John F. Brockenbrough, Tappahannock William H. Brockenbrough, University of Va. James L. Carr, Albemarle. F. F. Conway, University of Va. Abel S. Cunningham, Hardy. A. Henderson, North Carolina. Wm. B. Napton, Albemarle. CL. Perry, Albemarle. William II. Perry, Bedford. Zebulon M. P. Powers, King and Queen. Wm. M. Radford, Lynchburg. Marcus W. Reinhardt, North Carolina. John N. Rose jr., University of Va. Richard A. Springs, South Carolina. Charles S. Trueheart, Powhatan. Robert W. Walton, Pensacola, Florida. William P. Winfree, Manchester. A. G. Wortham, Richmond. AND JOURNAL OF BELLES LETTRES, ARTS, &c. Published every Wednesday.-Terms, five dollars per annum, to be paid in advance. "POSCENTES VARIO MULTUM DIVERSA PALATO."-Hor. Lib. ii. Ep. 2. No. 19.-VOL. 1. UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. OCTOBER 21, 1829. ENGLISH PROVINCIALISMS.-No. 5. | is varra unrid 6 and grimy, t'chimla smudges 7 an reeks 8 seea, an mackst' reckon, 9 at used to shimmer 10 and glissen, nowght bud soote an muck. "Collections of provincial dialects would often have been extremely useful; many words esteemed peculiar to certain counties being remnants of the language formerly in general use." NARES. Dialect of Yorkshire. The dialect of Yorkshire strongly resembles that of Cumberland; but is even more difficult of comprehension to the natives of the South of England or to those who speak the English language correctly. These remarks apply, particularly, to that of the Deanery of Craven, in the West Riding of the county of York. Giles. It's now a vara lithe 11 day, bud there war a girt roak. 12 an a rag, 13 o 't fells 14 at delleet, an it looked feaful heavisome. Brid. I oft think a donky, 15 mislin, 16 deg gy 17 mornin is a sign o't pride o' t' weather, for it oft worsels 18 up, an is maar to be liked ner t'element full o'thunner packs er a breet, scaumy 19 sky. Giles. Wha, when't bent's 20 snod, 21 hask 22 eranchin 23 an slaap, 24 it's a strang sign of a pash. 25 Brid. I've oft obsarved there hes been a downfaw soon efter; bud for sure, I cannot gaum 26 mich be ouer chimla at prisent, its seea smoored 27 up wi mull 28 an brash. 29. Yesterday about noon, t'summer goose 30 flackered 31 at naya lile rate, an t'element, at edge o'dark, wor feaful full of filly tails 32 an hen scrattins. 33 Thou knows that's a sartain sign ov a change. sometimes I've knaan it sile 34 and teem 35 efter." 1. Deftly. Pretty well-also neat, clever, &c. Within the last few years a native of Craven has published a small volume-entitled "Hora Momenta Cravena," or the Craven Dialect exemplified in two dialogues between Farmer Giles and his neighbour Bridget."-" Anxious" he remarks, "to hand it (the dialect) down to posterity, unadulterated-the author has attempted to express, in a familiar dialogue, the chaste and nervous language of its unlettered natives." From his first dialogue we It is an old English word from Saxon, dæft, extract the following specimen, at random, as an example of this, if not "chaste and nervous," at all events, antient, provincial language, modified, of necessity, in its orthoepy and orthography, since the period at which it was more general. "He said I were a deft lass." BROME'S Northern Lass. proper &c. 2. Out. Aught, any thing. 3. Cobby. The derivation of this word is not clear-in this passage it means well or in good spirits perhaps from German kopf, head-and in Northumberland and Derbyshire it has the same signification; but in Cumberland it is more frequently employed in the sense of headstrong, tyrannical. 4. Lop. A flea-pure Saxon, Loppe. tion-Fettle is used in this sense over the whole of the North of England and in Scotland. It is thus also employed by Roger Ascham in his Toxophilus. 6. Unrid. Untidy, disorderly, filthy. Belg. onraedt, dirty. 7. Smudges. Smokes, Germ. Schmutzen to soil, dirt. 8. Reeks. Smokes, from Sax. recan: It is Scotch and also good old English, being used by Shakspeare. 9. Reckon. A sort of crane or crook, over the fire, to support boilers, exposed to smoke--quasi, reek-on. In some parts of the North of England it is called reekingcrook. 10. Shimmer or skimmer, to shine or glitter. Germ. schimmern, to glitter. 11. Lithe. Mild, blythe. Sax. hlithe, tranquil. 12. Roak-Mist, this is from the same root as reek. In some parts of the North of England it is called rook and rouk. 13. Rag. A mist, is also from the same root. In Scotland it is termed rak, rawk, roik and rook. Rack of the weather signifies the track in which the clouds move; in the South of England rak denotes both the thin white clouds, which are scarcely visible and their motion. ed. This is by the native of Craven, and also by Brockett, in his "Glossary of North Country words," wildy supposed to come from Lat. hiscere to chap &c. The word is precisely identical with the English harsh and Scotch harsk, and is of Teutonic origin--Germ. and Belg. harsch, harsh, coarse &c. 23. Cranching, crackling. The same Teutonic origin as the English cranching. 