Hello. Happy to see you back. If you are like I am, by now you have heard enough about Christmas: customs, presents, decorations, the tree, dinner. Well, just tired of talking about it. So I thought I would change the subject a little and talk about
“English, the language that unites us all.”
Living in Scotland has taught us not to assume (?) we know what anyone is talking about. First, of course, are the accents. I say accents, plural, because here, like in the US, different areas have different accents, modes of expression and even vocabulary. We think that in Scotland, besides English, they speak Gaelic.
And some do. Here are a few examples of Gaelic:
- Greeting someone A’ cur fàilte air cuideigin.
- Giving your name Ag innse d’ ainm.
- Giving your address Ag innse do sheòladh.
- Saying where you come from Ag innse cò às a tha thu
And, it sounds NOTHING like it looks.
However many Scots do not speak Gaelic, and never did in some regions. Here in Moray, where we live, the regional language is Doric. Many still speak Doric, at least among themselves. We have not a prayer of understanding either Doric or Gaelic.’
We are way up north. Almost straight north of Edinburgh, just on the first out-cropping of land. On the Moray Firth, that goes out to the North Sea.
But there are some less obvious differences in vocabulary; ones that can trip you up every day. These two are sure to catch an American; or even trip up a Scotsman in America.
Potato Chips are called Crisps
French Fries are called Chips (Remember Fish and Chips?)
Some other fun ones are:
American Scottish
A Nap A Lie Down
A Chat A Blether (Blether is one of my favorites.)
Potatoes
Tatties
U.S. America This one is tricky because we have been taught that ALL the countries in the Wester Hemisphere are America, not just us.
Apartment Flat
Elevator Lift It’s a lift even when going down. Go figure.
Rutabaga Swede
Turnip Neeps (There is a lot of discussion about the differences between and among Neeps, Turnips and Rutabaga; Some to do with size and others to do with color. All I know is that they are very popular.) And Tatties and Neeps are traditionally served with Haggis.
Speaking of popular, let’s look at “Sprouts.” They are talking about Brussels Sprouts! Now, I like Brussels Sprouts. I like the bite-sized size. I like the pretty, bright green color. I even like the cabbage-like taste. But here, they are an obsession! There are even commercials on TV for SPROUTS. Not a specific brand of sprouts. Just Sprouts.
There are some sandwich-ordering things that can trip you up.t
Order a Ham Salad Sandwich and you will get bread, toasted or not + tomato + lettuce + cucumber. Same thing for Tuna, chicken or egg salad.
What we call Ham Salad is Ham Mayo… short for mayonnaise. Same for the other meats.
Hog Maw Haggis – Haggis is made from Sheep Stomach
Hog Maw, from Pig Stomach, both stuffed with a sausage-like mix. Those of you from PA will (or should) know Hog Maw.
When you come to Scotland, you should really try Haggis. It is their national dish. It tastes like sausage and if you like sausage, you will like it.
Bacon Streaky Bacon
Canadian Bacon Bacon
Biscuits Cookies I think I wrote about the confusion our 14-year-old neighbor girl had with the biscuits. She saw on the internet that Americans eat Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast. She thought that sounded terrible. Well, it sounds pretty bad to me, too, if I am thinking cookies and gravy.
Candy is Sweets
A couple non-food differences
Homeless are called Rough Sleepers – Sad in any language
Sweaters are called Jumpers. And the Christmas Jumpers aren’t any better than the Christmas Sweaters.
I hope you have had an informative time and will think about visiting here. You should be able to avoid some common errors Americans make.
Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you next time.