The currency of scotland


The currency in Scotland is not different from the rest of the United Kingdom in that it is also consists of British Pounds (£), although Scottish banks print their own versions. These "Scottish notes" are widely accepted throughout the United Kingdom, although cases have been reported of a few shops outside Scotland refusing them (check out this discussion about scottish money). You will, however, not have a problem when using English notes anywhere in Scotland. If you are visiting from further afield, it is usually wisest to exchange your money into the local currency. Scotland is a well developed country with a good economic infrastructure. For the average tourist, this means that they will find it relatively easy to get about and to exchange their money. Scotland also does not have any import or export restrictions on any form of money so visitors will not have to fret about whatever currency they carry into the country with them.

The currency of Scotland is the GBP Pound (£). One pound is comprised of 100 pence and coins can be obtained in 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 denominations. Bank notes are commonly divided into £5, £10, £20 and £50 amounts. Scottish banks also issue a £1 notes which can be used as legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Money can be exchanged in banks, at foreign exchange bureaus and hotels. The exchange bureaus are generally open for longer than banks are but charge higher commission rates. Banks are usually open from 9:30am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday. Some banks are also open on Saturdays.

Scotland's geography


Scotland is a very small country. It is 274 miles (441 kilometers) long. The coastline is so jagged that it adds up to 2000 miles (3218 kilometers). At its widest point it is 154 miles (248 kilometers). At its narrowest it is only 25 miles (40 kilometers). Because of Scotlands narrowness and its deep inlets, it is never possible to get far away from the sea.
Scotland occupies the northern third of the islands of Great Britain. The river Tweed and the Cheviot Hills form Scotland’s southern border with England. The Northwest Channel separates southwestern Scotland from Northern Ireland. The northwest coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. East faces the North Sea. The east coast faces the North Sea, which separates Scotland from the mainland of Europe.

Land Regions



Scotland has three main land regions. They are, from north to south, the Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands.


The Highlands


Is a rugged, barren region that covers the northern two thirds of Scotland. There are two major mountain ranges, the Northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains rise in this region. The ranges have parallel ridges that run through the Highlands from northeast to southwest. A deep valley called Glen Mor or the Great Glen separates the two mountain ranges. The highest peak in the British Isle is 4406 feet (1343 meters). Ben Nevis, rises south of Glen Mor. The Highlands have two kinds of valleys. Steep, narrow glens


and broad, rolling straths. Much of the land in the Highlands is a treeless area called a moor or a heath. The most rugged land lies along the west coast. Most Highlanders live on the narrow coastal plains.


The Central Lowlands


The valleys of the Rivers Clyde, Fourth, and Tay cross the Central Lowlands. This region has Scotland’s best farmland. Wide, fertile fields and low hills with patches of trees cover the entire region. About three-fourths of Scottish people live in the lowlands.

The Southern Uplands


They consist of rolling moors broken in places by rocky cliffs. The top of the hills are largely barren, but rich pasture land covers most of the lower slopes. Many sheep and cattle are raised in the southern uplands. In the south, the uplands rise to the Cheviot Hills.



Rivers and Lakes


The river Clyde is Scotland’s most important river. Ships from the Atlantic Ocean can sail up the Clyde to Glasgow. The Clyde was narrow and shallow until the 1700’s when engineers widened and deepened the river to make it navigable. Scotland’s longest rivers flow eastward into the North Sea. The Tay, 120 miles (193 kilometers) long, is the largest river in Scotland. It carries more water than any other river in the United Kingdom. Many of Scotland’s rivers flow into wide bays called firths. The Firths of Forth, Tay, and Moray are on the east coast. The Firths of Clyde and Lorn lie on the west side. All ships bound for Glasgow must pass through the Firth of Clyde. A suspension bridge, one of the longest in the world, spans the Firth of Forth at Queens Ferry. It is 8244 feet (2313 meters) long. Most of Scotland’s lakes (which are called lochs) lie in deep Highland valleys. Loch Lomond is Scotland’s largest lake. It is 23 miles (37 kilometers) long and 5 miles (8 kilometers) at its widest point. A series of lakes extend through Glen Mor. These lakes are connected by canals and form the Caledonian Canal, which cuts across Scotland from Moray Firth to the Firth of Lorn. One of the canals lakes is famous for its "monster". Some people claim to have seen a creature 30 feet (9 meters) long in the lake. Along the west coast of Scotland, the Atlantic Ocean extends inland in many narrow bays called sea lochs.


