МОСКОВСКИЙ ГОРОДСКОЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ
Факультет
иностранных языков
Дипломная
работа
по фонетике
английского языка
на
тему:
«REGIONAL
VARIATION OF PRONUNCIATION IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND»
Plan:
Part I. The Specific
Features of dialects
1. What is the
“dialect”?……………………………………………………………4
2.
Geographic
dialects………………………………………………………………5
3.
Dialectal
change and diffusion…………………………………………………...5
4.
Unifying
influences on dialects…………………………………………………..8
5.
Focal,
relic, and transitional areas………………………………………………..9
6.
Received
Pronunciation………………………………………………………….9
7.
Who
first called it PR?………………………………………………………….10
8.
Social
Variation…………………………………………………………………11
9.
Dialects
of England: Traditional and Modern…………………………………..12
Part II.
Background to the Cornish Language
1.
Who
are the Cornish?…………………………………………………………...15
2.
What
is a Celtic Language?…………………………………………………….15
3.
How is
Cornish Related to other Celtic Languages?…………………………...15
4.
The
Decline of Cornish…………………………………………………………15
5.
The
Rebirth of Cornish…………………………………………………………16
6.
Standard
Cornish………………………………………………………………..16
7.
Who
uses Cornish Today?……………………………………………………...16
8.
Government
Recognition for Cornish…………………………………………..16
2. Consonantism…………………………………………………………………...23
3. 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
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.
1.
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.
2.
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.
“Every
dialectal feature has its own boundary line, called an isogloss (or
sometimes heterogloss). Isoglosses of various linguistic phenomena rarely
coincide completely, and by crossing and interweaving they constitute intricate
patterns on dialect maps. Frequently, however, several isoglosses are grouped
approximately together into a bundle of isoglosses. This grouping is caused
either by geographic obstacles that arrest the diffusion of a number of
innovations along the same line or by historical circumstances, such as
political borders of long standing, or by migrations that have brought into
contact two populations whose dialects were developed in noncontiguous areas”.
(№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)
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
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.
The borders of
regional dialects often contain transitional areas that share some features
with one neighbour and some with the other. Such mixtures result from unequal
diffusion of innovations from both sides. Similar unequal diffusion in mixed
dialects in any region also may be a consequence of population mixture created
by migrations”. (№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.
7.
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)
8.
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.
I think the best example
to show it is the famous play “Pygmalion” by Bernard Shaw touched upon social
classes, speech and social status of people using different types of accents
and dialects. One of the ideas was that it is possible to tell from a person’s
speech not only where he comes from but what class he belongs to. But no matter
what class a person belongs to, he can easily change his pronunciation
depending on what environment he finds himself in. The heroine Liza aired his
views, saying: “When a child is brought to a foreign country, it picks up the
language in a few weeks, and forgets its own. Well, I am a child in your
country. I have forgotten my own language, and can speak nothing but yours.” (№13,
p.64).
So some conclusions about
the kinds of social phenomena that influence change through contact with other
dialects can be made:
a)
dialects
differ from region through the isolation of groups of speakers;
b)
dialects
change through contact with other dialects;
c)
the
upper classes reinforce Standard English and RP through education.
9.
