From the Guardian: Anyone here speak Cromarty fisher?
Obscure fishing dialects aren’t renowned for their ability to set the heart racing, but news that a centuries-old brand of Anglo-Scottish pidgin is only two people from extinction has induced mild panic among traditionalists. The Cromarty fisher dialect is being kept alive by two Scottish brothers, Bobby and Gordon Hogg, 87 and 80, who live in the Highland town. Am Bailie, an online archive, plans to record them to preserve the language for posterity. "Dialects come and go, but they are extremely important," says Jamie Gaukroger, content organiser for Am Bailie. "It would be doing a disservice to the whole culture by not recording it."
Cromarty is a small port on the tip of the Black Isle, just north of Inverness. The Cromarty website describes the town as a "jewel of vernacular architecture" and the "capital of the Highlands". Its patois is assumed to have developed in the 17th century from a fusion of the local fishermen’s tongue and that of visiting English soldiers.[continue]
Hi,
Read the web site on the Hogg brothers and their dialect. My father left Cromarty in 1910 age 12. His name was Ben Finlayson son of John Mackay Finlayson grandfather Ben Finlayson. I saw the name Hogg on one of the birth certificates. I believe we have Hogg Relatives. My grandfather lived at 88 Little Vennel. My Father was born at his Skinner grandparents home on Shore St. His. Mother was Margaret Skinner. I Would appreciate any info. Do save the dialect! It would fall into oblivion.
Yours truly,
Mary Moll