Doric, the popular name forMid Northern Scots[1] orNortheast Scots,[2] refers to theScots language as spoken in the northeast ofScotland. There is an extensive body of literature, mostly poetry, ballads, and songs, written in Doric. In some literary works, Doric is used as the language of conversation while the rest of the work is inLallans Scots or British English.[3] A number of 20th and 21st century poets have written poetry in the Doric dialect.
The term "Doric" was formerly used to refer to all dialects ofLowland Scots, but during the twentieth century it became increasingly associated with Mid Northern Scots.[4]
The name possibly originated as ajocular reference to theDoric dialect of theAncient Greek language.GreekDorians lived inLaconia, includingSparta, and other more rural areas, and were alleged by the ancient Greeks to have spoken laconically and in a language thought harsher in tone and more phonetically conservative than theAttic spoken inAthens. Doric Greek was used for some of the verses spoken by thechorus in Greektragedy.
18th-century Scots writers such asAllan Ramsay justified their use of Scots (instead of English) by comparing it to the use of Ancient Greek Doric byTheocritus.[6] English became associated with Attic.[7]
InBuchan theclustercht, alsoght, may be realised/ð/ in some words, rather than/xt/ as in other dialects, for example:dochter (daughter),micht (might) andnocht (nought), often writtendother,mith andnoth in dialect writing.
The clustersgn andkn are realised/ɡn/ and/kn/, for examplegnaw,gnap,knee,knife,knock (a clock) andknowe (knoll).
In Buchan, towards the coast,th followed byer may be realised/d/, rather than/ð/ as in other dialects, for example:brither (brother),faither (father),gaither (gather) andmither (mother), often writtenbridder,fadder,gaider~gedder andmidder in dialect writing.
wh is realised/f/, rather than/ʍ/ as inCentral Scots dialects, for examplewhit (what) andwha (who), often writtenfit andfa(a) in dialect writing.
The clusterwr may be realised/vr/, rather than/r/ as in Central Scots dialects, for examplewratch (wretch),wrath,wricht (wright) andwrocht (wrought~worked), often writtenvratch,vrath,vricht andvrocht in dialect writing.
a (vowel 17) before/b/,/ɡ/,/m/ and/ŋ/ may be/ə/ or/ʌ/ rather than/a(ː)/.
aw andau (vowel 12), sometimesa ora' representingL-vocalisation,[9][10] are realised/aː/, rather than/ɑː/ or/ɔː/ as in Central Scots dialects, for exampleaw (all),cauld (cold),braw (brave, handsome, fine, splendid),faw (fall) andsnaw (snow), often writtenaa,caal(d),braa,faa andsnaa in dialect writing. In Buchan, in some words thestem finalw may be realised/v/, often with a/j/ glide before the preceding vowel, for exampleawe[jaːv] (awe),blaw[bl(j)aːv] (blow),gnaw[ɡnjaːv],law[ljaːv],snaw[snjaːv] (snow) andtaw[tjaːv]~[tʃaːv] often writtenyaave,blyaave,gnaave,snyaave andtyauve~tyaave~chaave in dialect writing.
In some areasai ora (consonant)e/e(ː)/ (vowel 4 or 8) may be realised/əi/ after/w/,dark/l/ and occasionally after other consonants, for exampleclaes (clothes),coal,coat,gape,wade,waik (weak),wait,wale (choose) andwame (belly), often writtenclyes,kwile,kwite,gype,wyde,wyke,wyte,wyle andwyme in dialect writing. A preceding/k/ or/n/ may produce a/j/ glide, with the vowel realised/a/, for examplecaird[kjard] (card),cake[kjak],naig[njaɡ] (nag) andnakit[njakɪt] (naked). The clusterane is realised/en/ in Moray and Nairn but is usually/in/ in other areas,[11] for example,ane (one)ance (once),bane (bone) andstane (stone), often writteneen,eence,been andsteen in dialect writing.
ea,ei (vowel 3) is usually/i(ː)/, though the realisation may be/e(ː)/ along the coast and in Moray and Nairn. The realisation may also be/əi/ in, for example,great,quean (girl),seiven (seven),sweit (sweat),weave andwheat, and/ɪ/ before/k/ in, for example,speak, often writtengryte,quine,syven,swyte,wyve,fyte andspik(k) in dialect writing. Before/v/ and/z/ the realisation may be/ɪ/ in, for example,heiven (heaven),reason,season andseiven (seven), often writtenhivven,rizzon,sizzon andsivven in dialect writing.
ee (vowels 2 and 11),e(Consonant)e (vowel 2). Occasionallyei andie withei generally beforech (/x/), but also in a few other words, andie generally occurring beforel andv. The realisation is generally/i(ː)/ but may be/əi/ after/w/, dark/l/ and occasionally after other consonants in, for example,cheenge (change),heeze (lift) andswee (sway), often writtenchynge,hyse andswye in dialect writing.
eu (vowel 7 before/k/ and/x/ seeui), sometimesui andoo after Standard English also occur, is generally/ju/ in for example,beuk (book),eneuch (enough),ceuk (cook),leuk (look) andteuk (took).
