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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to wonder why glaswegians cant say definately properly?

270 replies

littlemissfixit · 30/01/2010 22:36

why do they say defenently? its definately!! Does it make anyone else cringe when they here it? When i here a weegie say it, my whole body shudders!

OP posts:
AgentProvocateur · 01/02/2010 20:24

FimBOW, you've just given me a huge blast from the past! Was it:

You've hurt yer finger, puir wee man
Yer pinkie, dearie me...

I did that in P2 or P3, some 35-ish years ago, and I hadn't thought of it for all that time, but now I remember it as if it was yesterday.

Also, my Englissh friends piss themselves laughing when I talk about "just now" - ie, Where are you just now?

They say there's no need for the "just".

GentleOtter · 01/02/2010 20:28

And "up the back" as in "Where do you live"? - "Up the back, ower yonder"- this is always said with a sort of over the shoulder Gallic shrug to indicate the yon faraway hill. Ken.

PlanetEarth · 01/02/2010 20:39

GentleOtter, surely it's "Where do you stay"? (It is round here, anyway.) This puzzled me when I first moved to Scotland, there is no such construction where I come from, it's either "Where do you live?" (permanently) or "Where are you staying?" (temporarily). I suppose, at a pinch, you could have "Where do you stay?" (temporarily but regularly)...

deste · 01/02/2010 20:40

I often hear on TV uz instead of us. Mealy puddings, lovely. We spelled it coally bag as in carrying a bag of coal.
More words I can think of.
skirling
showdy or to showd a baby
a bosy
filled to the breem
tatties
neeps
mucket o dirt
siping wet
bap is a floury roll
IneedacleanerIamalazyslat did your brother go to school with Joyce Falconer(Roisin). Although she looks prettier in real life she sounds the same.

GentleOtter · 01/02/2010 20:45

PlanetEarth - No, I've just had a quick poll (in the house) and it is "Where do you live" or "Whaur dae ye bide".

nickytwotimes · 01/02/2010 20:50

Foo's yer doos, Aberdonians?

Ah, I miss the north east accent sometimes.

deste · 01/02/2010 20:52

Far dae ye bide or furryboots (faraboots) dae ye bide.

Paolosgirl · 01/02/2010 20:54

Depends Nicky - there's the sing-song Doric, and then there's Roisin from River City

Wineonafridaynight · 01/02/2010 20:54

Only got to page 6 and crying with laughter.

My mum is scottish (Glaswegian) but I have lived in Southern England my whole life. It has lead to some very odd pronunciations as I think I must have mixed the two accents!

It was pointed out to me the other day by DP that I say 'Wilyum' instead of 'William'. I also say 'Tortoys' instead of 'tortus' for 'tortoise'. I think both of these are me mixing the accents rather than it being a totally Scottish thing (although I'd be interested to hear how the Scots say both of those).

'Turn the big light off' is something my mum always said. I just assumed it meant the main light in a room rather than the lamp. Am I wrong?

'Slept in' I have always said rather than overslept. Overslept sounds dead formal to me.

And that reminds me, I always say 'dead' - e.g. 'I'm dead tired' or 'I'm dead pleased'. I think that's a Scottish thing too as all my cousins say it.

Finally I was speaking to an Irish girl recently and she was using the phrase 'you see' at the start of a few sentences - this is something my mum always does as well. e.g. 'You see that coffee table' or 'you see Katie's hair'. Never hear that in Southern England. It made me smile.

I remember finding it really weird that my friend's mum used to 'carry her to the school disco' instead of 'take her'. Her mum was Jamaican and had lived in New York and it was some kind of Jamaican/New york thing. It used to make me smile as I thought it was so weird - the same friend probably laughed the same way at the funny things I would say.

Wineonafridaynight · 01/02/2010 21:02

Just finished the last few pages.

I always say 'My Christmas' and thought this was normal. Another Glaswegianism from my mum I guess.

The outsiders is also something I say for a loaf of bread and guess now it is a Glaswegian thing.

When I stop being annoyed with DP I will ask him about all of these things and what I should have been saying being from the south east.

poppyknot · 01/02/2010 21:02

Anyone for 'but'?

