Scotland Eleven - Text
This speaker is from Ayrshire, that part of the Central Scots dialect region defined as West-mid Scots or West-Central Scots. Most people expect speakers with a West of Scotland accent to come from Glasgow, but the Ayrshire dialects, while having many features in common with Glaswegian, differs from it fairly sharply, most noticeably in the number of Scots words which it still retains. Both accents, however, share characteristic dropping pattern to their intonations. Ayrshire is still predominantly rural and its speech is sturdy and muscular. There is less nasality than can be found in some Glaswegian accents and less theatricality of tune. One can also hear a slight backward drag to some vowels, noticeably the [Q] sound in happy, language and the [E] sound in very.
Running time: 00:03.13. Recorded by Ros Steen, November, 2002; and edited March 6, 2003 by Paul Meier.
TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH
I’m from Stewarton, uh, which is near Kilmarnock and Ayrshire. Uh, Stewarton is actually known as the bonnet town, uh, because years ago that’s what they used to make—hats, which in Scots are known as bonnets. There is—there’s a very strong bonnet tradition. Actually, making (unclear) it was (unclear), I think. Um, in the first half of the twentieth century, (unclear) making a lot more—a lot more interesting for young people. And a lot more young people are reading buns and reciting buns and reciting the conversation level, as well. There’s a lot of buns at school. Especially as you go further on in school. Um, they try to teach you a lot more than, “We have Scots language and—and Scots literature.” The (unclear) project is, uh, a higher-education funded project, uh, that supports the focus on delivery of music, um, over the internet. And (unclear) particularly students of Scottish traditional music an opportunity to learn tunes and to learn music from the internet, because they learn orally rather than classical musicians who concentrate a lot more on—on transcriptions. Uh, the idea is that we’ll supply as many tunes as we can over the internet and supply as many opportunities for students to learn tunes as we can. And hopefully they’ll begin to pick up—pick up tunes from the internet outside the (unclear) project. Scottish traditional musicians have to learn Scots, as well—Scots and Gaelic, of course—as—as part of the course. Uh, there—so, yeah, there is this—a lot of, um, Scots language stuff in there as well to (unclear) closely on pronunciation and so on. Yeah.
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY JOHN WRIGHT 12 AUGUST, 2008
TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH
I’m from Stewarton, which is near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. Stewarton is actually known as the “Bonnet Toun” [bonnet town] because years ago that’s where they used to make hats, which in Scots is known as bonnets. There is, there’s a very strong Burns tradition, actually making a bit of a revival, it lost a bit of interest I think, in the fist half of the 21st centaury. But people, keeping, keep it alive, making it a lot more, a lot more interesting to young people and a lot more young people are reading Burns and reciting Burns, reciting at a competition level, as well as learning Burns at school. (Um) They’re trying to teach a lot more in the way of Scots language and Scots literature. The H...? Project is a higher education funded project (um) that’s supposed to focus on delivery of music (um) over the internet. And, allowing particularly students of Scottish traditional music an opportunity to learn tunes and to learn music from the internet, because they learn orally rather than classical musicians, who concentrate a lot more on transcriptions. (Um) The idea is that we’ll supply as many tunes as we can over the internet and supply as many opportunities for students to learn tunes as we can and hopefully they’ll begin to pick up, pick up tunes from the internet. That’s the idea behind the project. Scottish traditional musicians, you have to learn Scottish as well. Scots and Gaelic off course is part of the course to there yeah, there’s a lot of (um) Scots language stuff in there, as well it focuses quite closely on pronunciation so...
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY KARINA LEMMER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR SOUTH AFRICA, July 29, 2008