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Document 1042

Conversation 25: Couple from Auchenblae talking about local varieties of language

Author(s): N/A

Copyright holder(s): SCOTS Project

Audio transcription

F902 So
F826 //So//
M903 //But see// the thing we're [inaudible] a relig- eh a, a natural inhabitant o the area
F826 Aye.
M903 but did your father an mither nae hae an influence on the way ye talk //because the first//
F826 //[inaudible], yeah//
M903 words ye hear is fae your parents presumably, //so therefore if//
F826 //Yeah.//
F606 //mmhm//
M903 they're nae local then you would start aff but then we, well my folk come fae [inaudible] area ye see?
F826 Oh aye.
M903 So would that nae hae influenced my speech? [inaudible] by this time, no.
F826 Probably not that much now but //ehm but it would have some influence//
F902 //But now//
F826 //[inaudible]//
M903 //Ye see ye hear a lot o folk// gaein tae Australia you know, an, an travellin abroad an that but then they come back they speak the wey o the place they've been at //but is that put//
F826 //uh-huh//
M903 on or is that that natural?
F826 mm I think you tend to adapt your accent to the people you're with //to some extent,//
F902 //mm//
M903 //mm//
F826 but I mean I can't do a proper local accent even //though I've been here for//
F902 //No.//
F826 //quite a long time now.//
M903 //mm//
F902 uh-huh
F826 but ehm probably more than before I came here //but//
F902 //I// [throat], I found it, well before I was married I worked in a hotel in St Cyrus //and dependin on//
F826 //mmhm//
F902 yer customers ye spoke, ye found yersel s- answerin them as they spoke to you,
F606 mmhm
F902 that ye, ye, ye change and ye did it automatically; //it wisnae//
F606 //mm//
F902 intentional //that ye wis//
F826 //mm//
F902 changin how you spoke to them but you did.
M903 But that raised anither question, are ye daein that to impress them? //Because//
F902 //No, it//
M903 it's, it's nae, it's nae your language, it's nae your //natural tongue.//
F902 //it was just something,// it was just something that you //did, uh-huh,//
F606 //mm mm//
F902 speak aboot haein a telephone voice //[laugh]//
F826 //Yeah.//
M903 //[throat]//
F606 //Yeah.//
F826 But I mean our boys, I mean obviously they were brou- brought up speaking more or less like Dave an me
F902 uh-huh
F826 but they had a school voice //that they used with their friends in the playground//
F902 //[inaudible] aye// uh-huh
F826 an they didn't put it on to get on with them, it was just, that's how you spoke to your //mates.//
F902 //uh-huh// //That's right, uh-huh//
F826 //Yeah.// I think it's, it, you make, it's probably automatic, you, you do it to be comfortable with //the people you're with, yeah.//
F902 //To get on with people, that's right, uh-huh.// //mmhm//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 That the, the, the wey you speak but eh
M903 [inaudible] I was speakin a lot aboot before an said, "That'll daw, that'll daw the naw", ken [laugh]? That's, I mean, they, they come ower here and work but they dinnae speak like we div They keep that sorta twang wi them like, ken?
F826 Yeah.
F902 Just eh across, but it's, it's just such a short //distance//
M903 //Aye it's e-// //Aye it's echteen mile ower the hill, like, ken? Aye//
F902 //fae here to the coast,//
F826 //Aye.//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 //an there's aa these different accents//
M903 //mm, mm//
F902 an different words for different things.
F826 Yeah. Maybe it's a taking a pride in where you come from, is it? An sort of a determination I'm not going to change just to suit //you, you know mm.//
M903 //Aye well that's what I think an then gaein tae Australia an they places like it's// the, the fact that they're tryin to influence you because they come fae there, ken? There's a lot o lads I gaed tae school wi, ken, when they come back here, maybe been in the army or whatever, they speak a mair Englified wey, I mean it- it's maybe just because I notice it
F826 mm
M903 mair so than maybe them tryin to speak that wey //ken what I mean?//
F826 //Yeah//
F606 //mmhm//
F826 They probably had it forced on them to some extent too when they've been away //to make themself, aye,//
M903 //Well maybe to be understood like? Aye,// //aye//
F902 //They wouldn't understand,// //no.//
M903 //aye.//
F826 //Yeah//
F606 //uh-huh//
F902 uh-huh
M903 But there's a lot o people have said to me, "If you slow doon your speech I'll be able to understand ye mair", like, //which is maybe//
F826 //Mmhm//
F606 aye //[cough]//
M903 //true, I dinnae ken.//
F826 Yeah.
F606 Well people always think other people speak faster than they do I //think [laugh].//
F826 //mmhm//
M903 //Well that's it, aye, aye.//
F606 What sort of words do you notice that are different? Can you think of any that
F902 //Across here?//
M903 //Words?//
F606 uh-huh
F902 Nae really now but ehm, nae, well at St Cyrus I, I ken further north an that they spik aboot oatcakes an stuff; they caw that 'breid' , bread.
F606 mmhm
