Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus
The Doric accent
Doric is the Scots of the north-east, and it is far enough from Central Belt speech that Glaswegians need a moment with it. Its signature is what happens to WH: “what”, “where” and “who” begin with an F, so “fit like?” is “how are you?”. It has its own words for man and woman — “loon” and “quine” — that no other variety of Scots uses.
Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →
How to recognise a Doric accent
- WH becomes F: “fit”, “far” and “fa” for “what”, “where” and “who”.
- “Loon” and “quine” for a lad and a lass.
- “Fit like?” as the standard greeting.
- Rhotic with a tapped R, and “cot” and “caught” merged, as across Scotland.
Also known as Doric accent, Aberdeen accent, North East Scots, Aberdeenshire dialect. Spoken in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus, Scotland.
The Doric pronunciation fingerprint
These are the answers the quiz expects from a Doric speaker on its 27 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.
“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat” — no trap–bath split
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
rhotic — the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”, or a glottal stop in “bottle” — “bo’le”
“cot” and “caught” rhyme — the cot–caught merger
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same, or two of “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” match and one differs
“day” is one flat sound — deh
“go” is one flat sound — gaw
“tune” keeps its Y — “tyoon”
no — they sound different
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
a th sound
“ship” and “sheep” hold two distinct vowels apart
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels — the foot–strut split
a true TH at the start of “three”
the H in “house” is pronounced
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
“happy” ends on a long “-ee” — happy-tensing
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
“school” starts straight on the S
“bed” keeps its voiced ending, apart from “bet”
a tapped or trilled R, or an approximant R, made without contact
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Everyday words in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus
The Doric accent test
Is your accent Doric? The only way to answer that against real data is to compare your own speech to the profile above. The test takes about two minutes: answer 29 questions, pin the town where you grew up, and see your closest accent matches ranked by how well they fit — plus where people who answer like you actually live.