SCOTS
CMSW

Document 1428

BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow

Author(s): N/A

Copyright holder(s): BBC, SCOTS Project

This document contains language which some may find offensive

Audio transcription

F1054 Okay, whenever you're ready.
M1004 My name is George [CENSORED: surname], I'm the lifeboat officer of the Glasgow Humane Society, er, I'm sixty-one years of age and I'm living in the same house that I was born in.
F1054 Where are you from, George?
M1004 Glasgow, I'm from Glasgow.
F1054 Brilliant. Ann?
F1006 I'm George's sister, Ann. I'm a retired librarian, public libraries. And, like George, at the present moment, I'm sittin in the house I was born in, but I actually moved to a flat seven years ago, on the riverside, about two miles from here.
F1005 Erm, Margaret [CENSORED: surname], I work for George, eh, the cleanin. And eh, come fae Glasgow. Erm.
F1054 And you've lived there all your life, have you?
F1005 Ah, most of ma life, uh-huh. //Right.//
F1054 //Er, all friends, super.// Ehm, right, first of all, let's start with how you feel. Fair scunnered, at the moment, I bet, George, eh? [laugh] Let's say, let's start with the word for "annoyed", shall we?
M1004 Aye, scunnered, aye, er it's no, scunnered's no quite annoyed, scunnered's fed up, annoyed's eh, cannae think o a word for annoyed, er anyway. Scunnered really means you're no just fed up, you're absolutely
F1005 Pissed off, [inaudible].
M1004 //Aye, [laugh].//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 //Dinna worry aboot//
M1004 //Cheesed off, I heard something whispered there.// //Eh,//
F1054 //usin swear words, cause in talkin about language it's totally normal.//
F1006 //Disgusted, disgusted, disgusted.//
F1054 Mmhm. //What about you, Ann, words for "annoyed"?//
M1004 //Ba-//
F1006 Disgusted, erm, scunnered is the best, if you're really feeling, really bad about something, I think scunnered is quite suitable.
F1054 Good. Do you have any different words, Margaret?
F1005 Ehm, pissed off. [laugh] //Uh-huh.//
F1054 //That- that's a common one, yeah.//
F1005 Er [inaudible].
F1054 That's alright.
F1005 Ehm, is is what George says, an that, annoyed, scunnered.
M1004 If I, if I get haud o these glaikit wee bachles that havenae turned up this morning they'll be scunnered, aye, they'll be, aye, mair than scunnered. [laugh]
F1005 They'll be dead meat! //[laugh]//
M1004 //[laugh]//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 What does that mean, "glaikit wee battles"?
M1004 [tut] Er, it's used to describe anybody that eh just er It's supposed to be derogatory, but it isnae really, you can, you can use it derogatory, but mostly in Glasgow it's used as a kind of joke wi people, eh, if they move slowly, if they're gettin older or eh just, I don't know.
F1054 Ehm, can you say it again?
M1004 Glaikit wee bachle.
F1054 Bachle?
M1004 Bachle.
F1054 Ah. //[inaudible]//
M1004 //Glaikit means, I think glaikit actually means squinty-eyed.// //Squ-, you know?//
F1006 //Simple?//
M1004 Aye, simple-lookin, aye.
F1054 Mm.
M1004 Just, aye.
F1054 Good. Ehm, what about "pleased", opposite of annoyed. Words for that?
F1005 Ehm, happy, excited, I don't know. [laugh]
F1054 //[laugh]//
M1004 //Fair chuffed. Chuffed. [claps hands]//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 That's the one you'd use. And what about you, Ann?
F1006 [laugh] I would have said happy, [laugh] but I think ma brother's put it into the best words. [laugh] //[laugh] Yes, yes.//
F1054 //And mind, it's no, we dinnae have to use words that kind of seems u- unusual in any way, just things that folk would normally use, or [inaudible] remember it's a s- snapshot of how we speak, so dinnae feel obliged to try and come up wi something different.// Just say what you normally //say.//
M1004 //Naw, we do, we do used chuffed quite a lot.// Oh aye, if you're chuffed wi something it means you're pretty pleased wi it, aye.
F1054 And if you cannae think o something, that's significant too, because it just means that maybe this is the word we use now, cause of //television,//
F1006 //Yes.//
F1054 because o radio, we're all usin the same words. //What aboot tired?//
F1006 //Yes.// Shattered. Shattered. If you're really tired.
F1054 Mmhm.
M1004 Knackered, aye. Wabbit.
F1054 Wabbit? Wh- why would you use those different words, John?
M1004 Wabbit is more, wabbit is more eh mentally tired. Knackered is physically tired.
F1054 Yeah, that's good, that- [laugh] //[laugh]//
F1005 //Ehm, exhausted.//
F1006 Mm.
F1054 Or you could, you couldnae say it that way, "exhausteed", rather than "exhausted".
F1005 Exhausted. //[laugh]//
F1054 //Yeah, interestin.// Different, isn't it? Ehm, cold?
F1006 Shiverin? Ehm
F1054 You wo- would you say "I'm pure shiverin"?
F1006 Er, no, I've never used that expression, actually. I think I would tend to just say, "I'm feeling cold", or, and if it's very cold "I'm shiverin".
F1054 Yeah.
F1006 Ehm
M1004 Freezin. [?]Can you stop me?[/?]
F1054 //[?]Pinched o your wey[/?] Margaret.//
F1005 //[laugh]// Ehm,
M1004 Use the same word.
F1054 //Aye, if if you use it just say it ower again.//
F1005 //Ehm// freezin.
F1054 And the opposite o that, hot?
F1005 Ehm, roastin.
M1004 Bilin.
F1054 I-i- is that, cause I've heard that used in kind of anger as well. Do you mean it for hot?
M1004 Oh aye, ye can bile wi anger; that means ye- ye're red hot, ye're, //ye're//
F1006 //Steamin.//
M1004 steamin, aye. Steamin wi anger, bilin wi anger is quite a good one. But also bilin, if you're out in the sunsh-, it's really really warm, the sweat's pourin off you, you say you're bilin, aye.
F1006 I just tend to say hot, warm.
F1054 Yeah, okay, that's fine. Eh, an an if you can't think of anything else just say, "I don't think there's another one I would use", just don't try //to say what that means.//
F1005 //Eh, roastin.// They would use that.
F1054 Okay, good. Ehm, "unwell"?
F1006 Ill? Feeling sick.
M1004 Mmhm.
F1006 I think that's about it.
F1054 Anything else?
F1005 Poorly.
F1054 Oh. That's a good one.
M1004 It is, yes, we use that a lot without thinking, I woulda, I hadn't realised that but yes, I do use it a lot, feelin poorly.
