CHAPTER X

PHONOLOGY AND GRAMMAR

The average educated Englishman has no accurate conception of what a dialect really is, beyond a vague notion that the term covers a mass of barbarisms, corruptions, and mispronunciations of the King’s English, devoid of any order or system, and used by the illiterate rustic in a haphazard fashion with no regard to consistency. But as we have already seen in Chapter VII, in very many cases it is the standard language which contains the anomalies and the corruptions, whilst the correct forms have been handed down in the dialects where systematic sound-laws and exact grammatical rules have been regularly developed and carried out unhampered by the arbitrary rules of fashion, or the regulations of a stereotyped spelling 400 years behind the pronunciation. As Max Müller puts it: ‘the real and natural life of language is in its dialects,’ _The Science of Language_, vol. i, p. 55.

A dialect may be defined as one of the subordinate forms or varieties of a language arising from local peculiarities of pronunciation, vocabulary, and idiom, or as that form or idiom of a language peculiar to a limited region or people, as distinguished from the literary language of the whole people. Hitherto we have been concerned chiefly with the second of these three characteristics of a dialect, namely vocabulary, but we will now consider in some detail the first on the list, namely pronunciation, and here we cannot fail to be struck by the wonderful uniformity and regularity of the sound-system of modern dialects.

To classify the modern dialects of a country is a difficult and unsatisfactory task. If we possessed about three hundred detailed grammars of the principal English dialects spoken in the United Kingdom, and could find hundreds of competent people willing to answer queries about difficult or doubtful points, it might be possible to furnish a classification which would be tolerably accurate. But this is a state of things never likely to be realized. Though a great deal has been done in collecting material, it is as yet insufficient to enable any one to give the exact geographical area over which many of the grammatical phenomena extend, hence the boundaries given in the classification of our dialects are more or less roughly drawn. For all practical purposes we may divide the English dialects into the following seven groups:

[Sidenote: _Dialectal Groups_]

(1) Scottish, including n.Nhb. and n.Cum. Here literary English _a_ has a tendency to become _à_ before a single nasal in such words as _can_, _man_. The sound is generally represented in books by _o_, as _con_, _mon_. O.E. _æ_ (_a_) in originally open syllables and O.E. _ā_ have fallen together, as _name_, _hame_ (O.E. _nama_, _hām_), lit. Eng. _name_, _home_. O.E. _o_ in originally open syllables and O.E. _ā_ are still kept apart, as _kōl_, _hame_ (O.E. _colu_, _hām_), lit. Eng. _coal_, _home_. O.E. _i_ and _u_ have not been diphthongized before a following _nd_ as in lit. Eng. O.E. _u_ has become _ɒ_ [the sound in _sun_] as in lit. Eng. O.E. _ū_ has generally remained, but in s.Sc. it has become _ɒu_ [the sound in _cow_] when final. In Sc. medial _d_ has disappeared after _n_ in such words as _cinder_, _wonder_. Final _l_ has generally disappeared after a guttural vowel, as _ā_, _fū_, lit. Eng. _all_, _full_. _r_ is strongly trilled in all positions.

(2) North-country, meaning Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. (except sw. and s.Yks.), and the northern portion of Lancashire. O.E. _i_ has remained before _nd_, e.g. a word like _blind_ rhymes with lit. Eng. _wind_ sb. O.E. _u_ has generally remained, and also when followed by _nd_. In words like _cup_, _summer_, _pound_ (O.E. _pund_), the _u_ has the sound of the _u_ in lit. Eng. _pull_. O.E. _ū_ has generally remained as in _hūs_, _ūt_, lit. Eng. _house_, _out_. _r_ is uvular in Nhb. and parts of Dur. This is called ‘the Northumberland burr’.

(3) North Midland, meaning sw. and s.Yks., the southern portion of Lan. I.Ma. Chs. n.Wal. Stf. Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Shr. O.E. _a_ has become _e_ before _g_ in parts of Yks. and Lan. as _dreg_, _reg_, lit. Eng. _drag_, _rag_. O.E. _a(o)_ has in several of these dialects become _u_ or _ɒ_ before _ng_ in such words as _long_, _wrong_. This pronunciation has been taken over into the standard language in _among_, _-monger_, _mongrel_. O.E. _e_ in originally open syllables, Germanic _ǣ_ and O.E. _ǣ_ (= _i_-umlaut of _ā_) are still kept apart in several dialects, whereas in lit. Eng. they have fallen together, e.g. _steal_, _sleep_, _heal_ (O.E. _stelan_, _slǣpan_, _hǣlan_ beside _hāl_).

(4) South Midland, meaning Nhp. War. Wor. Hrf. Mon. s.Wal. Glo. Oxf. Bck. Bdf. Hrt. Mid. Hnt. O.E. _a(o)_ has become _u_ or _ɒ_ before _ŋ_ in _long_, _wrong_, &c. O.E. _a_ has become _ā_ before _sp_, _ss_, _st_, as in lit. Eng. _gasp_, _grass_, _fast_. Initial _shr_ has become _sr_, as in _srimp_, _srivel_, lit. Eng. _shrimp_, _shrivel_.

(5) East-country, meaning Cmb. Nrf. Suf. Ess. O.E. _a_ has become _ā_ before _sp_, _ss_, _st_. O.E. _y_ has become _e_, as _pet_ (O.E. _pytt_), lit. Eng. _pit_, but this _e_ is rapidly disappearing through the influence of the standard language. It has been adopted into lit. Eng. in _evil_, _fledge_, _merry_ (O.E. _yfel_, _-flycge_, _myrige_). O.E. _ȳ_ has become _ī_, as _mīs_ (O.E. _mȳs_), lit. Eng. _mice_.

(6) South-country, Ken. Sur. Sus. Brks. O.E. _a_ has become _ā_ before _sp_, _ss_, _st_. O.E. _æ(a)_ in originally closed syllables has become _e_ in parts of Kent, as _bek_, _thet_ (O.E. _bæc_, _þæt_), lit. Eng. _back_, _that_. Initial _þr_ has become _dr_, as _drī_, lit. Eng. _three_. Initial and medial _v_ has become _w_ in Ken. and e.Sus.

(7) South-west-country, meaning I.W. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. O.E. _æ(a)_ has become _ǣ_ before _sp_, _ss_, _st_. O.E. _or_ in the combination _or_ + consonant has become _ā_ in such words as _corn_, _storm_. This also occurs in Group 6 above. O.E. _i_ has generally become _e_ before _ng_ or _nk_, especially in Wil. and Dev. as _theng_, _drenk_, lit. Eng. _thing_, _drink_. A _d_ has been developed between _l--r_, _r--l_, _n--r_, as _pālder_, _mādl_, _tailder_, _kānder_, lit. Eng. _parlour_, _marl_, _tailor_, _corner_. Initial _f_ and _s_ have become _v_ and _z_ in native words in Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Initial _þ_ [the sound in _thin_] has become _ð_ [the sound in _then_] in sm. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. e.Cor. Initial _þr_ has become _dr_.

[Sidenote: _Phonology_]

The above are the main distinguishing features of the phonology of the dialects as taken in groups, but no such list can adequately represent the range of pronunciation in the dialects taken individually. The extent of this range can be shown by taking a list of common standard English words, where the number of different ways in which they are known to be pronounced in the various dialects has been carefully counted and registered, e.g. all (20), both (27), chamber (23), close (33), clothes (29), coat (20), cold (31), cow (20), cucumber (35), daughter (36), do (17), done (24), earth (44), father (35), gate (30), good (21), have (24), hold (37), home (44), house (29), night (22), oats (30), old (42), one (21), potato (46), so (24), through (29), whole (33), wrong (22).

The evidence of the pronunciation of words in the different English dialects is of great importance to the student of English philology, as he is thereby often enabled to explain anomalies in the standard language. To take only one instance: philologists have been at a loss to explain why the word _oven_ in lit. Eng. does not rhyme with _cloven_. The O.E. recorded form is _ofen_ parallel to the past participle _clofen_, yet while the latter word has followed the normal development, the former has the development not of an original O.E. _o_, but of _u_. Now the collected evidence of the dialects goes to show that there must have been beside the recorded O.E. _ofen_ an unrecorded form *_ufen_ from which lit. Eng. _oven_ is quite regularly developed, for the _o_ representing an older _u_ is no more than the old French spelling with which we are familiar in such words as _love_, _come_, _son_, &c.

We can best compare the phonology of the dialects with that of the standard language by examining the vowels and consonants categorically, and noting some of the differences in development. The following is merely a rough outline of the subject, and some of the phonological points noticed in the classification of the dialects will not here be repeated.

[Sidenote: _Phonology: Vowels_]

VOWELS.--(1) _a._ The sound _æ_ which is regular in lit. Eng. in close syllables such as _back_, _thatch_, is rare in the dialects, occurring chiefly in e. and s.Cy. The majority of the dialects have _a_ in this position. The _a_ in open syllables which has become _ei_ in lit. Eng. as in _name_, _shake_, has become _ē_ in Sc. n.Cy. and Midl. In s.Sc. and nearly all the other dialects it has become diphthongized to _eə_ or _iə_, but _ai_ [the sound in _time_] in Hrt. Lon. Ess. and se.Kent.

