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DIALECT NOTES
r3d:,^
PUBLISHED BY
THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY
VOLUME I
NORWOOD, MASS.
PRINTED BY J. S. GUSHING & CO.
1896
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
PAGE
American Speech-maps. George Hempl 315
Bibliographies 13, 80, 254, 344
British vs. American English. E. A. Phipson 428
Circular for 1894 311.
Circular for 1895 360
Dialect Research in Canada. A. F. Chamberlain 43
Dialect, What is a ? E. S. Sheldon 286
Editorial :
First Year of the Society 1
Plan of Work 25
Announcements 262
Condition of the Society , 309
In General 357, 409
English, a New Englander's, and the English of London. E . S. Sheldon . 33 English of the Lower Classes in New York City and Vicinity. E. H.
Babbitt 457
English Sentences in American Mouths. C. H. Grandgent 198
Grease and Greasy. George Hempl 438
HafSinHcef. C. H. Grandgent 269
Index to Vol. 1 475
Ithaca Dialect. 0. F. Emerson 85
Language used to Domestic Animals. W. H. Carruth 263
Loss of B in English through Dissimilation. George Hempl 279
Lists of Members :
1890 179
1891 259
1892 305
1893 352
October, 1895 404
November,' 1896 469
iii
iv CONTENTS.
PAGE
Newspaper Jargon. J. S. Tunison 204
Pronunciation of English in the State of New York. B. S. Monroe . . . 445 Reports of Meetings :
1890 174
1891 . 220
1892 298
1893 348
1894 401
1895 469
Squint and Squinny. George Hempl 282
Unaccented /. C. H. Grandgent 319
Uncle Remus in Phonetic Spelling. J. P. Fruit ' 196
What is a Dialect ? E. S. Sheldon 286
Word-lists, General (including Additions and Corrections)
21, 57, 72, 77, 213, 384, 395, 411
Word-lists, Local. British Maritime Provinces. W. M. Tweedie 377
New England :
Contributions to the New England Vocabulary. F. D. Allen . 18
A Few New England Words. L. B. R. Briggs 209
New England Notes. M. Grant Daniell 211
List of Verbs from Western Connecticut. E. H. Babbitt 276
Dialect of Western Connecticut. E. H. Babbitt 338
New Jersey :
Jerseyisms. F. B. Lee 327
Jerseyisms. Additions and Corrections 382
Ohio:
Notes from Cincinnati 60
New England Pronunciation in Ohio. N. P. Seymour 17
Kentucky. J. P. Fruit 63, 229
Tennessee. H. A. Edson, E. M. Fairchild 370
Missouri. R. L. Weeks 235
Louisiana. J. W. Pearce 69
Texas. H. Tallichet :
A Contribution to a Vocabulary of Spanish and Mexican Words
used in Texas 185
Addenda to Same 243
Additions and Corrections 324
I>^
c^Ll
^ I
DIALECT I^OTES.
PART I.
THE FIRST YEAR OE THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY.
The Annual Meeting for 1889 was held Monday, December 30, in No. 5 Sever Hall, Cambridge, Mass. The meeting was called to order by the President, Professor Child, soon after 10 a.m. The first business was the reading of the Secretary's report, as follows : —
In January, 1889, the proposition was made out of which has come this society. The plan was well received when spoken of by the present Secretary in conversation with several persons, and a meeting was in consequence called to consider the question of establishing a Dialect Society. This meeting was held in No. 35 Sever Hall, and twenty-eight^ persons were present. A report of the proceedings follows : —
The meeting was called to order at 4.15 p.m. by Professor E. S. Sheldon. Mr. Justin Winsor was chosen chairman of the meet- ing, Mr. C. H. Grandgent secretary. Professor Sheldon, at the request of the chairman, explained the object of the proposed society ; namely, the investigation of the English dialects of America with regard to pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, phraseology, and geographical distribution. The gentlemen pres- ent then discussed the nature of the work to be done, the results obtained by similar associations in other countries, and the feasi- bility of beginning with a large membership. Mr. W. W. Newell stated that the intended organization would not interfere with the American Folk- Lore Society, and expressed the opinion that the two bodies might work together with advantage to both. On motion of Mr. E. H. Babbitt, it was voted that a committee
2 DIALECT NOTES.
be appointed by the chair to consider the organization of an American Dialect Society. The chairman named as members of the committee Professors E. S. Sheldon, F. D. Allen, W. S. Chap- lin, J. H. Wright, L. B. E. Briggs, A. B. Hart, and Mr. G. L. Kittredge. It was voted, on motion of Mr. Kittredge, that a paper be passed around for the signatures of all those present who would like to join the proposed society. The following twenty-six gentlemen signed : F. D. Allen, E. H. Babbitt, G. Bendelari, W. E. Byerly, W. H. Carruth, F. J. Child, A. Cohn, J. Geddes, Jr., C. H. Grandgent, J. B. Greenough, W. C. Kitchin, G. L. Kit- tredge, W. C. Lane, S. M. Macvane, J. M. Manly, P. B. Marcou, B. H. Nash, W. W. Newell, F. W. Nicolson, J. M. Peirce, M. L. Perrin, R. Sanderson, E. S. Sheldon, W. R. Thayer, J. Winsor, J. H. Wright. The committee was then authorized to c^U another meeting when it should be ready to report, and the meet- ing was adjourned.
C. H. Grandgent, Secretary.
The Committee on Organization appointed at this meeting held several sessions, in which the details of organization were considered. A brief notice of the preliminary meeting was printed in the New York Nation at the end of January. From correspondence with several gentlemen at a distance from Cam- bridge, it appeared that the plan was likely to receive a consider- able support; and under date of February 19, a circular letter was prepared and sent to about sixty persons outside of Cambridge, inviting their presence at a meeting for organization to be held in Cambridge, March 13, 1889. In this the main features of the proposed organization were outlined, and then summed up in the words : " In substance the plan is to collect and publish from time to time material relating to dialects, through an Executive Committee with assistants in various places."
The meeting for organization was held, as announced, in No. 5 Sever Hall. It was called to order by Mr, Winsor soon after 4 P.M., and the report of the Committee on Organization was presented and the draft of a Constitution submitted. Each section of the proposed Constitution was voted on separately, the fourth section being amended by adding the words, "this payment being due on the first of January," and the whole was then adopted, as follows : —
FIRST TEAR OF THE SOCIETY.
CONSTITUTION.
I. — Name and Object.
The name of this Society shall be " The American Dialect Society." Its object is the investigation of the spoken English of the United States and Canada, and incidentally of other non-aboriginal dialects spoken in the same countries.
