The
Humorous use
of
the
Contrast
Between
Standard Educated
English
and
Local
Dialect
in Scottish Jokes
CHRISTIE DAVIES ( Reading )
In most countries where English is the first language the educated middle classes tend tospeakstandard English and have relatively little difficultyin spe aking to one anotherregardlessof regional or national origin.Educated Ameri cans, Australians, (Anglophone) Canadians, English, Irish, New Zealanders,
Scots and Welsh have little difficulty incommunicatingwith one another and this isequally true ofmostof those among them with regional forms of speech. Theyare audiblydifferent but it istheir universal quality that is most striking.
This is the English thatnative speakers of otherlanguages learn to read, write
and speak from their textbooks.
Yet in additionto this universal English there exists also a treasure house of local modes of speech that differmarkedly from nationto nation andregionto region.All of them departmarkedlyfrom standard English in accent, vocabula
ry, usage and other respects but in quite divergent ways so that their speakers may be almost incomprehensible to oneanother as well as to speakers of stan
dardEnglish or to speakers ofEnglish as a second language. Typically the spea kers ofthe broadestforms of local English will be drawn from the lower social
classes. Educated middle class people will often be almostbilingual, speaking
standard English with a mild regional accent to those of thesame class (especial lyif speaking to someone from outside the locality) butwith notable ability to shift into a form of the broad local speechif necessary. Its use, especially inde
aling with the local lower classes indicates a certain local solidarity, neighborli
ness and a setting aside forthe time being ofdifferences in status in order to
Stylistyka X
makecommunication easierand avoidconflict. Typicallyit is men whowill do
this as the local speech is seen as having qualities of crude masculinity that are
notalien toor rejectedby mostmiddle class men (exceptperhapsinthe Nether
lands) and thisabilityis particularly useful on all-male occasions where mascu line solidarity regardless of class is being expressed(Oxley 1978).Often by me
ans of the sharing of jokes women by contrast often seek to takeon the speech
patterns ofhigher social classes to further their social aspirations.
The broadspeech patternsare particularlyemployed by men telling jokes and
a skilled joke-teller will switch back and for between this form ofspeech and standard English forcomic effect. There is a sense in which local lower-class
speechpatternsare inherently comic since they canbe perceived notaslangua
ges of their ownbut as a mere distortion ofthe standard language, a departure from a standardform. For a speaker ofstandard English, a foreigner who has some knowledgeof Englishor evensomeone from another region the localdia lect will sound like a funny version ofhow the English language should be.
Whenwe go to amusement arcades and look at ourselvesin adistorting mirror
we laugh atthe mangled image ofour appearance that we see; peoplelaughat
the way local English sounds for the samereason (Davies 1990, Guillois and Guillois 1979: 15).It is not just English speakers who do this; speakers of
hoch-deutsch will laugh at Swabians speaking dialect, French speakers laugh at ‘Belgicisms’ and theSpanish speakers ofColombia laughat the way the Pastu-
sos of Narino speak that language (Davies 1990: 50-63).
However, the mockeryof local speech patterns inthis way is not a mere put- down based on class or regionfor it also indirectly affirms andcelebrates those patterns. The jokes provide a vehicle within which they may validly beused and wherethesubstitution ofstandard English wouldimpoverish the joke. Alsothe re is inany society affectionforthings that arelocal, particular, distinctive and
traditional that offsetsthe value placed on theuniversal and thisapplies to forms
of language too. Affection and recognition forthe local patterns are contained withinthemockery as well as recognition of differences in status andutility. Lo cal publishers of joke-bookswritten in local dialect or of phrasebooks explai
ning the forms and vocabulary ofthe local speech are able to sell their books both to local people as nostalgia and to visitors as picturesqueness.
Thejokes studiedhereto illustrate andexplain the way in which these langua ge contrasts areused in jokes are takenfrom Scottish joke-booksof the late nine teenth and early twentieth centuries. These collections of jokes and anecdotes
were compiled byScottish Protestant ministers of religion and intellectualsand published in Scotland mainly forScottish readers but also with anEnglishreade
The Humorous Use of the Contrast Between...
