Wikipedia:RRSSC Shortleet o Frequent Words in Scots
Pairt o the wirk the Scots Spellin Comatee pit in thur RRSCC wis a leet o words, based on whit som uised in "primary schuils ti lairn bairns the maist important words in English."[1] These ar set oot ablo for reference in addition tae RRSSC Common wordleet (Scots til Inglis).
Nouns
eeditScots | English | Comments |
air | air | |
airt | place | cairies the sense o “direction” asweel |
answer | answer | |
back | back | |
baest | animal | but mini-beasts ar baesties |
bairn | child | |
ben | mountain | |
beuk | book | EU raither nor UI afore K - cp. neuk, heuk, leuch. |
bit | place | |
bodie | body | if a person, pronunced “buddie”; gin a person’s body, pronunced “boadie” but spelt the same wey sen American English haes nickit the “buddie” spellin tae maen a frein, wi ither connotations forbye |
boy | boy | |
caur | car | |
cheil | fellow | |
childer | children | |
ceity | city | |
colour | colour | |
day | day | |
ee | eye | |
en(d) | end | it’s aye temptin ti hip thir “d”s in Scots - the Comatee advises generally no ti dae it, as it aften kythes agane in derivatives an compoonds. |
example | example | |
face | face | |
faimlie | family | the -ie endin is uised cause the word is itherweys chynged ti mak the Scots spellin. See notes in Extendit Discussion. |
faither | father | |
feet | feet | |
fuid | food | UI phoneme in maist airts. See notes in Extendit Discussion. |
form | form | |
fower | four | |
fowk | people | |
gate | way | |
group | group | |
hail | whole | haill (tho aften seen) braks the dooble-vowel, single consonant rule athoot need, an hale haes anither specialised maenin ti drag, as weel as pairtnerin hertie whiles. |
hame | home | |
hantle | number | |
haun(d), han(d)- | hand | maistlie han(d)- in derived forms |
heid | head | |
hint | back | |
hoose | house | OO for English OU, ti evyte confuision aboot soond |
idea | idea | |
ile | oil | |
kin(d) | kind | |
kintra | country | |
laddie | boy | |
laun(d), lan(d)- | land | * lan(d)- in derived forms |
lassie | girl | |
leet | list | Kenspeckle spellin in Scottish Standard English |
licht | light | |
life | life | |
line | line | |
loun | boy | OU whaur nae confuision likely. |
maet | food | |
man | man | |
maucht | might | noun form juist |
men | men | |
mile | mile | |
mither | mother | |
monie | many | |
muisic | music | UI phoneme in maist airts. |
name | name | |
nicht | night | |
page | page | |
pairt | part | |
paper | paper | |
pictur | picture | |
plant | plant | |
pynt | point | Y for English OI |
read | read | |
rig | spine, ridge | |
river | river | |
sang | song | |
schuil | school | haudin wi the sch- raither nor sk- or sc- cause o the sib forms frae Latin scholar, scholastic etc, whaur hippin the “h” maks for orra spellin |
screive | letter | this form, no recently preferred bi SNDA, kythes nanetheless in SND an is preferred ti regularise the Scots -ei- rule an reflect common recent practice |
sea | sea | |
sentence | sentence | |
side | side | |
some | some | nae pronunciation differ tae justifee uisin “sum”, as in some recent practice |
something | something | |
soond | sound | OO for English OU, ti evyte confuision aboot soond. |
state | state | |
steid | stead | |
stert, start | start | Legeitimate variants |
story | story | |
thing | thing | |
thocht | thought | |
three | three | |
time | time | |
tree | tree | |
twa | two | |
uiss | use | ti encompass by-leid variants wi the -ui- digraph. |
walk | walk | |
wark | work | No generally a verbal form |
warld | world | |
watter | water | Dooblin the “t” shaws the first syllable rhymin wi English “vat” |
