Scots Norse: Difference between revisions

|nativename=Agharsc

|pronunciation=ˈəːɾsk

|states=[[w:Outer Hebrides|Aghar]]

|stand1={{l|snon|Agharsc Shorchas}}

|dia1=[[Eastern Scots Norse|Eastern]]

|dia2=[[Western Scots Norse|Western]]

|speakers=(L1) 2,500

|date=2020

Scots Norse ([[w:Autonym|Autonym]]: {{l|snon|Agharsc}} /ˈəːɾsk/) is a West Nordic language spoken in the Hebrides most closely related to [[w:Norn|Norn]], less so to [[w:Icelandic|Icelandic]] and [[w:Faroese|Faroese]], and quite distantly to [[w:Swedish|Swedish]], [[w:Norwegian|Norwegian]], and [[w:Danish|Danish]]. It has extremely significant influence from mainly [[w:Scottish Gaelic|Scots]] and [[w:Irish|Irish]] [[w:Goidelic languages|Gaelic]], and less so from the [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic]] languages [[w:Scots language|Scots]] and [[w:English language|English]]. The Gaelic influence is most noticeable in the [[w:Morphology|morphology]] and [[w:Phonology|phonology]] of Scots Norse, both with the [[w:palatalization (linguistics)|slender]]/[[w:velarization|broad]] distinction in [[w:consonants|consonants]] and the presence of [[w:consonant mutation|initial consonant mutation]].

Scots Norse has roughly eleven [[w:dialect|dialects]] that form the language's two [[w:dialect continuum|dialect continuums]], these being ''Western'' and ''Eastern'' Scots Norse respectively, these are further divided into specific dialects. All [[w:variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of Scots Norse are written using the [[w:Latin script|Latin script]], employing [[w:Gaelic Type|Gaelic Type]] or [[w:Insular Script|Insular]] as the [[w:script|hand]], this acts as a notable exception to the general notion that Gaelic Type and Insular only survive for ornamental or historical usages, as they are still the primary hand used for Scots Norse.

 

Uniting all of these dialects is the [[w:standard language|standard variety]], called ''Agharsc Shorchas'', literally "Sorcha's Scots Norse". This form of the language is the most conservative of them all, being largely based on the 18th century description of Western Scots Norse by Sorcha of Uist. At times, the standard form has had certain shifts undone, such as the /ɛ/-/ɪ/ merger typical of Western dialects.

 

Scots Norse has long been a difficulty for linguists to classify, as it shows clear signs of being a mixed language, though the extent of this has been, and still is, heavily debated and questioned. As well as the general lack of speakers, it is hard to determine whether it stands as a creole or not, thus the general consensus among modern linguists to class it under ''Gaelo-Nordic'' till enough research has been done to reclassify it under a more appropriate position, potentially as a Scottish-Norse creole.

 

The difficulty in classifying Scots Norse comes largely down to the morphology and phonology, where it is closer to the modern Gaelic languages than the other Nordic languages, having lost most inflection while simultaneously gaining a simple system of preposition inflections from heavily reduced pronouns.

Scots Norse originates in the mid to late 13th century, around the time Suðreyjar was handed over to [[w:Scotland|Scotland]] with the [[w:Treaty of Perth|Treaty of Perth]]. Though the language would continue to be largely unchanged from the Old Norse of the 12th century, 1266AD is often used as a dividing date between Old Norse and the earliest forms of Scots Norse. While 1266 is a relatively arbitrary date, it serves its purpose as a convenient divide between two stages, as following the Treaty of Perth, the Hebrides would gain a much larger population of Gaelic and English speakers (At this point still [[w:Middle Irish|Middle Irish]] and [[w:Middle English|Middle English]]), and from roughly 1450AD onward, Scots Norse would be increasingly influenced by Scots Gaelic and, to a lesser extent, Scots and English.

Having been spoken throughout all of Suðreyjar, Scots Norse once had a dialect within the [[w:Isle of Man|Isle of Man]] ({{l|snon|Ma}}). Little is known about the Mannish dialect ({{l|snon|Mazc}}), as it is very poorly recorded, the most extensive description being a short document from around 1500AD that contains a list of about 150 words, with a very poor description of the pronunciations. Though from this description we can gather that it still had the original [[w:dental fricative|dental fricatives]] that had been lost in other dialects (merging with t/d), we get this from the description "... these [th and dh] are like that of the Saxons' beloved þ."

