3,49 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 3,49 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 3,49 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
In "The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire," James Jennings offers a meticulous exploration of the distinctive dialect and linguistic characteristics unique to Somerset and its neighboring regions. With an engaging blend of philological analysis and cultural commentary, Jennings employs a descriptive and comparative literary style, immersing readers in the nuances of regional speech patterns. The book not only serves as a linguistic study but also situates itself in the broader context of 19th-century dialectology, aiming to preserve vernacular expressions and foster an appreciation for local language traditions amidst the encroaching standardization of English. James Jennings, an eminent linguist and dialectologist, devoted much of his academic life to the preservation of regional dialects, fuelled by his roots in the West Country. His passion for local culture and linguistics is evident throughout the text, reflecting the sociolinguistic shifts of his time and the potential loss of regional identity due to industrialization and urban migration. Jennings' deep connection to Somerset enables him to convey the rich tapestry of local idioms, idiomatic expressions, and phonetic idiosyncrasies with authenticity and vigor. This book is essential for linguists, cultural historians, and anyone interested in the rich tapestry of English dialects. Jennings' text serves as both a scholarly resource and a loving tribute to the West Country, making it a valuable addition to the libraries of linguists and enthusiasts of English linguistic heritage alike.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
Ähnliche
The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire
Table of Contents
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
In preparing this second edition of my relative's work, I have incorporated the results of observations made by me during several years' residence in Somersetshire, in the centre of the district. I have also availed myself by kind permission, of hints and suggestions in two papers, entitled "Somersetshire Dialect," read by T. S. Baynes in 1856, and reprinted from the Taunton Courier, in London, in 1861.
During the forty years which have elapsed since the first edition, very much light has been thrown on the subject of Provincial Dialects, and after all much remains to be discovered. I consider with Mr. Baynes that there is more of the pure Anglo-Saxon in the west of England dialect, as this district was the seat of classical Anglo-Saxon, which first rose here to a national tongue, and lasted longer in a great measure owing to its distance from the Metropolis, from which cause also it was less subject to modern modification.
I shall be happy to receive any suggestions from Philological scholars, which may increase the light thrown on the subject, and by which a third edition may be improved.
Hagbourn Vicarage, August, 1869.
PREFACE.
The usefulness of works like the present is too generally admitted to need any apology for their publication. There is, notwithstanding, in their very nature a dryness, which requires relief: the author trusts, therefore, that, in blending something imaginative with the details of philological precision, his work will afford amusement to the reader.
The Glossary contains the fruit of years of unwearied attention to the subject; and it is hoped that the book will be of some use in elucidating our old writers, in affording occasional help to the etymology of the Anglo-Saxon portion of our language, and in exhibiting a view of the present state of an important dialect of the western provinces of England.
A late excursion through the West has, however, induced the Author to believe that some valuable information may yet remain to be gathered from our Anglo-Saxon dialect—more especially from that part of it still used by the common people and the yeomanry. He therefore respectfully solicits communications from those who feel an interest in this department of our literature; by which a second edition may be materially improved.
To a native of the west of England this volume will be found a vade-mecum of reference, and assist the reminiscence of well-known, and too often unnoted peculiarities and words, which are fast receding from, the polish of elegance, and the refinement of literature.
In regard to the Poetical Pieces, it may be mentioned that most of them are founded on West Country Stories, the incidents in which actually occurred. If some of the subjects should be thought trifling, it must not be forgotten that the primary object has been, to exemplify the Dialect, and that common subjects offered the best means of effectuating such an object. Of such Poems as Good Bwye ta thee Cot; the Rookery; and Mary Ramsey's Crutch, it may be observed, that had the Author felt less he might, perhaps, have written better.
Metropolitan Literary Institution, London, March 25, 1825.
BUT WHICH ARE NOT ACCCEPTED AS LEGITIMATE WORDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE;
OR WORDS WHICH, ALTHOUGH ONCE USED GENERALLY, ARE NOW BECOME PROVINCIAL.
A.
A. adv. Yes; or pron. He: as a zed a'd do it; he said he'd do it.
Aa'th. s. earth.
Ab'bey. s. The great white poplar: one of the varieties of the populus alba.
Ab'bey-lubber. s. A lazy, idle fellow.
Abought. part. Bought. See VAUGHT.
Abrood'. adv. When a hen is sitting on her eggs she is said to be abrood.
Ad'dle. s. A swelling with matter in it.
Ad'dled. a. Having pus or corruption; hence
Ad'dled-egg. s. An egg in a state of putrefaction.
Affeard'. a. Afraid.
Afo're, Afo'rn. prep. and adv. Before; afore, Chaucer.
Again. prep. Against.
Agon', Agoo'. adv. [these words literally mean gone.] Ago; agoo, Chaucer; from the verb to goo, i.e. to go; he is up and agoo; he is up and gone.
Alas-a-dây. interj. A-lack-a-day.
Ale. s. A liquor, brewed with a proportion of malt from about four to six bushels to the hogshead of 63 gallons; if it contain more malt it is called beer; if less, it is usually called small beer.
Al'ler. s. The alder tree.
