WE'RE dae Scots tae English owresettin the dey tae challenge oor readin comprehension an lairn new wirds.
Here’s an extrack fae Tam’s Scots airticles, published awa back in simmer 2018. Its an open letter tae Donald Trump. Gie it a read. Ony wirds ye dinnae ken, dinnae be feart, just hae a luik at dsl.ac.uk an get definitions. Pit thae definitions in yer vocab jotters.
Dear Dunderheid, The Irish gied Kennedy tae the warld. The Kenyans, Obama. Heck, even the Dutch hae kicked in wi a Roosevelt or twa. Sae can ye imagine whit a beamer it is for us tae finally snuive a loon o oor ain intae the White Hoose an find him oot tae be the presidential equivalent o a fart in a phonebox? Twa hunner an fifty odd years, an aw we’ve got tae show is a chiel that’s ten pairts Scrooge McDuck tae yin pairt Connor MacLeod – less Doctor Finlay, mair Donald Findlay.
Weel, Donald – Jock Tamson’s Bairns an aw that. Ye’re wan o us still, an mebbes aw the mair for bein sic a swaggerin disaster o a man, an oorie doppelganger o aathin we claim tae haud dear, an illustratit anatomy o Caledonian antisyzygy. An ye dae luik like wan o us. The wans ye sometimes see doon the watterfront in Greenock at the back o nine on a Thursday mornin, ploddin aboot the esplanade in the rain wi a turquoise shellsuit an a hauf bottle o wreck-the-hoose-juice, waitin for Aulds tae open its doors…
But, Donald, this job – it’s killin ye. We can aw see it. Even the wifies doon the post office hiv stairtit tae whisper it – ye’re no a weel man. That’s you hairdly even a year in an awready ye’re luikin like a nicht-shift wirker answerin the door tae the postie in his wife’s hoosecoat. Ye’re gaun aboot like a hauf-shut knife, thae mood rings unner yer drappin een turnin daurker an daurker as ye strauchle tae wirk it aw oot … Yon cockieleerie-comb o thatch on yer heid is witherin like a brain-eatin parasite that’s stairvin hauf tae deith, an the portrait o yer conscience that’s hingin ower the unkent cludgies o Mar-a-Lago has lang syne meltit awa intae a Munch paintin o the toxic waste guy fae Robocop…
READ MORE: Dear Dunderheid: An open letter tae Donald Trump
So oor challenege is tae pit a bit o this intae English. I’ll dae the first paragraph as an example, then youse can dae either the seccont or third as ye like!
The Irish gave the world Kennedy. The Kenyans, Obama. Even the Dutch contributed a couple of Roosevelts to the cause. So what an embarrassment it is for us that we finally sneak a Scot into the White House and find that he is the presidential equivalent of a fart in a phonebox. Around two hundred and fifty years, and all we’ve managed on the presidential front is a man that’s ten parts Scrooge McDuck to one part Connor MacLeod - more Donald Findlay than Doctor Finlay.
Noo gie it a go yersel! I’ll gie ye feedback in the comments section.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel