The Scottish accent – all you need to know!
Every country in the world has regions who have a variety of accents and dialects. A Spaniard from Galicia speaks differently from someone in Barcelona, for example. The UK is the same. A list of just some of the dialects are listed in this website.
http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/
If this is your first time living in the UK, it may be your first experience of ‘real’ English and it may seem a lot different to what you’re used to hearing on TV. People often find it difficult to adjust to new accents, but it just takes a bit of time. Don’t panic! The good news is that the Scottish accent is more trusted and honest than others AND there is only one person in the UK who speaks the Queen’s English so there’s no point in learning it.
If you don’t have a lot of Scottish friends, there are plenty of examples of the Scottish accent on TV, Youtube and radio. Watch the Scottish regional news – it’s a great way to practise your listening. There are also lots of websites with help on the famous Glasgow banter – you can learn the slang that people use every day.
Keep practising and before you know it, you’ll be using ‘Ta’ instead of ‘Thanks’, ‘Aye’ instead of ‘Yes’ and ‘Naw’ instead of ‘No’. Becoming familiar with the accent will make your time her much more enjoyable as you learn to speak the ‘real’ language that people use.
The websites below give information about our wonderful accent and can help you practise it yourself. Good luck!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mALkCGVA2BU