F1054 Mmhm. Good, ehm, [tut] let's see, Pleased, annoyed, hot, cold, tired. Good. To "throw" something.
F1006 Ehm
F1054 If you were saying, do you have bairns, Margaret?
F1005 Uh-huh.
F1054 You do. If you were saying "Boys, or girls, will you throw your laundry downstairs", what would you say?
F1005 Toss.
F1054 That's a good one.
M1004 Chuck. Fling.
F1005 [inaudible] [laugh]
F1006 I'd say throw. [laugh]
F1054 [inaudible] That's fine. No problem at all. Ehm, "to play truant". Well, Ann never did that, so //[inaudible].//
F1005 //Ehm//
F1006 //[laugh]// //Well//
F1005 //dog.//
F1006 I was too good to play truant. [laugh]
F1054 Dog.
F1005 Dog school.
F1006 Oh
M1004 Aye that's the common word for it, dog.
F1005 //Aye.//
F1006 //Uh-huh// //I hear that used.//
M1004 //To dog off, dog off.//
F1054 Yeah, you wouldnae say "skip" or "skive"?
M1004 //Not with school, [inaudible].//
F1005 //It's usually//
F1006 //I've heard that used too, I think, but//
M1004 //Ah we didnae [inaudible].//
F1005 //dog school. [laugh]// //No that we ever done that. [laugh]//
M1004 //Plunk.//
F1005 Aye.
M1004 //Plunk.//
F1006 //[inaudible]//
M1004 Plunk school, plunk or dog.
F1054 Is that a common word nooadays, or is it speaking more of your era?
M1004 I can only speak for my age group and it was [laugh] very common, yes, aye.
F1054 Okay, ehm what about "to sleep"?
F1006 Mm to s- //Sleep.//
M1004 //I just usually say go to sleep, aye, I cannae think of another one for that.//
F1005 //Sleep.// //I cannae think. Go to yer kip.//
M1004 //Y-y- get yer kip, go to yer kip.//
F1005 Aye. Eh, to go to yer kip
F1006 [inaudible]
F1005 is aw I can think aboot for sleep. Ehm
M1004 Aye, you do say "I'm gonna kip doon for a couple o hours."
F1005 Forty winks? Forty winks.
F1054 Is that what you, word you use typically?
F1005 It's just like a wee nap in the afternoon. //[laugh] Loads o them, aye, naw I've no got [inaudible] kip. Forty winks.//
M1004 //Another one? [inaudible]//
F1005 Mm, nap, [inaudible]
F1054 Doze off?
F1006 Doze off. I suppose people say for a short nap.
F1054 Mm.
F1006 I mean I, I'm afraid I can't do that. I need to just, ma bed at night and that's it. [laugh]
M1004 Yer pit.
F1054 //Oh what's that?//
F1005 //Yer//
M1004 Yer bed, ye go to yer pit, that's yer bed.
F1005 Aye.
M1004 That is a very common one, are you goin to yer pit? Aye.
F1006 [cough]
F1054 Good, yeah, that's a nice one. Eh, what about "to play a game"?
F1006 [laugh] To play a game.
M1004 I cannae think o anything for playin a game, I just. //Aye.//
F1006 //All you're doin is play a game.//
F1054 //Okay.//
M1004 //I I really cannae think o anythin for that.//
F1054 And "to hit hard"?
F1006 Thump? Thump.
F1054 Good.
M1004 Blooter.
F1006 [laugh]
F1054 That's interestin. But how would you use that, George?
M1004 Eh, common one is if you kick a ball hard, you talk about blooterin the ball. But if someone's bein cheeky to ye, ye'll say to them, "Watch it or you'll get blootered".
F1005 Mm alright.
F1054 //Cause I a- also heard blootered meaning drunk, meaning drunk.//
M1004 //Aye.// Naw. Eh, yes, yeah yes, it also refers to a drunk, don't know why.
F1054 Mmhm.
M1004 I have heard that, you know, if you go oot and you get blootered that means you get very very drunk. I suppose it comes from the fact that if eh if eh someone were to blooter somebody they'd become rubber-legged and hit the deck the same as you would if you were drinkin, so I suppose it comes from the same thing.
F1054 Mmhm. That's interestin. [inaudible] //ehm//
F1005 //I can't remember the word again, [laugh] what was it?//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 //Hit hard.//
F1005 //[laugh]// //Eh, to batter.//
F1054 //Hm//
M1004 Stotter.
F1005 Stotter. [laugh] Punch. [laugh]
F1054 Ba- how would you use "batter" and "stotter"?
F1005 I don't know. Just to batter somebody, if you're gonnae hit them.
F1054 So it'd be somebody rather than a thing?
F1005 Ah but you could ehm
M1004 Sto- stotter has two meanins.
F1054 Mmhm.
M1004 Ye can stotter someone or you can call somebody a wee stotter.
F1054 Mm.
M1004 //And//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 What's a wee stotter?
M1004 A wee stotter is a a good-looking young lady,
F1006 [laugh]
M1004 is a wee stotter. I suppose you might refer to a good-looking young man as a stotter.
F1005 //Ehm//
F1006 //Mm// Don't think so. //Never heard of it.//
F1005 //A stotter.// //Stud maybe?//
M1004 //You've no, you've no heard that one?// //[laugh]//
F1054 //[laugh]//
F1005 //Stud. [laugh]//
F1006 //[laugh]//
M1004 //Never heard o a wee stotter?//
F1005 //I've heard o a// //stotter but I didnae know it was//
M1004 //Oh aye, pff.// We k- yes, it's a, aye, just say, a wee stotter goin by, you know?
F1054 //Nice one. That's a good one, I like that. I've heard that, I, they say that in Edinburgh, I think, as well, they were tellin me yesterday. Interestin.//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 Ehm, well speakin of [inaudible] Oh! Do you need to get that?
F1005 //[inaudible] machine, sorry, it's ma washin//
F1006 //[laugh]//
M1004 //She's not.//
F1005 //[?]machine[/?].//
M1004 She's a producer.
F1005 Aye.
F1054 Anyway, ehm, what about, speaking of attractive, what other words would you use for "attractive" in the "getting personal" section?
F1005 Ehm, good-lookin.
F1006 Bonny? Bonny.
F1054 Cause ther- there's "bonny" and there's the one you said.
F1006 Bonny. Bonny braw, you know, //I suppose.//
F1054 //What's that?//
F1006 Ehm, nice-looking. Ehm,
F1054 And would you say, "Oh, she's bonny braw"?
F1006 Mm, can't say I've actually used it myself, but I've heard, you know, it being used regular. I've used bonny, but maybe not bonny braw together, but //I know they are.//
F1054 //What does// what does "braw" mean?
F1006 Just lovely.
F1054 Good. What about "attractive"?
M1004 I cannae think o anything except "a right stotter". Back to the word stotter, you know, cannae think o anythin else.
F1054 Yeah.
F1005 Eh, stunnin.
F1054 That's a more modern word?
F1005 Uh-huh. //That's me showin ma age, and George an aw. [laugh]//
