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 Southern Scots dialects are spoken include Earlston, Galashiels ( or ), Hawick, Jedburgh (), Kelso (), Langholm, Lockerbie, Newcastleton ( or ), St. Boswells () 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 (laugh) and (willow). The cluster och is often realised , for example (bought), (cough), (daughter), (fought), (sought) and (trough) often written , , , , and 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 (away), (two) and (who) is often realised , often written , and in dialect writing.
* aw and au (vowel 12) may be realised rather than or as in Central Scots dialects, for example (all), (cold), (handsome), (fall) and (snow), often written using in dialect writing.
* In some areas ai or a(consonant)e (vowel 4 or 8) may be realised rather that , for example (both), (broad), , (clothes), (grope), (cole), (load), (loaf), , (rope), (soap) often written , , , , , , , , , , in dialect writing. When the vowel occurs initially the realisation is often for example , (oak), , (oats), , (one) and (once) often written , , , , and in dialect writing. Similarly after in (whole), (home) and (hoarse) often written , and in dialect writing. The realisation may also occur for final ae in for example (foretell).
* In some varieties e (vowel 16) may be realised rather than , for example , (heated), (gate), etc.
* Final ee (vowel 11) is usually realised , for example (endure), (fly), (lie, fib), , (thigh) and , often written or , or , or , , , or and or in dialect writing.
* eu (vowel 7 before and see ''ui'') is often realised , for example (book), (enough), (cook), (look) and (took).
* ou, also ''oo'' (vowel 6) when final is realised , for example (brow), (cow), (dove), (how), (now), (full), (pull), (sow), (allow), (through) and often represented by in dialect writing.
*ow, owe (root final) (vowel 13) may be rather than in (bow), (hollow), (knoll), (overturn), (ewe), etc.
* ui (vowel 7) is often realised or , however an unrounded realisation as in Central Scots is now widespread, for example, (above), (ankle) and (good). Unrounding to is now common in (ado), (board), (do), (floor), (ford), (shoe) and (to~too).

Grammar

The present participle and gerund in may be differentiated and , for example, and

Literature

Sample text

From by Elliot Cowan Smith (1891–1917)

References

{{reflist

External links

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



Scots dialects
Scottish Borders
Dumfriesshire