Dr Michael Dempster
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Dr Michael Dempster
@drmdempster.bsky.social
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drmdempster.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 7:54 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day therty-wan o #Scotstober 2025!

A braw Halla e'en tae yees aw an weil duin tae aw thit's taen pairt!

The day's wirds are:

Tumshie
Neep
Baigie
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 31, 2025 at 9:52 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day therty o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: glabber
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
asls.org.uk
Dod! – that’s him nou – eik up the byne;
afore the hairth, his claen sark hing:
pit claes is waffin on the line;
merle on a rowan singin fine.

—David Purdie, “Merle on a Rowan”
#Scotstober #poem #poetry
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/merle-r...
Merle on a Rowan David Purdie Pit claes is waffin on the line, sinlicht’s keekin ower the bing; merle on a rowan singin fine. A braw souch’s blawin, aathin’s fine, an wi the merle I stert tae sing; pit claes is waffin on the line. Himsel wull be hame ony time, frae pit mirk, stour an dunt an ding; merle on a rowan singin fine. He’s late the day, that man o mine . . . Ach! dinna lat ma thochts tak wing, no wi pit claes on the line! Bit . . . Da wis late, yon shift lang syne, o seiren’s gowl and deid bell’s ring, an merles on rowans singin fine . . . Dod! – that’s him nou – eik up the byne; afore the hairth, his claen sark hing: pit claes is waffin on the line; merle on a rowan singin fine.
October 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-nine o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: hing
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 29, 2025 at 1:19 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-echt o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: ingle
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 28, 2025 at 12:46 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-seiven o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: rammie
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 27, 2025 at 9:17 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-sax o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: ȝammer
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 26, 2025 at 12:17 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-five o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: brock
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 25, 2025 at 12:28 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-fower o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: yeuk
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 24, 2025 at 1:11 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-three o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: puggle
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 23, 2025 at 11:58 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-twa o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: vance
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · 21d
It's day twinty-wan o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: zeast
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 22, 2025 at 11:04 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty-wan o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: zeast
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day twinty o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: vrack
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 20, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
asls.org.uk
Du gies hooseroom tae a swap o scarfs,
lodgins ta mallies. A shjalder swanks
apo dy shooder…

—Christine De Luca, “Growin Auld (Wasterwick)”
published in WAST WI DA VALKYRIES, @shetlandlibrary.bsky.social 1997
#Scotstober #poem #poetry #Shetland
www.christinedeluca.co.uk/pages/wast_w...
Christine De Luca Growin Auld Wasterwick Wasterwick, auld wife o da sea, worn tae a beauty only age can bring. Du sits straight-backed, airms reck oot bi clett an stack. Dy sang is da sang o sels an a thoosand shiftin shalls is dey beach demsels. Da Waarie Gyo is a secret fowld i dy skurt, whaar a kittle o tang swills to an fro. Du gies hooseroom tae a swap o scarfs, lodgins ta mallies. A shjalder swanks apo dy shooder, nest safe in a reffel o trefoil an smora. Banks-flooers mak a wavy aedge ta dy simmer hap. We look on dee at’s cradled grown men, trace lines o kennin on dy wise repose. Da wasterin sun at faas saaftly lays a wild rose apo dy granite face. Vocabulary: da: the clett: cliff, rock, crag stack: column of rock in the sea dy: your (familiar) shalls: shells dey: they demsels: themselves gyo: steep, narrow inlet fowld: fold i: in skurt: bosom kittle: tickle tang: seaweed du: you (familiar) gies: gives tae, ta: to swap: a sudden beat or blow scarfs: shags mallies: fulmars shjalder oyster catcher apo: on shooder: shoulder reffel: tangle smora: clover banks flooers: sea pinks aedge: edge hap: shawl dee: you (familiar) at’s: who has kennin: knowing faas: falls saaftly: softly
October 19, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
jacobjudah.bsky.social
AI and Wikipedia are sending the most vulnerable languages into a harmful linguistic doom loop.

