Friday, 09 January 2009
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Scots...Is That Really English They're Speaking?!
by Molly
Anyone who has ever been to Scotland knows what I mean when I say that the language they speak there sounds completely different from the English that most Americans are used to hearing. When I chose Scotland as my study abroad location, I was happy that I wouldn't have to worry about a language barrier. But once I got there, I realized that that really wasn't the case at all. There was most definitely a language barrier!
I had all my classes with Scottish students, and one of them was a small discussion group with myself as the only non-Scottish student. Now, these types of groups are somewhat difficult anyhow, as there are a variety of cultural differences that made the discussions both interesting and uncomfortable at the same time. But, one of the people in my class was from a very very northern area in Scotland, and it literally sounded like he was speaking some sort of ancient Gaelic dialect when he participated in the discussion. I literally couldn't understand a word that this man said. I tried as hard as I could to focus on what he was saying, but it just didn't sound like english to me! I became friends with some of the other students in the class, and one night when we went to a pub after we were done, they started asking me if I understood him. I was a little relieved that they sort of sympathized with me about it, but also embarrassed that they noticed that I couldn't understand the dialect.
But, as I came to find out, Glasgow in particular has a very thick and not easily understandable dialect, which is endearingly referred to by locals as Glaswegian. This encompasses words like "Neds (non-educated dilenquents), diddy (fool), snog (kiss), etc." These words aren't only used in Glasgow, but you can see where one might get confused! So, if you are planning a trip to Scotland, please go (its a wonderful place), but keep in mind that you are probably only going to understand every 5th word that comes out of a Sctosman's mouth. And, with Glasgow in particular, don't let anyone talk you into letting them give you a Glasgow kiss (a headbutt to the nose)!
Do you know anymore words that are different? I know there are hundreds, and the differences are amazing!
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Comments (8)
LOL ~ so true!!!! I live in Wales, but am South African. We went up to Scotland just before Christmas and stayed with some VERY Scottish peeps.....I THINK I said yes and no in the right places.....but cannot be sure....otherwise I just smiled a lot!!!!
I loved Scotland--definitely going back when I can afford it. I stayed in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling, Skye, Inverness and some other towns that I don't remember. I never had an issue with the accents however, though some of the slang kinda threw me off.
But in some parts of Scotland, English is actually a second language--when I was on the Isle of Skye, I ran into some people who hardly spoke English--mostly Gaelic. And the roadsigns were all in Gaelic as well, with tiny little English subtitles.
New word--Eejit. Means idiot.
I love the way a scottish accent sounds, but yeah, I have to work really hard to understand it. Same with australian.
I don't know a whole lot about different words in English, since I usually go to countries who speak different languages. Even in the US though, there are regional differences. I know in parts of New England, we refer to getting drunk as getting cocked (instead of saying hammered, smashed, wasted, etc). And then there's pop vs soda, jimmies vs sprinkles, etc.
haha im studying in scotland now, and i swear some of the scots are really speaking german.
xx
Thank you so much for this post. This person's accent would give you strength to beat up the English. His name, Mel Gibson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70csu2Z51sM
i like this band, The Fratellis, and they're from Glasgow, Scotland, so their accents are pretty thick. i had never looked up their lyrics before, because i was SURE that i knew all the words.
well, i looked up their lyrics last night, and as i was reading through them, i was thinking to myself, "did they even say half these words?!" as i went back to listen to their music, i caught some of them.. kinda. i still missed half of them anyways.
i <3 accents
I know what you mean. Their "accent" (accent to us) was thicker than most. I took one of those day tours because I had a good experience with that while in Ireland and I swear I didn't understand anything the guide was yapping about over the bus loudspeaker...I caught something about Sean Connery and his brother and that's about it.
Over the past year, I've discovered tons of different words the British use than Americans! Some I'd heard before in tv/movies or books, but others were completely new to me, like:
hob = stove
pull = hook up/kiss
cheers = thank you
cordial/squash = concentrated fruit drink
etc. I don't usually have a problem with the accents (plural because I quickly learned there are many different British accents!) but I have noticed that when you get a bunch of locals together, the accent is sometimes too strong for me to decipher, especially the northern ones (which are what I usually hear up here in Lancashire!)
x