Unit 17: Grammar · Web view"Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups

Unit 17: Grammar

Scots language and culture 2 Scots language and culture - part 2

Unit 17: Grammarby Christine Robinson

Page 2 of 108 10th January 2020

https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=147809


Unit 17: Grammar

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Unit 17: Grammar

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Unit 17: Grammar

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Unit 17: Grammar

Contents Introduction 17. Introductory handsel 17.1 Why grammar? 17.2 Some widespread features of Scots

grammar 17.3 Some widespread features of Scots

grammar – continued 17.4 Some regional features 17.5 Good Scots 17.6 What I have learned Further research References Acknowledgements




Unit 17: Grammar

IntroductionWhat is grammar? One way to think about it, is as a set of general

guidelines within a speech community, which determine the order

words go in and how they are changed to show things like singular

and plural – or past and present. As with vocabulary and

pronunciation, grammar is not set in stone but constantly changing.

Many languages have formal prescriptive grammar books, which

give rise to notions of right and wrong. Another effect of these

prescriptive grammar books is to “freeze” the grammar of a

language at a given moment in time. Scots being a non-standard

language does not have prescriptive grammar books and so is not

fixed in such a way.

Thus, a mix of historical forms and innovations continues to give

rise to regional variations, which have been explored in unit 10 on

Dialect Diversity. This grammar unit looks at some of the ways

in which Scots language grammar differs from English grammar

and highlights variations within Scots. Some grammatical terms

are used but their meaning should be clear from the context and

examples.

You will notice that this unit works slightly differently from other

units in this course. You will be introduced to a range of

grammatical features with relevant examples rather than read an




Unit 17: Grammar

essay-style description of grammatical developments. In addition,

you will work hands-on with a variety of examples.

The unit provides you with the vocabulary to think about and

discuss Scots, English and other Modern languages in that it gives

you the grounding to undertake further exploration and discover

new aspects of the language. In addition, the approach taken in

this unit is to work with grammar in spoken and written Scots,

which is why there will be plenty of opportunities for you to listen to

Scots and speak it, too.

Furthermore, you will be coming across a range of grammatical

terms in this unit. In case you are not familiar with any of them,

refer to the Oxford English Dictionary’s Glossary of grammatical terms.

Important details to take notes on throughout this unit:

survivals from Old English or Middle English

the ways in which the grammar continues to change

regional variation in grammar

variation even in a single speaker.

Activity 1 Before commencing your study of this unit, you may wish to jot

down some thoughts on the important details we suggest you take




https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/glossary-grammatical-terms

https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/glossary-grammatical-terms

Unit 17: Grammar

notes on throughout this unit. You could write down what you

already know about each of these points, as well as any

assumption or question you might have.

Provide your answer...




Unit 17: Grammar

17. Introductory handselA Scots word and example sentence to learn:

Graith Definition: II. equipment, tools

Example sentence: “Grammar an wirds is the graith o language.”

English translation: “Grammar and words

are the tools of language.”

Activity 2Click to hear the sentence above read by a Scots speaker.

You can then make your own recording and play it back to check

your pronunciation.

Audio content is not available in this format.

View transcript - Uncaptioned voice recording


View transcript - Uncaptioned model voice recording

Go to the Dictionary of the Scots Language for a full definition

of the word Page 10 of 108 10th January 2020



http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/graith

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/graith

Unit 17: Grammar

View description - Uncaptioned Figure

Language LinksThe Scots noun graith has a long history and is connected to, or

has its roots in, a number of other Northern and Western European

languages. In modern German, the noun Gerät does not only

sound very similar to the Scots graith, it also has the same

meaning as a collective term for tools or equipment.

The noun also has connections with the modern Faroese language

where greiði is used to mean requisite articles or a tool; then in

Norwegian greida denotes implements or a tackle or it can be

used as greide (harness). The word graith in its current spelling




Unit 17: Grammar

appeared around 1300 in Northern Middle English meaning

equipment, and in a specific context, it is used to mean harness,

furnishing, or even a dress!

Here are pre-1700 usages of the word in Scots.

Related word:

Big Definition: To build, construct:

Example sentence: “Wi the richt graith ye can big braw sentences wi guid grammar.”

English translation: “With the right tools

you can construct good sentences with

good grammar.”

