Scottish English
Vítězslav Mareš & Filip Pultar
Scottish Gaelic
• an ethnic Celtic language
• slight revival (a renewed sense of national
identity and recent positive legislation)
• not a compulsory subject in the vast majority
of schools
• remains a community language in some parts
of Scotland (notably in the Hebrides)
Standard Scottish English
• since 1707 Standard English = the language of
religion, education and government (the socially
prestigious form adopted by the aspiring middle
classes)
• a variety of local accents.
• RP – a negligible presence in Scotland
• Scots = a dialect descended from Old English has
maintained a strong presence (especially in rural
communities)
• The most archaic forms of SE have not gone through
The Great Vowel Shift
Rhoticity
• the vast majority of speakers in Scotland are
rhotic
• Scottish ‘r’ = [ɾ] (alveolar tap) / [r] (alveolar
trill)
Scottish RP
three [θɾiː] [θɹiː]
car [kɑːr] [kɑː]
Different set of Vowels
• Almost complete absence of /ə/
– substituted with another vowel
• Monophthongization
RP Scottish
[gəʊ] [ɡoː]
• the lack of vowel length contrasts
– no distinction between /ʊ/ and /u/
• these vowels are merged in Scottish English
– FOOT and GOOSE
Different set of Vowels
• the retention of historicalvowel contrasts
before /r/ in words of the NURSE set
(purposes with /ʌr/ but perfect with /ɛr/
• The vowels of NORTH and FORCE are distinct
(horse, force), but not those of LOT and
THOUGHT (horrible, awesome).
Aitken‘s Law
• Some vowels are realised as long when they
precede /l/ and /r/.
– FULL and FOOL
Consonants
• /hw/ in when and wheel (no "Glide Cluster
Reduction")
• velar fricative [x]
– dicht ('clothed'), slicht, bricht, sicht (= English
dight, slight, bright, sight).
• glottal stops
Valuable pages and sources
• Basic Phrases in Scottish English
http://www.linguanaut.com/english_scots.htm
• English – Scottish Translator
http://www.scotranslate.com
• General inter-accent translator tool
http://www.whoohoo.co.uk
Videos
• Karen Gillan Interview (Craig Fergusson)
– http://youtu.be/QAX9jTOXswQ?t=1m30s
• Edwin Morgan
– http://youtu.be/cgeGIRzQD40?t=10m6s
• Elevator
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-
u9XWmRbyc
Sources
• http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/find-out-
more/scotland/
• https://www.uni-due.de/SVE/VARS_Scotland.htm
• http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/accentsand
dialects/