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Languages in Shetland Islands
Languages in Shetland Islands
As elsewhere in United Kingdom, English is the official language and is universally spoken. Native Shetlanders have a unique accent and dialect which reflects the mixed Scottish and Norwegian influences on the islands. It is common for locals to speak 'standard English' (with a Shetland Scots accent) to visitors, and a more deeply dialected version of the language between themselves. The official website of the Shetland Dialect group gives some audio examples of Shetland speech from different areas . Note that the former language of Shetland was Old Norn (spoken in some areas into 19th Century) and that Scots Gaelic has never been part of the local linguistic tradition.
Many dialect words heard in common use reflect local wildlife and conditions, and some, such as 'bonxie' for the great skua have slipped into mainstream English. Many other dialect words are similar or identical to mainland Scots.
Here is a short list of expressions peculiar to local dialect.
Tamie — Puffin
Draastie — Otter
Solan Goose — Gannet
Peerie — small
Simmer Dim — summer twighlight
Voe — inlet of water
Haaf — deep sea fishing
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Shetland Islands Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.