The Norse That Never Left

Everyday Scandinavian Words in Modern Lowland Scots

It might seem like the Viking era is long past—something to be found in museums, not daily speech. Yet in the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders, and especially in the dialects of Selkirk and Peebles, traces of Norse speech remain alive. Though modern influences like the internet, TV, and education have softened regional dialects, some Norse-derived words have persisted, either in everyday use, revived in cultural identity, or remembered by older generations.

This linguistic survival is not just quaint—it’s a quiet resistance against the flattening of regional identity. And while many traditional dialect terms are endangered, several still thrive in certain contexts, especially among farmers, older locals, or in dialect literature, music, and regional pride movements.

So which words still live on in the Borders today—and how?