Scotland is the most northerly of the four parts of the United Kingdom. It is famous for being chosen as set for several movies, having a beautiful and unique culture and extended lands of green nature. However, it is sometimes considered mysterious and unexplored, and not a very popular and renowned destination.. so how did i end up living here?
English is the largest language by number of speakers, and the third most spoken native language in the world. As a passionate of languages and travel lover I could not bypass for speaking it satisfactorily fluent, so I had to find a place in which I could practice the hardest and more challenging version of it. Not necessary to go that far.. which one would be better than Scotland? Here some curious facts about Scotland and stereotypes that might not be totally true...
The Weather
Before coming to Scotland for sure you would be very worried about the weather conditions. What is said in "the Continent" (as they call Europe from here) is that in Great Britain it is raining all the time, and the sun appears only five minutes before hiding again behind the clouds. I cannot say it is not totally true, but for what concerns my experience I got very lucky. The city where I am living, called Dundee, is situated one and a half-hour north from Edinburgh, and is renowned for being the sunniest city in Scotland!
In fact, even during the winter months, it happened to me a lot to walk under a ray of beautiful sunshine, even though it was 5 C degrees outside! However, Edinburgh and Glasgow are a bit more chilly, and even if you go there in summer, don’t expect walking around in shorts as you could do in other parts of Europe… and always bring a raincoat.
As Scottish use to say: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes"
Kilt and Bagpipe
Probably the most common tradition of Scotland known worldwide is the use of Kilt: a wooden knee-length “skirt”, with tartan patterns usually red or blue. Luckily enough, this is not only a tradition.. but it still very contemporary for Scots! Men and boys wear it on formal occasions, sports events and their most popular dance: the Caelidh, an occurrence that should definitely not be missed to feel a purely fun Scottish atmosphere! Rules declare that anything should be worn under a kilt.. anything! Exactly, you read well: kilt is than consider as a very personal piece of clothing, and every Scottish carries his own fiercely.
Scottish accent
Scottish people are very proud of their culture, so be careful not to call them 'English' by mistake. Their accent is pretty strong and very different from the English or American one. Nevertheless, it is also quite funny and after a short time, you get easily used to it. The big difference is that they roll their "R". Instead of the typical English way in which the letter "ar" is mostly soundless, Scottish pronunciation it pretty guttural and polite people clashing with you in shops or buses will apologize with a weird "soory" pronounced in a very Italian way.
The accent of Scotland can be distinguished by a different way for vowels, they are spoken with open mouth. Scots are still commonly using their own dialects composed of different words that are not present in English vocabulary. For example, the word “Aye” is very common to say a simple “yes”, “spoons” means “bars” and “cracking” or “smashing” are expressions of excitement.
Wanna go to spoons, pals? Aye, smashing!
Finally, nature and castles in Scotland are really worth a visit! The Lake of the famous monster Nessy is at 3 hours driving from the capital Edinburgh, and it’s a very beautiful and relaxing place.
Leave a comment if you enjoyed my article and what you liked most about Scotland!
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