Lowland Scots/Lesson02

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Lowland Scots Lesson Two: Numbers and Greetings

Number Basics[edit | edit source]

The 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[edit | edit source]

Some 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[edit | edit source]

Scots:

  • 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[edit | edit source]

Now 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.

<<Back to Lesson One

On to Lesson Three!>>