CHRISTIE DAVIES
rship (Ford 1891, Geikie 1904, Gillespie 1904, Kerr 1903, Kerr 1904, Jerdan
1920, Johnstone 1897,Mackay1882, Macrae 1896, Macrae 1904, Ramsay 1874 (1858), Rogers1867).Asan expression of the style of such jokes the Scots exa
mples are among thebest.Onereasonforthis liesin the peculiarhistoryofScot
land which at this time was a nationwithout a state,being in a long established
political union withits muchlarger andwealthier neighbour, England.Also the
native language ofthe Scots is English, an Englishrelatedoriginallyto that spo ken in the North-EastofEngland ratherthan that of the South-East of England
from whichstandard English isderived. Originally many Scots would have spo ken Welsh or Norwegian but these languages died outcompletely a long time ago.Very few Scots are the lineal descendants of the Gaelic speakers whoinva ded Scotland from Irelandfifteen hundred years ago and there arenot many flu
ent speakers of Gaelic left. Scotsis simplyaversion ofthe English spokenin En
gland orrather versions,for the speech patterns in the different cities and regions
of Scotland such asthose of Govan or Aberdeenorthe whustlin’ Fifers or the Orkneys (originally Norwegian speaking) orTonaidtheHighlander (tinged with Gaelic and turning dintotso that Donaldbecomes Tonaid) or theborders are very different from oneanother. [These more subtle differences are also exploi ted inScottish jokes but are beyond thescopeof this article]. Overtime conside rations of economic,educational and social advancement have led middle class Scots to shift towards speaking standard English, whichis in effect the official language ofthe United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland. Nonet heless they havea nationalpride in andaffectionfor the more distinctively Scot
tish forms of English.In the late nineteenthcentury there was a fear among some ofthe ministersand intellectuals compiling the joke-booksthattheselocal forms
might disappear. Thecompilersacknowledgedthat the rise ofstandard English was a mark of ‘progress’ and that a knowledge ofit was a necessityfor anambi
tious ‘Scotsman on the make’ but they still had an affectionate nostalgia for the
various old forms of local speech.
Many of the jokesthey collected are based on the stylistic trick of setting up a
conversation between twopersonsofdifferent social backgrounds one of whom
speaks standard English and the other one form oranother of broad Scots. The
useof the two forms enablesthejoke-teller better to convey the differencesin
social class and even in religiousoutlook thatarethebasis of the joke. Letus
considertwo examplesofthis atlength. The first istaken fromthe Scottish Pro testantminister, David Macrae’sNational Humourpublished in PaisleyinScot
land in 1904 and the second from the work of Dean Edward Bannerman Ramsay’s (Dean ofEdinburgh) Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character
Stylistyka X
first published in Edinburgh in 1858,which by 1874had gone into twenty two editions. (In each caseI shall also add afreetranslationof the joke into standard English and in some cases simpler English for the benefit of thosewhosefirst
language is not English).
An Edinburgh minister was officiating for a few weeks for a friend ina country district where
Calvinistic orthodoxy and Sabbath observance were ofthe strictest. On the first Sunday, the mi nister, after service,took his stickinhishand and setoff toenjoy a stroll. On the outskirts of the
village,he happenedto pass the house of one of the elders. The old man, who had observed
him, came out, and asked if he was going anywhere on a work of mercy.
“No”, said the minister, “I am justenjoying ameditative walk amidstthe beauties of Nature.”
“I was suspectin’as muckle,” saidthe elder. “Butyou that’s a ministero’ the gospel shouldken
that this is no’ a dayfor ony sic thing.”
“You forget”, said the minister,“thatour LordHimself walked in the fields with Hisdisciples
onthe Sabbath Day”.
“Weel”, saidtheelder, doggedly, “I ken that. ButIdinnathink the mairo’Him ayther, for it.”
(Macrae 1904: 50, foranother but bowdlerized version see Geikie 1904)
Author’s translation into standard and simpler English:
An Edinburgh minister was officiatingfor a few weeksfor a friend in a country district where Calvinistic orthodoxy and Sabbath observance were very strict. On the first Sunday, themini
ster, afterservice, took his stickin hishand and set offtoenjoy a stroll. On the outskirts of the
village, he happenedtopass thehouse of one of the elders. Theold man, who had observed
him, came out, and asked if he was going anywhere on aworkof mercy.