II. — Officers.
The officers of the Society shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Editing Committee of three, of whom the Secretary shall be one. These officers, with three other members of the Society, shall constitute an Executive Committee, which shall control all expenditures. They shall have power to fill any vacancy in their number by appointment until new officers are chosen at the next annual meeting.
III. — Advisory Board.
The Executive Committee shall have authority to appoint secretaries for different parts of the country, who shall supervise the work of their respective districts. These district secretaries shall constitute an Advi- sory Board.
IV. — Membership.
Any person may become a member of the Society by sending one dollar, with his name and address, to the Treasurer, and may continue his membership by payment of the same amount annually thereafter, this payment being due on the first of January.
V. — Meetings. An annual meeting for the presentation of reports by the Secretary and the Treasurer, and election of officers, shall be held in December, the day and place to be determined by the Executive Committee. The officers chosen at this meeting shall enter upon their duties on the first of January following, and serve for one year. Timely notice of this meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all members. Special meetings may be called at any time by the Executive Committee.
VI. — Publications.
The amount and distribution of the publications of the Society shall be under the control of the Executive Committee.
VII. — Amendments.
Amendments to this Constitution may be made at any annual meeting by a two-thirds vote, provided at least ten members have expressed their approval of them, in writing, to the Secretary before the first day of November. Notice of the proposed amendments shall be given in the call for the meeting.
4 DIALECT NOTES.
It was then voted that the Chairman appoint a committee to present a list of officers for the current year. Professors Wright and Briggs and Mr. Bendelari were named as that committee, and they soon reported as follows: For President, Professor F. J. Child ; for Vice-President, Professor J. M. Hart ; for Secretary, Professor E. S. Sheldon; for Treasurer, Mr. C. H. Grandgent; for Editing Committee, the Secretary, Mr. G. L. Kittredge, and Professor S. Primer ; for Executive Committee, the preceding officers, and Professors B. I. Wheeler, C. F. Smith, F. D. Allen.
The meeting then adjourned.
With the assistance of Messrs. Grandgent and Kittredge, the Secretary afterwards prepared a statement of the purpose of the Society and the method of work planned. [This statement is to be found on p. 25.^ This was printed under date of April 25, 1889, in eighteen hundred copies, as well as the Constitution of the Society and its list of officers, and these papers were widely distributed by mail. About five hundred additional copies were printed near the end of June, in order that there might be a sufficient supply to meet any calls for them that might be made during the rest of the year, and most of these additional copies are still on hand. An auxiliary circular was prepared in Ithaca, K.Y., by Professor B. I. Wheeler, and distributed in the State of New York. A portion of this circular is here quoted : —
" It is of the greatest importance that accurate report be made concerning the actual sources of the material presented. It is important, for instance, to state whether the particular usage be general or only individual, and whether the person in whose speech it has been observed is a native of the place where he now resides. Small towns of a homogeneous and stable population make in general the best field for reliable investigation. . . . The real life of language is found only in the folk-dialects. These are not, as is often thought, corruptions of the standard language, but are the native and natural growths, while the ' standard ' is either imported or semi-artificial. As examples of words whose pronunciation it is desirable to note I mention in addition to those in the general circular : aunt, daughter, half, past ; whole, hoot, coat ; edge, leg ; risk, rid ; nothing, drawing ; idea, drain, spoil, pretty, yonder, vendue, scarce, scared, peony ; elm, self ; winnow, pillow ; given."
The District Secretaries thus far (December 30) appointed are : Mr. WiUiam D. Armes, for California ; Dr. James W. Bright,
FIBST YEAR OF THE SOCIETY. 5
for Maryland ; Professor W. H. Carruth, for Kansas ; Mr. 0. F. Emerson, for Western New York ; Professor Alc6e Fortier, for Louisiana; Professor Gustaf Karsten, for Indiana; Professor C. F. Kent, for Tennessee ; Professor E. L. Walter, for Michigan.
The present membership of the Society is about one hundred and forty. It was hoped that a small amount could be prepared for publication* in time to be ready for distribution at this meet- ing, but it has not been found possible. It is hoped, however, that the issue of "Dialect Notes'' for 1889 may be ready in January, 1890, to be distributed to members of 1889. Any such members who may desire more than one copy can obtain addi- tional copies at a price as near the actual cost as can be arranged. The price for non-members will probably be one dollar.
In answer to a question, the Secretary gave some idea of what was to be published in the " Dialect Notes " in January, 1890.
The Treasurer, Mr. C. H. Grandgent, then presented the fol- lowing report : —
Receipts to December 30, 1889. Membership fees (two for 1890) $142.00
Expenditures to December 30, 1889.
^ Printing 2,340 copies of Constitution .... $22.50
" 2,280 circulars 20.00
" 1,000 bills for Treasurer 2.25
" 140 notices of the Annual Meeting (in- cluding price of postal cards) . . 2.00
Postage stamps 15.35
Stationery 3.90
Total $66.00
On hand, December 30, 1889 $76.00
The President appointed as a committee to present nominations for ofacers for the year 1890, Dr. J. W. Bright, Mr. C. H. Grand- gent, and Professor S. Primer ; and as a committee to audit the Treasurer's accounts. Professor F. D. Allen and Mr. G. H. Browne. After a brief intermission, the former committee reported, recom- mending that the officers chosen for 1889 be re-elected, and this recommendation was adopted. Later in the course of the meeting the latter committee reported that the Treasurer's accounts had been examined and found correct.
An informal report on work done in New York was presented by Mr. Emerson, the District Secretary for Western New York.
6 DIALECT NOTES.
Care was taken in making observations to insure that the person observed had always lived in the locality concerned, and also that he spoke naturally, without thinking of his pronunciation or gram- mar. It was found useful to direct conversation to the subject of old times, and the differences between then and now, this per- mitting the use of a note-book without exciting suspicion. The observations were recorded each on a card about 5 in. x IJ in., such as those used in library catalogues. In the upper left-hand corner was placed the usual word in standard English ; then in parentheses following this the dialect word in phonetic spelling ; then below, in the middle of the card, an example, sentence, or phrase showing the use. In the lower left-hand corner was placed an initial or other sign indicating the collector or observer ; and in the lower right-hand corner an indication of the locality could be added where that was necessary. Some of the results reached in Ithaca may be indicated thus (the phonetic notation of the Society is used in describing the sounds) : — •
The sound a instead of oe (written a) in harrow^ harrow^ and some other words.
The sound ce in gaunt, partridge {pmt-),^ cartridge {kcet-)\ etc. ; laugh^ path, fast, etc. Also cest = asked.
The sound ce instead of e in ivell, yellow, vendue.
