The Shetland Dialect

The traditional dialect spoken in the Shetland Isles, the northernmost part of Scotland and Britain, is highly distinct. It displays distinct, characteristic features on all linguistic levels and particularly in its sound system, or its phonology. The dialect is one of the lesser- known varieties of English within the Inner Circle. Increasing interest in the lesser- known varieties of English in recent years has brought a realization that there are still blanks on the map, even within the very core of the Inner Circle. Sundkvist’s comprehensive treatise draws upon results from a three- year research project funded by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, for which a phonological survey of the Shetland dialect was carried out between 2010 and 2012. This book is a useful resource for those working on historical linguistics and is intended to serve as a comprehensive description and accessible reference source on one of the most distinct lesser- known varieties of English within Britain. It documents and offers a systematic account of the rich regional variation as well as being a reference source for those studying the historical formation and emergence of the Shetland dialect and language variation and change in Shetland, as well as those within the broader field of Germanic linguistics.

A grammar which provides a comprehensive introduction to the grammar and usage of the Shetland dialect.

This revised edition of The Shetland Dictionary is designed to aid readers in understanding and expanding their knowledge of Shetland. It includes over 150 additional words and is intended as a consistent source of reference.

Excerpt from A Glossary of the Shetland Dialect The object which I have in view in publishing this Glossary is to help to preserve what yet remains among us of our old Norn language, and at the same time to give a fair sample of our dialect as it was spoken in the nineteenth century, and on to the present time. I have endeavoured to make my vocabulary something more than a mere list of words. A list of words may be interesting to the philologist, but it can be little practical use to an ordinary person. By marks to denote the different vowel sounds, I have given the common pronunciation, and by quotations of colloquial phrases I have tried to show the idioms of our vernacular speech, so that a stranger may see the peculiarities that make it a distinct dialect. Preparing this work has been a pleasant task to me, and now I leave it with the hope that it may be a means of entertainment to the old and of instruction to the young who may deign to peruse it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.