МОСКОВСКИЙ ГОРОДСКОЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ
Факультет иностранных языков
Английское отделение
Дипломная работа
по фонетике английского языка
на тему:
«REGIONAL VARIATION OF PRONUNCIATION IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND»
Москва 2001
Plan:
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….3
Part I. The Specific Features of dialects
What is the “dialect”?……………………………………………………………4
Geographic dialects………………………………………………………………5
Dialectal change and diffusion……………………………………………………5
Unifying influences on dialects…………………………………………………..8
Focal, relic, and transitional areas………………………………………………..9
Received Pronunciation………………………………………………………….9
Who first called it PR?………………………………………………………….10
Social Variation…………………………………………………………………11
Dialects of England: Traditional and Modern…………………………………..12
Part II. Background to the Cornish Language
Who are the Cornish?……………………………………………………………15
What is a Celtic Language?…………………………………………………….15
How is Cornish Related to other Celtic Languages?……………………………15
The Decline of Cornish…………………………………………………………15
The Rebirth of Cornish…………………………………………………………16
Standard Cornish………………………………………………………………..16
Who uses Cornish Today?………………………………………………………16
Government Recognition for Cornish…………………………………………..16
Part III. Peculiarities of South-Western Dialects
Vocalisation…………………………………………………………………….18
Consonantism……………………………………………………………………23
Grammar………………………………………………………………………..27
3.1 Nouns……………………………………………………………………….27
3.2 Gender………………………………………………………………………27
3.2.1 Gender making in Wessex-type English………………………………….27
3.3 Numerals……………………………………………………………………29
3.4 Adjectives……………………………………………………………………29
.5 Pronouns…………………………………………………………………….30
3.5.1 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns
in a Devonshire
dialect…………………………………………………31
3.6 Verbs………………………………………………………………………39
3.7 Adverbs……………………………………………………………………42
3.8 Transitivity and intransivity in the dialects
of South-West England……………………………………………………44
4. Vocabulary………………………………………………………………..52
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………68
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..69
Supplements…………………………………………………………………………..71
Introduction.
The modern English language is an international language nowadays. It is
also the first spoken language of such countries as Australia, New
Zealand, Canada, South Africa.
But in the very United Kingdom there are some varieties of it, called
dialects, and accents.
The purpose of the present research paper is to study the characteristic
features of the present day dialect of the South-Western region in
particular.
To achieve this purpose it is necessary to find answers to the following
questions:
What is the “dialect”?
Why and where is it spoken?
How does it differ from the standard language?
Methods of this research paper included the analysis of works of the
famous linguists and phoneticians as Peter Trudgill and J.K. Chambers,
Paddock and Harris, J.A. Leuvensteijn and J.B. Berns, M.M. Makovsky and
D.A. Shakhbagova, and also the needed information from Britannica and
the encyclopedia by David Crystal and the speech of the native
population of Devonshire and Wiltshire.
Structurally the paper consists of three parts focused on the
information about “the dialect” in general and the ways it differs from
the standard language (its phonetic, grammar and other linguistic
differences), and the specific features of the South-West of England.
The status of the English language in the XXth century has undergone
certain changes. Modern English has become a domineering international
language of nowadays.
PART I. The Specific Features of dialects.
What is the “dialect”?
Dialect is a variety of a language. This very word comes from the
Ancient Greek dialectos “discourse, language, dialect”, which is derived
from dialegesthai “to discourse, talk”. A dialect may be distinguished
from other dialects of the same language by features of any part of the
linguistic structure – the phonology, morphology, or syntax.
“The label dialect, or dialectal, is attached to substandard speech,
language usage that deviates from the accepted norm. On the other hand
the standard language can be regarded as one of the dialects of a given
language. In a special historical sense, the term dialect applies to a
language considered as one of a group deriving from a common ancestor,
e.g. English dialects”. (№9, p.389)
It is often considered difficult to decide whether two linguistic
varieties are dialects of the same language or two separate but closely
related languages; this is especially true of dialects of primitive
societies.
Normally, dialects of the same language are considered to be mutually
intelligible while different languages are not. Intelligibility between
dialects is, however, almost never absolutely complete; on the other
hand, speakers of closely related languages can still communicate to a
certain extent when each uses his own mother tongue. Thus, the criterion
of intelligibility is quite relative. In more developed societies, the
distinction between dialects and related languages is easier to make
because of the existence of standard languages and, in some cases,
national consciousness.
There is the term ‘vernacular’ among the synonyms for dialect; it refers
to the common, everyday speech of the ordinary people of a region. The
word accent has numerous meanings; in addition to denoting the
pronunciation of a person or a group of people (“a foreign accent”, “a
British accent”, “a Southern accent”). In contrast to accent, the term
dialect is used to refer not only to the sounds of language but also to
its grammar and vocabulary.
Geographic dialects.
The most widespread type of dialectal differentiation is geographic. As
a rule, the speech of one locality differs from that of any other place.
Differences between neighbouring local dialects are usually small, but,
in travelling farther in the same direction, differences accumulate.
№9, p.396)
Geographic dialects include local ones or regional ones. Regional
dialects do have some internal variation, but the differences within a
regional dialect are supposedly smaller than differences between two
regional dialects of the same rank.
“In a number of areas (“linguistic landscapes”) where the dialectal
differentiation is essentially even, it is hardly justified to speak of
regional dialects. This uniformity has led many linguists to deny the
meaningfulness of such a notion altogether; very frequently, however,
bundles of isoglosses – or even a single isogloss of major importance –
permit the division, of a territory into regional dialects. The public
is often aware of such divisions, usually associating them with names of
geographic regions or provinces, or with some feature of pronunciation.
Especially clear-cut cases of division are those in which geographic
isolation has played the principal role”. (№9, p.397)
Dialectal change and diffusion.
The basic cause of dialectal differentiation is linguistic change. Every
living language constantly changes in its various elements. Because
languages are extremely complex systems of signs, it is almost
inconceivable that linguistic evolution could affect the same elements
and even transform them in the same way in all regions where one
language is spoken and for all speakers in the same region. At first
glance, differences caused by linguistic change seem to be slight, but
they inevitably accumulate with time (e.g. compare Chaucer’s English
with modern English). Related languages usually begin as dialects of the
same language.
“When a change (an innovation) appears among only one section of the
speakers of a language, this automatically creates a dialectal
difference. Sometimes an innovation in dialect A contrasts with the
unchanged usage (archaism) in dialect B. Sometimes a separate innovation
occurs in each of the two dialects. Of course, different innovations
will appear in different dialects, so that, in comparison with its
contemporaries, no one dialect as a whole can be considered archaic in
any absolute sense. A dialect may be characterized as relatively
archaic, because it shows fewer innovations than the others; or it may
be archaic in one feature only”. (№9, p.415)
After the appearance of a dialectal feature, interaction between
speakers who have adopted this feature and those who have not leads to
the expansion of its area or even to its disappearance. In a single
social milieu (generally the inhabitants of the same locality,
generation and social class), the chance of the complete adoption or
rejection of a new dialectal feature is very great; the intense contact
and consciousness of membership within the social group fosters such
uniformity. When several age groups or social strata live within the
same locality and especially when people speaking the same language live
in separate communities dialectal differences are easily maintained.
“The element of mutual contact plays a large role in the maintenance of
speech patterns; that is why differences between geographically distant
dialects are normally greater than those between dialects of
neighbouring settlements. This also explains why bundles of isoglosses
so often form along major natural barriers – impassable mountain ranges,
deserts, uninhabited marshes or forests, or wide rivers – or along
political borders. Similarly, racial or religious differences contribute
to linguistic differentiation because contact between members of one
faith or race and those of another within the same area is very often
much more superficial and less frequent than contact between members of
the same racial or religious group. An especially powerful influence is
the relatively infrequent occurrence of intemarriages, thus preventing
dialectal mixture at the point where it is most effective; namely, in
the mother tongue learned by the child at home”. (№9, p.417)
The fact that speech, in particular, can give such a clear answer to the
question “Where are you from?” exercises a peculiar fascination, and the
terms dialect and accent are a normal part of everyday vocabulary. We
can notice regional differences in the way people talk, laugh at dialect
jokes, enjoy dialect literature and folklore and appreciate the point of
dialect parodies.
At the same time – and this is the paradox of dialect study – we can
easily make critical judgements about ways of speaking which we perceive
as alien. These attitudes are usually subconscious.
The study of regional linguistic variation is very important. The more
we know about regional variation and change in the use of English, the
more we will come to appreciate the individuality of each of the
varieties which we call dialects, and the less we are likely to adopt
demeaning stereotypes about people from other parts of the country.
As for the United Kingdom until 1700 the small population was sparsely
distributed and largely rural and agricultural, much as it had been in
medieval times. From the mid-18th century, scientific and technological
innovations created the first modern industrial state, while, at the
same time, agriculture was undergoing technical and tenurial changes and
revolutionary improvements in transport made easier the movement of
materials and people. As a result, by the first decade of the 19th
century, a previously mainly rural population had been largely replaced
by a nation made up of industrial workers and town dwellers.
The rural exodus was a long process. The breakdown of communal farming
started before the 14th century; and subsequently enclosures advanced
steadily, especially after 1740, until a century later open fields had
virtually disappeared from the landscape. Many of the landless
agricultural labourers so displaced were attracted to the better
opportunities for employment and the higher wage levels existing in the
growing industries; their movements, together with those of the surplus
population produced by the contemporary rapid rise in the birth rate,
resulted in a high volume of internal migration that took the form of a
movement toward the towns.
Industry, as well as the urban centres that inevitably grew up around
it, was increasingly located near the coalfields, while the railway
network, which grew rapidly after 1830, enhanced the commercial
importance of many towns. The migration of people especially young
people, from the country to industrialized towns took place at an
unprecedented rate in the early railway age, and such movements were
relatively confined geographically.
Soon after World War I, new interregional migrations flow commenced when
the formerly booming 19th-century industrial and mining districts lost
much of their economic momentum. Declining or stagnating heavy industry
in Clydeside, northeastern England, South Wales, and parts of Lancashire
and Yorkshire swelled the ranks of the unemployed, and the consequent
outward migration became the drift to the relatively more prosperous
Midlands and southern England. This movement of people continued until
it was arrested by the relatively full employment conditions that
obtained soon after the outbreak of World War II.
In the 1950-s, opportunities for employment in the United Kingdom
improved with government sponsored diversification of industry, and this
did much to reduce the magnitude of the prewar drift to the south. The
decline of certain northern industries – coal mining shipbuilding, and
cotton textiles in particular – had nevertheless reached a critical
level by the late 1960s, and the emergence of new growth points in the
West Midlands and southwestern England made the drift to the south a
continuing feature of British economic life. Subsequently, the area of
most rapid growth shifted to East Anglia, the South West, and the East
Midlands. This particular spatial emphasis resulted from the
deliberately planned movement of people to the New Towns in order to
relieve the congestion around London.
Unifying influences on dialects.
Communication lines such as roads (if they are at least several
centuries old), river valleys, or seacoasts often have a unifying
influence. Also important urban centres often form the hub of a circular
region in which the same dialect is spoken. In such areas the prestige
dialect of the city has obviously expanded. As a general rule, those
dialects, or at least certain dialectal features, with greater social
prestige tend to replace those that are valued lower on the social
scale.
In times of less frequent contact between populations, dialectal
differences increase, in periods, of greater contact, they diminish.
Mass literacy, schools, increased mobility of populations, and mass
communications all contribute to this tendency.
Mass migrations may also contribute to the formation of a more or less
uniform dialect over broad geographic areas. Either the resulting
dialect is that of the original homeland of a particular migrating
population or it is a dialect mixture formed by the levelling of
differences among migrants from more than one homeland. The degree of
dialectal differentiation depends to a great extent on the length of
time a certain population has remained in a certain place.
Focal, relic, and transitional areas.
Dialectologists often distinguish between focal areas – which provide
sources of numerous important innovations and usually coincide with
centres of lively economic or cultural activity – and relic areas –
places toward which such innovations are spreading but have not usually
arrived. (Relic areas also have their own innovations, which, however,
usually extend over a smaller geographical area.)
“Relic areas or relic phenomena are particularly common in
out-of-the-way regional pockets or along the periphery of a particular
language’s geographical territory.
№9, p.420)
6. Received Pronunciation.
“The abbreviation RP (Received Pronunciation) denotes the speech of
educated people living in London and the southeast of England and of
other people elsewhere who speak in this way. If the qualifier
‘educated’ be assumed, RP is then a regional (geographical) dialect, as
contrasted with London Cockney, which is a class (social) dialect. RP is
not intrinsically superior to other varieties of English; it is itself
only one particular regional dialect that has, through the accidents of
history, achieved more extensive use than others. Although acquiring its
unique status without the aid of any established authority, it may have
been fostered by the public schools (Winchester, Eton, Harrow and so on)
and the ancient universities (Oxford and Cambridge). Other varieties of
English are well preserved in spite of the levelling influences of film,
television, and radio”. (№8, p.365)
The ancestral form of RP was well-established over 400 years ago as the
accent of the court and the upper classes. The English courtier George
Puttenham writing in 1589 thought that the English of nothern men,
whether they be noblemen or gentlemen… is not so courtly or so current
as our Southern English is.
The present-day situation.
Today, with the breakdown of rigid divisions between social classes and
the development of the mass media, RP is no longer the preserve of a
social elite. It is most widely heard on the BBC; but there are also
conservative and trend-setting forms.
Early BBC recordings show how much RP has altered over just a few
decades, and they make the point that no accent is immune to change, not
even “the best”. But the most important fact is that RP is no longer as
widely used today as it was 50 years ago. Most educated people have
developed an accent which is a mixture of RP and various regional
characteristics – “modified RP”, some call it. In some cases, a former
RP speaker has been influenced by regional norms; in other cases a
former regional speaker has moved in the direction of RP.
Who first called it RP?
The British phonetician Daniel Jones was the first to codify the
properties of RP. It was not a label he much liked, as he explains in
“An Outline of English Phonetics” (1980):
“I do not consider it possible at the present time to regard any special
type as “standard” or as intrinsically “better” than other types.
Nevertheless, the type described in this book is certainly a useful one.
It is based on my own (Southern) speech, and is, as far as I can
ascertain, that generally used by those who have been educated at
“preparatory” boarding schools and the “Public Schools”… The term
“Received Pronunciation”… is often used to designate this type of
pronunciation. This term is adopted here for want of a better”. (1960,
9th edn, p.12)
The historical linguist H.C. Wyld also made much use of the term
‘received’ in “A Short History of English” (1914):
“It is proposed to use the term ‘Received Standard’ for that form which
all would probably agree in considering the best that form which has the
widest currency and is heard with practically no variation among
speakers of the better class all over the country”. (1927, 3rd edn,
p.149)
The previous usage to which Jones refers can be traced back to the
dialectologist A.J. Ellis, in “On Early English Pronunciation” (1869):
“In the present day we may, however, recognize a received pronunciation
all over the country… It may be especially considered as the educated
pronunciation of the metropolis of the court, the pulpit, and the bar”.