“No”,saidthe minister, “I am just enjoying a meditative walk amidst the beauties of Nature.”
“I was suspecting as much,” saidthe elder. “But as a minister of the gospel youshouldknow that Sunday is notaday on which it ispermitted to do such a thing.”
“You forget”,said theminister, “that our Lord Himself walked inthe fields with His disciples onthe Sabbath Day”.
“Well”, saidtheelder, doggedly, “Iknow that.But I don’t thinkany the more of Himfor it.”
There sometimes appearsto have been in ourcountrymen (i.e. the Scots) anundue preponde
rance of zeal for Sabbath observanceas compared withthe importanceattached to other reli
giousduties. The following conversationbetween Mr Macnee of Glasgow, the celebrated artist, and an old Highlandacquaintance, whom he had metwithunexpectedly, will illustrate .... the severity of judgmentpassed upon treating the Sabbath with levity ....
Mr Macnee begins, “Donald, what brought you here?”
[Donald:] “Ou, weel sir, it was a baad place yon; they were baad folk - but they’re a
God-fearin’ set o’ folk here!”
“Well, Donald,” said MrMacnee, “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Ou ay, sir, ‘deed are they; an’ I’ll gieyean instance o’t. Last Sabbath,just as the kirkwas skailin’, therewas a drover chield frae Dumfries cornin’ along the road whustlin’, an’ lookin’
The Humorous Use ofthe Contrast Between...
CHRISTIE DAVIES
they were just comin’ oot o’the kirk - an’ they yokitupon himan’a’most killed him!” [Ram say 1874: 73]
Author’s free translation into standard and simpler English:
There sometimes appears tohavebeen in our countrymen (the Scots)a greatdeal of zeal for Sabbathobservance ascomparedwiththe importanceattached to otherreligiousduties. The
followingconversation betweenMr Macnee of Glasgow,the celebrated artist, and anold Hig
hland acquaintance,whomhe had metwith unexpectedly, will illustrate .... the severity of judg mentpassed upon neglectingto observethe Sabbath....
MrMacnee begins, “Donald, what brought youhere?” “Oh, well sir,it was a bad place where I was before; they were bad people - but they’re a God-fearing set of peoplehere!” “Well, Donald,” said Mr Macnee, “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Oh yes, sir, they are indeed;and I’llgive you an example of it. Last Sabbath, just asthe con
gregation was comingout of the church,acattleherder from Dumfries came along the road
whistling and looking as happyas if it wasthemiddleof the week; well, sir, our ladsarea
God--fearing setof lads, and they were just comingout of church-and they setupon himand almost
killed him!”
Both jokes have a common structure and a common themethat is distinctive
to Scotland.Formuchof thenineteenth century Scotland was a strongly and stri ctly Reformed Protestant country with its own separate national church the
Church of Scotland whichwasPresbyterianinchurch organization and Calvinist in theology. Inthe eighteenthand early nineteenth centuries religious divisions over church organization led to the secession from the official churchof asub
stantial proportion of its members who formednew, even more fiercely Prote
stant, Presbyterian and Calvinist denominations within Scotland (Carswell
1927, Maclnnes 1953, Reid1960,Smout 1986: 186). GiventhatScotland had no political independence the churches werethe very carriers of adistinct Scottish
identity (Reid 1960: 99-108, Davies 1992, Martin 1978: 102). To be Scotswas tobePresbyterian andCalvinist.It wasasituation that willnotbe altogether un familiar toPolish readers. The moststriking outward sign of this identity wasa national zeal for the observance ofthe Sabbath, for the keeping of Sunday, the Lord’s Day as a day free of all workandeven of all frivolousand pleasurable lei
sure, a day devoted to religion. Itwas almost a Christian version of the Jewish
Sabbatarian tradition (Carswell 1927: 136). A similar tendency was also to be found in England, Walesand America (Davies 1992)but Scotland stood out in fidelity and fanaticism inthis respect. Therigoursofthe Scottish Sunday in the
nineteenth century have been well described by Donald Carswell (1927).
Allsecular amusements other than eating and sleeping, which were freelyindulged in,were not merely forbidden; they were unthinkable ... The writing of letters was winked at in liberal families, always provided that they were notbusiness letters and were posted afterdark. To
8 — Sty listyka
Stylistyka X
readanovel was scandalous, while to open a newspaper (exceptforthe purposeofreferring to
churchnotices) was the abomination ofdesolation. For the purposeof going to orfrom church,
but nototherwise, itwas lawful for the laity(though not expedient) toride in a Sunday tramcar.
