bi, by, -bi an -bye

Shaetlan haes twa forms fir 'by' : da unstressed bi (/bɪ/) an da stressed by (/baɪ/), as in

— He cam bi himsel

versus

— Da poyem by Maunsie.

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Da twa forms bides apairt in compounds firbye, whaar da stressed bi- shaas up at da begineen o a wird an tells you aboot whit wye somethin's gyaan, whaaras da stressed -bye sits apø da ends o wirds an tells you aboot whaar somethin is:

— Oot biwast da Horn o Papa

versus

— A'm pitten dem doonbye.

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Dis differentiation is braaly aald an gings streight back tae Aald English. Da ultimate origin o da baith o da forms is da Proto-Germanic *bi 'by, at, closs, aroond' at comes fae Pro-Indo-European *h₁epi ‘on, at, closs’. In Aald English de cam tae be twa forms, da strong or stressed bî, bī, by, bij, bei, and da waik or unstressed bĭ, bĕ. The strong/stressed form wis øsed fir adverbs an strong preposeetions an da waik/unstressed form. fir verbal prefixes an waik preposeetions. Da wye de wir keepit saeperit is ey bidden da sam in da nortaboot an Scots varieties ivver fae syne. Tae "correct" dis twa by/bye forms tae merge wi een or da tidder wid be baith wrang baith linguistically an historically.