The sound e instead of ce (written a) in catch, radish, eks (^=axle).
The sound e instead of » (written u) in just, shut, such.
The sound e instead of i in risk, rid, width, -enklain {= incline, noun, with the accent on the first syllable).
The sound e instead of o in yonder, beyond.
The sound ^ instead of e in egg, edge, leg, measure, pleasure.
The sound i instead of e in yet, instead, Prentiss. Also instead of catercornered occur cattercornered (kcet-), and kittycornered (kiti-).
The sound o instead of o in dog, log, fog, hog.
The sound u instead of il in hoof, roof, soot, spoon.
The sound ai instead of oi in poison, boil, spoil, point, roil, joist (also dZais).
The sound (bu instead of au (written ou) in out, how, co)o.
The sound of cedr in reared, beard.
The sound of tdv in chair, scared, scary, share (in plou^,. share).
1 These pronunciations, like many of the others noted above (but not all), are also known to the Secretary as used in Maine.
FIRST TEAR OF THE SOCIETY. 7
Great exactness was necessary in the case of pronouns. The auxiliary verbs showed decided changes in unstressed connections. There is a metathesis in hunderd^ childer7i, and a few other cases. The chief difference from New England pronunciation appeared in the case of r, which is not lost ; e.g., in hm^d.
In the irregular or strong verbs no participles in -en seem to be used; broken is never or rarely found. The three forms of the principal parts {sing, sang, sung) are reduced to two, sing, sung, sung ; sang when occurring seeming to be due to the influence of the schools : so also wear, wore, wore ; drink, drunk, drunk. Strong verbs sometimes change to weak ones, as draw, drawed ; cf. catch, catched ; hear, heared {hldrd, not herd). A change of class is seen in fight, jit, jit ; ride, rid, rid (sometimes).
In answer to a question, it was said that the speech of about half a dozen persons had been thus studied. A careful record was kept in each case, — personal peculiarities, such as the loss of teeth, being noted.
A general discussion followed on methods of observation and other matters suggested by Mr. Emerson's statements. Mr. Emer- son mentioned the principal parts go, went, went {have went for have gone), saying that went was sometimes used as the infinitive also. The verb get had get, got, got (not gotten) ; so, too, foi^get, forgot, forgot.
Dr. Bright found the report of Mr. Emerson suggestive and useful, though most of the peculiarities mentioned were not con- fined to Ithaca nor to New York, but could often be heard else- where. He suggested that a careful study of the dialect of some one locality, with a full word-list, would be useful and should be printed soon, so that other observers could use it as a standard for reference, simply noting anything new or divergent in the speech of the localities they studied. Further, he called attention to the explanation of some of the features noted, and the influence of analogy ; thus, wedth for imdth was probably caused by the analogy of breadth. But the facts themselves should be given ; and theorizing in attempts to explain them avoided or admitted only 'vith caution.
The Secretary expressed strong approval of Dr. Bright's sug- gestion-;.
Professor A. M. Elliott emphasized the desirability of attend- ing not only to words, but also to phraseology and the syntactical side. A blank or form for collecting words, and a uniform list of
8 DIALECT NOTES.
words which are likely to be met anywhere, would be useful. Then special studies could be made in different parts of the coun- try. American constructions would sometimes betray the speaker in England; for example, "Are you through?'' for "Have you finished ? " People would not always speak to a questioner or to a stranger as they speak in their own households. A good way is to jot down what you overhear. The graphophone might be very useful for studying at home phrases heard. He also men- tioned some Baltimore peculiarities, such as pee, moe for pa, ma; tf^ns (approximately) for chance. Much might be gathered from proper names, both native English names and also those adapted or partially translated from German or French. In compound names often the first half was translated and the second left unchanged. A uniform system of work was desired for the vocabulary and the syntactical part of the work as well as for the phonetic side.
Dr. Learned spoke in the same line. Often people will not admit that they speak a dialect at all. If they can be listened to when they speak naturally, notes can be taken. A blank with very elaborate questions would be desirable.
Mr. Grandgent mentioned the risk of assuming that dialect forms always come from the standard English forms, while the former may be the older. Analogy also must be considered; kittycornered (kiti-) — a form unknown to him — would be an easy development from cattycornered (kceti-), the only form he knew ( = catercornered) .
Professor Drennan spoke of the different value of different regions for dialect study. The dialect of the Biglow Papers was familiar to him in his youth in Northern Ohio; but it had in New England been largely driven out by the schoolmaster. It still existed in a district of Pennsylvania. The rural districts about Philadelphia were interesting. He mentioned the old Anglo-Saxon hit (= it) as still existing. Often good old words were driven out by the schoolmaster ; boys were told to say that a tooth is "extracted," not "pulled out," and not to say "catch- ing" in the sense of "contagious." The gradual expulsion of the participle drunk by drank was connected with the temperance agitation, the word drunk having two meanings. A collection might properly be made of good words thus driven out ; staddle was another example, as in " run and get a staddle."
Mr. Daniell spoke of Nantucket usages, such as kdf (in pho-
FIBST YEAR OF THE SOCIETY. 9
netic spelling) applied to a native of Cape Cod ; a slatchy (pro- nounced slcetfi) sky (when blue sky appears through clouds) ; a miled (pronounced maild) off ( = a mile off) .
Professor A. B. Hart said there are two kinds of dialects, one the native English left to itself and developing alone ; the other, the kind which shows an influence of other tongues. For the former kind there are a few speech islands left, such as Cape Cod, Nantucket, Western New York, the country parts of North- ern Ohio (the old Western Eeserve), and places in the Southern mountains, with, however, some Scotch-Irish influence. One of these districts would be a good subject for study.
Professor Primer spoke of the methods of getting information, speaking from his own experience. He found it useful to get introductions to persons in the locality, and then to take notes unobserved. It was advisable >to enlist the sympathy of teachers in country districts. How could this be done ?
Dr. Warren said that the country districts, for example, in Maine, were often supplied with teachers from the Normal Schools. These could perhaps be reached through the State superintendent.
Dr. H. E. Greene suggested for the word-list mentioned as desirable the word bulkhead, used in New England of the cover- ing of an opening into a cellar, a meaning which he did not find in New York and New Jersey, the New Jersey meaning being an embankment. He supposed the New England use to be merely a local dialect use, and consulted the Century Dictionary and the New English Dictionary (Murray) to see if it was there recog- nized. [The former gives the sense in question as used in New England ; the latter has as one sense : The roof of a bulk or pro- jecting stall, also the stall itself; with quotations from De Foe, Scott, Dickens, and Thoreau. See, also, p. 18.]