For a minister, however, who must testify tothe Church’s disapproval ofSunday tramways,a cab was a religiousnecessity (Carswell: 1927, 134-135).
Yet wecan also see from Carswell’saccount that there were divisions within
Scotlandand that themore liberal Protestants, drawn mainlyfromthe educated middle classes, did not believe in the rules aboutSundaybehaviour and were se
cretly breaking them (see alsoGeikie 1904, Kerr 1903 and 1904, Smout 1986). Bycontrast the rules weremoststrongly upheldbypeople ofrather humblebac
kground living in rural areas. A clash of cultures had occurredbetween theurba ne, liberal, educated middle classes andthe less educated rural fundamentalists, a clashexpressed in a serious form in thetrial for heresy of Scotland’s leading
biblical scholar RobertsonSmithby his own denomination theFree Presbyterian
Church (Carswell 1927).
This clash of cultures was also a wonderful subject for comedy but in order to constructjokes about the situation itwas necessarytodevise or atleast adopt a suitablestyle.Thestyleused in thejokes takenfrom Ramsay (1874) and Macrae (1904) is that of counter-posingtwo forms of speech for comic effect the stan
dard English of the urbane,liberal educated middle class and the broad Scots of the rigorous rural fundamentalists.
In thejoke taken from Macrae [1904] aministerof religion from Edinburgh, the Scottish capital and auniversitytown, a man ofliberal inclinations, went to
work in a strictlyorthodox rural area. The visitor speaks the slightly pompous
and precious English of the self-consciously educated minister and speaks of
‘enjoying a meditative walk amidst the beauties of Nature’. This mode of ex pression is comic because it is too elevated a form ofspeech. There is nothing Scotsaboutit and an English or Welsh minister might well have used exactly the
same words. Theminister is trying to imply that his stroll in thecountrywith a stick in hishandis no more impious Sabbath breaking journey buta‘meditative’
walk, anoccasion for meditating upon the beauties ofNature providedby God
and thusuponGodElimself.Theminister’smode of speech is,on thewhole tho
ugh, essentially similar to that ofthe narrator who also writes in a slightlyarch and bookish standard English (which is why it has also beenmodified slightlyin
the ‘translation’).
The elder, a powerful andrespected layofficer of the local church where the visiting minister has just been preaching issuspicious ofthe minister’s behavio
ur. Fora strict observerof the rules theonlylegitimate reason fortaking such a journey would be‘awork of mercy’ such as visiting a sick or distressedparishio
The Humorous Use of the Contrast Between...
CHRISTIE DAVIES
ner. The elder feels that it is particularly inappropriatethataministerofthe Go
spelshould go fora stroll on aSunday for mereenjoymentand speaks to this ef fect in broad Scots.It is not difficulty foran English or Welshperson toread and understand the gistofthe elder’s comments for its Scottishness is conveyed by
conventional markers notablyspellings ofwords that seektoconveythe elder’s
distinctivepronunciation and theuse of locally preferred but widelyknown alte
rnatives such as ‘muckle’ for ‘much’. In the punch line at the end of thejoke (Raskin 1985) the elder says in broad Scots that he does not respect and admire Jesus for havingbroken The Sabbath. It is of courseabsurd for himtocriticize
the founder of his religion, the Son of God, the Messiah in this way andthe punch line is anexcellentexampleofthestyle in which punch lines should be
written for it is short, sudden, indirect and unexpected. These are the stylistic
characteristics that define agoodpunch lineni.e.a good ending to a joke(Davies
1990: 63).
It is singularly appropriate forthe elder tospeak in broad Scotsfor he isdefen ding a practice that isdistinctly Scottish, a practice that wasa wayof defining Scottish nationalidentity and a separate Scottish form of Christianidentity aga instthoseof other peoples. Tobe Scottish was to be Sabbatarian. He is defen
ding Scottishness.
