Language Dialects

TWO DIALECTS THAT WERE PREVALENT IN THE NORTHEAST WERE SCOTS AND DORIC

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)

Translation courtesy of Cecilia Penny

If you marry me my lass at the church of Burnie Boozle, ‘til the day that you die you will never regret it.  You will wear when we are wed, a kirtle (a piece of cloth, usually tartan, over her skirt) with a plaid around you to keep you warm.  And you will sleep upon a bed of heather, comfortable and neat ("canty" has several shades of meaning all good like - lively, pleasant, small, neat).

And you will go looking so fine to the church of Burnie Boozle with brogues (leather shoes) on your feet as well and my goodness you will look great.  You don't have a lot of money ("tocher" can mean bride's "dowry") but hodden gray (coarse home spun material) will last well.  I shall save the money (siller) I have  to make you look fine, and you will never regret it.

We shall have some bonnie bairns as well, some lassies fair and handsome ladies, all like their mother, one and all, and your father has consented (given his blessing on our marriage).  I'll hunt the otter and the brock  (the badger), the hart (deer), the hare, and the heather cock (grouse or partridge).  I shall pull the limpets (whelks, buckies, snails) from the rocks, to make you dishes dainty.

*The title ‘Burnie Bouzle’ means a thicket or clump of trees beside a small burn or stream.


 

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)

 

Translation of DOON AT THE HERRIN'  -  Courtesy of Cecilia Penny

Her comments:

Cecilia Penny is a Scottish historian.  She says that she is very familiar with the women who cleaned the herring and packed the barrels, many of which were exported to countries like Germany, Russia etc. The girls worked hard packing the fish!  It's an interesting poem, well written, with a genuine flavor.

The poem is about a long line of girls packing the herring in the barrels - back breaking stuff and as the barrels had layers of salt to preserve the fish, the salt got into the cuts on the girl's hands, imagine cold often windy weather and their chapped hands really sore. It was out in the open beside the quayside usually.  They would wrap strips of cloth "cloots" around their fingers to give a wee bit of protection.  Lot's of photos of the fisher Quines have survived, standing behind their barrels!

Now they may be working near home, say Peterhead or Fraserburgh and get back to their own beds that night exhausted. But squads of girls often traveled some distance to where the fish was landed.  A very well known place was Yarmouth in the east of England where the fishermen followed the shoals of fish. when far from home the girls had basic accommodation. They looked after one another and were usually good moral lassies!  Well known for being able to look after themselves if a man tried to get "fresh!"

The translation:

I have just been packing the herring
In this dull and dreary are all wishing
We had stayed at home with our mother!

We work from 6 in the morning
Until 8 o'clock at night
We only get fifteen shillings each to share
But I suppose it is O.K.

We never stop for our dinner
We just carry on until we are finished
We get a shilling between us for each barrel
Though it is the biggest one you have ever seen!

Our hands get cut with the salt
But we just have to carry on
An half of this herring load is fat
I wish it was time to go home!

When we get home to our lodgings
The landlady shoving us in (not a lot of room-more profit for her)
We just give our hands a little wipe
Then to our bread and butter we tuck in.

The salt and the messy liquid the herring is packed in
Just goes in between our cuts
We don't get the chance to complain
Cause we will be answered with, No "ifs" nor "buts" just do it

Taken from a Scottish Postcard - c1910

Click here to see a guide to the most common Doric phrases