Scotland’s first ‘Doric bus’ launched in Aberdeen

SCOTLAND’S first “Doric Bus” was officially launched today by local bus operator, First Aberdeen.
Davie Davidson, a 50-year-old Doric speaker from Peterhead, aboard the new Doric Bus. Picture: HemediaDavie Davidson, a 50-year-old Doric speaker from Peterhead, aboard the new Doric Bus. Picture: Hemedia
Davie Davidson, a 50-year-old Doric speaker from Peterhead, aboard the new Doric Bus. Picture: Hemedia

First has added phrases from the distinctive north east dialect across all the interior advertising panels on “The Doric Bus.” And, in addition, every bus in First’s fleet will feature at least one Doric phrase on board.

Paula Middleton, First Aberdeen’s marketing manager, said: “In Aberdeen and the North east of Scotland we are very proud and passionate about our Doric roots. So we thought it would be a great idea and good fun to kick off the New Year by helping raise awareness of our local dialect.”

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Davie Davidson, the 50-year-old driver of the bus from Peterhead, in the heart of Doric territory, said: “Sen we cairry a haill bourach o littleens an visitors tae the ceity, I howp ‘The Doric Bus’ an the Doric blads steekit up on aa the buses wull help tae mak fowk mair aware o the mither tongue, an mak siccar at it’s aye tae the fore.”

Translation: “Given we transport lots of children and visitors to the city, I hope ‘The Doric Bus’ and the Doric messages on board all the buses will help raise awareness and ensure our dialect continues to prosper.”

And in another boost for the dialect, a tongue-in-cheek guide to Doric, first produced for international oil delegates, has raised more than £3,500 for a national literacy charity.

The mini Doric Dictionary was originally published last summer as a crash course in the mysteries of the dialect for delegates attending the Offshore Europe oil and gas industry showcase in Aberdeen.

But the Doric guide, produced by Robert Gordon University, proved so popular that additional copies were printed to raise funds for the National Literacy Trust.

An RGU spokeswoman said today: “Initially only available to order online, it wasn’t long before the Aberdeen branch of national bookstore Waterstones kindly volunteered to stock copies of the dictionary in the Trinity Centre branch, with steady sales continuing into 2014 to take the fundraising total to £3,584.”

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Anna Jones, Development Manager at the National Literacy Trust, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to Robert Gordon University and everyone who donated. Support like this is vital to the work of the National Literacy Trust and will help ensure we can continue to support children and families in disadvantaged communities, improving their literacy and giving them better opportunities.”

Karen Barrett-Ayres, the university’s marketing officer, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support the National Literacy Trust in this way, while helping to promote the wonderful Doric language of the North east. The response we’ve had towards the guide is incredible and our thanks go out to all those who have supported the campaign – we’re fair-tricket!”

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