Neither the minister nor the Scottish listeners to and readers of the jokewill
have doubtedthe value ofkeepingthe Sabbath and asserting Scottish identity in moderation. The elder isafigureoffun because hisold-fashionedrigour and ex cessiveattention to Scottish religiouscustom has led him into absurdity. Yet he
is also a source of nostalgia. The elder represents what the ministers and other Scots think they once were; he represents ‘the ancestors’; he represents the true,
undiluted ideal-typical Scottishness. As such he isanambiguous figure towards whom the Scots will feel ambivalent, for theelder isworthy of respect and affe
ction as well as beinglaughably absurd and bigoted. Inmaking fun of him the Scotsare engaged in self-gratulationand self-promotion as well asself-mockery (Davies 1990: 7-8, Davies 1993, Mulkay 1987). The joke proclaims both “look
we are distinctive in our beliefsand language” aswellas “look our educated pe ople are urbane and liberal and speak standardEnglish”. Which ofthese messa
ges predominates willdepend on whether the particular joketellerand his orher audience are drawn from the nationally and religiously conservative people of
the humbler classes in the remoteandrural areas speaking broad Scotsand their
sympathizers who see them as the bearers of national character or fromthe urban well educated middleclass liberals with their refined English.Yet both are alwa ys present. Neither group ofScotscompletelydisassociatesitselffrom the other,
ll
Stylistyka X
there isalways astrong elementofidentificationwiththe other groupofbrother Scots. In thisrespecthumour theorists suchasDan Ben-Amos (1973)are wrong
to suggest thatthere is strong mutual rejection of or antagonism between any
two such sections ofacoherent national or ethnic group. In particular it should
be noted that theminister and the elder haveno difficulty in understandingone
another and, in holding a mutually intelligible conversation. The minister may notchoose to speakbroad Scots but heis wellacquainted with it,it isan ordinary
part of his dailyexperienceof other Scots. Nor is there anysign that he despises or rejects the Scottish tongue of the elder forthe elder’s speech is not alien to
him in the way it wouldbe to anoutsiderspeaking only or schooledonly instan dard English. However, thiskind ofsentimentof part identification, part disas
sociation is best indicated if the style and modeof discourseare humorous. Se rious bona fide discourse (Raskin 1985) demands far too much in the way of
clear delineation and demarcation.
Verysimilarpoints may be made in relation to the conversation betweenMr
Macnee and Donald in the second joke.Mr Macnee is aman of the widerworld,
a celebrated artist from the great cosmopolitan and cultured city of Glasgow,
then known as the secondcityof the (British) Empire. Mr Macnee speaks stan
dard English and isknown by his actual name, by his surname dignified bythe
prefix ‘Mr1. Donald is a Highlander from the mountains, from the remote and supposedly backward ruralperiphery of Scotland. Heis known only byhis first
name Donald, a generic name bestowedon Highlandersin jokes muchas an Iris
hman might be called Teagueor Paddy, aWelshmanTaffyor Dai, Rhinelanders
Tiinnesand Schál,Poles from Silesia Antek andFransek. They are not individu
als but merely representatives of a group lower in the status order.
Yet there isagain an ambiguityand an ambivalence here. Donald isin a sense
moreScottish than MrMacnee, for it is Donald who representsthe Scots (descri bed by Ramsay,thecompiler as ‘ourcountrymen’) in attitudes andspeech, not
Mr Macnee who is somewhatcolourless and déraciné. It is Donaldwho is the real Scot.
Donald’sstyle and mode of speaking English is even more Scottish than that of theelder in the previousjoke, usingScottishdialectwords like‘skailin” or ‘yokit’ which though easily understood byMr Macnee (who thus maintains his Scottish identity, albeit more faintly than Donald) are incomprehensible to spea
kers of English from outside Scotland. Donald’s utterances are also written
down so as to givesome idea of the distinct way in which hepronounces stan dard Englishwords (or wordswith a very close equivalent in standard English)
The Humorous Use of the Contrast Between...
CHRISTIE DAVIES
mes ‘whustlin”, the becomes ‘ta’,well becomes ‘weel’, outbecomes ‘oot’ and
almost becomes ‘a’ most’.
