East Central North Scots

The East Central North is a muckle region o whaur the Scots leid is spoken. It haps the waster hauf o Angus, the hail o Clackmannan, Fife, Kinross, Stirlinshire an Fawkirk, an hauf o Perthshire. Fowk in Fife whiles crys thair speech Fife Scots, an ye micht hear the name East Neuk Scots forby. Thegither thir airts an pairts maks up the norland hauf o Easter Scots an-aw, acause thay hing thegither as a general byleid.

Region

This region haps the hert o Scotland an taks in a screed o touns. Fife haes intil’t the touns o Ainster, Coudenbeith, Cupar, Dunfaurlin, Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy an St Aundraes, while Perth an Kinross haes Auchterairder, Dunkeld an Birnam an Perth. Forder sooth, in the airt o Stirlinshire, the’r the Fawkirk an Stirlin. Sir James Kay Wilson set furth twa important speirings intae the Scots o this region. The first wis Lowland Scotch As Spoken in the Lower Strathearn District of Perthshire (London, 1915) an the second ane wis the Dialects of Central Scotland (Oxford, 1926) that comprehendit Fife. Belangin this region the’r a wheen poyets, singers an screivars sic as Weelum Hershaw, Mary Kermack, Andrew McNeil an Weelum Soutar. Weelum L Lorimer, that owerset the New Testament in Scots, belanged this region an-aw.

The biggest toun athin this by byleid is the city o Dundee that haes its ain speech kent tae its speakers as Dundonian. Screivars, poyets an singers in Dundonian comprehends Ellie McDonald, Gary Robertson (author), Mark Thomson, an Sheena Wellington.

Cutty history

This region haes intil’t a wheen historic touns. On the norland boonds is Dundee, foondit in the hinner 12t centurie bi Erle Dauvit, brither o King Weelum the Lion. In the wast is Perth, foondit as a burgh in the 12t centurie an-aw. Tae the east, in Fife, is baith Dunfaurlin an St Aundraes, that dates back tae the 8ct an 9t centuries an wis kenspeckle centres o kingship. Taewards the southland boonds o this region is Stirlin.

Thare haes been a hoose o strength at Stirlin fae the 7t centurie at least whan hit wis a fort o the Auld-Angles speakin kings o Northumbrie. Syne mony kings an queens haed this as a favoured hame until the 17t centurie. The sma burghs o the east o Fife wis gey important tae the economy o Scotland an helpit estaiblish strang links atween Scotland an her neebors in troke in Flaunders, Fraunce, Denmark, Norawa an alang the Easter Seas.

In Perth an Stirlin the twa faimlies o maucht wis Drummond an Murray while in Angus waster it wis the Hays an Ogilvies. In Fife the heid faimlies wis Lindsay an Wemyss. The’r inklins o the Scots leid in chairters fae this airt, stertin in the 12t centurie, an hail texts kythin fae the 14t centurie onwards.

The byleid

Tae the north o Dundee an in Angus easter ye’ll can find the maks foo, fit, far an fan an been an steen, but in Dundee an Angus waster, an in ither airts tae the sooth, sic as Perth, Stirlin or Fife, thir maks becomes hoo, whit, whaur an whan an stane an bane. In Angus the’r twa-three pynts whaurby the tuin differs fae forder sooth. In the sooth the i is the ordnar soond gien in muin, spuin an guid, but in Angus the same words haes an oo soond as in mune, spune an gude.

In Angus an-aw, the word ane is pronoonced as it looks but tae the sooth it becomes yin. In the city o Dundee the’r a soond no fund ithergaits that’s a shair sign o a Dundonian speaker: the eh soond. Billy Kay, in Scots: The Mither Tongue, gies a rare instance o this soonds in the follaein sentence: ‘Eh hud meh eh on a peh’ (A haed ma ee on a pie). Athin Perth an Kinross, Stirlin an Fawkirk, the byleid changes a bittie fae Dundee in its tuin an ilka airt haes words it favours ower ithers. In the East Neuk o Fife the’r strang links atween the byleid an words an saws parteeclar tae the fisher communities, fowk that tends tae heichten the pitch at the end o sentences. The auld mining communities o waster Fife haes thair weys o pronooncin the byleid an-aw.

Soorce

• East Central North, frae the Centre for the Scots Leid (CSL)

See an-aw

• (A hunner key Dundonian words), frae the CSL an-aw