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The Cromarty Fisherfolk Dialect is a lexicon of words and phrases that were used in the past, mainly by the fisher community in Cromarty on the Black Isle. It is the culmination of research started by the Council's Am Baile team in 2007 when they appealed to the public for people who had a smattering of this very local and rare dialect to come forward. The intention was to help preserve the distinct Scots dialect by making recordings and publishing the information on the Am Baile website.

The team had a relatively good response from current and former members of the Cromarty community at home and abroad and particular help from local brothers Bobby and Gordon Hogg who got the project off to a good start when a recording was made of their conversations. Bobby's late wife Helen and Mr Clem Watson also provided invaluable material for the booklet, not only on the dialect but also on the history of the town's fisherfolk.

In addition to the written form of the Cromarty dialect, the forty-page booklet includes some historical images, and photographs of bygone times in Cromarty that are available for viewing on Am Baile. The booklet also provides information on weather lore, biblical expressions, local tales and customs and other snapshots of the Cromarty fisher dialect.

Listen to the Hogg brothers discuss their dialect

Click here to download Am Baile's booklet on the Cromarty Fisherfolk Dialect