Scottish English

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scottish English

Spoken in

Scotland
speaker approx. 5 million (native speakers)
Linguistic
classification
Official status
Official language in Scotland (de facto)

With the term Scottish English is English default language designated as in Scotland is used as the official language and education. This is clearly to be distinguished from Scottish Gaelic (the Celtic language of the Highlands and the islands), but also from the Scottish-English dialect Scots .

Scottish English differs from English English mainly in its pronunciation, e.g. B. a lack of distinction between long and short vowels. Scottish English is Rhotic . The / r / is also articulated before the consonant and at the end of the word, as in American English, while in British standard it is vocalized or not spoken at all. There are also differences to British standard English in terms of sentence structure and a specific vocabulary for Scottish English, e.g. B. Borrowings from Gaelic .

classification

Together with other national variants of English, such as American English , Irish English, or New Zealand English , Scottish English is referred to as a variety of English. Scottish English is one of the varieties of English that is usually the mother tongue of its speakers. Other varieties, such as Indian English , are official languages ​​of their country and are used in administration and education, but are often the second languages of most speakers.

history

Before Britain was settled by the Anglo-Saxons, Scotland was mostly inhabited by Celts. The origins of English in Scotland date back to the 7th century AD, when Angles, Saxons, and Jutes translated from mainland Europe to England and conquered parts of England. The kingdom of Northern Humbria, founded by the Angles, reached with its influence into what is now the Scottish Lowlands. Around 1200 English-speaking settlers increasingly migrated to Scotland from the north of England, from which a variety of English with Celtic and Old Norse influences, the Scots , developed. (Due to the Danish colonization of north-east England, Scots as well as northern English dialects have more Old Norse influences than standard English.) Scots established itself in Scotland as a literary language and since 1398 also as the language of parliament. Scots retained its status as the standard language of Scotland until about the 18th century. With the unification of the kingdoms of Scotland and England in 1707, the influence of the English language increased again, whereupon Scottish English with its own regional pronunciation and vocabulary developed, which gradually replaced the Scots.

Regional and social variation

Differentiation from Scots

In addition to standard Scottish English, another variety of English, Scots, is spoken in Scotland. The distinction between Scottish standard English and Scots is not easy to draw. Rather, it is a smooth transition from standard English, which is very close to the official pronunciation, to a rather broad Scottish English to Scots. Depending on their social and regional background and context, Scottish speakers of English tend to use either one or the other variant on this continuum. For this reason, in some literature Scots is regarded as a variant of Scottish English and is described as "Scottish English" together with Scottish standard English. In other literature, however, a distinction is made between standard Scottish English and Scots.

Sociolinguistic situation

In principle, one can observe a correlation between the use of Scots or very broad Scottish English and social status. Working-class representatives are more likely to speak Scots or pronounced Scottish English, which has a closer vocabulary and pronunciation to Scots. Representatives of the middle and upper classes, on the other hand, especially academics such as lawyers, use a variant that is also known as Educated Standard Scottish English and whose pronunciation and vocabulary differ less from British standard English . A small part of the upper class, including representatives of the Scottish aristocracy and the royal family, are socialized through English public schools and use only the official pronunciation of English.

Until recently, the official pronunciation of English was also used as the standard in Scottish acoustic media such as radio and television. Recently, however, it has given way to the Educated Standard Scottish English, which is now preferred by moderators and speakers. In contrast, broader Scottish English can only be found in the media in interviews or in audience calls.

Members of the middle class in particular, who may have a broader Scottish English in their home environment, but have learned Educated Standard Scottish English at school, are also able to switch between different variants depending on the context and the person you are speaking to. So was z. B. observed that such speakers adapt when dealing with English interlocutors.