(p.23)
Even then, there were signs of the future, for he goes on to say:
“But in as much as all these localities and professions are recruited
from the provinces, there will be a varied thread of provincial
utterance running through the whole”.» (№8, p.365)
Social variation.
As for the accents, they refer to the varieties in pronunciation, which
convey information about a person’s geographical origin. These varieties
are partly explained by social mobility and new patterns of settlement.
Distinct groups or social formation within the whole may be set off from
each other in a variety of ways: by gender, by age, by class, by ethnic
identity. Particular groups will tend to have characteristic ways of
using the language-characteristic ways of pronouncing it, – for example
– and these will help to mark off the boundaries of one group from
another. They belong to different social groups and perform different
social roles. A person might be identified as ‘a woman’, ‘a parent’, ‘a
child’, ‘a doctor’, or in many other ways. Many people speak with an
accent, which shows the influence of their place of work. Any of these
identities can have consequences for the kind of language they use. Age,
sex, and socio-economic class have been repeatedly shown to be of
importance when it comes to explaining the way sounds, constructions,
and vocabulary vary.
№13, p.64).
So some conclusions about the kinds of social phenomena that influence
change through contact with other dialects can be made:
dialects differ from region through the isolation of groups of speakers;
dialects change through contact with other dialects;
the upper classes reinforce Standard English and RP through education.
Dialects of England: Traditional and Modern.
After the retirement of the Romans from the island the invading
immigrants were the Jutes, Saxons, Danes and Angles. The Jutes seized
Kent, The Isle of Wight and a part of the mainland; the Saxons had all
those parts that have now the suffix ‘sex’, as Essex, Sussex, Middlesex,
and Wessex; and the Angles took possession of that tract of the north
that has the present terminations ‘land’, ‘shire’ and ‘folk’, as
Suffolk, Yorkshire, Northumberland. These last afterwards gave the name
to the whole island.
Dialects are not to be considered corruption of a language, but as
varieties less favoured than the principal tongue of the country. Of the
various dialects, it must be borne in mind that the northern countries
retain many words now obsolete in current English: these words are of
the genuine Teutonic stock. The pronunciation may seem rough and harsh,
but is the same as that used by the forefathers; consequently it must
not be considered barbarous. The other countries of England differ from
the vernacular by a depraved pronunciation.
Awareness of regional variation in England is evident from the
fourteenth century, seen in the observation of such writers as
Higden/Trevisa or William Caxton and in the literary presentation of the
characters in Chaucer’s “Reeve’s Tale” or the Wakefield “Second
Shepherd’s Play”. Many of the writers on spelling and grammar in the
16th and 17th centuries made comments about regional variation, and some
(such as Alexander Gil) were highly systematic in their observants,
though the material is often obscured by a fog of personal prejudices.
The picture which emerges from the kind of dialect information obtained
by the Survey of English Dialects relates historically to the dialect
divisions recognized in Old and Middle English.
The classification of modern dialects presents serious difficulties as
their boundaries are rather vague and the language standard more and
more invades the spread area of the dialectal speech. One of the most
serious attempts at such classification was made by A. Ellis. His
classification more or less exactly reflects the dialectal map of modern
Great Britain and it was taken as the basis by many dialectologists.
The map below displays thirteen traditional dialect areas (it excludes
the western tip of Cornwall and most of Wales, which were not English
speaking until the 18th century). A major division is drawn between the
North and everywhere else, broadly following the boundary between the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia, and a Secondary division
is found between much of the Midlands and areas further south. A
hierarchal representation of the dialect relationship is shown below.
(№8, p.324).
Relatively few people in England now speak a dialect of the kind
represented above. Although some forms will still be encountered in real
life, they are more often found in literary representations of dialect
speech and in dialect humour books. The disappearance of such
pronunciations, and their associated lexicon and grammar, is sometimes
described as “English dialects dying out”. The reality is that they are
more than compensated for by the growth of a range of comparatively new
dialect forms, chiefly associated with the urban areas of the country.
If the distinguishing features of these dialects are used as the basis
of classification, a very different-looking dialect map emerges with 16
major divisions.
Part II. Background of the Cornish language.
The southwestern areas of England include Devonshire, Somersetshire,
Cornwall, Wiltshire and Dosertshire. But first of all I’d like to draw
your attention to the Cornish language as it doesn’t exist now.
The History of Cornish.
1. Who are the Cornish?
The Cornish are a Celtic people, in ancient times the Westernmost
kingdom of the Dumnonii, the people who inhabited all of Cornwall, Devon
and West Somerset.
The Cornish are probably the same people who have lived in Cornwall
since the introduction of farming around 3000 B.C.. The start of farming
in Cornwall may also indicate the start of what some scholars now term
‘proto Indo-European’, from whence the Celtic languages along with the
Italic and other related groups of languages began evolving.
2. What is a Celtic Language?
Around 2000 B.C., the group of languages now called Celtic languages
started to split away from the other members of the Indo-European group
of languages. By 1200 B.C. Celtic civilisation, a heroic culture with
its own laws and religion is first known. It is from this period that
the first king lists and legends are believed to come.
3. How is Cornish Related to other Celtic Languages?
Between 1500 B.C. and the first encounters with the Romans (around 350
B.C.), the Celtic languages are believed to split into two distinct
groups, the ‘p’ and ‘q’ Celtic branches. Cornish, Welsh and Breton (to
which Cornish is most closely related) are the three remaining ‘p’
Celtic languages. Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx being the ‘q’ Celtic
tongues.
4. The Decline of Cornish.
Cornish developed pretty much naturally into a modern European language
until the 17th century, after which it came under pressure by the
encroachment of English. Factors involved in its decline included the
introduction of the English prayer book, the rapid introduction of
English as a language of commerce and most particularly the negative
stigma associated with what was considered by Cornish people themselves
as the language of the poor.
5. The Rebirth of Cornish.
Cornish died out as a native language in the late 19th century, with the
last Cornish speaker believed to have lived in Penwith. By this time
however, Cornish was being revived by Henry Jenner, planting the seeds
for the current state of the language and it is supposed that the last
native speaker was the fishwoman Dolly Pentreath.
6. Standard Cornish.
Standard Cornish was developed from Jenner’s work by a team under the
leadership of Morton Nance, culminating in the first full set of
grammars, dictionaries and periodicals. Standard Cornish (Unified) is
again being developed through UCR (Unified Cornish Revised), and
incorporates most features of Cornish, including allowing for Eastern
and Western forms of pronunciation and colloquial and literary forms of
Cornish.
7. Who uses Cornish Today?
Today Cornish typically appeals to all age groups and to those either
who have an empathy with Cornwall, who have Cornish roots or perhaps
have moved to Cornwall from elsewhere. One of the great successes of
Cornish today is ifs wide appeal. After a break in native speakers for
nearly one hundred years, Cornwall now has many children who now have
Cornish as a native language along side English, and many more who are
fluent in the language.
8. Government Recognition for Cornish.
Cornish is the only modern Celtic language that receives no significant
support from government, despite the growing numbers learning Cornish,
and the immense good will towards it from ordinary Cornish people and
from elsewhere.
This contrasts strongly with the favourable stand taken by the Manx
government towards Manx for example, as evidenced by Manx primary school
places being made generally available.
Recently, the UK government scrapped the Cornish GCSE. Lack of Cornish
language facilities and support is no longer just a language issue, but
is rapidly becoming a civil rights and political issue too. Despite the
growing support of councillors in Cornwall, some key individuals in
County Hall continue to make clear their hostility to the language.
e.g. of the Cornish language:
“Pyw yw an Gernowyon?
Pobel Geltek yw an bobel a Gernow . Yn osow hendasek, an wtas Gorfewenna
yn Wtas Dumnonii, neb a dregas yn Kernow, Dewnans ha Gwtas an Haf.
Y hyltyr bos del An Gernowyon a wrug trega yn Kernow hedro an dallath
gonys tyr adro 3000 K.C.. An dallath gonys tyr yn Kernow a vo dallath an
os ‘proto Yndo-Europek’, dres an tavajow Keltek ha tavajow Ytaiek
dallath dhe dhysplegya.”
Part III. Peculiarities of South-Western Dialects.
1. Vocalisation.
Devonshire Somersetshire Wiltshire
“a” after “w”
is realized as [a:]:
wasp [wa:sp]
watch [wa:t?]
want [wa:nt]
wander [wa:nd ] is realized as [ae]:
warm [waerm]
warn [waern]
wart [waert]
“asp”, “ass”, “ast”, “a” ? [ae]: grass [graes], glass [glaes], fast
[faest]
“al + a consonant”
“l” is realized as [a:] or
[ :]:
talk [ta:k]
walk [wa:k]
chalk [t?a:k]
balk [ba:k]
a + l, a + ll
in the open syllable
“a” ? [ae]:
crane [kraen]
frame [fraem]
lame [laem]
make [maek]
name [naem]
in the open syllable
“a” ? [ae]:
crane [kraen]
frame [fraem]
lame [laem]
make [maek]
name [naem]
The first sound is vowel
acre [jakr]
ale [jal]
acorn [’jak?rn]
hare [hja:r]
ache [jek]
acorn [jek?rn]
behave [b?’hjev]
“e” in the closed syllables ? “a”
Nothern Western
egg [ag], fetch [fat?], step [stap],
wretch [rat?], stretch [strat?]
“e” in the closed syllables ? [e?]
Eastern Southern
egg [e?g], stretch [stre?t?]
“e” in the closed syllables ? [e:]
South-Western Western Middle/Eastern
Leg [le:g], bed [be:d], hedge [he:d(]
if “e” follows “w” ? [ :]
Western
well [w :l]
twelve [tw :lv]
wench [w :nt?]
“i” in the closed syllable
North-Western Western
? [e]:
big [beg]
bid [bed]
flitch [fletch]
sit [set]
spit [spet] ? [ ]:
bill [b l]
little [’l tl]
children [’t? ldr n]
cliff [kl f]
hill [h l]
drift [dr ft]
shrimp [?r mp]
fit [f t]
ship [? p]
pig [p g]
fish [f ?]
“ight” ? [e]
North-Western Western
flight, right
if a nasal consonant follows “i”
? [e]:
sing [se?]
cling [kle?]
? [e]:
sing [se?]
cling [kle?]
“i” before “nd”
North-Western
? [e]:
bind [ben]
blind [blen]
find [ven]
grind [gren]
“i” before “ld”
Eastern
? [i:]:
mild [mi:ld]
wild [wi:ld]
child [t??ld]
“i” in the open syllable
South-Western Southern
? [e?]:
fly [fle?]
lie [le?]
thigh [?e?] ? [e?]:
bide [be?d]
wide [we?d]
time [te?m]
Eastern
? [ ?]:
fly [fl ?]
lie [l ?]
“o” in the closed syllable followed by a consonant
South-Western
Eastern
? [a:]:
dog [da:g]
cross [kra:s]
? [ ]:
cot [k t]
bottom [b tm]
dog [d g]
cross [kr s]
Western
? [a:]:
dog [da:g]
cross [kra:s]
“o” + a nasal consonant
North-Western Western Western
? [ae]:
among [?’mae?]
long [lae?]
wrong [rae?] ? [ae]:
among [?’mae?]
long [lae?]
wrong [rae?]
among [?’mae?]
long [lae?]
wrong [rae?]
“ol” + a consonant
Western Western
? [u?]:
gold [gv?ld]
old [u?ld] ? [u?]:
gold [gv?ld]
old [u?ld]
“o” in the open syllable and “oa”
Western
? [ ]:
bone [b n]
broad [br d]
rope [r p]
load [l d]
“oi”
? [a?]:
choice [t?a?s]
join [d(a?n]
moil [ma?l]
point [pa?nt]
spoil [spa?l]
voice [va?s]
“u” in the closed syllable
Southern
? [e]:
but [bet]
dust [dest]
“ou” / ”ow”
Easter
? [av]:
low [lav]
owe [au]
“oo”
North-Western Western Middle/Eastern
? [?]:
good [g?d]
hood [h?d]
foot [f?t]
blood [bl?d]
stood [st?d]
bloom [bl?m]
broom [br?m]
moon [m?n]
loom [l?m] ? [oe]:
book [boek]
cook [koek]
crook [kroek]
look [loek]
took [toek]
good [goed]
foot [foet]
stood [stoed]
? [ ]:
book [b k]
brook [br k]
crook [kr k]
look [l k]
took [t k]
good [g d]
foot [f t]
soot [s t]
flood [fl d]
Eastern
? [ ]:
book [b k]
brook [br k]
crook [kr k]
“i” in the open syllable
South-western Southern
? [e?]:
fly [fle?]
lie [le?]
thigh [?e?] ? [e?]:
bide [be?d]
wide [we?d]
time [te?m]
Eastern
? [ ?]:
fly [fl ?]
lie [l ?]
“o” in the closed syllable followed by a consonant
South-western
Eastern
? [a:]:
dog [da:g]
cross [kra:s]
? [ ]:
cot [k t]
bottom [b tm]
dog [d g]
cross [kr s]
Western
? [a:]:
dog [da:g]
cross [kra:s]
Devonshire Somersetshire Wiltshire
“o” + a nasal consonant
North-western Western Western
? [ae]: among [?’mae?], long [lae?], wrong [wrae?]
