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Linda Kennedy - It's a small thing, but it may signal weevoltion of the Scots tongue



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Published Date: 05 June 2008
A SHOWER of wee has just engulfed me. "Watch your wee back," says the aerobics instructor. "Hold on a wee second," says the receptionist at the hairdresser. "Don't forget your wee receipt," says the shop assistant.
Once an occasional part of the lingo, the word "wee" now seems to abound in Scottish conversation. And it's being inserted with increasing inappropriateness within sentences. Watch my wee back? It's not shrunk. A wee second? A second is a second. A ...



The full article contains 730 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 04 June 2008 8:45 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Linda Kennedy
 
1

Colin Wilson,

Aberdeen 05/06/2008 06:31:55
Using "wee" like that does seem a strange and unnecessary affection. There's no need to say "hold on a wee second" when you can say "haud on a saicont", nor is there any need to say "don't forget your wee receipt" when you can say "dinna forget yer receipt".
2

EWB,

UK 05/06/2008 06:41:55
Interesting linguistic usage. "Wee" in this instance does suggest endearment not diminutive size. The other usage is to append the suffix -ie, e.g. ciggie, to the word. German has the suffixes -chen (Mädchen = literally "little maid" but really "girl"; Fräulein = literally "little woman", i.e. Miss, but never used these days) and for endearment "Liebchen" = darling, "little dear".

The word for the "little finger" in Dutch is "de pink" and in Scots, it is "pinkie". American usage is "pinkie finger". It does not occur in linguistic usage south of the Border.
3

Ananurhing,

05/06/2008 10:58:59
I agree with Linda on the increasing use of the word wee. I notice it in my children, and have then become aware of my frequent usage of the word. Not sure what the reason for this is, but unlike Linda, I'm quite comfortable with it.
Language is an organic, constantly changing process, full of inaccurate and unnecessary common usages.
I don't understand Linda's cringing reaction to this.
It's a long time since I've witnessed someone cringe so much over a scoticism.

 

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