Articles categorised as Shetland & Orkney

Orkney

For almost a thousand years the language of the Orkney Islands was a variant of Norse known as Norroena or Norn. The distinctive and culturally unique qualities of the Orkney dialect spoken in the...

News from Shetland

by Mary E. Blance Mary chairs Shetland ForWirds, which was formed two years ago on the recommendation of the Shetland Dialect Convention 2004, an initiative promoted by Shetland Arts Trust. A year...

Sea Life

Sea Life written and read by John Cumming from the album Hansel o Stories published by Hansel Cooperative Press http://www.hanselcooperativepress.co.uk/

Ellie an da sail needle

Written and read by Iris Sandison from the album Hansel o Stories published by Hansel Cooperative Press http://www.hanselcooperativepress.co.uk/

Poetry from Shetland

Same but different by Christine De Luca from the CD Parallel Worlds Reproduced with the kind permission of Luath Press

Culture Studies of the Highlands and Islands

This exciting and innovative course gives you the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the varied and fascinating cultural identity of the Highlands and Islands as you live and study among...

Shetland Times bookshop

Books in and about the Shetland dialect. This site also has more general material about Shetland. www.shetlandtoday.co.uk/ Childrens books Books for kids in Shetlandic and English.

Books on Language from Shetland

Shetland Dictionary Revised edition of this authorative reference book and working dictionary with over 150 additional words. http://www.shetlandtoday.co.uk/ Grammar and Usage of the...

Foo Robbie got his rid breist

Alternative content Ever wondered how the robin got his red breast? Let the kids from Whalsay School...

Nort Atlantik Drift - photography and poems from Shetland

Well known Shetland writer Alan Jamieson's latest collection of poems was launched in December 2007. In Nort Altalntik Drift, from Luath Press, Jamieson mixes mythology, autobiography and history...

John J Graham - Champion of the Shetland dialect

John J. Graham 1921-2008 The strength of the dialect in Shetland today is due in no small measure to John Graham who has died at the age of 86. Throughout his life he was involved in promoting...

The StAnza Fest

The Shetlandic poyet Robert Alan Jamieson will be takkin pairt in the StAnza Fest in Saunt Aundraes, Fife on this date. Mr Jamieson will be pairt o a Maistercless anent owersettin on Sunday 16...

New Chair at Shetland ForWirds

The dialect promotion group, Shetland ForWirds, has a new convener and vice-convener following its recent AGM. Writer and former teacher, Laureen Johnson is now leading SFW, with Eileen...

Hugh MacDiarmid- A Portrait by Margaret Tait (1964)

'An original kind of tribute' is what George Mackay Brown called Tait's 1964 documentary about one of Scotland's greatest poets; Hugh MacDiarmid. "A study of the poet, who was seventy-one at...

Margaret Tait

Margaret Tait was one of Britain's most individual artist filmmakers. Over the course of 46 years she produced over 30 films including one feature, Blue Black Permanent (1992) and published five...

Hugh MacDiarmid Links

Scottish Poetry Library biography http://www.spl.org.uk/poets_a-z/macdiarm.html BBC Scottish Writers

Lib Dem Leader Calls for More Funding for Scots

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and MSP for Shetland Tavish Scott MSP has lodged a motion demanding the Government supports the Scots language. Shetland ForWirds raised concerns with Mr Scott...

Shetland dialect at Learning Festival

Dialect teaching resources from Shetland will be displayed during Scotland’s Festival of Learning at the SECC in Glasgow this week. (24th-25th September) Da Ditty Box and Da Gaer Box are the...

Scots activists celebrate

Scots activists are celebrating after nearly one third of the Scottish parliament’s members signed a motion from Liberal Democrat leader, Tavish Scott, calling on the Scottish Arts Council to...

Shetland songs - Gear Box.

Wir class rules, ok Wir class rules ok was written by Annette Gear and Rena Nisbet and is featured on Gear Box, the new CD available from Shetland ForWirds. The CD is a collection of stories,...

Mony a Midder's Son

Fair Isle singer Lise Sinclair recorded the song Mony a Midder’s son for Shetland composition Ivver Entrancin Wis. The song combines Arabic and Shetland flavours and was written as a response to...

Kirkwall Ba Game

New Year is celebrated in a variety of ways in Scotland. In this video participants in the New Year's Day Kirkwall Ba Game talk about the annual tradition.

Teaching English and Orcadian Scots in the primary classroom

The following link is to the Elphinstone Kist and an article containing the experiences of Margaret Flaws from Orkney. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/kist/search/display.php?mrus01.dat A...

Thochts

Hello aw, howp ye haed a guid Christmas an Hogmanay an ye'r aw daein weil i the wunter cauld. I haed a wee bit cauld masel, but I'm ower it the nou. It wis guid seein faimily an there wis guid...

Origins of Orkney Scots

Three languages are known to have been spoken in Orkney’s history. Pictish (a P-Celtic language related to Welsh) is presumed to have been spoken until about AD 900 and then Norwegian until the...