Phonetics and Phonology

Compared to standard English pronunciation

In pronunciation, Scottish English is differentiated from Received Pronunciation (RP, the standard pronunciation of England) by the following features, some of which also occur in northern England and in other variants of English:

The most noticeable distinction is in the vowel system. In contrast to Received Pronunciation, Scottish English does not distinguish between short and long vowels, but all vowels have the same length. So z. B. between / u / and / uː / not differentiated. So pull and pool are homophones and are both pronounced roughly like pull in the Received Pronunciation. However, the Scottish-English vowels are not necessarily short, but the length varies according to the Scottish Vowel Length Rule . This rule says that vowels before the consonants / v /, / ð /, / z / and / r / and at the beginning of the word are longer.

Scottish English also has the long vowels / oː / and / eː /, which were diphthongized in English as early as the Tudor period . So boat and bait are spoken in the same way as German boot and bed .

Compare:

RP English stone stəʊn
Scottish English stone bump
Scots stane stand
Scottish Gaelic clach k h lax

With the consonants, the correspondence between Scottish Standard English and Received Pronunciation is greater, but the pronunciation of the <r> is striking: While in Received Pronunciation <r> is only pronounced before vowels, but otherwise remains silent, <r> becomes in Scottish English always pronounced where it is written. Scottish English is therefore “ rhotic ”, like American English , but postvocal <r> is even more prominent in Scotland than in America, as it is often realized as an alveolar tongue-tip-r. Scottish English also distinguishes between <w> and <wh> when it comes to pronunciation. Therefore, in Scottish English, Wales and whales and wear and where are minimal pairs , i.e. H. the first sounds of these words are separate phonemes: / w / and / ʍ /.

Consonants

bilabial labio-
dental 		dental alveolar post-
alveolar 		retroflex palatal velar uvular phase-
ryngal 		glottal
stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth. stl. sth.
Plosives p b t d k G ʔ
Nasals m n ŋ
Vibrants r
Taps / flaps ɾ ɽ
Fricatives f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ x H
Affricates t͡ʃ d͡ʒ
Approximants ɹ ɻ j
lateral approximants l

Remarks:

  • It is particularly typical of Scottish English in Glasgow and urban Scots that [t] is replaced by the glottal stop [ʔ] in the middle or at the end of the word.
  • The velar fricative / x / (pronounced similarly to <ch> in the German roof ) is used in some words of Gaelic origin, e.g. B. in Loch (Eng. 'See'), also in Scots.
  • The phonetic realization of / r / varies, trills, post-alveolar and retroflex approximants [ɹ], [ɻ] and alveolar taps [ɾ] are possible.

Vowels

front almost in
front 		central almost in the
back 		back
ung. ger. ung. ger. ung. ger. ung. ger. ung. ger.
closed i ʉ u
almost closed ɪ ʊ
half closed e O
medium ə
half open ɛ ʌ ɔ
almost open
open a

In addition to the pure vowels, Scottish English has several diphthongs : / əi, ae, oe, ʌʉ /.

intonation

Little is known about the intonation of Scottish English. It is essentially the same as the intonation of Received Pronunciation; however, there are some studies to suggest that falling intonation is typical of questions and statements in Scottish English (with the exception of Glasgow).

Examples

Examples that illustrate the pronunciation of Scottish English are:

  • meet : / with / (instead of RP: / mi: t /)
  • boot : / but / (instead of RP: / bu: t /)
  • bait : / bet / (instead of RP: / beit /)
  • cat : / cat / (instead of RP: / cæt /)

Words that have a distinctly different Scottish pronunciation are length (/ lɛnθ / instead of RP / lɛŋθ /), though (/ θo / instead of RP / ðou /) and with (/ wɪθ / instead of RP / wɪð /).

grammar

morphology

A striking peculiarity of Scottish English is the diminutive suffix - ie , which expresses confidentiality between the speaker and the listener. Examples of such diminutive are: lassie (from lass , dt. 'Girl'), postie (from postman , dt. ' Postman ') or pinkie (dt. 'Little finger'). Word formations that are specific to Scottish English are compound words such as kirkman ('member of the Church of Scotland'), prefix derivatives such as unchancy ('dangerous') or flesher (outdated for butcher ).

