Jeg N Brammle

28/01/2024

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Ocht
▪️ Anything

“I hinnae ocht tae dae frae I retired.”

28/01/2024

"Thar a wile wechtie druth oan me, A'm needin tae wat ma thrapple wae a bevvie"
(I'm really thirsty, I need to have a refreshing beverage)
Drooth/Druth is part of the Heirskip Dialeck (u.s. Scots *Heritage Dialect*) also used for a dought/dry spell etc.

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Drooth
▪️ Thirst

“Gie me a drink cas a hae a wile drooth on me.”

27/01/2024

26/01/2024

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Drooth
▪️ Thirst

“Gie me a drink cas a hae a wile drooth on me.”

26/01/2024

In honour of Burns Night, we are sharing this extract taken from the Larne & District Folklore Society book held in the archives of Larne Museum & Arts Centre.

“Burns’ Nicht” in Larne, 25th January 1978

The newly formed “East Antrim Burns Association” held the Poets’ anniversary in Laharna Hotel when upwards of 180 people attended. It was a gay occasion and we performed all the traditional “niceties” which go with the “haggis”.

Just a few days earlier I had written what I felt was “An Ulsterman’s address to The Mouse”, remembering of course “Rabbies” immortal “Wee Sleekit, timorous, cowerin’ beastie”.

As a young man I had worked on a farm and long before I was twenty years of age I was a fairly good ploughman and often during my “trudging up and down the furrows” I would upturn a poor little mouse which would scamper out over the rough cold earth, it was on such occasions I would sometimes stop my horses, watch the little mouse lose itself amongst the dark brown earth and now – half a century later I sat me down and wrote down the following lines, and it was these lines which Sam Cross (chairman) asked me to recite at this Burns’ Supper in Laharna Hotel on January 25th 1978.

To A Mouse

Ach wee frichted nervous moose
I’ve torn to shreds your nice wee hoose,
I’m sure ‘twas bigg-ed strong an’ doose
Deep doon beneath the stibble.
But how was I tae know ‘twas there
Until my plough’s coul’ cruel share
Destroyed what you had fashioned there
Wi’ mony’s a toilsome nibble.

I watched you scurryin’ doon the sheugh,
Your path was clammy, coul’ and’ rugh.
The wintry win’ wi’ cruel sugh
Showed neither shame nor pity.
As I surveyed this woefu’ scene,
I thocht how snug you micht ha’e been
Sae happy, warm and safe and clean
In some big toon or city.

It’s there I’m till’t the folk are gran’,
Ha’e neither ploughs or beasts or lan’
Wi’ modern gadgets aye at han’
Tae meet their ivery need.
While you an’ me maun face the blasts
As lang as wicked wunter lasts,
Scorned, unrewarded, poor outcasts,
Forgotten, yince we’re deead.

I’ve wondered oft’ tae what degree,
The fates would strive tae succour me,
If I were forced tae rise an’ flee
Frae my wee thack-ed hoose.
Nae ploughman wi’ a wife an’ weans,
Could big a hoose wi’ moss an’ stanes
In filds or hedges, sheughs or lanes
As freely as a moose.

My maister has me “cottage tied”
An’ there my wife an’ weans must bide
Tae thole his taunts – suppress oor pride
Pay honour tae his name.
We leeve in hourly dread an’ fear
That maybe at the next half-year
He’ll land us oot wi’ a’ oor gear,
Bereft o’ hoose an’ hame.

Nae doot ye’ll big anither hame
Beneath the heel o’ some big stane,
Choose some weel sheltered peacefu’ lane
Weel lined wi’ moss an’ ferns.
An’ there contented, safe an’ blessed,
Ye’ll big anither cosy nest,
Whaur nae intruders can mo**st
Your brood o’ helpless bairns.

When my oul’ limbs grow stiff wi’ pains,
Through years o’ scoorin’ sheughs an’ drains,
An’ biggin[?] d***s wi’ heavy stanes,
Then what becomes o’ me.
I’ll wander roon in sheer despair,
A wee bite here – a wee sup there
At last I’ll meet death’s chilly stare
In the Poorhouse – there tae dee.

J. Clifford, January 1978

Image: John Clifford (Larne Museum Archives)

26/01/2024

Jist needin tae git tha wains tae be at the lernin an spake'n tha Ulster-Scots... we're deain wur ain pairt tae forther tha langage in tha Americin Diaspora....

What better way to celebrate Burns Nicht than by starting an Ulster-Scots course! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

It is great to have another full class again this year.
Following the success of last year's course and the local interest to keep learning more about our heritage, Ulster-Scots Community Network agreed to deliver a level 2 course in Rowallane DEA. This L2 course will be taking a deeper look at the impact of the Ulster-Scots on Ulster and will last 8 weeks.

I'm very grateful to Derryboy Primary School (an Ulster-Scots primary school) for allowing the use of their school as our new venue.

25/01/2024

24/01/2024

wile wunnie! (very windy!)

Storm Isha has sadly claimed another three of the Dark Hedges’ famous trees in County Antrim.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 ➜ https://www.loveballymena.online/post/three-dark-hedges-beech-trees-lost-in-storm-isha

📸 Ryan McKay

23/01/2024

Redd-Up (Redd oot, Redd the table, Redd the road)
One of many heritage dialect Scotch-Irish/Ulster-Scots words that have held on in use in the historically Scots/Scotch-Irish/Ulster-Scots settled parts of colonial/early U.S. which provides thegrammatical and lexical backbone/foundation of the West Pa/"Yinzer" Appalachian dialect.

