Lowland Scots/Lesson02
Lowland Scots Lesson Two: Numbers and Greetings
Number Basics
editThe number system in Scots is very similar to English, which is obvious because Lowlands is English's closest relative. The numbers are as follows;
- 'wan"1 one
- twa two
- three three
- fower four
- five five
- sax six
- seiven seven
- aicht eight
- nine nine
- ten ten
- eleiven eleven
- twal twelve
- thirteen2 thirteen
- fowerteen fourteen
- fifteen fifteen
- saxteen sixteen
- seiventeen seventeen
- aichteen eighteen
- nineteen nineteen
- twinty twenty
- 1: Also pronounced "yin" "een" or "wan" and "ae" also pronounced "yae".
- 2: Also "thritteen" or "deil's dizzen".
Greetings
editSome common phrases include as follows:
- Scots: walcome. hous it gaun?1 a'am daein fine.2,3 thank ye. thanks. hou much. cheerio.
- English: welcome. how are you? I am well. thank you. Thanks. how much? good-bye.
- 1: It literally says "how is it going?".
- 2: It literally says "I'm doing fine".
- 3: "A am" would coloquially be contracted into the word "A'm".
Dialogue
editScots:
- John: Whit like?1
- Mary: A'm daein fine. An yersel?2
- John: A'm daein fine an aw. Thanks for askin! A'm awa the nou. See ye efter.3
- Mary: See ye efter.
English:
- John: How are you?
- Mary: I'm well. You?
- John: I'm well, too. Thanks for asking! I got to go now. Bye.
- Mary: Bye.
Literal Translations:
1 "What like?" - similar in meaning to: "How's things?"
2 "I'm doing fine. And yourself?"
3 "I'm doing fine and all. Thanks for asking. I'm away the now. See you after"
End of lesson two
editNow that lesson two is complete, you'd should also be able to have a simple conversation with anybody that speaks Scots. You can even count up to "twinty"! In the next lesson, we will discuss more advanced number material.