F902 Far as that was never what us across there, it was aye, ba-, well, 'bannocks' an things, //ye ken?//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 An we used to spik about g- gaein to the shop for 'teabread', which was cookies an scones an //pancakes an stuff,//
F606 //mm// //[cough]//
F902 //but that's nae used even across, that wisnae even used across here when there was a baker's shop.// You wouldnae gae intae the shop here an ask for six teabread, the bakers wouldnae hae kent whit ye was askin for.
F826 //So what would they have said?//
F606 //mm//
F902 //Well you had to say scones, pancakes, cookies or, ye ken?//
F826 //Oh right, yeah.//
F902 //But//
F606 //Aye.//
F902 the baker's shop at St Cyrus they kent what you meant //when you//
F826 //Yeah.//
F902 said you wanted assorted teabread //ken? Just,//
F826 //mm//
F606 //mm//
F902 so that was //that sorta thing, ken?//
F826 //Yeah, uh-huh// //Mm//
F902 //But eh//
F826 What about things like clothes, do //have,//
F606 //[cough]//
F826 do you have different words for clothes, you know like 'breeks' an
F902 //[inaudible]//
M903 //Well some folk speak about a vest an ither folk speak aboot seemits// //[laugh] Aye.//
F902 //That's mair north, a semmit, that was mair, semmits an,// //an aulder fashioned word,//
F606 //Aye.//
F902 I dinnae suppose they, they use that now. //That was a vest.//
M903 //Then they've a word, "Syne we'll dae that", but that's maybe farther north, ye see?// There's a lot o folk come doon fae, doon fae the well north as you would say like, //aye an they, they tak their language wi them like,//
F902 //the north, meanin Banchory, Aboyne [inaudible]//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 //mm mm//
M903 //you know?//
F902 There wis an, an, a lot o inaboot-comers as you would say, as far as when there was mair fairm workers,
F606 mmhm
F902 //folk workin.//
M903 //Well there was a lot o folk come// doon because there's mair, there was mair eh //money I think involved here as well like, ye ken? mm//
F902 //jobs were mair avail-, mair, mair money an that in it// //but//
M903 //mmhm//
F902 I mean there was quite a lot o folk at, in Auchenblae here come fae up north //to work.//
F826 //mmhm//
F902 Well there was the Rennies at the bottom o the street, //mind Mrs Rennie? Them, them,//
F826 //Oh yeah, uh-huh// //right, uh-huh//
F902 //an they, I mean they were fae north an quite a lot o folk at Cairnton Fairm had come fae up north, the Duncans an// //stuff, they a come fae//
F826 //Yeah.// //Yeah.//
F902 //north originally,// //but eh//
F826 //mmhm//
F902 the, but now of course they aa come fae
F826 //Poland an places//
M903 //[laugh]//
F902 //[laugh] aye to work in the farms behind the village,//
F826 //[laugh]//
F902 in the village, I mean they're, they're //[inaudible]//
M903 //That's anither thing// must influence the, people comin in aboot here, ye ken like oil people, //some [inaudible] fae England, some are fae, well aa different areas as you'd say in the world//
F826 //mm//
F606 mmhm
M903 an they're bidin in hooses here an travellin back commutin back an forth tae Aiberdeen [inaudible] they're bound tae influence the local language as well
F606 mm
F826 mmhm //Through their children if not through them,//
F902 //Aye, uh-huh, the kids gaein tae the school.//
M903 //Aye, aye, aye, aye.//
F826 cause one of the things they try to encourage in, in schools is the use of Scots, //but if you've got a//
F902 //mmhm//
F826 class where half the kids don't know what it means //it makes it much more difficult, you know?//
F902 //No.// //mmhm, mmhm//
F826 //yes// there's a lot of them don't know any //Scots, it's a foreign language//
F902 //Scots, no, no.//
F826 //to them.//
M903 //But then again if you're// a young loon gaein to the school you was telt tae speak properly, nae, nae the wey ye would speak ootside, see? So that //destroys your,//
F826 //mm//
M903 //ken?//
F606 //mm//
F826 //And now they're trying to do the opposite and encourage them to do it, you know?//
M903 //[inaudible], mm, aye, aye.// //aye, aye,//
F826 //It's typical of education.//
F902 //-cation that's the, that's the//
M903 //aye they dinnae ken whit they're daein either.// //I mean I was telt aboot eh linoleum fae Kirkcaldy, well fit good's that tae me noo?//
F826 //That's true, yeah [laugh]//
F902 //Linoleum fae Kirkcaldy?//
M903 //Aye fit good did that dae me?// [inaudible] intae ma heid aboot that //[inaudible] yes, aye right, okay,//
F902 //Well now they're bringin it up, ye know? They are, they are startin again because of this, this eh//
F826 //[laugh]//
M903 M.R.S. bug. //mm, mm//
F902 //bug they found that linoleum's the best that, it's got something in the linseed oil that disnae allow it tae//
F826 //Oh really?//
F606 //Yeah, that's right, uh-huh// //To kill the bugs, yeah.//
F902 //tae [inaudible] helps tae kill the bugs so they're goin back tae usin linoleum// in hospitals. //Do uh-huh, mmhm mmhm, uh-huh uh-huh//
F826 //Which of course they always used to do, not for that reason but because it was easier to clean of course.//
M903 //Aye mmhm mm// //It's somethin to do with the//