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 warm [wærm] warn [wærn] wart [wært] | ||
“asp”, “ass”, “ast”, “a” → | |||
“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” → [æ]: crane [kræn] frame [fræm] lame [læm] make [mæk] name [næm] | in the open syllable “a” → [æ]: crane [kræn] frame [fræm] lame [læm] make [mæk] name [næm] | ||
The first sound is vowel | |||
acre [jakr] ale [jal] acorn [’jak∂rn] hare [hja:r] ache [jek] acorn [jek∂rn] behave [bı’hjev] | |||
“e” in the closed syllables → “a” | |||
Nothern | Western |
| |
egg [ag], fetch [fat∫], step [stap], wretch [rat∫], stretch [strat∫] |
| ||
“e” in the closed syllables → | |||
Eastern | Southern | ||
| egg [eıg], stretch [streıt∫] | |||
“e” in the closed syllables → [e:] | |||
South-Western | Western | Middle/Eastern | |
| Leg [le:g], bed [be:d], hedge [he:dz] | |||
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 [seŋ] cling [kleŋ] | → [e]: sing [seŋ] cling [kleŋ] | ||
“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∫ıld] | |||
“i” in the open syllable | |||
South-Western | Southern | ||
→ [eı]: fly [fleı] lie [leı] thigh [θeı] | → [eı]: bide [beıd] wide [weıd] time [teım] | ||
Eastern | |||
→ [ ı]: fly [fl ı] lie [l ı] | |||
“o” in the closed syllable followed by a | |||
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 | |
→ [æ]: among [∂’mæŋ] long [læŋ] wrong [ræŋ] | → [æ]: among [∂’mæŋ] long [læŋ] wrong [ræŋ] | among [∂’mæŋ] long [læŋ] wrong [ræŋ] | |
“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” | |||
| → [aı]: choice [t∫aıs] join [dzaın] moil [maıl] point [paınt] spoil [spaıl] voice [vaıs] | ||
“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 | |
→ [ı]: good [gıd] hood [hıd] foot [fıt] blood [blıd] stood [stıd] bloom [blım] broom [brım] moon [mın] loom [lım] | → [ö]: book [bök] cook [kök] crook [krök] look [lök] took [tök] good [göd] foot [föt] stood [stöd] | → [ ]: 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 | ||
→ [eı]: fly [fleı] lie [leı] thigh [θeı] | → [eı]: bide [beıd] wide [weıd] time [teım] | ||
Eastern | |||
→ [ ı]: fly [fl ı] lie [l ı] | |||
“o” in the closed syllable followed by a | |||
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 | |
| → [æ]: among [∂’mæŋ], long [læŋ], wrong [wræŋ] | |||
“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” | |||
→ [aı]: choice [t∫aıs] join [dzaın] moil [maıl] point [paınt] spoil [spaıl] voice [vaıs] | |||
“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 | |
→ [ı]: good [gıd] hood [hıd] foot [fıt] blood [blıd] stood [stıd] bloom [blım] broom [brım] moon [mın] loom [lım] root [rıt] spoon [spın] | → [ö]: book [bök] cook [kök] crook [krök] look [lök] took [tök] good [göd] foot [föt] stood [stöd] | → [ ]: 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:θ] 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:nıŋ], word [wa:d] | |||
“ew” | |||
Eastern |
| Northern | |
→ [ü:]: dew [dü:] few [fü:] | → [jav]: dew [djau] few [fjau] new [njau] | ||
2. Consonantism | |||
[w] in the beginning of the word or | |||
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, 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], | |||
in the middle of a word [w] is pronounced | |||
| boy [bwo], moist [mw ıst], toad [twud], cool [kwul], country [’kwıntrı] | |||
“f”, “th”, “s”, “sh” are voiced | |||
Friday [’vræ:dı], friends [vrınz], fleas [vle:z], and in the these words: [θ]: thought [ð :t], thick [ðık], | |||
“t” at the beginning of the word before a | |||
Nothern | |||
→ [t∫]: team tune Tuesday East D “t” in bottle [’b dl], kettle [’kedl], little [’lıdl], nettle [’nedl], bottom [’b dm], matter [’med∂], cattle [’k dl], kittens [kıdnz] | |||
“t” in the middle of the word is voiced | |||
Western | |||
bottle [’b dl], kettle [’kedl], little [’lıdl], nettle [’nedl], bottom [’b dm], matter [’med∂], cattle [’k dl], kittens [kıdnz] | |||
| The consonant [t] in (the French borrowings) hasn’t become [t∫] as it is in RP: | |||
| picture [’pıkt∂r], nature [’net∂r], feature [’fı∂t∂r] | |||
the middle [t] sometimes disappears in | |||
Western | |||
brimstone [’brımsn] empty [’empı] The same chamber > chimmer, embers > emmers, brambles > brimmels | |||
between “l” and “r”; “r” and “l”; “n” and | |||
| parlour [’pa:ld∂r], tailor [’taıld∂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 feel [fi:ld] school [sku:ld] idle [aıdld] mile [maıdl] born [ba∂nd] soul [s :ld] soon [zu:nd] gown [gaund] swoon [zaund] wine [waınd] miller [’mıl∂d] scholar [’sk l∂d] | |||
the middle [d] in the word | |||
Eastern | |||
In the word “disturb” [b] is pronounced as [v] - [dis, t∂:v] | |||
the first [θ] is pronounced as | |||
| thank [ðæŋk] and in other words: thatch, thaw, thigh, thin, thing, think, third, thistle, thong, thought, thousand, thumb, thunder, Thursday | |||
Sometimes [θ] is pronounced as [t] at the end lath [lat] | |||
Western | |||
In some words suet [∫uıt]. The same happens when [s] is in the middle of the first [fer∫t] breast [brı∫t] next [nı∫t] | |||
| North-West W: [s] is sometimes pronounced as [z]: sure [zu∂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 | |||
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 | |||
Western | Eastern | ||
Already shoulder [’∫a:d∂r] | |||
the Middle/Eastern | |||
[l] is often bill [bı’ ] tool [tu’ ] nibble [nı’b ] milk [mı’ k] silk [sı’ 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 plural
form of a noun.
