Parliamo Glasgow
Whatever the outcome of Thursday’s referendum on independence, it’s clear that we who live South of the Border need to try harder to understand the Scots much better than we have so far. Because Glasgow and its environs appear to be hotbeds of the pro-secession vote, I can think of no better way to begin this process than by learning more about Glaswegian and the way what she is spoke, in order to improve mutual respect and foster dialogue.
Here are some useful lessons based on everyday situations and characters, as portrayed by the inimitable Stanley Baxter…
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September 16, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Nae problem. It took me roughly 3 weeks to get fluent upon arrival in Glesca (NOT Glasgae) in 1988. But I was severely rattled after a few days by a drunk in the cathedral cemetery whom I couldn’t fathom at all. It turned out that he had emigrated from Poland to Glasgow.
This is how it is done in Edinburgh (although neither actress is Scottish):
September 16, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Were you aware of the word “noffipest”, as in the phrase “Zatnoa noffipest”? A friend who is familiar with the Scottish university system was, but it’s not so well known even among Scottish friends…
September 16, 2014 at 6:07 pm
I have done this without googling; I guess it means “[Is] that not an offi [off-license] [we have gone] past?”
September 16, 2014 at 6:10 pm
Nope! a “noffipest” is a University student!
September 16, 2014 at 6:25 pm
A gentleman by the name of Afferbeck Lauder (which I am inclined to think is a pseudonym) has done much the same for Strine [Australian].
September 16, 2014 at 6:54 pm
PS In Strine an undergraduate is known as a “stune”.