F1054 //[laugh]// //[laugh]//
M1004 //Cracker.//
F1005 //[laugh]//
F1006 Oh right.
M1004 A cracker, a wee cracker, aye. [laugh]
F1005 Wee beauty. //[laugh]//
M1004 //Margaret's a wee cracker. [laugh]//
F1054 What about ehm "insane"?
F1005 Eh mad. //Aff yer heid. [laugh]//
M1004 //[laugh]//
F1006 //[laugh] Crazy.// Crazy. Mad as well, I would have
F1054 Do you have anything for that one, or the same, George?
M1004 Cannae think offhand, eh, no. If I come up with something I'll shout it out.
F1054 Okay. What about ehm "unattractive", the opposite of attractive?
F1005 Eh, ugly.
F1006 Ugly, ugly. Ehm,
M1004 Pure rotten. //[laugh]//
F1054 //That's a good one.//
F1005 //Pure rotten.//
M1004 [laugh] //[laugh]//
F1054 //And i- can you say that if you're talking about a person,//
F1005 //[laugh]//
F1054 when you say pure rotten?
M1004 Yes. But I won't tell you who I would be talkin aboot.
F1006 [laugh]
F1054 And wo- would you say that of of other things apart from a person, or not?
M1004 Yes, yeah, yeah. But eh, yeah.
F1054 Okay, ehm, [tut] what about, oh "left-handed"?
F1005 Corrie-handed.
F1054 Yeah.
M1004 Sinister. //[laugh]//
F1054 //Is that w- is that no, is that at school, [inaudible]//
F1006 //That's Latin.//
M1004 [exhale]
F1054 Did you hear it used, where did you hear the word sinister used for left-handed?
M1004 It probably does come from school. But it's either sinister or corrie-fisted. Because eh you see in the old days, total total digression here, in the old days just think of it, they built the turrets, the stairs in the turrets goin up to the old castles, they built them so that they could be de- defended by people that were fightin with their right hand. So that the Nor- when they were, castles were bein attacked, right-handers couldnae fight goin up round the turret. So all you needed to do was send up a bunch o lefties, and they'd be able to win the battle.
F1054 That's really interestin. That's, //you should have [inaudible] George.//
F1006 //I'd have said corrie-fisted.//
F1054 You said something about Latin.
F1006 Well sinister comes from Latin.
M1004 Sinistro.
F1006 It's, I think it's what left for, it means left, does it not?
M1004 Yes.
F1006 If I remember right. Getting a row from my old Latin teacher //if I don't! [laugh]//
M1004 //[inaudible] in Italian.//
F1054 So g- I mean, some, in some ways left-handed folk were made out to be deviants,
M1004 //Yes.//
F1006 //Well that's why// years ago they would, children who were le- ort- who would have been left-handed were not allowed to do that at school, they were actually encouraged to use their right hand, whereas nowadays that's not a problem. //[inaudible]//
M1004 //That's right, the school,// The school couldnae go out and buy, you know, two hundred pairs of left-handed scissors. Or left-handed fountain pens.
F1005 [laugh]
F1054 So they kind of got made into something kind of bad? //Are you left-handed, I mean?//
M1004 //[laugh] No.//
F1005 //No.//
F1006 //No.//
M1004 Ambidextrous.
F1054 [laugh] What about what about "rich"?
F1005 Ehm
F1054 Think of somebody you know that's really well off, could be Posh and Becks.
F1005 Well off, an //erm//
F1054 //How would you descr- describe Posh and Becks?// //[laugh]//
M1004 //[inaudible]//
F1005 //one that I don't want to say. [laugh] Ehm//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1005 loaded.
F1054 That's a good one.
M1004 Rollin in it.
F1054 That's a nice one, yeah.
F1006 Rich. [laugh] Ehm well-off, rich, that's
F1054 Do you ever say "minted"?
F1005 //Aye, minted, that's a good one.//
F1006 //No.//
F1054 [inaudible] //I- is that what you hear, round about here?//
F1005 //Aye.// //Well I've heard it in the past.//
M1004 //I I've heard it but no.//
F1006 No, I've
M1004 Rollin in it's usually what we, you know, he's rollin in it or she's rollin in it.
F1054 Okay, good. Ehm, what about the opposite o that, "poor"?
F1006 Skint.
F1005 Skint.
F1006 [laugh] Ehm,
F1054 Anything else you're
M1004 //Broke, I'd have said skint or broke. That's the two words I'd use.//
F1006 //[inaudible]//
F1054 Think about folk you know that are no well off and what would you //call them?//
M1004 //Aye, you say they're broke// //or they're skint.//
F1006 //Yes.//
F1054 Your bairns, are they always complainin about bein
F1005 Bein
M1004 Doon to their last.
F1005 Doon to their last pennies.
F1054 What was that?
F1005 Doon to ma ma last penny.
F1054 Yeah. Ehm, what about er "drunk"? George?
M1004 [cough] Well, we've got blootered again. We've got er, I'm trying to, I've gone, I'm sorry, I I've just gone on them. Er, drunk. //Stotious.//
F1005 //Steamin.// //Steamin.//
M1004 //Steamin, stotious, that's a that's quite a common one we use.// Eh staggerin, eh fleein. Fleein. //Yeah?//
F1005 //Mmhm.//
F1054 An is there different ways you'd use those different words for drunk?
M1004 Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There's somebody, there's a happy drunk, you say somebody's happy. //That means they're just//
F1005 //I don't know if I should use this one, pissed// //as a fart. [laugh]//
M1004 //Aye.// Good one.
F1054 And n- now, cause I know you can get like happy drunk, right, what would the word for that be versus really agressive, versus totally comatose?
F1005 Ehm, //uh-huh.//
M1004 //Well, fightin dr- you do just say fightin drunk.// You say fightin drunk, you get happy drunks and you get fightin drunks and you get si- [laugh] singin drunks, you know? It's
F1054 Ann, got any there?
F1006 Mm, well a happy drunk's usually, I'd say, a harmless drunk, //as opposed to a fightin drunk.//
M1004 //Yes, somebody that's// somebody that's steaming, somebody that's steaming is usually happy. //That's not a term that's used for somebody that's er, steamin and fleein arenae fightin drunks.//
F1005 //Mmhm.//
M1004 Would you agree wi that, Margaret?
F1005 Or legless, did we use that?
M1004 Legless. [laugh]
F1005 Legless. //[laugh]//
M1004 //That's a good one.//
F1054 //[inaudible]//
F1005 //That's somebody that just cannae find their way back. [laugh]//
F1054 What about the word you mentioned, stotious?
