Unit 7, Appendix 2 Dialect variation
Dialect variation – using the forms listed below, you are representing a particular dialect of Scots
| Scots Dialect | Pronunciation variation from other Scots dialects | Examples of words with Scots dialect variation |
|---|---|---|
| Insular | th → t | think → tink |
| th → d | thee → dee | |
| North East | wh → f | whit → fit |
| Lothians | -a → -ae | Glesga → Glesgae |
| West Central | ai → eh | fairm → ferm |
| Tayside | ay → eh | aye → eh |
| Borders | oo → ow | you → yow |
| ee → ey | me → mey |
The Scots words that are traditionally spelled <ui> vary across dialects accounting for much of the distinctiveness in dialects. In the Northern Isles, parts of Angus and West Dunbartonshire these words maintain a distinctive vowel sound. (This is spelled with the umlaut in Insular dialects, ‘ö’). In other dialects it has been replaced with other sounds in the dialects.
| muin | puir | nuik | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insular | mön | pür | nyook |
| North East | meen | peer/pear | nyook |
| Central, Southern, and Ulster Scots | min | paer | nyuk |
In the North east words traditionally spelt <ui> that are preceded by a k or g sound tend to have acquired a w sound, for example in scuil, skweel, and guid, gweed.
Some dialect retain pronunciation of <ch> in words like bricht and nicht, in others these are silent, like <gh> in the English words bright and night. However, in uniquely Scots words and in place names these are often pronounced.
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