English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 124 pages of information about English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day.

English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 124 pages of information about English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day.

  “Tha girt soo!  I’ll baste thi when aw get thi hwom, that aw will!”
  shaouted Betty Bresskittle; “aw wunder tha artna ashamed o’ thisen,
  to stond theer a-feightingk th’ deevil hissel!”

Notes.—­Jud, for George; leet, light; bowd, bold; dandycock, Bantam cock; gradely, proper; gen, gave; owd, old; reet ee, right eye; git, got; as weild as weild, as wild as could be; aht, out; at-aftur, after; gurt, great; em, him; floy, fly; Runjer, Ringway; game (also gam), full of pluck; hoo, she; rooad, road, way; gurned, grinned; soo, sow (term of abuse); hwom, home; thisen, thyself.

EASTERN (Group 2):  N. ESSEX.

The following extract is from John Noakes and Mary Styles, by Charles Clark, of Great Totham; London, 1839.  Reprinted for the E.D.S., 1895.  As Great Totham is to the North of Maldon, I take this specimen to belong to Prof.  Wright’s “Division 2” rather than to the S.W.  Essex of “Division 5.”  The use of w for initial v occurs frequently, as in werry, very, etc.

  At Tottum’s Cock-a-Bevis Hill,
    A sput surpass’d by few,
  Where toddlers ollis haut to eye
    The proper pritty wiew,

  Where people crake so ov the place,
    Leas-ways, so I’ve hard say;
  An’ frum its top yow, sarteny,
    Can see a monsus way.

  But no sense ov a place, some think,
    Is this here hill so high,—­
  ’Cos there, full oft, ’tis nation coad,
    But that don’t argufy.

  As sum’dy, ’haps, when nigh the sput,
    May ha’ a wish to see ’t,—­
  From Mauldon toun to Keldon ’tis,
    An’ ’gin a four-releet.

  At Cock-a Bevis Hill, too, the
    Wiseacres show a tree
  Which if you clamber up, besure,
    A precious way yow see.

  I dorn’t think I cud clime it now,
    Aldoe I uster cud;
  I shudn’t warsley loike to troy,
    For gulch cum down I shud.

  My head ’ood swim,—­I ’oodn’t do’t
    Nut even fur a guinea;
  A naarbour ax’d me, t’other day;
    “Naa, naa,” says I, “nut quinny.”

    Notes.—­Sput, spot; toddlers, walkers; ollis, always;
    haut, halt; wiew, view. Crake, boast; leas(t)ways, at
    least; sarteny, certainly; monsus, monstrous, very long.

    No sense ov a, poor, bad; coad, cold; argufy, prove
    (anything).

Sum’dy, somebody; from M., between Maldon and Kelvedon; ’gin, against, near; four-releet (originally four-e leet, lit. “ways of four,” four-e being the genitive plural, hence) meeting of four roads.

    Dorn’t, don’t; aldoe, although; uster cud (for us’d to
    could
), used to be able; warsley, vastly, much; loike,
    like; gulch, heavily, with a bang.

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English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.