M1004 Stotious, yeah. Stotious means paralytic. //Have we used//
F1006 //Completely out of it.//
M1004 //paralytic?//
F1005 //No.//
M1004 Paralytic is just out the game. If you're paralytic you're rubber-legged, you just cannae you just cannae move. You don't know the time o day, you don't know where you are. You cannae stand, you just lie there in the gutter.
F1005 You're mair or less unconscious.
F1054 //[inaudible]//
M1004 //Yes.// //Comatose.//
F1005 //Mair or less, it's the ne-. Comatose.// //Aye.//
M1004 //Comatose, there's another one.// //[laugh]//
F1054 //Drunk's a good one, we've got so many words for drunk. I wonder why that is, as a Scottish nation, yeah?// Erm, what about "pregnant"? Ladies? I'll start with the ladies first. [inhale]
F1006 Just pregnant. [laugh] I wouldn't know other
F1005 No, don't you start! //[Er], bun in the oven.//
M1004 //Th- that's that's the only one I know of.//
F1005 Er //Up the, up the spout.//
M1004 //Up the spout.// //Aye, I'd forgotten that one, eh.//
F1005 //Aye.// [inaudible]
M1004 In the, oh, what is it they say? She's in the, in the club.
F1005 In the club. //Aye.//
M1004 //That was it, in the club.// //Aye. [laugh]//
F1005 //That's a good yin.//
M1004 [laugh] Cannae think o any more.
F1054 Up the duff?
F1005 Up the duff, aye. //Aye, I've heard that, I've heard it right enough.//
M1004 //That's no one I'd use. Aye.//
F1054 So [?]none of you really[/?] use that?
M1004 No.
F1054 Okay, ehm oh let's see, insane, [inaudible] rich, "moody". What's comin to your mind, Ann, you're lookin //puzzled. [inaudible]//
F1006 //Nothing. [laugh] Moody!//
F1054 That that's in-
F1006 Puzzled, puzzled. No, b-, moody, mmhm. I think just moody, I can't think of anything that we use that would cover that.
F1054 That's fine, absolutely fine.
F1005 Sulkin. Sulkin.
F1054 That's quite good.
M1004 In the sulk, takin a sulk. Er, cannae think o any others, but sul- if you're ta-, if you- in the huff. Well it's no quite, that disnae maybe need to be moody. Cause moody's
F1054 Mm.
M1004 you can be in the huff withoot bein moody, couldn't you? [laugh] //[laugh]//
F1054 //Okay, brilliant, erm let's see, "to rain lightly", what it's doin today?//
F1005 To drizzle.
F1006 Drizzle.
F1005 Drizzle.
F1054 It's a nice way you say that, how do you
M1004 //[cough]//
F1006 //Drizzle.//
F1054 Slightly different; yo- you kind of say "drizzle", and that's more //Drizzle.//
F1006 //Drizzle.//
F1054 Slightly different. //[laugh]//
M1004 //[laugh]//
F1005 //Drizzle. [laugh]//
F1006 //[laugh]// //[laugh]//
F1054 //I'm just interested in the difference, there's no one that's nicer than the other or any better than the other, they're just slightly different.//
M1004 //[laugh]//
F1005 //[laugh]//
F1054 What would you say, George?
M1004 I'd say drizzlin, aye, drizzle or drizzlin.
F1054 What aboot when it's rainin heavily? //Really raining.//
F1005 //Eh// cat and dogs.
F1006 Eh, stottin could be used, again, stotting. //It's stotting off the kerb and the pavement.//
F1054 //[inaudible]// That's a really common one, isn't it?
M1004 Yeah, stottin, yeah. We say the rain, //aye, it's stottin, aye.//
F1005 //Some people would say [?]in Castlemilk[/?].// It's pissin down. //I keep usin that word! [laugh]//
F1054 //[laugh]//
M1004 //Don't worry aboot it.//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1005 [claps] [inhale] //[exhale]//
F1054 //Is that, is that a word you think that folk in your local community use?//
M1004 Oh yeah.
F1005 Mmhm, aye it is.
M1004 For everything.
F1054 Is that like unique to a part of where yo- Glasgow or is it [inaudible]?
F1005 Don't know. It's just quite commonly used.
M1004 All over, yeah.
F1054 Mmhm.
M1004 It's all over Glasgow. [laugh] //Very common. Sorry.//
F1054 //I'm just interested in case, oh, aye.// What was I saying, erm what about er the "toilet"? Words for toilet?
F1005 Er the loo.
M1004 Get the boys ontae it. The lavvy. The bog. The cludgie. [laugh]
F1005 //The bog, is that what you said?//
F1006 //Just loo, or toilet.// //Loo I think's got more common over the last twenty years possibly.//
M1004 //[laugh]// Never heard cludgie?
F1005 Nope.
M1004 Oh dear.
F1054 //Cludgie's a good one.//
F1006 //That's an old one.// //An old one.//
F1054 //Would//
M1004 //Cludgie's a good one, yes.//
F1054 folk actually use that, do you think?
M1004 Well I still use it, yeah, use it wi the children, so the children'll be usin it. Yeah. //[cough]//
F1054 //Wha- what it, what, but what words do you notice, George, that you use that your bairns do and don't use?// What age is yer bairns?
M1004 Nine and six. Eh I couldnae actually, I I cannae think o anythin off-hand, but I don't know that the-, oh they they use they use words like "fart", //and "keech".//
F1005 //[inaudible]// //[inaudible]//
M1004 //[inaudible]// They do yes, don't they, yeah.
F1054 What's keech?
M1004 Keech's a jobbie. //Oh.//
F1005 //[laugh]//
F1054 Ah that's a good one.
M1004 I don't like this "number ones" and "number twos", let's be straight with them, you know? Real words. //So er, they//
F1054 //Words, bairns love words like that as well, don't they?//
F1005 //Mm//
M1004 do, yes. //The-//
F1054 //Anything lavatorial is// //them.//
M1004 //That's correct,// yes, they're both writing stories for school just now, on the s- er, what is it, one's doing Capt- Captain Toilet Cleaner, [laugh], so it has a lot o these words in it, [laugh]. //[laugh]//
F1054 //They're probably tappin you up for a few words, are they George?//
M1004 Probably, yes, yes.
F1054 Okay, ehm, what about the "narrow walkway between or alongside buildings"?
F1006 Lane, lane. //That's mm.//
F1005 //Pathway.//
M1004 Alley or lane's the words, aye. We'd mostly, I think most here, we'd, most in Glasgow we'd call it a lane.
F1054 Mm. I suppose you live in a nice //detached house here, there are a lot of flats in Glasgow.//
M1004 //[cough]//
F1005 //Uh-huh.//
F1006 Well if you go up like, as you walk up, is it Buchanan Street or Elmbank Street, towards Sauchiehall Street, you get Bath Lane and Sauchiehall S- Lane,
M1004 That's //lanes.//
