Scottish Accents/ Dialects

[Peters Wyngarde]

4 hours ago, Angusfifer said:

I the first time I went to Aberdeen I honestly did not have a clue what was being said.

Are you deaf, stupid or both?

[GNU_Linux]

One thing I've found curious is the word ken. It's a thing all over the east of the country that dissapears west of Harthill yet resurfaces in Ayrshire despite not being a thing in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire or Dunbartonshire. There's probably a linguistics explanation for it but feck if I know.

[stevieKTID]

I made a conscious effort to rid myself of my Ayrshire accent when i moved to Amsterdam, it was getting embarrassing being asked by someone speaking English as a second language what the f**k i was talking about.
I've toned it down considerably, thankfully.

[BFTD]

Worth bearing in mind that most folk from outside the country will, and do, say that we all sound the same.

I love folk who say that they "don't have an accent". I'm not sure how you get to that level of self-delusion. Link to Stephen Fry's story about Maggie Smith:

 

[Fratelli]

The borders is a weird one. Geographically a pretty small area but there's a few different accents in there. There's a noticeable difference between Hawick and Galashiels accents for instance, despite only being 18 miles apart. Some folk from Langholm on the other side of Hawick, and the villages closer to the border almost have an English twang too which is weird as f**k to hear.

Wasn't aware of the Stranraer accent until i heard Kevin Kyle speak either, has to be up there as one of the strangest accents in the country.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Fratelli

[JamesConnelly]

Wasn't aware of the Stranraer accent until i heard Kevin Kyle speak either, has to be up there as one of the strangest accents in the country.

It definitely is. In fact, the whole of Galloway is awash with weird Galloway Irish hybrid accents. Never known an area of Scotland to have so different dialects. Same can be said for Dumfriesshire. The difference in accents between Dumfries, Annan and Gretna (25 miles) is unreal. It’s more like a distance of 250 miles.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

How an accent sounds really depends on the listener, unless its a very unusual one then generally the rule is the further away the listener comes from the area spoken, the less they will notice the subtle differences in them. To me glasgow lanarkshire renfrew and ayreshire sound much the same, few differences but all unmistakably west coast, the same thing a weegie might say about us and fife for example.
When i lived in Shetland i was often assumed to be from Glasgow or described as having a glasgow accent even tho nobody in the central belt would make that mistake. My mrs isn’t Scottish and she can’t tell much difference from anywhere apart

[welshbairn]

53 minutes ago, stevieKTID said:

I made a conscious effort to rid myself of my Ayrshire accent when i moved to Amsterdam, it was getting embarrassing being asked by someone speaking English as a second language what the f**k i was talking about.
I've toned it down considerably, thankfully.

 

[ICTChris]

1 hour ago, GNU_Linux said:

One thing I've found curious is the word ken. It's a thing all over the east of the country that dissapears west of Harthill yet resurfaces in Ayrshire despite not being a thing in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire or Dunbartonshire. There's probably a linguistics explanation for it but feck if I know.

My favourite thing about the word 'ken' is that it disappears by the time you get to Perth, you never hear it anywhere in the Highlands or North East... until you get to Shetland where it makes an amazing comeback.

The explanation that was given to me is that the Shetland dialect is unique as it developed out of a mixture of Norse and Scots.  Apparently a lot of people moved from the Lowlands to Shetland to croft and fish after the islands were given to Scotland by Norway resulting in the unique accent/dialect in Shetland.

[stevieKTID]

 

Hahaja I knew what the clip was before i even opened it! And yesh that's how i shpeak nowadays

 

[LondonHMFC]

3 hours ago, Doctor said:

Love the posh teuchter accent you get in the likes of Thurso and Blairgowrie

Be interested to hear one, after listening to Gary Like Mackay Like Steven on that Simon Ferry podcast like, I can't imagine a posh version like. 

[Doctor]

You hear ken all over the East Coast.

Now "ged", that is a very specifically eastern Perthshire word.

[Jamaldo]

I'm from Stornoway and since moving to Ayrshire I've been frequently asked If I'm Irish. This is quite a common thing for us but I don't hear it at all.

On the flipside, when I lived in Glasgow I don't think I was mistaken for being Irish once. So the 'depends on the listener' argument definitely makes sense.

[Cosmic Joe]

2 hours ago, Peters Wyngarde said:

Are you deaf, stupid or both?

Neither. I just had no idea that "far" meant where and "fit" meant what etc. Completely threw me

[Doctor]

I particularly love the contrasts Scotland has with neighbouring countries. Can almost hear a bit of the Carlisle twang in southern Scotland and similarly the Shetland accent has a slight hint of norse about it

[SlipperyP]

I've lived in so many places, I struggle to understand my own thoughts. 

Born in weegieland, moved to Oz when I was 6, back to Scotland east coast when I was 10, #Perthshire 14. Birmingham 19 and then kept moving. (coming back now and again to see Forfar get beat)

 

[tree house tam]

2 hours ago, Doctor said:

2 hours ago, Bonksy+HisChristianParade said:

Blairgowrie is scaffy as f**k. Biggest shithole in Tayside.

Don't go in the wetherspoons or to The Gig and you'll be fine

The vic is owned by a peado and full of his peado pals.

[Doctor]

The vic is owned by a peado and full of his peado pals.

Home of the underagers in my era Tam, I think that prestige goes to the fair o Blair nowadays

[Ross.]

2 hours ago, stevieKTID said:

I made a conscious effort to rid myself of my Ayrshire accent when i moved to Amsterdam, it was getting embarrassing being asked by someone speaking English as a second language what the f**k i was talking about.
I've toned it down considerably, thankfully.

I was getting dogs abuse last year during a visit home because my accent has softened a lot in the time I have been away. Usually takes a couple of pints to get back to normal. Then I come back here and get dogs abuse off the folk in the office because I am speaking too fast for  them to understand me.

54 minutes ago, Jamaldo said:

I'm from Stornoway and since moving to Ayrshire I've been frequently asked If I'm Irish. This is quite a common thing for us but I don't hear it at all.

On the flipside, when I lived in Glasgow I don't think I was mistaken for being Irish once. So the 'depends on the listener' argument definitely makes sense.

Went out with a girl from Coleraine years ago. Quite polite and middle class. When we met I actually thought she was from the North West of Scotland. Her accent was a strange one.

[Hedgecutter]

35 minutes ago, Doctor said:

I particularly love the contrasts Scotland has with neighbouring countries. Can almost hear a bit of the Carlisle twang in southern Scotland and similarly the Shetland accent has a slight hint of norse about it

Back when we used to to play Berwick, I found it rather surreal that we'd be in a pub whereby the locals sounded like they were from Lothian, yet there were St Georges flags all over the place.  Weird, ken.