Western Scots Norse: Difference between revisions

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==Grammar==
==Morphology==
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.
===Pronouns===
===Pronouns===
{{snon-pronouns}}
{{snon-pronouns}}
===Nouns===
===Nouns===
Nouns have been reduced down to a basic singular/plural distinction, with the gender distinction only really maintained when paired with the article {{l|snon|hi}}.
Nouns have been reduced down to a basic singular/plural distinction, with the gender distinction effectively lost, only being maintained by the pronouns used for the words. Nouns have also dropped their definite forms in favor of an independent article, {{l|snon|hi}}.


Nouns are categorized under gender and class. There are two genders, being masculine and feminine, and three classes, being radical, lenite, and eclipse. The classes are based on the mutation the singular form causes on the following word. The gender distinction is murky at best, and it has been well observed that it gets confused often, to the point it likely does not hold any actual bearing on the language, rather being more a semantic distinction, see {{lang|snon|{{term|asc}}}} for a word where the gender is often confused.
Plurals of native words are almost always formed with {{l|snon|-ar}}, though remnants of umlaut also exist. Nouns from Gàidhlig most often instead use {{l|snon|-an}}.


In colloquial dialects, grammatical gender as a whole is preserved very poorly in its original state, with it often being replaced based on semantics, and thus new rules for gender have arisen.
:A noun is feminine when it:
:*is a place name
:*is a language
:*is the name of a people (eg. an ethnicity, race, tribe, etc.)
:*is semantically feminine (eg. "woman" or "doe")
:*is a technology, especially means of transportation (eg. a car or boat)
:*(list to be expanded)
:A noun is masculine in all other circumstances.


Nouns typically only have at most two forms, distinguishing singular and plural, but many nouns, especially animate nouns, gain distinct feminine forms formed with ''{{lang|snon|{{term|-al}}}}'', as in {{lang|snon|{{term|scòthal}}}} ("female Scot").
With the general loss of gender, the suffix {{l|snon|-al}} developed. Originally a feminine diminutive, it was analogized to the masculine and became an agent suffix, then a general suffix for forming feminine nouns. In the plural, it appears as {{l|snon|-lar}}.
 
The plural is very consistently formed with the suffix {{lang|snon|{{term|-ar}}}}. There is no concrete evidence for the existence of any irregular plurals in the standard language, but within Western Scots Norse many have been observed, the most notable being "man"-"men" as in English, the lack of this in Standard Scots Norse is likely from the a-e merger of Eastern Sudrey Norse.


===Adjectives===
===Adjectives===
Adjectives have long lost all declension, with the gender distinction through mutation having been leveled off.
Adjectives, like nouns, have been heavily reduced, down to the positive, comparative, and superlative forms. The comparative and superlative are formed with {{l|snon|-ir}} and {{l|snon|-ist}} respectively.


===Numerals===
===Numerals===
{|class="wikitable"
{|class="wikitable"
!1
!1
|{{lang|snon|{{term|è}}}}
|{{l|snon|è}}
|-
|-
!2
!2
|{{lang|snon|{{term|thèr}}}}
|{{l|snon|tfè}}({{l|snon|tfèr|r}})
|-
|-
!3
!3
|{{lang|snon|{{term|trìr}}}}
|{{l|snon|trì}}
|-
|-
!4
!4
|{{lang|snon|{{term|fiòr}}}}
|{{l|snon|fiòer}}
|-
|-
!5
!5
|{{lang|snon|{{term|fi}}}}
|{{l|snon|fi}}
|-
|-
!6
!6
|{{lang|snon|{{term|siacs}}}}
|{{l|snon|siach}}
|-
|-
!7
!7
|{{lang|snon|{{term|siò}}}}
|{{l|snon|siò}}
|-
|-
!8
!8
|{{lang|snon|{{term|àth}}}}
|{{l|snon|àth}}
|-
|-
!9
!9
|{{lang|snon|{{term|niù}}}}
|{{l|snon|niù}}
|-
|-
!10
!10
|{{lang|snon|{{term|tiù}}}}
|{{l|snon|tiù}}
|-
|-
!11
!11
|{{lang|snon|{{term|eliov}}}}
|{{l|snon|èliovh}}
|-
|-
!12
!12
|{{lang|snon|{{term|tòlv}}}}
|{{l|snon|tòlvh}}
|-
|-
|}
|}
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A large amount of speakers simply don't use inflected prepositions.
A large amount of speakers simply don't use inflected prepositions.


{{snon-infl-prep|i|3=io|n=y}}
{{snon-infl-prep|i|n=y}}




{{snon-infl-prep|til|3=tiol}}
{{snon-infl-prep|til}}


===Verbs===
===Verbs===
Many significant changes have happened to the verb system since Old Norse, notably both the mood and voice distinctions have been lost. The active indicative has descended into the present and past tense, while the active subjunctive was lost entirely. The oppositive happened in the mediopassive, with the subjunctive becoming the future and stative, while the indicative was lost.
Many significant changes have happened to the verb system since Old Norse, notably both the mood and voice distinctions have been lost. The active indicative has descended into the present and past tense, while the active subjunctive was lost entirely. The mediopassive became the future and imperative (the mood distinction in the mediopassive largely having already collapsed in Old Norse). The reciprocal, original formed through the mediopassive, has entirely been replaced by {{l|snon|hinhar}}. The original imperative is seemingly preserved as the impersonal form (hence the "-sc-"), later having the endings appended to it after they became generally leveled to a single regular pattern.
 