Islands



 Scotland has hundreds of islands. A large group of islands called the Hebrides lie off the west coast of Scotland’s mainland. The Orkney and Shetland groups lie north of the mainland and form the boundary between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.


The river Clyde 

Videos with music of Scotland :)

Do you remember when I promised to you I was going to upload some videos. Well, my promise is debt, then I bring these videos. Do you know? Those are music to my ears.

Music of Scotland

Hello guys again , well, we brought you something special. Can you guess what it can be? Well, it's music, but music from Scotland, of course. Frist we'll post the information and musical genders and later, we'll push some of videos with music. We'll wish you share it. :)

Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. In spite of emigration and a well-developed connection to music imported from the rest of Europe and the United States, the music of Scotland has kept many of its traditional aspects; indeed, it has itself influenced many forms of music.

Many outsiders associate Scottish folk music almost entirely with the Great Highland Bagpipe, which has indeed long played an important part of Scottish music. Although this particular form of bagpipe developed exclusively in Scotland, it is not the only Scottish bagpipe, and other bagpiping traditions remain across Europe. The earliest mention of bagpipes in Scotland dates to the 15th century although they could have been introduced to Scotland as early as the 6th century.

Folk music of Scotland

Folk music takes many forms in a broad musical tradition, although the dividing lines are not rigid, and many artists work across the boundaries. Culturally, there is a split between the Gaelic tradition and the Scots tradition.

The oldest forms of music in Scotland are theorised to be Gaelic singing and harp playing. Although much of the harp tradition was lost through extinction, the harp is being revived by contemporary players. Later, the Great Highland Bagpipe appeared on the scene. The original music of the bagpipe is called Piobaireachd, this is the classical music of the bagpipe. 'pìobaireachd' literally means 'piping' in Gaelic. It is also known as 'cèol mòr' which means 'great music'.

Classical music

Early music


The harper on the Monifeith Pictish, c. 700 - 900 AD

Stringed instruments have been known in Scotland from at least the Iron Age; the first evidence of lyres outwith the Greco-Roman world were found on the Isle of Skye, dating from 2300 BC, making it Europe's oldest surviving stringed instrument. Bards, who acted as musicians, but also as poets, story tellers, historians, genealogists and lawyers, relying on an oral tradition that stretched back generations, were found in Scotland as well as Wales and Ireland. Often accompanying themselves on the harp, they can also be seen in records of the Scottish courts throughout the medieval period. Scottish church music from the later Middle Ages was increasingly influenced by continental developments, with figures like 13th-century musical theorist Simon Tailler studying in Paris, before returned to Scotland where he introduced several reforms of church music.

Classical Performers

Scotland has produced several notable performers of classical music, including the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, the pianist Murray McLachlan, the violinist Nicola Benedetti, the violist William Primrose, singers Isobel Baillie, Henry Herford, Margaret Marshall and Kenneth McKellar, classical guitarist Paul Galbraith, clarinettist Alison Turriff and conductors Bryden Thomson, James Loughran, Donald Runnicles, Garry Walker and Sir Alexander Gibson.

Pop and rock

Pop and rock were slow to get started in Scotland and produced few bands of note in the 1950s or 1960s, though thanks to accolades by David Bowie and others, the Edinburgh- based band 1-2-3 (later Clouds), active 1966–71, have belatedly been acknowledged as a definitive precursor of the progressive rock movement. However, by the 1970s bands such as the Average White Band, Nazareth, and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band began to have international success. The biggest Scottish pop act of the 1970s however (at least in terms of sales) were undoubtedly the Bay City Rollers. Several of the members of the internationally-successful rock band AC/DC were born in Scotland, including original lead singer Bon Scott and guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young, though by the time they began playing, all three had moved to Australia.

Scottish extreme metal bands include Man Must Die and Cerebral Bore.

