Jock, Alex, Rex: please settle this

[piperdbh]

Suppose I folded (or didn't fold) a piece of tartan (or not tartan) to wear or carry on my shoulder for either dress, ceremonial or warmth-keeping reasons. According to you real, live Scots, were I to label such a thing as a "plaid", should I pronounce it to rhyme with stayed, made, paid, or should it rhyme with sad, mad, lad?

[Bruce Scott]

This was recently discussed here: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...rd-viii-93068/

[CamelCody]

the word 'plaid' means blanket. If you look up 'plaid' in the dictionary on www.learngaelic.net it's spelled 'plaide' - and pronounced 'plodge-yeh'
Maybe the non Gaelic speaking britons adopted the word from the Gaelic and started pronouncing it plad, or played, or pled. Not all of of the population of Scotland were always Gaelic speakers and some never were. Many words were borrowed on both sides of the fence

[Jock Scot]

The word rarely comes up in the course of normal conversation here, but I do hear it used as "played" quite regularly by the visitors. I would probably say "plad" (as in lad) but to be honest, I use it as a spoken word so rarely that I am not sure how it may come out in conversation.

[neloon]

I can only repeat what I said in two places in
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...rd-viii-93068/
It's "played".
Alan

[cessna152towser]

Agreed.
Normally pronounced "played" but I am not going to make a big fuss if somebody mispronounces it as "plad".

[figheadair]

Agreed.
Normally pronounced "played" but I am not going to make a big fuss if somebody mispronounces it as "plad".

Jock and I will be relieved

[OC Richard]

As an American who grew up in our local piping scene, /played/ always meant the garment.

/Plad/ was what people outwith the piping scene called tartan, and what we within the piping scene called non-tartan patterns.

[Father Bill]

When Ronald Reagan was running for president, a Canadian reporter looking for background information asked one of his aides whether to pronounce his name "Reegan" or "Raygan". The answer was that it was definitely "Raygan".

The next question was what his favourite dog breed was, and the aide told the reporter it was a "Baygle"

Local accents account for much in terms of pronunciation.

[ThistleDown]

Playd to me. In various parts of Scotland this is also plaik, I hear. For reference, in the 19C there were plaiden-merchants who sold coarse, twilled cloth, and plainen-merchants who sold linen and flannel. In Irish plainen is also flainen, both pronounced as you read them. A plaithie is a plaid, as is a plaidie. In Argyll it's spelled plaide in English, and plajj'-a in Gaelic, both with a long 'a'.