Following the treaty of Perth, the usage of Norse began declining significantly, with evidence it was nearly extinct by 1550. A small revitalization occurred in the 18th century when several of the last native speakers (having had no more than 150 remaining speakers) were gathered together by [[Sorcha of Uist]] in order to compile two main documents, [[An Etymological Dictionary of Scotland's Norse|a dictionary]] and [[A Description of Scotland's Norse|a grammar]]. This effort was mostly effective, leading to the first noticeable rise in speaker count since it began declining. By the 1880's, there would be upwards of 1,500 native speakers, a majority of them young.

Modern Scots Norse is typically classed as critically endangered due to how few speakers it has, having no more than 2,500 native speakers as of 2020, and virtually all of them live in the Hebrides, making its usage extremely limited.

==Development==

===Pre-Scots Norse===

*/ɣ/ > /g/

*/w/ > /v/, causing /f/ [v] to merge back with [f], thus "arfa" [ɑr.vɑ] > [ɑr.fə] (modern /əɾf/)

*/θ, ð/ > /t, d/, with a few cases of /θ, ð/ > /f, v/

*e > ja occasionally when Proto-Germanic *e (typically becomes ja in Old Norse anyways)

===Sudrey Norse===

*development of slender/broad/plain distinction

*short vowels > /ɪ, ɛ, ə, ʊ, ɔ/

*long vowels > /i, e, ɑ, u, o/

*(Western only) Loss of all gemination, including sonorants.

*loss of /ə/ between two sonorants (such as /jər/ > /ir/), unless part of an inflectional ending.

*unstressed vowels to /ə/.

*/v/ > /f/ next to voiceless fricatives, such as /sv/ > /sf/.

*mutations develop through the loss of word final sounds

::<small>ON.</small> {{l|non|agi}} /ˈɑ.ɣi/ > <small>SuNo.</small> {{l|sdno|àgi}} /ˈɑ.ɟə/ > <small>ScNo.</small> {{l|snon|àegh}} /ˈɑj/

==Phonology==

! colspan=2 | nasal

! rowspan=2 | stop

! unvoiced

! voiced

! rowspan=2 | fricative

! unvoiced

! voiced

| j

! colspan=2 | approximant

| ɾ, ɫ

| ɾʲ, ʎ

! colspan=2 | front

! colspan=2 | back

! short

! long

| ɤ

| ɔ

| ə

| ɑ

Stress has shifted significantly since Old Norse, instead being placed on the first long vowel in a word, if none exist, then it's placed on the first short vowel.

 

Loan words typically keep their original stress, with vowels being made "long" as necessary to keep the stress patterning functional, such as in {{l|snon|bambù}} /bəm.ˈbu/ and {{l|snon|halò}} /xə.ˈɫo/.

Scots Norse has developed a system of mutation incredibly similar to that of Irish. These mutations are no longer productive, and have thus been grammaticalized to a point where mutations can be the only distinction between a pair of words, eg. ''è bhèodh'' ("to not comfort") vs. ''è mèodh'' ("one bed"). Thus the mutations are incredibly important to understanding the relationship between words, as well as being important to distinguishing meaning.

 

Like the Goidelic languages which have influenced Scots Norse, there are two mutations: [[w:lenition|lenition]] (Scots Norse: {{l|snon|miùichin}} /ˈmʲu.çəɲ/) and [[w:eclipsis|eclipsis]] ({{l|snon|sfartin}} /ˈsɸəɾ.təɲ/). Originally these were a series of sandhi effects: lenition being caused by a consonant being intervocalic, and eclipsis caused by a consonant following a nasal (as in "lan", older "land"). Lenition also affects vowel initial words in the form of h-prothesis, though occasionally a "lenited" vowel-initial word will take {{l|snon|dh'}}, a borrowing from Gàidhlig.

===Lenition===

Lenition as an initial mutation originally stems from the historic allophonic lenition of an intervocalic consonant, both word internally and across word boundaries, i.e if a word ended in a vowel and the next word began with a consonant + a vowel, the consonant lenited. The vowels which originally caused lenition have almost entirely been lost, with the exception of adverbial {{l|snon|-a}}, though the lenition remains as a grammaticalized feature.