Jazz

Scotland has a strong jazz tradition and has produced many world class musicians since the 1950s, notably Jimmy Deuchar, Bobby Wellins and Joe Temperley. A long-standing problem was the lack of opportunities within Scotland to play with international musicians. Since the 1970s this has been addressed by Edinburgh clubowner Bill Kyle (the JazzBar) and enthusiast-run organisations such as Platform and then Assembly Direct, which have provided improved performance opportunities.

How to Talk with a Scottish Accent?

That is a good question, it's a little difficult to answer, but now we'll give you 5 ideas, or tips to find your Scottish accent :) (Y) But it's not easy to do, but it's not impossible to get it. 'Nothing is impossible to a willing heart'. Good luck!

Polls reveal that people believe those with Scottish accents are trustworthy and honest. It also sounds pretty cool. Mastering this distinct way of speaking takes some practice. Here are some basics.

Steps

1.    Familiarize yourself with Scottish slang and vocabulary. Always use the word "wee" when describing something small or young. "Aye," "bonny" and "lassie" are also commonly used and makes your accent seem authentic. Pick up a book of words that are distinctive to the Scottish dialect.

2.    Learn to roll your Rs. Scots are the only English speakers to employ the rolled R sound and do it regularly, particularly following the letters D, G and T. Find Short Speech on Facebook. Sign Up Free Now!

3.    Pay attention to your vowels. Analyses have shown that Scottish English speakers use five fewer vowel sounds than any other English speakers. Use the shortened version of vowels. The words "cot" and "caught" should sound the same. Pronounce E as though it has been cut off in the middle, creating an "eh" sound. Use only one form of the letter I, so everything rhymes with "might."


4.    Collapse words into as few syllables as possible and drop the G from words ending in "-ing." Replace "not" with "nee." When you are speaking with a Scottish accent, tell someone that you "didnee do anythin' in Ednbrah" instead of saying you "didn't do anything in Edinburgh."

5.    Listen to Scottish accents. Watch Scottish films like "Trainspotting" or films that prominently feature Scottish actors using their native accent. Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor, Billy Boyd and John Hannah are distinctly Scottish.

Scottish English

Well, we have the characteris about the 'Scottish English', the criterions, for example sounds, lexical, phonetics, grammatical, etc... in that country.


Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language. The main, formal variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English, often abbreviated to SSE. SSE may be defined as "the characteristic speech of the professional class [in Scotland] and the accepted norm in schools."
In addition to distinct pronunciation, grammar and expressions, Scottish English has distinctive vocabulary, particularly pertaining to Scottish institutions such as the Church of Scotland, local government and the education and legal systems

Phonology

This is my favorite part, it's just awesome, we'll explain for you, everything, about vowels and consonat sounds. The diphthongs too. Read it, and you're gonna surprise yourself :). Yuo'll see the differences between American sounds and Scottish sounds.

The speech of the middle classes in Scotland tends to conform to the grammatical norms of the written standard, particularly in situations that are regarded as formal. Highland English is slightly different from the variety spoken in the Lowlands in that it is more phonologically, grammatically, and lexically influenced by a Gaelic substratum.

While pronunciation features vary among speakers (depending on region and social status), there are a number of phonological aspects characteristic of Scottish English:
•    Scottish English is a rhotic accent, meaning /r/ is pronounced in the syllable coda. As with Received Pronunciation, /r/ may be an alveolar approximant [ɹ], although it is also common that a speaker will use an alveolar tap [ɾ]. Less common is use of the alveolar trill [r] (hereafter, <r> will be used to denote any rhotic consonant).