F1006 //you know,// //because the main roads are Bath Street and Sauchiehall Street.//
F1005 //[inaudible]//
F1006 So if you look at the side lanes, they are actually called Bath Lane and Sauchiehall Lane. //Lane.//
M1004 //[cough]// //Alleys.//
F1054 //So they're not wynds or// a close or anything?
M1004 Well, a close isnae a lane. A cl- //In Glasgow,//
F1006 //But in Glasgow we used to have things like Hatter's Row.//
F1054 What was that?
F1006 Hatter's Row, that, it existed, oh, real before my time //even, in Bridgeton.//
M1004 //We've got a lot o rows.// //They're still g- they're still they're still namin streets rows.//
F1006 //Yes, but the Ha- yes.// //Well there's Monteith Row up there at the end of the Green.//
M1004 //There's one called after my dad.// [CENSORED: surname and street name] Row. It's just opened a couple of years ago. There's, row's quite a common Glasgow name for a
F1005 Street.
M1004 No, it's just a row o houses. But eh,
F1054 As in R.O.W.?
M1004 //Yes.//
F1006 //Yes.//
M1004 But eh I mean a close is something you go up to, you go up the stairs to get to your houses, it's not a not a public thoroughfare, a close. Even a common close isnae a public thoroughfare. [laugh]
F1054 //Mm.//
F1005 //Ehm.//
F1054 Now, that's it. Okay. What about ehm the main room in the house, with a TV in. You probably don't have a TV in //here.//
F1006 //Living room.// Living room.
M1004 The living room, aye.
F1005 Probably just the living room, lounge.
F1054 Mmhm. Sitting room?
M1004 //I've heard it ca- I've heard it called the sittin room but we really just call it the livin room.//
F1005 //[inaudible]//
F1006 //[inaudible]// The living room mainly.
F1054 And what about the long soft seat in the main room?
F1005 Sofa. //Couch.//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 Mmhm, what about that
F1005 Couch.
M1004 Orange box. //No, sorry, sorry, that was a joke.//
F1054 //[laugh]//
F1005 //[laugh]//
M1004 //Eh, [laugh] we don't have, we don't have long soft seats.//
F1006 //Couch.//
M1004 [laugh] Eh, couch.
F1006 Couch, yes.
F1054 Okay, good. Ehm, [tut], main room of the house, rain lightly, rain heavily, toilet, narrow walkway, what about "running water, smaller than a river"?
F1005 Stream.
F1054 You're the first person I've heard say that [?]Margaret[/?] it's interesting.
F1006 A stream or a burn.
M1004 That's the two I would use, stream or burn. Yeah.
F1054 Well you're livin right by the river here, //so.//
M1004 //Aye.// It's no quite a burn, but there's a lot o burns, aye. [cough] Most o them around Glasgow are all called burns. //[?]Particularly[/?]//
F1054 //Tell me, tell me about the words that are associated with the river that are er very Glaswegian.//
F1006 //The Fisherman's.//
M1004 [inhale] [exhale] [laugh] There are, there are words that aren't very very Glaswegian. But you find that there are words associated with the river that change from Glasgow Green, down into the harbour, down to the coast, different words, different places. If you take the word "punt", P.U.N.T, A punt here is a small single rowing boat. A punt down in Cambridge is a boat you stand on and shove wi a pole. A punt down in the harbour here, just just down below the weir, a punt is a eh, what we call a barge, which is a floating, a floating square object that you just put stuff on and you've got to tow it by another boat. That's a punt down in the harbour. Up here we call it a barge. A barge down there is a motorised vessel. So there's words that are peculiar, but it's the same down in London too, because they've got barges and punts, nu-, but they're all different. So you actually find all over Britain there's river words that exist but they have different meanings in different rivers. I mean [cough], talking about accents, I wa- I I saw somebody in a restaurant in Durham, I went up to him and I said eh "You're a Thames lighterman, aren't you?" And I knew that he was a Thames waterman, a lighterman just because of the words he was usin, and the way he was using the words. There's, oh there's a lot o words associated wi rivers. //Aye.//
F1054 //Tell me// the differences between Glasgow city and doon the coast slightly, and aw the stuff you mentioned.
M1004 Well I'm just thinkin o that word, that, just, ju- the punt and the barge, but there are others, I couldn't, er, I'd need to think about them. It's quite difficult but, [cough], excuse me. But there are words that mean totally different things. It's all b- it's all water and boat terminology, you've got to be careful where you use them, you know? //I'm sorry, I ca- my mind's gone blank, I cannae think o any//
F1054 //No, that- that was a great example, that was// //[inaudible]//
M1004 //[cough] But you've got "eddies".// I mean, that's not words, that's the same all over, "eddy" just means when the water swirls round, you know? "Hursts", now that's a good Glasgow word, a good Scottish word, "hursts", H.U.R.S.T.S. Now that means, eh, that's really where the water is running downhill, which some people would call, not quite, not a waterfall, just running over stones, we call that a hurst. Some folk would call it a weir, some folk wo-, I don't know what else they would call it. Just, it's just known as a hurst. You come doon a hurst. That's a very peculiar one [?]it is[/?].
F1054 That's very interestin, it's a good one here. Ehm, any other words associated with the work you do that are very Glaswegian? Like bein a librarian, or anything?
F1006 Well I sometimes go out and give talks about George's work, you know, to Guilds and Rotary Clubs, round tables, and often if I'm describing the state of lifebelts flung into the river, when they come out, when George collects them out of the river, they are so mochit, so filthy, dirty, in other words, and covered in glaur. It's a sticky, horrible, greasy substance that needs chemical cleaners to take the dirt off them, I believe, so, I think "mochit" and "glaur" are very expressive words to use to try and get through to people just the state these are in when they come out of the river.
