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Shetland Place names


Njugle
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I ken der is a project o some kind been done by someen trow da Amenity Trust, but i dunna tink at hit's ony source o info fur dis yet so a'll ax you fok.

 

After a bit o hill wandering navigation and a fair bit o sheeksin, twatree place names have caught me interest and dey dunna seem tae feature idda Scottish Dictionary.

 

Ham - eg Hams o' Roe,

Houb, Houb o' sullom, Houbans etc, (probably a simple wan really.)

Lunga, eg Lunga Water ( a'm awaar of twatree lochs caad dis and wid lof tae ken whit it means.

 

Ony ideas?

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I dunna tink so Pooks, or at laest da Lunga waters i'm tinkin o wid mak fir pretty poor pictirs o a brith maaker. :wink:

 

@ Lola Boomboom, Dis wid seem tae be da answer bit whit is da differ atween a houb an a vadill i winder? Does a vadill ebb-dry an a houb dusna mebbe?

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Lola is richt aneoch aboot 'houb'. 'Ham' means 'haven' - havn, hamn, different spellins i da Nordern languages. Dunna kaen aboot 'lunga,' aless hit's da wird at means 'hedder' - noo if I could lay mi haands apo Jakobsen's an Stewart's plaece-naems books...

 

Ah - here we go:

 

Stewart:

 

houb - Aald Norse hópr, a small landlocked bay or lagoon

lunga - fae AN langr, long, eg: lungaskerries

ham - AN höfn, a harbour

 

Da problem wi dis kind o thing in Shaetlan is da 're-inventin da wheel' aspect. Dis things is aa kent aboot, yit hit's nae pairt o education in Shaetlan. Maestly hit can onnly be fun oot aboot fae oot o print beuks.

 

Tak Stewart's Shetland Place Names. Somebody man a pitten a braa grain o wark inta gadderin aa Stewart's writins an gittin dem printit. Yit I pickit dis beuk up whin he wis remaindered in da Times shop, an I juist happened ta be haem. Maybe dis is a reflection o wir attitude ta Shaetlan language an culture as a hael - remainder it.

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I wis meanin tae thank dee fir yun Depooperit, hit slippit me mind, i only minded eenoo whin Troot posted in dis pairt.

 

Oot o da names i wis axin about yunder hits Lunga dat interested me da maest, as tae my mind, dir ir twa lochs nixt tae eachidder at da back o Ronas hill we da name ( Muckle Lunga Water & Little Lunga water) and den i lately fan dat nort by mangaster dir ir twa Lunga Waters nixt tae eachidder anaa, (Lunga Water & Lunga water of Nibon). I doot da latter twa ir an OS cock up as da Nibon een is ferder fae Nibon as da non-Nibon een, if du sees whit i mean. It is also interesting tae note dat on da nixt scale o map, wan o da lochs haes a different name entirely.

 

Tanks again,

 

Oh, an am no fae Burra, close by do, and i spose i can attribute dat quote tae spending too muckle time aroond whalsa folk raider as burra, i'd nivver admit tae dat! :wink: (It also seemed better as 'luv') 8)

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Oot o da names i wis axin about yunder hits Lunga dat interested me da maest, as tae my mind, dir ir twa lochs nixt tae eachidder at da back o Ronas hill we da name ( Muckle Lunga Water & Little Lunga water) and den i lately fan dat nort by mangaster dir ir twa Lunga Waters nixt tae eachidder anaa, (Lunga Water & Lunga water of Nibon). I doot da latter twa ir an OS cock up as da Nibon een is ferder fae Nibon as da non-Nibon een, if du sees whit i mean. It is also interesting tae note dat on da nixt scale o map, wan o da lochs haes a different name entirely.

 

I ay tocht dat Lunga meant "Long" an hit maistly fits wi da Lochs at hae dat name.

Da sam names crops up ageen an ageen fir Shetlands lochs. as weel as Lunga Water, Guid only kens how mony Punds Waters, Sand Waters and Mill Lochs dey ir. Dis eens ir self-explanatory, I wid tink. Dey ir a few idders wi magical soondin names at I wid lof (?) ta ken mair aboot.

 

Lunga Water & Lunga water o Nibon ir ay amused me, twinned is dey ir wi dir neebors Brei Water & Brei Water o Nibon. Da fokk at bedd dere aboots surely hed little imagination or mebbe it wis a case "Weel we caa'ed wir loch yun first an we're no shainjin it fir fir yun backwards Mangaster/Nibon fokk." :)

 

Edit: Forgot to add dat dey ir bookended, Aest an Waast, by Punds Water and da Punds Lochs - anidder shortfaa o diversity.

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Dir is a Lunga Water on da Wastside as weel, but i canna shed ony mair light on whit da name actually means.

I tink da best name for a loch is on Foula; Ouvrafandal / Ouvarfandal (A'm seen it splet baith wyes). Splendid.

 

A'm aften windered, whit if we hed a completely blank canvas, an nae places onywhar in Shetland hed a name an we hed ta name dem all. How wid we fair?

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Mavis Grind was originally 'maev eiths grind', which translates as the 'gate of the narrow isthmus'. Lots of names have been corrupted over the years and the early mapmakers have a lot to answer for, writing down their version of what they were being told the place was called. Once a name was on the map it would be assumed that it had the correct spelling, but that is certainly not the case.

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