Wikipedia is used to train AI to speak vulnerable languages. But users are now flooding Wikipedia with shoddy AI translations.

Latest in @technologyreview.com: www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral
Machine translators have made it easier than ever to create error-plagued Wikipedia articles in obscure languages. What happens when AI models get trained on junk pages?
www.technologyreview.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
It's day nineteen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: shooder
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 19, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
asls.org.uk
“A man’s a man for a’ that” – how does he know?
Traipsing with his plough, the rural hero,
Swaggering down the lea-rigs, talking to mice…

—“James Macfarlan”, by Edwin Morgan
in VIRTUAL & OTHER REALITIES, @carcanet.bsky.social 1997
#Scotstober #poem #poetry
www.carcanet.co.uk/978185754347...
James Macfarlan by Edwin Morgan “A man’s a man for a’ that” – how does he know? Traipsing with his plough, the rural hero, Swaggering down the lea-rigs, talking to mice, Sweating his sickly verses to entice Lassies he’d never see again, strutting Through the salons in his best breeches, rutting In a cloud of claret, buttonholing Lord This, sweet-talking Doctor That, bowling His wit down levees, bosoms, siller quaichs – D’ye think he’s ever heard the groans and skraighs Of city gutters, or marked the shapes that wrap Fog and smoke about them as if they could hap Homelessness or keep hunger at bay? What, Not heard or seen, but has he even thought How some, and many, and more than many, survive, Or don’t survive, on factory floors, or thrive Or fail to thrive by foundry fires, or try To find the words – sparks scatter and bolts fly – That’s feeble – to show the new age its dark face? The Carron Ironworks – how he laughed at the place, Made a joke of our misery, passed on To window-scratch his diamond-trivia, and swan Through country-house and customs-post, servile To the very gods from which he ought to resile! “Liberty’s a glorious feast,” you said. Is that right? Wouldn’t the poor rather have bread? Burns man, I’m hard on you, I’m sorry for it. I think such poetry is dangerous, that’s all. Poetry must pierce the filthy wall With cries that die on country ways. The glow Of bonhomie will not let the future grow.
October 18, 2025 at 1:13 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
Its day echteen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: traipsie
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 18, 2025 at 10:31 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
Its day seiventeen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: warp
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 17, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
asls.org.uk
“Shilpit, I am informed, sir, signifies stunted, undergrown. As to ‘wee’, that is, of course, current in English as well as in…” he paused for a second “…the Northern dialects. Nyaff, an insignificant person, a pip-squeak.”

—from “McAuslan’s Court-Martial”, by George MacDonald Fraser
#Scotstober
💙📚
“What did he say?” Baxter hesitated. “He called me a shilpit wee nyaff, sir.” The president stirred. “He called you what?” Baxter coloured slightly. “A shilpit wee nyaff, sir.” The president looked at Prosecution. “Perhaps you can translate?” Prosecution, hand it to him, didn’t even blink. He selected a paper from his table, held it up at arm’s length, and said gravely: “Shilpit, I am informed, sir, signifies stunted, undergrown. As to ‘wee’, that is, of course, current in English as well as in …” he paused for a second “… the Northern dialects. Nyaff, an insignificant person, a pip-squeak.” “Remarkable,” said the president. “Nyaff. Ny-ahff.” He tried it round his tongue. “Expressive. Synonymous with the Norse ‘niddering’.” “Sir?” said Prosecution. “Niddering,” said the president. “A worthless person, a non-entity. Possibly a connection there. So many of these Norse pejoratives begin with ‘n’.” Einstein coughed slightly. “Hebrew too, sir. ‘Nebbish’ means much the same thing.” “Indeed?” The president brightened. “I’m obliged to you. Nyaff,” he repeated with satisfaction. “Remarkable. Do go on.” Prosecution, looking slightly rattled, turned again to Baxter. “And after he had called you … these names?” “He called me a glaikit sumph.” You could see Prosecution wishing he hadn’t asked. The president was looking hopeful. “Sumph,” said the president with relish. “That’s strong.” He looked inquiring, and Prosecution sighed. “Sumph, a dullard, an uninspired person, a stick-in-the-mud. Glaikit, loose-jointed, awkward, ill-formed.” He put down his paper with resignation. “There is more, sir, in the dialect and in ordinary speech, but I question whether …” “What else did he call you?” said the president, taking control. Baxter looked sulky. “A rotten big bastard,” he said. “Oh.” The president looked disappointed. He shot a glance at McAuslan, as though he had hoped for better things.
October 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
Its day saxteen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: nyaff
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 16, 2025 at 1:54 PM
drmdempster.bsky.social
Its day fifteen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: warlock
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
drmdempster.bsky.social
Its day fowerteen o #Scotstober 2025! The day's wird is: sleekit
drmdempster.bsky.social Dr Michael Dempster @drmdempster.bsky.social · Sep 2
🚨Annooncement!🚨