wean | child | Maistlie soondit “waen”, but a contraction o “wee ane”, an whiles no contractit in spaek, sae better spelt this tradeitional wey |
wey | way | |
word | word | |
year | year | |
yird | earth |
Adjectives an Articles
eeditScots | English | Comments |
a | a | |
aa | all | -AA for English an aulder Scots -ALL. |
ae | only (one) | ae disna cover aa the uisses o “only” in English. Tho a Scots “anelie” is heard, the word an its uiss is thocht bi maist ti be an invasive English form, a kennin fremmit ti Scots eidiom |
ain | own | |
an | an | |
ane | one | see note on the gremmar o ane vs. wan |
anither | another | |
auld | old | |
baith | both | |
ben | inside, etc. | |
big | big | |
close | close | |
different | different | |
eneuch | enough | |
faur | far | |
few | few | |
first | first | |
guid | good | |
hard | hard | |
heich | high | EI afore the gutteral CH soond - cp. dreich; ct. beech. |
hie | high | |
hindmaist | last | |
ilka | each, every | |
important | important | |
ither | other | |
iverie | every | |
landwart | (rural) | |
lang | long | |
late | late | |
left | left | |
last | last | the form lest seems ti be juist verbal, no adjectival |
little | little | |
ma / my | my | for some spaekers, ma is the unemphatic, my the emphatic; for ithers ma is uised baith weys |
mair | more | |
maist | most | |
muckle | big, large | |
nae | no | |
nearhaun | close | |
new | new | |
nummer | number | |
puckle | few | |
rael | real | |
richt | right | |
saicont | second | |
same | same | |
sic | such | |
smaa | small | -AA for English an aulder Scots -ALL. |
the | the | |
twa-three | few | |
wan | one | |
wee | little, small | |
weel | well | EE correspondin ti English E, for readabeility. |
wheen | many | whiles, less commonly, fowk uises this ti mean few |
white | white | |
young | young |
Conjunctions, Adverbs an Preposeitions
eeditScots | English | Comments |
-na | (n't) | |
(a)cause | because | |
aamaist | almost | |
ablo | below | |
aboot | about | |
abuin | above | |
aff | off | |
afore | before | |
aften | often | |
again | again | |
ahint | behind (after) | juist in some idioms; efter for after maistlie |
aince | once | |
alang | along | |
an | and | |
an aa | also | see entry ablo at forbye |
anent | concerning | |
aroon(d) | around | |
as | as | |
at | at | |
athoot | without | wioot is heard an aa, but athoot seemed the better selection for this leet, sib ti a nummer o Scots words o this type aa stertin wi an “a”. |
atween | between | |
awa | away | |
aye | always, still | |
but | but | |
by, bi | by | By in the sense o “past”, walking past a door = walkin by a door. Bi in aa ither senses an uisses. |
doun | down | |
e'en | even | |
efter | after | |
for | for | |
forbye | also | forbye is uised at the end o phrases, an micht cairie the English senses “as well” or “into the bargain” or “besides” - but canna be uised aa the weys also micht be uised in English. “Alsae” is heard, but isna that common, an tends tae be a kynd o Trojan horse for English syntax an cliché forbye. |
fae, frae | from | suggestit at frae is better for general uiss as "r" is whiles soondit |
gey an | very | |
gif, if | if | |
gin | if | |
gin | until, before,when, by the time that | |
here | here | |
in | in | |
inti | into | |
intil | into | gey aften uised as intil’t at the end o phrases |
iver | ever | ivver micht be mair logical bi consonant rules, but v’s disna normally dooble cause thay micht leuk like w’s syne |
juist | just | UI phoneme: variously soondit joost / jist / jeest different airts |