Once againthepunchlineis in broad Scots as Donald reveals thattheGod-fe aringmembers of hischurch expressed their finer Christian convictions by attac
king and nearlymurdering a lone, harmless visiting stranger fromanother less
zealous partof Scotland merely becausehehad whistled on Sunday. We laughat
Donald’s foolishness and simplicity in thinking that this is the highestway in whichChristian sentiment can be expressed. Yet itis only bygiving the punch linein dialectthat itcan be made clear thatthe storyis ajoke. If an account of
this incident had been written in standard English rather than usinga conversa
tion employing two forms of the language it wold have been shocking rather than funny. Itistheuse of dialect that enablesustofocus on Donald’s comic na-ivity rather than on the realityof asavage and bigoted assault on an innocent vi
sitor.
Donald’s version of Scottish English as rendered by Dean Ramsay is much
broader thanthatascribed to the elderinthe joke recorded bythe Rev. David
Macrae. It is important to note that the first edition of Ramsay’s (1874)bookwas published in 1858. Much ofhismaterial wascollected even earlier and itispo ssible thatthe joke about Donald is as much as fiftyyears olderthanMacrae’s
joke about the elder.
BesidesRamsay’s book wasentitled ‘Reminiscences of ScottishLife andCha
racter". Ramsay was self-consciouslyseeking topreservelocal humorous anec
dotes in their original form and using them to illustrate traitsseen as characteri stically or evenuniquelyScottish. Macrae’s stories are also intended to convey
Scottishness but theyareonlyone section ofhisbook, National Humour which
also has sections on the humour of otherEnglish speaking nations such asthe
Americans,the Irish andthe Welsh.In consequence the Scottishness of the Scots English employed has been diluted. The very act ofwriting the stories down shiftsthem in the direction of standardEnglishand theneedto make them acces sible to awider audience shifts them even further. Macrae isstillusing twocon
trasting kindsof English forhumorous effect but thegapbetweenthem issmal
ler. By the 1930sA.H.Charteris (1932) a Scotsmanwhohad become Professor
ofInternational Law in the University of Sydneyin Australiawas complaining in his book When the Scot Smiles that the gap hadshrunkeven further aspublis
hers ofScottishjokebooks sought a larger marketinEngland and in other En glish speaking countries.
We can see this in a joke to be found in‘Fergie’ Ferguson’s(1933) collection of jokes The Tablein a Roar publishedseveral timesin the 1930s.Several of the
Stylistyka X
chapters in Ferguson’s (1933) bookconsist of Scottish jokes butthere are also chapters ofAmerican, Irish and American jokes about lawyers, doctors and ar tistsand the book makes no pretence to make any kind of comment on Scottish life, unlike many of theearlier compilations made by Scottish ministersand in
tellectuals. Nonetheless the jokecitedbelowdoes still employ some elements of Scottish speech and does refer to a distinctive aspectof Scottish Calvinist theo logy, the doctrine of predestination. It is adoctrine stretching back to St. Paul
and St.Augustine that states that God has in some sense chosen in advance (or at
least knows in advance)which menandwomenwill be assignedto heaven in the
next world (the elect) and which will be consigned to Hell (the reprobate).
Everyone’sfate is thus predestined and can not be alteredby an individual’s con duct or by any amount ofgood works. It is a doctrine that is difficulttounder
stand and has given riseto much argument andeven schism withintheReformed
Protestant churches as may be inferred from Ferguson’s (1933: 26) joke:
Always ready in a tight cornerandquick tomeetan emergency,a faithful member of a Glasgow
kirk, muchaddicted totoo frequent liquid refreshment, met one of theeldersof his congrega tionas he the tippler, cameout of a public-house one Saturday night. Unsteady,but wary, he
bade theelder ‘a fine night’! But the elder fixed him witha meaning glare in hiseye. Nota bit abashed,the unsteady one invited the other to gaze at that ‘bonniemune’shiningin the clear frostynight. Stillthat steady,boring gaze. Then, the embarassedone links his arminthe elder’s
and confidentially says: ‘ Now, Elder, tell me, between man toman, what dae ye reallythink aboot predestination?’
