THE SCOTS ACCENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 August 1933, Page 9

THE SCOTS ACCENT

VARIETY OF USES. 1 am told' on competent authority that, a Scots accent is, in England, a rr-«cssiGn ol great, value. I am willing to believe this. An American friend of mine—a. mimic ot some ability—always assumes a heavy stageScots accent to reply to bcggais and ethers who accost him in the stieet. And his negative invariably quells the most importunate. A Scots “No” has rhe moi al force ol centuries behind it. writes Eric Linklater, the novelist, in the “Daily Mail.” Rut there are, of course, more serious opportunities for the Not them tengue, and the reasons for its usefulness aic very interesting. Ihe ex--1 lanation is largely to be found, - think, in certain peculiarities of the English rather than of the Scottish character. , . . To study famous Englishmen is not the way to discover the Isnglish chai - actor. The famous ones achieved tame because they were exceptional. One may think of Cocui de Lion pawning his kingdom to go on a dangerous and unpleasant excursion; of Grenville chewing a wine-glass on his death-bed Io show the Spaniards he wasn t '.voilying; of Cromwells waits, and Nelson’s blind eye. and Wellingtons impertubability—and one is iillccl with But these were very unusual citizens and their typo is not likely to recur under the auspices of compulsory education and the Adult Suffrage Act. The other kind of Englishman, however, who ruefully paid tor Coeur de Lion’s jaunts, and thought Grenville an appalling ruffian, and bashfully kept out of the way of Cromwell and Nelson and Wellington, still survives in great numbers. And so far from being bloody, bold, and lesolutc, he is a rather mild, pleasant, and timid individual —and essentially insular. . Because of his insularity he is apt to credit foreign nations with exaggerated qualities. Spies, anarchists, and gunmen, priests, pictures, and twins, all become more remarkable, sinister, or attractive when one tacks cn to them the adjectives German, Russian, American, Egyptian, breach, and Siamese. So do a Scots policeman, a Scots minister, and a Scots engineer transcend their kind by the mere fact of their alien birth—and by their accent shall ye know them. Every rich guttural, each careful vowel, is the trade mark of something beyond your ken, and so mysteriously superior to your own produce. And perhaps the Englishman’s instinct is right; tut it is not for me to say, for I come from a part ol Scotland that, admirable in a multitude of ways, is admirable above all lor its modesty. To recur for a moment to policemen: their possession of a Scots accent is indeed a blessing, for in the midst of English voices that slide like vague and boneless things among the dilapidated remnants of a language, the rumbling npise of Scotland’s speech is truly magnificent. Scots policemen are usually country-bred—the accent cl Scots towns is often no pleasanter than that of English towns. And perhaps, in considering the advantages of a Scots tongue, one should' pay more attention to the Englishman’s aesthetic taste, and say that he appreciates it for its robust melody. Even Glasgow has the rich lilt of comedy in its (hi oat.

A TYPICAL EXAMPLE. The most deplorable aspect of the reforms that Lord Trcnchard proposes tor the Metropolitan Police is surely the standardisation of speech that will result from recruiting in the public schools. Think of inquiring the way to Bloomsbury and being answered in the tones of Bloomsbury! Think of asking the time—that query honoured ly time itself—and bearing Robert ;•< plv in the voice of a. 8.8. C. announcer,' with all his vowels ironed flat and his consonants manicured for the evening performance! No more would transatlantic visitors remark, “Yorn policemen arc wonderful.” They would shoot on hearing. Once —this was in a bar in Panama City, but the same kind of thing happens everywhere—l observed a typical demonstration of the power of the Scots accent. The barman had shown great difficulty in understanding a fairly orthodox English speech, but while 1 was di inking, a tall, dirty, and dishevelled man came in who loudly demanded, “Gio’s a glass o’ waiter.” qhe barman, immediately comprehending. instantaneously complied. Then the stranger, addressing no one in particular, remarked. “I’d nathing tor m’ supper last, night, and the same for m’ breakfast the morn. And m’ denner’ll no get cauld for a very guid reason.” 'this confession drew into conversation another Scot, one hitherto silent and little given' to talking with ..trangers, but irresistibly attracted by a. voice so ieminiscent of his youthful environment. For Scotsmen, especially when drinking and abroad, are sentimental creatures ready to play "we twa hae paiddled in the burn" with anyone who can claim acquaintance with an odd ben or two. do ■ net decry this mild patriotism. I only? remark, as a curiosity, that it flourishes most abroad. And as there are many Scots in far corners ol the earth, a Scots accent is a very useful thing to go abroad with: quite as good as a Masonic grip, and almost, as useful as tfavidler:'.’ cheques. On this occasion my dishevelled countryman did very well cut of his chance encounter; and truly his voice ca i tied will) if a welcome !’"• minder of the splendour and roughness of Scotland that dcsem-d sonic recompense. INVECTIVE. Later in the. day 1 came across the sturdy vagabond again, and now he /was. in trouble with a small hut hostile' crowd. Here again his mother tongue proved useful, for he. lashed them with such Boric scorn and nerthern vituperation that they were seen willing to let hint go. For invective, comminution, deprecation, or depreciation the vernacular of, Scotland is almost unrivalled. 'l'he large i mb' words ’oil down the argument lik< boulders in a Highland stream, and. every sentence is as shaggy a Highland cattle. it has been obscived that, to call an,von-.' “a. pair. feckless, fimionlcss. then les-; ciailur" is almost, certain to have Hie desired effect; but anyone who cares to explore the resources of Scots liteiature may find phrases that detonate a hundred times as loudly. Bead the “Flyting of Dunbar and Kminedie.” Nobody knows what half cl it means, but the mere sound of it a reals the senses and shocks the m--1 Diligence. Barracking nr such <l I language- ■would defeat any team on earth and for ever displace the leg-