Edinburgh Accent And Dialect Words

Edinburgh is one of the most amazing cities that you can find out there in the world. You will love all the moments that you ar spending in this city. But before you travel to Edinburgh, it is better to have a basic understanding about the Edinburgh accent. This understanding can provide all the support you need to refrain from numerous struggling situations that you will come across, especially while you communicate with the people that you come across. Even though the people you find in Edinburgh are friendly, surviving without having a basic understanding on Edinburgh accent will not be something that you can do.

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What is Edinburgh accent?

Edinburgh accent is also known as the Scottish Standard English accent. You will be able to find this as a more professional version of English. In other words, some people say that speaking with an Edinburgh accent makes them posh. You can discover a distinct pronunciation in Edinburghaccent. This is the main reason why people tend to call it as a posh accent.

Apart from distinct pronunciation, you will also be able to discover a distinctive vocabulary and unique expressions in Edinburgh accent. Even the grammar is somewhat different. The vocabulary is pretty much pertaining to the Scottish institutions such as the Church of Scotland.

The Edinburgh accent is heavily influenced by numerous Scots. You can also discover numerous variations in the Edinburgh accent that is spoken by people as well. Hence, it is worthy to have a clear understanding about the Edinburgh accent and move forward to the next step of learning more about it. Then you will be able to ensure your survival while you are exploring the amazing city of Edinburgh. Since people call it as a posh accent, you might even be able to secure getting a higher social accent with your familiarity in the Edinburgh accent.

How to speak in the Edinburgh accent?

Here are some of the basics that you must keep in your mind when you are trying to speak in the Edinburgh accent. If you can keep these facts in mind and act, speaking in Edinburgh accent will not be something that you’ll struggle.

Vowels in Edinburgh accent

All the people who wish to understand Edinburgh accent must initially learn about the vowels. Here are some of the ways on how the vowels are described in the Edinburgh accent. Based on this, you will be able to figure out how to speak with the Edinburgh accent.

• The ooh sounds

The ooh sounds in Edinburgh accent are associated with a narrow gap within the mouth. However, it is relatively wider in the general RP sound that you can see in England., As a result, the word foot is pronounced as “fooht”.

• The eh sound

Another prominent aspect that you can see in Edinburgh accent is the eh sound. When you take a look at the eh sound, you will figure out that it is elongating and flattening in the Edinburgh accent. In other words, the “eh” sound becomes somewhat similar to the “ee” sound in the Edinburgh accent.

For example, the word “yet” is pronounced in Edinburgh accent as “yieht”. Likewise, the words “interest” would become “interiehst” and “settle” would become “siehttle”. If you come across a situation where you have to pronounce these, it is recommended not to go full on. Instead, you should think about making a subtle sound with “ieh”. This is where you should combine the I sound along with eh sound. Make sure that you are keeping it tight at all times.

• The oh sound

In Edinburgh accent, oh sound is associated with elongation. Due to the same reason, the oh sounds would sound more like the “or” sounds. For example, the word “Scottish” in Edinburgh would become “Scortish”. Likewise, the word cloth is pronounced as “clorth”. This is somewhat confusing for a person who is trying to understand Edinburgh accent for the very first time. However, proper practice will help you to figure out the basics and stay away from facing the confusions that come along with it.

• The I sound

I sound is one of the sweetest sounds that you can see in Edinburgh accent. However, it is very noticeable and distinct. Therefore, you will need to keep the fact in mind and go ahead with learning the I sound pronunciation.

At the time of pronouncing the I sound, your mouth would widen. Therefore, the I sound would be somewhat similar to the “a” sound. For example, when you are pronouncing “price”, you will sound like “prace” in the Edinburgh accent. Likewise, the words alright would become “alraght” and kite would become “kate”.

• The o sound

The o sound you can see in Edinburgh accent is somewhat flat. On the other hand, it is associated with a prominent oh sound as well. You will be able to clearly figure out this prominent sound with ease. The goat word would become gort in the Edinburgh accent. On the other hand, so would become “sor” and know would become “knor” in the Edinburgh accent.

• The ow sound

In the Edinburgh accent, ow sound would narrow. As a result, we will be able to see how the ow sound is changing into a monophthongsound from a diphthong sound. In other words, the sound is transforming into a pure vowel along with time. We will be able to see this change prominently in some of the Edinburgh words. For example, now would become “noo”. Likewise, the word couch will be pronounced as “cooch”.

• The ay sound

The ay sound is following a similar trend to all the other Edinburgh words as well. The sound would become narrow within your mouth. Along with that, the sound would become a diphthong as well. Therefore, the word lazy is pronounced as “leazy”. Likewise, the word made will be pronounced as “mead”.

You should not confuse this along with the accent that is spoken by people who are living in the Northern UK. There are some distinctive differences between their accent and the accent spoken by people in Edinburgh.

Dialect words in Edinburgh accent

Here are some of the slangs and dialect words that you can see in the Edinburgh accent. We are sharing you with a list of only the most prominent dialect words. You can keep these words in your mind as the base and proceed to explore the other words. This will help you to understand the language in a more solid way.

• Gonnae no dae that

This represents that you are not going to do something. You will often come across this phrase when speaking in Edinburgh.

• Am pure done in

This means I am very tired.

• Yet bum’s oot the windae

When someone is speaking rubbish, you will be able to say this. It gives out the meaning “you are talking rubbish.

• Int it

Int it refers to “isn’t it”. As mentioned earlier, the s sound is replaced with the n sound in here.

• Ah umnae

This gives out the meaning I am not.

Practicing Edinburgh accent

Now you have a basic understanding about the Edinburgh accent. While keeping that in mind, it is also worthy to understand how to proceed with practicing the Edinburgh accent. This accent is associated with Celtic and Gaelic influences. In fact, Gaelic is a language on its own. However, Edinburgh English is pretty much an accent. Therefore, the words such as “didnae” and “wee” are usually associated with the people who speak with Edinburgh accent. While keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at a solid approach, which you will be able to follow in order to learn how to speak with the Edinburgh accent.

All the people who wish to learn how to speak in Edinburgh accent should begin bold as much as possible. Then you will be able to understand the different features and sounds in the correct way. It is better if you can go ahead and do the practice on your own. You might not be able to become a pro in Edinburgh accent overnight. However, you will eventually be able to soften the sounds that you are pronouncing out of your mouth. Along with that, you will start to speak in a more natural accent. This will create a perfect environment for you to continue with speaking the Edinburgh accent as well.

You might sound ridiculous when you are speaking the Edinburgh accent at times. However, there’s no bater alternative than practice to become an expert in the Edinburgh accent. Therefore, we highly encourage you to stick to the practice sessions and keep on learning Edinburgh.

You should always understand that the process of speaking with an Edinburgh accent would take some time. Due to the same reason, you will need to start it off slowly and keep on practicing to get the best results.