Scottish English

Indo-European (Germanic, West)

FamilyIndo-European (Germanic, West) Speakers~5M ScriptLatin CountriesUK (Scotland) Official inUK Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

Scottish English (the variety of English used in Scotland) is spoken by ~5M people. It is heavily influenced by Scots (a separate Germanic variety) and Scottish Gaelic. Distinctive features include rhoticity (pronouncing /r/ in all positions), the cot-caught merger absent or reversed, and vocabulary like "wee" (small), "aye" (yes), "loch", "outwith" (outside of). Scottish Standard English is taught in schools alongside Scots; the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century shaped a prestige Edinburgh standard.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Scottish English

Water

water

ˈwɔːtəɹ

Fire

fire

faɪɹ

Sun

sun

sʌn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

staɾ

Night

night

nəɪt

Rain

rain

ren

Snow

snow

snəʊ

Wind

wind

wɪnd

Earth

earth

ɛɹθ

Stone

stone

stoːn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmʌuntɪn

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmʌðəɹ

Father

father

ˈfaðəɹ

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɔːtəɹ

I

I

ʌi

You

you

juː

We

we

wiː

Name

name

nem

Person

person

ˈpɛɹsən

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

aɪ

Ear

ear

ir

Nose

nose

noz

Mouth

mouth

mʌuθ

Tooth

tooth

tuːθ

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hand

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

haɾt

Bone

bone

boːn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poo

puː

Love

love

lʌv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɔɡ

Cat

cat

kat

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɝd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʌtəɹflaɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔɾs

House

house

hʌus

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹəɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɔklət

Iron

iron

aɪɹn

Wheel

wheel

ʍiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wʌn

Two

two

tuː

Three

three

θɹiː

Four

four

foɾ

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

hello

hɛˈlo

Thank you

thanks

θaŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

njuː

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blak

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɔkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjutər

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsʉʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡəɹ

Orange

orange

ˈɔrɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdoʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

at

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Germanic, West)

Meaning Scottish EnglishIrish EnglishWest Country EnglishWelsh EnglishGeordieEnglishGhanaian English
Water water /ˈwɔːtəɹ/ water /ˈwɑːtəɹ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/
Fire fire /faɪɹ/ fire /fɑɪəɹ/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /staɾ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /staː/
Night night /nəɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ren/ rain /ɾeːn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɾeɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/
Snow snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoː/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Scottish English
I want tae try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across frae the hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I möcht an Anzug anprobieren den i in am Gschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gsehn hob
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I wolde assayen a cote that I saugh ‌in a shoppe over agaynst the hostelrie
Scottish English
I want tae try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across frae the hotel
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel

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