LL-L "Lexical usage" 2003.02.04 (13) [E/S]

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From: Andy (Scots-Online) <andy at scots-online.org>
Subject: LL-L "Lexical usage" 2003.02.02 (01) [E/S]

John M. Tait wrate:

> Would anyone like to comment on the use of the word 'orra' in the
following
> quotations from recent Scots publications?

A fund a puckle o thir orra an aw. A haed a keek in the SND acause thon gies
a guid bit mair anent wirds nor the CSD, especialy whar an hou thay're
uised.

1. A mair or less general uissage seems tae be wi the meanin "spare,
additional, superfluous, aditional to what one requires"
o fowk or things "spare, not occupied or in uise at any given moment or for
any particular purpose, at a loose end"
o a job "casual, odd, of an unskilled auxiliary nature"
Jamieson: "a person is said to be 'orra' when he has no particular
engagement, when he does not know what to make of himself."

2. "Strange, uncommon, peculiar, not normal, also used adv. uncommonly eg.
orra-like

Mair in the N. an Perthshire "Miscellenious, sundry, nodescript" or o fowk
or things "worthless, rejected, shabby, dirty, slatternly, low, course"

3. North o the Forth as a noon "What is left over, a remaining piece or
part, an odd bit, an unocupied space not in immediate use, in pl. odds an
ends = orras"

Nou tae translatin thae examples: Assumin a canny bodie writin siclike
screeds wad haud wi uissage that's pairt o general Scots an no parteeclar
tae ony dialect we micht hae:

> 'The meenister gied oot the orra answer but maistlins she screivit aw the
> questions doon.
> (Scots Tung Wittins, 111)

Fae the defineetions abuin A canna feegur thon ane at aw. A jalouse it
ettles at meanin 'gave the odd or occasional answer' fae orra = peculiar =
odd

> 'Fae the submissions ingaithered, it is evident that monolingualism has
been
> lookit on by British society as the orra standart.'

Fae the defineetions abuin A canna feegur that ane at aw. The English
oreeginal haed "normal standard" tho gaun bi Nr. 2 abuin orra is the exact
opposite.

> 'In his submission, Matthew Fitt states there gey few weys Scots is or can
> be teachit in the noo: (1) lippenin on the orra lane teacher takkin an
> interest in Scots, '

A teacher is a bodie sae an orra lane teacher maun be ane that's aw thir
lane an is "spare, not occupied or in uise at any given moment or for any
particular purpose, at a loose end"
or thair job is "casual, odd, of an unskilled auxiliary nature". Weel thon's
no awfu mensefu things tae say aboot teachers tho some schuil bairns or
politeecians micht gree wi't. The oreeginal English haed "individual
teacher"

> ' Integration o initiatives is best won til wi the oncome o a Leids Policy
> for Scotland (see Australia an Sooth Africa), that estaiblishes an orra
> framewark for the bringin oot o the leids o Scotland an for their
provision
> in education, local government an ither public sectors.'

An orra frameark wad shuirly be ane that's "worthless, rejected, shabby,
dirty, slatternly, low, course" aw o whit can be cried 'common' in English
"of little value, vulgar, of low degree". Richt eneuch the English oreeginal
haed "common framework" tho A jalouse thon wisna whit the oreeginal wis
ettlin at pittin ower.

> (Thon anes aa frae the 'licht' translate o the recent report ti the
> education, cultur an sport comatee.)

Wis thae bodies no creeticisin the 'Hivvy Scots' translate on the grunds
that bodies wantin a guid grundin in Scots wadna coud unnerstaund it?
Whit dae ye need a grundin in tae lift siclike? Tho A maun admeet A'm no a
Scots language expert lik thae bodies sae A micht hae gotten it aw wrang.

> The raison I'm spierin is at I canna lift thae meanins ava, an I'm
wonderin
> if this is hou 'orra' is uised in Central dialects, or if it's no uised in
> thae dialects nou, an thir uisses is awin ti  fause analogy wi English
> 'odd' - tho that wadna expone aa the uisses abuin.

A dinna ken whit its doun tae. Aiblins its no Scots that we collogue anent
amang oorsels but a hail different language.

Andy Eagle

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