Activity 3Click to hear the sentence above read by a Scots speaker.

You can then make your own recording and play it back to check

your pronunciation.






http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bigg_v_n1

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/graith_n

Unit 17: Grammar



Mousa Broch, Shetland




Unit 17: Grammar

17.1 Why grammar?Grammar has long been a subject of study — as a companion to rhetoric in ancient Greece and Rome and as one of the seven liberal arts in medieval education. Although the methods of studying grammar have changed dramatically in recent times, the reasons for studying grammar have remained essentially the same. […]

"Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but in any language. As human beings, we can put sentences together even as children — we can all do grammar.

But to be able to talk about how sentences are built, about the types of words and word groups that make up sentences — that is knowing about grammar. And knowing about grammar offers a window into the human mind and into our amazingly complexmental capacity."

(Nordquist, 2019)

Activity 4




Unit 17: Grammar

Following on from Nordquist’s thoughts above and to start off your

work in this unit, we thought it useful for you to try out how much

you might already know about grammar and also the grammar of

the Scots language.

Part 1

First, listen to a short passage in Scots, and while listening, think

about any particular grammatical features that stand out to you. As

a second step, read the passage yourself and then compare your

version with our model – as always, if you are not a Scots speaker,

try to imitate the pronunciation and sentence stress of our speaker.





Part 2

Think about the grammar of this passage and highlight the features

can you spot that are not used in formal Standard English. How

many of these features would you use yourself?

Your answer will depend on where you come from. Not all of these

features are used all over Scotland. Some are common and there




Unit 17: Grammar

is one that could be considered a bit too ahead of its time to be

widely accepted. Each of these features will be discussed in this

unit and the answer will point you to the relevant sections.

Interactive content is not available in this format.

View answer - Part 2




Unit 17: Grammar

17.2 Some widespread features of Scots grammarA key feature of this unit is to show you that the speakers of a

language make its grammar – not the grammar books and the

people who write them. Remember that grammar is flexible and

fluid, it changes with the way in which speakers use their

language.

That is why you will come across questions where we ask about

your opinion – and on how you as the speaker use the language,

or consider it used well.

In addition, you will be able to listen to and record yourself

speaking many examples containing different grammatical features

of Scots, which will help you get used to how Scots grammar

works and how Scots words are used in their grammatical context.

I. Negativesa) To make a negative, add to the relevant verb:

-nae (e.g. West Central, East Central South) or

-na (e.g. North East, Shetland) where English speakers would use

-n’t:

Examples:




Unit 17: Grammar









b) Nivver is used in the sense of not to refer to one particular

occasion. There is no emphasis intended.

Examples:









Unit 17: Grammar




c) As in many regional varieties of English, and as was common in

earlier times, double or triple negatives are often used to

emphasise negativity rather than cancelling each other out.

Examples:









II. Past tenses




Unit 17: Grammar

Where English uses -ed to form a part tense or past participle,

Scots often uses -it. Work with the examples below and make sure

to read the transcript, which also contains important grammatical

information.

Examples:
















Unit 17: Grammar

*Note that for these verbs, the past tense and the past participle

have the same form. There are other verbs, like blaw, where they

change: blaw, blew (past tense), blawn (past participle). Over

hundreds of years, verbs have been changing to make the

grammar more regular. So, in Scots it is also possible to use

blawed for the past tense and past participle.

Compare English give, gave, given with Scots gie, gied, gied

or gien. In this word, Scots would appear to have gone further

along the road to simplification but this is not always the case. For

example, you will hear the past tenses dove (dived) and jamp

(jumped) in some parts of Scotland.

As well as making more verbs end in -ed or -it, another way of

simplifying verbs is to make the past tense and the past participle

the same. A seen and A done are examples of simplification in

progress. See, saw, seen may eventually become see seen seen if enough people accept and actively use it.

Language simplification – innovation or bad grammar? What do you think – should we consider these changes in relation

to the simplification of grammatical forms as innovation or bad

grammar? Why? Remember, some people deem more complex

grammar a sign of ‘good language’, whereas others think a

language is good when its grammar is relatively simple and thus Page 21 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

easier to use by its speakers and people learning it as a foreign

language.

