"Aye" vs. "Yes" All Scottish mums opinions please

[weeamoomoo]

my 3 year old started nursery last year. he usually says "aye" instead of "yes" because that's what his family say most of the time. we don't feel this is slang or cheeky, just typically "scottish"! (and they do also use it in parliament when voting). recently he started saying "yes" a lot, and told us his new nursery teacher has told him to say "yes" in nursery, not "aye". AIBU in feeling she has no right to do this? i would be really interested to hear from people who work in this profession.

I used to get told off (and still do sometimes) by my family for saying 'aye'. think they thought it sounded slang and that 'yes' was a bit better and less likely to expose their working class roots

i personally don't think it matters in the grand scheme of things. DS is English through and through, wish he would sometimes say 'aye' just to break up the 'yeah's sometimes

imo both are acceptable, and indeed widespread in use. have a wee word ask her not to correct aye. he sounds adorable, aye ye he does

It really wouldn't bother me too much about the teacher asking him to say 'yes'. My ds does say 'yes' although most of my family (and dh's) say 'aye'. I use both.

My son has recently had a Scottish Week at nursery. Everyday they had scottish food for snack, haggis, shortbread and porridge. They learned a scottish poem and had to wear something tartan. He got to bring in his bagpipes so was delighted. We also got a note home asking us not to correct their grammar as they were all encourage to speak scots so we now have a wee boy who says "Aye" all the time and it is soo cute. I also come from north east Scotland so he greets people by saying "Fit Like" Not soo cute!!

i must admit, we do think (and so do most other people when they hear him) that it's really cute.

we boy saying fit like ooooooo stoating

I'm a teacher in Scotland and I don't 'correct' a pupil who says aye. Must admit, I'm not sure what others do. I'd've thopught the large majority of teachers don't as Scottish identity and language are very in topics with the government. I would raise it with the teacher, just as you have done here, in a calm and interested way. See what's said.

hi pointydog,
thanks for replying. of course my worry is that i would hate for a teacher to have a gripe against me and then to take it out on my son!

Message withdrawn

I think if you raised it as you have here, that you are interested to know whether this is discouraged or not, then I can't really imagine a teacher holding a grudge against you and your son. And then if you say that bit about using it at home and not being cheeky etc. You are perfectly entitled to ask.

If the teacher says it is discouraged, then I also think you are entitled to say you don;t feel comfortable with that and coudl they reconsider.

Lol at "fit like". You fae furryboot city?

Agree that "aye" is better than "yeah" but I hate the word yeah.

We weren't allowed to say aye at school. Never never never.

Now say it all the time LOL.

Aye!

I use both but I think I say "yes" more often. I suppose I think there are "Aye" situations and "Yes" situations depending on the context, occasion, how much I wish to impress, etc.

I will sometimes use "Aye" where I would normally use "Yes" - e.g. at work - if I am conversing with someone that I think might feel more comfortable if I am slightly more "slangy" in my speech.

I don't mean to give the impression that it's calculated because it's not. It's just something I'm aware that I do.

Anyway, maybe the teacher is, in some way, trying to get across that sometimes it's more appropriate to use "yes". Worth asking.

I would rather it was "aye" than "yeah".
But I am guilty of making sure that my children speak "properly" all the time at home, working on the principal that they'll roughen up their accents in the playground and end up "bilingual". The ability to speak in different accents is priceless - being able to speak weegie while living in England was brilliant. Grown men used to back away, wide-eyed. Whether through fear or disgust I'll never know, but entertaining nonetheless. Particularly as I'm a five-foot wimp .

Think I would prefer aye to yeah too, I don't mind broad scots really better than americanised slang. Kids aren't that broad when at home but I know they are with their pals.

I vary a lot as well, talking to the kids or MIL its not that broad, talking to the guys at work I can go very broad, talking to a client then its the telephone voice.

Telephone voice, that's what I was meaning!

I have used broad scots to have a private conversation so the overbearing forceful spanish nurse couldn't understand, she got very annoyed as she declared she could speak english very well so talk properly

I love the fact that there are times and places for using each word (and broad Scots in general, scramble!)

It just makes language so much more interesting.

Eg, a conversation with your boss asking for a pay-rise: "yes"

a friend asking if you want another chocolate biscuit: "aye"!

ViolentFemme - Used to be, now a southener, well over the Forth Bridge.

I too am guilty of making sure children speak "properly" but obviously not making that good a job of it

Me-middle class with English mother, never told off for saying aye, in fact my mum used lots of scots she had learned from her scottish mother and grandmother.

DH-working class but upwardly mobile family, severely told off for saying aye.

DS.s- inexplicably posh and unable to cope with reading scots poetry for school, find my enthusiatic help learning "the Puddock" etc.v embarrassing, they like winding me up by pronouncing loch as "lock" etc. They are all ginger and would sound very cute a bit broader but seem to think it is uncool.