What did Diana Gabaldon do to us?
I KNOW I’m not the only one, and you know you do it too! How many times have you caught yourself thinking or even facebooking (yes that’s a verb) with a Scottish accent/using Scottish terminology from the Outlander series? Mayhap verra often? Why do we do it? Yes, it’s fun; personally I blame Herself- I like imagining Jamie’s voice in my head as I type the words (and his chest, and his strong arms, sigh)… I wondered what a real live Scottish person would think about it, so I asked my Scottish friend and fellow Outlander fan “Nik MacKechnie” what she thinks:
“As a Scot, how does that make you feel when you see it? Does it bother you or do you think it’s funny?”
“No, I don’t mind, I do think it’s funny and I don’t think you can help it to be honest! But I would to hear how y’all pronounce some of the words, like ‘ceilidh? Or ‘sgian dubh’ !!”
Ok Nik, these Gaelic pronunciations are for you (sorry in advance for murdering them!):
- ceilidh = Saylick? (no effing clue Nik, sorry LOL)
- sgian dubh = sagin doo?
And here’s some Scottish terminology from Outlander that I think is fun:
- don’t worry = dinna fash
- married = marrit (maddit)
- worried = worrit (woodit)
- did not = didna
- cannot = canna
- do you = d’ye
- you = ye
- does not = doesna
- have not = havena
- no = nae
- well = weel
- maybe/perhaps = mayhap
- ken = know
- wee = little
- och! = och! ☺
And case in point- just today, Glenna Fitzgibbons (Mrs Fitz, ye ken?) posted this video on how to speak with a Scottish accent on her facebook page (which by the way is awesome/you should definitely go check out Mrs Fitz/’Like’ her page here).
So, evidently there’s nothing wrong with us, we’re just obsessed Outlander Fans. Go ahead, use a Scottish accent, it’s ok- Nik & Mrs Fitz approve! ☺
outlanderfan.com 
Nik MacKechnie said,
March 27, 2012 at 4:42 am
Love it!! Ok, Ceilidh is kay-lay (scottish dance) and Sgian Dubh is Skee-an doo!! (knife in stocking when wearing kilt!)
OutlanderFan said,
March 27, 2012 at 8:59 am
Ohhhhhh lol! Thanks Nik! : )
Heather said,
March 27, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Och, aye! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) My husband is from Renfrewshire near Glasgow and he says kay-lee for ceilidh. Of course, he says it very quickly, as well, so the ee sound is not terribly long.
OutlanderFan said,
March 28, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Och, I dinna mind lass! Thank ye for the wee clarification!
Diane said,
March 29, 2012 at 1:32 pm
You know you have Jamiefied when at times you would ordinarily be screaming or moaning, “Yes, yes, YES!” you are exclaiming “Aye, aye, AYE!” LOL
OutlanderFan said,
March 29, 2012 at 5:14 pm
I love the term Jamiefied! Oh aye, I’ve been Jamiefied!
linda said,
March 29, 2012 at 4:15 pm
I’ve listened to all the audio books and hearing Jamie come to life is a dream. I can hear him speaking these words and all I can do is just sigh with a far away dreamy look on my face.
OutlanderFan said,
March 29, 2012 at 5:10 pm
I can’t wait until Sept when my youngest is in all-day kindergarten- I’m SO going to crank the audio books over the sound system while I clean the house!
Jalene said,
August 19, 2012 at 9:01 pm
That’s an apt answer to an interesting qusetoin
OutlanderFan said,
August 20, 2012 at 12:01 am
Why thank you Jalene 🙂
Kay Doane Morgan said,
April 19, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Diana, Are the Jamie vocals all done by the same person in the audio books
OutlanderFan said,
April 19, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Kay, I’m flattered to be called Diana lol, but I’m just a fan like yourself = ) Regarding the audiobooks, I can tell you that “Davina Porter” narrates them all, and does all of the voices/characters herself.
Cher Lee said,
July 27, 2013 at 10:29 am
So very true, sometimes I wish there was a phoenetic reference in the book, since I went to Scotland and upon hearing Gallic spoken for the first time realized that I could seriously embarass myself if I opened my mouth….however I do remember very old people in my early childhood using some of the terms above….I always thought they had eighteenth century voices, and and their speech came from their grandparents….
OutlanderFan said,
July 27, 2013 at 10:31 am
I could be wrong, I’m not at home right now to check, but I believe in the Outlandish Companion Vol I there is a phoenetic reference…Have you ever listened to the audiobooks?
Stumpy said,
September 24, 2016 at 5:11 am
Unfortunately a lot of these are culturally wrong. The language used is primarily lowland Scots and not highland. No native highlander would ever use ken or Dinna fash or most of the other phrases used in the books or the programmes, especially in Inverness which has a very pure use of English (admittedly with an accent)