o    While other dialects have merged /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/ before /r/, Scottish English makes a distinction between the vowels in herd, bird, and curd.
o    Many varieties contrast /o/ and /ɔ/ before /r/ so that hoarse and horse are pronounced differently.
o    /or/ and /ur/ are contrasted so that shore and sure are pronounced differently, as are pour and poor.
o    /r/ before /l/ is strong. An epenthetic vowel may occur between /r/ and /l/ so that girl and world are two-syllable words for some speakers. The same may occur between /r/ and /m/, between /r/ and /n/, and between /l/ and /m/.
•    There is a distinction between /w/ and /hw/ in word pairs such as witch and which.
•    The phoneme /x/ is common in names and in SSE's many Gaelic and Scots borrowings, so much so that it is often taught to incomers, particularly for "ch" in loch. Some Scottish speakers use it in words of Greek origin as well, such as technical, patriarch, etc. The pronunciation of these words in the original Greek would support this. (Wells 1982, 408).
•    /l/ is usually velarized (see dark l) except in borrowings like "glen" (from Scottish Gaelic "gleann") which had unvelarized l in their original form. In areas where Scottish Gaelic was spoken until relatively recently (such as Dumfries and Galloway) and in areas where it is still spoken (such as the West Highlands), velarization of /l/ may be absent in many words in which it is present in other areas, but remains in borrowings that had velarized /l/ in Gaelic, such as "loch" (Gaelic "loch") and "clan" (Gaelic "clann").
•    /p/, /t/ and /k/ are not aspirated.
•    Vowel length is generally regarded as non-phonemic, although a distinctive part of Scottish English is the Scots vowel length rule (Scobbie et al. 1999). Certain vowels (such as /i/, /u/, and /æ/) are generally long but are shortened before nasals and voiced plosives. However, this does not occur across morpheme boundaries so that crude contrasts with crewed, need with kneed and side with sighed.
•    Scottish English has no /ʊ/, instead transferring Scots /u/. Phonetically, this vowel may be pronounced [ʉ] or even [ʏ]. Thus pull and pool are homophones.
•    Cot and caught are not differentiated in most Central Scottish varieties, as they are in some other varieties.

Scotticisms

In this section, we'll tell you, 'Scotticisms', maybe you're gonna question yourself, what is that? Simple, it's the manner to speak there, their style, their strees, their language, expresions, which are typical to distinguish a Scottish. :D. In fact, we'll give you a lot of examples about it, like questions, and possible answer for each one. Share it. The form that is written, is like that they speak, 'the transcription'.

Scotticisms are idioms or expressions that are characteristic of Scots. They are more likely to occur in spoken than written language.

•    Whaur dae ye bide? meaning "Where do you live?" Possible answer: "I bide in Fife"
•    I stay in Dundee meaning "I live in Dundee"
•    It's a fair way tae Skye from here meaning "It's a good distance to Skye from here"
•    I'll see you up the road meaning "I'll come with you some of the way" or "I'll see you back at home"
•    I'm gaun for the messages meaning "I'm going to shop for groceries."
•    She learnt him some manners meaning "She taught him some manners."
•    Are you thinking of flitting? meaning "Are you thinking of moving house?"
•    She was gey scunnered meaning "She was really disgusted/put off"
•    He's cried Dod [pron: doad] after his faither meaning "He's called George after his father"
•    It's my shy meaning "It's my throw-in" (when playing soccer; fast disappearing with increased TV coverage in English)
•    He was sat on his hunkers meaning "He was squatting down"
•    Gie's a shot then! meaning "Let me have a turn now" (for example, children playing)
•    Caw canny meaning "Go easy" or "Don't overdo it", as in Ye'd better caw canny or Caw canny wi the butter., "Don't use up the butter."
•    It's a sair fecht meaning "It's a real struggle/It's hard going."
•    Dinna fash yersel meaning "Don't get worked up/angry" (from French se fâcher)
•    Aye, right! meaning "definitely not!" (The phrase "Yeah, right!" is used similarly in American English)
Scotticisms are generally divided into two types: covert Scotticisms, which generally go unnoticed as being particularly Scottish by those using them, and overt Scotticisms, usually used for stylistic effect, with those using them aware of their Scottish nature.

'Lexical and Grammatical'

This part, we refer to the form to spech in Scotland, like 'Lexical and Grammatical' are there. It's different, with respect, to our American English. Here, we're giving for you, examples in each one. Play attetion and read.