III. Narrative Present TenseThis grammatical feature is often used to bring vividness into a

story. Note that the endings are not the same as in the ordinary

present tense. The narrative present tense has an -s ending for

every verb in the sentence/text, whereas in the normal present

tense this would only apply to the third person singular.

Example:












Unit 17: Grammar

*(Chaucer used to do this in Middle English but this has

disappeared from standard English today).

IV. ComparisonsWhere English uses than to make comparisons, Scots is more

likely to use nor.

Example:








Unit 17: Grammar


Language development – innovation or bad grammar? Strictly speaking, nor is a conjunction, like than. So just as an

English grammar book would tell you to say “He is bigger than I

(am)”, the more historically justifiable Scots form would suggest

He is bigger nor I. Is that what people really say? Do you feel

there is anything wrong with He is bigger nor me? Remember it

is people who make grammar rules, not books.

Activity 5Page 24 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

You are now going to test your understanding of the four

grammatical features of Scots: negatives, past tenses, narrative present tense and comparisons. To do so,

you will work with extracts from two texts you have already come

across in this course. Highlight any instances of any of the four

grammatical features in the two extracts.

Part 1


View discussion - Part 1

Part 2


View discussion - Part 2




Unit 17: Grammar

17.3 Some widespread features of Scots grammar – continued


V. DeterminersDeterminers are words like a, the, this, my, one. They turn cat sat on mat into a well-formed sentence:

“The cat sat on a mat.”

Here are examples using cat and mat to show how determiners

add variety and specificity to sentences:Page 26 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

Ma cat sat on yer mat. Fower cats sat on twa mats. Nae cat sat on ony mat.

a) Scots uses these words where Standard English uses them

less often or not at all. Work with the examples below and read the

transcript, which contains the translation of the sentences.

Examples:














Unit 17: Grammar











b) The plural of this in Scots is thir. This may be an example of

Old Norse influence. The plural of that is thay or thae straight

from Old English.

c) If this refers to something close and that refers to something

further away, Scots has an extra option, thon or yon, for

something or someone even more remote in space or time.

VI. Plural of nouns




Unit 17: Grammar

Most of the time, Scots makes a noun plural by adding –s or –es

(twa dugs, matches) but there are also nouns where Scots has

kept an older form such as –en. This only survives in Standard

English in oxen. In Scots, we have een (ee + en, eyes) and shin

or sheen (shae/shee + -en, shoes). In some dialects, such as

Ulster Scots, we have an –er plural in childer where Standard

English and many Scots dialects have both an –er and an –en

plural, hence children.

VII. PronounsPersonal pronouns show some regional variation.

a. The most widespread subject forms are: A or I; ye or

you; he, she, it or hit in the singular; we; ye or you or youse; and thay or they in the plural.

b. Object forms are: me; ye or you or youse; him, her, it or hit; us or wis; ye or you or youse; and

thaim or them.

c. Possessive forms are: my or ma; your or yer; his,

her, its or hits; oor or wir; your or yer; thair or

their.

*Note that ye and wir are less likely to be used in a

stressed or emphatic context.




Unit 17: Grammar

d. Reflexive pronouns: Scots forms reflexive

pronouns in a regular fashion by using the possessive

pronoun + sel throughout: for example masel ‘myself’, yersel yourself’, hissel ‘himself’, and

oorsels or wirsels ‘ourselves’.

e. Relative pronouns: The interrogative or relative

pronouns are wha (who) and wham (whom) as in

Scots wham Bruce has aft-times led. Wham in

Scots, like whom in English is now rarely used by

young speakers.

Activity 6In this activity you will apply what you have learned about

determiners, plural of nouns and pronouns in Scots.

You are going to work again with two texts you have come across

in the course before: Christina Costie’s poem ‘Speech’ and

Margaret Laidlaw’s famous quote about her songs being spoiled by

being printed in the Minstrelsy by Scott.

Part 1

Christina Costie ‘Speech’ – Find all examples of plurals of nouns,

pronouns and determiners in this extract.


View discussion - Part 1Page 30 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

Part 2

Margaret Laidlaw’s complaint to Walter Scott - find all examples of

pronouns and plurals of nouns in this quote.