(2) _e._ O.E. _e_ of whatever origin has in close syllables generally had the same development in the dialects as in the standard language, but in many of the s.Sc. e. and sw.Cy. dialects it has become _æ_ [the sound in _hat_, _man_]. O.E. _e_ of whatever origin, has in originally open syllables generally had the same development in Sc. n. and s.Cy. as in the standard language, i.e. it has become _ī_, but in the s.Midl. e.Cy. and sw.Cy. dialects it has mostly become _ē_, and in the other dialects it has generally been diphthongized into _ei_ or _iə_, the former occurring especially in the w. and s. portions of Yks., in Lan. n.Stf. and Nhp., and the latter in the remaining portions of Yks. Lan. and in Lin. s.Oxf. and w.Wil.

(3) _i._ This vowel has generally had the same development in the dialects as in the standard language, but in s.Sc. n.Nhb. n.Cum. Der. and w.Som. it has become _e_. In most Sc. dialects except in the south, it has become a kind of mixed vowel somewhat resembling the _e_ in German _Gabe_.

(4) _u._ This vowel has had the same development in Sc. n.Nhb. n.Cum. e. s. and sw.Cy. and in some of the s.Midl. dialects as in the standard language, but in the n.Cy. and many of the n.Midl. dialects O.E. _u_ has generally remained unchanged. In some of the n.Midl. and many of the s.Midl. dialects it has become _ù_, a sound formed with the lips more open than for _u_, and which acoustically resembles an _o_-sound. It should be noted that those dialects which have _ɒ_ or _ù_, generally also have it in those words where the standard language has _u_, as in _bull_, _put_.

(5) _y._ This vowel has generally had the same development as in the standard language, but in Ken. e.Sc. and e.An. it has regularly become _e_, which was a characteristic feature of these dialects already in the M.E. period.

(6) _o._ In close syllables. This vowel has generally had the same development in the dialects as in the standard language, but in the m.Sc. s.Midl. s. and sw.Cy. dialects there is a tendency to lengthen the vowel in monosyllables, and in some dialects there is also a tendency to change _o_ to _a_ especially before a following _p_ and _ft_, as _shap_, _tap_, _craft_, lit. Eng. _shop_, _top_, _croft_.

_o._ In originally open syllables. In the development of this vowel the dialects differ entirely from the standard language. In the southern portions of Yks. and Lan. it has become _oi_ (parallel with the development of _e_ to _ei_, v. (2) above), but in all the other dialects it has become long close _ō_ or has become diphthongized to _uə_ (often written _oə_). It should be noted that in Lan. ne.Der. and all the dialects north of the Humber the development of O.E. _o_ in open syllables and O.E. _ā_ is still kept apart, whereas in all the other parts of England the two sounds have fallen together.

(7) _ā._ In all the dialects north of the Humber this vowel has had the same development as O.E. _a_, _æ_, in open syllables, i.e. it has become _ē_, _eə_, or _iə_(_ia_), whereas in the dialects south of the Humber the regular development is generally the same as for O.E. _o_ in open syllables.

(8) _ǣ_ (= Germanic _ǣ_, W.S. _ǣ_, Anglian _ē_). This vowel has generally had the same development in the dialects as in the standard language, i.e. it has become _ī_, but in the southern half of England it has not unfrequently become _ē_ or _iə_, rarely _ei_, and these diphthongs also occur sporadically as far north as Yorkshire.

(9) _ǣ_ (= _i_-umlaut of _ā_). This vowel has generally had the same development as the preceding one, except that the _ē_ and _iə_ extend over a much wider area, which shows that many dialects still keep these two sounds apart (_ǣ¹_ and _ǣ²_).

(10) _ē._ This vowel has mostly become _ī_ in the dialects just as in the standard language, but _ei_ beside _ī_ occurs in nw.Yks s.Chs. and Lei., and _iə_ beside _ī_ in m.Yks. s.Midl. and sw.Cy.

(11) _ī._ O.E. _ī_ appears as a diphthong in all the dialects except in those of e. and se.Yks. m. and s.Lan. where we have _ā_. In Sc. and Nhb. it is mostly _ei_, but _ai_ is also not uncommon, especially in Frf. Per. Lth. and Edb.; n.Cy. _ai_; in the Midlands, e. and s.Cy. it is generally _oi_ or a diphthong closely resembling _oi_; and in sw.Cy. _ɒi_, which is approximately the same as in the standard language.

(12) _ō._ The normal development of this vowel is generally ü or ö (rarely _ǖ_ or _œ̄_, but _ī_ in ne.Sc.) in Sc.; _ǖ_ in e.Cy.; _ǖ_ beside _œ̄_ in sw.Cy.; _iu_ beside _iə_ in n.Cy., but sw.Yks. _ui_; and _ū_, more rarely _iu_, in the Midlands; _ū_, in s.Cy.

(13) _ū._ O.E. _ū_ has generally remained in Sc. and n.Cy. (but _ɒu_ in s.Sc. when final) and n.Lin. It has become _ā_ in s. and sw.Yks. and the greater part of Der. and Not.; _ǣ_ in Lan., _ɒu_ in the Midlands, especially in the northern portions, and sw.Cy.; _eu_ in the southern portions of the Midlands, e. and s.Cy. and parts of sw.Cy.

(14) _ȳ._ This vowel has generally had the same development as O.E. _ī_, but it has become _ī_ in the eastern counties and also in Glo. Bdf. e.Sus. Dev. and Cor.

(15) O.E. _e͞a_. This diphthong has generally had the same development as O.E. _ǣ_ (= _i_-umlaut of _ā_).

(16) O.E. _e͞o_ has generally had the same development as O.E. _ē_.

[Sidenote: _Phonology: Consonants_]

CONSONANTS.--(1) The Semi-vowels. (_a_) _w._ Initial _w_ has generally remained before vowels, but in parts of Sc. Midl. e.An. and sw.Cy. it has disappeared in certain words, mainly where it stands before a following _u_, such as _woman_, _wonder_, _wood_, _wool_, _wound_, &c. There are no examples in the dialects of initial _w_ being changed to _v_ before a following vowel. This sound-change, characteristic of the language spoken by Mr. Samuel Weller and his father--‘ven’, ‘vay’, ‘svear’, ‘anyveres’, &c.--seems to have been invented by Dickens. The converse, namely, the change of initial _v_ to _w_, does occur in Bck. Nrf. Suf. Ess. Ken. e.Sus., and Dickens would have heard this pronunciation--_wery_, very, _wenter_, venture--used by the class of person typified in Sam Weller, but there is no authority for the change of _w_ to _v_, and it can only be described as ‘artist’s licence’. An initial _w_ has often arisen in the dialects through a falling diphthong having become a rising diphthong, e.g. in such words as _wome_, _wum_, _woats_, _wold_, lit. Eng. _home_, _oats_, _old_. This accounts for the _w_ in the place-names Woking, Wokingham, which within living memory were pronounced Oaking, Oakingham, and for the pronunciation of lit. Eng. _one_, _once_, and the spelling _whole_. Initial _hw_ has become _f_ in ne.Sc. in such words as _what_, _wheat_, _wheel_, &c. Initial _kw_ has often become _tw_ in n.Cy. dialects, in such words as _twilt_, lit. Eng. _quilt_. A _w_ has often been developed before a back vowel preceded by a consonant, especially a labial, more rarely when preceded by a guttural, dental, nasal, or liquid. This _w_ is chiefly confined to the s.Midl. s. and sw. dialects when the preceding consonant is a labial, as _bwone_, _bwoy_, _pwoizn_, lit. Eng. _bone_, _boy_, _poison_. Medial _w_ has generally disappeared in words compounded with _-ward_, _-worth_, as _awkward_, _backward_, _pennyworth_, &c. It has also generally disappeared in _always_, and in _somewhat_.

(_b_) _j._ This consonant is represented in modern English spelling by _y_. An initial _j_ has often arisen in the dialects through a falling diphthong having become a rising diphthong, as _jabl_, _jek_, _jiər_, lit. Eng. _able_, _ache_, _ear_. Many educated people in the south of England make no difference in the pronunciation of _ear_ and _year_. A s.Midl. s.Cy. saying to express a long period of time is ‘years and years and donkey’s ears’. A medial _j_ has often been developed after a consonant. In many cases the change has been caused by a falling diphthong having become a rising diphthong, e.g. _gjārdin_, _kjetl_, lit. Eng. _garden_, _kettle_.

(2) The Liquids. (_a_) _l._ Medial _l_ has often disappeared, especially in the combinations _ld_, _lf_, _lh_, _lk_, _lp_, _ls_, and _lt_, e.g. in such words as _bald_, _bulk_, _pulpit_, _false_, _bolt_. Final _l_ has often disappeared after a guttural vowel, especially in the Sc. Ir. n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects, e.g. in such words as _all_, _fool_, _pull_, _small_, _wool_.