like, lik | like | the lik form aften intrudes as an unemphatic - the Comatee haesna generally recommendit uiss o unemphatic forms ootby some pronouns, but this is a gey common ane |
mibbie | maybe | |
muckle | much | |
naur | near | the form naur mibbie isna aa that common some airts, whaur fowk juist says near, an is whiles soondit as nar. Naur is preferred, permittin the nar pronunciation aesier nor the ither wey roon. |
na | no | Better form for non-regional uiss nor naw. |
neist | next | |
niver | never | Neever is heard, no sae commonly |
no | not | Better form for non-regional uiss nor nae. |
nor | than | |
nou | now | |
o | of | |
oot | out | |
oot ower | over | |
or | or | |
or | until, before | |
ower | over; too | better nor owre, at tends ti gie smaa wecht ti the disyllabic pronunciation |
sae | so | |
siccan | such | |
tae | too | |
than | then | |
thegither | together | |
thonder | there | |
throu | through | |
til, ti | to | nae simple wey o sayin whan ti uise ti an whan til: this varies frae airt ti airt |
till | until | |
unner | under | Under is uised an aa, but it wis conseidered the “d” is mair aften elidit than itherweys in words o this ilk like thunner, hunner etc |
up | up | |
verra | very | |
while | while | |
whiles | sometimes | |
wi | with | |
yet | still | eidiomatic uise o yet in Scots differs frae idiomatic uise o still in English; e.g.: he's still sleeping = he's sleepin yet |
yont | along |
Waek Verbs
eeditInfin + Past Endin | English | Comments |
add -it | add | |
answer -t | answer | |
ask -ed, aks -t | ask | |
awn -ed | own | |
birl -t | turn | |
caa -d | call | |
cairie, cairiet | carry | |
chynge -d | change | |
clype, clypit | tell | in the sense o tellin on a bodie, informin against |
cry -ed (cried) | call | |
cut -tit | cut | |
daff -t | play | |
daunder -t | wander | |
eik -it | add | |
ettle, ettelt | try | |
flit -tit | move | |
follae -d | follow | |
gar -t | cause | |
gie -d | give | pp gien |
growe -d | grow | pp growen |
help -it | help | |
jee ‘d | move | in parteicular senses o move, ithergates muve. Verbs endin wi dooble ee haes ti uise an apostrophe ti evyte triple e in the past tense. |
keep -it | keep | |
ken -t | know | |
kep -pit | catch | |
kythe -d | seem | |
lairn -t | learn | |
lest -it | last | but the idiomatic adjective is last, same as English |
leuk -it | look | |
leive -d | live | |
muve -d | move | |
need -it | need | |
open -t | open | |
play -ed | play | the form pley / pleyed is mibbie ower local ti recommend for general uiss. |
pree ‘d | try, taste, sample | |
prieve -d | try, taste, sample | |
pruve -d | prove | past participle pruven |
repone -d | reply | gey leiterary Scots |
screive -d | write | |
shaw -ed | show | |
sneck -it | latch | |
sned -dit | sned, cut | |
speir -ed | ask | |
spell -t | spell | |
stap -pit | stop, stuff | |
start -it/stert-it | start | |
steek -it | shut | |
stell -t | place | |
stey -d (in / at) | live | in the sense o dwell (in / at) |
stop -pit | stop, halt | In sense o Eng. halt. |
study, studied | study | |
talk -ed | talk | micht expect talkit, but we didna think it aften kythes, likely cause uise o the verb spaek is commoner in Scots |
tell -t | tell | |
traivel -t | walk | Final -EL efter V. |
try -ed (or: tried) | try | |
turn -t | turn | |
tyne, pt/pp tint | lose, miss | |
uise -d | use | |
walk -it | walk | |
want -it | want | |
watch -t | watch |
Strang an Irregular Verbs
eeditVerb (Infin; Past;
Past Participle.) |
English | Comments |
begin | begin | |
begoud | began | |
begun | begun | |
bide | live, reside | |
bade | lived | |
bidden | lived | Also a waek pt an pp - bidit. |