Lenition turned voiced stops and nasals into fricatives, /s/ debuccalized to /h/, /f/ was elided, and /r/ may have been split between fortis and lenis, though this distinction is preserved nowhere. Lenited /t, d/ (/θ, ð/) have since merged with /x, ɣ/.

Word-internal lenition is common, but isn't grammaticalized, unlike word-final lenition which has been grammaticalized through certain inflected forms (eg. {{l|snon|Gud}}, but ''Guedh'' in the dative).

 

Eclipsis arises from a historic cluster of /NC/, including across word boundaries. These clusters would eventually coalesce, with the nasal largely being lost. Eclipsis turned voiced stops into nasals, voiceless stops and voiced fricatives into voiced stops, and voiceless fricatives into voiced. With the loss of the original nasal, eclipsis was grammaticalized, as in ''hi'', coming from older ''hinn''. Eclipsis also affects vowel-initial words, in a very similar way to h-prothesis, as in ''alm'' > ''n'alm''.

(updated up to "cn")

! colspan=5 | Consonants

| colspan=2 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/b/}}

| {{l|snon|banh}} {{IPA|/ˈbəz/}}, {{l|snon|bògh}} {{IPA|/ˈbo(ɣ)/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| before front vowel, or finally

| {{l|snon|brìa}} {{IPA|/ˈbɾiə̯/}}

| before back vowel

| {{IPA|/bj/}}

| {{l|snon|biargh}} {{IPA|/pjəɾ/}}

| colspan=2 | between vowels, sometimes

| {{IPA|/./}}

| {{l|snon|siubhal}} {{IPA|/ˈʃu.əɫ/}}

| colspan=2 | finally, sometimes

| none

| {{l|snon|dubh}} {{IPA|/dɤ/}}

| rowspan=3 | usually

| broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/v/}}

| {{l|snon|bhadhìs}} {{IPA|/və.ˈiʃ /}}

| slender, before front vowel

| {{l|snon|}} {{IPA|//}}

| slender, before back vowel

| {{IPA|/vj/}}

| {{l|snon|}} {{IPA|//}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| {{IPA|/k/}}

| {{l|snon|cath}} {{IPA|/kax/}}, {{l|snon|Col}} {{IPA|/kɔɫ/}}

| {{IPA|/c/}}

| {{l|snon|ceth}} {{IPA|/cɛç/}}, {{l|snon|cìs}} {{IPA|/ciʃ/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| {{IPA|/x/}}

| {{l|snon|loch}} {{IPA|/ˈɫɔx/}}, {{l|snon|Fràch}} {{IPA|/ˈfɾɑx/}}

| {{IPA|/ç/}}

| {{l|snon|loech}} {{IPA|/ˈɫɔç/}}, {{l|snon|dìchial}} {{IPA|/ˈdi.çəɫ/}}

| {{IPA|/xk/}}

| {{l|snon|}} {{IPA|//}}, {{l|snon|}} {{IPA|//}}

| {{IPA|/kɾ/}}

| {{l|snon|cnà}} {{IPA|/ˈkɾɑ/}}

| rowspan=2 | '''d'''

| colspan=2 | broad

| {{IPA|/t̪/}}

| {{lang|gd|cadal}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰat̪əl̪ˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|fada}} {{IPA|/ˈfat̪ə/}}

| colspan=2 | slender

| rowspan="5" | '''dh'''

| {{IPA|/./}}

| {{lang|gd|odhar}} {{IPA|/ˈo.ər/}}, {{lang|gd|cladhadh}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰl̪ˠɤ.əɣ/}}

