Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot

Thursday 12 June 2008

A Doric Lord's Prayer

I do not consider myself a Christian ( I haven't been into a church except as a tourist or for hatchings, matchings or dispatches in several decades), but like most people I was brought up in a nominally Christian household, albeit with a very relaxed attitude toward the practice. Nevertheless I could probably, even now, recite the words of "The Lord's Prayer" without thinking too hard about it, so I was interested to see here a version of the prayer in Doric, the dialect of Scots that originates in the north-east of Scotland. I spent several years of my childhood living near Aberdeen so am familiar with at least some of the vocabulary of the dialect and find it quite attractive to listen to, but have never used much of it myself, barring an occasionalword very rarely. See what you think - as many readers will be familiar with the words in English, it shouldn't be too difficult to decipher the meanings of words that are unfamiliar:



Oor Faither, fa bides in hivven,

We’ll aye hae a gweed conceit o ye.

Yer croon winna be ill tae fit,

Sae yer wye o it maun be the wye o it,

Doon by, nae less nor the wye o it in hivven.

Gie us oor mait an a pucklie loaf the day, an ilka day.

An dinna haud it agin us nor we mak a cuddy o things,

Jist as we widna skelp fowk fa chunce their haun agin us.

An dinna scunner us wi wyes tae swick,

Bit ding doon ony o Aul Nick’s coorseness.

Michty me, bit ye’ve a haud o aathin,

Sae it’s michty you an aa,

An aat’s jist rare,

Ivnoo an fir ivvermair.

Fairly aat, min.

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