“ol” + a consonant
Western Western
? [u?l]: gold [gv?ld], old [u?ld]
“oa”
Western
? [ ]:
bone [b n]
broad [br d]
rope [r p]
load [l d]
“oi”
? [a?]:
choice [t?a?s]
join [d(a?n]
moil [ma?l]
point [pa?nt]
spoil [spa?l]
voice [va?s]
“u” in the closed syllable
Southern
? [e]:
but [bet]
dust [dest]
“ou”/“ow”
Easter
? [av]:
low [lav]
owe [au]
“oo”
North-Western Western Middle/Eastern
? [?]:
good [g?d]
hood [h?d]
foot [f?t]
blood [bl?d]
stood [st?d]
bloom [bl?m]
broom [br?m]
moon [m?n]
loom [l?m]
root [r?t]
spoon [sp?n] ? [oe]:
book [boek]
cook [koek]
crook [kroek]
look [loek]
took [toek]
good [goed]
foot [foet]
stood [stoed]
? [ ]:
book [b k]
brook [br k]
crook [kr k]
look [l k]
took [t k]
good [g d]
foot [f t]
soot [s t]
flood [fl d]
Eastern
? [ ]:
book [b k]
brook [br k]
crook [kr k]
look [l k]
“er”, “ir”, “ur”
Southern
? [a:]:
learn [la:n]
earth [a:?]
bird [ba:d]
birch [ba:t?]
merchant [’ma:t??nt]
herb [ha:b]
work [wa:k]
“or”
? [a:]: fork [fa:k], horse [ha:s], horn [ha:n], short [?a:t],
Morning [’ma:n??], word [wa:d]
“ew”
Eastern
Northern
? [ue:]:
dew [due:]
few [fue:]
? [jav]:
dew [djau]
few [fjau]
new [njau]
2. Consonantism
[w] in the beginning of the word or before “h”
old [w l]
oak [w k]
hot [w t]
home [w m]
orchard [wurt??t]
hole [hwul]
hope [hwup]
open [’wupen]
[w] is not pronounced:
week [ouk]
swick [su:k]
“w” before “r”
is not pronounced Western is not pronounced
? [vr]:
wreck, wren, wrench, wrap, write, wrong
e.g. Ye vratch, ye’ve vrutten that a’vrang.
(= You wretch, you’ve written that all wrong.)
“wh” at the beginning of a word is [w], [u:], [u?]
in the middle of a word [w] is pronounced
boy [bwo], moist [mw ?st], toad [twud], cool [kwul], country [’kw?ntr?]
“f”, “th”, “s”, “sh” are voiced
Friday [’vrae:d?], friends [vr?n(], fleas [vle:z], and in the these
words: foe, father, fair, fear, find, fish, foal, full, follow, filth,
fist, fire, fond, fault, feast, force, forge, fool.
[?]: thought [? :t], thick [??k], thigh [?a?], and in the words: from,
freeze, fresh, free, friend, frost, frog, froth, flesh, fly flock,
flood, fleece, fling, flower, fail.
“t” at the beginning of the word before a vowel
Nothern
? [t?]:
team [t?em],
tune [t?un],
Tuesday [’t?uzde]
East D “t” in the middle of the word is voiced:
bottle [’b dl],
kettle [’kedl],
little [’l?dl],
nettle [’nedl],
bottom [’b dm],
matter [’med?],
cattle [’k dl],
kittens [k?dnz]
“t” in the middle of the word is voiced
Western
bottle [’b dl],
kettle [’kedl],
little [’l?dl],
nettle [’nedl],
bottom [’b dm],
matter [’med?],
cattle [’k dl],
kittens [k?dnz]
The consonant [t] in (the French borrowings) hasn’t become [t?] as it is
in RP:
picture [’p?kt?r], nature [’net?r], feature [’f??t?r]
the middle [t] sometimes disappears in the positions before “m…l”,
“n…l”, “m…r”
Western
brimstone [’br?msn]
empty [’emp?]
The same happens to the middle [b]:
chamber > chimmer,
embers > emmers,
brambles > brimmels
between “l” and “r”; “r” and “l”; “n” and “r” a parasitic [d] has
developed
parlour [’pa:ld?r], tailor [’ta?ld?r], smaller [’sm :ld?r], curls
[’ka:dlz], hurl [’a:dl], marl [’ma:dl], quarrel [’kw :dl], world
[’wa:dl], corner [’ka:nd?r]
Western
a parasitic [d] appeared after [l, n, r]:
feel [fi:ld]
school [sku:ld]
idle [a?dld]
mile [ma?dl]
born [ba?nd]
soul [s :ld]
soon [zu:nd]
gown [gaund]
swoon [zaund]
wine [wa?nd]
miller [’m?l?d]
scholar [’sk l?d]
the middle [d] in the word “needle” comes after [l]: [ni:ld]
Eastern
In the word “disturb” [b] is pronounced as [v] –
[dis, t?:v]
the first [?] is pronounced as [?]
thank [?ae?k] and in other words: thatch, thaw, thigh, thin, thing,
think, third, thistle, thong, thought, thousand, thumb, thunder,
Thursday
Sometimes [?] is pronounced as [t] at the end of the word:
lath [lat]
Western
In some words [s] at the beginning of the word is pronounced as [?]:
suet [?u?t].
The same happens when [s] is in the middle of the word:
first [fer?t]
breast [br??t]
next [n??t]
North-West W: [s] is sometimes pronounced as [(]: sure [(u?r]
“sh”, “sk” at the end of the word
Western
? [s]:
cask [k s]
flask [fl s]
leash [li:s]
tusk [tus]
Sometimes instead of [k] [t?] is heard:
back [b t?]
wark [wa:t?]
sometimes the initial letter or a syllable is apsent
Western Eastern
believe, deliver, desire, directly, disturb, eleven, enough, except,
occasion, inquest, epidemic
the initial “cl”
? [tl]: clad [tlad], clap, clay, claw, clean, cleave, clergy, clerk,
clew, cliff, climb, cling, clip, cloak, close, clot, cloth, cloud, clout
“gl” in the beginning of the word
? [dl]: glad, glass, glisten, gloom, glove, glow
[l] in the middle of the word isn’t pronounced
Western Eastern
Already
shoulder [’?a:d?r]
the Middle/Eastern
[l] is often ? [ ]:
bill [b?’ ]
tool [tu’ ]
nibble [n?’b ]
milk [m?’ k]
silk [s?’ k]
3. Grammar.
3.1 Nouns.
The definite article.
There isn’t the definite article before “same”: ’Tis same’s I always
told ’ee”.
The of-phrase “the… of” is of ten used instead of the possessive pronoun
(e.g. “the head of him “instead of” his head”)
The plura???????????????????????????????????›
e.g. steps [’steps?z] (South Som.)
in some cases [n] is heard at the end of the word:
e.g. keys [ki:n] (Wil.)
cows [kain] (Dev.)
bottles [botln] (South-W. Dev.)
primroses [pr?mr zn] (Dev.)
but sometimes [s] is heard in the words ended with “-n”
e.g. oxen [ ksnz] (Western Som.)
rushes [r?ksnz] (Dev.)
some nouns have the same form in the singular and in the plural:
e.g. chicken – chickens [t??k] (Som.)
pipe – pipes [pa?p] (Som.)
sometimes the plural form of the noun is used insted of the singular
form:
a house [auzn] (Southern Wil.)
3.2 Gender.
The full characteristic of Gender in South-Western English I’d like to
base on the part of the article by Paddock. Paddock uses the historical
lebel “Wessex” to describe the countries of South-Western England.
3.2.1 Gender making in Wessex-type English.
“It is usually claimed that English nouns lost their grammatical gender
during the historical period called Middle English, roughly 1100-1500.
But this claim needs some qualification. What actually happened during
the Middle English period was that more overt gender marking of English
nouns gave way to more covert marking. As in Lyons (1968:281-8), the
term ‘gender’ is used here to refer to morphosyntactic classes of nouns.
It is true that the loss of adjective concord in Middle English made
gender marking less overt; but Modern English still retains some
determiner concord which allows us to classify nouns (Christophersen and
Sandved 1969). In addition, Modern English (ModE), like Old English (OE)
and Middle English (ME), possesses pronominal distinctions which enable
us to classify nouns.
We can distinguish at least three distinctly different types of gender
marking along the continuum from most overt to most covert. The most
overt involves the marking of gender in the morphology of the noun
itself, as in Swahili (Lyons 1968:284-6). Near the middle of the
overt-covert continuum we could place the marking of gender in
adnominals such as adjectives and determiners. At or near the covert end
of the scale we find the marking of gender in pronominal systems.
During all three main historical stages of the English language (OE, ME,
ModE) one has been able to assign nouns to three syntactic classes
called MASCULINE, FEMININE and NEUTER. However, throughout the recorded
history of English this three-way gender marking has become less and
less overt. In OE all three types of gender marking were present. But
even in OE the intrinsic marking (by noun inflections) was often
ambiguous in that it gave more information about noun declension (ie
paradigm class) than about gender (ie concord class). The least
ambiguous marking of gender in OE was provided by the adnominals
traditionally called demonstratives and definite articles. In addition,
gender ‘discord’ sometimes occurred in OE, in that the intrinsic gender
marking (if any) and the adnominal marking, on the one hand, did not
always agree with the gender of the pronominal, on the other hand.
Standard ME underwent the loss of a three-way gender distinction in the
morphology of both the nominals and the adnominals. This meant that
Standard ModE nouns were left with only the most covert type of
three-way gender marking, that of the pronominals. Hence we can assign a
Standard ModE noun to the gender class MASCULINE, FEMININE or NEUTER by
depending only on whether it selects he, she or it respectively as its
proform.
During the ME and Early ModE periods the south-western (here called
Wessex-type) dialects of England diverged from Standard English in their
developments of adnominal and pronominal subsystems. In particular, the
demonstratives of Standard English lost all trace of gender marking,
whereas in south-western dialects their OE three-way distinction of
MASCULINE/FEMININE/NEUTER developed into a two-way MASS/COUNT
distinction which has survived in some Wessex-type dialects of Late
ModE. The result in Wessex was that the two-way distinction in
adnominals such as demonstratives and indefinites came into partial
conflict with the three-way distinction in pronominals”. (№18, p.31-32)
– Nowadays in the south-western dialects the pronouns ‘he’ / ‘she’ are
used instead of a noun:
e.g. My ooman put her bonnet there last year, and the birds laid their
eggs in him. (= it)
Wurs my shovel? I aa got’im; him’s her. (= Where is my shovel? I’ve got
it. That’s it.)
In the south-western dialects objects are divided into two categories:
countable nouns (a tool, a tree), and the pronouns ‘he’ / ‘she’ are used
with them
uncountable nouns (water, dust), and the pronoun ‘it’ is used with them.
The pronoun ‘he’ is used towards women.
3.3 Numerals.
In south-western dialects the compound numerals (21-99) are pronounced
as: five and fifty, six and thirty.
In Devonshire instead of ‘the second’ ‘twoth’ is used (the twenty-twoth
of April).
3.4 Adjectives.
In all dialects of the south-west -er, -est are used in the comparative
and superative degrees with one-, two- and more syllabic adjectives:
e.g. the naturaler
the seasonablest
delightfuller (-est)
worser – worsest (Dw.)
The words: ‘gin’, ‘an’, ‘as’, ‘nor’, ‘till’, ‘by’, ‘to’, ‘in’, ‘on’ are
used instead of ‘than’ in the comparative forms:
e.g. When the lad there wasn’t scarce the height of that stool, and a
less size on (= than) his brother…;
That’s better gin naething;
More brass inney (= than you) hadd’n;
It’s moor in bargain (= more than a bargain).
The word ‘many’ is used with uncountable nouns
e.g. many water / milk
The word ‘first’ is often used in the meaning of ‘the next’:
e.g. The first time I gang to the smiddie I’ll give it to him.
Will you come Monday first or Monday eight days?
3.5 Pronouns.
The forms of the nominative case are often used instead of the forms of
the objective case and vice versa:
e.g. Oi don’t think much o’ they (= of them).
Oi went out a-walkin wi’ she (= with her).
Oi giv ut t’ he (= it) back again.
Us (= we) don’t want t’ play wi’ he (= him).
Har (= she) oon’t speak t’ th’ loikes o’ we (= us).
When us (= we) is busy, him (= he) comes and does a day’s work
for we (= us).
The pronoun ‘mun’ (‘min’) is used in those cases, when in the literary
language ‘them’ is used:
e.g. put mun in the house
gie mun to me
I mind (= remember) the first time I seed mun.
‘Mun’ is also used instead of ‘him’, ‘it’
e.g. let min alone
it would sarve un right if I telled the parson of mun
Instead of ‘those’, ‘them’ is used:
e.g. I mind none of them things.
Give us them apples.
Fetch them plaates off o’ th’ pantry shelf.
In the south-western dialects at the beginning of the sentenu the
personal and impersonal pronouns are often dropped.
“Whom” is never used in the south-western dialects. Instead of it ‘as’ /
‘at’ is used:
e.g. That’s the chap as (or what) his uncle was hanged.
The man’ at his coat’s torn.
The nominative case of the personal pronouns is also used before
‘selves’:
e.g. we selves (Somerseshire, Devonshire)
The standard demonstrative pronoun ‘this’ is used in the south-western
dialects as: ‘this’, ‘this here’, ‘thease’, ‘thisn’, ‘thisna’.
The standard demonstrative pronoun ‘that’ is used in the south-western
dialects as: ‘thatn’, ‘thickumy’, ‘thilk’:
e.g. I suppose I could have told thee thilk.
‘Those’ is never used in the south-western dialects.
“thir’ ans” is used instead of it.
3.5.1 Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns in a Devonshire dialect.
I’d like to give not only the grammatical description of adjectives and
pronouns in the south-western part of England, but the pronunciation of
demonstrative adjectives and pronouns found in the dialect of south
zeal, a village on the northern edge of Dartmoor. Martin Harris made his
research work in this field:
“The analysis is based on a corpus of some twenty hours of tape-recorded
conversation, collected in the course of work for a Ph.D. thesis, either
in the form of a dialogue between two informants or of a monologue on
the part of a single informant. The principal informant, Mr George
Cooper, has lived for some eighty-five years in the parish, and has only
spent one night in his life outside the county of Devon.
For the purposes of this chapter, only one phonological point needs to
be made. The /r/ phoneme is retroflex in final position, and induces a
preceding weak central vowel [?] when occurring in the environment /Vr/,
(thus [V?r]), when the /V/ in question is /i:/ or /?/. (These are the
only two vowels relevant within this work.). The transcription used for
the actual forms should not give rise to any further problems. In the
case of the illustrative examples, 1 have decided to use a
quasi-orthographical representation, since the actual phonetic/phonemic
realization is not directly relevant to the point under discussion. The
prominent syllable(s) in each example are illustrated thus: “.
We may now proceed to look at the actual forms found in the dialect
(Table 1):
Singular adjective
Simple
/?i:z/
/?s/
/?at/
/?i-ki:/
First compound /?i:z/ ji:r/
/?is ji:r/ /?at ??r/ /?i-ki: ??r/
Singular pronoun
Simple
/?is/
/?i:z/
/?at/
/ ?i-ki:/
First compound /?is ji:r/ /?at ??r/
Second compound /?is ji:r ji:r/ /?at ??r ??r/
Plural adjective
Simple
/?ejz/
/?i:z/
/?ej/
/?i-ki:/
First compound /?ejz ji:r/ /?ej ??r/ /?i-ki: ??r/
Plural pronoun
Simple (only)
/?ej/
The relative frequency of these forms is shown in Table 2.