F902 //Well er//
M903 properties through the oil that, that kills the bug //or it doesnae allow it tae breed or somethin.//
F902 //[inaudible]//
F826 //Aye, right.//
F902 Well m- [CENSORED: details of family relation] Joyce, //she who went to//
F826 //Oh right//
F902 drama school an aa the rest o it who is now in that R- TV programme River City
F826 Oh I didn't know that //Another of your famous relatives.//
F902 //Oh yes, she's//
M903 //She's Roisin//
F902 //my famous relatives [laugh] she's, oh what is she?//
F826 //[laugh]//
F606 //[laugh]//
F902 //Roisin or something, she's the bar//
M903 //Roisin, aye.//
F902 owns the bar, she won the lottery accordin, I dinnae ken, I, we dinnae watch it. Eh she won the lottery or something an she's now the bar, she bought the pub in this River City //programme, B.B.C.//
F826 //Oh right.//
F902 an there was somebody writin in the papers it was Lorraine Kelly said she wondered where she come from.
F826 //uh-huh//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 Now she was educated at Aberdeen aa her life an then she was at Glasgow at the Drama,
F826 Right.
F902 she did her university or whatever it was in drama there an she's done a lot o work but most o it's aa been when she's stayed in Glasgow. But her, her, they didnae ken whit her accent, whether it was Dundee, Aberdeen or Glasgow, the wey she speaks in the //T.V.//
F826 //Oh right.//
F902 programme but she just speaks the wey she's been told tae speak //[inaudible] No, no.//
F826 //So that's not how she naturally speaks, she does it for the programme, yeah?//
M903 //No, she [inaudible]// //[inaudible], no//
F902 //No, no, she's, no, no, no, definitely no the wey she speaks on the T.V.// //no, no, no.//
F826 //Right.//
F902 She's been awa up in, she's just back frae Sri Lanka, //she's been out workin//
F826 //Oh!//
F902 they, they dinnae, they've this set for River City in Glasgow, it's specially built
F606 mmhm
F902 an, but in some o the months in the summer they dinna ehm film
F826 mmhm
F902 so they have these months off or something so the, the B.B.C. likes them tae dae charity work,
F826 Aye.
F902 ken visitin hospitals an aa this. So there was her an I think there was four o them went oot to Sri Lanka tae someplace, //they were workin at an orphanage an things,//
F826 //mm?// //Aye, uh-huh//
F902 //daein, entertainin the kids an eh// learnin them basic hy-, aye, aboot brushin their teeth an //washin their hands an things like that//
F826 //Oh right, yeah.//
F606 //[cough]//
F902 uh-huh an she said that it's been an experience she'll n- //never forget.//
F826 //ah, ah//
M903 She [inaudible] shocked that's what she //was.//
F902 //aye// an the kids aa were wantin tae touch, an be touched //but they were,//
F826 //mm// //Cause they don't get enough of that, yeah, yeah.//
F902 //this is the orphans fae the tsunami, fae the tsunami, this is what it was, that they could touch ye, seemed tae be the greatest thing an//
F606 //mm, yeah//
F902 gettin a t-, gettin a toothbrush
F826 Yeah.
F902 //ken that they had somethin//
F606 //mm//
F902 so they took money oot, ehm, raised money an took this money oot, an there was one lad he was there and it had been for the orphanage they got like a fridge freezer
F826 Oh aye.
F902 which was tae help, they'd bought a fridge freezer for helpin wi the the food,
F826 Yeah.
F902 the food an things but she said it was it really opened her eyes that seein pictures on the telly about the tsunami's nae like bein there, //like it's, uh-huh//
F826 //No.//
F606 //No.//
F902 mmhm
F826 Yeah we tend to think now it's all been sorted out really //but of course it's going to take a long time.//
F902 //uh-huh she said well there's lots of places hivna,// hivna had a penny's worth o aid
F826 No. despite all the millions.
F902 despite aa the money uh-huh that //their kids are still gaein aboot wi things that they had when they were//
F606 //mm//
F902 //plucked fae the waves as you would say but//
F826 //mm mm//
F902 no. An so that was her but I mean sh- she just puts on her accent dependin on who she has tae, //what she has tae do,//
F606 //mm//
F902 //so that's, mm.//
F826 //Yeah.// //Yeah.//
F902 //But eh//
M903 But I mean she just flies in an oot o accents she's like that, like, I mean
F902 Yeah, //uh-huh//
F826 //Yeah.//
M903 //ken?//
F606 //uh-huh//
F902 Oh well, you've been in Auchenblae aa yer days
M903 But I mean the thing would influence people's accent would be the T.V. because,
F826 //mmhm?//
F606 //Yeah.//
M903 you ken? //Cause it,//
F826 //They s-//
M903 there's, there's a lot o programmes fae Aberdeen an a lot fae Glasgow an then ye get them fae //well, England like, ken?//
F826 //Yeah.//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 You're never really payin ony attention tae that but they're [laugh] //[laugh]//
F826 //I think, I think kids who listen to the//
F606 //No.//
F902 //programme, aye, uh-huh//