24. Slaap. Slippery-a corruption. 25. Pash. A fall of rain or snow. It is also used to signify any violent fall. "I fell wi' sike a pash." Perhaps the same as the old English word pash, to death with violence. 26. Gaum. To know, distinguish. Moes. Goth. gaunigan. 27. Smoored. Smothered. Sax. smoran. 28. Mull. Dirt, rubbish, crumbs. From Su. Goth. mull. The fragments and dust of peats are called peat-mull, and oaten bread, broken into crumbs, is called mulled bread. It is an old English word. 29. Brash. Twigs, probably the same as the old English brush, still used in this state. 30. Summer goose. Gossamer, the down of plants, cobwebs, vapour arising from boggy or marshy ground, in warm weather. An inquiry into provincialisms has thrown great light on the etymology of this word. Dr. Johnson derived it from Lat. gossipi 14. Fells. Mountains, chiefly rocky mountains, This is old English and is used by Ben Jonson. Germ. Fels, a rock. 15. Donky. Dark, wet, from Suio-Go-um, cotton; and between this Latin and thic dunk-en, wet. In Scotland donk is employed in similar expressions. the French gossampine-the cotton tree of India-Etymologists have varied. The etymon by the native of Craven is decidedly the most satisfactory. In the West Riding of Yorkshire, this down or, rather, exhalation is well known by the name, summer goose or summer gauze, whence "gauze of the summer" gauzamer and gossamer. 31. Flackered. Fluttered. Germ. flackern, to flare. Flicker is used by Chaucer and Shakspeare. 32. Filly tails. Mare's tails, the variety of cloud called, by meteorologists, cirrus, which denotes wind. 33. Hen scrattins or hen scratchings, are small and circular white clouds, of the same character. "Whene'er ye spy hen scratts and filly tails, "Be sure ye mind to lower your top sails." 34. Sile. To pour down with rain. It is also used for "to strain" from Su. Goth. 22. Hask. Coarse, harsh, rough, parch- sila to strain. 35. Teem. To pour. This is English. | Isl. taema to empty. "Teem out the tea hinny." DIALECT OF LANCASHIRE. Tummus and Meary. Tum. Odds me, Meary! whooa the dickons wou'd o thowt o' leeting o thee here so soyne this morning? Where has to bin? Theaw'rt au on a swat, I think; for theau looks primely. Perhaps the earliest essay on any of the provincialisms of England is a "View of Mea. Beleemy Tummus, I welly 1 lost my the Lancashire dialect by way of dialogue: wynt; for I've had sitch o'traunce 2 teis mornbetween Tummus o' Williams, of Margiting as eh neer had e' meh live: for I went to o' Roafs, and Meary o' Dicks, o' Tummy o' Peggy's containing the adventures and misfortunes of a Lancashire Clown." By Tim Bobbin Esq. This was the production of a Mr. John Collier of Warrington in Lancashire, a man of considerable humour and talent, but somewhat eccentric. The dialect of Lancashire strongly resembles that of the other more northern counties in its etymology; but the pronunciation differs materially. In some parts, a is sounded for o and o for a, for example, they say far for for; shart for short; and, again, hort for heart; and port for part; hont for hand &c. Jone's o' Harry's 3 o' lung Jone's, for't to borow their thible, 4 to stur th' furmety weh, an his wife had lent it to Bet o' my gronny's: so I skearwt5 eend-way, 6 an when eh coom there, hoo'd lent it Kesfer o' Dick's, an the dule steawnd 7 'im for a brindl't cur, he'd mede it int' shoon pegs! Neaw wou'd naw sitch o moon-shine traunce potter 8 any body's pluck? 9 Tum. Mark whot e tell the Meary for I think lunger ot fok liv'n an' th' moor mischoances they han. o't sough, 12 on seem so dane-kest? For I can Mea. Not awlus o goddil. 10 But what meys 11 tell o' I'd fene see o'wick 13 an hearty. tell the whot, its moor in bargin ot Im oather Tum. Whick an hearty too! odd zo, but I con wick or hearty, for 'twar seign 14 peawnd t'a Al and all are generally sounded broad, as aw (or o) for all: haw (or ho) for hall;nele be this awer: for th 'last oandurth 16 boh tuppunny jannock, 15 I'd bin as deeod os a dur Awmeety for Almighty; awlus, for always &c. In some places k is sounded for g and this prevails in many of the counties, as in Derbyshire: thing being pronounced think: wooing, wooink &c. D, at the end of words and the termination ed are often changed to t: as behint for behind; awkert for awkward; awlert for altered &c. In some parts ou and ow are pronounced like a as tha for thou; ka for cow. In other places the ou and ow are sounded as ea; as theaw