(_b_) _r._ In Sc. and the greater part of Irel. and the northern parts of Nhb. and Cum. _r_ has a strong trill. In Nhb. and parts of n.Dur. it is a uvular _r_, not unlike the French _r_. It is often called ‘the Northumberland burr’. In all the s. and sw. dialects it is a reverted or retracted _r_, the trill being indistinct and less sharp than for the Sc. _r_. Similarly in these dialects the _l_ is reverted. In the rest of England _r_ has had practically the same development as in the standard language. When a word ends in and the next word begins with a vowel, a ‘euphonic’ _r_ is generally inserted to avoid a hiatus, in the s.Midl., eastern, southern, and south-western dialects, as _aidiər əv it_, idea of it, _Sērər An_, Sarah Ann, _lǭr əv Iŋglənd_, law of England. And an _r_ is sometimes inserted medially, as _drǭrin_, drawing. This insertion of ‘euphonic’ _r_ is not confined to dialect speakers, it is quite common among educated people in the s.Midl. and s. counties, and seems to be spreading gradually further north. _r_ has often undergone metathesis, especially in the sw. dialects in _apə̄n_, _tʃildən_, _gərn_, _h)undəd_, _pə̄ti_, &c., lit. Eng. _apron_, _children_, _grin_, _hundred_, _pretty_, &c.

(3) The Nasals. (_a_) _m._ This consonant has generally remained unchanged in all positions except where after consonants it has become vocalic, as in _bodm_, _botm_, _kindm_, &c., lit. Eng. _bottom_, _kingdom_, &c.

(_b_) _n._ Initial _n_ has remained in _nadder_ (O.E. _nǣdre_), _napron_ (O.Fr. _naperon_), _nauger_ (M.E. _nauger_), lit. Eng. _adder_, _apron_, _auger_. In the various dialects there is a large number of words which have an inorganic initial _n_. It has arisen partly from the _n_ of the indefinite article _an_, and partly from the _n_ of the possessive pronoun _mine_; the latter is especially the case in words denoting relationship, as _n-oration_, a great noise or clamour, _n-urchin_, a hedgehog, _n-awl_, _n-aunt_, _n-uncle_, cp. ‘Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry and take the fool with thee,’ _Lear_, I. iv. 338. The _n_ in lit. Eng. _nickname_ (M.E. _ekename_), _newt_ (O.E. _efeta_) is of this origin. The normal form _evet_ is common in the dialects of southern England. In a few words _n_ has been developed before medial _dȝ_; [the final sound in _bridge_], as _porindȝə(r_, a coarse pot or mug used for porridge, _sosindȝə(r_, sausage, cp. lit. Eng. _messenger_, _passenger_, for _messager_, _passager_. In the n. and n.Midl. dialects medial _n_ has disappeared in unaccented syllables as _Liŋkiʃə(r_, Lincolnshire, _Robisn_, Robinson, &c. In a few words, mainly in n.Cy. dialects, final _n_ occurs contrary to the usage of the lit. language; these are: _aivin_ (O.E. _īfig_, _īfegn_), ivy, _holin_ (O.E. _holen_, _holegn_), holly, _miln_ (O.E. _mylen_), mill, _ratn_ (O.Fr. _raton_), rat, _slōn_ (O.E. _slāh_, _slā_, plur. _slān_), sloe.

The guttural _ŋ_ [the final sound in _hang_], written _n_ in O.E., only occurred before the gutturals _g_ and _c_. In stressed syllables medial _ŋg_ has become _ŋ_ in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. and parts of Ken. Sus. and Som., as _fiŋər_, finger, _siŋl_, single, &c. _ŋ_ has become _n_ before a following dental in _lenþ_, length, _strenþ_, strength, in Sc. Irel. and n.Cy. The _n_ is also very common in other parts of England, but beside it there exist the forms _leŋþ_, _leŋkþ_; _streŋþ_, _streŋkþ_. The forms with _k_ are often used by educated people in the Midlands. Medial _ŋ_ in unstressed syllables has generally disappeared, as _Bebitn_, Bebbington, _Notigəm_, Nottingham, &c. Final unstressed _ŋ_ has generally become _n_ in all the dialects, as in _evenin(g)_, _farthin(g)_, _mornin(g)_, _sendin(g)_, and similarly in all present participles and verbal nouns in _-ing_. In parts of Lan. Chs. Der. when dialect speakers try to talk ‘fine’ they generally substitute _ŋk_ for _ŋ_ in all present participles and verbal nouns in _-ing_. The same thing can often be heard among educated speakers in those parts.

(4) The Labials. (_a_) _p._ This consonant has generally remained in all positions the same as in the standard language.

(_b_) _b._ This consonant hardly ever occurs in any of the dialects between _m--l_ or _m--r_ in such words as _bramble_, _thimble_, _chamber_, _number_. The word _marble_ appears in almost all the dialects as _marvl_. The form _pipl_, pebble, occurs in some s. and sw. dialects, cp. O.E. _papol-_ beside M.E. _pibble-_, _pobble_.

(_c_) _f._ Initial voiceless _f_ has become the voiced spirant _v_ in e.Hrf., parts of Glo., w.Brks. Wil. Dor. Dev. Som. The change must have taken place at a very early period because it is confined almost exclusively to native words, hence it must have taken place before the influx of French words. Three examples of this dialect peculiarity have been incorporated into lit. Eng., viz. _vixen_, _vat_, _vane_ (O.E. _fyxen_, _fæt_, _fana_).

(5) The Dentals. (_a_) _t._ The initial combinations _tr_ and _str_ have become _tþr_, _stþr_, or _þr_, _sþr_ in Irel. Wm. e. and se. Yks. e. em. and s.Lan. I.Ma., as _tþrī_, _þrī_, tree, _stþrīt_, _sþrīt_, street. Medial _t_ between vowels and vowel-like consonants has become _d_ in the sw. dialects, as _bodl_, bottle, _kedl_, kettle; _bodm_, bottom, occurs also in Sc. and n.Cy. dialects, but this goes back to a form _bodan_ which existed beside _botm_ already in O.E. The _t_ in French words which has become _tʃ_ [the sound of the medial consonant in _nature_] in lit. Eng. through the influence of the following _ü_ has remained unchanged in the dialects, as _piktə(r_, picture, _fiətə(r_, feature. Final _t_ has disappeared in many dialects after voiceless consonants, especially in the combination _st_; finally after _k_ and _p_ it has disappeared in all Sc. dialects, as _fak(t_, _korek(t_, _temp(t_. Examples of the loss of _t_ after _s_ occur in all parts of Sc. Irel. and Eng. especially in such words as _beast_, _joist_, _last_, _next_. In a few instances a _t_ has been added after _n_, _f_, or _s_, as _sāmənt_, sermon, _sudənt_, sudden, _vāmint_, vermin, _teligraft_, telegraph, _aist_, ice, _naist_, nice, _wənst_, once, _tweist_, twice. This excrescent _t_ occurs in certain words in the standard language, e.g. _against_ (M.E. _ageines_), _amidst_ (M.E. _amiddes_), _behest_ (O.E. _hǣs_), _betwixt_ (O.E. and M.E. _betwix_), _whilst_ (M.E. _whiles_), _ancient_ (Fr. _ancien_), _pheasant_ (O.Fr. _faisan_).

(_b_) _d._ Intervocalic _d_ followed by _r_ in the next syllable became in the first instance _ð_ in all dialects, as _blaðə(r_, bladder, _konsiðə(r_, consider, _foðə(r_, fodder, _pūðə(r_, powder, &c., in addition to the words which have _ð_ in the standard language, as _father_, _gather_, _mother_, _weather_, &c. (O.E. _fæder_, _gædrian_, _mōdor_, _weder_, &c.). Examples of the _ð_ forms begin to appear about the year 1500, but the change has never been consistently carried out in the literary language, whilst in the dialects its operation has been regular. Where exceptions seem to occur they are due either to the influence of the standard language or to the sound-change given below. This _ð_ from _d_ (O.E. _fæder_, &c.) fell together with O.E. _ð_ in the same position (O.E. _feðer_, &c.), and underwent all further changes in common with it. It has thus become (1) _d_ beside _dð_ n.Cum. Wm. and parts of Yks. and Lan., (2) _d_ in sn.Sc. n.Cy. and se.Cy. dialects. The words _burden_ (O.E. _byrþen_) and _murder_ (O.E. _myrþran_) had a spirant already in O.E. The forms with _ð_ are still very common in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Lan. Stf. Der. e.An. Medial _d_ very seldom occurs in any of the dialects between _n--l_ or _n--r_ in such words as _bundle_, _candle_, _gander_, _thunder_, &c. Medial _d_ has regularly disappeared after _n_ in the Sc. dialects except in those of the south, as _sinər_, cinder, _wɒnər_, wonder, &c. Final _d_ has a tendency in all dialects except those of the e. and se. counties to become _t_ in words of more than one syllable, especially after _n_ and _r_, as _bi-jont_, beyond, &c. Final _d_ has generally disappeared after _n_ in Sc., but in the southern counties of Sc. it has only disappeared in the conjunction _and_, the present participles, and in the pret. and pp. of strong verbs whose present ends in _-nd_. This loss of final _d_ in the pret. and pp. of verbs like _bind_, _find_, _grind_ is quite regular in Sc. Irel. and the north and north Midl. counties.

