Adam Watson

Place Names in Much of North-east Scotland Adam Watson

Hill, glen, lowland, coast, sea, folk In this book, the author presents many thousands of unpublished as well as published place names from much of north-east Scotland, most of them heard from local people, as a result of a study that he began in 2002. His book therefore preserves a salient part of local culture and identity. He interviewed many hundreds of indigenous residents, deerstalkers, gamekeepers, farmers, foresters, freshwater fishers, coastal salmon nets-men, and men who had names for coastal features and fishing grounds out at sea. All names heard from local folk are presented with phonetic symbols from the International Phonetic Association, so that anyone can pronounce them accurately. Most names are of Gaelic origin, translated wherever possible, but the rich culture of Scots names is given prominence, as well as English names, many of them on Ordnance Survey maps. The author interviewed the last fluent speaker of the Strathspey dialect of Gaelic, and a native speaker of the west-Sutherland dialect, both sadly now dead along with many other informants, so the author was just in time. Also the book lists many unpublished names from early mapmakers and estate plans. Colour photographs illustrate some of the informants and the places told to the author. The book will delight and inform visitors now and in future, and will be a valuable stepping stone for further study.