Unit 17: Grammar

17.4 Some regional featuresI. Auxiliary VerbsAn auxiliary verb is an extra verb that supports the main verb in

some way. We use the verb to be as an auxiliary as in he wis rinnin, the verb to hae as in He haes boakit on the carpet, or

the verb to dae in questions and negatives: He gaed > Did he gae? He didna gae. There is a special group of auxiliary verbs

called the modal auxiliaries (will, wad, may, micht, can, cuid, shall, shuid, maun, yaised tae). They can carry a lot of

meaning. Compare I can bile an egg with I micht bile an egg

or I shuid bile an egg, (but I’m no daein it).

Particularly in Ulster Scots and in the Edinburgh and the Hawick

dialects, you will hear combinations of modal auxiliary verbs which

would sound odd to speakers from elsewhere. These ‘double

modals’ are well established features of the grammar of these

regions. Work with the examples below and read the transcript,

which contains the translation of the sentences.







Unit 17: Grammar






II. Subject/verb agreementYou may notice something different about this sentence compared

to how it would sound in the English language:

Its springs wis hingin oot, twa legs wis aff it.

Springs and legs are plural but the verb wis looks singular. To

complicate matters, the same speaker might also say:

They are hingin oot and they are aff it.

This is an example of the Northern Personal Pronoun Rule. This too is a survival from an earlier period. This requires

verbs to end in -s even when the subject is plural (compare Scots

the babies sleeps with Standard English the babies sleep)

unless the pronoun is plural and is placed immediately beside the

verb, so:

the babies sleeps but they sleepPage 33 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 7In this activity, you will test your understanding of the subject-verb-

agreement rule relating to the Northern Personal Pronoun Rule. Listen to the example and then decide whether the

explanation for the use of the verb with or without an –s ending is

true or false.

Part 1





lowps has an –s ending as dugs is not a personal pronoun

True

False

Part 2







Unit 17: Grammar


They is a personal pronoun and it is right next to the verb lowp,

the verb therefore does not need an –s ending.

True

False

Part 3





We wha daes: There is an –s ending used, as we is a personal

pronoun but it is not the subject of gets.

False

True

wir hame sume gets guid merks: There is an –s ending used

as wha is the subject of daes but it is a relative pronoun not a

personal pronoun.

TruePage 35 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

False

This all sounds very complicated, but the fact that people with no

knowledge of formal grammar get the Northern Personal Pronoun

Rule right tells you something important. The speakers are the real

experts – not the people who write books about it. This is far from

a universal feature of Scots and even the people who use it in their

dialect often drift into a more standard English form.

III. Northern Personal PronounThe Northern Personal Pronoun Rule is a historical feature once

common across the North of England as well as in Scotland. When

you find a sentence like They gets aa affrontit – where the -s

form appears with an adjacent person pronoun – it may look as if

the rule is being broken. On these occasions, however, it may be

that a narrative present tense is being used.

IV. Present participles and verbal nounsThe present participle is the part of the verb that we use after the

verb to be in so-called progressive constructions such as:

I am rinnin. He wis walkin.

You can also use it like an adjective:

the drippin tap, the bilin kettle.




Unit 17: Grammar

In Modern Scots it usually ends with –in but a few hundred years

ago, it used to end with –and:

I am rinnand. He wes walkand.

V. DeterminersThe verbal noun also ends with –in for Modern Scots. It is

called a verbal noun because, although it is part of a verb, it

behaves like a noun. It often comes after a determiner:

A’m here for the singin His singin wad turn milk soor.

It can be the subject of a sentence:

The singin wis braw.

It can be the object of a sentence:

We heard the singin.

Subjects and objects are usually nouns or pronouns. The verbal

noun ended with –ing for a very long time.

Activity 8Read the list of examples of older Scots and highlight the verbal

nouns and present participles.





Unit 17: Grammar

View discussion - Activity 8

This is the stage that many Scots speakers were still at only a

generation or two ago. Again, speakers who had never heard of a

verbal noun or a present participle made the distinction in their

speech and got it right all the time. Now this distinction only

survives in Orkney and Shetland, and among older speakers in

isolated pockets elsewhere. Today we can see how often and

becomes an and -ing becomes -in.

It is therefore not surprising that the old verbal noun ending -ing became -in and the old present participle ending -and became -an. We can hear all the time how vowels in unstressed syllables

become pronounced less clearly, so for the rest of us, the two

endings have long since collapsed together with no distinction.