(_c_) _þ._ Initial _þ_ has generally remained voiceless except in pronouns and the adverbs derived from them, as in the lit. language. The definite article has undergone various changes. It has become (1) _t_ in me.Nhb. Cum. Wm. n. e. nm. sw. and s.Yks. nw.Lan. n.Lin. (2) _þ_ in m. and se.Lan. wm.Stf. (3) _t_, _þ_ sm. and w.Yks. n. em. sw. and s.Lan. Chs. n.Stf. Der. Not. (4) _də_ Ken. Sus. (5) _d_, _t_ w.Dur. ne.Yks. (6) _d_, _t_, _þ_ nw. and e.Yks. (7) _e_ Cai. Bnff. In all other dialects it has had the same development as in lit. Eng., viz. _ðī̆_, _ðə_. In those dialects which have both _t_ and _þ_, the former is used before consonants (_tman_, &c.), and the latter before vowels (_þapl_, &c.), and when the sentence begins with the definite article.

(6) The Sibilants. _s._ Initial voiceless _s_ has become _z_ in those dialects where _f_ in the same position has become _v_, cp. (4)(_c_) above. There is in the dialects a large number of words beginning with _s_ plus a consonant where in most cases the _s_ is not original. It occurs most frequently in the combinations _sk_ and _sq_. In fact nearly all the _sq_ words occurring in the dialects have forms with and without initial _s_. No rule can be laid down about the geographical distribution of the words belonging to this category. Examples are: _sclasp_ beside _clasp_, _sclimb_ beside _climb_, _scrawl_ beside _crawl_, _scroodle_ beside _croodle_, to crouch, _skist_ beside _kist_, a chest, _snotch_ beside _notch_, _squench_ beside _quench_, _strample_ beside _trample_, &c., &c. Dr. Johnson was familiar with _scraunch_ beside _craunch_, cp. ‘To Craunch. v.a. [_schrantsen_, Dutch; whence the vulgar say more properly to _scraunch_.] To crush in the mouth. The word is used by _Swift_.’ In Glo. and the s. and sw. counties _sp_ has generally become _ps_ by metathesis, as _aps_, asp, _klaps_, clasp, _lipsy_, to lisp; _wæps_ and _wæsp_ existed in O.E., so in the modern dialects there are double forms.

(7) The Gutturals. (_a_) _k._ Initial _k_, generally written _c_ in O.E., has remained before _n_ in such words as _knave_, _knead_, _knit_, _knock_, &c., in ne.Sc. In the remaining parts of Scotland it has disappeared in the dialect of the younger generation. In the early part of the last century it was preserved in all Sc. dialects. _tn_ from older _kn_ is still used by old people in w.Frf. and e.Per. A generation ago this _tn_ was also common in the dialects of Cum. and Wm., but it is now obsolete. Initial _cl_ has become _tl_ in many of the dialects of Eng. especially in Yks. Lan. the Midlands, and the s. and sw. dialects, in such words as _clap_, _claw_, _cliff_, _climb_, _cloak_, _cloud_. No Sc. or Ir. dialect has changed initial _cl_ to _tl_. In other respects initial _c_ has generally had the same development in the dialects as in the standard language. Initial _sc_ has become, ʃ [the initial sound in _she_] in native Eng. words just as in the lit. language, as _shade_, _shell_, _ship_, &c.; whereas in words of foreign origin it has remained in the dialects just as in the lit. language, as _scaffold_, _scale_, _scatter_, _school_, _skin_, &c. Excluding all _sc-_ words which are of various origins and which are common both to the lit. language and the dialects--such as the words in the above list: _scaffold_, _scale_, &c.--it is a remarkable fact that the _English Dialect Dictionary_ contains no less than 1,154 simple _sc-_ words. This points to one of two things: either the dialects contain a far larger number of Norse words than is generally supposed, or else it is not certain that initial _sc_ has under all circumstances become ʃ in native words in the dialects. Words where a final _k_ has become _tʃ_ in the lit. lang. generally have _tʃ_ also in the dialects, as _bleach_, _flitch_, _reach_, _stitch_, &c. But in the dialects of Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and parts of the n.Midlands assibilation has not taken place to the same extent as in the lit. language, hence such forms as _skrīk_, _sik_, _þak_, &c., lit. Eng. _screech_, _such_, _thatch_, &c.

(_b_) _g._ Initial _g_ has remained before _n_ in _gnat_, _gnaw_ in ne. and s.n.Sc., but it has disappeared in the remaining parts of Sc. Irel. and Eng. Initial _gl_ has become _dl_ in many dialects of Eng., especially in Yks. Lan. the Midlands, and the s. and sw. dialects, parallel to the change of _cl_ to _tl_.

Final _g_. O.E. geminated _g_, written _cg_, has generally become _dȝ_ [the final sound in _sedge_] in the dialects in such words as _bridge_, _edge_, _ridge_, &c., but as in the case of the change of final _k_ to _tʃ_, in Sc. and the northern parts of Eng. assibilation has not taken place to the same extent as in the lit. language, hence such forms as _brig_, _rig_, _seg_, &c., lit. Eng. _bridge_, _ridge_, _sedge_, &c.

(_c_) _h._ Initial _h_ has remained before vowels in Sc. Irel. Nhb. and perhaps also in portions of n.Dur. and n.Cum. In the remaining parts of Eng. it has disappeared, but words originally beginning with a vowel or _h_ often have an _h_ prefixed when the dialect speaker wishes to express a strong emphasis. The emphatic form of _it_ has retained the _h_ in Sc. and Irel. The emphatic form of _us_ is _hɒz_ in Sc. and Nhb., the only word in the Sc. dialects containing an inorganic _h_. Medial and final χ [the final sound in Sc. _loch_] has generally become _f_ in the dialects of Eng. in those words which have _f_ in the lit. language, as _cough_, _laugh_, _rough_, _tough_, but _f_ also occurs in many dialects in certain other words besides, as _daftər_, _slaftər_, _þoft_, _þruf_, &c., lit. Eng. _daughter_, _slaughter_, _thought_, _through_, &c.

To turn now from phonology to accidence, we shall find that here, too, system and rule prevail to a surprising extent.

THE ARTICLES

[Sidenote: _Accidence: The Articles_]

A. The Indefinite Article. Very few dialects follow the rule of the literary language according to which _an_ is used before a vowel or _h_ mute. _ə_ is used before vowels and consonants, as _ə apl_, an apple. When _n_ is used it is generally attached to the noun, as _ə napl_. In all the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. the indefinite article is used redundantly before numerals and nouns of multitude and quantity, as: more than a twenty of them; a many; a plenty; cp. lit. Eng. a few. This construction occurs in our older literature, cp. ‘A many fools,’ _Mer. of Venice_, III. v. 73.

B. The Definite Article. The dialect forms of the definite article have been given above under the consonant _þ_. In those dialects where the form is _t_, should the following word begin with a dental, the only trace of the article is the suspension of the dental. A clear distinction is made between _teəbl_, table, and _t’eəbl_, the table, _dlium_, gloom, and _d’lium_, the gloom. These same dialects, owing to liturgical influence, use the full form _ðə_ before _loəd_, Lord, when applied to the Deity, save in off-hand speech and in the phrase _loəd nǭz_, the Lord knows, where the article is omitted altogether. The ending of the O.E. neuter form of the definite article survives in _tōn_, the one (O.E. _ðæt ān_), and _tuðə(r, tɒðə(r_, the other (O.E. _ðæt ōðer_). These words are in general use in the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng.; their origin being forgotten, the ordinary form of the definite article is often used redundantly before them.

The definite article is used in many dialects in cases where it would be omitted in the lit. language:

(_a_) In the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. before the names of all diseases, as: he has got the fever, the rheumatics.

(_b_) In the Sc. Midl. and sw.Cy. dialects before the names of trades and occupations, generally with a frequentative force implying the practising or learning of the trade, e.g. We’ve a-boun un purntice to the shoemakerin’ (Som.), Apprentices and improvers wanted to the Dressmaking.

(_c_) In Sc. before the names of sciences and commodities, as: he studies the botany; the sugar is cheap.

(_d_) In the Sc. and Midl. dialects before the names of days, months, seasons, especially when speaking of any particular circumstance connected therewith, as: he died in the Christmas.

(_e_) In the dialects of Sc. and n.Cy. before certain words, as church, school, bed, when these are used absolutely or indefinitely, as: it’s wearisome lying in the bed.

(_f_) In the Sc. n.Cy. and Midl. dialects before ordinals used adverbially, as: Tom came in the second and Jack the third.

(_g_) In Irel. and most parts of Eng. before _both_, as: I will have the both of them.

(_h_) In w.Yks. before proper names, and in the sw. dialects whenever a proper name or title is preceded by an adj., as: T’Skipton, T’Hawes; the young squire Jones.

(_i_) In I.Ma. before an adj. when special stress is required, generally with inversion of verb and adj., as: the sick I am.

