How to Speak with a Scottish Accent

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Being around a lot of Scottish people means that at work, I can train my fake Scottish accent.

Two words that are really easy to get right are those involving two ‘o’ letters.

Example 1: ‘good’

in Standard English, you would say: [gʊd]

However, with a Scottish accent you say: [gyd]

Now, for Germans this is actually quite easy. It’s the same sound that you have in ‘duenn’ (thin). So imagine the short ‘ue’ in ‘duenn’, and just put a ‘g’ before and a ‘d’ after, and you’ve got it.

Example 2: ‘cool’

In standard English, this is what it looks like: [kul]

With a Scottish accent*, it’s pronounced like this: [kçyl]

Again, relatively easy for German speakers as the ‘ç’ sound is common in German, e.g. in the word ‘ich’ (I) – [ɪç]

*well, my mate D. pronounces is that way, and I’m trying to emulate it