‘We’ll talk aboutpredestination, Sandy, when you are in a more fitting condition’. ‘Na,Na Elder, whenaw’m sober a dinna care a damn aboot predestination!’(Ferguson 1933: 26, See also Kerr 1904: 169)
Author’s translation
Always ready to react to an emergency, a faithful member of aGlasgowchurch much addicted
to too drinking alcohol, metone of the eldersofhis congregation ashe, thefrequent drinker, came outofa publichouse one Saturday night. Unsteadybut wary,hewished theelder ‘a fine
night! ’
But the elder stared at him with a meaningful glare in his eye. Nota bit bothered by this, the drinker invitedtheotherto look at the ‘beautiful moon’ shining in the clear frosty night. Still
that steady, hard stare. Then, theembarrassedone linkedhis arm in theelder’s and confidential ly said: ‘ Now,Elder, tell me, betweenmanto man, what do youreallythink about predestina
tion?’
‘We’ll talk about predestination, Sandy, whenyou are sober.
‘No, Elder, when I’m sober I don’t care adamn about predestination!’
Thistime the jokehardly needed translating.Nonetheless the same stylistic trickofadding to thehumourofthe joke by employing twoversions of English
The Humorous Use ofthe Contrast Between...
CHRISTIE DAVIES
(standardEnglish and Scottish English)in a conversation is used. This time itis theelder,as theperson of greater education and authorityand higherstatuswho
speaks in standard English. It is the lower status drunken Glaswegian who spe aks ScottishEnglish. Theelder is formal and pompous and uses thephrase ‘ina more fitting condition’ rather than the more direct and straightforward ‘when you are sober’ or‘whenyou aren’t drunk’.It isthoughnot apeculiarlyScottish way of speaking, an elder or deacon of an English or Welsh Protestant church would haveused just such a phrase. As usualhe isthe guardianof propriety and
good conduct but he does not speak Scottish English in themannerof Macrae’s
elder scolding a person of higher social standing. It is thelowerstatusdrunkwho
is referred bythegeneric Scottish name ‘Sandy’ (shortfor Alexander) and it is he who speaksthe punchline. The style and patternof thestory thus remains un changed but themarkersto indicate Scottish speechare fainter and there is an absenceof obscure dialectwords. It is a continuation of thechanges that occur
red between Ramsay and Macrae.
Today Scottish jokes are translated into orreinvented in languages as diverse
as Italian (Bramieri 1980: 292, 314) andSlovak (Korecky 1985: 191, 193, 196) anditisnot easy to convey the contrastingforms ofEnglish used in these langu
age. No doubt it could be donebutitwould be difficultto doandnot an entirely
successfulventure. It would hardly be worth it for amass-produced joke book. It would somehow be false to try and convey the distinction by using regional forms of those languages and in any case readers from Firenze or Bratislava might find these regionalversions impossible to understand. Indeed sofar as I knoweven the best editors of joke books abouttheScots in languages other than English (Guillois and Guillois 1979A)do not attempt to convey to their readers
thedistinctive qualities of Scottish English. The worst editors manageto garble even the personal names ofthe Scottish charactersin thejokes and the accompa nying cartoons are a travesty of Scottish naturaldress in which kiltsareno lon ger tartan but striped or even spotted.
Thejokes remain funnywhenthey are translatedinto standard English which
proves that the useofthe twoforms of language is not the onlyor eventhemain technique being used in thejokes. Nonetheless it is astylistic device thatmakes thejokesfunnier inboththeir writtenand perhaps especially their spoken form.
The switchbetween the two forms of Englishin the course oftellingsuch a joke not only displays greaterskill onthe part of thejoketellerbut alsoconveysindi
rectly the comic standing of one ofthe partners in aconversation and it is heor she who gets to speak the punch line.
Stylistyka X
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CHRISTIE DAVIES
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Humorystyczne wykorzystanie
kontrastu
między
angielszczyzną
standardową
a
dialektami
lokalnymi
na przykładzie
dowcipów
szkockich
Wiele dowcipów wykorzystuje jako dodatkowy element humorystyczny stylizację na rozmowę osób o różnym statusie społecznym, mówiących różnymi odmianami tego sa mego języka. Osoba o wyższej pozycji używa standardowej odmiany języka (w tym przypadku angielskiego), natomiast osoba o niższym statusie społecznym posługuje się w większym lub mniejszym zakresie formą lokalnego dialektu (w tym przypadku szkockiego-angielskiego). Efektywność tego rodzaju stylizacji zależy od tego, na ile lo kalna odmiana języka znana jest odbiorcy.
