LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.29 (05) [E/S]

Tue Oct 29 22:20:08 UTC 2002

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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Vocabulary"

This submission is about rude words, so don't read on if you
don't like this sort of thing.

I've been wondering about everyday words that many people
consider to be rude, especially if, because of their status,
they rarely appear in traditional literature.

My contributions will be with respect to how this sort of
thing is said in my own dialect of Scots. The questions are:

1. Are the same words used in other dialects of Scots, or
   are my own ones non-standard?

2. How are they said in other Lowlands languages? Are there
   unexpected similarities?

"F" and "C" Words:

These are exactly the same in (my dialect of) Scots as in
English, though in rural Scots they're rarely used. So I
don't really have anything to say about them in this context.
There are some other rude words which are just as in English,
which I'll refrain from mentioning as also not being very
interesting in this context.

"Fart"

This is the same as in English, though of course pronounced
/fQ:r?/. I was surprised to find that in England and Wales
this isn't considered particularly rude, which makes sense
as it's a very necessary word. In my area of Scotland, however,
it would be more usual to substitute a euphemism.

"Burp"

In (my dialect of) Scots, this is "rift". However, I have
come across it once in the literature, in John Hamilton's
"More Country Capers", a book of stories and poems in Ayrshire
dialect, so this must be widespread in the south of Scotland
at least. In a poem about a local baker:

His mornin rolls ar fou o holes,
    Inside, there's little body,
They hiv the gift tae gar ye rift,
    For they'r fou o bakin sodae.

"Tits"

In my area this is "dous" /du:z/, which, taken literally,
means "doves". However, "dou" in the singular is a term of
endearment for a woman, and not offensive at all, as used
in the drinking song "Toddlin Hame":

Leez me on liqor, ma toddlin dou,
Ye'r aye sae guid-humoured when ye'r weetin yer mou;
Whan sober sae soor, ye'll fecht wi a flee,
It maks a blythe nicht tae the bairns an me,
        Whan toddlin hame, toddlin hame,
        Whan roond as a neep ye come toddlin hame.

"Balls"

As well as using the Scots form of this word, we might say
"nits" /nI?s/, meaning "nuts", although we use the alternative
pronunciation /nV?s/ when speaking about the vegetable kind.

"Piss"

This is "pish", which I'm fairly sure is general Scots.
It seems to be used in pretty much the same way as its
English of England counterpart: "pishin doun" (pissing
down rain) "rip the pish" (take the piss), "pished"
(pissed = drunk).

"Penis"

"Tossle" /tos=l/ seems to be the most usual way of saying
this in Scots: not as rude as some alternatives, yet not
as polite as some. It literally means "tassle", and "tossle"
is also used for tassles such as you see hanging from curtains
and so on. A child's penis is refered to as a "peep" /pip/ in
my dialect.

"Arse"

This is "erse". "Erse" can also mean the Irish language,
but there's no connection between the two and they're never
confused by native Scots speakers. A child's bottom might
be referred to quite innocently as "ersie" as in this old
rhyme intended to teach breastfeeding technique:

Wamie tae wamie,
    Haunie tae back,
Breestie tae mouie,
    Clap, ersie, clap.

Here, "wamie, haunie, breestie, mouie /mu:I/, ersie" are
all diminutives of "wame" (stomach/womb), "haun" (hand),
"breest" (breast), "mou" (mouth) and "erse" (arse).
"Clap" means to pat or stroke.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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From: R. F. Hahn sassisch at yahoo.com
Subject: Lexicon

Sandy, Lowlanders,

A couple of subscribers' naughtiness filters are going to have a field day.
I can see the rejecttion messages coming already.  :)

For whatever it's worth, here are the Northern Lowlands Saxon (Low German)
equivalents I can come up with (not that I would know such naughty language,
though):

R = rude, MP = more polite

> "Fart"

noun: Puup [p_hu:p] (masc., pl. __s(e)_)
      Scheet [Se:t] (masc., pl. ___)
verb: pupen ['p_hu:pm=], puupsen ['p_hu:psn=]
      MP: eenen gahn/fahrn laten ["to let one go"]

> "Burp"

verb: MP: upstöten ['?Upst9Itn=]
      MP: upbolken ['?UpbolkN=]
      MP: upkolken ['?UpkolkN=]

> "Tits"

noun: R: Titt [t_hIt] (masc., pl. __en_)
      MP: Bossen ['bOsn=] (masc., pl. __s)
      MP: Bost ~ Boss [bOs(t)] (fem., pl. __en_)

> "Balls"

noun: Klööt [kl9It] (masc., pl. Klöten)

> "Piss"

noun: Piss ['p_hIs]
      MP: Pie ['p_hi:]
verb: pissen ['p_hIsn=]
      pirsen ['p_hI3`zn=]
      miegen ['mi:gN=]
      schiffen ['SIfm=]
      pullern ['p_hUl3`n]
      strullen ['strU.ln]
      MP: pien [p_hi:n]
      MP: watern ['vQ:te3`n]
      MP: Water laten ['vQ:t3` 'lQ:tn=]

> "Penis"

noun: Pint [p_hInt] (masc., pl. ___s)
      Pieler(t) ['p_hi:l3`(t)] (masc., pl. __s)
      Piedel ['p_hi:dl=] (masc., pl. __s)
      Piehahn ~ Piehaan ['p_hi:hQ:n] (masc., pl. __s)
      R: Pisser ['pIs3`] (masc., pl. __s)
      R: Dödel ['d9:dl=] (masc., pl. __s)
      Pesel ['p_he:sl=]  masc., pl. __s) [mostly of animals]

> "Arse"

noun: Aars ~ Oors [?Q:3`s] ~ [?o:3`s] (masc., pl. __(e))
      Maars ~ Moors [mQ:3`s] ~ [mo:3`s] (masc., pl. __(e))
      Naars ~ Noors [nQ:3`s] ~ [n3`:as] (masc., pl. __(e))
      Eers [e:3`s] (masc., pl. __(e))
      Gatt [gat] (neut., pl. __s)
      Kötelkist ['k_h9:tl=kIs(t)] (fem., pl. __en) ["turd box"]
      MP: Steert [steI3`t] (masc., pl. __en) ["tail"]
      MP: Achtersten ['?axt3`stn=] (masc., pl. ___) ["hindmost (one)"]
      MP: Achterback ['?axt3`bak] (fem., pl. __en) ["hind cheek"]
      MP: Achtersteven ['?axt3`ste:vm=] (masc., pl. __s) ["hindquarter"]
      MP: Sett-di-daal ['zEtidQ:l] (masc., pl. __s) ["sit-yourself-down"]
      MP: Pöter ['p_h9:t3`] (masc., pl. __s ~ ___n, a child's)
      MP: Pöker ['p_h9:k3`] (masc., pl. __s ~ ___n, a child's)

There you have it!

(I wonder what our new subscribers will think.)

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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