-
In
many cases -s (es) can be added for several times:
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 [prımr zn] (Dev.)
-
but
sometimes [s] is heard in the words ended with “-n”
e.g. oxen [
ksnz] (Western Som.)
rushes
[rıksnz] (Dev.)
-
some
nouns have the same form in the singular and in the plural:
e.g. chicken -
chickens [t∫ık] (Som.)
pipe -
pipes [paıp] (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:
1)
countable
nouns (a tool, a tree), and the pronouns ‘he’ / ‘she’ are used with them
2)
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 /ε/. (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 | /ði:z/ /ðs/ | /ðat/ | /ði-ki:/ |
| First compound | /ði:z/ ji:r/ /ðis ji:r/ | /ðat ðεr/ | /ði-ki: ðεr/ |
Singular pronoun Simple | /ðis/ /ði:z/ | /ðat/ | / ði-ki:/ |
| First compound | /ðis ji:r/ | /ðat ðεr/ | |
| Second compound | /ðis ji:r ji:r/ | /ðat ðεr ðεr/ | |
Plural adjective Simple | /ðejz/ /ði:z/ | /ðej/ | /ði-ki:/ |
| First compound | /ðejz ji:r/ | /ðej ðεr/ | /ði-ki: ðεr/ |
Plural pronoun Simple (only) | /ðej/ |
The relative frequency of
these forms is shown in Table 2.
Adjectives | |||
Singular | % | Plural | % |
| /ði:z/ | 13 | /ðejz/ | 23 |
| /ðis/ | 11 | /ði:z/ | 2 |
| /ði:z ji:r/ | 9 | /ðejz ji:r/ | 7 |
| /ðis ji:r/ | 2 | /ði:z ji:r/ | 4 |
| /ðat/ | 15 | /ðej/ | 49 |
| /ðat ðεr/ | 3 | /ðej ðεr/ | 2 |
| /ði-ki:/ | 43 | /ði-ki:/ | 10 |
| /ði-ki: ðεr/ | 4 | /ði-ki: ðεr/ | 3 |
| 100 | 100 | ||
Pronouns | |||
Singular | % | Plural | % |
| /ðis/ | 10 | ||
| /ði:z/ | 4 | ||
| /ðis ji:r/ | 2 | ||
| /ðis ji:r ji:r/ | 25 | /ðej/ | 100 |
| /ðat/ | 22 | ||
| /ðat ðεr/ | 2 | ||
| /ðat ðεr ðεr/ | 34 | ||
| /ði-ki:/ | 1 | ||
| 100 | |||
The paradigm as outlined
in Tables 1, 2 presents few morphological problems. The two pairs of forms
/ði:z/ and /ðis/ and /ðejz/ and /ði:z/ do, however, need
examination. In the singular of the adjective, the two forms /ði:z/ and
/ðis/ 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 /ðat/ and /ði-ki:/. With the ‘first
compounds’, the form /ði:z ji:r/ outnumbers /ðis ji:r/ in the ratio 1
in the adjective position.