F1054 "Glaur", that's an interestin one, never heard that before. Anything associated with, Margaret, you feel strongly about, any words that you, things you'd call in the kitchen, you'd cry things in the kitchen that might be typically Glaswegian? Or in the house?
F1005 Ehm, cutlery. Mm, let me think.
F1054 Let me think, ehm, words for a brush or sweeper?
F1005 A broom.
F1054 Or words for rooms. What would you call that thing, tha- or the place where you make the food?
M1004 //[inaudible]//
F1005 //Kitchen, well it used to, it used to be the scullery.// //Is that them? Mm. [other people arrive in the room]//
F1054 //Aye, I think, that's them.//
F1006 I keep saying Glasgow Na- Scottish Nationalists, I'm the Glasgow Green nationalist. [laugh] Ehm.
F1054 You grew up on Glasgow Green?
F1006 Yes.
F1054 Explain where it is in relation to the rest of //Glasgow, [inaudible].//
F1006 //Well it's the largest park in the city of// Glasgow, but I never had a neighbour in my life, till seven years ago, never had traffic passing the front door, never had erm er, like school friends and that, I guess I was a bit of a tomboy because the whole class of boys could come home with George, but parents didn't like their girls coming home, even though Father would say he'd make sure they got home safely. So I tended to be maybe, as I say, more a tomboy, because I was playin wi George and all his pals.
F1054 Yeah.
F1006 It made us very much a close-knit family, I think.
F1054 [inaudible] the a lot of the words what you u- //yeah.//
F1006 //Yes, which I feel the// the normal Glaswegians would use possibly, I wasn't hearing as a youngster, really, //because we were, we were so i-//
F1054 //Where was your, where was your language// influences comin from?
F1006 Sorry?
F1054 Where were your language influences coming from?
M1004 //[inaudible]//
F1006 //Well Father was born and brought up in Bridgeton and my mother was just over//
M1004 I think we all want one.
F1006 ehm near the city centre. I mean she was born just, funnily enough, behind the Mi- Mitchell Library where she was born. And then eventually Gallowgate, so it was Glasgow centre, but I mean she came down here, married Father, when she was only twenty-one. So, so she was here really the largest part of her life. Ehm, //Here we are. Thi-//
M1004 //We're in here!//
F1054 Ehm, let's go for the familial stuff. What would you call your mum?
M1004 Mother.
F1006 Mummy.
F1054 [other people enter] Now, you guys have no got to listen, like, you've got to talk among yourselves and no [?]pinchi-[/?] words fae this
F1006 Mummy. [laugh]
F1005 Eh, ma.
F1054 What about grandmother?
M1004 Granny.
F1006 Granny.
F1005 Nana.
M1004 The Duchess.
F1006 Oh yes, Mother's mother was the Duchess.
F1054 That right, yes. Was that a popular one, do you think, or? Can I just get you to come in a tiny bit?
M1004 //I don't know, I don't know but she was//
F1006 //No, I never heard any- I didn't hear anybody else using it. I think it was unique to//
M1004 she was known, all over the area, not just by the family, she was known as "the Duchess". And up until he died, her, one of her sons, never called her Mother, he just called her the Duchess.
F1054 Interesting. And eh what about "grandfather"?
M1004 Grandad. Granpa.
F1006 Grandad.
F1005 Eh, Papa. Papa.
F1054 That's a popular one, ehm "friend"?
M1004 Pal.
F1006 Pal.
M1004 Chum. Chum. Buddy.
F1054 That's quite a bit a male thing, isn't it? What would you call your female friend, Margaret?
F1005 Just pal.
F1054 And the pronunciation's quite distinct there, kinda "pal" isn't it, rather than "pal"? Pal.
F1005 Pal.
F1054 Ehm, what about "female partner"?
F1006 Female?
F1054 Partner.
M1004 That's just really for me, innit?
F1006 Just partner.
M1004 [cough] The wife.
F1006 [laugh]
M1004 "She who, she who must be obeyed", no the wi- the wife. Er.
F1054 And if ye werenae married tae her?
M1004 Her indoors. //I would still call her that.//
F1006 //[laugh]// //[inaudible]//
M1004 //If I wisnae married tae her, what would I call her? No, er, I don't know, just er,// //Don't know. Girlfriend.//
F1005 //Fiancée.// Fiancée, girlfriend,
M1004 Pal.
F1054 And if, a male partner?
M1004 [laugh] //[participant is speaking to other people in the room]//
F1005 //Ehm. Pardon? [laugh]//
M1004 John, John, [inaudible]
F1054 If you were tellin your friends a story about what your husband had been doing, what would you, how would you refer tae him? And they didnae know your husband's name.
F1005 Er, fiancé. Ehm Let me think.
M1004 I ca-, I ca-, I sometimes refer to her in front o the weans as "the auld Dutch". But that's coming from
F1006 Granny, //yes.//
M1004 //ma granny, you know?//
F1006 [laugh]
M1004 But the weans will call her that, [laugh], yes.
F1005 Yes.
F1054 And er what about er if th- two people were living together unmarried, what would what would the partners be there?
M1004 Their "bidie-in".
F1054 Okay, ehm, "word for something whose name you've forgotten"?
M1004 //[phone rings]//
F1006 //Wh- "what-do-you-ma-call-it" [laugh]//
M1004 Hello?
F1005 Ehm //just something.//
M1004 //Hello?// [NOTE: on phone] You're speaking with him.
F1054 Ehm, and "young person in cheap trendy clothes and jewellery".
M1004 [NOTE: on phone] Eh, can I can I can I stop you there, sir, this is lifeboat station that works with Strathclyde Police, you'll need to contact [inaudible].
F1054 Okay, ehm, "young person in cheap trendy clothes and jewellery"?
M1004 A wee gallus bachle.
F1054 Oh, that's a good one.
M1004 [someone else in room says 'flash'] Flash! [laugh]
F1054 Ex- explain that George.
M1004 Flash Harry, aye, yeah yeah yeah.
F1006 [laugh]
M1004 Just that almost a derogatory term, it's er, a right wee, you know, they're just, you know? //Er//
F1054 //What's the [inaudible], "gallus", what's that?//
M1004 Gallus is flea-bitten an ragged. So it's more or less sayin although they've got fancy clothes on, it's s- sayin the opposite to what they're doin, you know, er, instead of sayin their fancy clothes, you say their clothes are flea-bitten and ra- ragged. And a bachle's just a derogatory term for someone that cannae walk right or, you know, there's something wrang wi them, you know? You know, it's eh, you know, I've just thought of another one for eh partner, yeah, the ni- "nippy sweetie". //Come on, you must have called somebody a nippy sweetie.//
