Southern Scots

Southern Scots is the dialect (or group of dialects) of Scots spoken in the Scottish Borders counties of mid and east Dumfriesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, with the notable exception of Berwickshire and Peeblesshire, which are, like Edinburgh, part of the SE Central Scots dialect area. It may also be known as Border Scots, the Border tongue or by the names of the towns inside the South Scots area, for example ''Teri'' in Hawick from the phrase Teribus ye teri odin. Towns where South Scots dialects are spoken include Earlston, Galashiels ''(Gala or Galae)'', Hawick, Jedburgh ''(Jethart)'', Kelso ''(Kelsae)'', Langholm, Lockerbie, Newcastleton ''(Copshaw or Copshawholm)'', St. Boswells ''(Bosells)'' and Selkirk.

Phonology

Southern Scots phonology is generally similar to that of the neighbouring Central Scots varieties; however, some vowel realisations may differ markedly.

* ch may be realised after back vowels, for example ''lauch'' (laugh) and ''sauch'' (willow). The cluster och is often realised , for example ''bocht'' (bought), ''coch'' (cough), ''dochter'' (daughter), ''focht'' (fought), ''socht'' (sought)and ''troch'' (trough) often written ''bowcht'', ''cowch'', ''dowchter'', ''fowcht'', ''sowcht'' and ''trowch'' in dialect writing. After front vowels the realisation is , occasionally with a yod-glide before it.
* ld and nd are usually elided to and in East Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire.
* a (vowel 17) is often . Note final ''a'' (vowel 12) in ''awa'' (away), ''twa'' (two) and ''wha'' (who) is often realised , often written ''awae'', ''twae'' and ''whae'' in dialect writing.
* aw and au (vowel 12) may be realised rather than or as in Central Scots dialects, for example ''aw'' (all), ''cauld'' (cold), ''braw'' (handsome), ''faw'' (fall) and ''snaw'' (snow), often written using ''a''(''a'') in dialect writing.
* In some areas ai or a(consonant)e (vowel 4 or 8) may be realised rather that , for example ''baith'' (both), ''braid'' (broad), ''cake'', ''claes'' (clothes), ''grape'' (grope), ''kail'' (cole), ''laid'' (load), ''laif'' (loaf), ''made'', ''raip'' (rope), ''saip'' (soap) often written ''beeath'', ''breead'', ''keeak'', ''cleeaz'', ''greeap'', ''keeal'', ''leead'', ''leeaf'', ''meead'', ''reeap'', ''seeap'' in dialect writing. When the vowel occurs initially the realisation is often for example ''acre'', ''aik'' (oak), ''aits'', (oats), ''ale'', ''ane'' (one) and ''ance'' (once) often written ''yicker'', ''yick'', ''yits'', ''yill'', ''yin'' and ''yince'' in dialect writing. Similarly after in ''hale'' (whole), ''hame'' (home) and ''hairse'' (hoarse) often written ''hyil'', ''hyim'' and ''hyirs''(''c'')''h'') in dialect writing. The realisation may also occur for final ae in for example ''spae'' (foretell).
* In some varieties e (vowel 16) may be realised rather than , for example ''bed'', ''het'' (heated), ''yett'' (gate), etc.
* Final ee (vowel 11) is usually realised , for example ''dree'' (endure), ''flee'' (fly), ''lee'' (lie, fib), ''see'', ''thee'' (thigh) and ''tree'', often written ''drei'' or ''drey'', ''flei'' or ''fley'', ''lei'' or ''ley'', ''sei'', ''sey'', ''thei'' or ''theye'' and ''trei'' or ''trey'' in dialect writing.
* eu (vowel 7 before and see ''ui'') is often realised , for example ''beuk'' (book), ''eneuch'' (enough), ''ceuk'' (cook), ''leuk'' (look) and ''teuk'' (took).
* ou, also ''oo'' (vowel 6) when final is realised , for example ''brou'' (brow), ''cou'' (cow), ''dou'' (dove), ''hou'' (how), ''nou'' (now), ''fou'' (full), ''pou'' (pull), ''sou'' (sow), ''allou'' (allow), ''throu'' (through) and ''you'' often represented by ''ow''(''e'') in dialect writing.
*ow, owe (root final) (vowel 13) may be rather than in ''bowe'' (bow), ''howe'' (hollow), ''knowe'' (knoll), ''cowp'' (overturn), ''yowe'' (ewe), etc.
* ui (vowel 7) is often realised or , however an unrounded realisation as in Central Scots is now widespread, for example, ''abuin'' (above), ''cuit'' (ankle) and ''guid'' (good). Unrounding to is now common in ''adae'' (ado), ''buird'' (board), ''dae'' (do), ''fluir'' (floor), ''fuird'' (ford), ''shae'' (shoe) and ''tae'' (to~too).

