SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1715 Title : Scots Tung Wittins 64 Author(s): Robert Fairnie Copyright holder(s): Name withheld Text Nummer 64 Mairch. 1999 Keepin a guid Scots tung in yer heid's nae guid! Lat it oot an uise it! Scots Tung WITTINS Eydentlie uphaudin the Scots Leid Campaine E-mail: [CENSORED: emailaddress] Ph. [CENSORED: phonenumber] Scots Leid in the Scots Pairliament? - Juist! THE Steerin Group Report on the agreed workin practices for the Holyrood Pairliament, threaps that maimbers will hae the richt tae mak speeches tae pairliament in Gaelic an owersettin faceelities is tae be fendit. Thay will be taen doun an furthset in Gaelic alang wi an English owersettin. Forbye that, government bulletins is tae be screivit in baith English an Gaelic an aa the signs athin the pairliament hoose is tae be screivit in English an Gaelic. Scots is tae be allooed tae be uised in pairliament but that's it. Nae owersettin faceelities (tho we threap this winna be a necessar proveesion for MSP's), nae screivit records o spaeken Scots, nae government bulletins screivit in Scots an nae signs athin the pairliament hoose screivit in Scots. This is nae-whaur near guid eneuch an ye can be shuir we'r no gaun tae lat things lig the wey thay ar. ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Daes Better Ower the Sheuch in Ulster. THE follaein advert wis taen frae the Belfast Telegraph an wis reportit an aa in a column o the Irish Times:- "It's noo apen fur tae pit in jab foarms fur tha ontak a UnnerEditor an Ulster-Scotch, wi tha Chaummer o the Scrievit Accoont (Hansard) o tha New Ulster Sammlie sittin at tha Tolsei Biggins, Stormont, Bilfawst. A start wull be gien fur sax-month, wi anither contraick aiblins forbye." Hou can onie British government gree tae haein the spaeken Scots in the Ulster Assembly screivit doun in Scots an the spaeken Scots in the Scottish Pairliament no? Whit a guddle thay'r aa gittin thirsels intae. Whaur's Pairt II o the European Charter nou an whit wis aa that aboot DISCRIMINATION? Dewar an McLeish tak guid tent! ~~~ooo~~~ A Braw Guid Fechter For The Scots Language Tint. HAIRMAN o Wast Lothian's Broadly Scots Group, Tom Meek, dee'd on the 13t. Januar 1999 whan he wis steyin at his dochter's hoose in Norwich for a wee holiday. As a stalwart freedom fechter for the Scots leid in genral an the Wast Lothian byleid in parteeclar, he will be gey sair missed bi aa upsteerers for the leid an, mair parteeclar, bi his ain Broadly Scots Group. We rax oot tae Tom's faimlie an freends, wir ain couthie thochts an condolences. The Group itsel haed juist feinished recordin a soond kistie o Scots words an pomes afore he dee'd an is ettlin nou tae dedicate it tae Tom's memory. ~~~ooo~~~ Scots Tung WITTINS on the wab. The Scots Tung Wittins can be vizzied or doun-loadit an prentit (nou in HTML format forbye) frae the wab-steid o :- The Scots Speikers Curn, Glesca. Wab-steid backin :-http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~love/ ~~~ooo~~~ N.E. Action Plan Howps Doric Micht Beir the Gree The follaein wittins wis taen frae the Aiberdeen Independent Online an wis owerset frae the oreeginal English intae Scots:- An action plan tae proteck Doric cultur haes been pit forrit bi the Nor-Aist o Scotland Heritage Trust. Maimbers greed tae seek for Naitional Lottery siller tae forder Doric language an cultur sae it can be proteckit an uphaudit in the same wey that Gaelic haes. A program o ongauns in Aiberdeen, Aiberdeenshire an Moray tae forder the reet an the rise o Doric is tae tak place. Trust preses David Clyne sayed, "Oor ettle is tae mak siccar that bi the time the Scottish Pairliament is estaiblished, the language an cultur o the nor-aist is gien a staunin that's at least even wi that o Gaelic. Twa three year ago, Gaelic wis weel on its wey tae bein tint but a muckle maucht on the pairt o the Gaels evited that. Nou nor-aist cultur faces the threit o bein tint an