Adjectives
Singular % Plural %
/?i:z/ 13 /?ejz/ 23
/?is/ 11 /?i:z/ 2
/?i:z ji:r/ 9 /?ejz ji:r/ 7
/?is ji:r/ 2 /?i:z ji:r/ 4
/?at/ 15 /?ej/ 49
/?at ??r/ 3 /?ej ??r/ 2
/?i-ki:/ 43 /?i-ki:/ 10
/?i-ki: ??r/ 4 /?i-ki: ??r/ 3
100
100
Pronouns
Singular % Plural %
/?is/ 10
/?i:z/ 4
/?is ji:r/ 2
/?is ji:r ji:r/ 25 /?ej/ 100
/?at/ 22
/?at ??r/ 2
/?at ??r ??r/ 34
/?i-ki:/ 1
100
The paradigm as outlined in Tables 1, 2 presents few morphological
problems. The two pairs of forms /?i:z/ and /?is/ and /?ejz/ and /?i:z/
do, however, need examination. In the singular of the adjective, the two
forms /?i:z/ and /?is/ are both frequent, being used mostly in
unstressed and stressed position respectively. However, some 30 per cent
of the occurrences of each form do not follow this tendency, so it does
not seem profitable to set up a stressed: unstressed opposition,
particularly since such a division would serve no purpose in the case of
/?at/ and /?i-ki:/. With the ‘first compounds’, the form /?i:z ji:r/
outnumbers /?is ji:r/ in the ratio 1 in the adjective position.
When functioning as a pronoun, /?i:z/ is rare as a simple form and never
occurs at all either within a first compound (although ‘first compounds’
are so rare as pronouns that no generalization can usefully be made, see
Table 2) or within a ‘second compound’, where only /?is ji:r ji:r/,
never /?i:z ji:r ji:r/, is found. Thus /?is/ seems to be more favoured
as a pronoun, and /?i:z/ as an adjective; this, of course, is only a
tendency.
In the plural, the position is more clear-cut. The normal adjective
plurals are /?ejz/ and /?ejz ji:r/, which outnumber /?i:z/ and /?i:z
ji:r/ by a large margin (see Table 2). Such cases of the latter as do
occur may perhaps be ascribed to Standard English influence, since
/?i:z/ is clearly used normally as a singular rather than a plural form.
The absence of any reflex of /?ejz/ as a plural pronoun is discussed
below.
The other forms present little morphological difficulty. There is only
one occurrence of /?i-ki:/ as a pronoun, although as an adjective it
almost outnumbers /?i:z/ and /?at/ together, so it seems to belong
primarily to the adjectival system. The normal singular pronouns are
either the simple forms or the ‘second compounds’, the ‘first compounds’
being most unusual.
In the plural of the adjective, the simple forms are much more frequent
than their equivalent ‘first compounds’, whereas in the plural of the
pronoun, there is apparently only the one form /?ej/. The status of this
form is discussed below.
The following are examples of those demonstatives which are not further
discussed below. The uses of /?at/ as a singular adjective, of /?i-ki:/
as a singular or plural adjective, and of all the pronouns are fully
exemplified in the syntactic section, and thus no examples are given
here.
/?i:z/
I come down “here to live in this little old “street.
Well; “this year, I done a bit “lighter.
Now “this season, tis “over.
This was coming “this way.
/?is ji:r/
There’s all this here sort of “jobs going on to “day.
I was down “there where this here “plough was up “here.
I?ejzl
These places be alright if you know where you’m “going to.
They got to pay the “wages to these people.
I do a bit of “gardening . . . and likes of all these things.
/?ej/
What makes all they “hills look so well?
Where “Jim was sent to, they two “met.
“They won’t have all they sort of people up there.
Tell “Cooper to “shift “they “stones “there.
We may now turn to the functions of those forms whose uses are
identifiably different from those of Standard English.
The most striking feature of the demonstrative system is that, in the
singular adjective system at least, there is apparently a three-term
opposition /?i:z : ?at : ?i-ki:/, in contrast with the two-term system
of Standard English. It seems fair to say that the role of /?i:z/ is
similar to that of ‘this’ in Standard English (but see note on /?i:z
ji:r/ below), but any attempt to differentiate /?at/ and /?i-ki:/ proves
extremely difficult. There are a number of sentences of the type:
If you was to put “that stick in across “thicky pony . . .
where the two forms seem to fill the same function. The virtual absence
of /?i-ki:/ from the pronoun system, together with the fact that
/?i-ki:/ is three times as frequent as /?at/ as an adjective, would
suggest that /?i-ki:/ is the normal adjectival form in the dialect, and
that /?at/ has a greater range, having a function which is basically
pronominal but in addition adjectival at times. This is further
supported by the fact that when presented with sentences of the type:
He turned that “hare “three “times and “he caught it.
the informant claimed that /?i-ki:/ would be equally acceptable and
could indicate no distinction. Thus there are pairs of sentences such as
I used to walk that there “two mile and “half.
You’d walk thicky “nine “mile.
or again
That finished “that job.
I wouldn’t have “thicky job.
There are certain cases where either one form or the other seems to be
required. In particular, /?at/ is used when actually indicating a size
with the hands:
Go up and see the stones “that length, “that thickness.
while /?i-ki:/ is used in contrast with /t?-?r/, where Standard English
would normally use ‘one’ or ‘the one’.
Soon as they got it “thicky hand, they’d thruck(?) it away with the
“tother.
In the adjective plural, the contrast between /?i-ki:/ and /?ej/ is not
a real one, since /?i-ki:/ is found only with numerals.
I had thicky “eighteen “bob a “week.
I expect thicky “nine was all “one “man’s sheep.
When presented with /?i-ki:/ before plural nominals, the informant
rejected them. It would therefore be preferable to redefine ‘singular’
and ‘plural’ in the dialect to account for this, rather than to consider
/?i-ki:/ as a plural form; this would accordingly neutralize in the
plural any /?i-ki:/:/?at/ opposition which may exist in the singular.
In the pronominal system, there is only one occurrence of /?i-ki:/:
My missis bought “thicky before her “died (a radio).
It is true that most of the occurrences of /?al/ as a pronoun do not
refer to a specific antecedent, e.g. I can’t afford to do “that, but
there are a number of cases where /?at/ does play a role closely
parallel to /?i-ki:/ above.
As “I was passing “that, and “that was passing “me (a dog).
As there are no other examples of /?i-ki:/ as a singular pronoun, either
simply or as part of a ‘first’ or ‘second compound’, and no cases at all
in the plural, it seems fair to say that any /?at/:/?i-ki:/ opposition
is realized only in the singular adjective, and that here too it is
difficult to see what the basis of any opposition might be. A list of
representative examples of /?at/, /?at ??r/, /?i-ki:/ and /?i-ki: ??r/
is given below, in their function as singular adjectives, so that they
can easily be compared.
/?at/
All they got to “do is steer that little “wheel a bit.
You’d put in “dynamite to blast that stone “off.
Us’d go “in that pub and have a pint of “beer.
/?at ??r/
I used to walk that there “two mile and “half.
Good as “gold, that there “thing was.
/?i-ki:/
All of us be in “thicky boat, you see.
‘Thicky “dog’, he said, ‘been there all “day?’
Stairs went up “there, like, “thicky side, “thicky end of the wall.
Thicky place would be “black with people . . .
I travelled thicky old road “four “ year . . .
What’s “thicky “little “place called, before you get up “Yelverton?
Thicky field, they’d “break it, they called it.
He was going to put me and Jan “up thicky night.
“Never been through thicky road “ since.
/?i-ki: ??r/
Jim Connell carted home thicky there jar of “cyder same as he carted it
“up.
We got in thicky there “field . . .
The morphological status of /?i:z/ and /?is/ as singulars, and of /?ejz/
and /?i:z/ as plurals has already been discussed. Syntactically, their
use seems to correspond to Standard English closely, except in one
important respect: the ‘first compound’ forms are used in a way similar
to a non-standard usage which is fairly widespread, in the sense of ‘a’
or ‘a certain’.
/?i:z ji:r/
He’d got this here “dog.
You’d put this here great “crust on top.
The ‘first compound’ is never used as an equivalent to Standard English
‘this’, being reserved for uses of the type above, although there is
another form /?i:z . . . ji:r/, which is occasionally used where
Standard English would show ‘this’, eg Between here and this village
“here like.
In the plural, an exactly parallel syntactic division occurs between
/?ejz/ (cf Standard English ‘these’) and /?ejz ji:r/.
These here “maidens that was here . . .
I used to put them in front of these here “sheds.
They got these here “hay-turners . . .
In all the above examples, the ‘first compounds’, both singular and
plural, refer to items which have not been mentioned before, and which
are not adjacent to the speaker; they are thus referentially distinct
from the normal use of Standard English ‘this’.
Although we can fairly say that /?i:z/ and /?ejz/ are syntactically
distinct from their equivalent first compounds, what of the other
adjective compounds /?at ??r/, /?i-ki: ??r/ and /?ej ??r/? There seems
to be no syntactic division in these cases between them and their
equivalent simple forms, so it is perhaps not surprising that Table 2
shows them to be without exception much less common than /?i:z ji:r/ and
/?ejz ji:r/, which have a distinct syntactic role. Forms such as
Us got in thicky there “field
and
Good as “gold, that there “thing was.
do not seem any different from
Us “mowed thicky little plat . . .
and
He turned that “hare “three “times . . .
There is certainly no apparent correlation with any notional degree of
emphasis.
In the case of the singular pronouns, the ‘first compounds’ are
extremely rare, cf.
He done “well with that there. (/?at ??r/)
He went out “broad, this here what’s “dead now. (/?i:z ji:r/).
The basic opposition here is between the simple forms and the ‘second
compounds’ /?is ji:r ji:r/ and /?at ??r ??r/. Here the syntactic
division is fairly clear: the second compounds are used in certain
adverbial phrases, particularly after ‘like’, where the demonstrative
refers to no specific antecedent:
Tis getting like this here “here.
I’ve had to walk home “after that there there.
and also, with reference to a specific antecedent, when particular
emphasis is drawn to the item in question.
I’ve had the “wireless there, this here “here, for “good many years.
One of these here “crocks, something like that there “there.
In all other cases, the simple forms are used.
“This was coming “this way.
Then he did meet with “this.
That’s “one “bad “job, “that was.
/?at/ is used particularly frequently in two phrases, ‘likes of that and
‘and that’.
He doed a bit of “farmering and likes of “that.
I got a “jumper and that home “now.
The last question is one of the most interesting. Is there really only
one form /?ej/ functioning as a plural pronoun? At first sight, this
would seem improbable, given that there is a plural adjective form
/?ejz/ and that the ‘this’:’that’ opposition is maintained elsewhere in
the system. However, all attempts to elicit such a form failed, and
there is at least one spontaneous utterance where, if a form /?ejz/ did
exist as a pronoun, it might be expected to appear:
There’s “thousands of acres out there would grow it better than they in
“here grow it.
Taking all these factors together, we tentatively suggest that the
opposition ‘this’:’that’ is neutralized in this position, even though
this seems rather unlikely, given the adjectival system.
But there is another point. It is in fact difficult to identify
occurrences of /?ej/ as demonstratives with any certainty, because the
form is identical with that of the personal pronoun /?ej/ (Standard
English ‘they’ or ‘them’).
?m/. The first form is used in all stressed positions and as unstressed
subject except in inverted Q-forms; the second is used as the unstressed
non-subject, and as the unstressed subject in inverted Q-forms. Thus we
find:
/?ej/
“I had to show the pony but “they winned the cups.
I could chuck “they about.
That’s up to “they, they know what they’m a”bout of.
They’d take ‘em back of your “door for half-a-crown.
/?m/
They expect to have a “name to the house, “don’t ‘em?
Where do ‘em get the “tools to?
That was as far as “ever they paid ‘em.
I stayed there “long with ‘em for more than a “year.
When considering /?ej/, we find a series of utterances such as the
following in which a division between personal and demonstrative
pronouns would be largely arbitrary.
I could “throw ‘em. chuck “they about.
“They in “towns, they go to concerts,
Us finished up with “they in …
They do seven acres a “day, now, with “they.
There is “they that take an “interest in it.
I could cut in so straight (as) some of “they that “never do it.
?m/. This system would operate in all positions where Standard English
would show either a third person plural personal pronoun, or a plural
demonstrative pronoun. Similarly, there is a dialectal system STRESSED
/?at/ UNSTRESSED /it/ in the third person singular, where the referent
is abstract or non-specific, in that /?at/ never occurs unstressed nor
/it/ stressed. Thus in contrast to the last example above, we find:
I seed some of ‘em that never walked a “mile in their “lives,
where the form /?m/ is unstressed. (Such unstressed examples are much
rarer than stressed examples in positions where Standard English would
show a demonstrative pronoun simply because ‘those’ is normally stressed
in Standard English.)
We should note finally, however, that this analysis of the material does
not in any way explain the absence of a plural pronoun /?ejz/, any more
than the linking of /?at/ with /it/ precludes the existence of a
singular demonstrative pronoun /?i:z/. The non-existence of /?ejz/ as a
pronoun seems best considered as an accidental gap in the corpus.” (№18,
p.20 )
3.6 Verbs.
In the south-western dialects in the singular and in the plural in
Present Indefinite the ending ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ is used, if the Subject is
expressed as
a noun.
e.g. Boys as wants more mun ask.
The other ehaps works hard.
In Devonshire ‘-th’ [?] is added to verbs in the plural in Present
Indefinite.
The form ‘am’ (’m) of the verb ‘to be’ is used after the personal
pronouns:
e.g. We (wem = we are) (Somersetshire)
you, they
After the words ‘if’, ‘when’, ‘until’, ‘after’ Future Indefinite
sometimes used.
The Perfect form in affirmative sentences, in which the Subject is
expressed as a personal pronoun, is usually built without the auxiliary
verb ‘have’:
e.g. We done it.
I seen him.
They been and taken it.
The negation in the south-western dialects is expressed with the adding
of the negative particle ‘not’ in the form ‘-na’ to the verb.
e.g. comesna (comes not)
winna (= will not)
sanna (= shall not)
canna (= cannot)
maunna (= must not)
sudna (= should not)
dinna (= do not)
binna (= be not)
haena (= have not)
daurna (= dare not)
It is typical to the south-western dialects to use too many nigotiations
in the same phrase:
e.g. I yin’t seen nobody nowheres.
I don’t want to have nothing at all to say to you.
I didn’t mean no harm.
Ye’ll better jist nae detain me nae langer.
The negative and interrogative forms of the modal verbs are built with
the help of the auxiliary verb ‘do’.
e.g. He did not ought to do it.
You do not ought to hear it.