F826 //same programmes over and over again, like// they said that when they were, when the, all the kids used to watch Neighbours that s- they began to hear evidence of that //in the way children spoke, cause you know how Australian accents they go up at the end of a sentence//
F902 //mmhm//
M903 //mm//
F606 //mm//
F902 //uh-huh//
F826 //even if it's not a question, and apparently kids were starting to do that// ehm so, but I don't think it worked quite so much with adults //but//
F902 //Well ye see// Gourdon's accents are mair s-, like singy-songy //ye ken?//
F826 //mmhm//
F606 //mmhm// Where's that?
F902 Gourdon, //Gourdon next but an//
F606 //mm//
F902 //well you have St Cyrus, Johnshaven, Gourdon up the coast,//
M903 //[inaudible] is up the east coast, aye//
F606 uh-huh
F902 an they ma-, they have mair like I'm sayin a sing-song speakin //yeah,//
F826 //mm//
F902 an that they, they speak aboot 'quines' an, well again that's a north word //but eh//
F826 //Aye.//
F606 //mmhm//
F902 they have that just, just the wey they speak
F826 Yeah. //I suppose their accents would have been//
F902 //[inaudible]//
F826 kept separate by the fact that each of the villages is //in a sort of physical area and it's contained isn't it?//
F902 //so- yeah, uh-huh well this is it an then transport an things an//
M903 //mm//
F606 //Yeah.//
F902 //they, they had the//
M903 //Well that// changed it aa because the bus run doon, aa doon the east coast an it picked the people up aa the way doon //doon the coast so they aa ended up speakin [inaudible] [laugh].//
F902 //Yeah but I mean ye, no, no they didnae, no, no,// //no an//
M903 //Well the, the bus ran that wey.//
F902 yeah but no we s- f- ne- never spoke like folk at Johnshaven did or, when somebody on the bus opened their mooth ye kent far they come fae //[inaudible] [laugh]//
F826 //[laugh] yeah//
M903 //Oh aye, oh aye//
F606 //[laugh] mm//
F826 Ian you said your parents came from Banchory area? //Did you notice//
M903 //Aye that's right they [inaudible]//
F826 the way they spoke was different from the way your //mates at school spoke or.//
M903 //Wi some lads like, ye, ye ken like eh// well my uncle would have spoken aboot, "Syne we'll ging ower there", ye see //ken, meanin "Then we'll ging ower there", well 'syne' was never a//
F826 //uh-huh// //right?//
M903 //word used doon here, ken?//
F606 //mm//
M903 like eh 'breid' an that as you was speakin aboot, //stuff [inaudible] like, ye ken?//
F826 //mm//
F606 //mmhm// //And you wouldn't use 'quine'?//
M903 //mmhm// //No but//
F902 //'Quine', no.//
F606 //Or 'loon'?//
M903 they did up there ye see, aye, my father used tae use 'quine', aye, ken fan he wis here like, //[inaudible]//
F902 //'Quines' an 'loons' no we never spoke aboot that in St Cyrus, no, not, no.//
F606 //mmhm, mm//
M903 But then you see his, his an my mither's attitude, well nae attitude, accents sorta changed because because fae north we gaed as far doon as Dundee an that ye see, well Dundee is an entirely different, an Carnoustie an that, so they must have picked up a lot o words doon there as well //but eh, oh aye.//
F902 //But then they were aa aulder by the time, I mean your Dad come here,//
F826 //mm//
F902 well you was born here, you was born up the glen //at the stables.//
M903 //mmhm// //well he was,//
F826 //So was he?//
M903 he was in the army an, an //aye.//
F902 //After that but you s-, you bade at the bottom o the street//
M903 Aye.
F826 Aye.
F902 he stayed far next door tae far Fiona Davidson is
F826 Oh right, //yeah.//
F902 //there, there, but they were up the stair, that was a lot o,//
M903 //Oh aye, [inaudible] street, yeah.//
F902 there was aboot six hooses //there at that time.//
F826 //mm//
M903 //Aye there was one doon an one up,// //aye there was three, aye six, aye.//
F902 //uh-huh, uh-huh// //[inaudible]//
F826 //Cause that's something you notice a lot o changes in// is the amount of space people expect nowadays, //yeah.//
F902 //mm//
M903 //mm, mmhm, aye, aye, aye.//
F606 //mm//
F902 //then the//
M903 //Then the blacksmith shop was at the,// well [inaudible] hoose //at the bottom o the, bottom o the street [inaudible]//
F902 //The smiddy at this end at the corner// //mm that was the smiddy.//
F826 //oh aye.//
M903 //[inaudible] see a door made,// //a, a big door had been made into//
F606 //mm// //[cough]//
M903 //ken [?]a door an a windae[/?], ken?//
F902 That was far the horses went in the
M903 mmhm
F902 that's far you got the kids' sledge made //mmhm//
F826 //Oh right//
M903 //Aye.//
F826 so when did he go away?
M903 Pardon?
F826 When did he go away? //oh right//
M903 //Well he died, like, he// well he died wi lung cancer, like, he's buried up in a graveyard up here in the, //but eh//
F902 //[?]Black Close[/?].//
M903 he got gas intae his hoose in the[laugh] he sorta blew hisself up an his wife was never the same after that, like, ken.
F826 Oh dear!
M903 She was involved as well like //ken, aye, aye so,//
F902 //It was a gas cooker, it was calor gas, uh-huh//
F826 //Oh right.//
M903 but his daughter works, well she doesnae work, she's retired noo, she married a, a lad that works at Fettercairn, he's a retired fairm gaffer an, an eh she plays the f-, the accordian at [?]Burnside[/?], //ken [inaudible]//