for thou, keaw for cow; heawse for house; meawse for mouse. The Saxon termination en is generally retained as hat'n, lov'n, &c. In general, the Lancastrians speak quick and short and cut off many letters and even words by apostrophes, sometimes sounding two, three or more words as one. For instance they say, I'll got' for I'll go to; runt' for run to: hoost for she shall: intle for if thou wilt; I wou'didd'n for I wish you would &c. This proem, with the subjoined glossary, will render intelligible the following extract from the work to which we have alluded. one me measter had lik't o killt meh: on just neaw, os shure as thee and me ar stonning here, I'm actilly running meh country. Mea. Why, whot's bin th 'matter, hanney fawn eawt withur measter? Tum. Whot! there's bin moort' do in a gonnort muck, I'll uphowd tey! For what dust think? bo'th 'tother day boh yusterday, huz lads noot'n ha' o bit on o hallidey (becose it wurth' circum. cision onner ledey I believe) yet we munt do some odds-on-eends: or I munt oather breeod nowdywarp-holes 17 or gut' Ratchdaw weh o keaw on o why-kawre 18 neaw, loothy 19 Meary, I'r lither: 20 on had a mind on o jawnt: so I donn'd meh sundey jump 21 o top o meh singlet, 22 on wou'd goa with keaw on th' kawve; and the dule tey aw bad luck far me, far eawer bitch Nip went wimmen, on that mede ill wurr." 23 1. Welly or well-ney. Well nigh. 2. Traunce. A tedious journey. 3. Jones 'o Harry's. John Harris's. This old mode of distinction is kept up in Lancashire In the northern counties, indeed, individuals are generally designated by their christian names: and the father's name is only added when there are several of the same christian name in the neigh 14. Seign. Seven. 15. Jannock. Oaten bread made into great loaves. This word seems, likewise, to be used in Scotland. "Mattie gae us baith a drap skimmed milk, and ane o' her thick ait jannocks, that was as wat as raw as a divot."-ROB ROY. 16. Oandurth. Afternoon. 17. Mowdywarp-holes. Holes made by the mole. In the North of England and in Scotland, the words moudewarp, moudy, and mouly are all applied to the mole. Mowdywarp is Saxon, from the words mold earth and weorpan, to cast up. Verstegan, under the word awarpen, says :--"We call, in some parts of England, a mole a mould warp, which is as much as to say a castearth." The word occurs in Shakspeare, Spencer and other older writers. 18. Why-kawve. A female calf. The same as heifer. In Scotland the words quey, quy, quoy, quyach, quoyach, queock, quyok have the same meaning. They are perhaps of Scandinavian origin, quie, in the Danish, having a similar signification: "Ten lambs at spaining time as lang's I live, "And twa quey cawfs I'll yearly to them give. ALLAN RAMSAY, 19. Loothy. Look thee. 20. Lither. More calm. A common word in the north, as we have seen, from Anglo Saxon hlithe, tranquil. 21. Jump. This word here signifies a coat, but it has various meanings in the other northern counties. In Yorkshire it is applied to a child's leather frock and, in other counties, to a kind of easy stays: In Scotland, jupe, which is probably the same word, means a kind of short mantle or cloakf or a woman; it is employed, likewise, for a great coat, a bedgown and a piece of flannel used instead of stays. They all probably, come, immediately from the French jupe, a petticoat, a shepherd's frock, a long coat." 22. Singlet. An undyed woollen waist The members of the French scientific commission are all engaged in excursions. Colonel Bory St. Vincent, accompained by four of his colleagues, Messrs. Virlet, Baccuet, De Launay, and Brule, has succeeded in travelling through Maina, where he was very well received by all the chiefs. He took advantage of these favourable circumstances to ascend Mount Taygetus, which had never before been done by any known traveller. These gentlemen, after four days' extreme fatigue, and in spite of the snows with which Taygetus is still covered, reached the summit, and were able correctly to measure the highest mountain in the Morea. They are at present in the heart of Arcadia; and have measured Mount Lyceus and the ancient Cotylius. Messrs Blouet, Dubois, and Amaury Duval, with their assistants, are at Olympia, where some excavations have afforded thein very satisfactory results. They have discovered a temple, which they suppose to be that of the Olympian Jupiter. The length of this monument appears to be two hundred and forty feet; the columns are twenty-one feet in circumference. M. Baroisier, one of the members of the section of architecture, went sometime ago, to Modon to ask of General Schneider for a supply of tools, to be able to continue, with more activity, the interesting excavations which they intend to make. |