Variants

Scottish English

Irish English

Scottish English is the result of language contact between Scots and English after the 17th c. It is the most distinctive from Standard English (not to be confused with the Scottish Gaelic language, which is a Celtic language spoken in the Highlands). Its special status is conditioned by:

-a strong literary tradition and the Bible (1983);

-its own dialects;

-vast lexicographic description: John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808-1825, 4 vols); Scottish National Dictionary (1976, 10 vols); the Scots Thesaurus (1990, 20 000 items).

Scotticisms: a lassie, a laddie, a billy, a kilt, a tartan, a glamour ‘magic spell; charm’, a slogan ‘a battle cry of a Scottish clan’, a wean ‘child’; wee, bonny; to greet ‘to cry’, to keek ‘to peep’, to ken ‘to know’; ilk ‘the same’, ilka ‘every’;

Scotticisms of Germanic origin: a bairn ‘a child ’, a burgh ‘a small town’; stark ‘strong’, couthie ‘nice, pleasant’, to awe ‘to have, to possess’, to wale ‘to choose’; Scotticisms of Celtic origin: a bannock ‘flat quick bread’, an ingle ‘fire, fireplace’, a binn ‘a waterfall’;

English words that underwent semantic changes in Scottish English: scheme ‘local government housing estate’, mind ‘memory, recollection’, travel ‘go on foot’, gate ‘road’; idioms: to miss oneself ‘miss a treat’; to be up on high doh ‘to be overexcited’, etc.;

colloquial words: high ‘highest quality’ as in it’s high; fair ‘completely’ as in I fair forgot; brave ‘good’ etc.;

a wide usage of contractions: canna (cannot), dinna (do not), mebbe (may be), didna (did not), twouldna (it would not), etc.

Insular Scots is the variety of the Scots language used in the Shetland and Orkney Isles and is said to be one of the most distinctive of all Scottish dialects.

Ulster Scots (Ullans) is the variety of the Scots language spoken in parts of Ulster, a northern province in Ireland.

Irish English (Hiberno-English) is the variant of English spoken in Ireland. It is the product of the Irish language and the interaction of English and Scots brought to Ireland during the 16th – 17th c. The linguistic influence of the Irish language is most clearly seen in Gaeltachaí.

English first appeared in Ireland during the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century. Since the 19th century, it has become the dominant language, with Gaelic found only in certain rural parts of the west. In the east, the link was the strongest with England, but in the north it was with Scotland (now Ulster Scots).

The standard spelling and grammar of Irish English are the same as that of Standard English; however, there are some unique characteristics, especially in the spoken language, due to the influence of the Irish language on pronunciation.

-ords borrowed from Irish Gaelic: a bracket ‘a spotty cow’, a booley ‘a temporary dwelling’, a smur ‘thick fog’, agra ‘a form of address to a beloved person’, a bannalana ‘a woman who sells beer’, cardia ‘friendship’, a colleen ‘a young woman’, a doorshay ‘a gossip’; whiskey, shamrock, blarney ‘flattery’;

-English words which underwent semantic changes in Irish English: able ‘strong, muscular, energetic’; a boy ‘any man before marriage’; room ‘non-residential premises’; to fox ‘to simulate’; to join ‘to start’; to travel ‘to walk’; strong ‘healthy; rich’;

-English words which retained their original meanings in Irish English: harvest ‘autumn’; lock ‘a small number’; mad ‘angry’;

-words of Irish origin in Modern English: phraseological expressions and proverbs which are translation loans from Irish Gaelic: He had no more use for it, than a pig for side pockets; to be on the baker’s list; to be on a bad head to sb.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-25