Tuesday 11 May 2010

Useful Phrases

If ye are a tourist ir a visitor tae the north coast an Bellymoney in parteecular, it wud dae ye nae herm tae get tae grips wie twarthree wurds an phrases the Ullans speakers wud bae apt tae use whin they're taakin tae ye.

1. Whit's wrang wie ye? Ir ye loast? What is the matter? Are you lost?

2. Ir ye lukkin somewhir swanky ir jest a plaice tae pit yer heid doon? Do you seek a hotel or simply somewhere to lay your head down?

3. Thons naw a bad plaice ower thonner. That is a quite reasonable place over there.

4. Ye mean ye'r lyin oot aa nicht? Is yer heid cut? You mean you are sleeping in a tent/outdoors? Are you sane?

5. The Causey isnae aa that bad but it wud blaw the heid aff ye, mine ye. The Giant's Causeway is fine but can be somewhat windy, mind.

6. Whit schuil did ye go tae? I am trying to ascertain your religion by deducing it from the school you attended.

7. Ye wull fin Dunluce Cassel ower thon wye but its in joogins, mine ye. Dunluce Castle is over that way but it is in need of repair.

8. Whit dae ye mean Ulster Scotch? We aa taak Inglish aboot here. What do you mean Ulster Scots? We are English speakers here.

9. Mine thon burn fur the kye haes shat the hale lenth o it! Beware of the small river as effluent from cattle is present in it.

10. If ye stye roon here much langer ye'll bae ready fur the big hoose afore lang! If you do not leave this area shortly you may be committed to an assylum!

This isnae bae onie means an exhaustive list o ullans wurds - mair a kine o hitch hikers guide tae the hame lan. Thaur wull bae mair added tae it afore lang.

16 comments:

  1. I don't speak ulster scots unfortunately, but I do speak english, and I tried to translate the following passage:

    If ye are a tourist ir a visitor tae the north coast an Bellymoney in parteecular, it wud dae ye nae herm tae get tae grips wie twarthree wurds an phrases the Ullans speakers wud bae apt tae use whin they're taakin tae ye.

    If you are a tourist or a visitor to the north coast and Ballymoney in particular, it would do you no harm to understand with two or three words and phrases the Ulster-Scots speakers would tend to use when they're talking to you.

    Is this accurate? I'm not sure if I translated the metaphors "get tae grips" or "wud bae apt" 100% accurately, but metaphors tend to be very specific to their languages.
    Does this mean I could learn Ulster-Scots? I tried arabic, and I'm 'gettin tae grips' with it ok, but learning other languages is of course very difficult. Thanks!

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  2. Andy, yae done a furst class job sae weel done sur!!

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  3. I wante naw huw yur speckin this pish, cuz, am pondarin becummin a trenslatter for tae Ulscottish peeple. How duya goaboa-tit? Dooya ned qalifticashons? or can ye jus makeshitup?

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  4. Its English badly spelt and spoken with an accent .. Not a language out their on its own ...its English ....

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  5. Its English badly spelt and spoken with an accent .. Not a language out their on its own ...its English ....

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  6. Oh my god I am dying lol how is this meant to be a different language and some of those 'translations' #2 #6 and #10 are especially wonderful. Now, where's ma gutties imma wey ta bellymoney now hi

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  7. Anything beats curry my yogurt.

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  8. My youngest daughter is getting married in Portrush on Friday 21st.
    It is very short notice but could someone suggest a greeting in Ulster Scots to the wedding guests? It would be greatly appreciated!
    Kind Regards
    Patrick

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    Replies
    1. “Hello everyone and you’re all very welcome “

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    2. Nahhh you gotta say "what aboot ye" I'm a bit late but ah well

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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