Shetland and Orkney
The Shetland and Orkney accent
Shetland and Orkney spoke Norn — a Norse language, not a Scots dialect — until the eighteenth century, and the English that replaced it is built on that foundation. It is the only British variety that regularly turns TH into T and D, so “that” is “dat” and “three” is “tree”, and it kept the singular “du” and “dee” that the rest of English lost.
Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →
How to recognise a Shetland and Orkney accent
- TH-stopping: “dis”, “dat” and “tree” for “this”, “that” and “three”.
- “Du” and “dee” — a singular “you” of the kind English dropped centuries ago.
- “Peerie” for small, where the rest of Scotland says “wee”.
- A Norse-derived vocabulary of weather, sea and land with no Scots equivalent.
Also known as Shetland accent, Orkney accent, Shetlandic, Orcadian accent. Spoken in Shetland and Orkney, Scotland.
The Shetland and Orkney pronunciation fingerprint
These are the answers the quiz expects from a Shetland and Orkney speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.
“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”
“cot” and “caught” rhyme
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” sounds like “tyoon”, with a Y sound after the T
no — they sound different
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
a d-like sound — “dat”
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
“three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T, or “three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
the H in “house” is pronounced
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
“school” starts straight on the S
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
an R made by tapping or rolling the tongue, or a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Everyday words in Shetland and Orkney
The Shetland and Orkney accent test
Is your accent Shetland and Orkney? 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.