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'non-natives' spikkin Shetland


Muckle Oxters
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Non-natives usin Shetland dialect  

11 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you feel aboot non-natives usin Shetland dialect?

    • It's fine tae hear dem haein a go
      8
    • No fussed wan wye or da idder
      1
    • I canna suffer da soond o it
      2


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10 hours ago, peeriebryan said:

I think it’s quite sweet when folk say “The Shetlands” ;-) 

It dusna seem ta geen doon very weel whin we return da compliment tho...

'Da Englands', 'Da Scotlands, 'Da Britains'..... Dey look it you laek you hae a head foo o' duff mossy paets, an da hinmist een dey tink you're spaekin aboot a brand o' bairns toys.....

Edited by Ghostrider
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^I do get where it comes from though - think the Canaries, the Falklands etc. which we probably all use without too much thought. Logic would imply that use of ‘the Shetlands’ is just as acceptable 

A more recent annoyance IMO - and to my horror I’ve seen folk living here using it - is ‘the island’ (singular). Since when did we become a single land mass? 

Edited by shetlander
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^ Mebbe dir heard da sang it begins 'Bonnie Isle, Shetland Isle.......'

No shure whit wid grind me gears warst, locals imply dir just wan land mass, ur usin da wird 'island'. Dats English, Isle, pronounced 'Ile' is da Shetland version. Dat opens anodder can o' wirms tho, ta onybody wi Fair Isle connections 'Da Isle' is da Fair Isle, if you're fae Bigton/Scousburgh etc, 'Da Isle' is St Ninian's..... I hae no idea whit idder districts wid ken is 'Da Isle', so I'm not even going ta try an guess.

Its all foo o' anomalies tho. 'Burra' or 'Burra Isle', very common usage, even Burra fok, dir twa isles tho....

Don't think I'd ever get back across da brig alive if I suggested they shud re-name demsells 'Burras', so I'm no gonna....

Edited by Ghostrider
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35 minutes ago, Ghostrider said:

Its all foo o' anomalies tho. 'Burra' or 'Burra Isle', very common usage, even Burra fok, dir twa isles tho....

Don't think I'd ever get back across da brig alive if I suggested they shud re-name demsells 'Burras', so I'm no gonna....

I’m goin tae start referring to ‘The Burras” to wind dem up!

I wis going tae suggest adding a ‘the’ afore Skerries we dir two isles, but dey’re already beaten me tae it!

dis is aa very confusing. I tink da council should get a highly paid consultant in to come up we some naming conventions and rationalise dis free-fur-all! ;-) 

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@Muckle Oxters - get in the queue for a slap and I hope the Sh*itland pony gives you a wallop back!

------------

I have heard a Scottish person refer to Fair Isle as going to "The Fair Isle" - which made me nearly hurl.  I was sorely tempted to ask if she was Scotch?

Haven't heard The Burras yet!

What about the Mainland? - apparently the big island bit with Lerwick on is called this on maps, etc. though I have never heard anyone local refer to it like that irl.

 

 

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38 minutes ago, Frances144 said:

@Muckle Oxters - get in the queue for a slap and I hope the Sh*itland pony gives you a wallop back!

:razz: (whilst hiding ahint Fjool)

42 minutes ago, Frances144 said:

Haven't heard The Burras yet!

If onybody fae Burra is axin, Ghostrider started it ;-)

43 minutes ago, Frances144 said:

What about the Mainland?

It's certainly no a common phrase. I canna tink onybody fae da mainland o Shetland wid refer tae demsels as mainlanders - folk wid say whit 'end', 'side, or district dey came fae, and isles folk wid liklee say dey were goin 'out' o dir isle if dey were headin tae da mainland o Shetland. Tae me, da mainland is mainland Scotland.

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3 hours ago, Muckle Oxters said:

It's certainly no a common phrase. I canna tink onybody fae da mainland o Shetland wid refer tae demsels as mainlanders - folk wid say whit 'end', 'side, or district dey came fae, and isles folk wid liklee say dey were goin 'out' o dir isle if dey were headin tae da mainland o Shetland. Tae me, da mainland is mainland Scotland.

Bein fae da isles I hae a slightly different tak on dis een. As doo says, I certainly hivna heard o anybody fae da (Shetland) Mainland saying dats where dir fae or getting any sense that they hae an 'affiliation' with da (Shetland) Mainland as a whole - as opposed to dir local district (Nortmaven, da Ness etc). 

But its certainly a term used in da idder isles - you'd speak about somebody wirkin on da Mainland or hearin about somebody movin ta da Mainland. Although thinkin aboot it, probably only if there was some vagueness as to where in da Mainland it might be, so if it was Lerwick, you'd say Lerwick etc. 

Fur dat reason, 'sooth' is always da (Scottish/British) Mainland ta me. Ta add anidder isles/non-isles variation inta da mix, you'd get da ferry ta Laxo, Taft etc but da boat ta Aberdeen......

Its certainly interestin' how different things are on a very local level. 

Edited by shetlander
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