F902 //Ye'll hae heard o Phyllis an//
F826 //oh// //Oh they come in, yeah, they//
F902 //Sandy [CENSORED: surname],//
F826 come to the over-sixties //thing don't they, yes they're very popular, yeah,//
F902 //mmhm, mmhm Phyllis and Sandy [CENSORED: surname],// //aye, well that was, that was, that was her father that was at the smiddy.//
F826 //ah that's her, right.//
M903 //That's her father [inaudible]// //an they say he come fae//
F826 //Ah//
M903 Balmoral but I, whether he did or no I dinnae ken //[inaudible] Balmoral [inaudible] I dinnae ken.//
F826 //mm, yeah.//
F902 So that was, that was him, but you know, the ye see there's nae that many folk in the village left noo that would have been original Auchenblae folk
F606 mmhm
F902 //[inaudible].//
M903 //Oh yeah, on a Saturday nicht// you used to walk doon here fan I was a loon, ye used to walk doon the street here, every hoose on the road doon was playin country me- eh music, ye ken?
F902 Scotch //country dancing.//
F826 //mm//
M903 //Sco- Scottish country music,// an every hoose was that like //but noo ye never hear that like.//
F902 //Ken, they've T.V.s an things, they dinnae watch, listen tae the radio noo,// //no.//
F606 //mm//
F826 //mm//
M903 //An there used to be// dances doon here every Saturday nicht an that like,
F826 What in the hall? //mm//
F902 //mm//
M903 //aye, like, mm.//
F606 //mmhm//
M903 Boab the, the blacksmith had a band like, Bob [?]Gauld[/?]'s Band an he used to play there an a ken, he used to play in Alexandria an Stonehaven as well like, ken
F826 Mm
F902 //mmhm//
M903 //mm//
F902 but ehm Well you're original and the Crabbe's are origina- original, well born an brought up here, //born, they were born up the//
F826 //mm//
F902 glen as well. An Margaret [CENSORED: surname] was born of course at Cairnton but there's so many changes that //folk have,//
F826 //mm//
M903 //Ah but then what do ye// caw original people that was born here cause if, //a lot o them//
F902 //Aye.//
M903 the people either f-, their parents didnae come fae here ye see? //[inaudible]//
F902 //I'm speakin aboot// folk your age-group that have been born and lived in Auchenblae aa their //life, that's what I mean.//
F826 //mm//
M903 //Oh aye, uh-huh.// There's very few o them I gaed tae school wi bide here, they a gaed awa, ye see.
F902 Well that, exactly, yes, therefore they're nae here
M903 No.
F902 but the likes o Margaret [CENSORED: surname], Bill [CENSORED: surname], he was born up the glen, he was born here, ye ken?
F826 //mm//
M903 //aye//
F826 but it's not that many really //is it? No, no.//
F902 //No there's nae, that, no, no.//
M903 //No, no, no//
F826 So when you say they went away did they go //far away or?//
M903 //Well some gaed tae the army//
F606 //[cough]//
F826 //Yeah, yeah, yeah.//
M903 //ye see that was a big thing in that days like, in the sixties an that like// it was, I suppose an opportunity tae see the world an we couldn't have nae ither wey ken? It was either that or just //[inaudible]//
F902 //No an then Granny Hayes'// grandson, him that was at school wi you, //he ended up in, he went to Met//
M903 //Aye [inaudible] he got to, he got to Metropolitan Police, like,// //he did well like, an eh//
F902 //Police uh-huh//
F826 //oh yeah.//
F606 //mm [throat]//
M903 there was a lot of them gaed doon, aa o the buildin trade went doon tae London that cause there's //bigger money made ye see?//
F826 //mmhm// mm
M903 Well some o them didnae even gang as far as London they'd just gae doon tae England like //ken?//
F826 //mmhm//
M903 An they went south an I went to, well some o them gaed tae Fife like but eh
F826 It was a long way, //yeah [laugh] yeah, yeah.//
F902 //Aye.//
M903 //Them days it was, aye, aye.//
F902 //Well,//
F826 //Was that because// there was, there was unemployment here cause this was all before the oil //wasn't it [inaudible].//
M903 //Oh, not so much unemployment was just// eh better opportunities I think as far as, it was just a reason tae, ken, get awa, I mean just, ken?
F826 An see the world, //yeah.//
F902 //See the world.//
M903 //mm, aye.//
F826 But you never did that?
M903 No I, I met Beth an //[inaudible]//
F902 //Got married an had kids [laugh].//
F606 //[laugh]//
F826 You've never looked back, //yeah.//
F902 //Well we had a// he had a good job wi Hugh Davidson workin on a local builder an
F826 Yeah.
F902 ken?
M903 mm
F826 Mm So you've always been a builder?
F902 //Security.//
M903 //Well I had// //fower months at MacPhee's ower there,//
F606 //Yeah.//
F826 //Oh right//
M903 //but I didnae like the noise in the place, all the//
F902 Inside, that was when he was made redundant fae, //when Hugh packed up, mmhm.//
F826 //Oh right.//
M903 //Mm mm//
F902 //mmhm, an then he went tae//
F826 //Mmhm// //yeah.//
F902 //Adamson's,//
M903 //Adamson's, aye.// //mm mm//
F902 //Laurencekirk but,//
M903 och we had our plans when we married an I was gaein tae Australia but then there wis //[inaudible]//
F902 //I got pregnant.// //wi my third child so that [laugh]//
