Vocabulary

It just snuck up on me. I can't remember the exact moment.

It didn't take long for me to pick up many words/phrases that I hear daily in Scotland. But there is one word in particular that would not come naturally. It sounded so awkward, forced, foreign when I said it. I even practiced saying it when I was alone. After a few months, I gave up...figured it would just never become part of my natural vocabulary. Then last week I realized...aye, I do say it...aye has become natural. Yes, yeah, ok...are all still in my vocabulary. "Aye" is just added to the mix.

While I have picked up some Scottish words/phrases, my accent hasn't changed. Sometimes I think it sounds even more American than it used to. Sometimes I hear the Canadian influence. Scottish accents are beautiful (especially some of the Highland areas) and I would love my accent to be more influenced by those. I even contemplated trying to practice but I would rather let my accent come naturally. And I do love my accent.

More and more, I forget that I sound foreign. Until someone assumes I am tourist...and yet, I catch myself making the same assumptions when I hear someone else with a similar accent to me.

Now if only I could pick up "Ach"...I absolutely love how Scots use this expression.