F1054 //Wha- what [inaudible]//
F1005 Well I have.
M1004 [laugh]
F1054 I don't know what that means.
M1004 //[laugh]//
F1005 //Wee sweetie wife.//
M1004 Nippy sweetie. [someone else in room says 'somebody somebody that's very cheeky and very very very thingamy tae you, abrupt, abrasive'] [someone else in room says 'somebody you couldnae kid wi'] A lot of folk call their wives wee nippy sweeties because they've gottae be home at certain times for their tea and they've gottae dae this and they've gottae dae that. And they say, "she's a right wee nippy sweetie". Gotta do what they're told. She's got them under their thumb.
F1006 Somebody else at the door, George.
F1005 It's busy the day.
F1054 //Ehm,//
M1004 //He's watching the dog. [laugh] Sorry.//
F1054 what aboot a, what aboot a kit of tools?
M1004 I just cll, I just call it a tool-box.
F1054 That's fine, there- no worries if you can't think of anything else, that's fine. Shaking heads there. Erm, what aboot "baby"?
F1005 Wean.
F1006 Baby.
F1005 Er, just wean.
M1004 The wee man, or the wee yin, or aw that. Aye.
F1054 And what aboot if it's a girl?
M1004 The wee yin. That's, aye. //A wee lassie.//
F1054 //Explain "wean" to me.//
M1004 Yeah. Sorry?
F1054 Explain "wean" to me.
M1004 [cough] A wean is, a wean's not really a, I don't it's not really a baby, a wean's a toddler, you know, it's aye, it's just gettin to the stage where it's startin to walk, that's a wean, you know, it's
F1054 And the the baby is, the baby is different, is it?
M1004 Aye, a baby, a baby's different, a baby's different, but I cannae think o a name for a baby. And that's a wean as opposed to "away and jump", you know?
F1054 What about er, "child's soft shoes worn for PE"?
F1005 Eh, sandshoes. [interruption from other people in the room] Youse be quiet.
F1054 You can't confer, this is this is a like a quiz show, there's no conferring. [laugh] //[laugh]//
F1006 //Sandshoes, that's it, sandshoes.//
M1004 Sandshoes, sannies.
F1005 Sannies.
M1004 Though I have heard them referred to more recently as "bafties". That s- seems to be comin in. //Yes. No, I'm not, that is//
F1005 //Do you make yer ain words up, George?//
M1004 I bet you can conferm that, confirm that. Conferm? Confirm that.
F1006 Children are using that, maybe.
F1054 What was that?
F1006 Sandshoes, I'm saying, maybe he hears his children using that word.
F1054 That's right, if you've got young uns.
M1004 I was also, see, for ma sins, I was twenty-six years in teaching. //So.//
F1005 //You got exposed to quite a bit there.//
F1054 //What aboot "clothes"?//
M1004 //A lot o language, aye.// Yer jouks.
F1005 Mm? I don't know that one.
M1004 That can mean both, can't it? //Mean yer fists and it can mean what you're wearin.//
F1006 //[inaudible] fists.// //I've never heard it clothing.//
M1004 //Clobber, cla-//
F1005 //Yer claes.// //Yer claes.//
M1004 //clabber, clabber, clabber.//
F1054 Anything else, Ann? No.
F1006 I can't think of anything else. [laugh]
F1054 Okay, we're nearly there, "trousers"?
M1004 Drawers.
F1005 Pants.
F1006 Trousers.
F1054 That's great.
M1004 Well I mean I few years ago, I'd have said ma flares.
F1005 [laugh]
F1054 But you're so up to the minute, George, you're no longer wearing those.
M1004 Ma drainpipes. No.
F1006 Are they not back in again? [laugh]
F1005 No, it's bootlegs noo.
F1054 //Oh is it?//
F1006 //Oh!// //Oh//
M1004 //Is that what you wear when you're playing tennis?//
F1005 //It's the bootleg.// //[laugh]//
F1054 //[laugh]//
F1006 //[laugh]//
F1054 That's us been right round the ehm [inaudible]
M1004 Galluses. No no that's that's //that comes fae//
F1005 //Kegs are shoes, innit?// Kegs? Is it?
M1004 Galluses were sometimes referred to for a while as troosers because it came fae the galluses you wore to haud yer, you know, wi yer troosers, to haud your socks and things.
F1006 Yeah, that was it. I thought it was "galoshes" for wellington boots.
F1054 Great. //[inaudible]//
M1004 //I have tae mention the word "pochle".// Po-, you know, you use pochle. Aye, tae pochle something. Pochle means, h- how do you describe it, if you if you rig something, if you iIf you could think up, if you could f- find out what wo- arrange for your numbers to come up in the lottery, you'd be pochlin it. //Cheatin, aye.//
F1005 //Cheatin.//
M1004 Pochle, pochle's a lovely Scots word.
F1054 That's great. Any other words that you'd really like to share, that you're really fond of, that you think are quite distinctive?
F1005 Er, "gies a", that's a horrible word, innit?
F1006 Drookit.
F1054 What's that?
F1005 It's, if you if you want want something you'll say, "gonnae you give me that", "gie me that", "gie's it".
F1054 And you mentioned one.
F1006 Drookit, you come in soaking wet if you've been out in heavy rain. Like, [inaudible] ehm.
F1054 Anything else?
M1004 [tut] There was, there was a couple I'm tryin to think of, when you were talking about "glaur" and
F1006 "Mochit" and "glaur", I think are excellent, I like them. [laugh]
M1004 It's weather, it's weather again that I use regular when I go out in the boat and that's, it's gone, sorry.
F1054 No worries at all. Can I just get you to introduce yourselves one more time, tell me where you're from and how long you've lived there.
F1005 Ehm, Margaret [CENSORED: surname], I work for the Glasgow Green and I've stayed here most o ma life, in Glasgow.
F1054 What part o Glasgow are ye from?
F1005 Ehm, Castlemilk.
M1004 George [CENSORED: surname], I'm the lifeboat officer at the Glasgow Humane Society, which is in the Glasgow Green, and er I b- I was born here, I'm still living in the same house as I was born in, sixty-one years ago.
F1006 Ann [CENSORED: surname], George's sister, born in the same house in Glasgow Green but now living two miles away on the riverside, on where, what was the Festival Park area now. Ehm, in a flat there. And I was a librarian with Glasgow Public Libraries.
F1054 That's us. Great.