Some verbs which are regular in the Standard language become irregular
in the south-western dialects:
e.g. dive – dave, help – holp
Sometimes the ending ‘-ed’ is added to some irregular verbs in the Past
Simple:
e.g. bear – borned, begin – begunned, break – broked, climb – clombed,
dig – dugged, dive – doved, drive – droved, fall – felled, find –
funded, fly – flewed, give – gaved, grip – grapped, hang – hunged,
help – holped, hold – helded, know – knewed, rise – rosed, see –
sawed, shake – shooked, shear – shored, sing – sunged, sink –
sunked, spin – spunned, spring – sprunged, steal – stoled, strive
–
stroved, swear – swored, swim – swammed, take – tooked, tear –
tored, wear – wored, weave – woved, write – wroted.
But some irregular verbs in the Past Simple Tense are used as regular:
e.g. begin – beginned (Western Som., Dev.)
bite – bited (W. Som.)
blow – blowed (Dev.)
drink – drinked (W. Som.)
drive – drived (Dev.)
fall – falled (W. Som., Dev.)
fight – fighted (W. Som.)
fall – falled (Som., Dev.)
go – gade (Dev.)
grow – growed (W. Som.)
hang – hanged (W. Som.)
lose – losed (W. Som., Dev.)
ring – ringed (W. Som.)
speak – speaked (Som.)
spring – springed (W. Som., Dev.)
Many verbs form the Past Participle with the help of the ending ‘-n’.
e.g. call – callen
catch – catchen
come – comen
In some cases in the Past Participle a vowel in the root is changed, and
the suffix is not added.
e.g. catch – [k t?]
hit – [a:t]
lead – [la:d]
In the south-western dialects intransitive verbs have the ending ‘-y’
[?].
In Western Somersetshire before the infinitive in the function of the
adverbial modifier of purpose ‘for’ is used:
e.g. Hast gotten a bit for mend it with? (= Have you got anything to
mend it with?)
3.7 Adverbs.
In the south-western dialects an adjective is used instead of the
adverb.
e.g. You might easy fall.
To build the comparative degree ‘far’ is used instead of ‘further’;
‘laster’ instead of ‘more lately’.
The suparative degree: ‘farest’; ‘lastest’; ‘likerest’; ‘rathest’.
The adverbs of place:
abeigh [?b?x] – ‘at some distance’
abune, aboon – ‘above’
ablow – ‘under’
ben, benn – ‘inside’
outbye [utba?] – ‘outside’
aboot – ‘around’
hine, hine awa – ‘far’
ewest – ‘near’
The adverbs of the mode of action:
hoo, foo – ‘how’
weel – ‘great’
richt – ‘right’
ither – ‘yet’
sae – ‘so’
The adverbs of degree:
much
e.g. How are you today? – Not much, thank you.
‘much’ is also used in the meaning of ‘wonderfully’
e.g. It is much you boys can’t let alone they there ducks.
It was much he hadn’t a been a killed.
rising
‘rising’ is often used in the meaning of ‘nearly’
e.g. How old is the boy? – He’s rising five.
‘fell’, ‘unco’, ‘gey’, ‘huge’, ‘fu’, ‘rael’ are used in the meaning of
‘very’.
ower, owre [aur] – ‘too’
maist – ‘nearly’
clean – ‘at all’
that – ‘so’
feckly – ‘in many cases’
freely – ‘fully’
naarhan, nighhan – ‘nearly’
han, fair – ‘at all’
Adverbs of time:
whan, fan – ‘when’
belive, belyve – ‘now’
yinst – ‘at once’
neist – ‘then’
fernyear – ‘last year’
afore (= before)
e.g. Us can wait avore you be ready, sir.
next – ‘in some time’
e.g. next day = the day after tomorrow
while = till, if
e.g. You’ll never make any progress while you listen to me.
You have to wait while Saturday.
3.8 Transitivity and intransivity in the dialects of South-West England.
One of the most important aspects of studying south-western English is
dialect syntax. So, the article by Jean-Marc Gachelin can give us much
information about transitivity and intransitivity in the dialects of
South-West England.
“Wakelin has pointed out that ‘syntax is an unwieldy subject which
dialectologists have fought shy of’. This brushing aside of dialect
syntax is regrettable because the study of grammatical variation can
shed light on the workings of any language, and thereby enrich general
linguistics. The present chapter deals with an area of dialect syntax –
transitivity in south-west of England dialects – and attempts to
characterize and explain, synchronically and diachronically, its salient
features.
We prefer the moderation of Kilby, who simply admits that the notion of
direct object (DO) ‘is not at all transparent in its usage’. The
problem, therefore, should be not so much to discard but rather to
improve our notions of transitivity and intransitivity. In this regard,
the dialects of South-west England are important and interesting.
1. A description of transitivity and intransitivity in the dialects of
South-west England.
When compared with the corresponding standard language, any geographical
variety may be characterized by three possibilities:
(a) identity; (b) archaism (due to slower evolution); and (c)
innovation. Interestingly enough, it is not uncommon in syntax for (b)
and (c) to combine if a given dialect draws extensively on a secondary
aspect of an older usage. This is true of two features which are highly
characteristic of the South-west and completely absent in contemporary
Standard English.
1.1 Infinitive + y
One of these characteristics is mentioned by Wakelin, the optional
addition of the -y ending to the infinitive of any real intransitive
verb or any transitive verb not followed by a DO, namely object-deleting
verbs (ODVs) and ergatives. The use of this ending is not highlighted in
the Survey of English Dialects (SED, Orton and Wakelin). It is only
indirectly, when reading about relative pronouns, that we come upon
There iddn (= isn’t) many (who) can sheary now, recorded in Devon (Orton
and Wakelin). However, Widen gives the following examples heard in
Dorset: farmy, flickery, hoopy (‘to call’), hidy, milky, panky (‘to
pant’), rooty (talking of a pig), whiny. Three of these verbs are
strictly intransitive (ftickery, panky, whiny), the others being ODVs.
Wright also mentions this characteristic, chiefly in connection with
Devon, Somerset and Dorset.
In the last century, Barnes made use of the -y ending in his Dorset
poems, both when the infinitive appears after to:
reaeky = ‘rake’
skimmy
drashy = ‘thresh’
reely
and after a modal (as in the example from the SED):
Mid (= may) happy housen smoky round/The church.
The cat veil zick an’ woulden mousy.
But infin.+y can also be found after do (auxiliary), which in South-west
dialects is more than a more ‘signal of verbality’, serving as a
tense-marker as well as a person-marker (do everywhere except for dost,
2nd pers. sing.). Instead of being emphatic, this do can express the
progressive aspect or more often the durative-habitual (= imperfective)
aspect, exactly like the imperfect of Romance languages. Here are a few
examples culled from Barnes’s poems:
Our merry sheaepes did jumpy.
When I do pitchy, ‘tis my pride (meaning of the verb, cf pitch-fork).
How gay the paths be where we do strolly.
Besides ODVs and intransitive verbs, there is also an ergative:
doors did slammy.
In the imperative, infin. -y only appears with a negative:
don’t sobby!
The optional use of the -y ending is an advantage in dialect poetry for
metre or rhyme:
Vor thine wull peck, an’ mine wull grubby (rhyming with snubby)
And this ending probably accounts for a phonetic peculiarity of
South-west dialects, namely the apocope of to arguy (the former dialect
pronunciation of to argue), to carry and to empty, reduced to to arg, to
car and to empt.
In the grammatical part of his Glossary of the Dorset Dialect, Barnes
insists on the aspectual connection between do and infin.+y:
“Belonging to this use of the free infinitive y-ended verbs, is another
kindred one, the showing of a repetition or habit of doing as ‘How the
dog do jumpy’, i-e keep jumping. ‘The child do like to whippy’, amuse
himself with whipping. ‘Idle chap, he’ll do nothen but vishy, (spend his
time in fishing), if you do leave en alwone’. ‘He do markety’, he
usually attends market.”
Barnes also quotes a work by Jennings in which this South-west feature
was also described:
“Another peculiarity is that of attaching to many of the common verbs in
the infinitive mode as well as to some other parts of different
conjugations, the letter -y. Thus it is very common to say ‘I can’t
sewy’, I can’t nursy’, ‘he can’t reapy’, ‘he can’t sawy’, as well as ‘to
sewy, to nursy, to reapy, to sawy’, etc; but never, I think, without an
auxiliary verb, or the sign of the infinitive to.”
Barnes claimed, too, that the collocation of infin. +y and the DO was
unthinkable: ‘We may say, “Can ye zewy?” but never “Wull ye zewy up
theaese zeam?” “Wull ye zew up theaese zeam” would be good Dorset.”
Elworthy also mentions the opposition heard in Somerset between I do dig
the garden and Every day, I do diggy for three hours (quoted by
Jespersen and by Rogers). Concerning the so-called ‘free infinitive’,
Wiltshire-born Rogers comments that ‘it is little heard now, but was
common in the last century’, which tallies with the lack of examples in
the SED. (This point is also confirmed by Itialainen) Rogers is quite
surprised to read of a science-fiction play (BBC, 15 March 1978)
entitled ‘Stargazy in Zummerland’, describing a future world in which
the population was divided between industrial and agricultural workers,
the latter probably using some form of south-western speech, following a
time-honoured stage tradition already perceptible in King Lear
(disguised as a rustic, Edgar speaks broad Somerset).
To sum up, after to, do (auxiliary), or a modal, the formula of the
‘free infinitive’ is
intr. V ? infin. + -y/0
where ‘intr.’ implies genuine intransitives, ODVs and even ergatives. As
a dialect-marker, -y is now on the wane, being gradually replaced by 0
due to contact with Standard English.
1.2 Of + DO
The other typical feature of south-western dialects is not mentioned by
Wakelin, although it stands out much more clearly in the SED data. This
is the optional use of o’/ov (occasionally on) between a transitive verb
and its DO. Here are some of the many examples. Stripping the feathers
off a dead chicken (Orton and Wakelin) is called:
pickin/pluckin ov it (Brk-loc. 3);
trippin o’ en (= it) (D-loc. 6);
pickin o’ en (Do-loc. 3);
pluckin(g) on en – (W-loc. 9; Sx-loc. 2).
Catching fish, especially trout, with one’s hand (Orton and Wakelin) is
called:
ticklin o’/ov em (= them) (So-loc. 13; W-loc. 2, 8; D-loc. 2, 7, 8;
Do-loc. 2-5; Ha-loc. 4);
gropin o’/ov em (D-loc. 4, 6);
ticklin on em (W-loc. 3, 4; Ha-loc. 6; Sx-loc. 3);
tickle o’ em (Do-loc. l) (note the absence of -in(g)).
action ? goal) and verbs which are only syntactically transitives (/
hear you: goal ? action). It is a pity that the way informants were
asked questions for the SED (‘What do we do with them? – Our eyes/ears’)
does not enable us to treat the transitive verbs see Orton and Wakelin
and hear (Orton and Wakelin) other than as ODVs.
The use of of as an operator between a transitive verb and its DO was
strangely enough never described by Barnes, and is casually dismissed as
an ‘otiose of’ by the authors of the SED, even though nothing can really
be ‘otiose’ in any language system. Rogers points out that ‘Much more
widely found formerly, it is now confined to sentences where the
pronouns en, it and em are the objects.’ This is obvious in the SED
materials, as, incidentally, it is in these lines by Barnes:
To work all day a-meaeken hay/Or pitchen o’t.
Nevertheless, even if his usage is in conformity with present syntax, it
is important to add that, when Barnes was alive, o/ov could precede any
DO (a-meaeken ov hay would equally have been possible). What should also
be noted in his poetry is the extremely rare occurrence of o’/ov after a
transitive verb with no -en (= -ing) ending, which, as we just saw, is
still very rare in modern speech:
Zoo I don’t mind o’ leaeven it to-morrow.
Zoo I don’t mind o’ leaeven o’t to-morrow.
The second line shows a twofold occurrence of o’ after two transitive
verbs, one with and one without -en.
This -en ending can be a marker of a verbal noun, a gerund or a present
participle (as part of a progressive aspect form or on its own), and o’
may follow in each case.
VERBAL NOUN
My own a-decken ov my own (‘my own way of dressing my darling’).
This is the same usage as in Standard English he doesn’t like my driving
of his car.
GERUND
That wer vor hetten o’n (‘that was for hitting him’).
. . . little chance/O’ catchen o’n.
I be never the better vor zee-en o’ you.
The addition of o’ to a gerund is optional: Vor grinden any corn vor
bread is similar to Standard English.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT
As I wer readen ov a stwone (about a headstone).
Rogers gives two examples of the progressive aspect:
I be stackin’ on ‘em up.
I were a-peeling of the potatoes (with a different spelling).
PRESENT PARTICIPLE ON ITS OWN
To vind me stannen in the cwold, / A-keepen up o’ Chris’mas.
After any present participle, the use of o’ is also optional:
Where vo’k be out a-meaeken hay.
The general formula is thus:
trans. V ? V + o’/0
which can also be read as
MV (main verb) ? trans. V + o’/0 + DO.
Here, o’ stands for o’ (the most common form), ov and even on. In modem
usage, the DO, which could be a noun or noun phrase in Barnes’s day and
age, appears from the SED materials to be restricted to personal
pronouns. For modern dialects, the formula thus reads:
MV ? trans. V + o’/0 + pers. pron.
The o’ is here a transitivity operator which, exactly like an accusative
ending in a language with case declensions, disappears in the passive.
Consequently, the phenomenon under discussion here has to be
distinguished from that of prepositional verbs, which require the
retention of the preposition in the passive:
We have thought of all the possible snags. ?
All the possible snags have been thought of.
The use of o’ as a transitivity operator in active declaratives is also
optional, which represents another basic difference from prepositional
verbs.
Exactly the same opposition, interestingly enough, applies in
south-western dialects also:
[1] He is (a-) eaeten o’ ceaekes ? What is he (a-) eaeten?
[2] He is (a-) dreaemen o’ceaekes ? What is he (a-) dreaemen ov?
What remains a preposition in [1] and [2] works as the link between a
transitive verb and its DO. The compulsory deletion of the operator o’
in questions relating to the DO demonstrates the importance here of the
word order (V + o’ + DO), as does also the similar triggering of
deletion by passives.
Though now used in a more restricted way, ie before personal pronouns
only, this syntactic feature is better preserved in the modern dialects
than the
-y ending of intransitive verbs, but, in so far as it is only optional,
it is easy to detect the growing influence of Standard English.
2. Diachrony as an explanation of these features.
Although the above description has not been purely synchronic, since it
cites differences in usage between the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, it is actually only by looking back at even earlier stages of
the language that we can gain any clear insights into why the dialects
have developed in this way.