Verbs have reduced to such a limited number of forms that analogy and sound changes have leveled them all down to essentially one pattern (excluding a few irregular verbs), which seemingly descends from Old Norse's weak class 2 pattern.
 
 
{{snon-conj|t|àl}}


The stative doesn't exist for every verb, but the forms are still displayed for convenience's sake.
{{snon-conj|m|èl}}


The original mediopassive indicative only remains in a small set of verbs acting as a reciprocal, typically physical actions taken towards others, like {{lang|snon|{{term|}}}} ("to fight"), {{lang|snon|{{term|slà}}}} ("to hit"), {{lang|snon|{{term|}}}} ("to embrace"), as well as a few abstract verbs, such as {{lang|snon|{{term|elsc}}}} ("to love"). Otherwise it's been replaced by {{lang|snon|{{term|hennar}}}}
{{snon-conj|à|gh}}


Verbs have reduced to such a limited number of forms that analogy and sound changes have leveled them all down to essentially one pattern (excluding a few irregular verbs), which seemingly descends from Old Norse's weak class 2 pattern.
====Suppletive verbs====
There are very few known suppletive verbs in Scots Norse, the main one being the copula ''vèr'', and even it has been leveled by many speakers.
{{snon-conj-vèr}}
"er" and "var" are the more prevalent forms, but the regularized forms "vèrir" and "vèradhir" are also rather common.


{{snon-out-conj|t|àl|àel}}
==Syntax==
===Word order===
Scots Norse word order is incredibly strict, relying more on particles than word order for changing the sentence type. The typical order is:
#Preverbal particle
#Verb
#Postverbal particle(s)
#Subject
#Preposition(s) (usually)
#Direct object or predicate adjective
#Indirect object


Prepositions are placed largely as in English, but the usage can often differ, eg. "i" ("in") goes before the direct object, but is also used for "under" as in "i miùeghi" ("under construction", literally "in building").


{{snon-out-conj|m|èl}}
An example:


{{interlinear|lang=snon|number=(1)
| er Agharsc Vheostnariòzc h'u ghi nAghar.
| be.PRES Scots_Norse West_Norse of the Hebrides
| Scots Norse is a West Nordic language spoken in the Hebrides
}}


{{snon-out-conj|à|gh|egh}}
===Questions and answers===
Scots Norse lacks a true equivalent to "no", the closest thing being "è(gh)" ("not"), which can often be used on it's own when a form of "be" + "not" suffices for an answer, as in:
{{interlinear|lang=snon|number=(2)
| vàrth mèlir tù vid mic?
| Q speak.PRES 2sg with 1sg
| Will you speak with me?
}}
{{interlinear|lang=snon|number= (2.1)|indent=6
| ègh
| NEG
| I won't
}}


====Suppletive verbs====
Following this usage of "ègh", "ghià" (Old Norse "já") is often used as an affirmative, as in:
There are very few known suppletive verbs in Scots Norse, the main one being the copula ''{{lang|snon|vèr}}'', and even it has been leveled by many speakers.
{{interlinear|lang=snon|number=(3)
{{snon-conj-vèr}}
| vàrth èthist tù màenhmhàth vid mic?
"arr" and "varr" are the more prevalent forms, but the regularized forms "vèrarr" and "vèradharr" are also rather common.
| Q speak.FUT 2sg dinner with 1sg
| Will you eat dinner with me?
}}
{{interlinear|lang=snon|number= (3.1)|indent=6
| ghià!
| AFF
| I will!
}}


Another suppletive verb is that of {{lang|snon|{{term|elsc}}}}, which has a suppletive reciprocal from the Old Norse verb "unna" (Scots Norse "uen")
As has likely been noticed by now, questions consistently contain "vàrth" at the beginning, this is a general question particle, akin to Gàidhlig "an".


{{snon-out-conj|e|lsc}}
==="To be"===
====The stative====
Scots Norse has several things fulfilling the function of "to be". In the descriptive role (eg. "I am happy") the stative of a verb is used (eg. "sèladhist").
{{interlinear|lang=snon|number=(4)
| tiòemhadhist hi ger
| empty.STAT the box
| The box is empty
}}
====Existential ''bì''====
Likely under the influence of Irish, the verb "bìodh" (Old Norse "bíða") shifted to an existential copula, rather than an impersonal one, while an odd development, the extreme influence of the Gaelic languages does well explain it, in this sense it's most often spelt "bì", with the various endings being appended with an apostrophe, as in "bì'ir" or "bì'adhist", in these forms it is often pronounced /bj-/, thus /bjəjʃt/ for "bì'adhist".


