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! ☺