The question what could be accomplished through school- teachers was further discussed by Professors Elliott, A. B. Hart, Matzke, Primer, Dr. Bright, Dr. Learned, Mr. Bendelari, Mr. Emerson, and others. It was said that teachers in the rural towns and villages, who must give their attention mainly to teach- ing their scholars what it is essential for the latter to know, and who naturally have much to contend with in educating them out of their vulgarisms and incorrect uses of language, could hardly be expected as a body to sympathize with the Society's point of view J they could not be expected generally to look at such lin-
10 DIALECT NOTES.
guistic phenomena from the philological standpoint. It would be very natural, and no surprise should be felt if an observer or collector of popular uses of language were to get to his questions on this or that point answers such as : " That isn't the pronun- ciation of this place. No educated persons say that ; only the lower classes use such a word, or pronounce in such a way." It is precisely this natural, careless speech, as little influenced as may be by the schools, that we wish to get at. Teachers in the coun- try districts have to take the accepted rules of the grammars and dictionaries, narrow and artificial though they may be, for the guid- ance of their pupils ; and the speech of educated persons must necessarily be more or less an artificial product. Much had been accomplished in Germany through teachers in the preparatiop of Wenker's SpracJiatlas, but very precise questions were sent out to be answered, and similarly precise questions as to the facts might be prepared in this country also. If the Society wished to get exact observations for matters of pronunciation, the mem- bers must do the work themselves with such help as they could get. The experience of Professor Elliott in observing spoken French in France, and particularly in fifty-two villages in Canada, was presented. • He went to the pastor of the village, and to the schoolmaster, if there was one. Professor Primer also gave some of his experiences at Charleston, S.C., and Fredericksburg, Va. It was recognized that some teachers were in hearty sympathy with the Society's object, and would willingly co-operate with it. Moreover, even teachers who could not do ideal work might yet often give assistance of value. The Yankee school-teachers in the South could make useful observations ; they could do something, even if not much. For lists of words teachers might be of much assistance, though naturally little could be expected from them in phonetic studies. One dialect should be thoroughly studied, and a check-list of test words and test expressions could then be sent to teachers, — without using the word "dialect," — with a request for information whether these were in use or not in each locality. Country physicians might help, and their aid had already been found useful. A large proportion of teachers are women, who are quicker of ear and more apt to notice than men. Women could approach the uneducated better than men, espe- cially in the case of domestic servants, some of whom are native Americans, though most, it is true, are of foreign origin. We cannot wait for experienced phoneticians and trained observers ;
FIBST YEAR OF THE SOCIETY. 11
the material must be gathered soon, or it will be lost, and even bad observations may have some value. *
Professor von Jagemann said that the United States Ethno- logical Bureau had a list of words prepared for persons studying Indian dialects ; this might be found useful for the purposes of the Society also.
Mr. Bendelari expressed a hope that the talks about old times, mentioned by Mr. Emerson, might be utilized for historical pur- poses and the study of folklore, as well as for dialect studies.
Mr. Emerson called attention to the card system used in New York as useful for making word-lists no less than for recording pronunciations. But strange'words are often individualisms only. He mentioned " I van " for / vow, I assert, " ho-ax " (two sylla- bles) for hoax, " necessiated " for come to want.
Professor Matzke mentioned the word " gurnet," as heard at Brunswick, Me., used of a small inlet from the ocean, and the use of the same word as a proper name ("The Gurnef at Plymouth, Mass.) was mentioned by others present. Professor Elliott spoke of an insertion of d after the preposition in when the next word begins with a vowel ; as, ind another.
On motion of Dr. Bright, it was voted that the proceedings of this meeting be printed in the first instalment of the Society's publications. The meeting then adjourned.
E. S. Sheldon, Secretary.
In addition to the report of the Secretary read at this meeting, it may be said that some of the District Secretaries and others have made efforts to interest persons in the object of the Society personally, and through articles printed in newspapers or periodi- cals, also by addresses before meetings of educators. Professor J. P. Emit has begun a collection of peculiar words and phrases used in Kentucky, and Mr. F. B. Lee a similar one of Jerseyisms.
The attention of members of the Society is also called to the French Soci4t4 des Parlers de France (see the announcement accompanying the number of the Romania for January, 1889, and Romania, 1889, pp. 195, 522), and to the Revue des Patois Oallo- Romans, particularly to No. 7 (in Vol. II. for 1888), the opening article of which (pp. 161-175) is Les Parlers de France, by Gaston Paris. It is needless to say that all Americans interested in dialect studies will read it with pleasure and profit, if they have not already done so.
12 DIALECT NOTES.
In Germany, G. Wenker's Sprachatlas von Nord- und Mittel- deutschland (Strassburg, 1881-) furnishes us a model for one side of the work to be done in this country. In addition, there has been planned a systematic treatment of German dialects in a series of grammars to be published under the direction of Dr. Otto Bremer, who has sent to the Secretary a copy of the pro- posed phonetic notation. This can be seen also in the notice of the intended series in the Phonetische Studien, II, 353-356, imme- diately preceding a notice of our own Society.
The English Dialect Society is too well known to need special mention here.
The word-list for the study of tlie American Indian languages referred to at the meeting of December 30 is probably that of Major J. W. Powell, in his Introduction to the Study of Indian Languages, with words, phrases, and sentences to be collected. 2d ed., 1880 (Washington, U. S. Bureau of Ethnology). An earlier list of a similar character is in Mr. George Gibbs's Instruc- tions for Hesearch Eelative to the Ethnology and Philology of America. Neither list is, however, in its present shape easily applicable to the purposes of the Society, and it is suggested that, until a special list can be prepared, the well-known collections of Americanisms be used so far as practicable, and that Sweet's Elementarhuch des gesprochenen Englisch be taken as a basis for comparison with the English of London. The glossary in the last-named book contains about two thousand words, mostly very common ones, in a phonetic spelling easily comparable with the system of spelling prepared for the Society.
E. S. S.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 13
BIBLIOGEAPHY.
The following titles are intended to be supplementary to the Bibliography published by Mr. Gilbert M. Tucker, at the end of his paper on American English in th6 tenth volume of the Trans- actions of the Albany Institute. The editors are . aware that their list is far from complete, and they bespeak the co-operation of all members of the Society toward a better Bibliography for the next number of the Notes. Such a bibliography should include occasional notes as well as more serious essays. Titles may be sent to the Secretary at anytime. In the case of matter appearing in local newspapers and other ephemeral or not easily accessible publications, it is suggested that a copy of the article reported be sent to the Secretary whenever this is possible. In no other way can such matter be properly registered and pre- served.
