Five Scots phrases tourists and visitors find the hardest to understand
18.03.2024 - 21:03
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
We are fortunate enough in Scotland to have three official languages. While English is by far the most commonly spoken, the Gaelic heartland is in our Highlands and islands.
Sometimes overlooked, the third language is Scots - which people sometimes mistake for just a dialect of English. And while it is often most commonly associated with the Doric speakers of the North East, it is in fact much more prevalent throughout the country.
Some people will know many Scots words and phrases without actually realising it is a different language, as they will just have picked up certain sayings over the years. And while these phrases may make perfect sense to native Scots, our patter can leave some folk, especially tourists or visitors, rather confused.
Language app Babbel previously explored some of our funnier or best known phrases, asking people from around the world if they could translate them. The experts shared some of the best responses from language fans around the globe - and there are some hilarious incorect guesses.
Germany's guess: "Good things come to those who wait."
France's guess: "You stink."
Actual Meaning: Long may you live well and healthy.
'Lum' means chimney, while 'reek' means to smoke. The saying is a wish for your friend to have a house with a smoking chimney, indicating that their home - and life - is prosperous and happy.
France's guess: "Someone with ugly legs."
England's guess: "A scrawny body figure."
Actual Meaning: A tall, thin person.
'Skinnymalink' is an old word from the Doric dialect of Scots. One of its earliest - and most famous - appearances is in a children's song from the early 1900s about a person called Skinny Malinky Long Legs, who has "big banana feet" and had an awful trip to the cinema.
He fell