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Just spoke to a Scot..can't understand a word.....

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Its a little known fact that, when conversing among themselves, and out of ear shot of any "non-Scots", the Scots speak in a perfectly understandable "BBC" accent. Its only when speaking to outsiders, or at risk of being overheard that they switch to the incomprehensible Scot's brogue. The whole country is in on it you know. Started of as a joke on the English devised by William Wallace.

Its just like in the scene with the two jailers in Monty Python's "Life of Brian".
 
aweman, if ya can or cant understand em, once ya gets em going you realize the only thing a Scot considers "cheap" is "talk" /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
Re: Just spoke to a Scot..can't understand a word.

Oh I could understand Grams ok. until ..... she got excited or worse, mad! Mad, she would revert to Gaelic. When she started speaking in tounges .
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif

It was time to, Lets just say "Get outta Dodge" *SMILE*
 
Re: Just spoke to a Scot..can't understand a word.

TR6oldtimer said:
I once talked to a Cajun. Same thing, not a word did I understand.
Click to expand...
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif
That was great.
 
Re: Just spoke to a Scot..can't understand a word.

I went over and visited a buddy in Edinburgh a while back after he'd been living there for a few months. First night there he and his flatmates thought they'd have a laugh at my expense and sent me down to the fish and chips shop to pick up dinner for everybody. It didn't go so well.

Big Scottish Guy: (Says something loud and unintelligible)
Me: Huh? I'd like to get some food to go.
Him: Huh?
Me: Order... food...
Him: Yeah?
Me: (Rattle off the order)
Him: Huh? (then more loud and unintelligible noises that sounded like they might be words)
Me: I'll come back.

After a few days I did start to get the swing of it though.
 
Howp ye enjoy whit we hae tae offer...

Scots On-Line

Its not just the accent, which can be difficulty enough; but what I've found almost insurmountable is the fact that there's also a large number of local words and terms completely alien to the rest of the English speaking world.

Since there's so much American entertainment via TV and the movies its usually pretty easy to be understood- its understanding the working class urban Scots (NED-speak gets worse and spreads) that's usually most difficult. The more money and education (Middle Class Speech Therapy!), the less accented- I think that's true too in the rural areas- though the vocabulary there can be challenging.
 
Re: Just spoke to a Scot..can't understand a word.

Oi Vey, that site gave me a headache just reading it!!!
 
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