Slang and works written in dialect have not been noticed in the following list, and for the present works on non-English dialects have been omitted. A few well-known treatises on phonetics have been included; for others, the student will of course consult the bibliography in Sievers, Grundzuge der Pho- netik, 3d ed., pp. 245-250.
American Notes and Queries. Vols. I. -III., 1888-9, contain notes on various dialectic words.
Armes, William D. The American Dialect Society ; an appeal for aid. Keprint from the Pacific Educational Journal, VI, No. 4, December, 1889. (Leaflet, 2 pp. )
Circular setting forth the purposes of the society. Daily Bulletin^
San Francisco, June 1, 1889. r
Atlantic Monthly. See White, B. G.
Bell, Alexander Melville. Visible speech, London, 1867.
Visible speech for the nursery and primary school. Cambridge,
1883. (See E. S. Sheldon, Science, II, 204.)
English visible speech for the million. London [1867].
Sounds and their relations. Salem, 1881.
Essays and postscripts on elocution. N.Y., 1886. (Cf. Phonetische
Studien, I, 75.)
Brewer, Fisk P. A new word : arbutus. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc, for 1888, p. xxvii.
Bright, James W. The verb to fell. Mod. Lang. Notes, III, 437.
14 DIALECT NOTES.
Brown, Calvin S., Jr. Dialectical survivals in Tennessee. Mod. Lang. Notes, IV, 409.
Carpenter, W. H. The philosophy of dialect. Mod. Lang. Notes, I, 64.
Carter, Alice P. American English. Critic, XIII, 97.
Chambers's Journal. Americanisms, LXXXII, 70. (Cf. Taalstudie, Vn, 233.)
CoRNHiLL Magazine. The great American language, LVIII, 363. (Reprinted in LittelVs Living Age, CLXXIX, 298, and in parii in The Critic, Xm, 263.)
Coxe, a. p. Americanisms in England. Forum, 11, 117.
American geographical names. Forum, IV, 67.
Critic, The. American English, XIII, 115. The dissolved R, XIII, 263.
Crowley, Mary C. Miss Anderson and her " moybid " friend. Critic, Xra, 233 (cf. 263). (On the " dissolved r.")
Ellis, Alexander J. On early English pronunciation, with especial reference to Shakspere and Chaucer. London, 1869, etc.
English Dialect Society. Publications. London, 1877, etc. (See also £tkeat, W. W.)
Fallows, Samuel. Hand-book of Briticisms, Americanisms, colloquial and provincial words and phrases. Chicago, 1883.
Farmer, John S. Americanisms old and new. A dictionary of words, phrases, and colloquialisms peculiar to the United States, British America, etc. London, 1889. (Reviewed in Nation, XLIX, 15.)
Grandgent, C. H. Phonetic Compensations. Mod. Lang. Notes. Ill, 354. (With E. S. Sheldon.)
Grumbine, Lee L. Provincialisms of the "Dutch" districts of Pennsyl- vania. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc, for 1886, p. xii.
Harrison, James A. Negro English. Anglia, VII, 232. (Cf. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc, for 1885, p. xxxi. )
Ingersoll, Ernest. The history and present condition of the oyster industry. Tenth U. S. Census, monograph B, section X. (Words relating to the oyster industry. )
Journal of American Folk-Lore. Waste-basket of words, I, 78-9, 161 ; II, 64, 155, 229.
Lang, Henry R. Zu den Charleston provincialisms. Phonetische Stu- dien, II, 185. (See Primer, S.)
Lee, Francis B. Jerseyisms. . . . Shall they be preserved ? (Circular dated Dec. 27, 1889.) (Cf. The Daily State Gazette, Trenton, N.J., Dec. 28, 1889 : To perpetuate Jerseyisms. )
Glassblowers' lingo; a list of sixty expressions. Bridgeton (N.J.)
Evening News, Aug. 24, 1889.
Leisure Hour, XXVI, 110.
Lienemann, Oskar. Eigenttimlichkeiten des Engl, der Vereinigten Staaten nebst wenig bekannten Amerikanismen. Programm. Zittau, 1886. (See Jahresbericht, VIII, 217 ; IX, 229.)
Literary World. American dialect, XFV, 364.
March, F. A. The influence of written English and of the linguistic authorities upon spoken English. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc, for 1884, p. xxxv.
BIBLIOGBAPHY. 15
March, F. A. Standard English : its pronunciation. Trans. Am. Philol. Assoc, XIX, 70.
Modern Language Notes. An American Dialect Society, IV, 233.
Murray, James A. H., editor. A new English dictionary on historical principles. Oxford, 1884, etc.
Nation, The. (New York.) Contains scattered notes on dialect words, etc.
Newell, William W. Proverbs and phrases. Journ. Amer. Folk- Lore, II, 153.
Norton, Charles Ledyard. Political Americanisms. Mag. of Amer. Hist, XII, 564 ; XIII, 98, 495.
Primer, Sylvester. Charleston provincialisms. Trans. Mod. Lang. ^ssoc, III, 84 (cf. Proc. for 1887, p. xix.); Am. Jour. Philol, IX, 198; Phonetische Studien, I, 227.
The Huguenot element in Charleston's pronunciation. Publications
Mod. Lang. Assoc. IV, 214.
Proctor, Richard A. "English as she is spoke" in America. Knowl- edge, VI, 319.
Americanisms (alphabetically arranged). Knowledge, VIII, 171.
Saturday Review. Political Americanisms, LX, 709.
Mr. Proctor's Americanisms, LXII, 142.
The hauled mealer and the horse- fiddle, LXII, 190.
Schele De Verb, Maximilian. A few Virginia names. Mod. Lang. Notes, II, 145, 193.
ScHucHARDT, H. Bcitragc zur kenntniss des englischen Kreolisch. Engl. Studien, XII, 470.
Sheldon, Edward S. The New England pronunciation of o. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc, for 1883, p. xix.
Review of Bell's Primer of visible speech. Science, II, 204. (With
remarks on American pronunciation. )
Review of Sievers's Phonetik, 3d ed. Mod. Lang. Notes, I, 71.
See also Grandgent, C. H.
Sieve Rs, Eduard. Grundziige der phonetik. 3d ed. Leipzig, 1885. (1st ed., Grundziige der lautphysiologie, 1876 ; 2d ed., 1881. Cf. Mod. Lang. Notes, I, 71.)
Skeat, Walter W., co-editor. - A bibliographical list of the works that have been published, or are known to exist in MS. , illustrative of the various dialects of English. Compiled by members of the English Dialect Society, and edited by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat and J. H. Nodal. London, pub. for Eng. Dial. Soc, 1877. (Books on Americanisms, pp. 166-170.)
