Scots to a T

Published on 08/12/2012 00:00

Andrew HN Gray (Letters, 7 December) is like unable to ­understand dialect in Scotland. The usage is to be found in the Concise Scots Dictionary with “like” being an intensifier and modifier: eg “What’s like wrang” and “What a like thing to say” are correct Scots.

Therefore, Scots could have “I was like astonished” and English “I was just astonished”.

Iain WD Forde

Main Street

Scotlandwell, Kinross-shire

I have been watching the Gray v McLean confrontation with interest and, by and large, I must support Mr Gray.

I hae a whein grup oan the Scottis lede an the Gaidhlig forbye, and what is ­spoken today is not Scots, it is gutter English with a Scots ­accent.

What has happened to the Scottish T?

What to a Scots speaker is watter has degenerated into wawur. It gars me greit.

I would take issue with Mr Gray in his use of the word “dialect” when referring to Scots; as a loyal North British provincial it is probable that Scots is to Mr Gray a dialect.

Provinces have dialects, ­nations have languages. Swedish is not Danish, for instance.

R Mill Irving

Station Road

Gifford, East Lothian