come | come | |
cam | came | |
come | come (pp) | |
aet | eat | |
ett | ate | |
aeten / etten | eaten | |
fin(nd) | find | |
fan(nd) | found (pt) | |
fun(nd) | found (pp) | |
gang, gae | go | |
gaun, gaein | going | |
gaed | went | |
gaen | gone | |
git | get | |
gat | got (pt) | |
gotten | get (pp) | |
lea(ve) | leave | |
left | left (pt, pp) | |
lat | let | |
luit | let (pt) | |
latten | let (pp) | |
mak | make | |
made | made (pt, pp) | Also a weak pt and pp - makkit. |
pit | put | |
pat | put (pt) | |
pitten | put (pp) | |
read | read | |
read | read (pt) | |
rin | run | |
ran | ran | |
run | run (pp) | |
say | say | |
sayed | said | |
see | see | |
saw | saw | |
seen | seen | |
set | set (p, pt, pp) | |
spaek | speak | reversin the -ea- digraph ti merk the fact at in Scots this verb is variously soondit as speak, spake, spik |
spak | spoke | Maistlie ae wey soondit |
spoken | spoken | |
tak | take | |
teuk | took | |
taen | taken | |
think | think | |
thocht | thought (pt, pp) | |
win | win, gain, etc. | |
wan | won | |
wun | won | |
work | work | |
wrocht | worked (pt, pp) | |
write | write | |
wrat(e) | wrote | |
written | written |
Frequent an Auxiliary Verbs
eeditVerb | Negative | English | Comments |
be | be | ||
am | amna | am | |
is | isna | is | |
ar | arna | are | |
wis | wisna | was | |
war | warna | were | |
been | been | ||
dae | dinna | do | |
dis | disna | does | |
did | didna | did | |
duin | done | ||
div | divna | do | As auxiliary only. Ither tenses like dae. |
hae | haena | have | |
haes | haesna | has | |
haed | haedna | had | |
haen | had | (past participle) | |
hiv | hivna | have | Ither tenses like hae. |
can | canna | can, may | |
cuid | cuidna | could | exception ti general rules on uiss o -ui- phoneme |
micht | michtna | may, might | |
maun | maunna | must | |
shuid | shuidna | should | exception ti general rules on uiss o -ui- phoneme, soud in some airts whaur the "s" isna aspiratit |
will | winna | will | |
wad | wadna | would | |
dow | downa | be able | |
docht | dochtna | was able |
Personal Pronouns
eeditPerson | Normal | Informal Only | English | Comments | ||
Emphatic | Unemphatic | Emphatic | Unemphatic | |||
Singular | ||||||
1 | I, A | I | Baith permissible, mibbie no wyce ti uise baith in the same text | |||
me | me | |||||
ma or my | ma | my | ||||
mine(s) | mine | |||||
2 | you | ye | youse | you | ||
your | yer | your | ||||
yours | yours | |||||
3 | he | he | ||||
him | him | |||||
his | his | |||||
she | she | |||||
her | hur | her | ||||
hers | hurs | hers | ||||
hit | it | it | emphatic form rarer | |||
hits | its | its | emphatic form rarer | |||
Plural | ||||||
1 | we | we | ||||
us | hiz, huz | us | ||||
oor | oor / wir | wir | our | |||
2 | you | ye | yiz, youse | you | ||
your | yer | your | ||||
yours | yours | |||||
3 | thay | they | ||||
thaim | them | them | ||||
thair | thur | their |
The Lave
eeditBasic Interrogatives. | ||
Scots | English | Comments |
wha | who | |
whase | whose | |
whaur | where | |
whit | what, which | |
whan | when | |
why | why | |
whit wey, whit for | why, how | for whit raeson |
hou | how | in whit mainer |
Relatives | ||
Scots | English | Comments |
at, that | that, which, who |
Demonstratives | ||
Scots | English | Comments |
here | here | |
thare | there | |
this | this, these | |
that | that, those | |
thir | these | |
thae | those | |
yon | that, those | |
thon | that, those |
References
eedit- ↑ Mensefu Scots Spellin for ti lairn an be lairnit. Report & Recommends o the Scots Spellin Comatee (PDF). scotslanguage.com (Report). pp. 23–34. Retrieved 9 September 2020.