NOUNS

[Sidenote: _Accidence: Nouns_]

The formation of the plural of nouns is practically the same as in the standard language, but a few points of deviation are worth notice. Nouns ending in _þ_ which in the lit. language change _þ_ to _ð_ and take _z_ in the plural, as _pāþ_, _pāðz_, generally retain the _þ_ and take _s_ in the plural in the dialects; similarly in Sc. and sw. dialects nouns ending in _lf_ retain the _f_ in the plural and take _s_. Nouns ending in _st_ form their plural in _əz_, _iz_ in the Midl. s. and sw. dialects, as _bīst_, beast, _bīstəz_, _pōst_, post, _pōstəz_. Very frequently, however, such nouns take a double plural, as _bīstəzəz_, _postəzəz_. A triple plural _nestsəzəz_, nests, is found in Sus. The only plurals in _-n_ in the lit. language are _oxen_ and the archaic form _hosen_. _Brethren_, _children_, and _kine_ are double plurals. The list is much longer in the dialects and comprises: (_a_) Words which belonged to the weak declension in O.E.: _æʃn_, ashes, s.w.Cy.; _bīn_, bees, Irel. Chs.; _īn_, eyes, in general use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.; _flīn_, fleas, Midl.; _pīzn_, peas, Wxf. Eng. gen.; _tōn,_ toes, Wxf. s.Chs. (_b_) Words which originally belonged to the strong or irregular declensions: _brùðrən_, brothers, Lei.; _tʃīzn_, cheeses, e.An. Dor.; _klūtn_, clouts, e.Yks.; _vəzn_, furze, Dor.; _h)ɒuzn_, houses, gen. in Eng. except n.Cy.; _kīn_, keys, Wil.; _mɒuzn_, mice, Glo. e.Dev.; _nīzn_, nests, s.Chs. Midl. e.An.; _ōkn_, oaks, Hrf.; _pōzn_, posts, Nhp. Shr. Glo. Hnt.; _riksn_, rushes, sw.Cy.; _ʃūn_, shoes, gen. in Sc. Irel. and Eng.; _sistrən_, sisters, Cai.; _trīn_, trees, Fif. Wxf.; _tɒrvn_, turfs, Sc.; _wopsn_, wasps, Hmp.; _wenʃn_, wenches, Glo. (_c_) Romance words to which the weak ending has been added: _botln_, bottles, sw.Dev.; _klōzn_, fields, Lei. Nhp. e.An.; _feərin_, fairies, e.Lan.; _plēzn_, places, Midl. sw.Cy.; _primrōzn_, primroses, Glo. Dev.

The plural form _tʃildə(r_, children, in general use in Irel. and Eng. is the regular form from the O.E. plural _cildru_. In the lit. language the _r_ has ceased to be felt as a sign of the plural and the weak _-n_ has been added. Certain nouns form their plural by change of vowel as in the literary language; these are: foot feet, goose geese, louse lice, man men, mouse mice, tooth teeth, woman women; _breðə(r_, _bruðə(r_, brother makes _breðə(r_ in parts of Sc., n.Yks. Lan.; _kau_, cow, makes _kai_, Sc. n.Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. sw.Cy. On the other hand _fut_, foot, makes _futs_ e.Suf., _lɒus_, louse, _lɒusəz_, Abd. e.Sus. n.Dev., _mɒus_, mouse, _mɒusəz_, m.Bck. e.Sus.

Certain nouns have the singular and plural alike, as: _as_, ash, ashes, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Midl.; _tʃik_, chicken, chickens, e.Sus.; _tʃikn_, ibid., Glo. Oxf. Ken. m.Sus. Som.; _fɒul_, fowl, fowls, Sc. Shr.; _hors_, horse, horses; and a few others; _bīst_, an animal of the ox tribe, has a collective plural _bīs_ _(biəs)_ in Sc. Yks. Lan. Midl. and sw.Cy. On the other hand, corn has a plural _kornz_, oats, in Sc.; _ʃip_, sheep, makes _ʃips_ in War. Shr. Glo. Nouns expressing time, space, weight, measure, and number, when immediately preceded by a cardinal number, generally remain unchanged in the dialects of Sc. and Eng.

Double plurals are common in the dialects, for example: (_a_) _əz_, _iz_ is added to the ordinary plural ending _s_, _z_, in: _beləsəz_, bellows, n. and nm.Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Midl. sw.Cy.; _buədzəz_, boards, Sus.; _galəsəz_, braces, n.Cy.; _æmzəz_, hames, sw.Cy.; _keksəz_, a plant, Midl. Ken. Sur. Dor.; _ʃūzəz_, shoes, Nrf. Dev.; _sǭtsəz_, sorts, Brks.; _stepsəz_, steps, w. and sw.Yks. w.Som.; _þrīzəz_, threes, _tūzəz_, twos, Brks. e.An.; _toŋziz_, tongs, w.Wil. w.Som. (_b_) _z_ is added to the plural _-n_: _brīknz_, breeches, &c.; _oksnz_, oxen, w.Som.; _plēzns_, places, Not.; _riksnz_, rushes, Dev.; _ʃūnz_, shoes, Sc.; _slōnz_, sloes, Midl. e.Cy. sw.Cy. (_c_) _s_, _əz_ is added to umlaut plurals: _fīts_, feet, Sc. se.Yks. Glo.; _gīzəz_, geese, Nhb.; _mīzəz_, mice, Ess. (_d_) _tʃildə̄z_, children, occurs in w.Yks. (_e_) The weak ending _-n_ is sometimes added to the ordinary _s_, _z_: _ǭzn_, haws, Glo.; _ipsn_, hips, Oxf. n.Wil.; _ɒksn_, hocks, Ken. Dev. Cor.; _nīzn_, knees, s.Chs. (_f_) The weak plural ending is sometimes added to the umlaut plural: _fītn_, feet, e.An.; _gīzn_, geese, Suf.; _kain_, kine, Ayr. Gall. Wxf. n.Cy. Ken. Dev.; _mīzn_, mice, Cmb. Suf. Triple plurals occur in: _ǭznz_, haws, Glo.; _ipsnz_, hips, Oxf. n.Wil. In some nouns the plural form is used for the singular, as: _ǭz_, a haw, Oxf. Suf. Ess. Ken.; _inz_, an inn, Sc. n.Irel.; _slōn_, a sloe, Midl. s. and sw.Cy.; &c. In certain words the _s_ of the stem has been taken as the sign of the plural, and a new singular formed without it, as: _karitʃ_, catechism, Fr. _catéchèse_, Sc. n.Yks.; _ʃē_, chaise, Yks. Lan. m.Bck. e.Sus.; _hō_, a single stocking, Sc. _piz_, a single pea, in Bch. Abd. is a survival of O.E. _pise_; in the lit. language a new singular has been formed, but cp. _pease-pudding_. Other examples of the formation of a new singular without _s_ in the lit. language are: _burial_, O.E. _byrgels_; _riddle_, O.E. _rǣdels_; _cherry_, Fr. _cerise_; _sherry_, formerly _sherris_, Span. _Xeres_; _skate_, Du. _schaats_, Fr. _échasse_.

The following nouns, though remaining singular in form, take the plural form of the verb and pronoun and are used after few, &c., as: _brōz_, a kind of porridge, Sc.; _broþ_, broth, Sc. n.Ir. n.Cy. Midl. e.An. sw.Cy.; _brouis_, a kind of gruel, s.Chs. Shr.; _grǖəl_, gruel, e.An.; _poridȝ_, porridge, n.Cy., n.Midl.; _sūp_, soup, w.Yks. Shr.

The sign of the genitive, both singular and plural, is generally omitted when one noun qualifies another in all the n.Cy. dialects, and occasionally in the n.Midlands, as: the Queen cousin; my father boots; the lad father stick. A Lancashire magistrate is reported to have asked a witness, ‘Was it your brother dog?’ This characteristic of n.Cy. dialects is found already in the M.E. period. The M.E. practice of placing the genitival _s_ at the end of an attributive clause survives in most dialects of Sc. and Eng., as: I’ve just seen Jim Dutton him as went to America’s wife; that’s the woman what was left behind’s child. There is a general tendency in all dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. to express the genitive plural by means of an additional syllable suffixed to the nominative plural, as: the farmerses cows. This is especially the case with the word _folk_, nom. pl. _fōks_, gen. pl. _fōksəz_.

The gender of nouns grammatically speaking can only be ascertained by means of the pronouns referring to them. There is a general tendency in all dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. to personify inanimate objects. In Sc. Irel. and the dialects of the northern counties the feminine pronoun is used, while in the Midlands, the e. s. and sw. counties, the use is variable. In the sw. dialects inanimate objects are divided into two classes. The first or personal class consists of formed, individual objects, as: a tool, a tree; for these masculine or feminine pronouns are employed. The neuter pronoun is used when referring to nouns contained in the second or impersonal class of unformed objects, as: water, dust.

