Can you tell where someone is from from how they write on MN?

[Theystoleourrecipe]

I've noticed that when going through posts, I'll read something and think, 'oh this person is from x, just by the words and phrases they use. I'll sometimes be able to localise this to a more specific region. I never look at usernames when I'm reading unless something really stands out to me, so I generally don't have any prior knowledge of the poster influencing me. Of course I can't be 100% sure but I would put a bet on being right, most of the time.

Do you ever recognise a particular region through how a poster writes? Are you conscious of how you write, making sure not to use colloquialisms unique to your area or do you not think about it, or do it anyway?

Haven't heard it since me shifting days!

@CremeEggThief I can tell you that shift used in that context is alive and well in my part of Ireland

Thanks for all the contributions on shift!🤣 I'm originally from the west of Ireland so sounds like shift might still be used there!

Ha! Ha! Brilliant, JenniferBarkley. I'll give out to her so! 🤣

@CremeEggThief yes, I'm in the west!

Aha! Thought so, Drama!😉

And JenniferBarkley, I should have said you were deadly, not brilliant, in my previous post! 🤣

Needs washed is correct in Scottish English and Scots.

When there are grammatical differences from standard English it’s usually because it mirrors Gaelic.... it’s not laziness, it’s just different rules from standard English.

It might be a regional dialect in Scotland but it's not grammatically correct in standard English. People who say 'needs washed' or 'hospickle' will be judged as not speaking properly. They may or may not care about that, but it is true.

Love the Scots usage of "pure" as an intensifier, "messages" for shopping /groceries, "boak" for puke, "gonnae no' do that pal" to folk who're annoying you, "did ye aye" when what you really mean is "you're full of shit", "glaikit" for clumsy & probably thousands of others that I can't remember.
Never got the hang of "back of" as in "back of 7" - is it after 7 o'clock?
I'm Cornish but my granny was Scots & when I was a kid, if they didn't want me to understand, she & my mum would speak to each other in broad Scots.
My best uni mate was Aberdonian & when very drunk he'd mutter "Jings, Crivens, Help me Bob" - no idea what that means or who Bob is / was...

Exactly this.

Judged by whom? And in what context? I imagine users of Scottish English are unlikely to use it in formal written situations, any more than I would walk into a job interview and say ‘How’s she cuttin’?’

But there is Scottish Standard English too, you know...there isn't just one form of English that is considered standard for the entire English-speaking world. It's obvious when you think about varieties like American English, but I think people forget that it's also true for places closer to home. There's Scottish Standard English in Scotland and Hiberno-English is the standard spoken on the island of Ireland, for example.

But you see a lot of English people writing 'needs washed' or equivalent.

Sometimes I notice a certain regional phrase that gives a poster away. If they are from North or South, I can sometimes get a good idea. But it doesn't happen often.

I mean you can judge them as not speaking properly if you want, but you’d be wrong.

They're speaking Scottish English or Scots properly, using the right grammar for that.

They’re not trying to speak standard English and failing they’re speaking a different variety of English or a different language completely - correctly.

It’d be like judging a Norwegian speaking Norwegian as not speaking danish properly.

Those are not the same thing.

'Needs washed' is grammatical variant in a Scottish dialect.
Hospickle is a mispronunciation.

A mispronunciation common in certain areas but not dialect (not grammar at all). It's like skellington or affalete.

Exactly! How else would you get your kids to the beach 🏝️😎?

Needs washed is correct in Scottish Standard English.

@AllMyExesWearRolexes

Never got the hang of "back of" as in "back of 7" - is it after 7 o'clock?

If I say 'back of 7' I mean after 7. Not long after 7 but it could stretch as far as 715pm

Scottish Standard English - English Standard English
Can I come too? - May I come too?
I would, if I was you. - I should, if I were you.
My hair needs washed. -My hair needs/wants washing.
He’ll not do that. -He won’t do that.
I have one of those already.-I’ve got one of those already.
Do you have any? -Have you got any?
Does anybody know? -Does anyone know?
He’s hurt his pinkie. -He’s hurt his little finger.
Where do you stay? -Where do you live?

@DinnaeFashYersel
Thanks, I thought it was something like that but wasn't sure.
It's surprising how much I can still remember, it was common speech in my house and I always found it odd when I'd use a Scots phrase at my friend's place & they'd look at me blankly.
I don't think I have a strong Cornish accent (people say I do) but my speech is peppered with Cornish dialect words & Scots words that I grew up with plus military phrases I learned.
When new people join at work I spend a lot of time explaining myself at first!

You do know that some of these words and phrases are not used in all parts of Scotland? Some are very regional within even a few miles.

@Mycatisthebestever
As a kid I didn't but grew to understand it as I got older.
My granny was a Highlander, born north of Inverness, her family moved around Scotland between the wars. My best friend at university was Aberdonian & later I worked with many Glaswegians so I have been exposed to many varied sources, though I couldn't tell you what phrase comes from what area, to me as a youngster they were all Scots.

JIngs, Crivens, Help Ma Boab is from The Broons and Our Wullie😂

@Mycatisthebestever
Thanks, I've heard of the Broons, is it an Aberdeen / north east Scotland phrase?
(not the Broons, that's a newspaper cartoon I think)