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North Northern Scots


North Northern Scots refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in Caithness, the Black Isle and Easter Ross.

The dialect of Caithness is generally spoken in the lowlying land to the east of a line drawn from Clyth Ness to some 4 miles west of Thurso. To the west of that Scottish Gaelic used to be spoken. The Caithness varieties have been influenced by both Gaelic and Norn. The dialect spoken in the neighbourhood of John o' Groats resembles that of Orkney to some extent.

The phonology of the Caithness varieties generally follows the pattern of the Mid Northern Scots varieties but:

The grammar is generally follows that of other Scots dialects but:

The Past tense and past participles it an t are realised /ɪd/ and /d/ in, for example, hurtit, skelpit (smacked), mendit traivelt (travelled), raxt (reached), telt (told) and kent (knew/known)

The diminutive ock is realised /əɡ/ influenced by or borrowed from Gaelic. A final ock in other words may also be realised /əɡ/. Often written ag in dialect writing.

The Present participle and gerund in may be differentiated /ən/ and /ɪn/, for example, He wis aye gutteran aboot. and He's fond o gutterin aboot.

Contact with Mid Northern Scots via fishermen from the Moray Firth and modern education has influenced the Black Isle varieties to some extent. Avoch was originally Gaelic speaking but was settled by Scots-speakers, especially fisher folk, in the 17th century. More recently there has been a shift to Highland English. The traditional Black Isle dialect of Cromarty became extinct in October 2012, upon the death of the last native speaker, Bobby Hogg.


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