ADJECTIVES

[Sidenote: _Accidence: Adjectives and Numerals_]

In the dialects the practice of forming adjectives denoting material from the substantive by means of the suffix _-en_ is carried out to a much greater extent than in the literary language, as: _tinnen pots_, _glassen bottles_, _hornen spoons_. This is especially the case in the southern and south-western dialects. The comparison of adjectives is formed in the dialects by adding the comparative suffix _-er_ and the superlative _-est_ to practically all adjectives, polysyllabic as well as monosyllabic. _More_ and _most_ are as a rule only used to supplement or intensify the regular comparison, as: _more beautifuller_, _most worst_. The following adjectives, irregular in the lit. language, are compared regularly in some dialects: _badder_, _baddest_, n.Cy. Midl.; _farer_, _farest_, Sc. n.Cy. and the Midlands; _gooder_, _goodest_, Cum. m.Yks. Dev.; _iller_, w.Yks. e.An., _illest_, Fif. n.Cy.; _liker_, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. sw.Cy.; _littler_, _littlest_, in general use in n. and ne.Sc. and Eng. The old comparative _near_, treated as a positive in the literary language, retains its force in n.Yks. and nw.Der.; similarly, _far_, further, is retained in Yks. Lan. and the Midlands. _Mae_, the M.E. comparative of _many_, is used in Sc. Nhb. e.Yks. Stf. Double comparatives occur in _betterer_, Cum. Yks. Dev. Cor.; _morer_, Shr.; _worser_, in general use in Sc. and Eng. A triple form, _worserer_, is heard in e.An. Double superlatives occur in _bestest_, sw.Cy.; _leastest_, Lan. e.An. sw.Cy.; _mostest_, Shr. Ken. Som. Cor.

NUMERALS

In the dialects of the western and south-western counties it is usual to place the lower digit before the higher, as: _five and fifty_. In Shr. this rule is invariable when speaking of sums of money under £2, as: six and thirty shillings for a pig. In the dialects, especially of Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Lei. Wor. Shr., the ordinals after _third_ take the suffix _t_ instead of literary English _th_. The old ordinal _erst_, first in order, survives in Sc. and n.Yks.

PRONOUNS

[Sidenote: _Accidence: Pronouns_]

In all the dialects of Sc. and Eng. there is a tendency to introduce a redundant personal pronoun after a noun when emphasis is required; this is especially frequent after a proper name, as: Mr. Smith, he came to my house. In Sc. and the northern dialects a pronoun is often used to introduce a statement, the specific subject being added later, as: it runs very well, does that horse. In all the dialects of Sc. and Eng. the objective form of the personal pronoun is used for the nominative: (1) After the substantive verb, as: it was her that did it. (2) When standing alone, as: Who did that? Her. (3) When the verb refers to different persons, as: him and me did it; Jack and us went together. (4) When antecedent to a relative pronoun, and therefore separated from its verb by a subordinate sentence, as: him that did that ought to be hanged. The objective forms are often used for the nominative when the pronouns are unemphatic, especially in the south-midland, eastern, southern, and south-western counties. Conversely in all the dialects of these same counties the nominative of the personal pronoun is used as the emphatic form of the objective case, as: her did it; her saw she. In Irel. the impersonal phrase _it is_ often occurs redundantly at the beginning of a sentence, as: it’s sorry you will be; it’s sleepy I am.

The various dialect forms of the personal pronouns are of special interest to the philologist in that they supply living examples to prove the truth of the theory necessary to explain the original forms of the pronouns in the separate branches of the Indo-Germanic family of languages. Most of the pronouns, especially the personal and demonstrative, must have had accented and unaccented forms existing side by side in the parent language itself, and then one or other of the forms became generalized already in the prehistoric period of the individual branches of the parent language. At a later period, but still in prehistoric times, there arose new accented and unaccented forms side by side in the individual branches, as e.g. in prim. Germanic _ek_, _mek_ beside _ik_, _mik_. The separate Germanic languages generalized one or other of these forms before the beginning of the oldest literary monuments, and then new accented beside unaccented forms came into existence again. And similarly during the historic periods of the different languages. Thus, e.g., the O.E. for _I_ is _ic_; this became in M.E. _ich_ accented form beside _i_ unaccented form; _ich_ then disappeared in standard M.E. (but it is still preserved in one of the modern dialects of Somersetshire), and _i_ came to be used as the accented and unaccented form. At a later period it became _ī_ when accented and remained _i_ when unaccented. The former has become lit. Eng. _I_, and the latter has disappeared from the lit. language, but it is still preserved in many northern Eng. dialects as _i_. In these dialects _i_ is regularly used in interrogative and subordinate sentences; the M.E. accented form _ī_ has become _ai_ and is only used in the dialects to express special emphasis, and from it a new unaccented form _a_ has been developed, which can only be used in making direct assertions. Thus in one and the same dialect (Windhill, Yks.) we arrive at three forms: _ai_, _a_, _i_, which are never mixed up syntactically by genuine native dialect speakers. Something similar to what has happened and is still happening in the modern dialects must also have taken place in the prehistoric and historic periods of all the Indo-Germanic languages.

I. (_a_) The nominative of the first person singular. The stressed form is generally the same as the normal development of old _ī_ (_v._ p. 132), but in some of the n.Midl. dialects _ǭ_ is used. The unstressed forms are generally _a_ or _ə_, but in the n.Midl. dialects _o_ is the general form. The forms _itʃ_ (_ich_), _ɒtʃ_ (_utch_), _ɒtʃi_ (_utchy_), and the contracted form _tʃ_ (_ch_), as: _tʃam_ = I am, were formerly used in Wxf. Dor. Som. and Dev. These forms are still used by old people in a small district of Som. close to Yeovil on the border of Dorset, cp. ‘Chill pick your teeth, zir,’ _Lear_, IV. vi. 250. (_b_) The objective case. The stressed form is generally _mī_, rarely _mei_. The unstressed form is _mə_.

II. (_a_) The nominative of the second person singular. The stressed form generally contains the normal development of old _ū_ (p. 132), but in the n. and n.Midl. counties the _ð_ has generally become _t_ in interrogative and subordinate sentences. (_b_) The objective case. The stressed form is generally _ðī_, rarely _ðei_. The unstressed form is _ðə_. The pronoun of the second person singular is in use in almost all the dialects of Eng. to express familiarity or contempt, and also in times of strong emotion; it cannot be used to a superior without conveying the idea of impertinence. In s.Sc. this pronoun has entirely disappeared from the spoken language, and is only very occasionally heard in other parts of Sc. In Glo., owing probably to Quaker influence, it can be used without rudeness to a superior. In Nrf. it is only used in a few stereotyped salutations, as: _fare-thee-well_. In e.Dor. it is only used to children or in recriminatory language.

III. (_a_) The nominative of the third person singular masc. The stressed form is generally _h)ī_, rarely _h)ei_. The unstressed form is generally _i_ or _ə_. In the n. and some n.Midl. dialects the _i_ is used in affirmative sentences and the _ə_ in interrogative and subordinate sentences. The unstressed form _ə_, written _a_, occurs often in Shakespeare’s Plays, cp. ‘_Hostess._ Nay, that a did not. _Boy._ Yes, that a did,’ _Hen. V._, II. iv. 32, 33. (_b_) The objective case. The stressed form is _h)im_ and the unstressed form _im_, but in the s.Midl. s. and sw.Cy. dialects _ən_, generally written _en_, _un_ (O.E. _hine_), is the regular unstressed form for _im_. It is also used of inanimate objects and in w.Som. of feminine animals, though never of a woman.

IV. (_a_) The nominative of the third person singular fem. The stressed form is generally _ʃī_, rarely _ʃei_, but in some of the n.Midl. dialects it is _ʃū_. The unstressed form is generally _ʃə_, but _ʃu_ is also used in those dialects which have _ʃū_ as the stressed form. O.E. _hēo_, she, survives as _ū_, _u_ generally written _hoo_, in parts of w.Yks. Lan. Chs. Flt. Dnb. Stf. Der. Not. Wor. (_b_) The objective case is generally _h)ē(r, h)ə(r_.

V. The nominative of the third person singular neut. The stressed form is generally _it_, but in Sc. and Nhb. _hit_. The unstressed form is generally _it_ or _ət_. In Oxf. Dor. and Som. _it_ is frequently used instead of the plural pronoun when animals or objects are referred to collectively.

VI. (_a_) The nominative of the first person plural. The stressed form is _wī_, rarely _wei_. The unstressed forms are _wi_, _wə_. In many n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects _wi_ is used in affirmative sentences and _wə_ in interrogative and subordinate sentences. (_b_) The objective case. The stressed form is generally _ɒs_, but in some of the n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects it is _uz_, in Sc., parts of Irel. and Nhb. _hɒz_. The unstressed forms are _əs_, _əz_.

VII. The second person plural. Few dialects discriminate between _you_ and _ye_; on the whole the use of _ye_ for the nom. and obj. cases singular and plural is the more general. In s.Chs. _you_ is always singular in meaning though it takes the verb in the plural, as: you thinken; _ye_ is always plural. In Irel. and Nrf. the curious form _yous_, in Irel. also _yees_, is used when more than one person is addressed.

