Long live city’s life of peh

IF YOU are from Dundee or you’ve moved here, you will inevitably have come across the Dundonian dialect.

It’s a way of speaking that’s unique and it’s so distinctive that people from outside the city often have no clue whatsoever about what we’re saying and why we say things differently from everyone else. Which is quite a good feeling.

Last week, I started a new segment on Dundee Culture called “Dundonian Word of the Week”.

I began with “cundie”, which means drain. I gave an example of how to use it and it got a great reception.

Stuart Cosgrove, the author and football pundit, got in touch to say it came from the French word “conduit”.

My favourite Dundonian words include “peh”, which of course means pie.

But one of the funniest – and equally controversial – has got to be “circle”, the Dundonian word for roundabout.

The Courier website asked the question “Does Dundee have circles or roundabouts?” just the other week and it sparked lots of comments.

I have a feeling this is going to be an endless debate, one of those that goes round and round in circles.

I like to spread the word about Dundonian words and phrases whenever I can.

I was one of the speakers at PechaKucha Dundee a few years ago, an event where people get to show 20 slides and talk about each one for 20 seconds. During my presentation I brought up KoreanBilly’s video about Dundonian words.

KoreanBilly is an internet celebrity who rose to fame for trying out accents and dialects from across the UK.

Afterwards I posted about it on social media and KoreanBilly responded back and praised the use of the video in my talk.

I’m still learning Dundonian and I’ve lived here all my life.

Another favourite of mine is “teckle” which means something good or great.

But it was only when I talked with Gary Robertson, the

Dundee street poet, that I got an understanding at what it meant.

Dundonian has been described by scientists as being “as good as a second language” and I have to agree.

There have also been calls for the Dundonian dialect to be studied and used for educational purposes.

In late 2020, Abertay University did just that when it opened up a new online lab.

Personally I believe letting younger people know about the wonders of the Dundonian dialect is a great way to keep these words and phrases alive for future generations.

It’s another of the benefits of being a Dundonian. We essentially have our own language – and I find that very teckle indeed.

Don’t ask for a pie in Dundee.