==Syntax==
==Syntax==

Revision as of 06:09, 11 May 2026


Western Scots Norse
Veastagharsc
Pronunciation[ˌvɛst.əːɾsk]
Created byMelinoë
Native toSiarègh
EthnicityNorse Scots
Native speakers(L1) 1,500 (2020)
(L2) < 20,000
Early forms
Dialects
  • Northwestern
  • Southwestern
Official status
Official language in
Scotland
Scots Norse is classified as critically endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Western Scots Norse (endonym: Veastagharsc; /ˌvɛst.əːɾsk/) is the dialect continuum used throughout Veastaghar, or the Outer Hebrides. It has the heavier influence of the two continuums from Gàidhlig, this can be seen largely through vocab. It is one of two main dialect continuums, the other being Eastern Scots Norse, corresponding to the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Western Scots Norse is further divided into two groups, Noveastagharsc and Suveastagharsc, or Northwestern and Southwestern respectively. These too are then further divided into the specific dialects. Under Northwestern is Lewis and Harris, while Southwestern is split between Uist and Barra. Within Uist there is also the primary religious dialect, Hèdhnarsc, spoken by the pagans throughout the Outer Hebrides.

Phonology

All colloquial western dialects share the following features:

  • Old Norse's front round vowels become back vowels, thus words like "systir" become siuest, as opposed to Eastern saiast.
  • The /ɪ/-/ɛ/ merger, always to /ɛ/ when stressed, and slender /ə/ when unstressed. (Slender /ə/ is thus spelt "i", while broad /ə/ is "a").
  • loss of dental fricatives through merging variably with ⟨s, z⟩ or ⟨(c)h, gh⟩. (Always with ⟨(c)h, gh⟩ when slender)
  • denasalization of nasal vowels, giving varying values throughout the dialects.
  • merger of the R's, /r/ and /ɾ/, to /ɾ/
  • Broad A/À rather than the slender A and plain À of Inner dialects.
  • no a-e merger, keeping ⟨a⟩ as /ə/, thus words like "hvelpr" and "hvalpa" become velp and valp, rather than merging to valp as in Eastern.
  • no à > /o/ shift, keeping ⟨à⟩ as /ɑ/. Thus /ˈɑv/ (àv) for Eastern /ˈovʲ/ (àev)
  • ⟨a⟩ for Old Norse ⟨ǫ⟩, where Inner has ⟨o⟩.

Novestèghsc

Novestèghsc, or Northwestern Scots Norse, is spoken on Leòdhas 's Hearadh, or Lewis and Harris.

labial alveolar velar
broad slender broad slender broad slender
Nasal m mʲ n ɲ
Stop Unvoiced p p͡f t t͡ʃ k c
Voiced b b͡v d d͡ʒ g ɟ
Fricative Unvoiced f f(j)~ç s ʃ x ç
Voiced v v(j)~ʝ z ʒ ɣ ʝ
Approximant w ɾ ɾʲ j
  1. The dental fricatives merge with /x, ɣ/
  2. The lateral approximants vocalize to /j, w/
Front Back
High i u
Near-High ɤ
Mid e o
Low ɛ ɔ~ɒ
  1. /ə/ is the unstressed realization of /ɛ, ɔ/. (differing by slender vs broad)

"Nasal" vowels are typically realized as centering diphthongs.

Front Back
High iɪ̯̈ uʊ̯̈
Near-High ɤʊ̯̈~ʊ̈ː
Mid eɪ̯̈ oʊ̯̈
Low ɛɪ̯̈ ɔʊ̯̈
  1. /əɪ̯̈/ is the unstressed realization of /ɜˑ, ɞˑ/. (differing by slender vs broad)

Suvestèghsc

Suveastèghsc, or Southwestern Scots Norse, is spoken on the islands of Ìvist 's Baraegh, or Uist and Barra.

Ìvistèghsc

Ìvistèghsc, or Uist Scots Norse, is spoken on the islands of Ìvist, or Uist.

labial alveolar velar
broad slender broad slender broad slender
Nasal m mʲ n ɲ
Stop Unvoiced p p͡f t t͡ʃ k c
Voiced b b͡v d d͡ʒ g ɟ
Fricative Unvoiced f f(j) s ʃ x ç
Voiced v v(j) z ʒ ɣ ʝ
Approximant r, ɫ rʲ, ʎ j
Front Back
High i u
Near-High ɤ
Mid e o
Low ɛ ɔ~ɒ
  1. /ə/ is the unstressed realization of /ɛ, ɔ/. (differing by slender vs broad)

"Nasal" vowels in Uist Norse are typically realized slightly centralized and longer.

