Doric dialect doesn't tax the Inland Revenue in Aberdeen

The sometimes hard-to-understand "mither tongue" now ranks alongside the likes of French, German, Spanish and Urdu. And a sign in the organisation’s office assures visitors that staff are more than capable of dealing with it.

Inland Revenue spokesman David Prince revealed the dialect is the only one of its kind in Britain to be given such treatment.

He said: "Most other local dialects just change vowel sounds but are still quite easy to understand. Doric is unique because it can sound like a totally different language.

"Because it is so widely spoken in Aberdeen we wanted to make sure our customers know we can understand them and therefore offer a better service."

Doric is used in Aberdeen and the surrounding areas. But its outlandish words and phrases, including "fit like min?" (how are you), can place newcomers to it in a state of utter confusion.

In recent years it has been claimed it is dying out. But this has not stopped the tax office from striving to make sure it is acknowledged.

In the office, alongside public information posters about things such as tax, is posted a photocopied sheet of A4 which sets die-hard Doric speakers at ease.

It makes it clear that their staff are well-versed in Doric so they can be rest assured there will be no misunderstandings over their tax bill.

But Mr Prince said staff won’t be getting trained in the dialect.

"That would probably be taking it too far," he added. "Local people in the office can speak Doric and that’s good enough for us.

"For the other languages, we have experts, who can be contacted via a helpline, who can give guidance when it’s needed."

None of the Inland Revenue’s other Scots offices offers such a service. And there are no plans to do so.