Scottish English

Did you know there are three official languages in Scotland: English, Scots, and Gaelic?

• Scottish English is spoken throughout Scotland.
• Scots is used in the main cities, the Lowlands, and the Northern Isles.
• Gaelic has remained in the Highlands and the Western Isles.

All three of these languages coexist and influence each other. Whilst Gaelic is a unique language that looks and sounds remarkably different from English, Scottish English and Scots both derive from Anglo-Saxon Old English and exist on a language continuum. This means people may use both Scottish English and Scots at the same time to varying different extents.

Today we'll learn about the use of English in Scotland, the history and influence of Scots, the linguistic features of Scottish English, and of course, some examples.

Let's gang! (Let's go!)

Scottish English Definition

You're probably aware by now that it's best to think of English as a plural, i.e., Englishes. Well, the same is true for Scottish Englishes. The term Scottish English is used as an umbrella term for all the varieties of English that can be found in Scotland, from Edinburgh to the Shetland Islands. On the other hand, the term Standard Scottish English (aka Scottish Standard English or SSE) is used to describe the standardized version of English used in Scotland, often associated with the upper classes.

A good way of highlighting the use of English in Scotland is by looking at the language continuum used across the country. A language continuum is a chain of language varieties and dialects spoken across a geographical area that differ slightly but mainly remain mutually intelligible. On the Scottish language continuum, Standard Scottish English sits at one end and Broad Scots at the other.

Fig 1. The Scottish language is a continuum.

Many Scottish residents will change their language use, i.e., from SSE to Scots, based on their situation and location, a phenomenon known as code-switching.

One reason Glaswegians (as an example) might code-switch is because, historically speaking, Scots has been associated with the working classes and Standard Scottish English with the upper classes.

Keep in mind that although each dialect on a continuum is supposedly mutually intelligible, some Standard Scottish English users may find Broad Scots a little tricky to understand.

Let's now look at the languages on either side of the continuum.

Scots

Before we delve into Scots, let's clear an important detail up. Scots is considered a "sister" language of English and not a variety. What does this mean? Scots is a cognate language of English, meaning they both share an ancestral language. In this case, both languages came from Anglic (aka Old English). Scots also took influence from French, Latin, Gaelic, and Dutch.

Although it isn't widely known, The Scottish government recognizes Scots as an official language, stating it has an estimated 60,000 unique words and phrases, a rich literary history, and has been used by royalty, politicians, writers, and ordinary people for centuries. Additionally, in a 2011 census, around 1.5 million Scottish residents stated they spoke or understood Scots in some capacity.¹

Scots is primarily a spoken language; currently, no schools in Scotland teach Scots or use it as a mode of instruction.

There are four main Scots dialects present in Scotland:

• Insular Scots - Insular means island, and Insular Scots refers to the language spoken on the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Insular Scots is heavily influenced by Scandanavian and Norwegian and dates back to the 1400s. Today, Insular Scots is arguably the Scots dialect furthest sounding from English.

• Northern Scots - Northern Scots can primarily be found in the North East of Scotland, including the city of Aberdeen. The most noticeable difference from other Scots dialects is the use of an /f/ sound in place of the /w/ sound.

• Central Scots - Central Scots is the widest-spoken Scots dialect in Scotland because it covers the "central belt," which includes Edinburgh and Glasgow. Central Scots became widely used and standardized as the Scottish government came to be based in this area. Today, it is probably the closest Scots dialect to English.

• Southern Scots - Due to the geographical location in which Southern Scots is used, it is often called Borders Scots or simply Borders (the border being the one between England and Scotland). Southern Scots primarily differs from other Scots dialects in terms of its vowel sounds. For example, long "oo" (/ʊ/) sounds are pronounced more like "ow" (/aʊ/).

Naturally, each of the four dialects can be divided further into other dialects. For example, Glaswegian (Glasgow Patter) is a prominent dialect that falls within Central Scots. However, Glaswegian also draws upon Scottish English, meaning it can be considered a dialect of both Scots and English.

Fig 2. Central Scots can be heard in Edinburgh.

Standard Scottish English

As previously stated, Standard Scottish English (SSE) is the standardized version of English used across Scotland. It is typically linked with the professional and upper classes as it is often deemed more "proper" than Scots and other Scottish dialects. Someone speaking SSE shouldn't have an issue being understood in any English-speaking country, whereas someone speaking pure Scots likely would.

On a basic level, Standard Scottish English is similar to Standard British English, except it has some differing linguistic features taken from Gaelic and Scots, such as accent, vocabulary, phrases, and sayings (we'll cover these features in detail soon!). In summary, the line between Standard Scottish English and Scots can often be quite blurred.

Across Scotland, Standard Scottish English is the default language for things like the news; however, the use of Scots on the TV, radio, and in newspapers is growing.

Scottish English Example

Now we've got the basics covered, let's look at some examples of Standard British English compared to Standard Scottish English and Standard Scots.

Despite the neat division between the languages shown above, there is every possibility that someone in Scotland could use a mix of all the words you see above, based on how they feel at the time! Remember, code-switching is often natural and subconscious.

Scottish English Features

Now, let's focus on the features of Scottish English. Many of the features that differ from Standard British English are due to the influence of Scots and Gaelic; therefore, many of these features will be the same as Scots.

Scottish English Words

Let's take a look at a list of Scottish English words with phonetic transcription. The majority of these words have come from Scots.

Scottish English phrases are colloquially known as Scotticisims; the term refers to the influence of Scots on the English language. Here are some examples:

Scottish English Grammar

The grammar of Standard Scottish English is much the same as that of Standard British English. While grammatical differences may be heard in spoken language (heavily influenced by Scots), the grammar of written Scottish English typically remains the same.

There are a few key differences that can be observed:

• Negative contractions end with the suffix -nae. For example, Would + not = wouldnae, could + not = couldnae, and did + not = didnae. The word no itself can also be replaced with nae (not commonly written).

• Use of the word no instead of not. For example, "He's surely no gonna be there."

• Use of the relative pronoun that over who. For example, "The man that was there."

• Turning irregular verbs into regular in their past tense forms. For example, telt instead of told and selt instead of sold.

• A more flexible approach to the use of past tense verbs and past participles. For example, "I seen that show" is deemed acceptable, whereas in Standard British English, it would have to be "I saw that show" or "I have seen that show."

Scottish English Accent

The Scottish English accent is due to a difference in phonological features. Here are some key features of Scottish English that differentiate it from Standard British English.

• Rhoticity - The Scottish accent is predominantly rhotic, meaning the /r/ sound in the middle or at the end of a word is always pronounced. This differs from most other British accents, which are non-rhotic and do not pronounce the /r/ sound in the middle or at the end of words.

• The fricative "ch" sound - Fricative consonants are made when air is forced through a small gap between two speech articulators. In Scottish English, when a "ch" appears at the end of a word, e.g., loch, a fricative sound is created in the throat. In Standard British English, the sound is pronounced as a hard /k/.

• Vowel sounds - Words that typically have elongated diphthong vowel sounds in Standard British English are pronounced shorter and sharper in Scottish English. For example, book (/bʊk/) sounds more like /buk/.

• Aspirated wh-words - The wh- sound at the beginning of words like what and which is typically aspirated in Scottish English, meaning it is pronounced with an exhale of air.

1. Education Scotland. History of Scots From the Middle Ages to the present day. (2022).