Smith, Charles Forster. On Southemisms. Trans. Am. Philol. Assoc, XIV, 42 ; XVII, 34.
Southern dialect in life and literature. Southern Bivouac, Novem- ber, 1885.
Storm, J. Englische philologie. Heilbronn, 1881. Sweet, Henry. A handbook of phonetics. Oxford, 1877.
The elementary sounds of English. London, 1881.
Elementarbuch des gesprochenen Englisch. Oxford, 1885. (Revised
ed., 1886.)
16 DIALECT NOTES.
Sweet, Henry. History of English sounds. 2d ed. Oxford, 1888. (1st ed., in Trans. Philol. Soc. for 1873-4.)
Thom, William Taylor. Some parallelisms between Shakespeare's English and the Negro-Enghsh of the United States. Shakespeariana, I, 129.
Thornton, William. Cadmus, or a treatise on the elements of written language. Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. (1793), O. S. Ill, 262.
Tdcker, Gilbert M. American English. A paper read before the Albany Institute, June 6, 1882, with revision and additions. (From Transac- tions of the Institute^ Vol. X.) Albany, 1883. {Bibliography, pp. 358-60.)
American English. N. A. Review, CXXXVI, 55.
ViETOR, WiLHELM. Elemcutc der phonetik und orthoepie des Deutschen, Englischen und Franzosischen. Heilbronn, 1884. (2d ed., 1887.)
Wheeler, Benjamin I. Circular calling attention to the American Dialect Society, dated Ithaca, N.Y., April 30, 1889.
White, Richard Grant. Some alleged Americanisms. Atlantic Monthly^ LU, 792 (cf. LHI, 286).
Whitney, William Dwight. The elements of English pronunciation. (In his Oriental and linguistic studies, N.Y., 1874, II, chap. 8.)
Editor. The Century dictionary. N.Y., 1889, etc.
WooDWABD, F. C. "King's cruse." Mod. Lang. Notes, IV, 121.
NEW ENGLAND PRONUNCIATIONS IN OHIO. 17
NEW ENGLAND PKONUNCIATIONS IN OHIO.
The following extract from a letter written by Professor N. P. Seymour, Hudson, Ohio, is printed by permission : —
" Here, as elsewhere, the schoolmaster is levelling all distinc- tions in language. The generation has passed away here that pronounced hiaJi for OMo<, and deestrict for district, who were ' usually well,' and had a ^ most an excellent ' minister. Most of the men are gone who brought from Connecticut the pronuncia- tion of stone and coat with the short o ; and from New Hampshire, of bone with the same short o ; and Fairfield County, Connecticut, 2mt rhyming with hut and but; and from Massachusetts (I think), hoarse and course pronounced very nearly like horse and corse. I remember very well the old Connecticut cheer for chair., sut for soot, quishion for cushion, bury rhyming with fury. The average Connecticut man sixty years ago said sneck for snake, but never, like the Massachusetts uneducated man, mek for make. ... A Connecticut man will say stone and coat with a short o, but never bone with the short o."
[In a later letter Professor Seymour writes that "usually well " meant " as well as usual," and that quishion is also met with in old English.^ It may be of interest to add that that Maine pronunciation which I was familiar with as a boy had the short 0 (d) in stone, coat, bone, and a considerable number of other words. At Southwest Harbor, Me., I have heard my own natural bbt for boat, and the standard hdm or houm for home, which in my dialect was hbm. As is shown above by Professor Seymour, the Yankee dialect is not quite the same all over New England. In words like hoarse and horse I have the same vowel sound (approximately od), while Mr. Grandgent (Boston) dis- tinguishes them. The pronunciations mentioned above for snake and make I do not remember hearing as a boy, but sneck is men- tioned by Whitney ( Oriental and Linguistic Studies, second series, p. 209). — E. S. S.]
1 [Skeat (Etym. Diet., s.v. cushion) cites cvischun, Wyclif, 1 Kings v. 0 ; quysshen, Chauc, Troilus, ii. 1228, iii. 915. The Troilus passages are ii. 1229 (quysslion Campsall MS., quysshen Harl. 2280, quysshyn Camb. Gg. 4. 27, cussliyn Harl. 3943) and iii. 964 (quysshon Camp., quysshen Harl. 2280, qwischin Camb., cusshyn Harl. 3943) in Furnivall's Chauc. Soc. edition. Add : quysshon : preposycyon Skelton, Colyn Cloute, w. 998-9. — G. L. K.]
18 DIALECT NOTES.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEAV ENGLAND VOCABULARY.
The following words and phrases are in use in Portsmouth, N.H., a town which preserves a good many old-time character- istics of speech, custom and architecture in a remarkable degree, and which enjoys, I think, the special distinction of being the only place in this hemisphere where Guy Fawkes and the Gun- powder Plot are still appropriately celebrated.^
Many of these expressions are current elsewhere in New Eng- land, but the writer has never met with any of them outside of New England. Those marked with a star (*) are peculiar to Portsmouth so far as he can find out. He has gone over the list with several friends who are natives of Massachusetts and Maine.
No attempt is here made to distinguish neoterisms from ancient, obsolescent words. It will be at once seen that a good many belong to the latter class.
beat hoop : for drive hoop. Similarly the hoop- stick is called a *heater.
*bend the fists : that is, double them.
*boogie (bugi) : ball of mucus in the nose.
buckle : bend, of the knees.
*budge : intimate, familiar. ' To be very budge with a person. ' Hilarity seems not to be implied.
caught : milk is ' caught ' when it is slightly burned.
*cellar-case : outside entrance to a cellar, with a sloping door. In East- em Massachusetts ' bulkhead ' is invariably used ; but this again is unknown, so far as I can learn, in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and it is prob- ably confined to a small area.^
*cla"w out : make excuses, get out of an embarrassment, and the like. Elsewhere ' claw off ' is said.
♦coax play : said of a child inviting a frolic.
croaky: hoarse.
dight (dait) : small portion, dab ; as, ' a little dight of butter.'
*dodge : nod, when sleepy.
easy: gently, softly. 'Talk easy'; 'walk easy.'
i The anniversary is known as 'Pope Night,' and the observances have dwindled to homblowing and the carrying about of pumpkin-lanterns by the boys. The origin of the celebration is quite forgotten.
2 [See p. 9. My word is cellar-door {s). — E. S. S. (Maine).]
CONTRIBUTIONS TO NEW ENGLAND VOCABULABY. 19
*fresh : in the phrase ' a fresh cook,' that is, one who uses little salt.
fretty: fretful.
fun : as a verb. ' I'm only funning ' (= joking).