Front Back
High ɪ̈ˑ ʊ̈ˑ
Mid ɘˑ ɵˑ
Low ɜˑ ɞˑ
  1. /əˑ/ is the unstressed realization of /ɜˑ, ɞˑ/. (differing by slender vs broad)

Mutation

radical (basic)
lenition
eclipsis
tàlir /ˈtɑ.ʎəɾʲ/
dàlir /ˈdɑ.ʎəɾʲ/
thàlir /ˈxɑ.ʎəɾʲ/

Orthography

(not updated)

Morphology

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.

Pronouns

Scots Norse personal pronouns
simple
singular plural
1st mic vit
2nd tic tit
3rd masc haᶰ tèrr
fem hoᶰ
reflexive sic, -sc

Nouns

Nouns have been reduced down to a basic singular/plural distinction, with the gender distinction effectively lost, only being maintained by the pronouns used for the words. Nouns have also dropped their definite forms in favor of an independent article, hi.

Plurals of native words are almost always formed with -ar, though remnants of umlaut also exist. Nouns from Gàidhlig most often instead use -an.


With the general loss of gender, the suffix -al developed. Originally a feminine diminutive, it was analogized to the masculine and became an agent suffix, then a general suffix for forming feminine nouns. In the plural, it appears as -lar.

Adjectives

Adjectives, like nouns, have been heavily reduced, down to the positive, comparative, and superlative forms. The comparative and superlative are formed with -ir and -ist respectively.

Numerals

1 è
2 tfè(r)
3 trì
4 fiòer
5 fi
6 siach
7 siò
8 àth
9 niù
10 tiù
11 èliovh
12 tòlvh

Prepositions

Scots Norse has a very, very simple system of inflected prepositions, only inflecting for person and number.

A large amount of speakers simply don't use inflected prepositions.

Inflection of i
1st 2nd 3rd
singular ig idh ighaᶰ
plural ibt idt idì

ᶰ: triggers eclipsis


Inflection of til
1st 2nd 3rd
singular tilg tilth tilhaᶰ
plural tilvt tiltt tiltì

ᶰ: triggers eclipsis

Verbs

Many significant changes have happened to the verb system since Old Norse, notably both the mood and voice distinctions have been lost. The active indicative has descended into the present and past tense, while the active subjunctive was lost entirely. The mediopassive became the future and imperative (the mood distinction in the mediopassive largely having already collapsed in Old Norse). The reciprocal, original formed through the mediopassive, has entirely been replaced by hinhar. The original imperative is seemingly preserved as the impersonal form (hence the "-sc-"), later having the endings appended to it after they became generally leveled to a single regular pattern.

Verbs have reduced to such a limited number of forms that analogy and sound changes have leveled them all down to essentially one pattern (excluding a few irregular verbs), which seemingly descends from Old Norse's weak class 2 pattern.


