A mammoth task

Jackie Macadam meets the author of a new translation of the Bible into Doric, the language of North East Scotland.

NOO lat ma tell ye aboot e time fan Jesus wis brocht intill e warl. Mary, his mither wis waalkin oot wi Joseph, an afore he’d been wi her, she faun she wis i the family wye bi e Haily Speerit. Noo Joseph, nae verra willin tae hae her teen thrown han, thocht he wad jist dee e richt gait an cancel e waddin. He’d sattle on iss fan an angel o e Lord cam till him in a dream, an says till him, “Joseph, ma loon, dinna be feert tae tak Mary hame tae be yer gweedwife. It’s throw e Haily Speerit att she’s gotten i the family wye. She’ll hae a wee loonie, an ye’ll ca him Jesus, cause he’s e loon att will save ye aa fae yer ill deeins.” Noo iss aa cam aboot tae bring aboot fit e Lord hid said throw e prophit: ‘E maiden will hae a loonie, an he’ll be ca’ed Emmanuel,’ att means in oor tongue, ‘God is wi hiz’. Waakenin up, Joseph did fit the angel bad him, teuk Mary hame an wadded her bit didna lie wi her till Jesus wis born.

That’s the beginning of the nativity story written in Doric, the native tongue of the people who live in the North East of Scotland, as translated by Doric scholar, Gordon Hay. Doric is the version of the Scots language spoken in roughly the old counties of Morayshire, Banffshire, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire. There are many variations in words and pronunciations throughout that area, but nevertheless, Doric retains an idiom and vocabulary very different from the Scots of other regions of Scotland. It is very much a spoken dialect and not a written one. Many native Doric speakers find it difficult to read because so little is written in it, therefore they do not have the experience of reading it.

A solicitor, Gordon says Doric has always been around him. “Born in Aberdeen, I was brought up on the family farm in the Parish of Inverkeithny, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire. I attended Sunday School from an early age, firstly at Easterfield, my local Primary School where the Dominie’s wife, Mary MacDonald held classes on a Sunday afternoon, then at Inverkeithny Parish Church, where I became a member in 1969.

“As I grew up, Doric was spoken all around me: at home, at school (at least in the playground if not in the classes), at the shops. As I grew up in the 1950s and 60s English was very seldom spoken in social conversation, everyone spoke Doric. My father, a typical northeast farmer, never spoke anything but Doric, regardless of who he was speaking to. Doric literature was encouraged at both my primary school and at Turriff Academy where I received my secondary education. Even when progressing to Aberdeen University my social circle was virtually all Doric speakers.

“My first involvement with Doric literature was learning Charles Murray’s It Wisna His Wyte at the age of eight for a School Concert. This led to a lifelong love of Murray’s poetry and many years later, I had the honour of being appointed Chair of the Charles Murray Memorial Fund, a body set up after his death to promote his work and Doric poetry in general.

“Even as a practising solicitor, if a client spoke to me in Doric, I replied in Doric. In many cases, it helped put them at their ease. I have a great love of the language and culture of the north east and do much to promote it. As well as my involvement with the Charles Murray Memorial Fund, which unfortunately was wound up in 2010, I am an Honorary President of the Buchan Heritage Society, President of the Buchan Field Club and Treasurer of the Doric Board. I regularly give talks to groups about the Doric dialect and the work of the Doric Board.”

So who better to take on the task of translating the Bible into Doric? It turned out to be a bit of a mammoth task.

“I am a member of the Buchan Heritage Society, which until 2010 held a biannual Doric Service in various churches in Buchan. Scripture readings for the services were translated into Doric by the late Rev Charles Birnie of New Aberdour and Tyrie. Following his death, I was approached by the committee of the Heritage Society and asked to write the translations for their service in 2006. I enjoyed the experience and my translations were well received. I then started to dabble in the translation of other parts of the Bible and the first book which I translated was the Old Testament Book of Ruth. The fact that my daughter’s name is Ruth may have had something to do with it.

“ As I grew up, Doric was spoken all around me: at home, at school (at least in the playground if not in the classes), at the shops.

“I then decided to concentrate on the New Testament. I had no timetable or agenda. I just translated a bit here and there when I had a spare moment. Often, I would head off to bed, detour via my PC and translate a chapter before finally reaching the bedroom. I have no theological training and that led me to seek some professional help. I was a Commissioner at the 2010 General Assembly where I made a public plea to the floor for assistance in checking and editing my work. The Rev G Melvyn Wood, minister of Blawarthill Parish Church in Glasgow, came to my aid. Melvyn is originally from Portsoy and like myself a native Doric speaker. His assistance with editing both my use of language and my theological errors has been invaluable for both my New and Aul Testament translations.

“I published my New Testament in Doric in 2012. Despite trying several publishers, only one was interested in publishing, but on terms that were going to make it difficult to proceed. I therefore, with some misgivings, decided to self-publish. This was made possible with much help from the management and staff of W Peter & Son Ltd, Printers, Turriff. I published my New Testament in both hardback and paperback and most northeast bookshops were willing to stock it. It has been extremely well received, largely because this is the first time the whole New Testament has been translated into Doric. Other Scots translations do not sit well on the ear of a Doric speaker.

“The NT translation has been widely used, both at home and abroad. I regularly get told of excerpts being used in services in many northeast churches. I have had a tale of a reading being made in a church in New Zealand, much to the delight of a Fraserburgh ex-pat who was in attendance and a passage being used as part of a wedding ceremony in New Brunswick, Canada.”

All good news – but how about the Old Testament?

“It was with some trepidation I turned to the Old Testament. Three times the length and seemingly dealing with more difficult subject matter. I retired in 2013 and so had a little more time to devote to the translating. However I found the Old Testament somewhat easier to deal with linguistically. The New Testament has much more theology for which Doric does not have equivalent words, whereas the Old deals largely with history and more practical matters where there are Doric equivalents, although there are some passages we would never hear from the pulpit on a Sunday and deal with matters ‘we dinna spik aboot’. Finding a suitable translation for some of these without using slang or coarse language was a challenge.

“I would be the first to admit, some passages don’t really work in Doric while others are enhanced by the musicality of the language. Some of the Psalms are brought to life by the earthiness of Doric and one of my favourite Old Testament passages in Doric is Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. And of course Genesis chapter 11 tells us why some people speak Doric and others don’t.”

Copies of The Aul Testament in Doric can be obtained direct from Gordon, at gordonmhay@outlook.com or from local north east bookshops price £35 + 2.99 postage. The New Testament in Doric is £12 + postage