LL-L: "Orthography" [S] LOWLANDS-L, 08.JUN.1999 (03)

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From: "John M. Tait" <jmtait at jmt.prestel.co.uk>
Subject: Orthography

Sandy wrate:

>Ay, but that's what A'v been tryin tae dae onywey - it is a job sortin oot
>the kins o words, but A couldna see fowk (at laest in Central) cannin git
>their heids roond spellins like "haed" for "heid". Houiver, if Doric
>spaekers can thole "heid" for [he:d] syne that's a step forrit. It wisna
>aesy tae aye check aa words afore, but nou that A'v got a custom dictionar
>set up for Scots, A can howp A'll no hae tae check ony words mair than ance!
>
_Heid_ is sayed [hi:d] i the Doric an aa; but it is sayed [he(:)d] some
ither airts. Houaniver, some ither BEAT-type words - like _maet_ - is sayed
[e:] i the Doric. This is whit wey it wad be better ti hae a diaphonemic
spellin, or spellins, if possible - the variations is whiles no conseistent
frae ae airt til anither. <heid> an <maet>, for ensample. In maist pairts o
Shetland, an I think in pairts o Angus, baith _heid_ an _maet_ is sayed wi
[e].

>This wad mean as weel that the LAS(3) seestem o polyphonemes micht no can be
>uized as onything abuin a approximate guide tae modren soondins - that it
>disna hae adae wi modren diaphonemes ava, forby juist indirectly.

Ay - I canna see at it haes onie advantage, for practical ettles, ower
wirkin it oot yersel.

The'r a gey interestin airticle bi Paul Johnston on regional variation in
Scots vowel soonds i the Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, at
expones a lot o thir things in detail.

I wrate:
>
>Houaniver, i the Linguistic Atlas, for the Hamnavoe dialect (less nor hauf
>a mile frae whaur I come frae) _bruise_ is pitten in alang wi _uise_ (at
>certainly haes the [2] soond) an a puckle ither words - _move_, _prove_, an
>queerest o aa, _love_ at I hinna haurd said wi [2] soonds. This is juist
>ane o a puckle anomalies atween the LAS record o the Hamnavoe dialect an
>the wey I speak - an I'm certainly no awaur o onie differ atween the wey
>thay speak an the wey I div.

I wis juist on the phone ti my faither, an he says at the prununciations
[m2:v] an [pr2:v] (LAS uises thon centralised vowel wi the bar throu it) is
weel-kent ti him - in fact, he wis surprised I haedna haurd thaim, cause he
says he micht weel say thaim hissel; but - unless I'v cloutie lugs richt
eneuch - I dout he juist mynds aulder fowk sayin thaim. I dout, than, at
thay maun be pronunciations at haes maistly dee'd oot i the last
generation, a bittie like whit seems ti hae happent wi the pronunciation
[mi:v] in my pairt o Banffshire. Houaniver, this duis threip for the
spellins _muive_ an _pruive_ in Scots. I didna mynd ti speir aboot _bruise_.

Houaniver, he cuidna think at the LAS recordit pronunciation, wi the same
vowel, wis richt for _love_. I some jalouse thay maun hae bouracht in the
characteristic Burra pronunciation o _love_ - bittie like [l9:v] - at aa
ither fowk in Shetland lauchs at. It's no the same vowel as [2], tho; an
_uise_ definitely haes [2:]. Mystery ti me.

Anither thing we cuidna figgur oot wis thaim rhymin _gate_ wi _baet_ (BEAT
type) insteid o wi _bait_. Ti us, the word at rhymes wi _baet_ /bet/ is a
different word aathegither - _gaet_, /get/ meanin 'path', an we cuidna
imagine oniebody sayin _gate_ ti rhyme wi it - it's /ge:t/, realised as
somethin like [ge:@t], whaurbyes the /e/ in _gaet_ an _baet_ is gey like
[I]. Canna think whit wad be ahint this ane.

John M. Tait.

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