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The following extracts from "Ulster-Scots: A Grammar of the Traditional Written and Spoken Language" by Philip Robinson (Published for The Ulster-Scots Language Society by The Ullans Press, 1997), are provided by permission of Philip Robinson and The Ulster-Scots Language Society. |
The following is a quick reference list of the more distinctive conventions used for spelling consonants in Ulster-Scots, with English equivalents provided. These and other features are explained more fully later in this chapter.
|
(i) |
quh- |
Corresponding to ‘wh-’ in words such as quha – ‘who’ (but only for pronouns and adverbs) |
|
(ii) |
-ie |
Representing final ‘-y’ in words such as daddie – ‘daddy’ (almost always) |
|
(iii) |
z |
Corresponding to ‘y’ in words such as bailzie – ‘bailiff’ (but only for very few words) |
|
(iv) |
z |
Corresponding to ‘s’ and ‘ys’ in words like iz (‘us’) and sez (‘says’) |
|
(v) |
sch |
Corresponding to ‘sh’ in words such as schune – ‘shoes’ (representing the Older Scots spelling of ‘sh’ as sch) |
|
(vi) |
sh |
Corresponding to ‘s’ in words such as shuin – ‘soon’ (representing the Ulster-Scots pronunciation of ‘s’ as [sh]) |
|
(vii) |
-(i)t |
Corresponding to ‘-(e)d’ in past tense verb forms such as kilt –‘killed’ |
|
(viii) |
-thè- |
Representing loss of ‘th’ and ‘dh’ sound in the middle of words such as ithèr – ‘other’, (to give pronunciations like [irr] and [shooller]). |
|
(ix) |
-dè- and |
Representing the interdental ‘dh’ and ‘tth’ sound in words such as shoulder – shoodèr - ‘shoulder’, eftèr – ‘after’, and watèr – ‘water’ (when pronounced [shoodher], [eftther] and [watther]). |
|
(x) |
thà- |
Representing an ‘h-‘ sound at the start of words such as thanks – ‘thanks’ (but only for a few words) |
|
(xi) |
hò- |
Representing the loss of initial ‘h’ sound in words such as hònest and hòspittle – ‘hospital’ (but only for a very few words) |
|
(xii) |
thà- |
Representing loss of initial ‘th’ sound in words such as thàim-yins – ‘those’ (applies only when these same words occur in certain contexts) |
|
(xiii) |
-tt- |
Representing a ‘glottal stop’ sound in words like mettle – ‘metal’. bottle – ‘bottle’, and nettle – ‘nettle’ |
|
(xiv) |
-nnè- |
Representing the interdental ‘-nthe-‘ sound in words such as dannèr/dander |
|
(xv) |
-ng’r |
Representing ‘-nger-‘ in certain words such as hung’r – ‘hunger’ |
|
(xvi) |
ch |
Corresponding to ‘gh’ in certain words such as nicht – ‘night’ |
|
(xvii) |
-nn |
Corresponding to ‘-nd’ in certain words such as mynn – ‘mind’ |
|
(xviii) |
-un |
Corresponding to ‘-nd’ in certain words such as laun – ‘land’ |
|
(xix) |
w |
Corresponding to ‘v’ in certain words such as beloweit – ‘beloved’ |
|
(xx) |
pp |
Corresponding to ‘pt’ in certain words such as kepp – ‘kept’ |
|
(xxi) |
-ul |
Corresponding to ‘-ld’ in certain words such as houl – ‘hold’ |
|
(xxii) |
-ss |
Corresponding to ‘-st’ in certain words such as less – ‘lest’ |
For spelling vowels, the following are some of the most distinctive conventions used. These and other features are also explained more fully in subsequent sections of this chapter:
|
(i) |
a |
corresponding to 'e' in words such as quhan - 'when' |
|
(ii) |
a |
correponding to 'o' in words such as stane - 'stone' |
|
(iii) |
ä |
representing 'i' in certain words such as bäg - 'big' |
|
(iv) |
á |
representing a separately sounded 'a'. or long 'aa' sound in words such as roád - 'road' |
|
(v) |
-aa |
corresponding to '-all' in words such as faa - 'fall' |
|
(vi) |
aa |
corresponding to 'al' in words such as waak - 'walk' |
|
(vii) |
ae |
corresponding to 'o' in words such as tae - 'to' |
|
(viii) |
ae |
corresponding to 'ee' in words such as quaen - 'queen' |
|
(ix) |
-ae |
corresponding to '-a' in words such as Americae - ' |
|
(x) |
ai |
corresponding to 'o' in words such as baith - 'both' |
|
(xi) |
ai |
corresponding to 'ea' in words such as hairt - 'heart' |
|
(xii) |
ai |
corresponding to 'a' in words such as cairt - 'cart' |
|
(xiii) |
au |
corresponding to 'e'in words such as quhaur - 'where' |
|
(xiv) |
-ay |
corresponding to '-ea' in words such as tay - 'tea' |
|
(xv) |
e |
corresponding to 'ou' in words such as yer - 'your' |
|
(xvi) |
e |
corresponding to 'a' in words such as eftèr - 'after' |
|
(xvii) |
ee |
corresponding to 'ea' in words such as heerd - 'heard' |
|
(xviii) |
ei |
corresponding to 'e' in words such as reid - 'red' |
|
(xix) |
ei |
corresponding to 'ea' in words such as heid - 'head' |
|
(xx) |
-ey |
corresponding to '-ea' in words such as sey - 'sea' |
|
(xxi) |
o |
corresponding to 'a' in words such as mon - 'man' |
|
(xxii) |
oo |
corresponding to 'ow' in words such as coo - 'cow' |
|
(xxiii) |
oo |
corresponding to 'ou' in words such as hoose - 'house' |
|
(xxiv) |
oa |
corresponding to 'o' in words such as loast - 'lost' |
|
(xxv) |
ow |
corresponding to 'ol' in words such as fowk - 'folk' |
|
(xxvi) |
u |
corresponding to 'e' in words such as wur - 'were' |
|
(xxvii) |
u |
corresponding to 'ou' in words such as wud - 'would' |
|
(xxviii) |
u |
corresponding to 'oo' in words such as tuk - 'took' |
|
(xxix) |
ui |
corresponding to 'oo' in words such as guid -'good' |
|
(xxx) |
i |
corresponding to 'e' in words such as niver - 'never' |
|
(xxxi) |
i |
corresponding to 'u' in words such as rin - 'run' |
|
(xxxii) |
í |
representing the 'y' sound or the stressed 'i' in words such as miníster - 'minister', and advertísement - 'advertisement' |
|
(xxxiii) |
y |
corresponding to 'i' in words such as mynn - 'mind' |
N.B Throughout this book, the following conventions are used: Pronunciations are enclosed in square brackets thus: [thraycthor], and any alternative spellings or incorrect (i.e non-existent) grammatical constructions are marked by an asterisk before the feature:*A gatnae onie mair. When an asterisk follows a particular word or feature, e.g. fivver*, this has been inserted to indicate a rare, dialectal form within Ulster-Scots or (more usually), a 'dialectal' spelling which indicates a pronunciation that is not characteristic of the core Ulster-Scots speaking area in mid and north Antrim