M903 //[inaudible] ken? Two was awricht except that we [inaudible] three, well// //[inaudible]//
F902 //that wis in the days when it wis ten pound,// //ye went for//
F826 //oh//
M903 //[inaudible] ten pound [inaudible]// //[inaudible] a letter.//
F902 //ten pounds an ye got a job.//
F606 //Ah yeah.//
M903 It wis written tae the, my father's cousin, ye see?
F826 Oh right.
F902 That she found in a box in //the attic.//
M903 //Thirty years later.// //[laugh] well ah ah//
F902 //[laugh] for-, mair than thirty years la-, that was nineteen sixty-four!// //I wrote til her an that was//
M903 //mmhm//
F902 //two thousand.//
F826 //What saying that you might be going out?//
F902 Well it was just what were the prospects an that there an it wis his grandmother that said, "Oh, write to Margaret", ye ken? //My father's cousin cause she's//
F826 //mmhm//
F902 //sixty-eight.//
M903 //Cause immigration must have been a big thing// here cause I can still remember my father speakin aboot emigratin see wi eh //[inaudible]//
F826 //oh//
M903 the idea o gaein tae Canada, like,
F826 //mmhm//
F606 //mmhm//
M903 but he was, he worked in the wood an felled a lot o trees an, well obviously a ken, a woodcutter, like an they were reputed tae hae been makin a lot o money an big money in Canada an that an big trees an athin so he wis aye speakin aboot it but I'm nae just very sure maybe they were just nae very keen tae //ken? Aye.//
F826 //Aye.// //Being there.//
M903 //But eh// I can mind o him speakin aboot it, like //[inaudible]//
F902 //Mmhm// but so onywey we've got this reply fae this letter, the Austral- //an this,//
F606 //Yes.//
F902 an then last Tuesday we had a phone call, //well she//
F826 //Oh right!//
F902 phoned one Tuesday before but Ian was cuttin the grass an hadnae heard the phone an got a message,
F826 uh-huh
F902 so on Tuesday she phoned just wantin tae speak dead keen on pipe band, an I had sent her a couple o CDs o pipe band music which ye cannae just walk intae a music shop an get.
F826 Okay.
F902 No, couldnae get them, no.
M903 I hear ye get them at Turriff's noo an some chemist //or somethin sells them like, ken?//
F826 //Oh right, oh// You get them at some o the shows, //don't you? Yeah.//
F902 //Aye at the shows an things you would get them so,//
M903 //Aye, aye.//
F902 actually I went on, well Peter's wife Lynne was up an she says, "Ye get them on the internet," //Internet, yeah, it come fae the Channel Isles,//
F826 //You get everything on the internet [laugh].//
M903 //[inaudible]//
F606 //mm [throat]//
F902 //an they're made in Ireland [laugh], aye they came two days later, aye,//
F826 //[laugh] yeah.//
M903 //Aye.//
F902 so I sent her these tapes so she'd be playin the pipe, pipe band, this pipe band music so when they come next year we'll hae tae gang far there's pipe bands an //[inaudible] piper on every street corner//
F826 //As long as she's not expecting to find one on every street corner.//
M903 //[laugh]//
F606 //mmhm [cough]//
F902 Oh no because she said she had a piper when she was married, even piped the wedding cake intae the hotel wi a piper an she had heather in her bouquet an see it seems as though that,
F826 they're more Scottish when they're away //[inaudible]//
F902 //yeah, that's what it seems to be, aye.//
M903 //Exactly, aye, that's what, aye.//
F902 Cause I'm sayin tae her on the phone, ehm I mean, how do you be polite an say mm is your fa-, I'm sayin, "Whit aboot eh Barry, is he an ori- original Australian or was he one, was he descended fae one o the ones that had haen their passage paid by the government?" //[inaudible] a convict!//
F826 //[laugh]//
M903 //[laugh]//
F606 //[laugh]//
F902 An she said, "No no, Barry's dad an parents emigrated eh many years ago", //cause I think Barry//
F826 //Right.//
F902 must be seventy so he, they'd emigrated //from Aberdeen.//
M903 //[inaudible] if ye listen to the history// //if you listen to the//
F826 //Ah//
M903 history that, the history o the, the Australians is aw a sort of a //criminals [inaudible] uh-huh//
F902 //Well that was what I was tryin to be, be polite an ask in a roundaboot,//
F826 //[laugh]//
F902 I didnae like tae say //ken, are they descended fae the criminals or//
M903 //Well they spend the ten pounds on// //their passage wis still [inaudible]//
F902 //[laugh]// No so the, no no, he comes fae Aberdeen so that's
F606 He's alright //[laugh]//
F902 //he's okay, [laugh] well his parents come fae Aberdeen, maybe no, maybe they'd left the country// //you're never sure, [laugh] you're never sure.//
F826 //In a hurry as well, yes.//
M903 //Aye.//
F902 But eh, I mean, they have the hale thing, but eh the that's it but I mean, well, Linda, I mean, since she left here I would say her accent's changed now
F826 mmhm
F902 well of course, well she was nursin an then merried, bein merried tae Alec an him bein //in parliament she's//
F826 //mm//
F902 sh- there. Well since he went to parliament I mean his, his native tongue's //changed, he's, the wey he speaks//
F826 //mm//
F606 //mm//
F826 yeah. //yeah, mm//