Stem finalew (vowel 14) may be realised/jʌu/ in, for example,few,new and also inbeauty and duty, often writtenfyow(e),nyow(e),byowty anddyowty in dialect writing. Before/k/ the realisation may be/ɪ/ in, for example,week, often writtenwyke in dialect writing.
ui (vowel 7) is realised/i(ː)/ and/wi(ː)/ after/ɡ/ and/k/. Alsou (consonant)e, especially before nasals,[12] andoo from the spelling of Standard English cognates, in for example,abuin (above),cuit (ankle) andguid (good), often writtenabeen,queet andgweed in dialect writing. In Moray and Nairn the realisation is usually/(j)uː/ before/r/ in, for example,buird (board),fluir (floor) andfuird (ford), often writtenboord,floor andfoord in dialect writing. The realisation[i(ː)] also occurs inadae (ado),dae (do),shae (shoe) andtae (to~too).
North East Scots has an extensive body of literature, mostly poetry, ballads and songs. During theMiddle Scots period writing from the North East of Scotland adhered to the literary conventions of the time; indications of particular "Doric" pronunciations were very rare. The 18th-century literary revival also brought forth writers from the North East but, again, local dialect features were rare, the extant literary Scots conventions being preferred. In later times, a more deliberately regional literature began to emerge.
In contemporary prose writing, Doric occurs usually as quoted speech, although this is less and less often the case. As is usually the case with marginalised languages, local loyalties prevail in the written form, showing how the variety "deviates" from standard ("British") English as opposed to a general literary Scots "norm". This shows itself in the local media presentation of the language, e.g.,Grampian Television &The Aberdeen Press and Journal. These local loyalties, waning knowledge of the older literary tradition and relative distance from the Central Lowlands ensure that the Doric scene has a degree of semi-autonomy.
Doric dialogue was used in a lot of so-calledKailyard literature, a genre that paints a sentimental, melodramatic picture of the old rural life, and is currently unfashionable. This negative association still plagues Doric literature to a degree, as well as Scottish literature in general.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon'sScots Quair trilogy is set in theMearns and has been the basis of a successful play and television series. It is very popular throughout Scotland and tells the story of Chris, an independent-minded woman, mainly in a form of English strongly influenced by the rhythms of local speech.
A version ofAesop's Fables has been published in Doric, as well as some sections of the Bible.
The North East has been claimed as the "real home of the ballad"[14] and, according to Les Wheeler, "91 out of a grand total of (Child's)305 ballads came from the North East – in fact from Aberdeenshire", which makes the usual name of "Border Ballad" a misnomer put about bySir Walter Scott.
Contemporary writers in Doric includeSheena Blackhall, a poet who writes in Doric, and Mo Simpson, who writes in theAberdeen Evening Express and peppers her humour column with "Doricisms" and Doric words. Doric has also featured in stage, radio and television, notably in the sketches and songs of the Aberdeen-based comedy groupsScotland the What? and theFlying Pigs.
In 2006 anAberdeen hotel decided to use a Doric voice for theirlift. Phrases said by the lift include "Gyaun Up"/ɡʲɑːnʌp/ (Going up), "Gyaun Doun"/ɡʲɑːndun/ (Going down), "atween fleers een an fower"/əˈtwinfliːrzinənˈfʌur/ (between floors one and four).[16]
Also in 2006,Maureen Watt of theSNP took herScottish Parliamentaryoath in Doric. She said "I want to advance the cause of Doric and show there's a strong and important culture in the North East."[17] She was required to take an oath in English beforehand. There was some debate as to whether the oath was "gweed Doric" (/ɡwidˈdoːrɪk/) or not, and notably it is, to a certain extent, written phonetically and contains certain anglicised forms such as "I" rather than "A", and "and" instead of "an":
"I depone aat I wull be leal and bear ae full alleadgance tae her majesty Queen Elizabeth her airs an ony fa come aifter her anent the law. Sae help me God."
In Disney/Pixar'sBrave, the character Young MacGuffin speaks the Doric dialect, and a running joke involves no one else understanding him. This was a choice by the voice actor,Kevin McKidd, a native ofElgin.[18]
In autumn 2020, theUniversity of Aberdeen launched a term-long Doric course, offering it to all its undergraduate students.[19]
In August 2012, Gordon Hay, an Aberdeenshire author, successfully completed what is believed to be the first translation of theNew Testament into Doric. The project took him six years.[20]
^Robert McColl Millar (2007)Northern and insular Scots Edinburgh University Press. p. 3
^Ana Deumert & Wim Vandenbussche (2003)Germanic standardizations: past to present. John Benjamins. p. 385
^McClure, J. Derrick (1 January 1987). "'Lallans' and 'Doric' in North-Eastern Scottish Poetry".English World-Wide.8 (2):215–234.doi:10.1075/eww.8.2.04mcc.
^McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 116
