Shetland dialect

"Shetland dialect speakers generally have a rather slow delivery, pitched low and with a somewhat level intonation".Graham, John J. 1993. The Shetland Dictionary 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1979, 2nd ed. 1984). Lerwick: The Shetland Times. xxii

By and large, consonants are pronounced much as in other Modern Scots varieties. Exceptions are:

The dental fricatives {{IPA|/ð/}} and {{IPA|/θ/}} may be realised as alveolar plosives {{IPA|[d]}} and {{IPA|[t]}} respectively,SND Introduction - Phonetic Description of Scottish Language and Dialects. p.xl. for example {{IPA|[tɪŋ]}} and {{IPA|[ˈmɪdər]}} rather than {{IPA|[θɪŋ]}}, or debuccalised {{IPA|[hɪŋ]}} and {{IPA|[hɪn]}}, (thing) and {{IPA|[ˈmɪðər]}} mither (mother) as in Central Scots. The qu in quick, queen and queer may be realised {{IPA|[xʍ]}} rather than {{IPA|[kw]}}, initial {{IPA|/tʃ/}} ch may be realised {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and the initial cluster wr may be realised {{IPA|[wr]}} or {{IPA|[wər]}}.SND Introduction - Phonetic Description of Scottish Language and Dialects. p. xl.

{{main|Phonological history of Scots}}

The underlying vowel phonemes of Shetland dialect based on McColl Millar (2007) and Johnston P. (1997). The actual allophones may differ from place to place.

1. Vowel 11 occurs stem final.
2. Vowel 3 is often retracted or diphthongised or may sometimes be realised {{IPA|[i]}}.McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 33.
3. Vowel 7 may be realised {{IPA|[u]}} before {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|[ju]}} before {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/x/}}.McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 48.
4. Vowel 8 is generally merged with vowel 4,McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 37. often realised {{IPA|[ɛ]}} or {{IPA|[æː]}} before {{IPA|/r/}}.Johnston P. Regional Variation in Jones C. (1997) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh p. 485. The realisation in the cluster ane may be {{IPA|[i]}} as in Mid Northern Scots.McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 35.
5. Vowel 15 may be realised {{IPA|[ɛ̈~ë]}}Johnston P. Regional Variation in Jones C. (1997) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh p. 469. or diphthongised to {{IPA|[əi]}} before {{IPA|/x/}}.McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 45.
6. Vowel 16 may be realised {{IPA|[e]}}McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p. 39. or {{IPA|[æ]}}.Johnston P. Regional Variation in Jones C. (1997) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh p. 469.
7. Vowel 17 often merges with vowel 12 before {{IPA|/nd/}} and {{IPA|/l r/}}.Johnston P. Regional Variation in Jones C. (1997) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh p. 485.

Vowel length is by and large determined by the Scottish Vowel Length Rule, although there are a few exceptions.Melchers, Gunnel (1991) Norn-Scots: a complicated language contact situation in Shetland. Language Contact in the British Isles: Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Language Contact in Europe, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1988. Ed. P. Sture Ureland and George Broderick. Linguistische Arbeiten 238. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer. p. 468.

To some extent a bewildering variety of spellings have been used to represent the varied pronunciation of the Shetland dialect varieties.Graham, J.J. (1993) The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. xxiv. Latterly the use of the apologetic apostrophe to represent 'missing' English letters has been avoided.Graham, J.J. (1993) The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. xxiv-xxv. On the whole the literary conventions of Modern Scots are applied, if not consistently, the main differences being:

• The {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/t/}} realisation of what is usually {{IPA|/ð/}} and {{IPA|/θ/}} in other Scots dialects are often written d and t rather than th; "thing" and "there" written "{{lang|sco|ting}}" and "{{lang|sco|dere}}".
• The {{IPA|/xʍ/}} realisation of the qu in quick, queen and queer is often written wh; "queer" is written "{{lang|sco|wheer}}".
• The {{IPA|/ʃ/}} realisation of initial ch, usually {{IPA|/tʃ/}} in other Scots dialects, is often written sh; "chair" is written "{{lang|sco|shair}}".
• The letters j and k are used rather than y and c, influenced by Norse spelling. The letter j is often used to render the semivowel {{IPA|/j/}} of the letter y, especially for the palatalised consonants in words such as Yule in English— rendered {{lang|sco|Yuil}} in Scots— which becomes written {{lang|sco|Jøl}} in Shetland dialect (for the additional change of the Scots ui to ø in this word, see below).
• Literary Scots {{lang|sco|au}} and {{lang|sco|aw}} (vowel 12 and sometimes vowel 17) are often represented by {{lang|sco|aa}} in written Shetland dialect.
• Literary Scots {{lang|sco|ui}} and {{lang|sco|eu}} (vowel 7) are often represented by {{lang|sco|ü}}, {{lang|sco|ö}}, or {{lang|sco|ø}} influenced by Norse spelling.