When functioning as a
pronoun, /ði: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 /ðis ji:r ji:r/, never /ði:z ji:r ji:r/,
is found. Thus /ðis/ seems to be more favoured as a pronoun, and /ði: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 /ðejz/ and
/ðejz ji:r/, which outnumber /ði:z/ and /ði: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 /ði:z/ is clearly used
normally as a singular rather than a plural form. The absence of any reflex of
/ðejz/ as a plural pronoun is discussed below.
The other forms present
little morphological difficulty. There is only one occurrence of /ði-ki:/
as a pronoun, although as an adjective it almost outnumbers /ði:z/ and
/ðat/ 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 /ðej/. The status of this form is discussed below.
The following are examples
of those demonstatives which are not further discussed below. The uses of
/ðat/ as a singular adjective, of /ði-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.
/ði: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.
/ðis 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.
Iðejzl
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.
/ðej/
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 /ði:z : ðat : ði-ki:/,
in contrast with the two-term system of Standard English. It seems fair to say
that the role of /ði:z/ is similar to that of 'this' in Standard English
(but see note on /ði:z ji:r/ below), but any attempt to differentiate
/ðat/ and /ði-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 /ði-ki:/ from the pronoun
system, together with the fact that /ði-ki:/ is three times as frequent as
/ðat/ as an adjective, would suggest that /ði-ki:/ is the normal
adjectival form in the dialect, and that /ðat/ 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
/ði-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,
/ðat/ is used when actually indicating a size with the hands:
Go up and see the
stones “that length, “that thickness.
while /ði-ki:/ is
used in contrast with /t∂-ðr/, 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 /ði-ki:/ and /ðej/ is not a real one, since
/ði-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
/ði-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 /ði-ki:/ as a plural form; this would accordingly
neutralize in the plural any /ði-ki:/:/ðat/ opposition which may exist
in the singular.
In the pronominal system,
there is only one occurrence of /ði-ki:/:
My missis bought “thicky
before her “died (a radio).
It is true that most of
the occurrences of /ðal/ 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 /ðat/ does play a role closely parallel to
/ði-ki:/ above.
As “I was passing “that,
and “that was passing “me (a dog).
As there are no other
examples of /ði-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 /ðat/:/ði-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 /ðat/, /ðat
ðεr/, /ði-ki:/ and /ði-ki: ðεr/ is given below, in
their function as singular adjectives, so that they can easily be compared.
/ðat/
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.
/ðat ðεr/
I used to walk that
there “two mile and “half.
Good as “gold, that
there “thing was.
/ði-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.
/ði-ki:
ðεr/
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 /ði:z/ and /ðis/ as singulars, and of /ðejz/ and /ði: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’.
/ði: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 /ði: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 /ðejz/ (cf
Standard English ‘these’) and /ðejz 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 /ði:z/ and /ðejz/ are syntactically distinct from their
equivalent first compounds, what of the other adjective compounds /ðat
ðεr/, /ði-ki: ðεr/ and /ðej ðεr/? 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 /ði:z ji:r/ and
/ðejz 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. (/ðat ðεr/)
He went out “broad, this
here what’s “dead now. (/ði:z ji:r/).
The basic opposition here
is between the simple forms and the ‘second compounds’ /ðis ji:r ji:r/ and
/ðat ðεr ðεr/. 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.
/ðat/ 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 /ðej/ functioning as
a plural pronoun? At first sight, this would seem improbable, given that there
is a plural adjective form /ðejz/ 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
/ðejz/ 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 /ðej/ as
demonstratives with any certainty, because the form is identical with that of
the personal pronoun /ðej/ (Standard English ‘they’ or ‘them’).
We may observe at this
point that in the dialect, the third plural personal pronoun forms are
/ðej/ and /∂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:
/ðej/
“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
/ðej/, 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.
Although, following the
system of Standard English, we have so far differentiated between /ðej/ as
a stressed personal pronoun and /ðej/ as a demonstrative pronoun, it is
clearly more economical, in terms of the dialectal material, to consider the
two functions as coalescing within one system: STRESSED /ðej/; UNSTRESSED
/∂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
/ðat/ UNSTRESSED /it/ in the third person singular, where the referent is
abstract or non-specific, in that /ðat/ 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 /ðejz/, any more than the linking of /ðat/
with /it/ precludes the existence of a singular demonstrative pronoun
/ði:z/. The non-existence of /ðejz/ 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’ [ð] 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’ [ı].
