Scots colloquialisms

**Scotland Forever** · 5th January 11, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by PEEDYC

The rabble have come up with a mixture of local pronunciations as well as few Scottish words. You may need to distinguish between the two. In Glasgow there are many different dialects depending on where one lived and in some cases what school you went to.

If you can find any of Stanley Baxter's Parliamo Glasgow shows on the net you will see what I mean. He made a series of shows taking the mickey out of Glesga speak. (English as spoken in Glasgow) Phrases such as "Erra perra ...... o'er err on ra flare" Translated as- There is a pair of .... over there on the floor. Sayings such as "Goin doon ra waater" Going down the water means a boat trip on the River Clyde. Many comedians also made fun of some of the phrases in common use such as what became known as the Common Giraffe. "Cum on get aff" Meaning:- Hurry up and get off (the bus)

I could go on but I am sure you get the drift ...... Good luck with your presentation

As a fellow Glaswegian, I concur.

Noo awae ye go!
Hauld yer whisht!

Were two my Gran and mum used to say when I was a bairn ;)

**Dall_Piobaire** · 13th January 11, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by Scotland Forever

As a fellow Glaswegian, I concur.

Noo awae ye go!
Hauld yer whisht!

Were two my Gran and mum used to say when I was a bairn ;)

LOL I remember that, something about takin mae by mae lugs too!LOL

Remember, it depends where in Scotland you are, the regions all have thier own particular slang.

Fit like!

**Tobus** · 5th January 11, 07:19 AM

I'll not claim to be an authority on the Scots language, but if you really want to get familiar with Scots colloquialisms, in a more historic/older context anyway, read some of Sir Walter Scott's novels. When I first started reading them, I had a hard time with all the Scots words. But now, after reading only 4 of his books, I can breeze right through it and know exactly what they're saying.

Some of the e-books have a glossary in the back, which is helpful!

For example, here is the html version of Sir Walter Scott's Guy Mannering: or, the Astrologer. Scroll almost to the end and there's a glossary of Scots terms found in the book. If you don't want to read the whole book, just do a text search for some of those words to find them in the document and see them in context.

Again, this usage of words dates back 200 years, but it would be a great source for a fun presentation to girl scouts who know nothing of the language.

**ohiopiper** · 5th January 11, 09:42 AM

Thanks for all the tips, including about reading Sir Walter Scott.

My presentation will be complete and ready for delivery very soon. I'll post the contents of it here for you to read. After all, you had a hand in it!

**Jock Scot** · 5th January 11, 10:03 AM

Sorry a bit late for this one. Ask the girls; "where do you stay?" and look for total confusion! It causes absolute confusion up here! I means "where do you live?" but most visitors say "oh we are staying at the Ulbster Arms" or wherever; instead of what is really being asked, "I come from London" for example. This conversation can go on for ages as the same question is asked time and time again as the visitor tries to explain where his hotel is!

**Steve Barclay** · 13th January 11, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Sorry a bit late for this one. Ask the girls; "where do you stay?" and look for total confusion! It causes absolute confusion up here! I means "where do you live?" but most visitors say "oh we are staying at the Ulbster Arms" or wherever; instead of what is really being asked, "I come from London" for example. This conversation can go on for ages as the same question is asked time and time again as the visitor tries to explain where his hotel is!

Yep, my rellies in Motherwell use that also, it does cause confusion!

Greetin' = crying ("Ye hear the wean next door greetin' a' the nicht?")
Brig = Bridge (The former mining town of Coatbridge, near Airdrie is often referred to as "Coatbrig" by the locals).

**Dall_Piobaire** · 13th January 11, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Barclay

Yep, my rellies in Motherwell use that also, it does cause confusion!

Greetin' = crying ("Ye hear the wean next door greetin' a' the nicht?")
Brig = Bridge (The former mining town of Coatbridge, near Airdrie is often referred to as "Coatbrig" by the locals).

tae bide???

**skauwt** · 5th January 11, 12:49 PM

here`s a wee government site with pages&pages of phrases/words poems and wee tunes
this site has everything and anything you need to know about scots and its various neighbouring dialects
bound to be something in there useful

http://www.scotslanguage.com/media/browse/all/audio

**Tobus** · 13th January 11, 03:30 PM

Brig = Bridge (The former mining town of Coatbridge, near Airdrie is often referred to as "Coatbrig" by the locals).

That could make for a rather interesting and comedic situation on a Navy ship, as the "bridge" and "brig" are two completely separate places. The former is a place of high importance, but if you end up in the latter, you're in trouble!

**kc8ufv** · 13th January 11, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by Tobus

That could make for a rather interesting and comedic situation on a Navy ship, as the "bridge" and "brig" are two completely separate places. The former is a place of high importance, but if you end up in the latter, you're in trouble!

Aren't you normally "on" the former, but "in" the latter?