Indeed, the -ng sound has even been extended by analogy to the

English present participle, where historically it does not belong.

VI. Personal Pronouns and polite forms of addressThe first person pronoun is usually A in the Central Belt, but as you

move up the East Coast you are more likely to hear I. The second

person plural is often youse in Ulster Scots and West Central

Scots and this feature is spreading. It seems that we are not

altogether content with you for both the singular and plural second

person.




Unit 17: Grammar

Historically, thou (thee, thy) was second person singular and ye (you, your) was second person plural. Then it became

fashionable throughout Europe to use the singular form to address

social inferiors, children, people you knew very well or people that

you did not know very well and wished to insult. The plural form

was used to show respect and formality. Scots was no exception

and we followed similar rules to those which still operate in French

(tu, vous) and German (du, Sie) today.

One theory for thou falling out of use in Scotland (and England)

could be that the rules became too cumbersome and confusing, so

everyone went with the safe, polite option. The exception is in

Shetland where du, dee and dy are still used for the intimate

informal singular.




Unit 17: Grammar

17.5 Good Scots


The lack of a grammar book in Scots has certain advantages. It

means that no single dialect is socially dominant; all speakers of

Scots, whatever their age and whatever their place of origin bring

something to the grammar of their community. The downside is Page 40 of 108 10th January 2020



Unit 17: Grammar

that there is a commonly held notion that Scots grammar is

somehow substandard.

If we had the same academic resources for Scots grammar, such

as the Dictionary of the Scots Language provides for

vocabulary, the historical origins and creative innovation of Scots

grammar could be viewed in a more balanced way.

Among the socially disparaged Scots usages are thae, the plural

of that. As we have seen, survivals include the determiner thae

as a plural of that and –in as the ending of the present participle

and verbal noun. For all that these may be ‘bad English’ they are

undoubtedly ‘good Scots’, with thae going back as far as Old

English and -ing for the present participle being unhistorical even

in English (the Old English ending was -ende).

Other older forms include multiple negatives; the operation of the

Northern Personal Pronoun Rule; and the survival of the singular

form of the second person pronoun as du (dee dy) in Shetland.

Ongoing innovations include the simplification of verbs so that past

tenses and past participles have the same form (I seen it, I have seen it).

We can also see that Scots features, like the use of the Northern

Personal Pronoun Rule and distinct forms of the verbal noun (-in)

and present participle (-an) are being eroded under the influence




Unit 17: Grammar

of English – the language from which most Scots absorb notions of

‘good and bad’ grammar.

The grammar of the Northern Isles provides many instances of

conservative constructions with long pedigrees and contrasts with

the more anglicised Central Belt. Even here, many features of

Scots grammar survive. Yet, because most Scots speakers drift

between English and Scots in their speech, increasing the English

in more formal speech or conversing with strangers, a single

speaker may use both Scots and English forms.

Even when speaking Scots, familiarity with English forms may

erode his or her Scots grammar even when Scots vocabulary is

being used.

You might now want to try reading and listening to more and longer

Scots texts. For example, you could start by reading the iconic

Scots language comics Oor Wullie and The Broons, published

initially in The Sunday Post newspaper from Dundee. Reading

and listening to Scots is an ideal strategy to help you get used to

not only the sound of the language and the vocabulary but also

how the words are put together in sentences and longer passages.




https://www.dctmedia.co.uk/brands/the-broons/

https://www.dctmedia.co.uk/brands/oor-wullie/

Unit 17: Grammar

17.6 What I have learnedActivity 9Before finishing your work on this unit, please revisit what you

worked on in Activity 1, where we asked you to take some notes

on what you already knew in relation to the key learning point of

the unit.

Not available in this format.

Compare your notes from before you studied this unit with what you have learned here and add to these notes as you see fit to produce a record of your learning.

Here are the key learning points again for you as a reminder:

survivals from Old English or Middle English

the ways in which the grammar continues to change

regional variation in grammar

variation even in a single speaker.




