Q&A for How to Talk With a Scottish Accent

There are not many. Essentially everyone in Scotland is bilingual, in the sense that they speak Scots casually, and in the business world they speak a more refined English. You will still hear the glottal stop and the R tap, but you won't hear people in a business meeting say, "Ye ken hoo tae increase th' biznus projection?" Generally you would hear a more refined, "Anybody know how tae increase the business projection?" Note how "tae" is kept the same, because it is so standard, but you'll see in both cases people tap the R.

Yes, but it's a minority language. Only approximately 85,000 people speak Scottish Gaelic.

Yes, and it's called Scots. Scots is the "English equivalent" language in Scotland.

If you know any Scottish people, ask them. If not, try watching some YouTube videos of Scottish people speaking, then record yourself saying the same things. See how you compare.

As a Scottish person, nobody is going to be annoyed if you speak in an English accent.

No.

Only if you are doing a strong Glasgow accent. As someone who's from Falkirk, I rarely roll my "r"s at all.

The Isles up in the north were once controlled by Norway, and thus spoke Norse, so occasionally you'll find place names which are derived from Norse like 'Kirkwall' on Shetland. But apart from that, the languages aren't really similar.

An easy way to roll your R's is to tap the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Practice with words like "bright red (bright dred)" and "girl (gur-dle)."

You would pronounce it just like you would normally, but tap the Rs. It would sound something like "MAILow."

Probably not, but you can ask the drama teacher or whoever is in charge what they think. Usually when it comes to Shakespeare it's best to stick to the script, but they may be open to doing a slightly more modernized version with slang.

Try to think and speak in the dialect as much as possible. Record yourself copying things Billy Connolly has said, then play it back and listen for yourself to see if it sounds right. If not, try to fix the sounds to make them closer to his own accent.

Yes! You can search in YouTube for Scottish videos.

Not really. Both of them are similar linguistic methods, but they sound differently when applied.

The same way you normally would, just roll your 'R' by tapping your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Learning an accent is like any skill. It takes time and patience. If you keep practicing every day, you'll almost certainly get better at it.

Just keep trying and eventually the confusions and mix-ups will get better. Practice makes perfect!

Both roll the R's.

No, it's an accent. Most people in Scotland speak English.

Use your lips to make sure your sound is coming out as clearly as possible. Then, relax your tongue. Tension in your tongue or voice box will make your sound shaky or forced.

Not at all - there are many regional dialects in Scotland, just as there are in England. Doric is one particular one in Aberdeenshire Scotland.

These instructions are for stereotypical Scottish accent, not focusing on a particular area. The Scottish accent can vary from place to place.