VIII. (_a_) The nominative of the third person plural. The stressed form of the nominative is generally _ðē_ or _ðeə_, but in some midl. and s. dialects it is _ðai_ or _ðei_, and in Sh. and Or.I. n.Ken. Sus. _dē_, rarely _dei_. The unstressed form is generally _ðe_ or _ðə_, rarely _ði_. In Lin. War. Shr. _ə_ (O.E. _hīe_) is used for the unstressed form of _they_. (_b_) The objective case. The stressed form is _ðem_, rarely _ðēm_. In all the dialects of Irel. and Eng. the unstressed form is _əm_ (O.E. _heom_), generally written _em_, or _’em_. In Sc. the unstressed form is _ðem_ or _ðəm_.

The conjunctive possessive pronoun is in many dialects formed by adding the genitival _s_ to the personal pronouns both nominative and objective, as: _we’s_, Oxf. Ess.; _us’s_, m.Yks. Glo. Oxf.; _you’s,_ Sur.; _him’s_, w.Sc. Hrf.; _she’s_, Sur. Wil.; _them’s_, Dev.; in e.An. _that’s_ is used for _his_, _her_, _its_. The use of the personal pronoun, nominative or objective, instead of the possessive is common in many Midl. and sw.Cy. dialects, especially when unemphatic or in addressing children, as: we held we breaths; let’s be off tul us dinners, In certain n.Cy. and Midl. dialects the old uninflected _it_ is still used instead of the modern _its_, cp. ‘It lifted up it head,’ _Ham._ I. ii. 216. In Hmp. the still older use of _his_ for the neuter possessive is preserved, cp. ‘To every seed his own body,’ A.V. 1 _Cor._ xv. 38. In ne. Lan. _her_ (O.E. _hiera_) is used for _their_. Throughout England the use of _our_, _your_ before a proper noun to denote that the person spoken of belongs respectively to the family of the speaker or the person spoken to is very common, as: our Sal; your Tom. _wə(r_ is in general dialect use in Sc. Irel. and Eng. for the unstressed form of _our_.

In the Midl. e. s. and sw. counties the disjunctive possessive pronouns, except _mine_, _thine_, are generally formed from the conjunctive by adding _n_ or _ən_, thus _hisn_, _hern_, _ourn_, _yourn_, _theirn_. A double form is used in _mine’s_, Sc. n.Yks. This double ending is added to the nom. in _weez’n_, Glo.; _shizn_, War. Glo. Brks. Hmp. Wil. The conjunctive form is used disjunctively in Lakel. Suf. Ess., as: that is my. In w.Yks. _that’s_ is used as the disjunctive possessive of the third person. Apart from these deviations, the dialects generally express the disjunctive possessive pronouns in the same manner as the lit. language.

The reflexive pronouns are generally formed by adding _self_, _sel_, _sen_, or _seln_ for the singular, and _selves_, _sels_, _sens_ (rarely _sen_) for the plural, to the conjunctive possessive pronouns, usually the unstressed forms: _mi_, _ði_, _wə(r_, _jə(r_, &c. The endings _sen_, _seln_, _sens_ are chiefly confined to the n.Midl. dialects. The endings _self_, _selves_ are hardly ever used in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and n.Midlands. Frequently the objective case of the simple personal pronoun is used with a reflexive meaning, especially in Sc. n.Cy. and n.Midl., as: get thee dressed while I wash me. In Sc. _theirsel_ is used when the idea is collective, _theirsels_ when it is segregate.

The demonstrative pronoun _this_ is expressed by: (1) _This_, generally used in the same manner as in lit. English. (2) _This here_, in general dialect use in Eng. (3) _That_, in Sc. and n.Irel. as: that is a fine day. (4) _Thease_, Hrf. Glo. and sw.Cy., used of objects having a definite shape; cp. Lat. _hic_; in w.Som. when the noun, whatever its quantity or number, has already been mentioned in the same sentence, it is referred to as _that_, _this_, not as _thick_, _thease_. (5) _Thease yerimy_, Glo. (6) _Thick here_, sw.Cy. In disjunctive use are: (7) _Thisn_, _thisna_, n.Cy. Midl. Suf. Sur. (8) _Thease here_, w.Som. (9) _Thissum_, Glo. Hmp. sw.Cy.

_That_ is expressed by: (1) _That_, generally used in the same manner as in lit. Eng. (2) _That there_, in general dialect use in Eng.; a second _there_ is often added, as is also a second _here_ to _this here_. (3) _Thack_, _thacky_, Glo. sw.Cy. (4) _Thick there_, Glo. I.W. sw.Cy. (5) _Thon_, Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur., used to identify an object remote from both speakers. (6) _Thonder_, Chs. Hrf. (7) _Yon_, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. Hrf. e.An. Dev., used especially of a person or thing a little way off, but within sight. (8) _Yond_, Edb. Yks. Lan. Dev. (9) _Yonder_, Ayr. I.Ma. s.Chs. Nhp. w.Wor. Nrf. In disjunctive use are: (10) _Thatn_, Lakel. Der. Not. Wor. Hrf. Sur. (11) _Thickumy_, Som. (12) _Thilk_, Glo. In Sc. n.Midl. Lon. Suf. Ken. _that_ is used in emphatic reiteration of an assertion, as: I suppose you are in a hurry. I am that. In all the dialects _that_ is used adverbially with the meaning to such a degree, as: I was that bad. It is also used before a substantive with the meaning _such_, as: in that fear that I couldn’t move. In n.Hmp. _thick_ is always used for _this_, and _thuck_ for _that_; in Dor. _thick_ is only used for the personal class of formed individual objects.

_These_ is expressed by: (1) _These_, as in lit. Eng. (2) _Thes here_, w.Yks. Midl. Brks. Nrf. Ken. Som. n.Dev. (3) _These yerimy_, Glo. (4) _Theasum_, _theasamy_, Glo. Hmp. sw.Cy. (5) _This_, ne.Sc. n.Cy. parts of Yks. and Lan., and sw.Cy. It is used especially with plural nouns denoting time, as: this three weeks. In disjunctive use are: (6) _These ’ans_ (= ones), _theseun_, Cum. Hrf. Brks. Wil. (7) _Thism_, Glo.

_Those_ is seldom or never heard in genuine dialect speech. Its place is supplied by: (1) _Them_, in all the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. In Sc. it is especially used as the antecedent of the relative, as: them at did it. (2) _Them there_, n.Midl. Midl. e.An. Dor. Som. (3) _Themmin_, Glo. Wil. (4) _Themmy_, sw.Cy. (5) _They_, Midl. Suf. s. and sw.Cy., used especially as the antecedent of the relative. (6) _They there_, Ken. w.Som. Dev. (7) _That_, ne.Sc. (8) _These_, Sc. Cum. Yks. (9) _Thon_, Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. (10) _Yon_, Sc. n.Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. e.An. Dev. (11) _Yond_, Edb. Yks. Lan. Dev. (12) _Them ’ans_, Cum. (13) _Yon ’ans_, Cum. _These_ and _those_ are both expressed by: (1) _Thae_, Sc. Uls. n.Cy. (2) _Thick_, _thuck_, Wor. Dev. (3) _Thir_, Sc. (s. of the Grampians) Uls. n.Cy. In disjunctive use: (4) _Thirs_, _thors_, Sc. Nhb. (5) _Thir ’ans_, Cum.

There are no special dialect words for the interrogative pronoun, but the following deviations from the lit. use are worth notice: _Whom_ is hardly ever used in any dialect; its place is taken by _who_. In Sc. and n. and ne.Yks. _whose_ is seldom used as an interrogative pronoun, a periphrasis being used instead, as: _who is aught the bairn?_ whose is the child? _who belongs this house?_ whose house is this? In Cum. _which_ is used of persons as well as of animals and things.

The relative pronoun is generally expressed by _as_, _at_, _that_ or _what_ for all genders and numbers, when the antecedent is expressed. In other cases _who_ is used for the masc. and fem. nom. and obj., and _what_ for the neuter. _Whom_ is never used in the dialects. _As_ is rarely used in n.Cy., but in the other parts of England it is in general use. _At_ is in general use in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and a small portion of the n.Midl. counties. _What_ can be used when it refers to persons as well as to inanimate objects in some of the n.Midl. counties, and in nearly all the counties south of the n.Midlands. In w.Som. it is only used when special emphasis is required. In s.Not. Hrf. Glo. and Nrf. the relative _which_ is used redundantly in a conjunctive sense, as: ghosts, which I can’t bear talking about. In Brks. _whosen_ is used for _whose_, but as a rule the possessive relative cannot be expressed by a single word in the dialects; instead a periphrasis or parenthetical sentence is substituted. Especially frequent is the use of _as_ or _what_ coupled with a possessive pronoun, as: that’s the chap as his uncle was hanged. In Sc. _at_ is similarly used, as: the man at his coat’s torn.