Unit 17: Grammar

Further researchYou may want to explore an exciting new resource, the Scots Syntax Atlas developed by researchers at the University of

Glasgow, charting the richness and diversity of Scotland’s local

dialects, in terms of their vocabulary but also their grammatical

structures. Encompassing “fit like” of north-east Scotland, “gonnae

no” in Glasgow, and “I might can do” from the Borders, the atlas

offers a means of tracing the development of local speech

patterns. For example, the influence of Irish immigration can be

heard in Glaswegian Scots phrases such as “She’s after locking us

out”.

You can explore features of Scots grammar further in Clive

Young’s The Scots Learner’s Grammar online resource, which

focuses on modern use of Scots and provides a wealth of useful

examples. Also available as in PDF format.

This is the Scottish Language Dictionaries home site, the

organisation responsible for the Dictionary of the Scots Language. The pages in this link provide an introduction for the

newcomer to grammar and/or Scots.

The Shetland ForWirds website provides an ideal model for a

case study. It is particularly interesting to see how many older

grammatical constructions have survived.




https://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/grammar

http://www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk/Scots/Grammar/index.html

http://scotshaunbuik.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads//SHGremmar-1.4.1.pdf

http://scotshaunbuik.co.uk/wp/?page_id=765

https://scotssyntaxatlas.ac.uk/

https://scotssyntaxatlas.ac.uk/

Unit 17: Grammar

These pages by Caroline Macafee incorporating material by A J

Aitken, in the Dictionary of the Scots Language website

provide a full descriptive grammar of Older Scots (to 1700) and

its origins.

This site recognises the diversity of dialects and the fact that

there is a continuum between shared Scots/English forms and

densely Scots forms. It comes with the caveat that it “concentrates

wholly on the Traditional Scots end of that speech continuum.”

Now go on to Unit 18: Literature – poetry.




http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/olinkremote.php?website=Scots%20language%20and%20culture%202&targetdoc=Unit%2018:%20Literature%20%E2%80%93%20poetry

https://www.scots-online.org/grammar/index.php

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/about-scots/history-of-scots/grammar/

Unit 17: Grammar

ReferencesNordquist, R. (2019) ‘Why Grammar is a Timeless Subject to Study

and Teach’, ThoughtCo., 25 July [Online]. Available at

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-does-grammar-matter-1691029 (Accessed 6/12/19).

Robinson, C. (2012) Modren Scots Grammar, Edinburgh Luath.

Robinson, P. (1997) Ulster Scots A Grammar of the Traditional Written and Spoken Language, The Ullans Press.




https://www.thoughtco.com/why-does-grammar-matter-1691029

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-does-grammar-matter-1691029

Unit 17: Grammar

AcknowledgementsEvery effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any

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to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:

Photograph of tools: Biser Todorov -

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is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Mousa Broch: Image released into the public domain by its author,

Langus - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mousa_broch.jpg

Nordquist quote: Nordquist, R. (2019) 'Why Grammar Is a

Timeless Subject to Study and Teach', ThoughtCo. August 20

2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-does-grammar-matter-

1691029

Footprints image: Michael Coghlan -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/89165847@N00/18673933103 -

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share

Alike Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/




Unit 17: Grammar

Photograph of a cat: Rob -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7928282@N08/1130446070 - This

file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-

commercial-No Derivatives Licence

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Christina Costie ‘Speech’: 'Speech' by Christina McKay Costie.

Used with permission of Nancy Scott.

Oor Wullie statue: Dr. Sylvia Warnecke




Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 4Part 2AnswerFind out more on the specific features highlighted in the passage in

the following sections:

A, ye, wir – pronouns – for more information see

section 3. Some widespread features of Scots grammar;

-nae, nivver – negatives – for more information see

section 3.;

Wis – personal pronouns – for more information see

section 4. Some regional features on Northern

Personal Pronoun Rule;

-in – participle endings of verbs – for more information

see section 4. Some regional features on Present

participle and verbal nouns;

no – negatives – for more information see section 3.;

nor – comparisons – for more information see section

3.;

the – articles – for more information see section 3. on

Determiners;




Unit 17: Grammar

says – tense forms of verbs – for more information

see section 3. on Narrative present tense;

-it – tense forms of verbs endings – for more

information see section 3. on Past tenses;

een – noun – for more information see section 3.

Back to - Part 2




Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 5Part 1Discussion*This extract contains examples of negatives and past tenses –

note also a past tense with the ending –t in wandert, where the ‘i’

has been left out of the past tense ending as it would not be

pronounced. There is also one example of a comparison with nor.

