Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

Some feedback I have had for my Amazon Kindle novel ‘Bricks’ has remarked about the fact that Bobby, the narrator, gives the impression of having had an education. Folk point out that the Bobby of the dialogue and action has a quite different voice. This is true.

And it’s deliberate. I drew on a number of ideas to make these points. One point that I have come across often in my life is that it can be a mistake to judge people too quickly and almost always an error to think little of people based upon one or two behaviour sets. I have learned this many times but most forcibly when I worked at the airport amongst the steel toe-capped, ex military and coal pit sourced gentlemen of the ground crew.

Swearing was compulsory. If you didn't swear no-one realised that you’d started talking. And sectarianism- or talking as a sectarian- was de re-guer. Highly offensive and choice words were the norm. However nobody ever behaved in a sectarian manner. Tight knit teams of mixed Billies and Tims sounded as if they were about to start Armageddon just to see who would go to hell. But if you turned the sound down they were co-operative and compassionate (sometimes) in behaviour to each other. They never actually fought though the insults were mortal.

And very many of them- you’d find, if you spoke to them quietly and when there were fewer others around- had surprising talents. Experts in ornithology, calligraphy, landscape painting were all there. And there were men who were far better musicians, from brass to rock, than you’d guess.

So books and covers and all that.

And particularly in Scotland where if you sound very Scottish you might find yourself labelled less favourably than those who sound it just a bit.

We all have different registers when we speak. But have you noticed that if someone says something in Scots or with a Scots accent and you don’t quite hear it- maybe a passing lorry down changes into second with a roar- and you say ‘pardon?’ or ‘whit?’the speaker will always repeat it in a much more English way.

We have brought up to believe that our own voices are not quite good enough. We should improve we think.

But this is rubbish. In Scotland we have many ways of speaking and all of them are valid. This is a benefit not a curse. But with notable exceptions such as ‘Trainspotting’ we are not always confident with our vernaculars in either written or spoken situations.

Part of the point of Bricks is to show that this down at heel guy from the underclass (Bobby) might have all the appearances and speech of someone who is considered by some to be low life. But in amongst a mixed bag of attributes we see, in contrast to some of his dialogue, that when he narrates he is well read and considered.

Aye there’s nothing wrong with talking Scots, Scottish English or even street Scots. And of course Gaelic too- though it’s relationship with English makes different points. Some things are better said in Scots ways. To give one example I have always noticed that some instructions, such as, ‘fit doun’ are much more effective than the rather pedantic(!) ‘foot down’. And who would ever be without ‘Jist flair the c**t’!

We would have more fun, and more success in expressing ourselves if we became more comfortable using the wide range of speech types that we are lucky to have in Scotland. We just need to practice new styles in new situations. You can always start by buying my novel! And listening to the sound files that accompany these blogs! I’d be affa gled!

Aye and to finish, I always find it amusing that while David Hume (he of the shiny toe in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh) is remembered as the greatest philosopher in the English language…he couldna speak it! He was, tragically I think, embarrassed that, despite being known for his most educated, articulate and erudite English writing, he always spoke in Scots.

His famous quote to this end was ‘By my pen I excel but my tongue betrays me!’ Ach not at all Davy man ye soon juist braw!