Language variation
Ivvri livin naiteral language isna da sam ivvriwhar. Hit’s normal fir a language tae cheinge ower time. In fact, nae spaeker ivver maks da exact sam utterance twice ower, bit aa da variations you git wi a single spaeker is dat little at dey irna wirt leetin. Variations ower a speech community ir wint tae be mair notticable an ower time aa languages cheinge wan wye or anidder. Some languages cheinge quicker as idders an far mair as idders. Bit hit’s a fact at da onnli kind o language at døsna cheinge is een at isna øsed onymair (is geen extinct).
Firbye yun hit’s normal fir a language tae shaa differs atween different districts (dialects) an atween different social groups (sociolects). Aa languages kent o shaa some kind o variation. Agein, nae spaeker maks da sam utterance twice ower, bit agein, da variations you git wi a single spaeker, or wi a single faimly, is wint tae be dat peerie at at dey end up nivver maitterin.
Jüst laek ony idder language, Shaetlan haes baith dialectal an socialectal variation. Hit’s affen assumed at “Shetland mosst be da plaess wi da maist differ in da wirld atween da wye fokk spaeks in different districts”. Dat’s wrang. De’r plenty o idder plaesses in da wirld at shaas far mair linguistic variation, an in a peerier area an aa. Da maist linguistically diverse plaess per km2 kent o on da planet is Vanuatu, wi 138 different languages at aa hae differs athin ivvri een o dem. Athin Shaetlan d’ir twa major languages: Shaetlan an Shetland English. Maist o da differ atween dis twa languages in Shetland is shaan trowe accent (da wye things is pronounced), an dis is whit maist spaekers ir wint tae be maist awar o. Hoosumivver, Shaetlan shaas dialectal differs firbye in it’s lexicon an grammar, as wid be lippent in a group o islands laek dis. Fir example, we ir fun at de’r a differ atween districts whar dey idder spaekers differentiate atween da verbal particle tae (tae spaek) an da preposeetion til (gie til her); or whidder spaekers hae a possesive plural (mines/dines) or no. Da sociolectal differs in Shaetlan is maistli tae dø wi hoo muckle influence Shetland English is haed on da language. Fir example, dem at’s mair exposed til English, trowe writeen, literature, education or employment, is wint tae copy English grammar even if dey ir øsin Shaetlan wirds, laek wirkin wi du fir aabody (an no sayin you fir politeness, or sometimes even øsin it idda plural!), or øsin idder onnli tae or sometimes onnli til fir baith da verbal particle an da preposeetion, or øsin fur in aa contexts (an no shaain a differ atween fur an fir), an da laek. Da linguistic term fir dis is pattren replication, whar da pattren o ee language is taen ower inti’ da tidder.
Nae grammar description ivver claems tae shaa aff ivvri peerie mootie peetlik o its language. Dat wid be impossible fur you wid hae tae tak an describe ivvry single utterance ivvri single body micht ivver say ower dir hael lifetime, seein as nae spaeker maks da sam utterance twice ower. Hit’s a fact at aa Shetlanders understaand da absolute maist o whit is seid bi idder Shetlanders, despite da differs at de ir ower da speech community. Hit’s dis systematic øs o utterances at maks up da language we spaek aboot as bein Shaetlan.