we hae tae tak meisures nou tae mak siccar wir heritage is passed doun tae on-comin generations." Thae's aa thochts an ettles that onie richt thinkin Scots leid upsteerer canna richtlie na-say. A stieve an growthie nor-aist by-leid o Scots, gin that's whit the NESHT wins an we maun aa howp thay dae, maun be a richt wechtie foond for aa the ither by-leids o Scots tae tak strenth frae. The ae fash that onie o us micht hae anent thae ongauns is the wont o the likes o NESHT tae keep spaekin o the Doric as if it wis anither language apairt frae Scots. Efter aa, wis Doric no originally a derogatory nem uised tae pit fowk aff frae uisin the nor-aist by-leid o Scots? In the sooth-aist, the by-leid thare wis cried "that common street slang" bi the same kinna fowk for the same kinna raisons. For aa that, we canna na-say the richt o NESHT an the fowk o the nor-aist tae keep on cryin thair by-leid the Doric for thon's a nem that's ower weel estaiblished nou. Aa we wad speir efter is that the Doric isna pit forrit as anither language apairt frae Scots. It's oor consait that brigs haes tae be biggit atween the NESHT an the ither curns an associes o Scots leid upsteerers tae mak siccar that we'r aa kickin the baa the ae wey an no flytin agin ane anither, for that wad be juist up the estaiblishment's barrae. The ae associe that thirls us aa thegither maun shuirlie be the SNDA for the'r no onie by-leid o Scots, includin the nor-aist by-leid (Doric), that daesna hae aa its ain words kythin in the SNDA's Scots dictionars. ~~~ooo~~~ An-an-ingan-ane-an-aa!! A new CD is oot in the shops the nou bi a Dundee Rap singer that cries hissel St.Andrew. A gey fantoosh nem for a Kettle-biler is it no? Weel this new CD that, as faur as we ken, is cried "The Word on the Pavie" an is aa sung in the Dundee by-leid o Scots an gits an unco guid heize frae Michael Mara. Ye kinna git the feelin tho that his intrest is mair tae dae wi the soond an the rhythm o the leid an whit it daes for the singin an entertainment raither nor tae dae wi uisin it for communicatin wi. Ae bittie that he wis gey weel taen wi gied an exposeetion o the twa different kinna bridies ye cuid coff in Dundee. St. Andrew pits it this wey:- "A plen ane an an ingan ane an aa!" Ye hiv tae awn that, gin ye say that at Rap speed, it daes hae a richt kinna rhythm tae it. Nae maitter whit the consaits o thae musicians is anent the Scots language, gin the pop cultur generations tak tae it an it dawns on thaim that Scots is "cool" for pop, it canna dae ocht but guid for the hainin o the leid. Neist Forgaitherin. Mon. 29t. Mairch 1999 7.30pm tae 9.00pm Smaa Lounge or Conf. Rm. 1. Brunton Haa, Musselburgh, Schuil Curriculum an the Cultur o Scotland. THE new watered doun vairsion o the abuin report, pit oot bi the SCCC, says that Gaelic an Scots shuid be learned in the schuils. The report threaps that chynges wad hae tae be makit in teacher trainin coorses at Scottish colleges an that English an ither in-comin fremmit teachers wad hae tae adapt tae fit intae the new Scottish souch o wir eddication seestem. The report threaps an aa that the authorities shuid tak tent o whit learnin graith thare is tae haund for aa Scottish cultur an onie wants shuid be makit guid. A new certificate shuid be gien tae bairns that pass exams in Scottish studies. For aa that, fifteen o the aichteen maimbers o the oreeginal SCCC review group haes signed a letter doun-cryin the doun-haudin o thair report. Thair hail report haes aa been squeezed intae five blats o the new ane an monie o the heidmaist pints pit forrit in the oreeginal ane haes been dingit doun an left oot. Thae fifteen group maimbers is fleetchin fowk tae speir the SCCC for copies o the oreeginal report cried, Scottish Culture and the Curriculum, afore thay mak up thair ain minds wha's gotten it richt. Gin thae fowk haes onie bother gittin haud o a copie o this report, we maun pint oot that it's been freely tae haund for monie months nou