Both Widen and Wakelin remind us that the originally strictly
morphological -y ending has since developed into a syntactic feature. It
is a survival of the Middle English infinitive ending -ie(n), traceable
to the -ian suffix of the second class of Old English weak verbs (OE
milcian ? ME milkie(n) ? south-west dial. milky). Subsequently, -y has
been analogically extended to other types of verbs in south-west
dialects under certain syntactic conditions: in the absence of any DO,
through sheer impossibility (intransitive verb) or due to the speaker’s
choice (ODV or ergative). The only survival of medieval usage is the
impossibility of a verb form like milky being anything other than an
infinitive. Note that this cannot be labelled an archaism, since the
standard language has never demonstrated this particular syntactic
specialization.
So far no explanation seems to have been advanced for the origin of
‘otiose of’, and yet it is fairly easy to resort to diachrony in order
to explain this syntactic feature. Let us start, however, with
contemporary Standard English:
[3] They sat, singing a shanty. (present participle on its own)
[4] They are singing a shanty. (progressive aspect)
[5] I like them/their singing a shanty. (gerund)
[6] I like their singing of a shanty. (verbal noun)
Here [5] and [6] are considered nominalizations from a synchronic point
of view. As far as [4] is concerned, Barnes reminds his readers that the
OE nominalization ic waes on hunlunge (‘I was in the process of
hunting’, cf Aelfric’s Colloquim: fui in. venatione) is the source of
modern / was hunting, via an older structure I was (a-) hunting which is
preserved in many dialects, the optional verbal prefix a- being what
remains of the preposition on.
The nominal nature of V-ing is still well established in the verbal noun
(with the use of of in particular), and it is here that the
starting-point of a chain reaction lies. Hybrid structures (verbal
nouns/gerunds) appeared as early as Middle English, as in
bi puttyng forth of whom so it were (1386 Petition of Mercers)
and similar gerunds followed by of were still a possibility in
Elizabethan English:
Rend not my heart for naming of my Christ (Marlowe, Doctor Faustus)
together with verbal nouns not followed by any of:
… as the putting him clean out of his humour (B. Jonson, Every Man out
of his Humour).
Having been extended from the verbal noun to the gerund, of also
eventually spread to the progressive aspect in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, at a time when the V-ing + of sequence became
very widespread in Standard English:
Are you crossing of yourself? (Marlowe, Doctor Faustus).
He is hearing of a cause (Shakespeare, Measure for Measure).
She is taking of her last farewell (Bunyan, The Pilgim’s Progress).
However, what is definitely an archaism in Standard English has been
preserved in south-western dialects, which have gone even further and
also added an optional o’ to the present participle used on its own (ie
other than in the progressive aspect). Moreover, there is even a
tendency, as we have seen, to use o’ after a transitive verb without the
-en (= -ing) ending. This tendency, which remains slight, represents the
ultimate point of a chain reaction that can be portrayed as follows:
Use of o’ in the environment following:
(A) (B) (C)
(D)
verbal noun ? gerund ? be + V-ing ? pres. part. ? V
V-ing
(A) evolution from Middle English to the Renaissance;
(B) evolution typical of English in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries;
(C) evolution typical of south-western dialects;
(D) marginal tendency in south-western dialects.
№18, p.218)
4. Vocabulary.
Devonshire (Dev)
Somersetshire (Som)
Wiltshire (Wil)
Cornwall (Cor)
A
Abroad – adj растерянный, незнающий, как поступить; попавший впросак,
совершивший ошибку; разваренный, расплавленный (о пище): The potatoes
are abroad. The sugar is gone abroad.
Addle, Udall, Odal (Dev) – v зарабатывать, сберегать, откладывать,
экономить; (о растениях) расти, расцветать [gu. o?la, возвр. o?lask –
приобретать (имущество), o?al – имущество]
Ail (Wil, Dev) – n ость (колоса)
Aller (Dev) – n нарыв, карбункул; тяжелый ожог: Suke died acause her
aller wanted letting.
Answer (Som) – v выносить, переносить (те или иные условия, определенные
события); выжить: That there poplar ’ont never answer out of doors, t’ll
be a ratted in no time; ~ to: реагировать на что-либо, поддаваться
воздействию чего-либо: Clay land easily answers to bones.
Any (повсеместно) – adj, adv, pron: any bit like – хороший, сносный,
приличный (о здоровье, погоде, поведении): I’ll come and see thee
tomorrow if it’s only any-bit-like; any more than – только; если бы:
He’s sure to come any more than he might be a bit late. I should be sure
to go to school any more than I’ve not got a gownd to my back.
Attle (Cor) – n мусор, отбросы
B
Bach, Batch, Bage (Som) – n река, ручей; долина, через которую протекает
ручей; овраг; насыпь или холм, находящиеся вблизи реки
Bad (Wil) – n внешняя земная оболочка ореха
Badge (Wil) – v заниматься перепродажей зерна, овощей и фруктов
Balch (Dev, Cor) – n небольшая веревка, кушак
Bam (Cor) – n шутка, проделка, номер: It’s nowt but a bam.
(Wil, Som) – n портянка, грубая материя, оборачиваемая вокруг
ноги
Ban (Som) – v проклинать; ругаться
Bannock (Wil, Som, Dev) – n блин / лепешка из овсянной или ячменной муки
Barge (Dev) – n боров; v ругать, оскорблять
Barney (Som) – n ссора, перебранка; чепуха; ошибка; плохо выполненная
работа, халтура
Barton (Wil, Dev, Som, Cor) – n крестьянский двор; подсобные помещения в
задней части крестьянского двора; крестьянский дом
Barvel (Cor) – n короткий кожаный передник, надеваемый при мытье полов;
кожаный передник рыбаков
Bate (Som, Dev) – n плохое настроение, раздраженное состояние; v
ссориться, ругаться
Beagle, Bogle (Dev) – n пугало; привидение; гротескно одетый человек,
«ряженый»
Beet, Boot (Cor) – v чинить, ремонтировать, помогать; удовлетворять
Besgan, Biscan, Vescan (Cor) – n кожаный напальчник; матерчатая повязка
Big (Som, Cor) – adj дружественный, близкий: Smith and Brown are very
big; v строить; v (с up) утверждать, поддержать (в мнении); быть
преданным, верным (человеку или идее)
Bogzom (Dev) – adj ярко-красный; румяный: Ya ha made ma chucks bugzom.
Bribe (Wil) – v приставать, издеваться; ругать, «пилить»: She terrible
bribed I.
Brindled (Som) – ppl adj пестрый, полосатый
Bruick-boil (Dev) – v вянуть; становиться сухой (о погоде)
Bunt (Som, Dev, Cor) – n сито; v просеивать муку
(Wil) – n вязанка хвороста
Buss, boss (Wil, Dev, Cor) – n теленок
But (Som) – n пики (в картах)
(Cor) – v вывихнуть (сустав): I’ve butted my thumb.
C
Cab (Som, Dev, Cor) – n липкая масса, что-либо грязное, мокрое или
липкое (adj cabby); v воровать
Cad (Som) – n самые мелкие и молодые особи (поросят, телят и др.); pl
мелкий картофель; падаль, гнилое мясо
Call (Som) – v думать, считать
Cam (Cor) – n глинистый сланец; adj изогнутый; упрямый
Casar (Dev, Cor) – n сито; v просеивать
Caw (Dev) – v дышать с трудом; n дурак
Cawk (Som) – v пороть, бить
Chack (Dev, Cor) – adj ppl chackt, chacking – испытывающий жажду;
голодный
Cheap (Som) – adj фразеол. be cheap on – вполне заслуживающий чего-либо
Chill (Dev, Som) – v немного подогреть (жидкость); chilled water –
теплая вода
Chilver (Wil, Som) – n ягненок
Chissom (Wil, Som, Dev) – n отросток, побег (растения); v давать
отростки, побеги
Chuck (Som, Dev) – n нижняя часть лица, шея, глотка
Clib (Dev, Cor) – v прилипать; увлажнять, смачивать
Clivan, Clevant, Callyvan, Vant (Som) – n ловушка для птиц: You be like
a wren in a clivan.
Clock (Som) – n жук
Coath (Som, Dev) – n болезнь печени у овец; v падать в обморок
Cob (Cor) – n плохо исполненная работа
Cold (Som, Dev, Wil, Cor) – to catch cold – попасть в беду; to cast the
cold of a thing – избавиться от последствий какого-либо зла или
несчастья; cold cheer – нужда; cold hand – хороший образец культуры
пшеницы или ячменя; cold lady – пудинг из муки и жира
Colley (Wil) – n сажа, грязь; свежее мясо
Colt (Wil) – n оползень; v оползать (о почве)
Cooch (Coochy) (Dev, Cor) – n левша; adj неуклюжий
Cook (Som) – v убить; притаиться, спрятаться
Coose (Dev, Cor) – v сплетничать; слоняться
Cotton (Som, Dev) – v бить, пороть
Cowerd (Wil, Som) – adj парной (о молоке)
Crib (Dev, Cor) – n еда; v воровать
Crowd (Som, Dev, Cor) – n скрипка
D
Dain (Wil) – adj имеющий плохой запах
Dare (Wil, Som, Dev) – v отпрянуть в ужасе, бояться; прятаться; пугать
Dawk (Wil, Som) – n дыра; v протыкать; моросить (о дожде); adj
беспомощный; v небрежно и неопрятно одеваться
Denshire (Wil, Dev) – v срезать дерн и сжигать его после просушки
Dey (Wil) – n женщина, занятая в молочном хозяйстве
Dool (Dev) – n пограничный столбик (на поле); ворота (в игре); гвоздь,
шип для скрепления половых досок; большой кусок; v ударять (плоской
поверхностью); (с off) отмечать, устанавливать границу, межу
Downy (Som) – adj хитрый, ловкий; в плохом настроении, подавленный
Drill (Dev) – v тратить время попусту; замедлять, задерживать; заманить;
заставить что-либо делать с помощью лести
Dupl (= do up) (Wil) – v открывать; закрывать, запирать; быстро идти
Dwall (Som, Dev) – v бредить, говорить бессвязно; n легкий сон
Dwam (Dev) – n обморок; приступ болезни
E
Ear (Wil, Som) – v пахать землю
Easse (Wil, Som) – n земляной червь
Elt, Hilt (Som, Dev) – n молодая свинья
Eve (Wil, Dev, Cor) – v потеть, выделять влагу; таять
Evil (Dev, Cor) – n вилы для навоза; вилы; v сгребать вилами
F
Fadge (Som, Dev, Cor) – v подходить, быть подходящим друг для друга:
They don’t fadge well together; соглашаться; преуспевать; делать работу
кое-как, спустя рукава; идти с трудом, медленно; n вид пирога; связка,
сноп; определенное количество чего-либо
Fady (Dev, Cor) – adj сырой
Fage (Som) – v льстить, подлизываться; обманывать
Fain (Dev) – v просить мира (в детских играх: Fain it! «Сдаюсь!»; adj
счачтливый, довольный; adv охотно; n (о мукe) плохого качества
Farewell (Wil, Som, Dev) – n привкус: The butter leaves a clammy
farewell in the mouth.
Favour (Dev) – v помогать, облегчать
Fawny (Dev) – n кольцо
Feat (Wil, Dev) – adj довольно большой (по размеру или количеству);
значительный; опрятный; красивый
Feer (Wil) – v пройти первую борозду при пахоте; n борозда
Fenny, Vinny (Wil) – adj покрытый плесенью
Fitten (Wil, Som) – n уловка, предлог; каприз, причуда
Flag (Wil, Dev) – n лист растения
Flaw (Dev, Cor) – n внезапный порыв ветра
Flawn, Flome (Dev) – n оладья, блин; деревенский праздник, на котором
подают блины; блюдо из взбитых яиц и молока
Fleck (Som) – n пятно; царапина на коже; дефект на одежде
Flue (Wil) – adj нежный, слабый, болезненный; худой; мелкий (о сосуде);
широкий, обширный
Fly (Som) – adj хитрый
6 a ?
z
O
Y
…
µ
c
??????????
?&?
?&?
????&?
– ! ” # $ % & ‘ 5 6 a > Oe oooooooooooooooooooooooiaa
Oe * A ] ?
. oeeeaoooooooooooo*Ioooo
&
&
RNR&W(WOX*XOXoX
\#\/^u^‡`‰`OecUcUecoeeoeTHoeNoeeoeEoeTHEoeeoeeoeAoeAoeµoeµoeµoeNoeµoeTHE
oeNoeTHEoeeoeTHE¬E¬EFE?E•E•E¬E
H*
dh
&
dha$
8IYI@K:L
\
\#\oiaaaoiiaa*iiiiiiIiiiAe
&
dha$
dh`„?a$
dh
&
~Y~o~
s‚?‚
~Ue~Y~o~
„
kd2
kdAe
› ›oeoeoeoeoeoeimikdj
¦
E
I
e
i
&
??????????
&
a
i
OJQJ
OJQJ
OJQJ
OJQJ
J+JzJAEJiJthJOKcKoK
OJQJ
OJQJ
l
OJQJ
dh^„`„?
OJQJ
OJQJ
^„`„
coaaaaaoOaaaaaaaoaaoaEaa
OJQJ
µ-µ
µ”µ‚µ?µ¤µ?µoeieoeeoeeoeeoeeaeoeieoeaeoeieoeiaeoeieoeieieaeoeiaeoeeoeieie
ieaeoeieaeoeiaeoeieoeUaeoeieoeaeoeieoeaeoeieoeaeoe
uoueoueaeaueoueoaueoueoOeEeaueoueaueoueoueueEeaueoueaueoueueEeoAaueoueou
aeou
oeicoeacoeaoeicacoeicacoeacoeicaoeaoeicacoeaoeicacoeicacicicoeicacoeioei
cacoeaoeicacoeicacoeaoeicaoeicaoeicacoe
uoeTHOuoeTHOuoeTHOuoeTHoeTHIOuoTHouTHoeTHOuoeTHOuoeTHOuoTHoTHoTHouTHoeTH
OuoTHoOuoeTHOuoeTHOuoeTHOuoTH
х
Framp (Som, Dev) – adj (в словосочетаниях: framp-shaken; framp-shapen)
искривленный, набекрень
Frape (Som, Dev, Cor) – v завязывать; ругать
Fur (Som, Dev, Cor) – v бросать, кидать; дергать за уши; перебиваться,
сводить концы с концами: I’ve nobbut a shillin’ to fur t’week on with.
Furcom, Fircom (Wil, Som) – n суть, существо, основа какого-либо дела;
pl все обстоятельства дела: I’ll tell ’ee all the fircoms on’t.