Scotch-Airish Americae, Urban Yenkee Ulster-Scots
Pittsbra Dialeck "Yinzer"
Redd-up
Arn(airn) Yuns (ye anes/ye yins/you'ens) Nebby (nosey)
Jaggy (prickly/pokey/pointy/jagged)

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Redd
▪️ Clean / Tidy

Are any of our followers having a good redd up (clean / tidy up) after the festive holidays?

23/01/2024

Scotch-Airish Americae, Urban Yenkee Ulster-Scots
Pittsbra Dialeck "Yinzer"
Redd-up (clean up/tidy up/clear out)
Arn(airn) Yuns (ye anes/ye yins/you'ens) Nebby (nosey)
Jaggy (prickly/pokey/pointy/jagged)

23/01/2024

Country music legend Dolly Parton turns 78 today! The singer-songwriter and actress has previously spoken about her pride at her Scotch-Irish roots and how it has influenced her music over the years.

23/01/2024

"gie it a birl!"

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Birl
▪️ Whirl / Spin

22/01/2024

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Sleekit
▪️ Sly

20/01/2024

Jim Fenton's poem "Pilgrim"
tane fae *On Slaimish- An Ulster-Scots Collection*
raed lood oot whiles wat'n ma thrapple wae pint nummer wan,
oan a Twal oor lay-ower in tha Philadelphie airport...

19/01/2024

"Old Macartan" A Postman in Strangford, County Down. c1890s.
(Chichester/Alamy/PRONI)

18/01/2024

16/01/2024

An extremely useful everyday Ulster-Scots word found today in Scots dialects throughout Scotland and especially Glaswegian, It is known and used with various pronunciations:
dauner, danner, dander, Danther
danther ~ v. stroll; walk casually and without haste; saunter. dantherin aboot getting around but not working (esp. of someone recuperating). n. (esp.) wee danther no great distance; a short, relaxing stroll. (Also danner.) [Sc. dander stroll, saunter; orig. unk.]
http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.com/.../hamel.../d/danther.php

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Dander / Danner
▪️ Walk leisurely

“That’s a quare day for a danner.”

14/01/2024

The Gobbins' dreamlike landscape – created through immense geological forces, carved by the elements, teeming with life – has inspired visitors for over a century.

Discover how nature formed this unique place and how a nineteenth-century visionary gave ordinary people a chance to experience it for themselves 👉 https://bit.ly/3NXMqvI

13/01/2024

12/01/2024

Kye/Kyne (yin coo, mair nor yin coo) mooo
Yer bake is yer fizzog, coupon, mou, neb...

Test your Ulster-Scots knowledge with this short video and let us know just hoo many dae yae know? Hoo Weel Dae Yae Know has been produced by Afromic Product...

12/01/2024

Here's something a little different for Friday's lunchtime with our literary-themed crossword!

The puzzle can be downloaded from the Agency's website here: https://ow.ly/STyW50QafqZ

08/01/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0F0k_vMAns

Documentary exploring the musical links between Scotland, Ulster & America.The first episode looks at how Scottish music & songs travelled to Ulster with the...

07/01/2024

A frosty morning in the Braid Valley.

📸 William Logan

07/01/2024

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Plump
▪️ Heavy downpour

“Thon wus a wile plump o rain last nicht.”

06/01/2024

Frae Ulster tae Americae
From Ulster to America
Author: Michael Montgomery
Piece: U.S.:
1859 Bartlett Americanisms 320 = a piece of bread and butter, a snack: ‘Have you had your 11 o’clock piece?’
1870 Notes 56 ‘It’s time to get piece’ was [in Pennsylvania] the way of saying it was time to prepare luncheon, ‘piece’ being still the term for a child’s lunch in the north of Ireland.
1930 Shoemaker 1300 Penn Words 47 = a large slice of bread spread with apple butter or jelly.
1949 Kurath Word Geog East US 72 Piece is in general use in all of Pennsylvania (except for Philadelphia and its immediate vicinity), in northern West Virginia, and in the Ohio Valley. It is less common in the Shenandoah Valley and rather rare on the Kanawha [River], where the Southern snack has become established.

http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.com/scotch.../futa/piece.php

✨ ULSTER-SCOTS WORD OF THE DAY ✨

▪️ Piece
▪️ Sandwich

It’s a turkey piece for lunch for some of us in the office today!

05/01/2024

As we say fair fa’ ye to 2024, it is already shaping up to be a busy year for the Ulster-Scots Agency, not least because our Burns Night celebrations are just around the corner! Keep an eye on our socials and website for updates.

In the meantime, here’s a fun – Did you know that in 1786, the Belfast News Letter was the first newspaper outside Scotland to publish extracts of the poetry of Robert Burns?

17/04/2022

Whiles cryed: (sometimes called)
"Ishkeh-bah, mountain dew, choop, h***h, homebrew, mulekick, shine, white lightning, white/corn liquor, white/corn whiskey, pass around, firewater, bootleg...."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubT2RrZmX6M

17/04/2022

The Ulster-Scots tongue was forcibly eradicated by high society and the education system.

These Ulster-Scots words were demeaned as being; "in use among the low and vulgar only"

Extract from 'Glossary of Words and Phrases used in Antrim and Down.' by David Patterson, 1880. (via https://www.reddit.com/r/northernireland/ )

17/04/2022

Radio Ulster have broadcast a series of dramatised readings by WG Lyttle. In the Ulster Scots dialect, they were first performed in the nineteenth century as humorous monologues. The stories recount the adventures and mishaps of Paddy McQuillan, a cheerful but unfortunate County Down farmer.Here .....