Would you ever say It’s heavy good? And what about they trainers? Do you say swimsuit or dookers? Aye or yes? You or yous? And do you pronounce pie more like peye or peh?

When you listen to other speakers, can you tell if someone is from Glasgow or Galloway? Does someone from Inverness sound friendlier than someone from Edinburgh?

Speak for Yersel asks these questions in order to capture the different words, sounds and sentences used in Scots across Scotland and people’s reactions to these. But to do this, we need YOU!

In the survey you’ll be asked questions about your own voice, and what you think about the voices of others. Your answers will be recorded in real time on a map, providing a snapshot of Scots in voices from Shetland in the far north to Stranraer in the south, and everything in between.

You can also complete a number of quizzes on how you and others answered the survey questions. Further activities and maps let you explore more about the Scots used in Scotland today.

Two wee notes before you start:

  1. Many of us speak differently, depending on who we’re talking to and where we are. In the following activities, we’re interested in finding out about how you speak with friends and family, rather than with teachers and at work.
  2. The activities focus on the voices of those who live, or have lived, in Scotland. You might not be from Scotland, but we still think you’ll find Speak for Yersel fun to try out, so wherever you’re from, jump right in!

Take survey Take a video tour

Map of Scotland with speech bubbles on it