F902 //so that, -stood aye, well Linda's the same,//
M903 //He maybe has tae tae be understood mmhm mmhm.// //Aye, aye, aye, mmhm, mmhm//
F902 //people, well this is it, aye, I mean//
F826 //Yeah, she's meeting lots of different kinds of people, yeah.//
F902 uh-huh because eh I laughed, she said when she met the Queen when Parliament, when the Scottish Parliament opened ye ken, they were introduced an oh they're dairy farmers an the Queen said it was very nice to talk to somebody //who had a, a something different tae, tae speak about, speakin about Ayrshire cattle//
F606 //[laugh]//
F902 //coos because//
F826 //Yeah.//
F902 than, than your usual run o the mill "whit dae you do sort o thing" //stuff.//
F606 //Yeah.//
F826 Somebody actually did a real job //for a change, aye.//
F902 //Change, aye, well an then it transpired that//
F606 //[laugh] [cough]//
F902 Linda an them had actually haen breedin, well, contacts wi the Queen's herd, //ye ken?//
F826 //oh aye.//
F902 Something aboot some o their progeny had either come fae there or //or something tae dae wi that so//
F826 //mm practically related to the royal// //family [laugh].//
F902 //family aye [laugh] through your coo, your dairy// cattle, but I mean well so she's, she disnae speak //the same as//
M903 //[?]Then Jeanie[/?] your// sister's fae, fae //Orkney//
F902 //Orkney.// uh-huh
M903 fae her loon //fan he come//
F902 //John.//
M903 doon, he'd, I mean, it, it stood oot a mile, his accent, //came fae Orkney.//
F606 //Aye, yeah.//
M903 I mean it was, I mean you couldnae mistake it like
F902 //No.//
F826 //uh-huh// //mmhm//
F902 //The Orkney word, just,//
M903 //mm//
F606 //mm//
F902 again that's a singy-songy kinda //speak in a singy-songy aye uh-huh.//
F826 //Yes, mm yeah mm yeah.//
M903 //mmhm//
F902 I mean I never knew whit, whit she meant she said she'd got caddy lambs //an I said, "Caddy lambs? What's caddy lambs?", an this, this is how, you know, this is how they speak, you know, the caddy lambs//
M903 //[laugh]//
F902 I'm sayin, "What's a caddy lamb?", she said motherless lambs, orphans. //But this thing aboot bein caddy lambs//
F826 //oh//
F606 //oh//
F902 //mmhm mmhm//
F826 //I've never heard that mm aye.//
F902 she had caddy lambs //tae eat her grass for her, for her ga-,//
M903 //[inaudible]//
F902 well they had like a field nae a, nae a //garden, ken//
F826 //Aye.// Yeah.
F902 //an this was what she had, caddy lambs//
M903 //Aye,// aye
F902 that ye see so I mean c- that's a word you never
F826 No it's probably got quite a different //origin [inaudible] mm//
F902 //Aye, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh// but the, the, the thing so but it's nae till ye sit an think aboot different words that's bein used isn't it that they, they have //or they//
M903 //[?]Exactly[/?] when they've, why they originated// ken what I mean? How, how, means you got the west coast that's an entirely different twang again
F606 mmhm
M903 [throat] and how, how did that ori-, aye, originate like, I mean?
F606 It depends a bit who's influenced it //cause in Orkney they're very//
M903 //Yes, aye.//
F606 influenced by Scandinavians coming in //a long time ago, yeah//
F902 //mmhm, mmhm//
F826 //Long time ago.//
M903 //[inaudible]//
F606 an then further north they're influenced by Gaelic //on the west coast especially.//
F902 //uh-huh//
F606 I don't know who influences Glasgow; I think it's mainly the Irish //coming across that//
F902 //Aye, aye.// Ken, I mean even down here there's nae the Gaelic, never has been, //you were doin Gaelic.//
F826 //mmhm// Yeah, Dave did it //for a while and I did a wee bit but//
F902 //Did he?// //[laugh]//
F826 //we didn't last very long I'm afraid. [laugh]// //It was interesting to do a, get a wee taster of it.//
F902 //uh-huh//
M903 //Then again if there was mair people// spoke it maybe you, you would, //ken what I mean?//
F826 //Yeah.//
F606 //mm//
F826 With some languages you get the impression that people like you to speak it but I don't particularly get that impression with Gaelic, you're either a Gaelic //speaker or you're not and if you learn it//
F902 //Not, no,//
M903 //[inaudible]// //aye, aye, aye//
F902 //-sider, aye, ye, it's kind of obvious that you're//
F826 //you're still gonna be an outsider, yeah.//
F902 you're, that you're tryin tae obviously tryin to get yourself //understood.//
F826 //Yeah.//
M903 //I used tae think that, that// songs is better sung in Gaelic than they are in, in national Scottish twang as you say. There seems to be mair //lilt aboot them, mair//
F826 //Yeah,// //it's more sort of romantic sort of thing isn't it, yeah,//
F902 //mmhm//
M903 //lyrics, aye, aye, aye, aye.//
F606 //uh-huh//
F826 yes, //yeah that's true, it's maybe just cause//
M903 //Aye.//
F826 you don't understand how soppy it's //is really [laugh].//
M903 //That's right aye, aye, yeah.//
F902 But eh //[?]you think?[/?]//
M903 //mmhm//
F606 So thank you very much, I think that's //very good.//
F902 //I dinnae think if ye've gotten// onythin worthwhile or no? //[laugh] uh-huh//
F606 //I think I have, yes, yeah.//