Conjugation of tàl (regular)
present past future
infinitive tàl tàladh tàlast
participle tàlan tàla tàlanist
singular plural impersonal
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
pos. pres. tàlir mic tàlir tic tàlir ha tàlir vit tàlir tit tàlir tèr tàlscir
past tàladhir mic tàladhir tic tàladhir ha tàladhir vit tàladhir tit tàladhir tèr tàlscadhir
fut. tàlist mic tàlist tic tàlist ha tàlist vit tàlist tit tàlist tèr tàlscist
imp. tàladhist mic tàladhist tic tàladhist ha tàladhist vit tàladhist tit tàladhist tèr tàlscadhist
neg. pres. è thàlir mic è thàlir tic è thàlir ha è thàlir vit è thàlir tit è thàlir tèr è thàlscir
past è thàladhir mic è thàladhir tic è thàladhir ha è thàladhir vit è thàladhir tit è thàladhir tèr è thàlscadhir
fut. è thàlist mic è thàlist tic è thàlist ha è thàlist vit è thàlist tit è thàlist tèr è thàlscist
imp. è thàladhist mic è thàladhist tic è thàladhist ha è thàladhist vit è thàladhist tit è thàladhist tèr è thàlscadhist
cont. pres. tàlan'ir u mic tàlan'ir u dic tàlan'ir u gha tàlan'ir u bit tàlan'ir u dit tàlan'ir u dèr tàlscan'ir u
past tàlan'adhir u mic tàlan'adhir u dic tàlan'adhir u gha tàlan'adhir u bit tàlan'adhir u dit tàlan'adhir u dèr tàlscan'adhir u
fut. tàlan'ist u mic tàlan'ist u dic tàlan'ist u gha tàlan'ist u bit tàlan'ist u dit tàlan'ist u dèr tàlscan'ist u
imp. tàlan'adhist u mic tàlan'adhist u dic tàlan'adhist u gha tàlan'adhist u bit tàlan'adhist u dit tàlan'adhist u dèr tàlscan'adhist u
neg.
cont. 		pres. è thàlan'ir u mic è thàlan'ir u dic è thàlan'ir u gha è thàlan'ir u bit è thàlan'ir u dit è thàlan'ir u dèr è thàlscan'ir u
past è thàlan'adhir u mic è thàlan'adhir u dic è thàlan'adhir u gha è thàlan'adhir u bit è thàlan'adhir u dit è thàlan'adhir u dèr è thàlscan'adhir u
fut. è thàlan'ist u mic è thàlan'ist u dic è thàlan'ist u gha è thàlan'ist u bit è thàlan'ist u dit è thàlan'ist u dèr è thàlscan'ist u
imp. è thàlan'adhist u mic è thàlan'adhist u dic è thàlan'adhist u gha è thàlan'adhist u bit è thàlan'adhist u dit è thàlan'adhist u dèr è thàlscan'adhist u
perf. pres. i dàlir u mic i dàlir u dic i dàlir u gha i dàlir u bit i dàlir u dit i dàlir u dèr i dàlscir u
past i dàladhir u mic i dàladhir u dic i dàladhir u gha i dàladhir u bit i dàladhir u dit i dàladhir u dèr i dàlscadhir u
fut. i dàlist u mic i dàlist u dic i dàlist u gha i dàlist u bit i dàlist u dit i dàlist u dèr i dàlscist u
imp. i dàladhist u mic i dàladhist u dic i dàladhist u gha i dàladhist u bit i dàladhist u dit i dàladhist u dèr i dàlscadhist u
neg.
perf. 		pres. è h'i dàlir u mic è h'i dàlir u dic è h'i dàlir u gha è h'i dàlir u bit è h'i dàlir u dit è h'i dàlir u dèr è h'i dàlscir u
past è h'i dàladhir u mic è h'i dàladhir u dic è h'i dàladhir u gha è h'i dàladhir u bit è h'i dàladhir u dit è h'i dàladhir u dèr è h'i dàlscadhir u
fut. è h'i dàlist u mic è h'i dàlist u dic è h'i dàlist u gha è h'i dàlist u bit è h'i dàlist u dit è h'i dàlist u dèr è h'i dàlscist u
imp. è h'i dàladhist u mic è h'i dàladhist u dic è h'i dàladhist u gha è h'i dàladhist u bit è h'i dàladhist u dit è h'i dàladhist u dèr è h'i dàlscadhist u
Conjugation of mèl (regular)
present past future
infinitive mèl mèladh mèlast
participle mèlan mèla mèlanist
singular plural impersonal
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
pos. pres. mèlir mic mèlir tic mèlir ha mèlir vit mèlir tit mèlir tèr mèlscir
past mèladhir mic mèladhir tic mèladhir ha mèladhir vit mèladhir tit mèladhir tèr mèlscadhir
fut. mèlist mic mèlist tic mèlist ha mèlist vit mèlist tit mèlist tèr mèlscist
imp. mèladhist mic mèladhist tic mèladhist ha mèladhist vit mèladhist tit mèladhist tèr mèlscadhist
neg. pres. è mhèlir mic è mhèlir tic è mhèlir ha è mhèlir vit è mhèlir tit è mhèlir tèr è mhèlscir
past è mhèladhir mic è mhèladhir tic è mhèladhir ha è mhèladhir vit è mhèladhir tit è mhèladhir tèr è mhèlscadhir
fut. è mhèlist mic è mhèlist tic è mhèlist ha è mhèlist vit è mhèlist tit è mhèlist tèr è mhèlscist
imp. è mhèladhist mic è mhèladhist tic è mhèladhist ha è mhèladhist vit è mhèladhist tit è mhèladhist tèr è mhèlscadhist
cont. pres. mèlan'ir u mic mèlan'ir u dic mèlan'ir u gha mèlan'ir u bit mèlan'ir u dit mèlan'ir u dèr mèlscan'ir u
past mèlan'adhir u mic mèlan'adhir u dic mèlan'adhir u gha mèlan'adhir u bit mèlan'adhir u dit mèlan'adhir u dèr mèlscan'adhir u
fut. mèlan'ist u mic mèlan'ist u dic mèlan'ist u gha mèlan'ist u bit mèlan'ist u dit mèlan'ist u dèr mèlscan'ist u
imp. mèlan'adhist u mic mèlan'adhist u dic mèlan'adhist u gha mèlan'adhist u bit mèlan'adhist u dit mèlan'adhist u dèr mèlscan'adhist u
neg.
cont. 		pres. è mhèlan'ir u mic è mhèlan'ir u dic è mhèlan'ir u gha è mhèlan'ir u bit è mhèlan'ir u dit è mhèlan'ir u dèr è mhèlscan'ir u