Scottish born and bred (till 21). Only discovered 'but' as a sort of hanging word at the end of sentences or clauses when I started working in Glasgow 8 years ago.

Eg I'm going out for a sandwich, but.
He missed the bus, but.

IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 01/02/2010 21:17

deste he sure did and if you know where she lived please god don't tell anyone hahaha my friend and I miss that bit out of our childhood they were in the same year as well I think.

Paolosgirl · 01/02/2010 21:28

Or "man" at the end of every sentence, but pronounced "min"

Ye ri' but, min?

pebbles79 · 01/02/2010 21:36

Who remembers the rag man?!!

scotlass · 01/02/2010 21:48

My favourite is the commonly used

"I was like that........" "she was like that..."

Means nothing but portrays loads!

My DH is from Wales and now everyone asks him where in Scotland he's from, he's picked the dialect up - I'm very proud .

AgentProvocateur · 01/02/2010 22:29

Scotlass, do you not mean "I was pure like that...." and "she was pure like that..."

scotlass · 01/02/2010 22:36

yes! It's weird to write it down

FimBOW · 01/02/2010 23:04

AP - yes to the opening lines of The Sair Finger.

It was pure dead good like.

Ben the hoose.

JustHavering · 02/02/2010 02:35

I'm from Ayrshire - a proper "tattie houker".

This has made me laugh so much!

I moved "doon by" (England) 8 years ago but I don't think my accent or dialect has changed at all although my "freens" (friends) don't agree and like to tell e this whenever I go back "u the road" to visit!

I always "pit the big light aff afore ah go up the stairs tae ma bed", in the morning i check theres no "ooss" sp? (fluff/lint?) on ma claes (clothes) before taking the wean tae the school.

Growing up we had;

pokes - bags
plain or pan loaf
rolls
square sausage
skiddling - playing with water
shoogle - to shake
dunt - hit/bang
footering -messing
ken - know
loup - to jump

I esp enjoy teaching my weans scottish body parts:

heid
een
fingurs/taes/pinky/pinky tae
gub/moof

I have omitted; baws/bawbag/erse/

ln1981 · 02/02/2010 11:02

god this has moved fast! Had been thinking of a few more words and came up with-
glaikit-stupid
mauckit-mucky
baccy-tobacco

fud is possibly the best word ever, and my auntie 'cries' everyone who hacks her off an erse !!

my dad used to call the ends of bread 'heels'.

also when you have a roll, do have an 'egg roll' or 'a roll on egg' (which is what i say).

prettybird · 02/02/2010 11:40

Another Scottish word I like is "to thole" something. It's got lovely depth and nuances - it means so much more that "to tolerate" - the closest in English I have got when trying to explain it is "to tolerate under sufference"

GentleOtter · 02/02/2010 11:55

"Thrawn" - being just a bit more than stubborn
"Scunnered"
"A face fair fu of glad" - happy

My favourite is 'burach' - more than a mess.

Granny23 · 02/02/2010 11:58

1981 'roll on sausage' is entirely different from a 'sausage roll'.

My son-out-law from Yorkshire keeps pointing out strange differences in usage. On the ferry to Arran he asked for Pie and Chips and was told 'the pies are finished' while he stood there puzzled, pointing at an ashet of STEAK pie. He is getting used to PUDDING meaning either a dessert or a white or black pudding rather than a Yorkshire pudding. He is disappointed that he has never heard anyone say 'Och Aye, the Noo!' but then he never says 'Eh by Goom!'

JustHavering · 02/02/2010 12:10

I have a roll on egg - with a tattie scone.

My grannies neighbours were from Blantyre and were always telling me to put/get things from "ben the press".

Also, I have difficulty here when I talk about my "papa" (grandfather)but I don't know anyone back home who says grandpa/grandad.

ln1981 · 02/02/2010 12:31

granny23-i know its different (and its got to be square sausage on it! ). I always have a roll on...whatever, but some folk think it strange to say it that way

justhavering-my granny calls it the lobby press. when i was really wee, i thought it was called that as its where she kept the papers (ie press, which was the name of the local paper too!) till we took them down the glen to burn them. (you wouldnt be able to do that now methinks)

Also is scorry (sp?) a northeast word? I think it means seagulls but Im not sure...