Nae mystery machine and nae fake certainty. Here’s how I put a Whit Did Ye Say? word page together.
I begin with how a word is actually used in Scottish speech, including the difference between something ye’d hear in a Glasgow pub, at a family dinner or in a Doric conversation. A word can be funny, affectionate, insulting or all three depending on the moment, so context matters as much as the dictionary line.
The pronunciation clips on Whit Did Ye Say? are real Scottish voice recordings. The written pronunciation is there tae help, but hearing the rhythm is usually the bit a normal translation misses.
When a word has a documented history, I check sources such as Dictionaries of the Scots Language and the Scots Language Centre. I do not pretend every bit of folk etymology is fact. If the origin is unclear or I cannot verify it properly, the entry should say that plainly.
Every finished word page should give ye the plain meaning, natural examples, a note on regional use where I can support it, connected words tae explore next and a chance tae hear it. The app then takes that further with the wider toolkit, quizzes and saved favourites.