The history of language in Shetland
flukra Burra shilpet peeriegirny smooriken
Fetlar
Primary 5-7 Language in Shetland
Timeline
Pre-300AD We don’t know much about Before the the people of Shetland or Picts their language.
Pictish people carve symbols 300AD-800AD into stone and speak a ‘Celtic’ Picts language.
800AD-1500AD Vikings occupy the isles and introduce Vikings ‘Norn’. They carve symbols called ‘runes’ into stone.
Scotland rule gradually influences life 1500AD onwards on the islands. Scottish language Scots eventually eradicates Norn.
People in Shetland today have a Today ‘dialect’. It contains Scottish and Us! Norn words. The Picts built the The Picts and their language Mousa Broch
We don’t know when the Picts first settled in Shetland, but we believe they were in Shetland by 300AD.
In Northern Europe (including The Bressay stone has Pictish Shetland, Scandinavia and symbols carved on it and an ogham Scotland), the Iron Age inscription on each end of the started around 500BC and slab. The inscription reads: ended around 800AD. Following CRROSCC : NAHHTVVDDADDS : DATTR : ANNBENNISES : MEQQDDROANN this, Shetland experienced the Which translates as: ‘Viking Age’. "The Cross of Nordred's daughter is here placed." “Benises son of Droan.”
Ogham writing
The ogham alphabet has been found on stone carvings throughout Britain. The Picts used these symbols to write things down, and they often carved them into stone. Why did the Picts carve things on This carved stone was stone? found in Bressay. Til Hjaltland! Vikings invade!
Vikings travelled to Shetland over The Picts and a thousand years their language ago, sometime These disappeared when after 800AD. are runes! the Vikings came This was called the ‘Viking Age’.
The Vikings They travelled over the Shetland wrote symbols North sea from areas of called ‘runes’. Scandinavia—mostly from
Norway.
Norway
Sweden Britain They settled on the land as crofters and fishermen, and soon Vikings spoke a spread their language language called The word Norn and customs over the Norn. derives from isles. the Old Norse word Norrœnn Vikings named areas of land on meaning ‘Norse’ We don’t have the isles as there were no or ‘Norwegian’. many written roads. They were possessive records of Norn— over territories and ownership. perhaps Vikings passed their Norn was spoken language on in Shetland for aurally rather centuries after Many areas in Shetland have than writing its arrival. names that harken back to things down Viking days. Viking influence
The names given to some places in Shetland come from These names help shed some light Norn words. on the language the Vikings used. Many of the words used in Norn help to describe something, including place names!
Walls, or ‘Waas’, comes from a Norn Only a few Viking runic descriptive word for the way the sea carvings have been found in comes into the bay! Va, or Vaas (if Shetland. This stone, with plural). runes carved on it, was found in Eshaness, in the north of Shetland. Replacing ‘th’ with ‘d’ is an example of how the Norn language has survived in Shetland today.
“Am dat blyde noo da Voar is come.”
blyde: glad Voar: Spring
After Scotland took rule of Shetland, Scottish customs and language gradually began to influence the people in Place names that include ‘ting’ indicate Shetland. Eventually, the possible assembly points. Tingwall was the strong Norn language was to location of the Old Norse parliament! fall away into disuse. The Scots
200 milesNorway In 1469, Shetland became a part of Scotland.
This happened because the Princess of Denmark was going to marry the King of Scotland (James III), and Shetland was given to James as part of the Princess’ dowry. Dowry: money or goods a bride’s family brings to the groom at the marriage.
The Lerwick Town Hall To begin with, ‘Marriage Window’ shows life in Shetland the Princess and the didn’t change King! The dowry given much, but by to James III was to 1611 they were shape our way of life obeying Scottish and our tongues to this laws. day!
Gradually people in Shetland began William Gordon and to live more like Scottish people, family in 1905 Just like the Vikings, (below);: a Church of especially when Scots began to Scottish people Scotland missionary settle on the isles. brought their customs, who, like many other their speech and their Scots, settled on the religion with them. isles.
Norn had been the main language in Shetland for centuries, and even though the Scots language gradually became dominant, some Shetlanders could still speak Norn in 1800! Scottish influence
Around the 17th century the Scots language became The language in Shetland changed in different areas at different widespread over times—the transition into Scots Shetland. was gradual and complex!
Geography, travel and isolation from immigrants, sea-farers or other areas determined how long the Norn language would remain in an area for. 2 Danish Skillings from 1677
Religion also helped Scottish economy and business was shape the language. brought to the isles. Shetlanders Shetlanders already started using Scottish weights practiced Christianity by and measurements. Eventually, this time, but when Shetland traded only with Scottish clergy moved Scotland. into Shetland, they gave services and sermons in the Scots language. Trading in Shetland Languages learned from trading became less relevant, and the Scottish language replaced them. Norn was not useful for trade.
“Favor i ir i chimrie…” Shetlanders became good at speaking Scottish, and used it more often. They could still remember Norn words, Beginning of the Lord’s prayer and some Norn words were still used. in Norn.
At the end of the 19th Century, These Norn words might have been Jakob Jakobsen collected and used because there was no Scottish recorded 10,000 Norn words equivalent, or because they were still known by Shetlanders at more descriptive than the the time! Scottish alternative.
Today, people in What did you say? Shetland have a ‘dialect’. This dialect is a result of the Viking and Scottish people who influenced, and altered, the language in Shetland centuries ago. Then Ho Aye
Norn and Scots were both spoken in Shetland before Scots became the main language—we kept some of our Norn words, and these have changed over time to become some of the dialect words we use today.
Norn can be identified to some extent in our place names, and our pronunciation of some Scottish words, as well as in unique Shetland words.
A kist o’ Shaetlan’ Wir been wirds lookin’ fur
flukra trows! blyde: glad Burra shilpet Voar: Spring peeriegirny smooriken Haaf-fishing: deep-sea fishing Fetlar
Noost: boat’s shelter Knap: a Shetlander’s attempt to ‘speak proper English’
Some words were even taken from Dutch fishermen who frequented the These words have Norn roots, but as isles in the 18th and 19th Century! there have been so many influences on Cabbi-labbi: a hubbub, confused noise our language, it’s often difficult to find from many people speaking at once out where our words have come from! (from the Dutch ‘kibbelen’) Sometimes my Draatsi (Shetland word Dad neebs aff on for otter) da restin-shair Norn in our language today
Words that are no longer used Surviving variants of Norn words might have been words describing are usually words that relate to utensils that we don’t use anymore, our way of life today—perhaps like this words relating to fishing or crofting
Or words that have no We also have dialect Scottish equivalent—like ‘spaegie’! words that describe This is a ‘tari grep’ (kelp fork), weather, nature and used to rake seaweed together wildlife—how many to make a fertiliser for crofts birds can you name?
Baby ‘Bonxie’! (Great Skua) on Noss
Different areas of Shetland have We usually learn our dialect different ways of speaking the by hearing and speaking it Shetland dialect. rather than writing it..
Because of these two things, people don’t always agree This was because travel on how dialect should be written down. restrictions and geography made certain areas more Our dialect today is unique. We sound the isolated from other areas way we do because of our Viking and and from visitors and Scottish history. seafarers.