Back to - Part 1




Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 5Part 2Discussion*This extract includes examples of negatives and narrative present

tense.

Back to - Part 2




Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 6Part 1Discussion* Note the spelling sheu for ‘she’, which reflects the Orkadian

dialect of Scots and is not a very commonly used spelling for this

pronoun.

Back to - Part 1




Unit 17: Grammar

Activity 8DiscussionNote:

war sportand (were sporting) sportand is a present

participle

my begynning (my beginning) verbal noun after a

possessive (compare my end, your book)

variand windis (varying winds) present participle

being used as an adjective as opposed to: The winds

are varying.

your slomering (your slumbering) verbal noun after a

possessive

syttand on thair nestis present participle being used

an adjective to describe birdis.

Back to - Activity 8




Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned FigureDescriptionThis is a close-up image of tools on a work bench, such as hammers, pliers and spanners.

Back to - Uncaptioned Figure




Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned FigureDescriptionThis is an image of a shoe print and a footprint in sand.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned FigureDescriptionThis is an imgage of a tabby cat sat on a doormat.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned FigureDescriptionThis is an image of a sculpture in a city centre. The sculpture depicts a young boy laughing.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptGrammar an wirds is the graith o language.

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Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptGrammar an wirds is the graith o language.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptWi the richt graith ye can big braw sentences wi guid grammar.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptWi the richt graith ye can big braw sentences wi guid grammar.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptA seen it last week an it wisnae bonny. Its springs wis hingin oot, twa legs wis aff it an it’s no ony better nor the ane A hae the noo, sae A nivver bocht it. A says tae them “Ye’d be better takkin it tae the cowp” and they gets aa affrontit and says “There’s naethin wrang wi wir sofa.” I says “Get yer een testit.”





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptA seen it last week an it wisnae bonny. Its springs wis hingin oot, twa legs wis aff it an it’s no ony better nor the ane A hae the noo, sae A nivver bocht it. A says tae them “Ye’d be better takkin it tae the cowp” and they gets aa affrontit and says “There’s naethin wrang wi wir sofa.” I says “Get yer een testit.”





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptIt wisnae bonny





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptIt wisnae bonny





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptThey canna get oot.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptThey canna get oot.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptA nivver bocht it.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptA nivver bocht it.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptI bade in aa day but the postman nivver cam.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptI bade in aa day but the postman nivver cam.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptA nivver had nae denner.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptA nivver had nae denner.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptA nivver said naething tae naebody.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptA nivver said naething tae naebody.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptA lowpit the dyke. (past tense)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptA lowpit the dyke. (past tense)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptHe haes chappit the tatties. (past participle)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptHe haes chappit the tatties. (past participle)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptThe cairtie wis coupit. . (past participle)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptThe cairtie wis coupit. . (past participle)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptWe gets aff the train and she says nothing.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptWe gets aff the train and she says nothing.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptI keeps quiet an aa.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptI keeps quiet an aa.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptThis ane’s better nor thon.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptThis ane’s better nor thon.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptUp the stair. (upstairs)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptUp the stair. (upstairs)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptI’m awa hame fur ma denner. (for dinner)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptI’m awa hame fur ma denner. (for dinner)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptHe’s gaed tae the scuil. (to school. No particular school is

intended.)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptHe’s gaed tae the scuil. (to school. No particular school is

intended.)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptShe’s got the cold. (a cold)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptShe’s got the cold. (a cold)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptShe’s taen the measles. (she’s got measles)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptShe’s taen the measles. (she’s got measles)





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptWe used to could dae that

We used to do that





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptWe used to could dae that

We used to do that





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptHe’ll no can come the day

He’ll not come today





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptHe’ll no can come the day

He’ll not come today





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptThe dugs lowps the fence.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptThe dugs lowps the fence.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptThey lowp the fence.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptThey lowp the fence.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned voice recordingTranscriptWe wha daes wir hame sume gets guid merks.





Unit 17: Grammar

Uncaptioned model voice recordingTranscriptWe wha daes wir hame sume gets guid merks.





Unit 17: Grammar · Web view"Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups

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