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APA Style:

Conversation 25: Couple from Auchenblae talking about local varieties of language. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 11 December 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1042.

MLA Style:

"Conversation 25: Couple from Auchenblae talking about local varieties of language." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 11 December 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1042.

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The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Conversation 25: Couple from Auchenblae talking about local varieties of language," accessed 11 December 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1042.

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The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 1042

Conversation 25: Couple from Auchenblae talking about local varieties of language

Audio

Audio audience

Adults (18+)
For gender Mixed
Audience size 3-5

Audio awareness & spontaneity

Speaker awareness Aware
Degree of spontaneity Spontaneous
Special circumstances surrounding speech Couple and friend asked to talk about local life and language

Audio footage information

Year of recording 2005
Recording person id 606
Size (min) 29
Size (mb) 113

Audio setting

Private/personal
Recording venue Private home of couple in recording
Geographic location of speech Auchenblae

Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers

Known via mutual acquaintance
Speakers knew each other Yes

Audio speaker relationships

Family members or other close relationship
Friend

Audio transcription information

Transcriber id 631
Year of transcription 2005
Year material recorded 2005
Word count 5757

Audio type

Conversation

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 606
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 18
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Academic
Place of birth Edinburgh
Region of birth Midlothian
Birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Glasgow
Region of residence Glasgow
Residence CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of residence Scotland
Father's place of birth Leith
Father's region of birth Midlothian
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's place of birth Edinburgh
Mother's region of birth Midlothian
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes All
Scots No Yes No Yes Work

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 826
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 18
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Teacher
Place of birth Edinburgh
Region of birth Midlothian
Birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Auchenblae
Region of residence Kincardine
Residence CSD dialect area Kcdn
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Teacher
Father's place of birth Leith
Father's region of birth Midlothian
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Teacher
Mother's place of birth Edinburgh
Mother's region of birth Midlothian
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area midLoth
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes All the time
French Yes Yes Yes Yes On holiday
German Yes Yes Yes Yes On holiday
Scots No Yes No Yes At work

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 902
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment Highers/A-levels
Age left school 15
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Housewife
Place of birth St Cyrus
Region of birth Aberdeen
Birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Auchenblae
Region of residence Kincardine
Residence CSD dialect area Kcdn
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Farmer
Father's place of birth Comrie
Father's region of birth E & SE Perthshire
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Per
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Domestic work
Mother's place of birth Gourdon
Mother's region of birth Aberdeen
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes All the time

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 903
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment GCSEs/O-Grades
Age left school 15
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Builder
Place of birth Auchenblae
Region of birth Kincardine
Birthplace CSD dialect area Kcdn
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Auchenblae
Region of residence Kincardine
Residence CSD dialect area Kcdn
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Sawmiller
Father's place of birth Banchory
Father's region of birth Kincardine
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Kcdn
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Housewife
Mother's place of birth Aboyne
Mother's region of birth Kincardine
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Kcdn
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Every day

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