Scotland has three native tongues; English, the Scots Language and Scottish Gaelic. As a language endangered in its heartland, Gaelic has been at the forefront of the national conversation and even found its place in pop culture with Gaelic phrases appearing in Outlander and over 1.5 million new students signing up to learn it on Duolingo.
Examples of Scots Leid are also not too hard to come by as the language has been popularised by the likes of Robert Burns who has received worldwide acclaim for his works like Auld Lang Syne. However, as with most languages, Scots also has dialects which may be lesser known such as Doric in the north-east.
Dubbed Scotland’s “little known fourth language” by the BBC, they said: “This “mither tongue” (mother tongue) is spoken widely from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Nairn in the Highlands, where one in two people speak it, according to the University of Aberdeen.”
Let’s shift things away from ‘lesser known’ to ‘better known’ with these 25 Doric words and phrases that will give beginners a ‘guid’ idea of how to speak it.
5. Foo Div Ye Spik Doric?
Parlez-vous français, parli italiano, ¿hablas español? When learning a language, being able to ask someone if they can speak it is one of the best questions to learn early on. To do so in Doric you just say “Foo Div Ye Spik Doric?” Photo: Andranik Hakobyan on Canva Pro
6. Gie’s a Bosie
This is the Doric equivalent of saying “give us a hug!” If you have Aberdonian grandparents or aunts or uncles then you probably heard this phrase at least once during your childhood. Photo: Liderina on Canva Pro
7. Toonser and Teuchter
A ‘teuchter’ is a word used to describe someone from the Scottish countryside (often a Gaelic-speaking Highlander.) The opposite of this word is a “toonser” which can be thought of as someone from the town. Photo: lucentius and num_skyman on Canva Pro
8. Foos Yer Doos?
This is another way of asking someone how they are. To reply, you can say “jist chavin’ awa” (just working away) or “nae bad” (not bad). Reportedly, the literal translation of the phrase is “how are your pigeons?” which is pretty coo’ (pigeon noise pun?) Photo: KingMatz1980 on Canva Pro