The Glasgow dialect, popularly known as the Glasgow patter or Glaswegian, varies from
Scottish English
Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
at one end of a bipolar
linguistic continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated variet ...
to the local dialect of West
Central Scots
Central Scots is a group of dialects of Scots.
Central Scots is spoken from Fife and Perthshire to the Lothians and Wigtownshire, often split into North East Central Scots (Northeast Mid Scots) and South East Central Scots (Southeast Mid Sc ...
at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegians can draw on a "continuum between fully localised and fully standardised". Additionally, the Glasgow dialect has
Highland English
Highland English ( sco, Hieland Inglis) is the variety of Scottish English spoken by many in the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides. It is more strongly influenced by Gaelic than are other forms of Scottish English.
Phonology
*The '' svarabhak ...
and
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...
influences owing to the speech of
Highlanders and
Irish people
The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...
who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While being named for Glasgow, the accent is typical for natives across the full
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...
area and associated counties such as
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
,
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
,
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...
and parts of
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
, which formerly came under the single authority of
Strathclyde
Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...
. It is most common in
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
people, which can lead to
stigma from members of other classes or those outside Glasgow.
As with other dialects, it is subject to
dialect levelling
Dialect levelling or leveling (in American English) is the process of an overall reduction in the variation or diversity of features between two or more dialects. Typically, this comes about through assimilation, mixture, and merging of certain d ...
where particularly
Scots vocabulary is replaced by
Standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
words and, in particular, words largely from
colloquial English
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...
. However, Glaswegians continue to create new
euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
s and
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
s for well-known local figures and buildings.
Literature
The Glasgow vernacular has also established itself in
Scottish literature
Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by List of Scottish writers, Scottish writers. It includes works in Scottish English, English, Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots, Brythonic languages, Bryth ...
. Many authors spell some of the
Scots elements phonetically, often coinciding with common spelling errors,
[Macafee C.I. (1983) ‘Glasgow’ in Varieties of English around the World. Amsterdam: Benjamins p.40] rather than using the prestigious
Modern Scots
Modern Scots comprises the varieties of Scots traditionally spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster, from 1700.
Throughout its history, Modern Scots has been undergoing a process of language attrition, whereby successive generations of ...
conventions. The general effect of that, particularly its comic forms, is to exaggerate the unintelligibility of Glasgow speech to outsiders.
The resulting
orthographic representation of the vernacular gives the overall impression of an anti-standard rather than a local standard.
Michael Munro wrote a guide to Glaswegian entitled ''The Patter'', first published in 1985. With illustrations by
David Neilson
David Neilson (born 13 March 1949) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as cafe owner Roy Cropper in the long running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which he has played since 1995.
Early life
Neilson was born in Loughbor ...
, and later by the
Paisley-born artist and playwright
John Byrne, the book became very popular in Glasgow. It was followed by ''The Patter – Another Blast'' in 1988, with ''The Complete Patter'', an updated compendium of the first and second books, being published in 1996.
James Kelman
James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel '' A Disaffection'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won ...
's 1994 novel ''
How Late It Was, How Late
''How late it was, how late'' is a 1994 stream-of-consciousness novel written by Scottish writer James Kelman. The Glasgow-centred work is written in a working-class Scottish dialect, and follows Sammy, a shoplifter and ex-convict.
It won the ...
'' is written largely in Glaswegian dialect from the point of view of Sammy Samuels, a 38-year-old ex-convict who wakes up blind after a drinking binge and a fight with police. The novel won the 1994
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
.
Jamie Stuart, a
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
elder from the High
Carntyne
Carntyne ( gd, Càrn an Teine) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. Since 2007 it has formed the core of the East Centre ward under Glasgow City Coun ...
Church, produced "A Glasgow Bible" in 1997, relating some biblical tales in the Glaswegian vernacular. More recently, in 2014 ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
'' was translated into Glaswegian Scots by
Thomas Clark as ''Alice's Adventirs in Wunnerlaun''. A 2020 Graeme Armstrong novel, ''The Young Team'', narrated by a
gang member
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
in the local dialect, focuses on the '
ned culture' of the region in the early 21st century (albeit set in
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie (; sco, Airdrie; gd, An t-Àrd Ruigh) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. , the town had a ...
a few miles east of Glasgow rather than the in the city itself).
Phonology
Jane Stuart-Smith contributed a chapter to the 1999 book ''Urban Voices'' entitled "Glasgow: accent and voice quality". She defined two varieties for descriptive purposes:
* Glasgow Standard English (GSE), the Glaswegian form of
Scottish Standard English
Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
, spoken by most middle-class speakers
* Glasgow vernacular (GV), the dialect of many working-class speakers, which is historically based on West-Central
Scots, but which shows strong influences from
Irish English
Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...
, its own distinctive
slang
Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...
and increased levelling towards GSE
Differences between the two systems are mostly in lexical incidence. Many working-class speakers use the SSE system when reading aloud, albeit with different qualities for the vowels. The table below shows the vowels used in both variants, as given in Table 11.1 of Stuart-Smith's work.
Stuart-Smith also gave the following summary of how consonants differ in the Glasgow patter from other dialects.
