Spikkin Doric

Ever been lost for words or just completely mystified by what you hear? This is a new series of pocket books designed to introduce some of the wealth of the spoken and written word in Scotland to those who may not be familiar with them. For the 600 selected Doric words, as well as a simple meaning, the context and background to the word will be explained, along with examples of use (and, as required) a pronunciation guide. Forget about worthy dictionaries, this is a series dedicated to the enjoyment of language.

The dialect of North-East Scotland, one of the most distinctive and best preserved in the country, survives as both a proudly maintained mark of local identity and the vehicle for a remarkable regional literature. The present study, after placing the dialect in its historical, geographical and social context, discusses in some detail a selection of previous accounts of its distinctive characteristics of phonology and grammar, showing that its shibboleths have been well recognised, and have remained consistent, over a long period. Passages of recorded speech are then examined, with extensive use of phonetic transcription. Finally, a representative selection of written texts, dating from the eighteenth century to the present and illustrating a wide variety of styles and genres, are presented with detailed annotations. A full glossary is also included. This study clearly demonstrates both the individuality of the dialect and the richness of the local culture of which it is an integral part.

In this book, Andrew J. Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart delineate the relationship between “language in particular” and “culture in general” by focusing on language as both social practice and a means of classifying and interpreting the world. A traditional linguistic approach to a focus on language is illuminated by their anthropological emphasis on the embodiment of relationships and experience. In the book, the body is placed in the foreground for understanding language in culture, which helps in turn to understand how it enables us to adapt to the world of lived material experience. Written in an accessible style and drawing on an extensive corpus of primary field research from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Japan, Taiwan, Scotland, and Ireland, Strathern and Stewart present a world anthropology which links together European, North American, and Asia-Pacific approaches to the topic. Students and scholars alike of sociocultual anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and linguistics will benefit from this engaging work on how the various components of our culture are informed and shaped through language.

Do you have a baldy clue as to who the bears and junglies are? Confused by the thought of some cheekywatter from your cargo? Fancy a day out at Fort Weetabix? Or would you rather settle down with some swedgers? After all, you don't want to be a stank dodger. Confused? You need this book. Michael Munro has won the eternal gratitude of Glaswegians for his efforts in popularising their city's dialect, universally known as the 'patter'. This book is the most extensive collection of this rich and expressive language ever made. Often hilarious, sometimes coarse (but never dull!), good knowledge of the patter is the key to understanding Glasgow and its inhabitants.

Bertha Wilson and Claire L’Heureux-Dubé were the first women judges on the Supreme Court of Canada. Their 1980s judicial appointments delighted feminists and shocked the legal establishment. Polar opposites in background and temperament, the two faced many identical challenges. Constance Backhouse’s compelling narrative explores the sexist roadblocks both women faced in education, law practice, and in the courts. She profiles their different ways of coping, their landmark decisions for women’s rights, and their less stellar records on race. To explore the lives and careers of these two path-breaking women is to venture into a world of legal sexism from a past era. The question becomes, how much of that sexism has been relegated to the bins of history, and how much continues?

When Sir Harry Lauder left a concert on Deeside he was mystified that his kokes had not got the response received elsewhere. It perked him up when, from the spilling audience, he heard a voice say, 'Fit a gran comic. It took me aa ma time nae ti lach.' The Humour of the North-east is found at less celebrated levels too. There is the tale of the middle-aged couple who had courted each other for almost thirty years, but had never got round to marriage. One day Jock decided to voice his thoughts on the matter, for he was worried that people were speaking about their phenomenally long relationship. 'Jean,' Is it nae time the twao's were thinkin' aboot getting mairrit?' 'Behave yersel, Jock,' said Jean. 'Fa wid hae ony o's noo?' The humour and dialect of the North-east forms a unique and hilarious blend. In this book, packed with anecdotes and stories covering childhood, work, love and marriage, the kirk, the school, old age and several others, Robbie Shepherd and Norman Harper provide a fascinating tour of the wit and wisdom of the North-east of Scotland. This book, the third in the series, presents the best of the two previous volumes - A Dash o' Doric and Anither Dash o' Doric - as well as a whole range of new material, making it the best introduction to the wit and wisdom of the North-east of Scotland available.

The old man looked down at his lifelong friend, now lying in his coffin, and said: 'Man, there's even a smile on his face.' 'There is,' said the widow, 'bit Jock wis aye a bittie saft. He disna ken fit's happened til him yet.' And then there was the hapless crew from Sky TV on one of their periodic visits to check Highland reactions to various news stories. Spotting a likely interviewee in Academy Street, the reporter approached and said: 'Excuse me, have you got a few words for Sky TV?' 'I have,' snapped the man. 'Stick your microphone up your nose and bugger off back to Portree.' Or what about the Banffshire congregation who welcomed a new English member and were horrified to discover that at the end of every hymn or prayer the newcomer would cry: 'Praise the Lord and Hallelujah!'? The beadle scurried up to the new man's pew and hissed: 'Jist behave yersel. We dinna praise the Lord here.' Norman Harper and Robbie Shepherd are back with a third collection of stories which show the wit and wisdom of North-east Scotland at their finest. Find out inside why the ice-skating scoring system at a Donside tournament went so badly wrong; read of the forgetful railway guard at Fyvie and how the old passenger on the Culter train was celebrating her birthday; marvel at one Buchan oilman's tip for improving your love life on holiday. It's all here, and more.