W. I zay, Jan!  I axed Meyastur about that are last night.

  J. Well, what ded ur zay?

  W. Why, a zed one neyam ez jest zo vittun vor’n as tother; and
  he lowz a ben caal’d straddlebob ever zunce the Island was vust
  meyad.

  J. Well, if that’s the keeas, I spooas I lost the quart.

  W. That thee hast, lucky; and we’ll goo down to Arreton to the
  Rid Lion and drink un ater we done work.

Notes.—­Observe z for s, and v for f initially. What’s, What hast thou; nammut (lit. noon-meat), luncheon, usually eaten at 9 A.M. (n{-o}na h{-o}ra); leyarn, learn; esn, is not; gurt, great; zote, soft, silly; casn’t, canst not; laay, lay, wager; how’t wool, how it will; that are, that there; lowz (lit. allows), opines; zunce, since; vust meyad, first made; keeas, case; lucky, look ye!

SOUTHERN (Group 7):  EAST SUSSEX.

The following quotations are from the Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect, by the Rev. W.D.  Parish, Vicar of Selmeston; E.D.S. 1875.  The Glossary refers rather to E. than to W. Sussex, Selmeston being between Lewes and Eastbourne.

  Call over, to abuse.  “He come along here a-cadging, and fancy he
  just did call me over, because I told him as I hadn’t got naun to
  give him.” (Naun, nothing.)

Clocksmith, a watchmaker.  “I be quite lost about time, I be; for I’ve been forced to send my watch to the clocksmith.  I couldn’t make no sense of mending it myself; for I’d iled it and I’d biled it, and then I couldn’t do more with it.”

Cocker-up, to spoil; to gloss over with an air of truth.  “You see this here chap of hers, he’s cockered-up some story about having to goo away somewheres up into the sheeres; and I tell her she’s no call to be so cluck over it; and for my part I dunno but what I be very glad an’t, for he was a chap as was always a-cokeing about the cupboards, and cogging her out of a Sunday.” (The sheeres, any shire of England except Kent and Sussex; call, reason; cluck, out of spirits; coke, to peep; cog, to entice.)

Joy, a jay.  “Poor old Master Crockham, he’s in terrible order, surel{’y}!  The meece have taken his peas, and the joys have got at his beans, and the snags have spilt all his lettuce.” (Order, bad temper; meece, mice; snags, snails; spilt, spoilt.)

  Kiddle, to tickle.  “Those thunder-bugs did kiddle me so that I
  couldn’t keep still no hows.” (Thunder-bug, a midge.)

  Lawyer, a long bramble full of thorns, so called because, “when
  once they gets a holt an ye, ye do{a}nt easy get shut of ’em.”