past è mhèlan'adhir u mic è mhèlan'adhir u dic è mhèlan'adhir u gha è mhèlan'adhir u bit è mhèlan'adhir u dit è mhèlan'adhir u dèr è mhèlscan'adhir u
fut. è mhèlan'ist u mic è mhèlan'ist u dic è mhèlan'ist u gha è mhèlan'ist u bit è mhèlan'ist u dit è mhèlan'ist u dèr è mhèlscan'ist u
imp. è mhèlan'adhist u mic è mhèlan'adhist u dic è mhèlan'adhist u gha è mhèlan'adhist u bit è mhèlan'adhist u dit è mhèlan'adhist u dèr è mhèlscan'adhist u
perf. pres. i mèlir u mic i mèlir u dic i mèlir u gha i mèlir u bit i mèlir u dit i mèlir u dèr i mèlscir u
past i mèladhir u mic i mèladhir u dic i mèladhir u gha i mèladhir u bit i mèladhir u dit i mèladhir u dèr i mèlscadhir u
fut. i mèlist u mic i mèlist u dic i mèlist u gha i mèlist u bit i mèlist u dit i mèlist u dèr i mèlscist u
imp. i mèladhist u mic i mèladhist u dic i mèladhist u gha i mèladhist u bit i mèladhist u dit i mèladhist u dèr i mèlscadhist u
neg.
perf. 		pres. è h'i mèlir u mic è h'i mèlir u dic è h'i mèlir u gha è h'i mèlir u bit è h'i mèlir u dit è h'i mèlir u dèr è h'i mèlscir u
past è h'i mèladhir u mic è h'i mèladhir u dic è h'i mèladhir u gha è h'i mèladhir u bit è h'i mèladhir u dit è h'i mèladhir u dèr è h'i mèlscadhir u
fut. è h'i mèlist u mic è h'i mèlist u dic è h'i mèlist u gha è h'i mèlist u bit è h'i mèlist u dit è h'i mèlist u dèr è h'i mèlscist u
imp. è h'i mèladhist u mic è h'i mèladhist u dic è h'i mèladhist u gha è h'i mèladhist u bit è h'i mèladhist u dit è h'i mèladhist u dèr è h'i mèlscadhist u
Conjugation of àgh (regular)
present past future
infinitive àgh àghadh àghast
participle àghan àgha àghanist
singular plural impersonal
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
pos. pres. àghir mic àghir tic àghir ha àghir vit àghir tit àghir tèr àghscir
past àghadhir mic àghadhir tic àghadhir ha àghadhir vit àghadhir tit àghadhir tèr àghscadhir
fut. àghist mic àghist tic àghist ha àghist vit àghist tit àghist tèr àghscist
imp. àghadhist mic àghadhist tic àghadhist ha àghadhist vit àghadhist tit àghadhist tèr àghscadhist
neg. pres. è h'àghir mic è h'àghir tic è h'àghir ha è h'àghir vit è h'àghir tit è h'àghir tèr è h'àghscir
past è h'àghadhir mic è h'àghadhir tic è h'àghadhir ha è h'àghadhir vit è h'àghadhir tit è h'àghadhir tèr è h'àghscadhir
fut. è h'àghist mic è h'àghist tic è h'àghist ha è h'àghist vit è h'àghist tit è h'àghist tèr è h'àghscist
imp. è h'àghadhist mic è h'àghadhist tic è h'àghadhist ha è h'àghadhist vit è h'àghadhist tit è h'àghadhist tèr è h'àghscadhist
cont. pres. àghan'ir u mic àghan'ir u dic àghan'ir u gha àghan'ir u bit àghan'ir u dit àghan'ir u dèr àghscan'ir u
past àghan'adhir u mic àghan'adhir u dic àghan'adhir u gha àghan'adhir u bit àghan'adhir u dit àghan'adhir u dèr àghscan'adhir u
fut. àghan'ist u mic àghan'ist u dic àghan'ist u gha àghan'ist u bit àghan'ist u dit àghan'ist u dèr àghscan'ist u
imp. àghan'adhist u mic àghan'adhist u dic àghan'adhist u gha àghan'adhist u bit àghan'adhist u dit àghan'adhist u dèr àghscan'adhist u
neg.
cont. 		pres. è h'àghan'ir u mic è h'àghan'ir u dic è h'àghan'ir u gha è h'àghan'ir u bit è h'àghan'ir u dit è h'àghan'ir u dèr è h'àghscan'ir u
past è h'àghan'adhir u mic è h'àghan'adhir u dic è h'àghan'adhir u gha è h'àghan'adhir u bit è h'àghan'adhir u dit è h'àghan'adhir u dèr è h'àghscan'adhir u
fut. è h'àghan'ist u mic è h'àghan'ist u dic è h'àghan'ist u gha è h'àghan'ist u bit è h'àghan'ist u dit è h'àghan'ist u dèr è h'àghscan'ist u
imp. è h'àghan'adhist u mic è h'àghan'adhist u dic è h'àghan'adhist u gha è h'àghan'adhist u bit è h'àghan'adhist u dit è h'àghan'adhist u dèr è h'àghscan'adhist u
perf. pres. i n'àghir u mic i n'àghir u dic i n'àghir u gha i n'àghir u bit i n'àghir u dit i n'àghir u dèr i n'àghscir u
past i n'àghadhir u mic i n'àghadhir u dic i n'àghadhir u gha i n'àghadhir u bit i n'àghadhir u dit i n'àghadhir u dèr i n'àghscadhir u
fut. i n'àghist u mic i n'àghist u dic i n'àghist u gha i n'àghist u bit i n'àghist u dit i n'àghist u dèr i n'àghscist u
imp. i n'àghadhist u mic i n'àghadhist u dic i n'àghadhist u gha i n'àghadhist u bit i n'àghadhist u dit i n'àghadhist u dèr i n'àghscadhist u
neg.
perf. 		pres. è h'i n'àghir u mic è h'i n'àghir u dic è h'i n'àghir u gha è h'i n'àghir u bit è h'i n'àghir u dit è h'i n'àghir u dèr è h'i n'àghscir u
past è h'i n'àghadhir u mic è h'i n'àghadhir u dic è h'i n'àghadhir u gha è h'i n'àghadhir u bit è h'i n'àghadhir u dit è h'i n'àghadhir u dèr è h'i n'àghscadhir u
fut. è h'i n'àghist u mic è h'i n'àghist u dic è h'i n'àghist u gha è h'i n'àghist u bit è h'i n'àghist u dit è h'i n'àghist u dèr è h'i n'àghscist u
imp. è h'i n'àghadhist u mic è h'i n'àghadhist u dic è h'i n'àghadhist u gha è h'i n'àghadhist u bit è h'i n'àghadhist u dit è h'i n'àghadhist u dèr è h'i n'àghscadhist u