*fumiy : as a noun. ' The f unnj of it was, that — . '
*heavy-handed (or heavy) : said of a cook. ' She's heavy-handed with salt ' — uses much salt.
hoarsed-up: 'I'm all hoarsed-up.' 'This cold has hoarsed me up.' Generally used.
*light and shut : of the weather. 'It lights and shuts,' that is, the sun peeps out at intervals. The common New England maxim is " Open and shet's a sign of wet."
meech : cringe, look ashamed. Generally known through New England.
*on a jar : ajar. Not ' on the jar.'
on the mending hand : convalescent. A common New England phrase.
out : of the wind. Along the seaboard, the wind ' is out ' or ' has got out ' when it blows from the sea. The expression is known in Portsmouth, Salem, and Plymouth. I do not think it is common in Boston.
*over : in the phrase ' eat milk over porridge ' and the like.
*play-patch : child fond of play.
*prinilico : in the phrase 'in primlico order,' of furniture, etc. The opposite of this is
ride-out. ' The chairs are riding out.' ' The room looks like ride- out.'
ride up : said of the collar. ' Your collar rides up behind ' : widely used. (At the last moment this is reported to me from New York City. )
*rub the time close : allow little time. ' Aren't you rubbing the time too close ? '
♦rubbers : misfortune, ill-luck. The phrase is, ' to meet with the rubbers.'
scooch: crouch. 'To scooch down in the corner.' In New York City scouch (skaut/) is said to be used.
*scoocher : to ' take a scoocher ' is to slide down a snow-slope in a squat- ting position.
scrabble : scramble. Widely used.
sojer : loiter, lounge, shirk work, waste time. Common throughout New England. Even a horse that lags in the traces and throws an undue share of the work on his mate, is said to ' sojer' (or even to ^soldier'').
sound : for sound asleep. ' The child is sound. '
spandy : clean, spick- span, of linen. ' Spandy ' alone is used ; elsewhere *spandy- clean,' or 'spandy- dandy.'
sprawl: life, animation, vigor. 'He has no sprawl.' Portsmouth and Lowell.
*squat: pinch. 'I've squat my finger.'
♦squeeze: fret, whimper.
*squeezy: fretful.
stand in hand : behoove, beseem. ' It stands you in hand to be careful.' Widely used.
stocky : firm, stout, tough. Used even of cloth.
stram : flourish the limbs. It is used in two ways : (1) ' to go stramming along the street,' 'to stram about the room,' that is, to stride with ado and bustle ; and (2) 'to stram about in bed ' = flounder, kick about.
20 DIALECT NOTES.
stuffy : sulky, obstinate, ill-humored.
♦thatchy : said of milk. The milk tastes ' thatchy ' because the cows eat ' thatch, ' A long, coarse grass, growing in the salt marshes, is known as ' thatch ' on the New Hampshire and Massachusetts seacoast. If it was ever used for roofing, it is no longer so used. The ' thatch ' which the New Hamp- shire cows eat seems to be different from this. It is described as a sort of weed, growing in low places.
tough it out : endure to the end, SiaKaprepelv. Widely used.
touse : ado, fuss. ' To make a touse.' i
train : frolic, romp. ' He's training ' (of a child). Also ' he's on a train,' or ' a great trainer. ' Widely used.
♦trappatch (trap-hatch) ; trap-door; rent in clothes. 'You've torn a trappatch in your dress.'
Frederic D. Allen.
1 [Used by J. T. Trowbridge in a poem called Old Man Gram, Harper's Monthly, Vol. LVI, p. 226. — C. H. G.]
M
VARIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS. 21
VAEIOUS CONTEIBUTIONS.
The following will serve to illustrate the kind of contributions desired. Additional information as to origin and geographical limits, past or present, can perhaps be furnished for some of the examples here given. The material used has been contributed by Miss K. P. Loring, Professors W. S. Chaplin, B! 0. Peirce, J. H. Thayer, Messrs. W. D. Armes, A. S. Gatschet and others, including the Cambridge editors.
Bange (bsends). Apparently a by- form of hang ; used in Central Maine : " a pair of boots to bange round in." [Not known to me. — E. S. S.]
Beacon. R. L. Stevenson, Memories and Portraits^ p. 135, foot-note, says : "In Dr. Murray's admirable new dictionary I have remarked a flaw sub voce Beacon. In its express, technical sense, a beacon may be defined as ' a founded artificial sea-mark, not lighted.' " Is not this also the recognized technical sense in America, so that a lighthouse is technically not a beacon? Murray gives as the sixth sense of the word : "A lighthouse or other con- spicuous object placed upon the coast or at sea, to warn vessels of danger or direct their course." The Century Dictionary has substantially the same definition as Murray.
Coast: to slide down hill. Bartlett calls this "a term used by boys in New England." It is not the natural word among boys on Cape Cod or in Maine, but it was current in Boston fifty years ago ( Journ. Am. Eolk-Lore, I, 78) as now, and is common in Cincinnati to-day (Professor J. M. Hart). The Century Dictionary and the new edition of the Imperial Dictionary label it "U.S." The word is commended to the attention of dialect collectors.
Duck. A game known some thirty years ago in Bath, Me. , as duck and drake is, or was not long ago, called simply duck in Waterville, Me., and duck on a rock is used in Massachusetts.
Figure. " Every one was out in their figure " ; said in Cambridge, Mass., by Irish servant girls, of women walking in the streets without jackets on.
Fogo (fogo). A stench. Beverly and Salem, Mass.
Gall. Reported by Professor J. M. Hart as Cincinnati student- slang for uppishness, bumptiousness, conceit (1889). In Boston and Cambridge the word is familiar in the sense of effrontery, 'â– ^ cheek.'''' In this sense gall is known to have been used among students of Harvard College as early as 1871, sometimes in the elaborate phrase "the gall of a stall' d ox." May this use of the word not be due to Hamlet's "I am pigeon- liver' d and lack gall To make oppression bitter" (II, ii, 605-6)? This passage alludes to the well- known old belief that the dove owes its gentleness and want of self-assertion to lack of gall (see the commentators in Furness). A reading man in college may have jocosely converted the proposition. (Information as to date and
22 DIALECT NOTES.
geographical distribution of the word is requested. Bartlett and Scheie De Vere do not mention it. Farmer quotes an Ouray, Col., newspaper of 1888.)
Hookey, in "to play hookey," meaning to play truant^ used in Maine, but not usual in Boston, where the phrase was and is to "hook Jack," or to "hook off." Both phrases are in Bartlett. For the former he says, "chiefly in the State of New York," and cites only Mark Twain, and the latter he ascribes simply to New England.
Indeedy, for indeed. Washington, D.C., and vicinity.
