North Northern Scots facts for kids

North Northern Scots refers to special ways of speaking the Scots language. You can hear these dialects in places like Caithness, the Black Isle, and Easter Ross. These areas are all in the northern part of Scotland.

The Caithness Dialect

The Caithness dialect is mostly spoken in the flat lands east of a line from Clyth Ness to near Thurso. Long ago, Scottish Gaelic was spoken in the western parts. The Caithness dialect has been shaped by both Gaelic and the old Norn language. Norn was spoken by the Vikings. The way people speak near John o' Groats is a bit like the Orkney dialect.

How Caithness Sounds Different

The sounds in Caithness Scots are similar to other Mid Northern Scots dialects. But there are some unique differences:

• The 'j' or 'g' sound at the start of words, like in "jump," might sound more like a 'ch' sound.
• The 'k' sound in words like knife or knowe (a small hill) might actually be pronounced. In most English, the 'k' is silent.
• The 'th' sound in some words, like muith (meaning sultry or muggy) or thresh, can sound like an 'f'. Also, the 'th' sound is often dropped from words like the, they, and there.
• In Canisbay, the 'w' in words like wrack (wreck) or wrang (wrong) might sound like a 'v'.
• The 'ai' sound, as in alane (alone) or hame (home), often sounds like 'eye'.
• The 'au' sound, as in cauld (cold) or sauld (sold), might sound like 'ow' as in 'cow'.
• The 'ea' or 'ei' sound, as in heid (head) or speak, often sounds like 'eye'.
• The 'i' or 'y' sound, as in bide (stay) or pipe, can sound like 'oy' as in 'boy'.
• The 'ui' sound, as in guid (good) or cuit (ankle), often sounds like 'ee' as in 'see'. Sometimes, it sounds like 'oo' as in 'moon'.

Caithness Grammar

The grammar in Caithness Scots is mostly like other Scots dialects. But here are a few differences:

• Past tense endings like -it or -t often sound like 'id' or 'd'. For example, hurtit sounds like 'hurtid', and kent (knew) sounds like 'kend'.
• The ending -ock, which makes words sound smaller (like 'doggie' for 'dog'), often sounds like 'ag'. This might be from Gaelic. So, a laddock (little boy) might sound like 'laddag'.
• The -in ending, used for actions happening now (like 'running'), might have two different sounds. One for ongoing actions and another for general actions.

Black Isle and Easter Ross Dialects

These dialects have been influenced by Mid Northern Scots. This happened because of fishermen from the Moray Firth and modern education. The town of Avoch was originally Gaelic-speaking. But in the 1600s, Scots speakers, especially fisher folk, settled there. More recently, people in this area have started speaking Highland English more. The traditional Cromarty dialect of the Black Isle is no longer spoken. The last person who spoke it naturally, Bobby Hogg, passed away in October 2012.

How Black Isle and Easter Ross Sound Different

The sounds in these dialects are generally like those in Caithness. But there are some other differences:

• The 'ch' sound at the start of words, like in chap (knock) or chield (fellow), might sound like 'sh'.
• The 'h' sound at the start of words can sometimes be dropped. So, haund (hand) might sound like 'aund'. But sometimes an 'h' is added where it shouldn't be, like in ale sounding like 'hale'.
• The 'wh' sound in words like wha (who) or whit (what) can be dropped or sound like an 'h'. In some places, it might even sound like an 'f', or like a 'w' in Cromarty.