G
Gaff (Dev) – n крючок; дешевый театр; выступление на деревенской
ярмарке; хозяин, начальник
Gale (Som, Dev, Cor) – n периодическая плата за что-либо, рента
Glam (Dev) – n рана
Gout (Cor), Gutt – n капля; сгусток чего-либо; adj Gouty – сучковатый,
имеющий неровности
Graft (Cor, Dev, Som, Wil) – n овраг, углубление в земле; случайная
работа
Great (Dev) – adj большой по размеру: The glass is great enough. His
brother is great and strong; дружественный, в хороших отношениях: My
brother is very great with the lad; great folks – большие друзья; adv
очень: great foul, great likely, great mich, a great high wall; сдельная
работа: great-work; work by the great
H
Hackle (Wil) – n одежда; шерсть животных; оперение птиц; v хорошо сидеть
(об одежде)
Hag(g) (Som, Wil, Dev) – v подстрекать, провоцировать; дразнить; n лес,
роща; крутая скала
Halsen (Som, Dev, Cor) – v предсказывать; предрекать неприятности
Hange (Som, Dev, Cor) – n внутренности (печень, легкие, сердце)
какого-либо животного
Harl(e) (Som) – v тащить, тянуть; сгребать; медленно двигаться
Hathe (Som) – n плотная оболочка, покров; be in a hathe – быть покрытым
сыпью оспы или другой болезни
Hathern (Som) – n перила: I first catched a hold o’the hathern so I
jissy saved I.
Havage (Dev, Cor) – n происхождение, родословная
Hearst (Som, Dev) – n молодая самка оленя
Hile (Som) – n несколько стогов, сложенных вместе; v (о скоте) бодать;
препятствовать
Hint (Wil) – v собирать, складывать;
(Som) – v вянуть, сохнуть
Ho, Hoe, How (Som) – v скучать о ком-либо; заботиться, проявлять
внимание к кому-либо, ухаживать за кем-либо
Hocksy (Wil), тж. OXY – adj в виде жидкой, липкой грязи
Hog (Dev) – n куча (картофеля или других овощей), укрытая соломой и
землей от мороза и дождя; бурт
Hoggan (Cor) – n пирог со свининой (тж. Fuggan, Hobban); плод шиповника
Holiday (Cor), Holliday – n место, оставленное нетронутым при стирании
пыли с чего-либо, при покраске
Hope (Som) – n впадина между холмами; долина, через которую протекает
ручей, но тж.: холм; бухта
Horry, Howery (Som, Dev) – adj грязный, отвратительный; заплесневелый
Hound (Som) – n pl выступы на нижней части мачты
Hovel, Hobble (Som) – v спасать корабль, попавший в беду; помогать
кораблю стать на якорь или выйти из гавани; n удача: He got a good
hovel.
How (Dev) – n небольшой холмик
Hug (Som) – n чесотка; v подстрекать, заставлять (что-либо сделать)
Huss (Som) – v натравить собаку на кого-либо
I
Ignorant (Wil, Som) – adj невоспитанный: I thought it would look so
ignorant to stop you.
Inkle (Dev, Cor) – n шнурок из грубой пряжи (для закрепления фартука,
ботинок)
J
Jack (Cor, Dev, Som, Wil) – v оставить, бросить (работу), уйти
Jail (Cor) – v быстро идти
Jimmy (Som) – adj опрятный, аккуратный; проворный; хорошо сделанный
K
Keech (Wil, Som) – v затвердевать (о расплавленном жире, воске);
замерзать (о воде); n большой кусок (грязи, жира)
Keeve (Som, Dev, Cor) – n большой таз
Keffel (Som) – n лошадь (обычно старая); предмет низкого качества;
ленивый, глупый человек
Kemps (Som) – n короткие грубые ворсински или волоски на шерсти
Kern (Dev, Som, Cor) – v сворачиваться (о молоке); медленно вариться
Kibbit (Dev, Cor) – n чан, ведро
Kindle (Som) – v (о небольших животных, особенно кроликах) производить
потомство
L
Lag (Cor) – v обрызгать грязью
Lammock (Cor) – n негодяй
Lart (Som, Dev) – n пол (особенно в верхней комнате или на чердаке);
полка
Lashing (Dev, Cor) – n pl (тж. Lashings and Lavins) большое количество
чего-либо; adj большой, огромный
Law (Som, Dev) – n холм; насыпь; груда камней; v складывать в стога
Leap (Som) – n большая корзина
Lear (Dev, Som) – adj пустой
Let, Lat (Wil, Som, Cor) – v мешать, останавливать, не пускать;
перестать; n задержка, препятствие: without let or hindrance
Letch (Som, Dev) – n сильное желание; причуда
Letting – adj (о погоде) дождливый
Lewth (Wil, Som, Dev) – n убежище; место, защищенное от ветра
Lewze, Looze (Som, Dev) – n свиной хлев
Lich (Som, Dev) – n труп
Lidden (Som, Dev, Cor) – n песня; монотонный припев
Lide (Wil, Cor) – n месяц март
Lig, Liggan (Cor) – n вид водорослей; удобрение из водорослей или сухих
листьев
Linch (Dev, Cor) – v бить
Lissom (Wil, Som, Dev) – n тонкая полоска чего-либо; слой
Litten (Wil, Som) – n кладбище
Lock (Som, Dev, Cor) – n определенное количество чего-либо, обычно
небольшое
Lodden (Cor) – n лужа, небольшой пруд
Log (Dev, Cor) – v колебаться, качаться
Loker (Dev) – n рубанок
Lourve, Luffer, Loover (Som) – n дымоход, печная труба
Low (Dev) – n пламя; свет
M
Mang (Wil, Som, Dev) – v смешивать
Maskel (Som, Dev) – n зеленая гусеница; небольшое сморщенное яблоко
Masker (Dev) – v потерять сознание: He got maskered i’the snow-storm
o’the hill; лишаться рассудка; душить, задохнуться: He coughs sometimes
like as if he’d masker; гнить; ржаветь
Maxim (Som, Dev, Cor) – n выдумка, способ действия: I’ve tried every
sort o’ maxims wi’ un, but I can’t make-n grow; pl проказы, шутки; v
играть: I zeed min maximin’ about in the fiel’.
Magzard (Som, Dev, Cor) – n сорт мелкой черной вишни
Meech (Som, Dev) – v пробираться украдкой (about); пропустить занятия,
не явиться на работу; лодырничать; попрошайничать, собирать милостыню;
воровать
Meet (Dev) – adj должный, нужный, правильный
Ment (Som) – v быть похожим на кого-либо: He ment’s his father; n
сходство
Mickle (Wil) – adj, adv много
Mickled (Dev) – ppl: mickled with cold – окоченевший от холода;
задыхающийся, пересохший от жары (рот, глотка)
Mock (Som, Dev, Cor) – n пень дерева (с корнями), большая палка; adv
Mocking – попеременно, поочередно: I think, sir, that we had better put
in them plants mocking; v быть расположенным вперемешку: The black
squares on a chess-board mock each other.
Mog(g) (Som) – v обидеться; хандрить; отказываться от пищи
Mogue (Som) – v обманывать; насмехаться
Mole (Som) – n темя; затылок
Moot (Som, Dev, Cor) – n пень; v двигать, передвигать; намекать на
что-либо
Mop (Wil) – n ярмарка, на которой нанимались слуги и
сельскохозяйственные рабочие; увеселительное сборище
More (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n корень дерева или растения; побег;
растение, цветок, кустарник; v приживаться (о растении); выкорчевывать,
вырывать с корнем
Mort (Som, Dev, Cor) – n свиной жир, шпиг
Mugget (Som, Dev, Cor) – n складка на рубашке
Mungy (Cor) – adj (о погоде) душный и сырой; (о фруктах) перезрелый
Muryan (Cor) – n муравей
N
Nammet (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n завтрак (особенно в поле); еда
Naty (Dev, Cor) – adj (о мясе) мягкий, неволокнистый, разваристый
Neck (Som, Dev, Cor) – n последний стог хлеба в поле
Neive (Dev) – n кулак, сжатая рука
Nim (Som, Dev) – v схватить; стянуть, своровать
Nitch (Wil, Som, Dev) – n вязанка (сена, соломы, дров); семья; банда
Noil (Som) – n короткая шерсть, оставшаяся после стрижки; отходы шерсти,
шелка
Nool (Cor) – v бить; Nooling – n побои
Northering (Som, Dev) – ppl, adj несвязный (о речи); не в своем уме,
помешанный
Not (Som, Dev) – adj гладкий, в хорошем состоянии (о поле); Notted –
подстриженный
O
Oast, East (Dev) – n печь для сушки хмеля; сырная масса до ее удаления
из сыворотки
Oaze, Hose (N-W Dev) – n pl вывески
Oddy, Hoddy (Wil) – adj сильный, энергичный, живой
Old (Dev) – adj большой, сильный, обильный, великолепный: auld to do = a
great fass, auld wark – то же; old doing = great sport, great feasting,
an uncommon display of hospitality; a pratty old tap = a great speed;
умный, серьезный; талантливый (ребенок): He looked very old about it.
The child was little and old; хитрый, изворотливый: He’s too old for
you. He looked very old at me = he looked very knowingly (distrustfully,
angrily, askance) at me.
Ollet, Elet (Wil) – n сухие и гнилые ветки, используемые как топливо
Orch, Horch (Dev) – v бодать
Ore (Dev, Cor) – n морская водоросль; водоросль, выброшенная на берег
приливом
Orrel (Cor) – n высокое крыльцо, веранда
P
Paise (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – v взвешивать (особенно на руке); подымать
рычагом; взламывать
Pame (Som, Dev) – n фланелевая пеленка; одеяло, в которое заворачивают
ребенка перед крещением
Pancheon (Cor) – n большое глиняное ведро (особенно для молока)
Peach (Cor) – v заманивать (с away); Peacher – n приманка
Ped (Dev, Cor) – n кляча, лягушка
Pelf (Dev, Cor) – n мусор, отходы; мех, руно; деньги (вульг.)
Peller (Cor) – n колдун; знахарь
Pilch (Som, Cor) – n (треугольная) пеленка
Pind, Pindy (Som) – adj плесневый, несвежий
Play (Som) – v варить, кипятить: Did’th pot play when you come?; не
работать; ~ in – начинать; ~ up – ругать
Plim (Som, Dev) – v распухнуть, увеличиваться в объеме, вздуваться; adj
полный
Plum (Wil, Dev, Cor) – v надуваться; подыматься (о тесте); adj (о
погоде) мягкий
Polt (Wil) – v сбивать фрукты с дерева длинным шестом; n удар
Pomple (Som) – adj надежный, заслуживающий доверия (о человеке)
Pomster, Pompsy, Pounster (Som, Dev, Cor) – n знахарь; v заниматься
врачеванием без достаточных медицинских знаний: Don’t pomster thyself.
Pook (Wil, Som, Cor) – n стог, кипа, куча; v тянуть; ощипать (курицу)
Prill (Som, Dev, Cor) – v скиснуть, свернуться (о молоке), испортиться
(о характере, настроении человека): a-prilled, a-pirled
Punish (Dev) – v причинять боль, страдание; ранить; переносить боль: His
leg did punish him so. I punished so in the new boots; съесть,
проглотить
Pur (Som) – n баран
Put (Som, Cor, Dev, Wil) – v посылать; заставлять что-либо делать; put
in – распрягать; переносить, терпеть (страдания); выполнять что-либо;
put out – обнаруживать, обнародовать; put to (till) – допрашивать;
мучить; запрягать; закрывать; v толкать
Q
Quank (Wil) – v превозмочь; успокоить; adj тихий, спокойный
Quar (Som, Dev) – v (о молоке) свернуться; задыхаться
Quarrel (Dev, Som, Cor, Wil) – n оконное стекло
Queachy (Som) – adj болотистый, сырой
Quilkin (Dev, Cor) – n лягушка, жаба
R
Rag (Dev) – n иней; туман; моросящий дождь
Rake (Cor) – n путь, маршрут, направление; путешествие; груз, который
можно перенести за один раз; большое количество
Rally (Som, Dev) – v быстро идти, спешить; будить, подымать ото сна;
ругать, громко говорить
Rames (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n pl скелет, каркас; засохшая ботва
картофеля и других растений
Rane (Som, Dev) – n трещина (напрмер, в дереве); рваное место (одежды)
Rap (Som, Dev, Cor, Wil) – v менять, выменивать на что-либо; n сделка
Rare (Som, Dev, Cor) – adj ранний (об овощах, фруктах); готовый,
приготовленный
Rawn (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – v жадно есть; делать борозду; оставлять
шрам; rawned – adj обезображенный
Ray (Som, Dev) – v украшать; одевать; раздевать; загрязнять
Read (Som) – n четвертый желудок у жвачных животных; желудок животного;
v советовать; предупреждать; объяснять; предполагать
Ream (Dev, Cor) – n сливки
Rear (Wil, Dev, Cor) – adj (о мясе, яйцах) полусырой, недоваренный,
недожаренный: Ah likes my bacon a bit rare; (о фруктах) неспелый; (о
погоде) сырой
Rear-mouse (Wil, Som, Dev) – n летучая мышь
Reck (Som) – n небольшая корзина
Reese (Cor) – v (о перезрелом зерне) опадать
Ridder, Riddle (Wil, Som, Cor) – n сито для зерна; v сеять зерно
Rind, Render, Rander, Rainder (Dev) – v перетопить масло или сало
Roak(e) (Wil) – n туман; пар; мелкий дождь
Rode (Cor) – n умение, сноровка, сообразительность
Rose, Rouse (Som, Dev, Cor) – v оползать, опускаться (о земле); падать;
n громкое падение; оползень
Rouse (Wil, Dev) – v опрыскивать
Rum (Dev) – adj отличный; превосходный; adv сильно, вовсю, в
превосходной степени
S
Sam (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n, adj неготовый или плохо приготовленный (о
пище), плохо подогретый (о пище)
Sammy (Wil) – adj клеклый; мокрый; пропитанный водой; мягкий
Sang, Songle (Dev, Cor) – n пригоршня зерна; небольшой сноп
Sawk (Dev, Cor) – n застенчивый, нервный человек
Sax (Som, Dev, Cor) – n ноги; v разрезать
Scat, Scad (Dev, Cor) – n внезапный кратковременный ливень; период
(работы; погоды): a scat of fine weather
Scorse (Som, Dev, Cor) – v выменять, выторговать что-либо
Scovy (Som, Dev, Cor) – adj неодинаковый по цвету, пестрый
Scoy (Cor) – adj худой, плохой; маленький, незначительный
Scraw (Cor) – v просушивать рыбу на солнце и воздухе; жарить рыбу над
огнем
Scrint (Com, Dev) – v гореть; спалить; поджигать
Scug (Cor) – n белка
Seam (Som, Dev, Cor) – n груз, поклажа (о лошади)
Sean (Dev, Cor) – n большая сеть для ловли рыбы
Shape (Wil) – v отправиться, уйти: We mun shape our way home; пытаться
что-либо сделать, осуществить
Shippen (Som, Dev, Cor) – n стойло для скота
Shut (Wil, Som) – v избавляться от чего-либо; тратить деньги без меры,
транжирить: He shut his addings in drink.