*
T-glottalization
In English phonology, ''t''-glottalization or ''t''-glottalling is a sound change in certain English dialects and accents, particularly in the United Kingdom, that causes the phoneme to be pronounced as the glottal stop in certain positions ...
is "strongly stigmatized yet extremely common". Glottalization also occurs of and , albeit less frequently.
* and can be pronounced with
dentalisation
A dental consonant is a consonant articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth, such as , . In some languages, dentals are distinguished from other groups, such as alveolar consonants, in which the tongue contacts the gum ridge. Dental c ...
. is sometimes omitted at the end of a word (e.g. ''old'', ''stand'').
*
Th-fronting
''Th''-fronting is the pronunciation of the English "th" as "f" or "v". When ''th''-fronting is applied, becomes (for example, ''three'' is pronounced as ''free'') and becomes (for example, ''bathe'' is pronounced as ''bave''). (Here "fron ...
occurs with some younger speakers.
* is used in words such as ''loch'', although this is dying out amongst younger speakers.
* is used in words beginning "wh" (e.g. ''whine'').
* There is no
H-dropping
''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "''H''-sound", . The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a purely historical developmen ...
except in unstressed cases of ''him'' and ''her''.
*
Yod-dropping
The phonological history of the English language includes various changes in the phonology of consonant clusters.
H-cluster reductions
The H-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English, inv ...
only occurs after or .
* Most Glasgow speech is
rhotic, but non-rhoticity can be found amongst some younger working-class speakers. The realisation of /r/ can be , or .
* is a
dark ''l'' in almost all positions.
In the media
In the 1970s, the Glasgow-born comedian
Stanley Baxter
Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows ''The Stanley Baxter ...
parodied the patter on his television sketch show. "Parliamo Glasgow" was a spoof programme in which Baxter played a language coach and various scenarios using Glaswegian dialogue were played out for laughs.
The 1998 film by
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
, ''
My Name is Joe
''My Name Is Joe'' is a 1998 British romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow, Scotland who meets and falls in love with a health visitor, played by ...
'', is one of the few films recorded
lmostentirely in Glasgow dialect. As a result, the film had to be given subtitles when released in the United States and even for audiences in England. The same situation occurred with another Loach film, 2002's ''
Sweet Sixteen'', based in the town of
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
which has a local accent virtually identical to that of Glasgow, and with the 2010 release ''
Neds
Ned is a derogatory term applied in Scotland to hooligans, louts or petty criminals.[Rab C. Nesbitt
''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character ...](_blank)
'', ''
Chewin' the Fat
''Chewin' the Fat'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Gregor Fisher and Tom Urie.
''Chewi ...
'', ''
Still Game
''Still Game'' is a Scottish sitcom, produced by The Comedy Unit with BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis, Esq and Victor McDade, two Glaswegian pensioners. The characte ...
'', ''
Burnistoun
''Burnistoun'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show broadcast by BBC Scotland, written by the comedians Iain Connell and Robert Florence. The show was produced by The Comedy Unit.
The series is set in a fictional Scottish town called Burnistoun i ...
'' and ''
Limmy's Show
''Limmy's Show!'' is a Scottish surreal comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC Two Scotland, written, directed and based on the 2006 podcast Limmy's World of Glasgow by Brian "Limmy" Limond, who stars as himself and a variety of characters in a s ...
'' also provide reference material, and have themselves contributed popular new expressions to the patter.
Alleged influence from Cockney
Studies have indicated that working-class adolescents in areas such as
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
have begun to use certain aspects of
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
and other
Anglicism
An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language.
With the rise in Anglophone media and the global spread of British and US cultures in the 20th and 21st centuries, many English terms have become widespread in o ...
s in their speech, infiltrating the traditional Glasgow speech. For example,
th-fronting
''Th''-fronting is the pronunciation of the English "th" as "f" or "v". When ''th''-fronting is applied, becomes (for example, ''three'' is pronounced as ''free'') and becomes (for example, ''bathe'' is pronounced as ''bave''). (Here "fron ...
is commonly found, and typical
Scottish features such as the
post-vocalic /r/ are reduced, although this last feature is more likely to be a development of Central Belt Scots origin, unrelated to Anglo-English nonrhoticity. Researches suggest the use of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
speech characteristics is likely to be consequential on the influence of London and south east England accents which feature prominently on television.
The linguist
John C. Wells
John Christopher Wells (born 11 March 1939) is a British phonetician and Esperantist. Wells is a professor emeritus at University College London, where until his retirement in 2006 he held the departmental chair in phonetics.
Career
Wells ea ...
, a critic of the media reporting on
Estuary English
Estuary English is an English accent associated with the area along the River Thames and its estuary, including London. Phonetician John C. Wells proposed a definition of Estuary English as "Standard English spoken with the accent of the southea ...
, has questioned whether Glasgow is being influenced by Cockney speech. He claimed that journalists had misrepresented the prevalence of th-fronting in Glasgow and that there is no evidence that th-fronting originated in London. He also wrote that all dialects change over time and that change does not mean that the Glasgow patter will disappear.
References
*References to "Stuart-Smith" are to
External links
Glesca Glossary: self-published glossary (of variable quality and pertinence)
A series of articles on the Glasgow dialect on the Scots Language Centre websiteThe Online Scots Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow Patter
City colloquials
Culture in Glasgow
Scottish English
Scots dialects