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|/ɣ/}}

|{{lang|gd|modhail}} {{IPA|/ˈmɔɣal/}}

| elsewhere

| {{lang|gd|dhà}} {{IPA|/ɣaː/}}, {{lang|gd|modh}} {{IPA|/mɔɣ/}}, {{lang|gd|tumadh}} {{IPA|/ˈt̪ʰuməɣ/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| {{IPA|/./}}

| {{lang|gd|Gàidheal}} {{IPA|/ˈkɛː.əl̪ˠ/}}

| elsewhere

| {{IPA|/ʝ/}}

| {{lang|gd|dhìth}} {{IPA|/ʝiː/}}, {{lang|gd|dhìol}} {{IPA|/ʝiəl̪ˠ/}}

| rowspan=3 | '''f'''

| colspan=2 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/f/}}

| {{lang|gd|fathan}} {{IPA|/ˈfahan/}}, {{lang|gd|gafann}} {{IPA|/ˈkafən̪ˠ/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| before front vowel

| {{lang|gd|fios}} {{IPA|/fis̪/}}, {{lang|gd|fèill}} {{IPA|/feːʎ/}}

| before back vowel

| {{IPA|/fj/}}

| {{lang|gd|fiùran}} {{IPA|/ˈfjuːɾan/}}, {{lang|gd|feòl}} {{IPA|/fjɔːl̪ˠ/}}

| rowspan=2 | '''fh'''

|none

| {{lang|gd|fhios}} {{IPA|/is̪/}}, {{lang|gd|a fharadh}} {{IPA|/ˈaɾəɣ/}}

| colspan=2 | exceptionally

| {{IPA|/h/}}

| {{lang|gd|fhathast}} {{IPA|/ha.əs̪t̪/}}, {{lang|gd|fhèin}} {{IPA|/heːn/}}, {{lang|gd|fhuair}} {{IPA|/huəɾʲ/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| {{IPA|/k/}}

| {{lang|gd|gad}} {{IPA|/kat̪/}}, {{lang|gd|ugan}} {{IPA|/ˈukan/}}

| {{IPA|/kʲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|gille}} {{IPA|/ˈkʲiʎə/}}, {{lang|gd|leig}} {{IPA|/ʎekʲ/}}

| rowspan="5" | '''gh'''

| {{lang|gd|an-diugh}} {{IPA|/əɲˈtʲu/}}, {{lang|gd|nigh}} {{IPA|/ɲiː/}}

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | between vowels

| {{IPA|/./}}*

| {{lang|gd|aghaidh}} {{IPA|/ˈɤː.ɪ/}}, {{lang|gd|fiughar}} {{IPA|/ˈfju.əɾ/}}, {{lang|gd|nigheann}} {{IPA|/ˈɲiː.an̪ˠ/}}

|{{IPA|/ɣ/}}

|{{lang|gd|laghail}} {{IPA|/ˈl̪ˠɤɣal/}}

| rowspan=2 | elsewhere

| {{IPA|/ɣ/}}

| {{lang|gd|mo ghoc}} {{IPA|/mə ɣɔʰk/}}, {{lang|gd|lagh}} {{IPA|/l̪ˠɤɣ/}}

| slender

| {{IPA|/ʝ/}}

| {{lang|gd|mo ghille}} {{IPA|/mə ʝiʎə/}}, {{lang|gd|do thaigh}} {{IPA|/t̪ə hɤj/}}

| colspan=3 | '''gn'''

| {{IPA|/kr/}}

| {{lang|gd|gnè}} {{IPA|/kɾʲɛː/}}

| colspan=3 | '''h'''

| {{IPA|/h/}}

| {{lang|gd|a h-athair}} {{IPA|/ə hahɪɾʲ/}}, {{lang|gd|Hearach}} {{IPA|/ˈhɛɾəx/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| {{IPA|/l̪ˠ/}}

| {{lang|gd|lachan}} {{IPA|/ˈl̪ˠaxən/}}, {{lang|gd|a laoidh}} {{IPA|/ə l̪ˠɯj/}}, {{lang|gd|balach}} {{IPA|/ˈpal̪ˠəx/}}

| rowspan=3 | slender

| {{IPA|/ʎ/}}

| {{lang|gd|leabaidh}} {{IPA|/ˈʎepɪ/}}, {{lang|gd|leum}} {{IPA|/ʎeːm/}}

| initially, lenited

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/l/}}

| {{lang|gd|dà leabaidh}} {{IPA|/t̪aː lepɪ/}}, {{lang|gd|bho leac}} {{IPA|/vɔ lɛʰk/}}

| elsewhere

| {{lang|gd|cuilean}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰulan/}}, {{lang|gd|sùil}} {{IPA|/s̪uːl/}}

