in the phonology, morphology and lexicon in the northern and southern dialects of Middle English have been traced to the linguistic influence in the North of the eighth and ninth century Viking invaders who first plundered, then conquered and settled in, large territories in Northumbria, Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Scots also retained many words which became obsolete further south. The pattern of foreign borrowings, such as Romance
Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages comprising all the languages that descend from Latin language, the language of ancient Rome....
 via ecclesiastical and legal Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 and French, was much the same as that of contemporary English but was often different in detail because of the continuing influence of the Auld Alliance
Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance refers to a series of treaties, offensive and defensive in nature, between Scotland and France aimed specifically against England....
 and the imaginative use of Latinisms in literarure.

During this period a number of words of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as anerly (alone), berynes (grave), clenge (cleanse), halfindall (a half part), scathful (harmful), sturting (contention), thyrllage (bondage) and umbeset (surround), were now almost or completely unique to Scots.

French derived warfare terms such as arsoun (saddle-bow), bassynet (helmet), eschell (battalion), hawbrek (coat of mail), qwyrbolle (hardened leather), troppell (troop), vaward (vanguard) and vyre (crossbow bolt) became part of the language along with other French vocabulary such as cummer (godmother), disjone (breakfast), dour (stern, grim), fasch (annoy), grosar (gooseberry), ladron (rascal), moyen (means), plenissing (furniture) and vevaris (provisions).

The vocabulary of Scots was augmented by the speech of Scandinavians, Flemings, Dutch
Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
 and Middle Low German
Middle Low German

Middle Low German is a language that is the descendant of Old Saxon and is the ancestor of modern Low German. It served as the international lingua franca of the Hanseatic League....
 speakers through trade with, and immigration from, the low countries
Low Countries

The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the country on low-lying land around the river delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse River rivers....
.

From Scandinavian (often via Scandinavian influenced Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
) came at (that/who), byg (build), bak (bat), bla (blae), bra (brae
Brae

Brae is a settlement on the mainland of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is located at the northeast end of Busta Voe, on the narrow isthmus that separates the mainland from Northmavine....
), ferlie (marvel), flyt remove, fra (from), gar (compel), gowk (cuckoo), harnis (brains), ithand (industrious), low (flame), lug (an appendage, ear), man (must), neve (fist), sark (shirt), spe (prophesy), ža (those), til (to), tinsell (loss), wycht (valiant) and wyll (lost, confused).

The flemings introduced bonspell
Bonspiel

A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scots language and means league match ....
 (sporting contest), bowcht (sheep pen), cavie (hen coop), crame (a booth), furisine (flint
Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary rock cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as Nodule s and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones....
 striker), grotkyn (a gross
Gross

Gross may refer to:* Gross , before deductions.* Gross , a counting unit equal to 144* Gross examination, in anatomical pathology, identification of disease with the naked eye...
), howff (courtyard), kesart (cheese vat), lunt (match), much (a cap), muchkin (a liquid measure), skaff (scrounge), wapinschaw (muster of militia), wyssill (change of money) and the coins plak, stek and doyt.

A number of Gaelic words such as breive (judge), cane (a tribute), couthal (court of justice), davach (a measure of land), duniwassal (nobleman), kenkynolle (head of the kindred), mare (tax collector) and toschachdor (leader) occurred in early legal documents but most became obsolete early in the period. Gaelic words for topographical features have endured bogg (bog), carn (pile of stones), corrie (hollow in a hill), crag (rock), inch (small island), knok (hill), loch (lake or fjord) and strath (river valley).

Sample text

The language first appeared in written form in the mid-14th century, when its written form differed little from that of northern English dialects, and so Scots shared many Northumbrian borrowings from Old Norse
Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic languages that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
 and Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman language

The Anglo-Norman language is a term traditionally used to refer to the variety of French used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles following the Norman conquest in 1066....
 French. The reduced set of verb agreement endings in particular give the language an uncannily modern appearance when compared to the writing of English contemporaries such as Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, philosopher, Bureaucracy, Noble court and diplomat. Although he wrote many works, he is best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales....
.

Renunciation by Alexander Lindsay, knight, Lord of Glenesk, of certain lands, in favour of Margaret Countess of Marr and her sister Elizabeth. 12 March 1379.

Till all žat žir lettres herys or seis Alysandre lyndessay lorde of glennesk knycht gretyng in god euer lestand Wete yhe me for me and myn ayres and assigne at že instance of a noble & mychty lorde Sir William Erle of Douglas & of Marr haue releissit quytclaymit & for euer mare remittyt till an honorable lady dame Mergarete contesse of Marr & to Elyabeth hir systir dachteris & ayres till an michty lorde Thomas stywarde som tyme Erle of Angous all my rycht clayme persuit chalenge or askyng | žat I or myn ayres has or may haue or our assignes in tyme to come be ony ways to fourty markis worth of land in ye qwilkes ye foresaid Erle of Angous was obligit be his lettres to gyve me heritably eftir žat I had tane že ordre of knycht sa žat nowthir I no myn ayres no our assigne že foresaid dame Mergarete Elyabeth hir systir žair ayres no žair assigne by cause of že foresaid fourty markis worth of land no for na maner of rerage žare of may chalenge inquiete distourble or be cause foresaid aganis žaim qhestioun or plede in tyme to cum be ony maner of way bot fra all manere of rycht and colour lauch of askyng folowing owthir to possessioun or proprete to že forsaid thingis be ws excludit & assoillit be žir lettres for euer mare | And in case gif I or myn ayres or assigne in že contrare of žis lettre in tyme to come before ony Iuge sall attempt or moue I wil & grante žat our folowing be nocht herd as thing of na valu no of strenthe but fraude or gyle In wytness here of to žis lettre I haue put my sele že xij day of Marce že yhere of grace m·iiic sevynty & nyne


Phonology

The Early Scots vowel system (c 1375)

Long 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....
s		 Diphthong
Diphthong

In phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel?that is, a unitary vowel that changes vowel quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a glissando of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow. This contrasts with "pure" vowels, or monophthongs, where the tongue is held s...
s		 Short vowels
Realisation Examples Realisation Examples Realisation Examples
mine pain pin
sene (seen) noise men
lene (lean) point man
bane (bone) dey (die) fon (folly)
cole (coal) law gun
doun (down) lown (calm)  
mone (moon) spew, grew  
dew  
The major differences to contemporary southern English are the outcome of Anglo-Saxon as , the distribution of the unchanged Anglo-Saxon and from Anglo-Saxon . The Scandinavian-influenced in words such as birk (birch), brekis (breeches
Breeches

Breeches are an item of male clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles.The breeches were normally closed and fastened about the leg, along its open seams at varied lengths, and to the knee, by either buttons or by a...
), brig (bridge), kirk (church), kist (chest), mekil (much) and rig (ridge), and the retention of Germanic in words such as lowp (leap), cowp (cf. cheap, to trade) and nowt (cattle).

See also

  • History of the Scots language
    History of the Scots language

    The history of the Scots language refers to how Anglic languages variety spoken in parts of Scotland developed into modern Scots language....
  • Phonological history of the Scots language
    Phonological history of the Scots language

    This is a presentation of the phonology history of the Scots language.Phonetics below are represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet....
  • Dictionary of the Scots Language
    Dictionary of the Scots Language

    The Dictionary of the Scots Language is an online Scots language-English language dictionary, now run by Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd, a charity and limited company....


External links