Allès. adv. Always.
All'once. pron. [all ones] or rather (all o'n's) All of us; Let's go allonce; let us go all of us.
All o's. pron. All of us.
Alost'. part. Lost: ylost, Chaucer.
Amang. prep. Among.
Amawst', Amoo'äst adv. Almost.
Amper. s. A small red pimple.
Anby'. adv. Some time hence; in the evening.
Anear', Ane'ast, Aneoust'. prep. Nigh to; aneast en, near him.
Aneen. On end, upright.
An'passy. s. The sign &, corrupted from and per se.
Anty. adj. Empty.
Apast'. part. and prep. Past; apast. Chaucer.
A'pricock. s. An apricot.
Aps. s. The asp tree; populus tremula.
Aps'en. a. Made of the wood of the asp; belonging to the asp.
To Arg. v. n. To argue.
To Ar'gufy. v. n. To hold an argument; to argue.
Ascri'de. adv. Across; astride.
Aslen'. adv. Aslope.
Assu'e. adj. When a cow is let up in order that she may calve, she is said to be assue—having no milk.
Ater. prep. After. Goo ater'n: go after him.
Athin. adv. Within.
Athout. prep. Without.
Auverdro. v. a. Overthrow.
Avaur', Avaur'en, Avaurn.prep. Before.
Avoordin. part. Affording.
Avraur'. adj. Frozen; stiff with frost.
Awakid. adj. Awake; awakid, Chaucer.
To Ax. v. a. To ask; ax, Chaucer.
Ax'en. s. pl. Ashes.
Axing. s. and part. Asking; axing, Chaucer.
Ay'ir. s. Air.
B.
Back'sid. s. A barton.
Back'y. s. Tobacco.
Bad. adv. Badly.
Bade. s. Bed.
Ba'ginet. s. Bayonet.
Bai'ly. s. A bailiff; a superintendent of an estate.
Ball. adj. Bald.
Bal'let. s. Ballad.
Ball'rib. s. A sparerib.
To Bal'lirag. v. a. To abuse with foul words; to scold.
To Ban. v. a. To shut out; to stop.
To Bane. v. a. To afflict with a mortal disease; applied to sheep. See to COATHE.
To Barenhond', To Banehond'. v. n. (used chiefly in the third person singular) to signify intention; to intimate.
These words are in very common use in the West of England. It is curious to note their gradation from Chaucer, whose expression is Beren hem on hond, or bare him on hand; implying always, it appears to me, the same meaning as I have given to the words above. There is, I think, no doubt, that these expressions of Chaucer, which he has used several times in his works, are figurative; when Chaucer tells us he beren hem, in hond, the literal meaning is, he carried it in, or on, his hand so that it might be readily seen. "To bear on hand, to affirm, to relate."—JAMIESON'S Etymological Scots Dictionary. But, whatever be the meaning of these words in Chaucer, and at the present time in Scotland, the above is the meaning of them in the west of England.
Banes. s. pl. The banns of matrimony.
Ban'nin. s. That which is used for shutting out or stopping.
Ban'nut. s. A walnut. [Only used in northern parts of county.]
Barrow-pig. s. A gelt pig.
Baw'ker, Baw'ker-stone. s. A stone used for whetting scythes; a kind of sand-stone.
To Becall'. v. a. To censure; to reprove; to chide.
Bee'äs, Bease. s. pl. [Beasts] Cattle. Applied only to Oxen not Sheep.
Bee-but, Bee-lippen. s. A bee-hive
Bee'dy. s. A chick.
Beedy's-eyes. s.pl. Pansy, love-in-idleness.
Beer. s. See ALE.
Befor'n. prep. Before.
To Begird'ge, To Begrud'ge. v. a. To grudge; to envy.
LORD BYRON has used the verb begrudge in his notes to the 2nd canto of Childe Harold.
Begor'z, Begum'mers. interj.
These words are, most probably, oaths of asseveration. The last appears to be a corruption of by godmothers. Both are thrown into discourse very frequently: Begummers, I ont tell; I cant do it begorz.
Begrumpled. part. Soured; offended.
To Belg. v. n. To cry aloud; to bellow.
Bell-flower. s. A daffodil.
To Belsh. v. a. To cut off dung, &c., from the tails of sheep.
Beneäpt. part. Left aground by the recess of the spring tides.
To Benge. v. n. To remain long in drinking; to drink to excess.
Ben'net. v. Long coarse grass.
Ben'nety. adj. Abounding in bennets.
Ber'rin. s. [burying] A funeral procession.
To Beskum'mer. v. a. To foul with a dirty liquid; to besmear.
To Bethink' v. a. To grudge.
Bettermost. adj. The best of the better; not quite amounting to the best.
Betwat'tled. part. In a distressing and confused state of mind.
To Betwit'. v. a. To upbraid; to repeat a past circumstance aggravatingly.
To Bib'ble. v. n. To drink often; to tope.
Bib'bler. s. One who drinks often; a toper.
Bil'lid. adj. Distracted; mad.
Billy. s. A bundle of wheat straw.
Bi'meby. adv. By-and-by; some time hence.
