Southern Scots facts for kids

Southern Scots is a way of speaking the Scots language found in the Scottish Borders. It's spoken in parts of Dumfriesshire, Roxburghshire, and Selkirkshire. However, areas like Berwickshire and Peeblesshire speak a different kind of Scots called Central Scots.

This dialect is also known as Border Scots or the Border tongue. You can hear Southern Scots in towns like Earlston, Galashiels (often called Gala), Hawick, Jedburgh (known as Jethart), Kelso (or Kelsae), Langholm, Lockerbie, Newcastleton (or Copshaw), St. Boswells (Bosells), and Selkirk.

How Southern Scots Sounds

The way Southern Scots sounds is generally similar to the Central Scots dialects spoken nearby. However, some vowel sounds are quite different.

• The "ch" sound: After certain vowels, "ch" can sound a bit like "khw". For example, lauch (laugh) and sauch (willow). The sound "och" often becomes "owkh", as in bocht (bought) or dochter (daughter). After other vowels, "ch" sounds like the "ch" in "Bach".
• Missing "ld" and "nd": In some areas, the "ld" and "nd" sounds are often dropped. So, "cold" might sound more like "coll" and "hand" like "hann".
• The "a" sound: The "a" in words like "cat" often sounds like the "a" in "apple". But a final "a" in words like awa (away) or twa (two) can sound like "ae" (like in "say").
• The "aw" and "au" sounds: These sounds, as in aw (all) or cauld (cold), might sound like the "o" in "cot" but longer. This is different from how they sound in Central Scots.
• The "ai" or "a(consonant)e" sounds: These can sound like "ee-uh". For example, baith (both) might sound like "beeath", and cake like "keeak". When these sounds are at the start of a word, they can sound like "yih". So, acre might be "yicker" and ane (one) might be "yin".
• The "e" sound: In some places, the "e" in words like bed or het (heated) can sound like the "a" in "apple".
• The "ee" sound at the end of words: This usually sounds like "ay". So, see might sound like "say" and tree like "tray".
• The "eu" sound: This often sounds like "yoo". For example, beuk (book) or leuk (look).
• The "ou" or "oo" sound at the end of words: This often sounds like "ow" (as in "cow"). So, nou (now) sounds like "now" and throu (through) sounds like "throw".
• The "ow" or "owe" sound: This can sound like "oh-oo". For example, howe (hollow) or yowe (ewe).
• The "ui" sound: This can sound like the "oo" in "moon" but with rounded lips, or it can be unrounded like the "ee" in "see". For example, guid (good) or cuit (ankle).

Grammar Notes

In Southern Scots, the way people say the present participle (like "running") and the gerund (like "running is fun") can be different. For example, "He was always messing about" might be He wis aye gutteran aboot. But "He's fond of messing about" might be He's fond o guttereen aboot.

Literature in Southern Scots

Southern Scots has its own literature, including poems and stories written in the dialect. Here is a sample text from a piece called Mang Howes an Knowes by Elliot Cowan Smith. It talks about the history and landscape of the Border region.

Sample Text

From Mang Howes an Knowes by Elliot Cowan Smith (1891–1917)

Yet, yince in a day, thir braes hed seen unco sichts. Thonder was the moniment A jaloozed ti be the Lilliard's Edge Memorial, so that A was stannin on bluiddy Ancrum Muir. Nae cannie daffin bull- reel splore that fearfih fecht, whan the Dooglas an the Scott wrait off a wheen auld scores an saw day-aboot wui the auld-enemy.

Threh the mids o thir verra busses wad stert the huirn oo read aboot in oor bulks: ilk sheuch an heidie-hole i thir verra rigs was den for fairce sodgers in fechtin-graith-Scots an Ingleesh in a fraineeshin, fidgin mad-keen ti teer the harrigals oot o other; ilk lirk o thir knowes wad heide the gear o war. Hei'd little need be hen-herteet that hed ti beer the ramstam onfaa threh whan the slogan waekent the waller an sterteet the fray i the gray-daylicht,-eendon throwe aa the grewsome mowlie-; whan billies fell seide-be- seide till the brae-face was traisselt an the gress ran reid wui bluid; whan naigs an troopers-the deed- ruckle glutherin i-ther weizants-war cowpeet inti ilka seike, heeds an thraws,-on till the derkeneen rowed its hap roond deed an dei-in, an garrd the hyill yins devall an take a barley. Oor forebears an ther Southron neebers coodna sit soft ava i thae days: they war everly natterin an fechtin. An-sic veeshyis fechteen as it was, tui! Folk are muckle ti mean that beide on aether seide o the Mairches atween twae prood an towty countries 'at canna grei an are aye cuissen-oot. The Borderers lang syne geh thersels an awfih leife o'd. Theirs was nae canty doon-sitteen!

Duist a hip-step-an-a-lowp, an A cam on o an- other kenspeckle landmerk-Peinelheuch. This eez the saicant sic column, A've haar'tell; for, yeh gowsty nicht (wui a wund fit ti blaw doors oot wundihs) a turbleent woare as the ordnar dang doon the firsst Peinelheuch moniment (the whulk, A unk, maun heh been buggen keinda jingle-jointeet, or maim heh cowblt on ov a gey coaggly foond ; ony o the ways, it geh a steiter, an yownt-owre it tirlt!) Bit Border folk are no that easy bett ; they juist paat up a moniment fer better an brawer be what the auld yin was. An now, aabody stravaigin the Borderland-gangers an reiders-sood ken Peinelheuch.

A'd breesteet the brae now, an the road swaipeet doon afore iz. Ay! doon ti ma caav-grund o Teviot- dale-an A lilteet a sang an whewed an yuooted, leike as A'd gane wuth, an laap an flaang as yauld-as a wuddie—boondin bleithely on wui ma' airms shuggiein lowce threh ma oxters. A was abuin-the- woarlt! A was naether ti haud nor ti binnd! If onybody hed eyed iz, hei'd heh thocht A was shuir ready for Bowden!!