| {{IPA|/l̪ˠ/}}

| {{lang|gd|balla}} {{IPA|/ˈpal̪ˠə/}}, {{lang|gd|ciall}} {{IPA|/kʰʲiəl̪ˠ/}}

| {{IPA|/ʎ/}}

| {{lang|gd|cailleach}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰaʎəx/}}, {{lang|gd|mill}} {{IPA|/miːʎ/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/m/}}

| {{lang|gd|maol}} {{IPA|/mɯːl̪ˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|màla}} {{IPA|/ˈmaːl̪ˠə/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| {{lang|gd|milis}} {{IPA|/ˈmilɪʃ/}}, {{lang|gd|tìm}} {{IPA|/tʰʲiːm/}}

| before back vowel

| {{IPA|/mj/}}

| {{lang|gd|meall}} {{IPA|/mjaul̪ˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|meòg}} {{IPA|/mjɔːk/}}

| rowspan=4 | '''mh'''

| colspan=2 | between vowels, sometimes

| {{IPA|/./}}

| {{lang|gd|comhairle}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰo.əɾlə/}}

| {{lang|gd|àmhainn}} {{IPA|/ˈaːvɪɲ/}}, {{lang|gd|caomh}} {{IPA|/kʰɯːv/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| {{lang|gd|caoimhin}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰɯːvɪɲ/}}, {{lang|gd|làimh}} {{IPA|/ˈl̪ˠaiv/}}

| before back vowel

| {{IPA|/vj/}}

| {{lang|gd|do mhealladh}} {{IPA|/t̪ɔ ˈvjal̪ˠəɣ/}}, {{lang|gd|dà mheall}} {{IPA|/t̪aː vjaul̪ˠ/}}

|-

| rowspan=7 | '''n'''

| rowspan=3 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/n/}}

| {{lang|gd|mo nàire}} {{IPA|/mɔ ˈnaːɾʲɪ/}}, {{lang|gd|bho nàbaidh}} {{IPA|/vɔ ˈnaːpɪ/}}

| {{lang|gd|dona}} {{IPA|/ˈt̪ɔnə/}}, {{lang|gd|sean}} {{IPA|/ʃɛn/}}

| rowspan=4 | slender

| {{IPA|/ɲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|neul}} {{IPA|/ɲial̪ˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|neart}} {{IPA|/ɲɛɾʃt̪/}}

| initially, lenited

| {{IPA|/n/}}

| {{lang|gd|mo nighean}} {{IPA|/mɔ ˈni.an/}}, {{lang|gd|dà nead}} {{IPA|/t̪aː nɛt̪/}}

| elsewhere, after back vowel

| {{IPA|/ɲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|duine}} {{IPA|/ˈt̪ɯɲə/}}, {{lang|gd|càineadh}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰaːɲəɣ/}}

| elsewhere, after front vowel

| {{IPA|/n/}}

| {{lang|gd|cana}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰanə/}}, {{lang|gd|teine}} {{IPA|/ˈtʰʲenə/}}

| {{IPA|/ŋɡ/}}

| {{lang|gd|teanga}} {{IPA|/ˈtʰʲɛŋɡə/}}, {{lang|gd|fulang}} {{IPA|/ˈful̪ˠəŋɡ/}}

| {{IPA|/ŋʲɡʲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|aingeal}} {{IPA|/ˈaiŋʲɡʲəl̪ˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|farsaing}} {{IPA|/ˈfaɾs̪ɪŋʲɡʲ/}}

| {{IPA|/n̪ˠ/}}

| {{lang|gd|ceannaich}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰʲan̪ˠɪç/}}, {{lang|gd|ann}} {{IPA|/aun̪ˠ/}}

| {{IPA|/ɲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|bainne}} {{IPA|/ˈpaɲə/}}, {{lang|gd|tinn}} {{IPA|/tʰʲiːɲ/}}

| between vowels

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ʰp/}}

| {{lang|gd|cupa}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰuʰpə/}}, {{lang|gd|cipean}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰʲiʰpan/}} 

| finally after vowel

| {{lang|gd|cuip}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰuiʰp/}}  

| finally after consonant

| {{IPA|/p/}}

| {{lang|gd|ailp}} {{IPA|/alp/}}  

| slender before back vowel

| after consonant, or initially

| {{IPA|/pʰj/}}

| {{lang|gd|piuthar}} {{IPA|/ˈpʰju.əɾ/}}, {{lang|gd|peall}} {{IPA|/pʰjaul̪ˠ/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/f/}}

