A Conversation for Preparing to Walk in the Highlands of Scotland

"Burn" is not Scottish slang any more than "stream" is English slang

Post 1

Wal

Although the link (when followed) more correctly calls it Scottish Dialect.


"Burn" is not Scottish slang any more than "stream" is English slang

Post 2

Crescent

This was written for the widest possible audience, so it was easier to say Scottish slang, as people who speak English poorly, might have a bit more difficulty in understanding the exact nuance of 'dialect'. As it happens both are correct (dictionary.com says slang is language peculiar to a group), I would even prefer slang over dialect as the grammer is so similar in both populations. Well, until later....
BCNU - Crescent


"Burn" is not Scottish slang any more than "stream" is English slang

Post 3

Bluto

Burn is not an exclusive Scottish dialect word. It actually comes from the old English burna. Compare it with other Germanic languages like German (Born for stream) and you can see the source. The Gaelic word for Stream is Allt (the stream that descends Ben Nevis is called the Allt a' mhuilinn (I think pronounced alt a voolin).


Key: Complain about this post

"Burn" is not Scottish slang any more than "stream" is English slang

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more