Suppletive verbs

There are very few known suppletive verbs in Scots Norse, the main one being the copula vèr, and even it has been leveled by many speakers.

Conjugation of vèr (suppletive)
present past future
infinitive vèr vèradh vèrast
participle vèrin vèra vèranist
singular plural impersonal
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
pos. pres. er mic er tic er ha er vit er tit er tèr vèrscir
past var mic var tic var ha var vit var tit var tèr vèrscadhir
fut. vèrist mic vèrist tic vèrist ha vèrist vit vèrist tit vèrist tèr vèrscist
imp. vèradhist mic vèradhist tic vèradhist ha vèradhist vit vèradhist tit vèradhist tèr vèrscadhist
neg. pres. è h'er mic è h'er tic è h'er ha è h'er vit è h'er tit è h'er tèr è vhèrscir
past è vhar mic è vhar tic è vhar ha è vhar vit è vhar tit è vhar tèr è vhèrscadhir
fut. è vhèrist mic è vhèrist tic è vhèrist ha è vhèrist vit è vhèrist tit è vhèrist tèr è vhèrscist
imp. è vhèradhist mic è vhèradhist tic è vhèradhist ha è vhèradhist vit è vhèradhist tit è vhèradhist tèr è vhèrscadhist
cont. pres. vèrin'ir u mic vèrin'ir u dic vèrin'ir u gha vèrin'ir u bit vèrin'ir u dit vèrin'ir u dèr vèrscin'ir u
past vèrin'adhir u mic vèrin'adhir u dic vèrin'adhir u gha vèrin'adhir u bit vèrin'adhir u dit vèrin'adhir u dèr vèrscin'adhir u
fut. vèrin'ist u mic vèrin'ist u dic vèrin'ist u gha vèrin'ist u bit vèrin'ist u dit vèrin'ist u dèr vèrscin'ist u
imp. vèrin'adhist u mic vèrin'adhist u dic vèrin'adhist u gha vèrin'adhist u bit vèrin'adhist u dit vèrin'adhist u dèr vèrscin'adhist u
neg.
cont. 		pres. è vhèrin'ir u mic è vhèrin'ir u dic è vhèrin'ir u gha è vhèrin'ir u bit è vhèrin'ir u dit è vhèrin'ir u dèr è vhèrscin'ir u
past è vhèrin'adhir u mic è vhèrin'adhir u dic è vhèrin'adhir u gha è vhèrin'adhir u bit è vhèrin'adhir u dit è vhèrin'adhir u dèr è vhèrscin'adhir u
fut. è vhèrin'ist u mic è vhèrin'ist u dic è vhèrin'ist u gha è vhèrin'ist u bit è vhèrin'ist u dit è vhèrin'ist u dèr è vhèrscin'ist u
imp. è vhèrin'adhist u mic è vhèrin'adhist u dic è vhèrin'adhist u gha è vhèrin'adhist u bit è vhèrin'adhist u dit è vhèrin'adhist u dèr è vhèrscin'adhist u
perf. pres. i n'er u mic i n'er u dic i n'er u gha i n'er u bit i n'er u dit i n'er u dèr i berscir u
past i bar u mic i bar u dic i bar u gha i bar u bit i bar u dit i bar u dèr i bèrscadhir u
fut. i bèrist u mic i bèrist u dic i bèrist u gha i bèrist u bit i bèrist u dit i bèrist u dèr i bèrscist u
imp. i bèradhist u mic i bèradhist u dic i bèradhist u gha i bèradhist u bit i bèradhist u dit i bèradhist u dèr i bèrscadhist u
neg.
perf. 		pres. è h'i n'er u mic è h'i n'er u dic è h'i n'er u gha è h'i n'er u bit è h'i n'er u dit è h'i n'er u dèr è h'i berscir u
past è h'i bar u mic è h'i bar u dic è h'i bar u gha è h'i bar u bit è h'i bar u dit è h'i bar u dèr è h'i bèrscadhir u
fut. è h'i bèrist u mic è h'i bèrist u dic è h'i bèrist u gha è h'i bèrist u bit è h'i bèrist u dit è h'i bèrist u dèr è h'i bèrscist u
imp. è h'i bèradhist u mic è h'i bèradhist u dic è h'i bèradhist u gha è h'i bèradhist u bit è h'i bèradhist u dit è h'i bèradhist u dèr è h'i bèrscadhist u

"er" and "var" are the more prevalent forms, but the regularized forms "vèrir" and "vèradhir" are also rather common.

Syntax

Word order

Scots Norse word order is incredibly strict, relying more on particles than word order for changing the sentence type. The typical order is:

  1. Preverbal particle
  2. Verb
  3. Postverbal particle(s)
  4. Subject
  5. Preposition(s) (usually)
  6. Direct object or predicate adjective
  7. Indirect object

Prepositions are placed largely as in English, but the usage can often differ, eg. "i" ("in") goes before the direct object, but is also used for "under" as in "i miùeghi" ("under construction", literally "in building").

An example:

(1)

er

be.PRES

Agharsc

Scots_Norse

Vheostnariòzc

West_Norse

h'u

of

ghi

the

nAghar.

Hebrides

er Agharsc Vheostnariòzc h'u ghi nAghar.

be.PRES Scots_Norse West_Norse of the Hebrides

Scots Norse is a West Nordic language spoken in the Hebrides

Questions and answers

Scots Norse lacks a true equivalent to "no", the closest thing being "è(gh)" ("not"), which can often be used on it's own when a form of "be" + "not" suffices for an answer, as in:

(2)

vàrth

Q

mèlir

speak.PRES

tù

2sg

vid

with

mic?

1sg

vàrth mèlir tù vid mic?

Q speak.PRES 2sg with 1sg

Will you speak with me?

 (2.1)

ègh

NEG

ègh

NEG

I won't

Following this usage of "ègh", "ghià" (Old Norse "já") is often used as an affirmative, as in:

(3)

vàrth

Q

èthist

speak.FUT

tù

2sg

màenhmhàth

dinner

vid

with

mic?

1sg

vàrth èthist tù màenhmhàth vid mic?

Q speak.FUT 2sg dinner with 1sg

Will you eat dinner with me?

 (3.1)

ghià!

AFF

ghià!

AFF

I will!

As has likely been noticed by now, questions consistently contain "vàrth" at the beginning, this is a general question particle, akin to Gàidhlig "an".

"To be"

The stative

Scots Norse has several things fulfilling the function of "to be". In the descriptive role (eg. "I am happy") the stative of a verb is used (eg. "sèladhist").

(4)

tiòemhadhist

empty.STAT

hi

the

ger

box

tiòemhadhist hi ger

empty.STAT the box

The box is empty

Existential bì

Likely under the influence of Irish, the verb "bìodh" (Old Norse "bíða") shifted to an existential copula, rather than an impersonal one, while an odd development, the extreme influence of the Gaelic languages does well explain it, in this sense it's most often spelt "bì", with the various endings being appended with an apostrophe, as in "bì'ir" or "bì'adhist", in these forms it is often pronounced /bj-/, thus /bjəjʃt/ for "bì'adhist".

Syntax

Texts

UDHR Article 1

Original (English)

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Old Norse (modern translation)

Allir menn eru bornir frjálsir ok jafnir at virðingu ok réttum. Þeir eru allir viti gœddir ok samvizku, ok skulu gøra hvárr til annars bróðurliga.

Scots Norse

arr manarr al bhori mhriàl h-o hiavn, vèrann vhirrdhing o rhèt h-atharr. vèrann gaèdhadh h-o shanvisc h-atharr, o shcùl ghèor hanna thil bròdhligh.
arr manarr al bhori mhriàl h-o hiavn, vèrann vhirrdhing o rhèt h-atharr. vèrann gaèdhadh h-o shanvisc h-atharr, o shcùl ghèor hanna thil bròdhligh.

English translation
lit: "all men are born free and equal, being dignity and rights at them. being reason and conscience at them, and should act to brotherhood at each other"
"all men are born free and equal, having dignity and rights. they have reason and conscience, and should act to eachother as a brotherhood"

Deor

Old English

Welund him be wurman
wræces cunnade,
anhydig eorl
earfoþa dreag,
hæfde him to gesiþþe
sorge and longaþ,
wintercealde wræce,
wean oft onfond
siþþan hine Niðhad on
nede legde,
swoncre seonobende
on syllan monn.
Þæs ofereode,
þisses swa mæg.

Scots Norse

Vòluenn shi, thur ròvnirr
cvàlarr cenn,
ànar iall
arrvidh thoeld,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
ta h-oevgangtirr,
tash thil mègh.

(lines with "-" are yet to be translated)

Lexical comparison

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