VERBS

[Sidenote: _Accidence: Verbs_]

Preterites. In the conjugation of verbs in the dialects many old forms have been preserved which have been lost in the literary language. Very often where, in the lit. language, the old plural form of the preterite or the past participle has been carried through the whole preterite, in the dialects the old singular form has been levelled out. Or again, an old strong verb has in lit. Eng. become weak, whilst in the dialects the strong forms have remained. On the whole, it is the northern dialects which have preserved these old strong preterite forms. It may be said to be characteristic of the southern dialects to form new weak preterites to originally strong verbs. Examples of verbs which have preserved old strong preterites are: bind, _ban(d_ (O.E. _band_), Sc. n.Cy. Shr.; break, _brak_ (O.E. _bræc_), Sc. n.Cy.; climb, _klam_, _klom_ (O.E. _clamb_, _clomb_), Sc. n.Cy. n.Midl. Hrf. Hmp. Dor.; find, _fan(d_ (O.E. _fand_), Sc. Cum. Yks.; grind, _gran(d_ (O.E. _grand_), Sc. Dur. Yks. Shr.; knead, _nad_, _nēd_ (M.E. _knad_, late plur. _knāden_), Yks. Shr.; speak, _spak_, _spēk_ (M.E. _spak_, late plur. _spāken_), Sc. Dwn. n.Cy. Ess. Dev.; swing, _swaŋ_ (O.E. _swang_), Sc. Lakel. Yks.; tread, _trad_, _trēd_ (M.E. _trad_, late plur. _trāden_), Sc. Yks.; win, _wan_ (O.E. _wan(n_), Sc. Cum. Yks.

Examples of old strong verbs which have acquired new weak preterites are: bear, _beared_, Bch. Abd. Yks. s.Chs. s. and sw.Cy.; begin, _beginned_, w.Som. Dev.; burst, _bursted_, Sc. Midl. sw.Cy.; come, _comed_, Yks. Lan. n.Midl. e.An. sw.Cy.; draw, _drawed_, Midl. Hmp. sw.Cy.; grow, _growed_, n.Midl. I.W. Dor. w.Som.; know, _knowed_, n.Ir. n.Cy. Midl. Ess. Ken. Sur. I.W. sw.Cy.; see, _seed_, Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. s.Chs. Midl. e.An. s. and sw.Cy.; steal, _stealed_, Sc. n.Lin. Brks. e.An. Dev.; throw, _throwed_, _thrawed_, Nhb. w.Yks. Midl. s. and sw.Cy.; weave, _weaved_, n. and e.Yks. w.Som.; &c., &c. These verbs have likewise a weak past participle, as: _beared_, _corned_, _drawed_, &c.

A few old weak verbs have become strong in lit. Eng. but retain their original weak forms in certain dialects, such are: dig, _digged_, w.Som., cp. ‘He made a pit and digged it,’ A.V. _Ps._ vii. 15, ‘Wells digged,’ _Neh._ ix. 25; strive, _strived_ (M.E. _strivede_ beside _strōf_), Peb. ne.Nrf. w.Som. Cor.; wear, _weared_ (M.E. _wered(e_), Sc. n.Yks. Nhp. Wor. sw.Cy. Old forms of a weak preterite survive in reach, _raught_ (M.E. _raughte_), Sc. Midl. s. and sw.Cy., cp. pp. ‘The hand of death hath raught him,’ _Ant. & Cleop._ IV. ix. 30; work, _wrought_ (M.E. _wroughte_), Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Lan. Der. Stf. This is the ordinary preterite form used in the Authorized Version of the Bible, but in modern lit. Eng. only the past participle remains as an adjective, as in _wrought iron_. On the model of this kind of preterite we have in lit. Eng. catch, _caught_, but the regular form _catched_ (M.E. _cacched_ beside _caughte_) is common in nearly all the dialects of Sc. Irel. and England.

Many verbs which in the literary language have lost the final _n_ of the strong past participle, retain it in certain dialects. These old past participles are found in Sc. n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects, but very rarely further south than Shropshire. Examples are: bake, _baken_, Sc.; bereave, _beriven_, m.Yks.; bind, _bunden_, _binden_, Yks. Nhb.; climb, _clomben_, Nhb. Shr.; come, _cumen_, _comen_, Sc. n.Cy. Chs. Shr.; creep, _cropen_, _crupen_, Sc. n.Cy. Chs. Shr.; fight, _foughten_, Sc. n.Cy. Lei. Shr.; fling, _flungen_, e.Yks. s.Chs. Der.; grind, _grounden_, Nhb. n. and e.Yks. Shr.; help, _holpen_, s.Chs. Rut. Shr.; knead, _nedn_, m.Yks., _noden_, n.Cy. w.Yks. Nhp.; shoot, _shotten_, _shutten_, Sc. n.Irel. Lakel. n.Cy. Lei. Wor. Shr. Ken.; sit, _sitten_, Sc. n.Cy. Chs. nw.Der. Shr.; slit, _slitten_, Sc. Nhb. Yks. nw.Lin.; spring, _sprungen_, e.Yks. s.Chs.; wash, _washen_, Sc., _weshen_, w.Yks.; writhe, _writhen_, Sc. m.Yks. s.Chs.

In some dialects the verbal endings differ considerably from those of the standard language, and the use of these endings is governed by exact grammatical rules. To begin with the present tense: In Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and most of the n.Midl. dialects, all persons, singular and plural, take _s_, _z_, or _əz_ when not immediately preceded or followed by their proper pronoun; that is when the subject is a noun, an interrogative or relative pronoun, or when the verb and subject are separated by a clause. When the verb is immediately preceded or followed by its proper pronoun, the first person sing. and the whole of the plural generally have no special endings in the above dialects, except occasionally in parts of Yks. Lan. and Lin. It follows from this that grammatically ‘Scots wha hae’ is incorrect; strictly the line should run: ‘Scots at haes wi’ Wallace bled.’ In the other parts of England the first person sing. has no special ending except in some of the southern and south-western dialects, which have the ending _s_, _z_, or _əz_. Most of the s.Midl. e. s. and sw. dialects have _s_, _z_, or _əz_ for all persons of the plural. The plural generally ends in _n_, _ən_ in se. em. and s.Lan. Chs. Flt. Dnb. Stf., nearly all Der., Shr., and also often in Nhp. War. Wor. Hrf.; this is especially the case with _have_. In Som. and Dev. the plural often ends in _ð_ among the older generation of dialect speakers. In e. and s.Hrt. Ken. Sur. Hmp. I.W. w. and s.Som. Dev. Cor. _’m_, _am_, is generally used for _are_ after the pronouns _we_, _ye_, _they_, as: _wəm_, we are. In Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. n.Lin. _is_ is often used for _am_. The periphrastic form _I do love_, &c., for _I love_, &c., is in general use in the sw. dialects.

The preterite plural sometimes ends in _n_, _ən_ in some n.Midl. dialects, but beyond this the preterite endings generally agree with those of the literary language.

In the dialects of England the present participle ends in _in_ except in parts of n.Nhb. and n.Cum. where the ending is _ən_. This _ən_ probably goes back to the Northern M.E. ending _and_. In the dialects of s.Sc. and also in a few other Sc. dialects the present participle ends in _ən_, from older _and_, and the verbal noun ends in _in_ from older _ing_. In the imperfect and perfect continuous tenses, as: _I am striking_, _I have been striking_, the present participle takes the prefix _ə_ (_ɒ_) in the Midland, e.Cy. and sw.Cy. dialects, as: _I am a-goin_. This is an interesting point when we realize that it proves the origin of our present participle ending _ing_, which cannot be developed from the O.E. _ende_. The form with the prefix _ə_ represents the verbal noun (O.E. _-ung_, _-ing_) preceded by the preposition _on_. The preposition dwindled through lack of stress into a mere prefix, and was ultimately lost in lit. Eng. These dialects thus preserve the intermediate stage.

In the s.Midl. and sw.Cy. dialects the past participle has the prefix _ə_ (_ɒ_) from the O.E. prefix _ge-_.

The infinitive generally has no special ending just as in the literary language. But in the sw.Cy. dialects, especially in Dor. Som. Dev., intransitive verbs generally have the ending _i_, written _y_, from the O.E. ending _-ian_ of weak verbs such as _lufian_, to love; _lōcian_, to look.

The future is formed the same way as in lit. Eng. except that in Sc. Irel. and Wal. _will_ is used for the first person singular and plural.

The perfect is generally formed the same way as in lit. Eng., but in those dialects of England which have preserved the old strong past participles, the auxiliary _have_ is generally omitted in affirmative sentences when the subject is a personal pronoun immediately followed by the verb, as: we done it, I seen him, they been and taken it. In the Midl. e. and s. dialects, this construction is sometimes used to express the preterite.

The negative in O.E. was expressed by the particle _ne_ prefixed to the verb, and to all the other words in the sentence that admitted of contracted negative forms. If no such words were present, then _nā_ or _naht_ was used to strengthen the _ne_. This usage was kept up in M.E., as: _he never hadde noþing_, but beside it _nat_, _not_, the weak form of O.E. _nāwiht_, began to take the place of the _ne_. In Modern English the _ne_ disappeared entirely, and the influence of Latin grammar led to the adoption of the rule ‘two negatives contradict each other and make an affirmative’. In the dialects the old pleonastic negatives remain, as: He nivver said nowt neeaways ti neean on em; Neeabody’s neea bisniss ti thraw nowt inti neeabody’s gardin; I deean’t want nobbut yan.