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NOTE ON THE USE OF THE SCOTS DIALECT IN DARK BIRTHRIGHT
Some may wonder why I used only a
bit of the Scots dialect in this book. Early on, I decided to
lightly salt the manuscript with Scots to make it authentic, but
easy for the reader. For two years, a focus group gathered at
my home to read and criticize chapters. When I presented a
piece with a lot of Scots, the focus became the translation rather
than the story. In this novel, you will find a lot of ye's, a
fair amount of canna's and dinna's, scores of lads and lassies, and
a few self-explanatory words like blootered. Forgive me if
it's not more widespread. I will leave that to Sir Walter
Scott.
JUST FOR FUN...
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE SCOTS LANGUAGE
Burnie
Bouzle
Gin ye'll mairy me lass, at the kirk o Burnie Bouzle
till the day ye dee lassie, ye will ne'er repent it
Ye will weir whan ye are wad, a kirtle an a Hieland plaid
An sleep upon a heather bed, sae couthy an sae canty
Ye will gang sae braw, lassie, tae the kirk o Burnie Bouzle
Little brogues an aw, lassie, vou, but you'll be canty
Yer wee bit tocher is but smaw, but hodden gray will weir for aw
A'll sauf ma siller for tae mak ye braw an ye will ne'er repent it
We'll hae bonny bairns an aw, some lassies fair an laddies braw
Juist like thair mither ane an aw, an yer faither he's consentit
A'll hunt the otter an the broch, the hart, the hare an heather cock
A'll pou ye limpets frae the rock, tae mak ye dishes denty
(a
traditional song)
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE DORIC DIALECT
DOON AT THE HERRIN'
A've jist been packin' herrin'
In this dull an' dingy wither,
An' me and mae crew his been wishin'
We hid bade at hame we wer mither!
We work frae six in the mornin'
Til' eicht a'clock at nicht,
We only get fifteen shillins i'piece,
Bit, ach I suppose it's a'richt!
We never stop for wer' dinner
We jist carryon til wer deen,
We get a shillin' atweens for a barrel
Tho' it's the biggest ye've ever seen!
Wer hans get a'cut we the s'at
Bit we've still hae ti' carry on,
An' half o' this herrin' is fat
I wish it wis time tae gaen hame.
Fin we gin hame tae wer lodgin's,
The lan'ladie's shuvin' us in,
We jist gee wer hans a wee dichty,
Then tae wer breed in butter we ham in.
The sa't an' the goor aff the herrin
Jist gins in ateen a wer cuts,
We've nae got a chance tae girn
Cause we unswer'll be Noo nae buts!
(from the Fraserburgh Museum - compiled by Rhoda Buchan)
Click here to see a
guide to the most common Doric phrases
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