| {{lang|gd|sa phost}} {{IPA|/s̪ə fɔs̪t̪/}}, {{lang|gd|bho phàiste}} {{IPA|/vɔ ˈfaːʃtʲə/}}

| rowspan=2 | slender

| before front vowel

| {{lang|gd|dà pheasair}} {{IPA|/t̪aː ˈfes̪ɪɾʲ/}}, {{lang|gd|mo pheata}} {{IPA|/mɔ ˈfɛʰt̪ə/}}

| before back vowel

| {{IPA|/fj/}}

| {{lang|gd|mo phiuthar}} {{IPA|/mɔ ˈfju.əɾ/}}, {{lang|gd|sa pheann}} {{IPA|/s̪ə fjaun̪ˠ/}}

| colspan=2 | initially, unlenited

| {{IPA|/rˠ/}}

| {{lang|gd|ràmh}} {{IPA|/rˠaːv/}}, {{lang|gd|rionnag}} {{IPA|/ˈrˠun̪ˠak/}}

| colspan=2 | initially, lenited

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ɾ/}}

| {{lang|gd|do rùn}} {{IPA|/tɔ ɾuːn/}}, {{lang|gd|bho rèic}} {{IPA|/vɔ ɾeːʰkʲ/}}

| rowspan=2 | elsewhere

| broad

| {{lang|gd|caran}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰaɾan/}}, {{lang|gd|mura}} {{IPA|/ˈmuɾə/}}

| slender

| {{IPA|/ɾʲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|cìr}} {{IPA|/kʰʲiːɾʲ/}}, {{lang|gd|cuireadh}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰuɾʲəɣ/}}

| colspan=3 | '''rr'''

| {{IPA|/rˠ/}}

| {{lang|gd|cearr}} {{IPA|/kʰʲaːrˠ/}}, {{lang|gd|barra}} {{IPA|/ˈparˠə/}}

| {{IPA|/ɾʃt̪/}}

| {{lang|gd|neart}} {{IPA|/ɲɛɾʃt̪/}}, {{lang|gd|bord}} {{IPA|/pɔːɾʃt̪/}}

| {{IPA|/s̪/}}

| {{lang|gd|sàr}} {{IPA|/s̪aːɾ/}}, {{lang|gd|casan}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰas̪an/}}

| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}

| {{lang|gd|siùcair}} {{IPA|/ˈʃuːʰkɪɾʲ/}}, {{lang|gd|càise}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰaːʃə/}}

| colspan=2 | broad

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/h/}}

| {{lang|gd|ro shalach}} {{IPA|/ɾɔ ˈhal̪ˠəx/}}, {{lang|gd|glè shoilleir}} {{IPA|/kleː ˈhɤʎɪɾʲ/}}

| colspan=3 | '''sr, str'''

| {{IPA|/s̪t̪ɾ/}}

| {{lang|gd|sràc}} {{IPA|/s̪t̪ɾaːʰk/}}, {{lang|gd|strì}} {{IPA|/s̪t̪ɾʲiː/}}

| rowspan=8 | '''t'''

| {{IPA|/t̪ʰ/}}

| {{lang|gd|tasdan}} {{IPA|/ˈt̪ʰas̪t̪an/}}, {{lang|gd|molta}} {{IPA|/ˈmɔl̪ˠt̪ə/}}

| between vowels

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ʰt̪/}}

| {{lang|gd|bàta}} {{IPA|/ˈpaːʰt̪ə/}}

| finally, after vowel

| {{lang|gd|put}} {{IPA|/pʰuʰt̪/}}

| finally, after consonant

| {{IPA|/t/}}

| rowspan=4 | slender

| initially, or non-finally after consonant

| {{IPA|/tʰʲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|tiugh}} {{IPA|/tʰʲu/}}, {{lang|gd|caillte}} {{IPA|/ˈkʰaiʎtʲə/}}

| between vowels

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ʰtʲ/}}

| {{lang|gd|litir}} {{IPA|/ˈʎiʰtʲɪɾʲ/}}

| finally, after vowel

| {{lang|gd|cait}} {{IPA|/kʰɛʰtʲ/}}

| colspan=2 | finally

| {{lang|gd|teth}} {{IPA|/tʰʲe/}}, {{lang|gd|leth}} {{IPA|/ʎe/}}, {{lang|gd|strath}} {{IPA|/s̪t̪ɾa/}}

