Scottish lilt stumps iPhone

The release of the iPhone 4S was met by much fanfare for its voice recognition software, but hundreds of Scottish users have found that the technology struggles with their accent.

Siri, the feature which allows users to talk to their phones for everyday tasks such as setting appointments or searching the internet, has left a sour taste for some in the north with complaints popping up on forums and video websites such as YouTube.

One such video shows a Scottish user asking the question: "Can you dance with me?" That is interpreted as: "Can you Dutch women". Another involves a user trying to set an appointment for 12 o'clock, to which Siri replies that it does not understand "treblecock".

This is despite the Apple website stating that Siri supports UK English, as well as American and Australian. It also states: "Siri is designed to recognise the specific accents and dialects of the supported countries listed above. Since every language has its own accents and dialects, the accuracy rate will be higher for native speakers."