The grammatical structure of Shetland dialect generally follows that of Modern Scots, with traces of Norse (Norn) and those features shared with Standard English.Graham, J.J. (1993) The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. xix.Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. vii.

The definite article the is pronounced {{IPA|[də]}} often written da in dialect writing. As is usual in Scots, Shetland dialect puts an article where Standard English would not:Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 1.Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 78.

gyaan ta da kirk/da scole in da Simmer-- 'go to church/school in summer'

da denner is ready 'dinner is ready'

hae da caald 'have a cold'

Nouns in Shetland dialect have grammatical gender beside natural gender.Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 2. Some nouns which are clearly considered neuter in English are masculine or feminine, such as spade (m), sun (m), mön (f), kirk (f). This can also apply to dummy constructions, e.g. what time is he? In a study comparing pre-oil Shetland dialect usage from oral history recordings and contemporary speech from interviews, the gender system in Shetland dialect was found to be a stable feature of modern dialect usage, and is not tied to use alongside "traditional lexical items".{{Cite journal|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|date=2019-09-24|title=Gendered inanimates in Shetland dialect - comparing pre-oil and contemporary speech|journal=English World-Wide|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|volume=40|issue=3|pages=269–298|doi=10.1075/eww.00032.vel|issn=0172-8865|eissn=1569-9730|doi-access=}}

The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding -s, as in Standard English. There are a few irregular plurals, such as kye, 'cows' or een, 'eyes'.Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 3.Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 79.

Shetland dialect also distinguishes between personal pronouns used by parents when speaking to children, old persons speaking to younger ones, or between familiar friends or equals[https://web.archive.org/web/20140902153302/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=1530&startset=10103029&query=DU&fhit=du&dregion=form&dtext=snd#fhit SND: Du] and those used in formal situations and when speaking to superiors.Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 4.Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 96-97. (See T–V distinction)

The familiar forms are thoo (thou), pronounced {{IPA|[duː]}}, often written du in dialect writing; thee, pronounced {{IPA|[di(ː)]}}, often written dee in dialect writing; thy, pronounced {{IPA|[daɪ]}}, often written dy in dialect writing; and thine, pronounced {{IPA|[daɪn]}}, often written dine in dialect writing; contrasting with the formal forms you, you, your and yours, respectively.

The familiar du takes the singular form of the verb: Du is, du hes ('you are, you have').

As is usual in Scots, the relative pronoun is that,Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 102. also meaning who and which, pronounced {{IPA|[dat]}} or {{IPA|[ət]}}, often written dat[https://web.archive.org/web/20140902143218/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=dat&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both SND: Dat] or 'at in dialect writing,Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 5. as in

da dog at bet me... – 'the dog that bit me...'

As is usual in Scots, the past tense of weak verbs is formed by either adding -ed, -it, or -t,Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 9.Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 113. as in spoot, spootit (move quickly).

The auxiliary verb ta be 'to be', is used where Standard English would use 'to have':Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 11. I'm written for 'I have written'.

Ta hae 'to have', is used as an auxiliary with the modal verbs coud ('could'), hed ('had'), micht ('might'), most ('must'), sood ('should'), and wid ('would') and then reduced to {{IPA|[ə]}}, often written a in dialect writing:Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 11. Du sood a telt me, 'you should have told me'.

As is usual in Scots, auxiliary and monosyllabic verbs can be made negative by adding -na:Robertson, T.A. & Graham, J.J. (1991) Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect, Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd. p. 10.Grant, William; Dixon, James Main (1921) Manual of Modern Scots. Cambridge, University Press. p. 115. widna, 'would not'. Otherwise, the Scots negative has no where standard English has 'not'.

{{Reflist|3}}

• Haldane Burgess, J.J. 1913. Rasmie's Büddie: Poems in the Shetlandic ("Fancy, laek da mirrie-dancers, Lichts da sombre sky o Life.") Lerwick: T. & J. Manson.
• Knooihuizen, Remco. 2009. "Shetland Scots as a new dialect: phonetic and phonological considerations" in English Language and Linguistics Vol. 13, Issue 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• [https://www.iheardee.com/english I Hear Dee - Shaetlan on the global map (English version)]
• [http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/insular.htm Introduction to modern Scots: Insular Scots] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127111928/http://scots-online.org/grammar/insular.htm |date=27 November 2010 }}
• [http://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk Shetland ForWirds - Promoting Shetland Dialect]
• [http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/dialects/nis.html McColl Millar's internet extension to 'Northern and Insular Scots' 2007, with recordings of regional dialect variants of the Shetland Islands]
• [http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/text-only/scotland/lerwick/ Example of Shetland speech on the British Library website]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoUKI0fFqc Example of Shetland speech on Youtube]
• [https://archive.org/details/grammar-and-usage-of-the-shetland-dialect_202504 "Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect", 1952 book by T.A. Robertson and John J. Graham]

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Category:Scots dialects

Category:Culture of Shetland