syntax

The grammar of Scottish English differs little from "English" standard English . Some variations are the following:

  • Scottish English sometimes uses different modal verbs than English English, e.g. B. will instead of shall with the meaning 'shall' or can instead of may with the meaning of 'may'.
  • Scottish English speakers use the progressive form of verbs that are not common in English in this context: I'm thinking you're right .
  • Scottish English speakers tend to use the definitive article the more often than English speakers: he's at the school (British standard English : he's at school )
  • The phrase "amn't I?" Is used as a question tag in Scottish English; British standard English has "aren't I?", American English has "ain't I?"

vocabulary

Example of the Scottish-English word outwith being used on a sign in Scotland

The vocabulary of Scottish English is largely of English origin, but Scottish English contains a number of loanwords and vocabulary that cannot or can no longer be found in standard British English.

For one, the vocabulary of Scottish English contains a number of loan words from Gaelic such as B. ben ("mountain peak", "mountain"), loch ("lake") or strath ("wide valley in the mountains"); some of them, like slogan , are also in use outside Scotland. There are also loanwords from French that come from the time of the close alliance between Scotland and France against England, e.g. B. ashet ("large plate or bowl") or gey ("considerable"). Through the contact of the Scots with the Danes in the Kingdom of Northern Humbria between the 7th and 10th centuries, Scandinavian words also found their way into the English dialects of Northern England and then into Scottish English: gate ("street"), kirk ("church"), lass ("Girl").

Scottish English also has vocabulary that is already extinct in British standard English but can still be found in English dialects: auld (“old”), burgh (“district”) or laird (“landowner”). One finds outwith as the opposite of within (English differentiates inside and within , but only has outside as the opposite of both) and wee instead of little , for example in a wee bit more .

Finally, there are a number of terms that come from law, education, or refer to the Scottish State Church. Here the vocabulary reflects the fact that Scotland was long independent from England and had its own legal and educational systems. Examples are advocate (instead of barrister ), law agent (instead of solicitor ) or panel (“defendant” / “defendant”).

Examples

The following audio sample is an example of a middle-class Scotsman from Renfrewshire :

Scottish English from Renfrewshire

research

Research into Scottish English focuses on the phonological, morphological, and syntactic aspects that distinguish Scottish English from standard British English. Further research questions are the connection between Scottish accent and identity, phonological developments in the Scottish-English border area and how Scottish standard English and Scots influence each other.

See also

literature

  • AJ Aitken: Scottish accents and dialects . In: Peter Trudgill (Ed.): Language in the British Isles . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, ISBN 0-521-24057-3 , pp. 94-114.
  • AJ Aitken: Scots and English in Scotland . In: Peter Trudgill (Ed.): Language in the British Isles . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, ISBN 0-521-24057-3 , pp. 517-532.
  • Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 .
  • Jim Miller: Scottish English: morphology and syntax. In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , pp. 299–327.
  • Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , pp. 48-70.
  • Peter Trudgill, Jean Hannah: International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English , 5th edition. Hodder Education, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-340-97161-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , p. 64-67 .
  2. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 48 .
  3. ↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , p. 68 .
  4. ^ AJ Aitken: Scots and English in Scotland . In: Peter Trudgill (Ed.): Language in the British Isles . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, ISBN 0-521-24057-3 , pp. 517-532 .
  5. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 96-97 .
  6. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 61-65 .
  7. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 54-61 .
  8. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 65-66 .
  9. ↑ AJ Aitken: Scottish accents and dialects . In: Peter Trudgill (Ed.): Language in the British Isles . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, ISBN 0-521-24057-3 , pp. 100 .
  10. ↑ Peter Trudgill, Jean Hannah: International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English . 5th edition. Hodder Education, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-340-97161-1 , pp. 97 .
  11. ↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , p. 75-76 .
  12. ↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , p. 77 .
  13. ↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , p. 73-76 .
  14. ↑ Jane Stuart-Smith: Scottish English: Phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 66-67 .