The letter yoch (ȝoch) (Ȝȝ; Inglis: yogh; Mid English: ȝoch) wis uised in Mid English and Scots for the soond o y (/j/) and ither seemilar soonds. The chairacter yoch wis aften confuised wi a cursive z. Gin the yoch wisna available, writers wad uise the letter ‘z’^[1]. Sic-like, muckle Lallan Scots wirds haes a z insteid o a yoch. It is nou maistlins spelt wi the letter y or z awtho it haes been kent tae chynge intil a j or g.

Far ensaumple, "yes" wis written "ȝise", "nicht" wis "niȝt" and Ȝe turnt tae ye. The yoch leuks awfu like a Indien nummer three (3), that micht be substitutit for the yoch in written wirks.

The dooble letter and lawer case letters (Ȝ, ȝ) is representit in the Unicode wi code pynts U+021C Ȝ LATIN DOOBLELETTER YOCH(HTML Ȝ) and U+021D ȝ LATIN LAWER CASE LETTER YOCH (HTML ȝ).

Pronunciation

In auld Scots, the yoch wis uised for the soond /j/ in the cluster o soonds /lj/, /ŋj/ and /nj/ written as lȝ and nȝ^[2]. Yoch wis generally uised for /j/ insteid o y.

History

In wirds o French and Gaelic oreegin, the early Scots consonant /ɲ/ haed becam /nj/ or whiles /ŋj/, and the palatal consonant /ʎ/ haed becam /lj/^[2].

Afttimes thir wis written as nȝ(h)e, ngȝe, ny(h)e or ny(i)e, and lȝ(h)e, ly(i)e or lyhe (gn and gli in ). In the Modren Scots, the yoch wis replaced by the chairacter z in /ŋj/, /nj/ (nȝ) and /lj/ (lȝ), written nz and lz.

The oreeginal /hj/ and /çj/ became the /ʃ(j)/ in some wirds like Ȝetland or Zetland for Shetland^[1].

Yoch wis uised for tae represent the /j/ in wirds sic as ȝe, ȝhistirday (yisterday) and ȝoung but it wis replaced by the y ^[3]. The pronunciation o the familiy name MacKenzie (fae the Gaelic MacCoinnich [pronunced maxˈkʰɤɲɪç]), wis oreeginally pronunced [məˈkɛŋjiː] in the Scots^[1]. Menzies Campbell is seemilar.

Efter the prentin press wis developit

The chairacter yoch wis aften confuised wi a cursive ‘z’ that leuks seemilar to the yoch. Gin the yoch wisna available, writers wad uise the letter ‘z’^[1]. The yoch can be fund in faimily names that stairts wi a Y in Scotland and Ireland; sic as the familiy name Yeoman, whit wad hae been spelt Ȝeman. Aftimes the yoch wad juist hae beeen replaced by the letter z.

In the Unicode 1.0, the chairacter yoch wis mistaken for the seemilar chairacter ezh (Ʒ ʒ), and yoch wisna addit tae Unicode until v3.0.