Here yer #Scotstober 2025 wirds!

A'm sharin on aw platforms, but maistly follaein on BlueSky this year.

A'm luikin forret tae yer warks 😁

Wirds as text ablow
October 14, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Dr Michael Dempster
asls.org.uk
We fecht to lowse oursels, we coup and skar
and joater menseless in the foazie grun,
feart to bide still, and fusionless to rin,
we plouter on, forfeuchan, through the haar…

—Robert Garioch, “The Bog”
in A KIST O SKINKLAN THINGS (ASL, 2017)
#Scotstober #poem #poetry
asls.org.uk/publications...
Robert Garioch The Bog The lyft is lourd abuin the hechs and howes, peat-bog and mist hae left nae space atween; the puddock cours doun frae the wecht abuin, here is nae leevin-space for men or yowes. We fecht to lowse oursels, we coup and skar and joater menseless in the foazie grun, feart to bide still, and fusionless to rin, we plouter on, forfeuchan, through the haar. We rax doun, seeking rock, wi feet grown nesh frae clatchin in thae never-ending clarts, ettlin to traipse on stanes, to thole their scarts, and win to some green haugh, kind to the flesh. Tho weill we ken it's aye the same auld place, we fuil oursels to pech and plouter on frae this black oily puddle-hole to thon, that gies the meisor of our hirple-pace. Our thochts are aye on skinklan burns, dour rocks, clean waters we cuid loup frae stane to stane, bricht in the sun or weet wi dounricht rain, dazzlit wi licht and stoun'd by solid shocks. But maist we think of gangin ither airts, whaur we micht hae faur distances in sicht, think lang to traivel til a warld of bricht pure colour in outlandish foreign pairts. Sae we jalouse some howff juist owre the brae, some hevin abuin the sterns, juist out of sicht, whaur we cuid gae the morn, gin we micht loup owre the muin, as did the famous quey. Wanting some yirdlie hevin for Almains, the Fuhrer maks a furore in our lugs; we bield in ivory touers or Luftwaffe-skugs, while bummlan boomers threaten broken banes. Thae men that fetch us boombs frae yont the seas, heich in their Heinkels, ken the same despair; they maun skite flat-out on the slidder air, forever doomed, like us, to future ease. Nou the impassioned banshees, in F-moll, screich out wi siren voices, anger-riven, Beethoven's chord of Opus 57, the same that skeiched us in the Usher Hall. The causey street we staund on shaks and shogs, freestane fore-storey housses flee in air; real super-realism everywhere maks grand pianos mate wi clarty bogs. The bog—I ken the feel o't weill eneuch, tak its conditions, staund and dinnae fecht to lowse my feet, and find it tholes my wecht ablow the haar, gin but my heid be leugh. And here are colours braw as onie shroud: broun and dark broun, black and mair black, an aa the fud or hint-end of the watergaw, whaur I hae fand my forpit-met of gowd.
October 13, 2025 at 12:18 PM