-
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’.
a)
The
adverbs of place:
abeigh [∂bıx] -
‘at some distance’
abune, aboon - ‘above’
ablow - ‘under’
ben, benn - ‘inside’
outbye [utbaı] -
‘outside’
aboot - ‘around’
hine, hine awa - ‘far’
ewest - ‘near’
b)
The
adverbs of the mode of action:
hoo, foo - ‘how’
weel - ‘great’
richt - ‘right’
ither - ‘yet’
sae - ‘so’
c)
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’
d)
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:
reäky = ‘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 sheäpes did
jumpy.
When I do pitchy,
‘tis my pride (meaning of the verb, cf pitch-fork).
How gaÿ 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 leâve 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
theäse zêam?” “Wull ye zew up theäse zêam” 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)).
The confusion between of
and on is frequent in dialects, but although on may occur where of
is expected, the reverse is impossible. The occasional use of on
instead of of is therefore unimportant. What really matters is the
occurrence of of, o’ or ov between a transitive verb and the DO.
The presence of the -in(g) ending should also attract our attention: it
occurs in all the examples except tickle o’ em, which is
exceptional since, when the SED informants used an infinitive in their
answers, their syntax was usually identical with that of Standard English, ie
without of occurring before the DO: glad to see you, (he wants to)
hide it (Orton and Wakelin).
Following Jespersen, Lyons
makes a distinction between real transitives (/ hit you: 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-meäken
haÿ/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-meäken ov haÿ
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’ leäven
it to-morrow.
Zoo I don’t mind o’
leäven 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-meäken
haÿ.
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-) eäten o’
ceäkes → What is he (a-) eäten?
[2] He is (a-)
dreämen o’ceäkes → What is he (a-) dreämen 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)
→ 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.
The dialect usage is more
than a mere syntactic archaism: not only have the south-western dialects
preserved stages (A) and (B); they are also highly innovative in stages (C) and
(D).” (№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. oðla, возвр. oðlask - приобретать (имущество), oðal - 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 мукé) 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
Fogger (Wil) - n помощник; человек, ухаживающий за
скотом, конюх
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.
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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.
1.
Бродович О.И.
Диалектная вариативность английского языка: аспекты теории. Л., 1988
2.
Маковский М.М.
Английская диалектология. Современные английские диалекты Великобритании. М.,
1980
3.
Шахбагова Д.А.
Фонетические особенности произносительных вариантов английского языка. М., 1982
4.
Allen
B.H., Linn M.D. Dialect and language variation, Orlando, 1986
5.
Brook
G.L. English Dialects, Oxford Un. Press, 1963
6.
Brook
G.L. Varieties of English, Lnd, 1977
7.
Cheshire
J. Variation in an English dialect. A sociolinguistic study, Cambridge Un.
Press, 1982
8.
Crystal
D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge, 1995
9.
Encyclopedia
Britannica CD 2000 Deluxe Edition
10.
Gimson
A.C. An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, Lnd, 1981
11.
Hughes
and Trudgill, English accents and dialects: An introduction to social and
regional varieties of British English, Lnd, 1979
12.
Malmstrom
J., Weaver C Transgrammar. English structure, style and dialects, Brighton,
1973
13.
Shaw
G.B. Pygmalion, NY, 1994
14.
Sheerin
S., Seath J., White G. Spotlight on Britain, Oxford, 1990
15.
Shopen
T., Williams J.M. Standards and dialects in English, Cambridge, 1980
16.
Trudgill
P. On dialect: Social and Geographical Perspectives, NY and Lnd, 1984
17.
Trudgill
P. Dialects in Contact, Oxford, 1986
18.
Trudgill
P., Chambers J.K. Dialects of English Studies in grammatical variation.
Longman, №9
19.
Wakelin
M.F. Discovering English Dialects, Shire Publications LTD, 1978
Dictionaries:
20.
Hornby
A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, Oxford Un. Press,
1996
Audio tapes analysed:
21.
Accents,
Glossa Melit, M., 2000
TV program
analysed:
22.
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.
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
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.
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