Yesterday I was listening to our pastor preaching a sermon and noted that in it he used a number of Ulster-Scots words - wee, sleekit, footery and thran. He understood them and so did the congregation. My departmental driver has also introduced me to the Ulster-Scots word hutherin, which he recalled being used in Belfast some years ago and meaning untidy or slovenly. Yes the language is all around us.
These are general Scots words. None of them is specific to Ulster (the DSL headwords are wee, sleek, fouter, thrawn and hudder). It would be misleading enough to refer to them as "Ulster-Scots words" in a context of Ulster Scots, but when the medium is Mid Ulster English, it makes no sense whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteOf course they are Scots words but when they are used in Ulster they are Ulster-Scots words. They came here with Scottish settlers in Ulster and have passed from Ulster-Scots into general Ulster dialect.
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