When I visit East Donegal, I've notice that the Catholics and Protestants there speak the same. Would it be fair to say that there are perhaps as many Ullans Catholic speakers as Protestant in Ulster?

I'm sure living amoungst Ulster-Scots protestants has ensured a lot of Ulster-Scots words are now used as much by the Catholic population as by the Protestants - however 'pure' (broad) Ulster-Scots which is almost Lallans is really only spoken in Protestant strongholds like Antrim and in some parts of Down and Londonderry.

East Donegal must surely have an Ulster-Scots accent - more so than Fermanagh I would imagine?

>>however 'pure' (broad) Ulster-Scots which is almost Lallans is really only spoken in Protestant strongholds like Antrim and in some parts of Down and Londonderry.

Id say broad Ullans is spoken in E. Donegal as much as it is in Derry.

'Ullans' is a made up word - Lallans is the the name for the Scots tongue

'' 'Ullans' is a made up word '' As are most words,I would think.

Ullans is a language in its own right in the same way that Manx and Scottish Gaelic are their own languages, with respect to Irish Gaelic.

>>I'm sure living amoungst Ulster-Scots protestants has ensured a lot of Ulster-Scots words are now used as much by the Catholic population as by the Protestants

Sure nearly every second person in Donegal was born in Glasgow anyway.

Electic Scotland is an excellant site

http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/s...scots/index.htm

Of course Catholics speak Ulster-Scots!!! It's ridiculous to suggest it is exclusively a Protestant language. The language (and wider Ulster-English dialect) was introduced to Ulster by the 17th century Protestant settlers, but quickly became the everyday speech of the whole population. Indeed Ulster-Scots borrowed many words, phrases and grammatical patterns from Irish Gaelic. Ulster-Scots is therefore a language for all Ulster people to enjoy irrespective of religion.

Sae yousens shud quat yer coddin an houl yer whisht!

I believe Ulster-Scots speech is very important in developing a shared Ulster identity- you only have to look at Scousers, Geordies or Yorkshire people in England all of whom have a thriving regional identity based to a large extent on their dialects. (Thon an thair fitbal taems, mebbe Norn Iron'll bate Inglan fer iz agane!)

I'm from County Armagh well outside the Ulster-Scots speaking areas. However Ulster-Scots words and phrases are still used daily in my area. The Ulster-English dialect is more widespread here and is the everyday speech of most local people.

I don't like the term Scots-Irish (or Scotch-Irish) and I don't think many people in Ulster would recognise the term. (Bot A knaw it's gittin mair an mair use in America, yer mon Jim Wabb ony gat in thair whinivver e tuk oan tha Scotch-Irish argyment!)

I would describe myself as an Ulster-person or Northern Irish. I would only really use the term Ulster-Scots to describe my cultural background or the language. I see this as similar to the way people would call themselves Irish while describing their culture as Gaelic.

Ullans is a term invented in the recent past (I think by the Ulster historian Ian Adamson). It comes from the mixing of the words (U)lster and La(llans) to make Ullans. I don't like it!!! Ulster-Scots is a perfectly good name for the language. (Lallans comes ultimately from lowlands, the region of Scotland where the Scots language originated.)

Books to buy...

The Hamely Tongue by James Fenton- Excellent dictionary! If you're from Ulster read through it and you'll be surprised at how many words you use daily! If you talk to older relatives you'll find they use even more of the words and phrases.

Ulster-Scots Grammer by Philip Robinson- Not it's exact title but you get the idea. Has the added advantage of some biblical verses translated into Ulster-Scots at the back.

From the Psalms...
"Ye hae gien aa ma foes a guid dig up the bake, ye hae bustit the taeth o tha wickit."

John the Baptist calls the Pharisees...
"Ye clatter o oul coul snakes, yiz!"

Ulster to America by Michael Montgomery- Quotations from both sides of the Atlantic reveal how the Ulster dialect (and especially Ulster-Scots) are part of everyday speech in the Appalachian region.



Jim Webb Ulster-Scots Election Victory

What the Hell are you talking about mate..?

stephen1 wrote:


The Scot's settled all NINE counties of Ulster, so pray tell HOW are you "well outside" the Ulster-Scots speaking areas.?????????

Hound
I assumed that Stehen was talking about Ulster Scots dialects as opposed to Ulster English dialects.
Scots Lallans and Ulster Scots are derived from the English spoken in southern Scotland, which was considerably different from the more southerly forms of English spoken in England, which gave rise to modern standard English.The Scots language was gradually replaced by varieties based on the English of England but, admittedly, spoken with a Scots accent in Scotland. Nowadays in Scotland relatively few people now speak Scots. Most speak English with Scots accents.
Similarly in Ulster the accent is clearly heavily influenced by Scots, but the language of most people is not Scots but English - Ulster English. Ulster Scots, is as Stephen says, not common in Armagh where Ulster English is the language of almost everyone.

Map of Ulster-Scots speaking regions

Yes the Scots did settle throughout Ulster but the "pure" language is not spoken throughout the province. I'm from Lurgan, just south of Lough Neagh- well outside the Ulster-Scots speaking region. The Ulster dialect is widely spoken here and, as I said, it includes numerous Ulster-Scots words and phrases.

I believe the wider Ulster dialect should be protected just as much as the Ulster-Scots language. I stated the examples of the Geordie, Yorkshire and Scouse dialects in England to make this point. The Ulster dialect is broader than any of these with a more distinct grammer and much more vocabulary, borrowing as it does from both Scots and Gaelic.

Thanks for the nice friendly Ulster welcome Hound!