This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document.

Close

Cite this Document

APA Style:

BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 11 November 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1428.

MLA Style:

"BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 11 November 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1428.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow," accessed 11 November 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1428.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

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

Close

Information about Document 1428

BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow

Audio

Audio audience

Adults (18+)
General public
Informed lay people
Specialists
For gender Mixed
Audience size 1000+

Audio awareness & spontaneity

Speaker awareness Aware
Degree of spontaneity Spontaneous
Special circumstances surrounding speech Spontaneous but discussing a list of words they had thought about previously.

Audio footage information

Year of recording 2004
Recording person id 1060
Size (min) 42
Size (mb) 162

Audio footage series/collection information

Part of series
Contained in BBC Voices Recordings - www.bbc.co.uk/voices

Audio medium

Radio/audio
Web (e.g. audio webcast)

Audio setting

Education
Journalism
Recording venue Private house
Geographic location of speech Glasgow Green, Glasgow

Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers

Not previously acquainted
Speakers knew each other Yes

Audio speaker relationships

Family members or other close relationship
Friend

Audio transcription information

Transcriber id 718
Year of transcription 2006
Year material recorded 2004
Word count 6693

Audio type

Conversation
General description Conversation centred around a pre-prepared list of words for discussion

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 1004
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 18
Occupation Officer, Glasgow Humane Society
Place of birth Glasgow
Region of birth Glasgow
Birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Glasgow
Region of residence Glasgow
Residence CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Officer, Glasgow Humane Society
Father's place of birth Glasgow
Father's region of birth Glasgow
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Officer, Glasgow Humane Society
Mother's place of birth Glasgow
Mother's region of birth Glasgow
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 1005
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1950
Age left school 15
Upbringing/religious beliefs Catholicism
Occupation Domestic
Place of birth Scotstoun
Region of birth Glasgow
Birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Glasgow
Region of residence Glasgow
Residence CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Shipyard worker - painter
Father's place of birth Gorbals
Father's region of birth Glasgow
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Father's country of birth Scotland

Languages

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

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 1006
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Age left school 19
Occupation Librarian (retired)
Place of birth Glasgow
Region of birth Glasgow
Birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Glasgow
Region of residence Glasgow
Residence CSD dialect area Gsw
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Officer, Glasgow Humane Society
Father's place of birth Glasgow
Father's region of birth Glasgow
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw
Mother's occupation Housewife
Mother's place of birth Glasgow
Mother's region of birth Glasgow
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Gsw

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 1054

Close