Norwegian and Scots

The Norwegian language – then Old Norse – was brought to the Orkney islands by the Vikings during the 9th century. Later studies suggest that the form of Old Norse brought to Orkney originated in...

Orkney

This version of Allie Windwick's Orkney song 'Partans in his Creel' comes from Sheena Wellington's album, "Hamely Fare". You can buy the album from Greentrax at www.greentrax.com/ Alan Bruford -...

Feature brings in information from Orkney

SLC Director, Michael Hance, said today that he was very pleased with the response from Orkney to the Centre’s request for people to send in information about dialect resources on the...

Orkney information and links

Here are a few links to people and institutions in Orkney that have some connection to the local dialect. The list is not comprehensive and there may be some obvious omissions. If there are, let...

Scots an Dutch

Weil, I wis fair scunnered efter watchin the fitba on Setterday nicht. Scotland wis outclassed, nae quaystion. Whan ye'r up agin a side that can pit players like Snijder on the bench ye ken...

Orkney Dialect Poetry

The Westray Heritage Trust have been involved in creating a CD of poetry by Christina M Costie, an Orcadian poet. Christina used Orkney phrases to record a now historic way of life had many of her...

Scots on youtube

Continuing with our Glasgow theme this week's youtube video is Dick Gaughan singing Hamish Henderson's ballad, the John MacLean March

Study shows dialect change in Lerwick

The results of a recent survey of dialect use in Lerwick were discussed at a meeting held in the Shetland capital last week. Dr Jennifer Smith of Glasgow University who carried out the study...

Bible in the Shetland dialect

Author Charles Greig has produced a version of the Bible in the dialect of Shetland. Craig has taken 81 of the most popular stories from the Bible and translated them into Shetlandic. The book is...

Shetland ForWirds AGM

The annaul general meeting of Shetland ForWirds will be held at 7pm in the Shetland Amenity Trust offices in Lerwick. The organisation declares "We'll be blyde ta see onybody at's interested in da...

New Dialect Resources for Shetland Schools

Maria Barclay Millar has produced a CD of Shetland songs all sung in the Shetland dialect, 'Evergreen, Dialect Sangs for Schools'. As a singing teacher, Maria felt there was a need for audio...

Shetland songs - Evergreen.

Maria Barclay Millar has produced a CD of Shetland songs all sung in the Shetland dialect, 'Evergreen, Dialect Sangs for Schools'. As a singing teacher, Maria felt there was a need for audio...

Languages Forum holds conference in Orkney

The Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster held its triennial conference last week at Orkney College in Kirkwall. The conference heard papers on attitudes to Scots in...

Centre imagines Orkney’s future

The Scots Language Centre has contributed its views on dialect in a project that attempts to imagine Orkney in the future. The project which is being jointly run in Orkney and Lancaster University...

New paper on history of language study in Orkney and Shetland

In Orkney in July participants at the conference of the Forum for the Languages of Scotland and Ulster heard a fascinating paper from Professor Michael Barnes on the history of the study of the...

Shetland view of Orkney Conference

The following article by Mary Blance appears in the most recent edition of Shetland Life. Thanks to Mary and Shetland Life for giving permission to reproduce the article on this site. A young...

Shetland songs - Craigsaet.

A new CD of children's poetry, songs and stories has just been launched in Shetland. The dialect promotion group Shetland ForWirds has produced 'Craigsaet' a collection of traditional and new...

Alphabet books for bairns.

As part of an ongoing language campaign, Aberdeenshire Council have published an alphabet book for children called 'B is for Foggiebummer'. More information about this project is at Aberdeenshire...

Year of Orkney Dialect

Orkney Heritage Society is leading a year of celebrations of the islands dialect. Activities will include a poetry competition and events in schools and the community. The dialect year has its...

Shetland Dialect Online

Dialect support group, Shetland Forwirds will launch its new website at the Shetland Amenity Trust on Saturday 27 March at 12 noon when George PS Peterson will press the 'start button'.  The...

Shetland web site launched

A new web site dedicated to Shetland dialect and culture was launched in Lerwick on Saturday. Folk from the community joined members of the dialect campaigning group, Shetland Forwirds, at an...

Shetland web site

This is a link to a webside dedicated to Shetland dialect and culture. Created by the Shetland dialect campaign group Shetland ForWirds, it contains education resources for all levels, information...

Summer School Language lectures

The University of the Highlands and Islands is offering a series of lectures and workshops on Orkney and Shetland language and culture at a summer school to be held at a number of locations in the...

Shetland Dialect Coordinator

Bruce Eunson has been appointed to the post of Shetland Dialect Co-ordinator.  Bruce started work in April 2010 on a three year contract to deliver the Dialect Development Programme for Young...

Academic papers consider state of Northern Isles dialects

Papers from the most recent triennial conference of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster held in Kirkwall in 2009 have been published on the FRLSU web site....

Shetland

[playlist39] SUB DIALECT OF INSULAR SCOTS: SHETLAND Thumbnail History The Shetland islands were originally peopled by the Picts, but they were invaded and settled by the Norse - or Vikings -...