Scots wirds whaur the ⟨ȝ⟩ wis replaced wi the ⟨z⟩

Place names

• Ben Chonzie – a muntain in Perthshire;
• Branziert – a bit toun in Killearn near Stirlin;
• The Branziet – pronunced bringit (IPA /brɪŋɪt/), a ferm and toun near Bardowie, East Dunbartonshire that gies its name tae the Branziet Burn and Branziet Brig;
• Bunzion – pronunced bunion (IPA /bʌnjən/), Lawer and Upper Bunzion bes fairms in the Pairish o Cults, Fife;
• Cadzow – uised tae be the name o the toin of Haimilton, South Lanarkshire; Cadzow gies its name tae mony street names and ither names the likes o Cadzow Castle, Kilncadzow;
• Calzeat – Lanrikhire;
• Calziebohalzie – a rare name wi twa yochs, uised tae be a ferm in Stirlinshire. Cam fae the Gaelic Coille Buachaille (Scots Gaelic pronunciation: [kʰɤʎəˈpuəxɪʎə]);
• Cockenzie – pronunced like Cockennie (IPA [koˈkɪni]), fae the Scots Gaelic: Cùil Choinnich meanin "Co’ o Kenneth", a toun in East Lothian;
• Colzium Estate – nou pronunced wi the ‘z’, an auld estate and big hoose biggit by the Lennox faimily alang the Colzium Burn in Kilsyth;^[4]
• Corriemulzie – a river in Sutherland that gies its name tae the Corriemulzie Estate;^[5]
• Crailzie Hill – a muckle hill in the Scottish Borders;
• Culzean – pronunced Culain (IPA /kʌˈleɪn/), a auld castle in Ayrshire run by the Naitional Trust for Scotland;
• Dalmunzie – nou pronunced like written, an auld castle in Perthshire nou uised as a hottel;^[6]
• Drumelzier – pronunced drumellier (IPA /drʌˈmɛljɛr/), a veelage in the Tweed Valley;
• Drunzie and Drunzie Feus - two bit toons near Glenfarg in Perth an Kinross;
• Easter Dalziel – pronunced deeyel (IPA /diːˈɛl/) fae the Gaelic Dail Gheal ([t̪alˈʝal̪ˠ]) meanin "white field";
• Edzell – nou pronunced as written, a veelage in Angus alangside Edzell Wids;
• Finzean – pronunced fingen (IPA /ˈfɪŋən/), in landwart Aberdeenshire;
• Funzie Girt – pronunced funyie girt (IPA /ˈfɪnji ˈɡɜːrt/), an auld dividin waw on Fetlar;
• Gartwhinzean – a auld toon near Crook of Devon in Perth and Kinross;
• Glenzier – pronunced glinger (IPA /ˈɡlɪŋər/), a veelage in Dumfries an Gallowa that gies its name to Glenzierfoot and the Glenzier Burn;
• Kailzie Gardens – a historic walled garden near Kirkburn, Scots Borders;
• Kilchenzie or Kilkenzie – a small settlement on the Kintyre peninsula, fae Choinnich (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈxɤɲɪç]), the genitive of Coinneach (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkʰɤɲəx]) "Kenneth";
• Kilhenzie – a bit toon in South Ayrshire, fae the Gaelic Choinnich;
• Kirkgunzeon – pronunced like Kirkgunion (IPA /kɜːrkɡʌnjən/), a veelage in Dumfries and Galloway;
• Lenzie – nou pronunced as written (IPA /ˈlɛnzɪ/), but uised tae be cawed Lenyie (IPA /ˈlɛnjɪ/), a veelage near Glesga;
• Lochranza – pronunced as written, but foond as Loch Ranga ere the 19th century, a veelage on the Isle o Arran;
• Menzion – a veelage in the Borders;
• Menzieshill – an area of Dundee;
• Monzie – pronunced money (IPA /ˈmʌni/), fae the Gaelic Moighidh, "level tract", a parish in Perthshire near Crieff that gies its name tae Loch Monzievaird and the Faws of Monzie;^[7]
• Portencalzie – a bit toon near Kirkcolm on the Rhins of Gallowa;
• Pitcalzean – an obscure archaeological cruive near the veelage of Nigg, Heiland^[8] that gies it name tae Pitcalzean House;
• Queenzieburn – pronouoced like Queenieburn (IPA /kwiːnibɜːrn/), a veellage in Lanrikhire;
• Terringzean Castle – pronunced like tringan (IPA /ˈtrɪŋən/) but wi mony ither written spellins, a castle in East Ayrshire;
• Ulzieside – an estate and farm near Sanchar in Dumfries an Gallowa;
• Zell – auld spelling o the isle o Yell;
• Zetland – the name for Shetland till the 1970s – Shetland postcodes stairts wi the letters ZE.

Surnames

• Cadzow – see the toon;
• Dalziel – pronoonced deeyel (IPA /diːˈɛl/) or dehyell, fae the  Gaelic Dail Gheal ([t̪alˈʝal̪ˠ]); can be spelt Dalyell and Dalzell;
• Gilzean – pronoonced gilain, likes o Maclean, fae the Gaelic MacGilleEathain ([maxkʲɪˈʎe.ɛɲ]). Mony fowk nou pronunce the 'z', the likes o Alan Gilzean;^[9]
• Layamon – nou pronoonced as written but wis written as Laȝamon ere the 1900s in buiks;^[10]
• MacKenzie – now pronoonced as written, but ere 1946 George Black written the auld form pronunced makenyie (IPA /məˈkɛŋji/), fae the Gaelic MacCoinnich ([maxˈkʰɤɲɪç]);^[11]
• Menzies – most richtly pronoonced Mingis (IPA /ˈmɪŋɪs/),^[12]but nou pronoonced wi the /z/;
• Winzet – pronoonced winyet (IPA /ˈwɪnjət/).

Miscellaneous nouns

• Assoilzie – pronoonced w the seelent ‘z’ – in the Scots law: rulin for the defender in the ceevic law;
• Capercailzie – the richt Scots spellin o capercaillie in the Inglis (IPA /ˌkæpərˈkeɪli/) fae the Gaelic capall-coille ([kʰaʰpəl̪ˠˈkʰɤʎə]) meanin "horse o the wid";
• Gaberlunzie – richtly pronunced gaberlunyie (IPA /ɡæbərˈlʌnji/) but aften pronunced as written, a lea’fu beggar;
• Tailzie – pronoonced [ˈteɪli], fae the Scots law but uised nae mair;
• Tuilzie – a struggle or fecht.