Hirpling along!
Hirple. It's a great word, one of the wonderful Scottish words that are potentially slipping from use today. I make a point of using them with the kids so that they grow up with the same rich oral tradition that I did. Oxter, bahookie, skite, rammy, fankle ... sometimes there's just no substitute for a word that is onomatapoeic and poetic at the same time!
So today I have been hirpling a bit as a result of the long walk yesterday. Nothing serious - my feet are fine and I walked daughter up to school this morning again, instead of taking the car (another mile or so under our belts!). It's more that my leg muscles stiffen when I've been sitting for a while and I hobble for a couple of seconds till they loosen up again. Hirpling. Gotta love that word!
What's great is that the Scots tongue is now being taught again in primary schools. Kids used to be told to "talk properly", i.e. in 'standard' English, without using dialect words. Now Scots is making a comeback in the classroom. The senior pupils at my daughter's school put on their Christmas Nativity play in Scots. My son's class did an assembly in Scots. It's part of our country's heritage and I'm proud to play my own wee part by using the words in everyday life.
(Before anyone asks: oxter = armpit; bahookie = backside; skite = to slide; rammy = a loud argument; fankle = mess, tangle. And let's not forget dreich, which has to be the best word EVER to describe a dull, grey, rainy day, the sort of weather which drags you down and makes you depressed!)
So today I have been hirpling a bit as a result of the long walk yesterday. Nothing serious - my feet are fine and I walked daughter up to school this morning again, instead of taking the car (another mile or so under our belts!). It's more that my leg muscles stiffen when I've been sitting for a while and I hobble for a couple of seconds till they loosen up again. Hirpling. Gotta love that word!
What's great is that the Scots tongue is now being taught again in primary schools. Kids used to be told to "talk properly", i.e. in 'standard' English, without using dialect words. Now Scots is making a comeback in the classroom. The senior pupils at my daughter's school put on their Christmas Nativity play in Scots. My son's class did an assembly in Scots. It's part of our country's heritage and I'm proud to play my own wee part by using the words in everyday life.
(Before anyone asks: oxter = armpit; bahookie = backside; skite = to slide; rammy = a loud argument; fankle = mess, tangle. And let's not forget dreich, which has to be the best word EVER to describe a dull, grey, rainy day, the sort of weather which drags you down and makes you depressed!)