on a guid nummer o wabsteids. The ane we hae been uisin is:- http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~love/ As we'v sayed afore, fine dae we ken wha's gotten it wrang, fine dae we ken whit wey thay'v gotten it wrang an fine dae we ken wha threaps that it wisna thaim. ~~~ooo~~~ Scots for Scots Magazine THE abuin magazine, furthset bi the Scottish Fund For The Disabled, is fetchin oot its saicont edeetion nou. The first edeetion wis gey weel acceppit bi aabodie an kythed a guid intrest. Monie fowk phoned in tae uphaud the projeck an juist aboot fifteen hunner, or thereby, copies wis selt. The ae disappyntment o thon furthsettin wis the scant o inpits, parteeclar frae the schuils but nae doot, thae things micht weel tak a guid wee while tae work thair wey throu. Gin oniebodie haes onie copie at aa, be it a bar, a story or a pome or ocht else thay wad lik tae see in prent, dinna be sweir tae sen it in. The new backin is:- Scots for Scots, [CENSORED: postaladdress]. ~~~ooo~~~ Univairsitie o Aiberdeen. RAE the 19t. tae the 21t. o Juin 1999, the abuin univairsitie is haudin an International Symposium cried MINORITY IDENTITIES TODAY. Inveetit spaekers include:- Stephen Barbour, Reader in Modren Leids at Middlesex Univairsitie. Cairns Craig, Leeterarie collegian at Edinburgh Univairsitie. Norbert Dittmar, Professor o Germanistik at the Free Univairsitie o Berlin. Per Sture Ureland, Professor o Genral Linguistics at the Univairsitie o Mannheim. Kenneth White, Kenspeckle Scottish makar an reenger o geopoetics. Forbye thaim, fowk frae aa the airts haes been speirt tae pit forrit a paper an we howp that ane or twa o wir kenspeckle upsteerers will be fleein the flag for the Scots language. Oniebodie intrestit in gaun alang shuid contack Dr. Barbara A. Fennell, Dept. o English, Univairsitie o Aiberdeen, King's College, Auld Aiberdeen, AB24 2UB. or ring [CENSORED: phonenumber]. ~~~ooo~~~ Ither New Beuks An That. A new beuk on Burns cried "The Soun O Burns", bi 83 year auld James McBain an furthset bi Scotsoun, taks on the kinch o hou some o Burns' words that shares the same spellin as English words, shuid be moothit. For exemplar, words sic as sight, bright, light, right an night that shuid hae the Scots pronunciation, in the beuk ar spellt sicht, bricht, licht, richt an nicht. Whaur the oreeginal spellin haes been chynged tae gar the richt Scots pronunciation, it's prentit wi a blue ink insteid o black an sae some fowk is cryin the beuk the Black an Blue Burns. The'r been a muckle want for sic a beuk for a guid lang while nou an nae doot it'll cut doun on monie a nicht o ill moothit Burns an micht sauf Rabbie monie a birl in his graff. We wad hae eikit the Bard's faither, William Burnes (Burns) tae it an aa. "Edinburgh History of the Scots Language" screivit bi Professor Charles Jones (EU Press £100) haes juist taen the new Saltire Society gree o Research Book of the Year award, wirth £1500. An ingaitherin o essays bi monie weel leirit haunds an walit bi Prof. Jones, the beuk kivvers aa the particularities o the leid's history frae the lang bygane tae the language o the day an is shuir tae be uised bi collegianers aa ower the yird. "Seeds in the Wind/Distln im Wind" bi William Souter wi owersettins intae Viennese (Eastmiddle-Bavarian Byleid) bi Heidelinde Prüger. Bein a twa-leidit beuk o Souter's bairn rhymes, an wi baith leids haein a siclik history o bein dounhauden, it haes twa word-leets, ane Scots/English an the ither Viennese/German. "Spik O The Place." bi Norman Harper, furthset bi Canongate Books, is a new beuk descrived as an A–Z walin o exemplars o Nor-Aist "Patois" the day. Bi keepin his lugs cockit, he haes ingaithert cracks frae 90 tae 19 year aulds. The ootcome is a fouthie walin o words an sayins o "dialect, Doric, Scots and strangulated English." Thae wis the words uised in the Scots Magazine's cuttie review o the beuk sae it's no juist the Nor-Aist o Scotland Heritage Trust that wants eddicatin. Nicatine Patches? Geordie Jooks' guid-wife Beenie is an awfu wuman for talkin. Frae the meinit she gits hersel ower the bed in the mornin tae aboot five meinits efter she faas asleep at nicht, it's juist talk, talk, talk aa the time. Geordie aye ettles tae keep oot the wey as aften as he can for the'r monies a time that a Vickers machine-gun wad be nae match agin Beenie's tung. But the'r times an aa whan he canna dae ocht aboot it an haes tae bide in the hoose an thole the muckle onding frae the mooth o his better hauf. Onless he wis eatin oot at the gowf club, denner times wis ane o thae times he cuidna jouk. Ower the years he haed lairnt hou tae switch his lugs aff an, at the same time his tung haed lairnt hou tae gie juist the richt monosyllabic repone nou an agane sae that Beenie didna catch on she wis talkin tae hersel. The words in his automatic leet wis maistlie, "Ay", "Ay?", "Naw", "Mm", "Uh huh" an the odd "Is that richt?" But Geordie haed tae awn that this ploy didna aye work an ilka nou an agane he wad git catched oot. This denner time, Beenie haed been gaun her dinger e'er syne thay haed sat thirsels doun at the table an wis fairly giein it laldie nou that she haed gotten intae a guid gaun rhythm. "Ken thon Snawface's Veronica, thon Veronica ane that smokes lik a pouer hoose lum?" "Ay." "Weel, ye'll niver guess. She's stoppit smokin. Twa months nou an niver haed a draw." "Mm." "Duin it aa wi thae nicatine patches tae an nou her sister Sadie says she's gaun tae try an stop an aa. Can ye imagine thon Sadie ane no smokin? Gin thae patches can git the likes o her tae stop an aa, thay maun be naethin short o miraculous. Ye'd hardly credit whit a wee patch on yer airm cuid dae nou-a-days. Ar you listenin tae me Geordie? Ye'r no sayin a word thare. Dinna think A dinna ken whan yer mind's awa somewhaur else. Ye'r juist lik yer faither. Nae doot ye'r wishin ye cuid git patches tae stap fowk talkin an aa. Ay, A ken you, Geordie Jooks." Geordie's auto-pilot gaed ower tae manual. "Och, ye can git patches oot the chemist for that areddies." says he. "Tae stap fowk talkin?" "Ay." "A didna ken that. Ye mean ye stick a wee patch on yer airm an that helps ye tae stap talkin?" "Naw, A daurs! Ye hiv tae stick it ower yer bluidie mooth wuman! – Ooouch!" Makars' Neuk A cantie wee lassie cried Menzies Speired, "Dae ye ken whit this thenzies?" Her Maw, wi a gasp, Reponed, "It's a wasp!" An ye'r haudin the end whaur the stenzies. Unbekent. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience Audience size: N/A Text details Method of composition: N/A Word count: 2672 General description: monthly newsletter Text medium Leaflet/brochure (prospectus): Text publication details Published: Publisher: Scots Tung Publication year: 1999 Part of a longer series of texts: Name of series: Scots Tung Wittins Text type Article: Prose: nonfiction: Other: mixed text type Author Author details Author id: 95 Forenames: Robert Surname: Fairnie Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1930 Educational attainment: College Age left school: 16 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Consultant Marine Structural Engineer (Retired) Place of birth: Musselburgh Region of birth: Midlothian Birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Musselburgh Region of residence: Midlothian Residence CSD dialect area: midLoth Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Fisherman Father's place of birth: Musselburgh Father's region of birth: Midlothian Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Fishwife Mother's place of birth: Musselburgh Mother's region of birth: Midlothian Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: midLoth Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At work Language: German Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In Germany to communicate with two grandsons Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Wherever Scots is understood