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | between vowels

| {{IPA|/./}}

| {{lang|gd|leotha}} {{IPA|/ˈlɔ.ə/}}, {{lang|gd|piuthar}} {{IPA|/ˈpʰju.əɾ/}}, {{lang|gd|cnòthan}} {{IPA|/ˈkɾɔː.ən/}}

| rowspan="3" |{{IPA|/h/}}

|{{lang|gd|beatha}} {{IPA|/ˈpɛhə/}}, {{lang|gd|fathan}} {{IPA|/ˈfahan/}}, {{lang|gd|a mhàthair}} {{IPA|/ə ˈvaːhɪɾʲ/}}

| rowspan="3" | initially

| broad

| {{lang|gd|mo thòn}} {{IPA|/mɔ hɔːn/}}, {{lang|gd|do thaigh}} {{IPA|/t̪ɔ hɤʝ/}}

| slender, before front vowel

| {{lang|gd|thig}} {{IPA|/hikʲ/}}, {{lang|gd|ro thinn}} {{IPA|/rˠɔ hiːɲ/}}

| slender, before back vowel

| {{IPA|/hj/}}

| {{lang|gd|do theaghlach}} {{IPA|/t̪ɔ ˈhjɔːl̪ˠəx/}}, {{lang|gd|glè thiugh}} {{IPA|/kleː hju/}}

Most parts of speech are split among three "types" or "classes" based on the mutation they cause in the following word, these are called "radical", "lenite", and "eclipse", and they generally don't affect the word itself. Verbs form the primary exception, as they very consistently follow a single pattern, with the dictionary form (the infinitive) always being a lenite.

A set of colors will be applied within the tables here, each color highlighting a specific thing.

*red: the ending.

Scots Norse nouns decline for three cases (direct, genitive, and dative), two genders (masculine and feminine), and two numbers (singular and plural). The direct comes the merging of the nominative and the accusative, the two having fell together due to sound changes. The definite forms distinctive of the Nordic languages have been dropped in favor of the standalone article {{l|snon|hi}}.

Nouns generally follow two patterns, which themselves are incredibly similar, the only true distinction being the direct plural, which is -ar in the masculine and -ir in the feminine. Another distinction is the direct singular, where the coda can appear broad in slender roots, such as {{l|snon|bèodh}}, with a root of ''bèdh-'', though this distinction only really exists for elder speakers.

The following set of tables will display a few examples of the native masculine pattern.

{{inflection-table-top|palette=blue|title=Native masculine nouns|tall=yes}}

! rowspan=3 |

! colspan=2 class=outer | {{l|snon|veolp}} ("puppy")

! colspan=2 class=outer | {{l|snon|a}} ("fragrance")

! colspan=2 class=outer | {{l|snon|alm}} ("elm tree")

|-

! colspan=2 | indefinite

|-

! class=secondary | singular

! class=secondary | plural

! class=secondary | singular

! class=secondary | plural

|-

|-

| velp<span style="color:red">s</span>

| ve<span style="color:red">o</span>lph

| a<span style="color:red">z</span>

| al<span style="color:red">z</span>

|-

| velph<span style="color:red">u</span>

! rowspan=2 |

! colspan=2 | definite

! colspan=2 | definite

! colspan=2 | definite

|-

! class=secondary | singular

! class=secondary | plural

! class=secondary | singular

! class=secondary | plural

! class=secondary | singular

! class=secondary | plural

|-

| hi <span style="color:blue">n'</span>a

| hìnhar ang<span style="color:red">ar</span>

| hi <span style="color:blue">n'</span>alm

| hìnhar alm<span style="color:red">ar</span>

|-

| hiz velp<span style="color:red">s</span>

| hionh <span style="color:blue">vh</span>e<span style="color:red">o</span>lph

| hiz a<span style="color:red">z</span>

| hiz al<span style="color:red">z</span>

|-

| hình <span style="color:blue">b</span>elph

| hình <span style="color:blue">n'</span>a<span style="color:red">e</span>ngh