Grammar

The present participle and gerund in may be differentiated and , for example, ''He wis aye gutteran aboot.'' and ''He's fond o guttereen aboot.''

Literature

Sample text

From ''Mang Howes an Knowes'' by Elliot Cowan Smith (1891–1917)

Yet, yince in a day, thir braes hed seen unco sichts. Thonder was the moniment A jaloozed ti be the Lilliard's Edge Memorial, so that A was stannin on bluiddy Ancrum Muir. Nae cannie daffin bull- reel splore that fearfih fecht, whan the Dooglas an the Scott wrait off a wheen auld scores an saw day-aboot wui the auld-enemy.

Threh the mids o thir verra busses wad stert the huirn oo read aboot in oor bulks: ilk sheuch an heidie-hole i thir verra rigs was den for fairce sodgers in fechtin-graith-Scots an Ingleesh in a fraineeshin, fidgin mad-keen ti teer the harrigals oot o other; ilk lirk o thir knowes wad heide the gear o war. Hei'd little need be hen-herteet that hed ti beer the ramstam onfaa threh whan the slogan waekent the waller an sterteet the fray i the gray-daylicht,-eendon throwe aa the grewsome mowlie-; whan billies fell seide-be- seide till the brae-face was traisselt an the gress ran reid wui bluid; whan naigs an troopers-the deed- ruckle glutherin i-ther weizants-war cowpeet inti ilka seike, heeds an thraws,-on till the derkeneen rowed its hap roond deed an dei-in, an garrd the hyill yins devall an take a barley. Oor forebears an ther Southron neebers coodna sit soft ava i thae days: they war everly natterin an fechtin. An-sic veeshyis fechteen as it was, tui! Folk are muckle ti mean that beide on aether seide o the Mairches atween twae prood an towty countries 'at canna grei an are aye cuissen-oot. The Borderers lang syne geh thersels an awfih leife o'd. Theirs was nae canty doon-sitteen!

Duist a hip-step-an-a-lowp, an A cam on o an- other kenspeckle landmerk-Peinelheuch. This eez the saicant sic column, A've haar'tell; for, yeh gowsty nicht (wui a wund fit ti blaw doors oot wundihs) a turbleent woare as the ordnar dang doon the firsst Peinelheuch moniment (the whulk, A unk, maun heh been buggen keinda jingle-jointeet, or maim heh cowblt on ov a gey coaggly foond ; ony o the ways, it geh a steiter, an yownt-owre it tirlt!) Bit Border folk are no that easy bett ; they juist paat up a moniment fer better an brawer be what the auld yin was. An now, aabody stravaigin the Borderland-gangers an reiders-sood ken Peinelheuch.

A'd breesteet the brae now, an the road swaipeet doon afore iz. Ay! doon ti ma caav-grund o Teviot- dale-an A lilteet a sang an whewed an yuooted, leike as A'd gane wuth, an laap an flaang as yauld-as a wuddie—boondin bleithely on wui ma' airms shuggiein lowce threh ma oxters. A was abuin-the- woarlt! A was naether ti haud nor ti binnd! If onybody hed eyed iz, hei'd heh thocht A was shuir ready for Bowden!!

References

{{reflist

External links

Hawick News Lifestyle section, containing a few articles in Southern Scots



Scots dialects
Scottish Borders
Dumfriesshire