Bin. conj. Because; probably corrupted from, being.
Bin'nick. s. A small fish; minnow; Cyprinus phloxinus.
Bird-battin. s. The catching of birds with a net and lights by night. FIELDING uses the expression.
Bird-battin-net. s. The net used in bird-battin.
Birch'en. adj. Made of birch; relating to birch.
Bis'gee. s. (g hard), A rooting axe.
Bisky. s. Biscuit. The pronunciation of this word approximates nearer to the sound of the French cuit ["twice baked"] the t being omitted in this dialect.
To Bi'ver. v. n. To quiver; to shake.
Black-pot, s. Black-pudding.
Black'ymoor. s. A negro.
Blackymoor's-beauty. s. Sweet scabious; the musk-flower.
Blanker. s. A spark of fire.
Blans'cue. s. Misfortune; unexpected accident.
Blather. s. Bladder. To blather, v. n. To talk fast, and nonsensically [to talk so fast that bladders form at the mouth]
Bleâchy. adj. Brackish; saltish: applied to water.
Blind-buck-and-Davy. s. Blind-man's buff. Blindbuck and have ye, is no doubt the origin of this appellation for a well-known amusement.
Blis'som. ad. Blithesome.
Blood-sucker. s. A leech.
Bloody-warrior. s. The wall-flower.
Boar. s. The peculiar head or first flowing of water from one to two feet high at spring tides, in the river Parret a few miles below and at Bridgewater, and in some other rivers.
[In Johnson's Dictionary this is spelt bore; I prefer the above spelling. I believe the word is derived from the animal Boar, from the noise, rushing, and impetuosity of the water, Todd gives it "a tide swelling above another tide." Writers vary in their opinions on the causes of this phenomenon. St. Pierre. Ouvres, tom vi., p. 234, Ed. Hamburgh, 1797, describes it not exactly the same in the Seine as in the Parret:—"Cette montagne d'eau est produite par les marèes qui entrent, de la mer dans la Seine, et la font refluer contre son cours. On l'appelle la Barre, parce-qu'elle barre le cours de la Seine. Cette barre est suivée d'une seconde barre plus elevèe, qui la suit a cent toises de distance. Elles courent beaucoup plus vîte qu'un cheval au galop." He says it is called Bar, because it bars the current. In the Encyclop. Metropol., art. Bore, the editor did not seem more fortunate in his derivation.]
Bobbish. adj. In health, and spirits. [Pirty bobbish, pretty well.] Bonk. s. Bank.
Booät. s. Boat.
Booäth. pron. Both. "Boo'äth o' ye; both of you.
Bor'rid. adj. A sow is said to be borrid when she wants the male.
Bote. part. Bought.
Bow. s. A small arched bridge.
Boy's-love. s. Southernwood; a species of mugwort; artemisia abrotonum.
Brave. adj. Well; recovering.
Bran. s. A brand; a stump of a tree, or other irregular and large piece of wood, fit only for burning.
Bran-viër. s. A fire made with brands.
Bran'dis. s. A semicircular implement of iron, made to be suspended over the fire, on which various things may be prepared; it is much used for warming milk.
Brash. s. Any sudden development; a crash.
Brick'le, Brick'ly. adj. Brittle; easily broken.
Brim'mle. s. A bramble.
To Bring gwain. v. a. [To bring going.] To spend; to accompany some distance on a journey.
To Brit. v. a. To indent; to make an impression: applied to solid bodies.
Brock. s. An irregular piece of peat dried for fuel; a piece of turf. See TURF.
Bruck'le, Bruck'ly. adj. Not coherent; easily separable: applied to solid bodies. "My things are but in a bruckle state." Waverley, v. 2, p. 328, edit. 1821. See BRICKLE.
Bruck'leness. s. The state of being bruckle.
To Buck. v. n. To swell out.
To Bud'dle. v. To suffocate in mud.
To Bulge. v. a. To indent; to make an irregular impression on a solid body; to bruise. It is also used in a neuter sense.
Bulge. s. An indentation; an irregular impression made on some solid body; a swelling outwards or depression inwards.
Bul'len. adj. Wanting the bull.
Bul'lins. s. pl. Large black sloes; a variety of the wild plum.
Bun'gee. s. (g hard), Any thing thick and squat.
Bunt, Bunting, s. Bolting cloth.
Bunt. s. A bolting-mill.
To Bunt. v. a. To separate flour from the bran.
Bur'cot. s. A load.
Buss. s. A half grown calf.
But. s. A conical and peculiar kind of basket or trap used in large numbers for catching salmon in the river Parret. The term but, would seem to be a generic one, the actual meaning of which I do not know; it implies, however, some containing vessel or utensil. See BEE-BUT. But, applied to beef, always means buttock.
Butter-and-eggs. s. A variety of the daffodil.
Bwile. v. Boil.
Bwye. interj. Bye! adieu. This, as well as good-bye and good-bwye, is evidently corrupted from God be with you; God-be-wi' ye, equivalent to the French à Dieu, to God. Bwye, and good-bwye, are, therefore, how vulgar soever they may seem, more analogous than bye and good-bye.
