Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

J, n., letter of the alphabet. The tenth letter of the alphabet, called in Sc. [dȝɑe] (Bnff. 1838 Ellis E.E.P. V. 777; Sc. 1901 N.E.D. s.v. J), and written variously as jye (Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lad's Love xvi.), ji (Ork. 1922 J. Firth Reminisc. 133).

1. In value and origin j in Sc. is mainly identical with the Eng. letter, viz. [dȝ], arising from Romance j or g palatalised before a front vowel and freq. alternating with g in spelling, e.g. geal, Jeel; gee, Jee; gimp, Jimp. [dȝ] is unvoiced to [tʃ] regularly in I.Sc. and Cai. (Cai. 1891 D. Stephen Gleanings 152 and see P.L.D. § 158), and it should be noted that all phonetics of words containing j should be modified accordingly. The same change is found sporadically elsewhere in certain words, so as to produce doublets, e.g. Chack, v.², Jauk, v.²; Chad, Jad; chaff, Jaff; Channer, Janner; check, Jeck; Chirk, Jirg; Chirt, Jirt; chunk, Junk, and is gen. in Cabbitch, Parritch.

2. Some I.Sc. writers, under the influence of Norse spelling and the orthography adopted by Jakobsen, regularly use j to represent the semi-vowel y [j], esp. as a mark of the palatalisation of consonants, which is a feature of I.Sc. speech; hence jagger, jøl, Gjöd, gjüd, kjaebin (cabin), kjist, njuggle, sjurmal, skjimp, spjölk, yjuder, etc. As this value of j is not found in the Sc. alphabet, some alternative spelling, as with y, has as far as possible been adopted in this dictionary (see Gj-, Hj-, Kj-, etc., and cross-references there and under J-).

3. j [dȝ] develops also in some words, esp. in Sh. and ne.Sc., out of initial d palatalised, i.e. dy- [dj], as in Jafs, Jauchle, Jemair, jing (see P.L.D. § 141.3), s.v. Dyang, Jole, Jouk, Jund (see notes s.v.).