LL-L "Language use" 2003.10.24 (05) [S]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 24.OCT.2003 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Language use"

> From: James Fortune <jamesrfortune at hotmail.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Language use" 2003.10.23 (07) [S]
>
> dialect. I guess its wan o the problems facing Scots as a langage, is it's
> gie herd tae unify it intae yin langage - mind, shuid ye? Tha's a hael
> different debate, fur fowk far brighter as me!

This is something ye hae tae decide for yersel, James - whether ye'r gaun
tae write Scots as a dialeck or a langage. The nou ye'r writin it as a
dialeck, an ye'd hae tae tak on spellins that applies mair universally
athort the dialecks gin ye'r wantin tae write Scots as a langage.

I'm no sayin ye hae tae write a aathegither staunart kin o Scots athoot the
odd personal preference here an thare, but the ar some spellins that sinders
dialecks needless, espaecially whan ye'v got a soond that's sayed in
different weys across the kintra, but thae differs is conseestent - ye can
uize a tradeetional kin o spellin for tae cover aa o them.

Some examples:

"I" for the first person singualr pronoon. This is soondit "aw", "ah" an
"eh" in different airts, an onywey, tends tae be soondit "I" like in English
whan it's at the end o a phrase. It wad be better juist tae write "I" sae's
nae parteeclar accent's set abuin aa ithers.

A wird like "guid" can be soondit "gweed", "gid", "güd" amang the different
dialecks. In this case, the spellin "ui" wirks weel as a wey o writin it
that can be taen tae mean aither "(w)ee", "i/ai" or "ü" conform tae a body's
dialeck. Likewice wi shuin, fuil, puir, juist, tuim, abuin &c.

A wird like "sheuch" micht be soondit "shyooch", "shyuch", "shooch", "shuch"
conform tae dialeck. The spellin "eu"'s for ornar uized as a cross-dialeck
spellin for this, eg sheuch, beuk, deuk, heuk, heuch, neuk &c.

Wirds like "mother", "brother", "nut", "summer", "honey", "foot" an "wood"
in Scots tends tae be soondit aither "i" or "u", an the'r no a lot o
conseestency atween or even ithin the dialecks (for example, I say "muther",
bruther", "nit", "hunney", "fit" an "wud"). Houaniver, Scots spaekers is
aften uised tae the idea that the soonds "u" an "i"'s nifferable in some
wirds, an it wirks gey weel tae write aa o thir wirds wi "i" whatanever wey
ye pronunces it, sae "mither", "brither", "nit", "simmer", "hinney", "fit",
"wid" &c. I'v notticed lately that "ibuprofen" seems tae a won intae this
list - in oor airt aabody seems tae be sayin it "ibuprifin"!

The'r a wheen ither conseederations like this that I'm shuir's aa explained
on scots-online.

Anither thing is that ye shoud be set tae lat lowse some o the mair extreme
peculiarities o yer ain dialeck gin ye'r wantin tae write universal Scots.
For example, I wad _say_ "That's yin hing ee kin dae afore oo'r awae", but
I'd _write_ "That's ae thing ye can dae afore we'r awa" - it's juist mair ke
nspeckle tae onybody that haes ony experience o modern (say, ower the past
twathree centuries) Scots writin. Ae wey tae lift aa this kin o thing
naitral is tae keep on readin Scots for yer inleads - the'r aye my wabsteid
sae nae excuises!

I'm no sayin the'r onything wrang wi variation - the'r mony a pair like
baw/baa, dialect/dialeck, langage/langwidge, &c whaur the'r naething tae
commend ane abuin the ither. But the'r mony a time, like I wis explainin
abuin, whan the tane doutsomeless maks for a mair uiniversal kin o Scots
than the tither.

I dinna think ye shoud be feared tae sinder yersel fae yer dialck in yer
writin - as weel as cannin write mair uiniversal Scots, it maks it a sicht
aesier tae tak on a braider Scots vocabular that ye'r gaun tae need gin ye'r
ettlin at writin Scots abuin an ayont the "kailyaird" variety.

> Wan o ma favourite
> accents /
> dialects is Shetlandic, mainly fur the stronger Norse & Gaelic
> infuences his
> geen it a mair "sing song" lilt.

In the case o Shetlandic, I'd set that abiech as a separate langage - the'r
juist nae wey tae incorporate it intae mainstream Scots.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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