Lexical

An example of "outwith" on a sign in Scotland
Scottish English has inherited a number of lexical items from Scots, which are comparatively rare in other forms of standard English.
General items are outwith, meaning "outside of"; wee, the Scots word for small (also common in New Zealand English); bonnie for pretty, attractive, (good looking or handsome in the case of Bonnie Prince Charlie); bairn for child, pinkie for little finger and janitor for caretaker (pinkie and janitor are also standard in American English), cowp for tip or pour, fash for fuss. Kirk for church has parallels in other Germanic languages (cf kirche which was also found in archaic names of some ancient churches in e.g. London). Examples of culturally specific items are caber, haggis, teuchter, ned and landward for rural; It's your shot for "It's your turn"; and the once notorious but now redundant tawse.
The use of "How?" meaning "Why?" is distinctive of Scottish, Northern English and Northern Irish English. "Why not?" is often rendered as "How no?".
There is a range of (often anglicised) legal and administrative vocabulary inherited from Scots e.g. depute /ˈdɛpjut/ for deputy, proven /ˈproːvən/ for proved (standard in American English), interdict for injunction and sheriff substitute for acting sheriff. In Scottish education a short leet is a list of selected job applicants, and a remit is a detailed job description.
Often, lexical differences between Scottish English and Southern Standard English are simply differences in the distribution of shared lexis, such as stay for "live" (as in: where do you stay?).

Grammatical

The progressive verb forms are used rather more frequently than in other varieties of standard English, for example with some stative verbs (I'm wanting a drink). The future progressive frequently implies an assumption (You'll be coming from Glasgow?).
In some areas perfect aspect of a verb is indicated using "be" as auxiliary with the preposition "after" and the present participle: for example "He is after going" instead of "He has gone" (this construction is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic).
Speakers often use prepositions differently. The compound preposition off of is often used (Take that off of the table). Scots commonly say I was waiting on you (meaning "waiting for you"), which means something quite different in Standard English.
In colloquial speech shall and ought are wanting, must is marginal for obligation and may is rare. Many syntactical features of SSE are found in other forms of English, e.g. English language in England and North American English:
•    What age are you? for "How old are you?"
•    My hair is needing washed or My hair needs washed for "My hair needs washing" or "My hair needs to be washed".
•    Amn't I invited? for Am I not invited?
Note that in Scottish English, the first person declarative I amn't invited and interrogative Amn't I invited? are both possible. Contrast English language in England, which has Aren't I? but no contracted declarative form. (All varieties have I'm not invited.)

Videos 'How intresting!'

Now, we're gonna post a couple of videos, and then you're going to try to understand the differents stress, because it's the same language (English), but this is 'Scottish English'. You'll see 'em now, and if you can write something about what you unterstood, it'd be great! How many words can you understand?

Taken from 'http://www.youtube.com/'

Languages of Scotland

Hi everyone. Here, you have the types of languages of Scotland (an amazing city). But don’t think that it’ll be all, later we’ll post more interesting things about this incredible country that is part of UK (United Kingdom). But in this section we’ll talk about ‘languages’ in it. Share this information :)

Languages of Scotland

The main language(s) in this country (the most important): English, but which one? (Scottish English/ British English), which is very different to American English. We’ll talk about it later, don’t worry.

    However, we have ‘Regional Language(s)’. In this part, there are 2 languages, they are Gaelic and Scots.


    In another hand, there are ‘Main Immigrant’ languages, which are Urdu, Mandarin and Polish.
    And finally, ‘The main foreign language’ is French.

The languages of Scotland are the languages spoken or once spoken in Scotland. The numerous languages spoken in Scotland during its recorded history fall into either the Germanic or Celtic language families. The classification of the Pictish language was once controversial but it is now generally considered a Celtic language. Today, the primary languages spoken in Scotland are English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is termed Scottish English. It’s incredible, but it’s really. Let’s continue.
 

Scottish English.

Scottish (Standard) English is the result of language contact between Scots and the Standard English of England after the 17th century. The resulting shift towards Standard English by Scots-speakers resulted in many phonological compromises and lexical transfers, often mistaken for mergers by linguists unfamiliar with the history of Scottish English. Furthermore, the process was also influenced by interdialectal forms, hypercorrections and spelling pronunciations. Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic. The most Gaelic influenced variety being Hebridean English, spoken in the Western Isles.

Norn language

Norn is an extinct North Germanic, West Scandinavian, language that was spoken on Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Caithness. Norn evolved from the Old Norse that was widely spoken in the Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and the west coast of the mainland during the Viking occupation from the 8th to the 13th centuries. After the Northern Isles were ceded to Scotland by Norway in the 15th century, its use was discouraged by the Scottish government and the Church of Scotland (the national church), and it was gradually replaced by Lowland Scots over time. Norn died out in the 19th century.