So on to the indecipherable language. Learning to transliterate and translate Ancient Egyptian Heiroglyphs was nothing compared to picking up this dialect. It's not really English, well not as we know it anyway. This wee video has terrible sound quality but gives a wonderful overview of how a real Weegie sounds. (including the profanity, you've been warned!)
Now, all four of us can understand the language clear as a bell, and Genevieve (age 5) can slip into it when talking to her friends or teachers. Bruce and I sound RIDICULOUS when we try to copy it! Although we do throw in the odd ah'HUH, Och or Aye. And wee is obligatory, they literally do not use the word little.
Some odd words we've come across:
Messages Shopping, ie 'I've been up to get the messages'
Juice Drink, like ANY drink, like even a COCA COLA!!! (we are pretty shocked about this one!)
Dillutin' juice Cordial, regardless of the fact that no fruit was harmed in the making of said cordial.
An tha's you Almost universal at the end of a transaction
Numbers were hard for a long time, especially over the phone. But once you're in the swing of it all, you can keep up with the swift conversations and odd turns of phrase. I have however lost the ability to tell a NZ accent from an Aussie one, occassionally even a British English accent!
There aren't many non-Scots in Glasgow. Why not? Well, seriously, why would you move here? It's not THAT bad, it's quite nice, but unless you had family here, a job, or another strong reason to come here, I seriously can't imagine choosing it. People can joke about the weather, I know I never really 'believed' in SAD or vitamin D deficiency causing real problems, but my goodness, do they ever! People are so sour and angry and pent up, yet come a clear, sunny day and it's layed back, friendly... a bit like Australia and this makes me homesick.
You take for granted the multiculturalism and the underlying understanding of migration that permeates a country like Australia. I can't even find an Italian/ Continental deli here. And when you do see an immigrant (and what is meant is someone who isn't white) it's "oh I don't want to be racist BUT.... they can't park, they have taken over Pollokshaws, they drive like they want to cause an accident".
I've been really lucky to have a SA, NZ and Aussie mum as friends at the school. They keep me a wee bit grounded. I do so love to have a yaaarn with me mate from Tassie, righto? We put our best nasal Occer Accents on and go for it. Well I assume she's putting it on, I know I am playing right up to it.
Funnily enough when I was talking to one of my very good Glasgow mummy friends the other night, she said "Oh you mean the crazy Australian mum" I asked whether I was not the crazy Aussie mum, and she admitted, "Well, you were the crazy Australian mum until she came." I thought you-bewdey! A small school in Southside Glasgow, and I'm NOT the crazy Aussie mum! Fan-bloody-tastic.
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I love Scotland, more the highlands although I have a lot of family in Glasgow and still prefer there to england.
ReplyDeleteAlways wanted to move to Scotland but sunny Malta won in the end- the weather mainly! Its been years and I still dont understand a word my family say so I think you're doing well!
What on earth made you move to glasgow from aus though??
I can well believe that Malta won over Scotland! We moved here for my husband's job. But can't wait to move back to our families in Aus.. oh yeah and the sunshine :)
ReplyDeleteKaty, I understand your homesickness and I'm sure I'd feel exactly the same if it was the other way round and I had to work in Australia but I think you're being a very, very harsh on Glasgow. A lot of immigrants would vouch for the city as a welcoming and tolerant place. Australia has some serious issues of its own as the recent spate of violent attacks on Indian students demonstrated. And I'd rather have SAD than skin cancer - you can keep yer sun!
ReplyDeleteVery fair points indeed! There is no doubt that this is written very much from a homesick POV, and is also meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, when I reread it after your comments it does sound very bitter and negative.
ReplyDeleteActually my very next topic was Glasgow's acceptance and the very warm hospitality that is extended to those who give it a chance :)
For a short term visitor, I don't think it comes across well. But honestly, the infrastructure, free museums and galleries, beautiful parks.. it's a really nice place to live.
And you're also right, I have a very nostalgic perfect view of my original home tainted by missing my family and friends, sadly like anywhere there awful people who hate anyone different from themselves. But the overall paradigm is more tolerant, I hear a lot about 'non European immigrants' when I point out that's me, it's well I don't mean YOU, you're here to work....
Anyway, thanks for reading! K.