{"id":9893,"date":"2020-12-24T09:35:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T09:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=9893"},"modified":"2020-12-24T09:35:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T09:35:26","slug":"dinna-fash-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/dinna-fash-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDinna fash\u201d: Scottish English for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>There are many ways of using the English language, and these vary from place to place.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland, for example, has a lot of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/a-unique-vs-an-unique\/\">unique<\/a> <\/strong>expressions due to the common use of Scottish Gaelic and Scots in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Today we&rsquo;ll take a look at one Scottish phrase, &ldquo;Dinna fash.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What does &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; mean?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Scottish English phrase &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; means &ldquo;don&rsquo;t worry&rdquo; or &ldquo;don&rsquo;t fret.&rdquo; The &ldquo;dinna&rdquo; in this phrase just means &ldquo;don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; while &ldquo;fash&rdquo; is derived from a 16th-century French word meaning &ldquo;to worry.&rdquo; This phrase is commonly heard in Scotland, especially in the Edinburgh area. You may also hear &ldquo;dinna fash yersel,&rdquo; which adds &ldquo;yourself&rdquo; to the end but means the same thing.<\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The meaning of &ldquo;dinna&rdquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Out of the two parts in this phrase, &ldquo;dinna&rdquo; is much easier to figure out. It&rsquo;s just the Scottish English equivalent of &ldquo;don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Although it seems like a big leap from &ldquo;don&rsquo;t&rdquo; to &ldquo;dinna,&rdquo; things make more sense when you consider that &ldquo;don&rsquo;t&rdquo; is itself a contraction of &ldquo;do not.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In Scottish English, then, the &ldquo;do&rdquo; becomes a &ldquo;di&rdquo; sound, while the &ldquo;t&rdquo; on &ldquo;not&rdquo; is dropped. The result is &ldquo;dinna.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This word can be used anywhere &ldquo;don&rsquo;t&rdquo; would be used in English, <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-and\/\">and<\/a> means exactly the same thing.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;I dinna really know.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;I hope you dinna mind.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;I dinna have any patience wi that today.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>These sentences become easy to understand once you simply swap the word &ldquo;dinna&rdquo; out for the word &ldquo;don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The origin of &ldquo;fash&rdquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike &ldquo;dinna,&rdquo; the word &ldquo;fash&rdquo; is a bit harder to figure out.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s because it doesn&rsquo;t come from English, but from French. <em>Oui, c&rsquo;est un mot Francais!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It might seem strange to find a French word in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.open.edu\/openlearncreate\/course\/view.php?id=2705\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scottish English<\/a><\/strong>, but when you consider the frosty relations between Scotland and England, and the fact that the French were historically also not big England fans, it starts to make sense.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, &ldquo;fash&rdquo; is derived from early modern French word &ldquo;fascher,&rdquo; meaning &ldquo;worry.&rdquo; You&rsquo;re not likely to see this word pop up anywhere else in Scottish English, though. The phrase &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; is pretty much the only place it&rsquo;s still used.<\/p>\n<p>Attached to &ldquo;dinna,&rdquo; you end up with &ldquo;dinna fash,&rdquo; or &ldquo;don&rsquo;t worry.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9898\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg\" alt=\"Dinna Fash Meaning\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" data-pin-description=\"Have you ever heard of Dinna Fash? Well, it is Scottish English. And let us break down for you what it means exactly!\" data-pin-title=\"The Meaning of Dinna Fash\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-512x768.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9898 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Dinna Fash Meaning\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" data-pin-description=\"Have you ever heard of Dinna Fash? Well, it is Scottish English. And let us break down for you what it means exactly!\" data-pin-title=\"The Meaning of Dinna Fash\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Dinna-Fash-Meaning-512x768.jpg 512w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>How to use &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; in a sentence<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase &ldquo;Dinna fash&rdquo; can be used by itself, or at the start of a longer sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Used by itself, the phrase just serves as a friendly reminder to somebody not to worry about something that&rsquo;s obvious from context.<\/p>\n<p>When used at the start of a sentence, &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; and its equivalent &ldquo;dinna fash yersel&rdquo; (&ldquo;don&rsquo;t worry yourself&rdquo;) serve as an introductory clause, meaning the phrase should be set apart from the rest of the sentence with a comma.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-however\/\">However<\/a><\/strong>, it&rsquo;s worth noting that &ldquo;dinna fash yersel&rdquo; can be followed by &ldquo;wi&rdquo; (with) to mean &ldquo;don&rsquo;t worry about [something],&rdquo; in which case no comma should be used.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Dinna fash yersel wi dinner.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>This sentence translates to &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about dinner.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">&ldquo;Dinna fash yersel, I can take care of him.&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\n<p>In both of these sentences, the introductory clause at the beginning must be set apart from the rest of the sentence with a comma.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What is Scottish English?<\/h2>\n<p>This question is more complicated than it seems, especially when you consider whether Scots is a separate language from English or just a dialect. In fact, linguists don&rsquo;t even agree on what separates a dialect from a language.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether it&rsquo;s a unique language or a dialect of English, Scots is spoken (or at least understood) in most of Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>Although some Scots phrases can be hard to figure out, for the most part it&rsquo;s not too difficult to decipher.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s because it began to diverge from Middle English in the medieval period, coming from a blend of Gaelic, Middle English and Norman French, as well as Latin, all of which were widely spoken throughout the British isles from the 1100s to the 1500s.<\/p>\n<p>For the most part, the use of Scots declined heavily beginning in the 1700s, when Scotland formally joined England, Wales and Ireland as part of the Kingdom of Great Britain.<\/p>\n<p>However, due to the work of poet Robert Burns and other 18th and 19th century literary figures, Scots saw a revival that has lasted even to today, when use of the language (or dialect) in Scotland has become tied to a strong sense of national identity among Scottish citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Next time you see someone break out a Scottish English or Scots term, dinna fash. Just remember that it&rsquo;s actually not that different from standard English, with the exception of a few words here and there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many ways of using the English language, and these vary from place to place. Scotland, for example, has a lot of unique expressions due to the common use of Scottish Gaelic and Scots in the country. Today we&rsquo;ll take a look at one Scottish phrase, &ldquo;Dinna fash.&rdquo; &nbsp; What does &ldquo;dinna fash&rdquo; mean? &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"Article","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-9893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-dinna-fash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9893"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9899,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893\/revisions\/9899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}