Language

[Casey_in_Carolina]

So, with the various folks using a bit of the Scottish Brogue in their communications, and even the odd snippet of Scots Gaelic, I'm wondering if there is a primer of sorts on either floating around? I'm pretty good with picking up accents, but have never been around any authentic Scots, so don't know if I'd be faking a ridiculous conglomeration, or an actual Scottish Brogue.

So, is there anything out there for some one who'd like to sound a bit more like his ancestors? If so, can you point me towards it?

Thanks,

Casey

[Charlie Mc.]

As a basic primer there is the greatest repository of knowledge known to man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language

A good way to familiarize yourself with Scots dialect is reading Robert Burns poems. There are many places online that have them along with translations. Reading books such as Sir Walter Scott's Rob Roy is good as well. One of the best ways I find is listening to music from groups like The Corries who do many of their songs in Broad Scots. Most of the Corries songs are on youtube btw. Keep in mind though, if you use too much Scots most people will have no idea what your saying. At the Seattle Highland games Ed Miller commented he was surprised at how many people ask him what the title of his CD "Never Frae My Mind" meant.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Few things make the native born Scots/Irish cringe like a bad (read fake) accent. I remember watching "The Eagle Has Landed" in Dublin, and every time Donald Sutherland opened his mouth you could hear the audience sniggering all the way out on the street.

As far as attempting to write in Scots, or any other dialect-- well, most professional authors realize that it only slows down the narrative, and gets in the way of imparting information to the reader/audience/viewer.

The same is true when posting-- If you have something to say, say it. But please don't write it like you imagine a Scot might say it. Believe it or nor, although we might have a wee accent when we speak, it doesn't translate to the page (or the screen) when we write.

If you want to sound a bit more like your ancestors, marry a bossy woman from Scotland. You'll never get a word in edgeways, and your eventual silence will be as authentic as your great, great grandfather's was.

[cavscout]

Here's a pretty comprehensive thread with some good links

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...aelic+language

Enjoy

[cavscout]

Scotland TV even has some good documentaries on Scots and Gaelic

http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_...nel=Exp%20More

You might need to navigate to HOME > Discover > Language

[hospitaller]

The same is true when posting-- If you have something to say, say it. But please don't write it like you imagine a Scot might say it. Believe it or nor, although we might have a wee accent when we speak, it doesn't translate to the page (or the screen) when we write

I'd disagree a wee bit, reading Pour1Malt is a treat. He writes in phonetic scots, and it is a learning experience every time I read his posts.

[beloitpiper]

I'd disagree a wee bit, reading Pour1Malt is a treat. He writes in phonetic scots, and it is a learning experience every time I read his posts.

P1M is writing in Scots. While in Ireland I had the pleasure of meeting with the head of the Ulster-Scots Agency, which funds many cultural and language-based programs. The Scots language is not, contrary to popular belief, a dialect of English. It is a language that shares a common ancestor with English. The only problem with Scots is that it is a folk language and does not have formalized spelling like English of Gaelic does. It is very much a spoken language, with a few exceptions (see: Robert Burns).

There are many resources for learning Gaelic online, but I can only lead you to Irish Gaelic. To find Scottish Gaelic sites, you might want to turn to your friend Google.

[Phil]

Have a look here - http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/index.html - it will give you some background to the language and also help you translating any words.
Scots is not spoken as a language these days but most Scottish people intersperse their conversations with the words and also use the grammatical form. "they weans (those children)" sounds wrong in English but is correct in Scots. Similarly "I have went to the dunny (I have gone to the cellar)" where the use of "went" would be incorrect in English it is correct in Scots.

[highlander_Daz]

there is no generic "scots" the way folk speak across the country varies massively, Robertson posts in the general way someone from south west / lowland Scotland would speak, this would vary hugely from how Edinburgh folk speak and as you head North it alters significantly again, there no "one size fits all" most folk associate a Glasgow accent with Scotland, this is vastly different to for example Aberdeen, of fife, this can be frustrating watching televison programmes set, for example in Aberdeen where all the actors have Glasgow accents becasue they sound "Scottish" akin to watching "Dallas" with a cast of new yorkers. most recent bad accent i heard was in "Heroes" where peter ends up in Cork cue a bevy of terrible Oirish accents, second only to Scooby Doo meets the Loch ness monster.

[Mike1]

...watching "Dallas" with a cast of new yorkers.

Daz, that is an excellent analogy.

It's difficult for people in the States to realize that there are nearly as many 'accents' in Scotland as there are over here. And Scotland being geographically small, it's not unusual to walk into a shop in Edinburgh and hear a clerk with a Glaswegian lilt in their speech.

It's a bit like saying people south of the Mason-Dixon Line have a southern accent. But there is no way that someone from Tennessee sounds like someone from North Carolina and they both sound different than someone from Texas.