Sim, Zim (Wil) – n резкий запах (особенно от горящей веревки или кости)
Skeel (Wil) – n деревянное ведро; таз
Skeeling, Sheal, Shealing (Wil) – n сарай
Skit (Cor) – n насмешка; намек; скандал; шутка; анекдот; v насмехаться
над кем-либо; строить козни; сердиться; ругаться
Slade (Som, Cor) – n долина; углубление; небольшой ручей
Slock (Som, Dev, Cor) – v заманивать, соблазнять; n болото, трясина;
впадина между холмами
Sloke (Dev) – v прятаться
Smarry (Dev) – n женская кофта
Smoot, Smeut, Smoat, Smot, Smout, Smut, Smute (Som, Dev) – n = Smeuse; v
быть стеснительным; умирать, околевать (о животных)
Sober (Dev) – adj серьезный, спокойный; бедный; слабый, больной
Sowl (Dev) – v трепать за уши; грубо обращаться; бить
Speer (Som) – v искать; спрашивать (тж. at); следить, наблюдать (тж. с
about, into, out); сделать предложение о браке
Spell (Som) – n рассказ, история; v рассказывать; ругать
Spend (Cor) – n дерн, трава
Spur (Cor) – n период времени (a pure spur, a bra’ spur – долгое время):
She has been gon a bra’ spur.
Stean (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n глиняный сосуд
Steg (Wil) – n гусак; индюк; петух; неуклюжий человек
Stem (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n период времени; период работы (смена)
Stout (Wil, Som) – n овод
Strad (Som, Dev) – n pl куски кожи, обвязываемые вокруг ноги, гетры
Stub (Som, Dev) – n большая сумма денег; большой запас чего-либо: He
lef’n a good stub; v разорять, доводить до бедности
Sull (Wil, Som, Dev) – n плуг
Summer, Simmer (Wil, Som, Dev) – n горизонтальный, поперечный, брус;
подпорка
Summering (Som, Dev) – n ежегодный праздник
Survey (Som, Dev, Cor) – n аукцион
Swale (Dev) – v жечь
T
Tallet (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – n помещение для хранения сена на чердаке
или над стойлом; чердак
Tave (Som) – v беситься, бушевать, бороться; выполнять тяжелую работу;
спешить; быстро идти; n трудность (в том числе материальная)
Tease (Som) – v разматывать
Teel (Wil, Cor, Som, Dev) – v прислонять к чему-либо; открывать: tile a
gate; не отступать от своего решения; упрямо делать что-либо
Teen (Cor, Dev) – n закрывать
Tell (Som, Cor) – v считать, рассчитывать: Did you tell the clock when
it stuck?; платить (обычно с out, down): They must tell down good five
pounds; приговорить (к какому-либо наказанию): The judge told a man for
hanging.
Temporary, Tempery, Tempory (Som) – adj слабый, хрупкий, непрочный: My
clock – warks are gettin’ rather temporary. Ye’re a temporary creature.
Temse (Wil) – n сито; v сеять, просеивать
Tetch (Som, Dev) – n походка; привычка; Tetchy – adj раздражительный; (о
погоде) переменчивый
Tewly (Wil) – adj слабый, нежный, болехненный, хрупкий; поправляющийся,
выздоравливающий (о больном)
Thirl (Som, Dev, Cor) – adj худой, тощий; голодный; (о колосе) пустой,
без зерен
Throw (Som) – v родить, произвести: Thick mare’ll drow a good colt; быть
против чего-либо; спорить, не соглашаться; сердиться, раздражать
Tie (Som, Cor) – n пуховая перина; кровать
Tift (Dev) – v одевать, наряжать
Till, Toll (Dev, Cor) – v вручать, давать; достигнуть (чего-либо)
Tine (Wil, Som, Dev) – v закрывать; огораживать
Trant (Som) – v переносить тяжести
Trig (Wil, Som, Dev, Cor) – v укрепить, закрепить, заклинить, подпереть
Truff (Som, Dev, Cor) – n форель
Twire (Wil) – v пристально смотреть
U
Unco (Wil) – n pl известия, новости
Ure (Cor) – n грязь, глина
V
Vair (Som, Dev, Cor) – n ласка (животное)
Vlare (Som) – n дефект, изъян
Vreach (Som, Dev) – adj старательно, тщательно
W
Wairsh (Dev) – adj пресный, несоленый; безвкусный; сырой
Wake (Wil) – n прорубь на озере или на реке; деревенский праздник (pl)
Wall (Som) – v кипеть
Wang (Som) – n часть плуга; v гнуться, прогибаться (от груза); падать в
обморок
Want (Som, Cor, Wil, Dev) – n крот
Warth (Som) – n луг (особенно близкий к ручью); берег
Wat (Cor) – n заяц
Weel, Weil (Cor) – n корзина из прутьев для ловли рыбы
Wem, Wen (Cor) – n пятно, изъян; дыра на одежде
Went, Vent, Want, Wint (Som, Cor, Dev) – n дорога, колея; пересекающиеся
дороги; v идти; скиснуть (о жидкостях, особенно о молоке)
Win (Som, Dev) – v сушить (злаки, сено, торф и т.д) на воздухе; n жатва
Wink (Cor) – n пивной магазин
Wride (Cor, Som, Dev) – v (о растениях) давать несколько отростков от
одного корня; распространяться; расширяться; n куст
Y
Yote (Wil, Som) – v лить, выливать, поливать; глотать, жадно пить
Conclusions.
In considering the history and development of the English language we
may maintain that a regional variety of English is a complex of regional
standard norms and dialects. We must admit, however, that rural
dialects, in the conservative sense of the word, are almost certainly
dying out (e.g. the Cornish language): increasing geographical mobility,
centralization and urbanization are undoubtedly factors in this decline.
Owing to specific ways of development, every regional variety is
characterized by a set of features identical to a variety of English.
In the United Kingdom RP is a unique national standard.
About seventy or so years ago along with regional types dozen upon
dozens of
rural dialects co-existed side by side in the country. The
situation has greatly
changed since and specifically after the Second World War.
Dialects survive for
the most part in rural districts and England is a highly
urbanized country and has
very few areas that are remote or difficult to access. Much of the
regional variation
in pronunciation currently to be found in the country is gradually
being lost. On the
other hand, it is important to note that urban dialects are
undergoing developments
of a new type, and the phonetic differences between urban varieties
seem to be on
the increase.
The United Kingdom is particular about accents, in the sense that
here attitudes and
prejudices many people hold towards non-standard
pronunciations are still
very strong.
Therefore RP has always been and still is the “prestigious”
national standard
pronunciation, the so-called implicitly accepted social standard.
In spite of the fact
that RP speakers form a very small percentage of the British
population, it has the
highest status of British English pronunciation and is genuinely
regionless.
The comparative analysis of the phonetic system of the regional
varieties of English pronunciation shows the differences in the
pronunciation in the system of consonant and vowel phonemes.
The comparative analysis of the grammar presents the difference between
the standard language and the dialects of the South-West of England.
In conclusion we may say that the problems of the regional dialects (its
phonetic, grammar and lexical systems) open up wide vistas for further
investigations.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y.
Бродович О.И. Диалектная вариативность английского языка: аспекты
теории. Л., 1988
Маковский М.М. Английская диалектология. Современные английские диалекты
Великобритании. М., 1980
Шахбагова Д.А. Фонетические особенности произносительных вариантов
английского языка. М., 1982
Allen B.H., Linn M.D. Dialect and language variation, Orlando, 1986
Brook G.L. English Dialects, Oxford Un. Press, 1963
Brook G.L. Varieties of English, Lnd, 1977
Cheshire J. Variation in an English dialect. A sociolinguistic study,
Cambridge Un. Press, 1982
Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language,
Cambridge, 1995
Encyclopedia Britannica CD 2000 Deluxe Edition
Gimson A.C. An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, Lnd, 1981
Hughes and Trudgill, English accents and dialects: An introduction to
social and regional varieties of British English, Lnd, 1979
Malmstrom J., Weaver C Transgrammar. English structure, style and
dialects, Brighton, 1973
Shaw G.B. Pygmalion, NY, 1994
Sheerin S., Seath J., White G. Spotlight on Britain, Oxford, 1990
Shopen T., Williams J.M. Standards and dialects in English, Cambridge,
1980
Trudgill P. On dialect: Social and Geographical Perspectives, NY and
Lnd, 1984
Trudgill P. Dialects in Contact, Oxford, 1986
Trudgill P., Chambers J.K. Dialects of English Studies in grammatical
variation. Longman, №9
Wakelin M.F. Discovering English Dialects, Shire Publications LTD, 1978
Dictionaries:
Hornby A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English,
Oxford Un. Press, 1996
Audio tapes analysed:
Accents, Glossa Melit, M., 2000
TV program analysed:
Holiday in the Southwest, the channel “Discovery”, 2000
Приложение 3.
The Southwest.
The principal industries here are farming and tourism. There are some
very big farms, but most are small family farms with a mixture of cows,
sheep and crops. The main emphasis is on dairy products – milk and
butter. On Exmoor and Dartmoor, two areas of higher land, conditions are
ideal for rearing sheep and beef-cattle.
Industry is centered on three large ports: Bristol in the north, and
Portsmouth and Southampton in the south-east. In Bristol, aircraft are
designed and built. In Portsmouth and Southampton, the main industries
are shipbuilding and oil-refining.
Holiday time in the West Country.
The countries of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset are often called the West
Country. They have always been popular with holiday-makers, so there are
a large number of hotels, caravan – and camping-sites and private houses
and farms which offer bed and breakfast. There is a beautiful
countryside, where people can “get away from it all”, and the coastline
offers the best beaches and surfing in England. Also, the weather is
usually warmer than in the rest of the country.
West Country Food.
The national drink of Devon is a cream tea. This consists of a pot of
tea and scones served with strawberry jam and cream. The cream is not
the same as that found in the rest of the country. It is called clotted
cream, and it is much thicker and yellower than ordinary cream. And
there is another national dish called a Cornish pasty.
Pasties used to be the main food of Cornish miners fishermen about 150
years ago, because they provided a convenient meal to take to work. They
were made of pastry which had either sweet or savoury fillings, and were
marked with the owner’s initials on one end. This was so that if he did
not eat all his pasty at once he would know which one belonged to him!
Somerset has always been famous for its cheeses. The most popular
variety is probably “Cheddar”, which is a firm cheese. It usually has a
rather mild flavour but if it is left to ripen, it tastes stronger, and
is sold in the shops as “mature Cheddar”. It takes its name from a small
town, which is also, a beauty-spot well-known for its caves, which
contain stalagmites and stalactites.
A West Country famous drink is Somerset cider or “Scrumpy” as it is
called. Cider is made from apples and is sold all over the United
Kingdom, but scrumpy is much stronger, and usually has small pieces of
the fruit floating in it.
Sightseeings.
The country of Wiltshire is most famous for the great stone monuments of
Stonehenge and Avebury, and the huge earth pyramid of Silbury. No
written records exist of the origins of these features and they have
always been surrounded by mystery.
Stonehenge is the best known and probably the most remarkable of
prehistoric remains in the UK. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for about
4000 years. There have been many different theories about its original
use and although modern methods of investigation have extended our
knowledge, no one is certain why it was built.
One theory is that it was a place from where stars and planets could be
observed. It was discovered that the positions of some of the stones
related to the movements of the sun and moon, so that the stones could
be used as a calendar to predict such things as eclipses. At one time,
people thought that Stonehenge was a Druid temple. The Druids were a
Celtic religious group who was suppressed in Great Britain soon after
the Roman Conquest. Some people believe that they were a group of
priests, while others regarded them as medicine-men who practised human
sacrifice and cannibalism.
Because Stonehenge had existed 1000 years before the arrival of the
Druids, this theory has been rejected, but it is possible that the
Druids used it as a temple. The theory is kept alive today by members of
a group called the “Most Ancient Order of Druids” who perform mystic
rites at dawn on the summer solstice. Every year, they meet at
Stonehenge to greet the first midsummer sunlight as it falls on the
stones and they lay out symbolic elements of fire, water, bread, salt
and a rose.
Another interesting theory is that the great stone circle was used to
store terrestrial energy, which was then generated across the country,
possibly through “ley lines”. “Ley lines” is the name given to invisible
lines, which link up ancient sites through out Britain. They were
thought to be tracks by which prehistoric man travelled about the
country, but now many people believe that they are mysterious channels
for a special kind of power.
The sea-ships and sailors.
The coastline of the Southwest of England stretches for 650 miles (over
1000 km), and has many different features: cliffs, sand, sheltered
harbours, estuaries and marshes. It is not surprising that much of the
activity in this region has been inspired by the sea.
Side by side on the south coast of Hampshire are the two ports of
Portsmouth and Southampton. Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy,
and its dockyard has a lot of interesting buildings and monuments. There
is also the Royal Naval museum, where the main attraction is Horatio
Nelson’s flagship, the “Victory”.
Southampton, on the other hand, is a civilian port for continental
ferries, big liners, and oil and general cargo.
Many great sailors had associations with the West Country, for example,
Sir Walter Raleigh, the Elizabethan explorer, and Horatio Nelson, who
lived in Bath in Somerset. The most famous sailor of recent times, was
Sir Francis Chichester, who returned to Plymouth after sailing round the
world alone in “Gypsy Moth”.
In Bristol, to the north, one of the largest Victorian steamships, the
“Great Britain”, has been restored. It was the first iron ocean – going
steamship in the world and was designed by a civil and mechanical
engineer with the unusual name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859).
He not only designed three ships (including the first transatlantic
steamer, the “Great Western”), but also several docks and a new type of
railway that enabled trains to travel at greater speeds. He also
designed the first ever tunnel underneath the Thames and the Clifton
Suspension Bridge.
Unfortunately, this coastline, in particular that of Cornwall, is famous
– or infamous – in another way too. The “foot” of Cornwall has the worst
of the winter gales, and in recorded history there have been more than
fifteen shipwrecks for every mile of coastline. There is even a
shipwreck centre and museum near St. Austell where there is an amazing
collection of items that have been taken from wrecks over the years.
There are a lot of stories about Cornish “wreckers” who, it is said,
tied lanterns to the tails of cows on cliff-tops or put them on lonely
beaches when the weather was bad, so that ships would sail towards the
lights and break up on the dangerous rocks near the coast. The wreckers
would then be able to steal anything valuable that was washed up on to
the shore.
PAGE
PAGE 1
Нашли опечатку? Выделите и нажмите CTRL+Enter