Jell, to harden, said of jelly : "the jelly doesn't jell. " Is it used generally ? The dictionaries seem not to recognize it.
Killcow (kilkau). In old-fashioned use on Cape Cod and in Cheshire County, N.IL, in the phrases: "That's no great killcow," I'.e., that's of no great account, that's no matter; and "He's no great killcow," i.e., he doesn't amount to much (of a person who thinks himself somebody). The word was common in the Elizabethan age. Thus, — " The killcow champion of the three brethren," Nashe, ed. Grosart, II, 184; "This vaine of kilcowe vanitie," Id., Ill, 37 ; "It is the kill-cow Dorilaus," Fletcher, Lovers' Prog- ress, iii, 3, ad fin. ; "the kill-cow Caratach," Fletcher, Bonduca, ii, 3 (where see Weber). In these places it seems to mean a bully, a madcap fighter with a touch of Drawcansir about him. Weber is no doubt right in referring its origin to Guy of Warwick's exploit with the Dun Cow. (Two or three further citations in Nares and in Halliwell. The latter gives " kill- cow : a matter of consequence ; a terrible fellow " as a Northumberland word.)
Mighnt (maint). " I mighnt and then again I mightn't." This I think I often heard when a boy in Waterville, Me. Perhaps mai.t would represent the pronunciation better than maint. — [E. S. S. ]
Mugwump and Tend out. The following note on these words has been received from Professor F. B. Denio, Bangor, Me. : "The word mugwump, which as you doubtless know was in Eliot's Indian Bible, i was current in my boyhood. I spent my boyhood in Franklin County, Vt. My wife spent her early life in Stanstead County, Province of Quebec, in a village which was both in Vermont and Canada. She was likewise familiar with the same word. In both places the word was current with the meaning, ' a per- son who makes great pretensions and whose character or ability or resources are not equal to his pretensions. ' The time to which the memory of my wife and myself could certify that word in use goes back to the early fifties. Another Americanism is one current in this city which I have not observed elsewhere in New England, not even fifty miles west of here, or in fact any- where in the nearer towns. It is ' tend out ' for ' attend ' ; ' tend out on ' for ' attend to. ' One ' tends out on ' church, ' tends out on ' the public library for the first opportunity to take the new magazines. Whenever any one is on the alert for any purpose whatever he is ' tending out.' " 2
1 [The word in Eliot's Indian Bible is mugquomp, corresponding to duke in the English version (Gen. xxxvi. 40, 41, 42, 43, and elsewhere). More evidence than I have yet seen is needed to show this Indian word to be the source of our word mugwump. — E. S. S.]
2 [This expression was known to me in Waterville, Me., and I have heard
VARIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS. 23
Pack, to carry. California. To " pack " a cane is an example. Bartlett gives it as Western, explaining that it first meant "to transport in packs."
Ridic'lus (^.e., ridiculous), meaning detestable, abominable. In rustic use in New England.
Scoggins (skoginz) : a butt (for ridicule and tricks). "There was a fellow abroad that they made a kind o' scoggins out of." Provincetown, Mass., 1888. This is doubtless a survival of the name of John (or Thomas) Scoggin (Skoggin, Scogan), who seems to have lived in the time of Edward IV. Scoggin' s Jests, a collection of stories of buffoonish tricks (like the pranks ascribed to Eulenspiegel, Skelton, George Peele, and others, in similar pamphlets), was licensed in 1566, and continued to be very popular for at least a hundred years. This book (with which Scoggin had nothing to do) made his name a synonym for buffoon in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- turies. He is mentioned by Shakspere (Henry IV, Pt. II, iii, 2, 33), and again and again by Gabriel Harvey. Thus in Pierce's Supererogation, 1593 : " Scoggin, the ioviall foole, or Skelton, the melancholy foole, or Elderton, the bibbing foole, or Will Somers, the chollericke foole" (Grosart's Harvey, II, 132), and "Malice was never such a hypocrite as now ; and the world never such a Scoggin as now" (Id., p. 32), etc., etc. (cf. Grosart's Glossary), Steele, Tatler, no. 9, April 30, 1709, speaks jocosely of "Mr. Scoggins the famous droll," but the latest significant mention of him I have found is in Oldham's Works, 1698, p. 126: "One would take him for the picture of Scoggin or Tarleton." His name has furnished the language with the words Scoganism and Scoganly (see Encycl. Diet.), Scogginism (Harvey, II, 234) and Scogginist (Id., 53). (See W. C. Hazlitt, Shakespeare Jest-Books, II, 38-161, 357 ; Collier, Registers of Stationers' Company, I, 120 ; Shakspere Var. of 1821, XVII, 117-119 ; Tyrwhitt, Account of the Works of Chaucer, prefixed to his Glossary ; Furnivall, Andrew Boorde's Introduction, p. 31 ; Captain Cox, pp. xlviii, Ixvii ; Nares, Glossary ; Skeat, Chaucer's Minor Poems, p. Ixvi ; Halliwell, Diet, of 0. Eng. Plays, p. 221). — [G. L. K.]
So fashion, meaning so, in that way. Is this known all over New England ?
Steboy (stab-oi), an exclamation used in setting a dog on an animal or a thing. Is it in general use outside of New England? In Emerson's essay on Illusions occurs hist-a-boy (" and cry Hist-a-boy I to every good dog"). Bart- lett has steboy and seboy.
Stiddiment, steadiness. "They aint no stiddiment to it," was on one occasion said of a shifting wind, at Southwest Harbor, Me. For "they" perhaps tSe would be a better spelling.
Tend out. See Mugwump above.
Thrash, Thresh. These are generally given as two forms of the same word without any distinction in use. But would one ever say that one boy had "threshed" another, or given him a "threshing"? In my own natural
' tend out on him pretty sharp ' used at Southwest Harbor, Me. Bartlett (Americanisms) has it with a wrong definition, as I believe, but a good exam- ple from the Winsted (Conn.) Herald: "An auction sale is advertised in our columns to-day, to take place in Hartford. . . . Country merchants should tend out. "—E. S. S.]
24 DIALECT NOTES.
use this sense is limited to the spelling with a, and I should most naturally speak of "threshing" grain, and not of " thrashing" it. — [E. S. S.]
Thwart, n. (of a boat), pronounced l^odt. Maine and Cape Cod. How widely spread is this ?
Vengesmce, or hUie vengeance,, for (blue) gentians, has been reported as heard somewhere in New England, but the reference for it is lost.
From Aiken, S.C., are reported the following : —
good, could, would, put, room pronounced gnd, knd, wod, pvt, rvm ; hook as hok; hog as hodg ; idea with the accent on the first syllable {aidid). The last is said to be general in South Carolina, and to be heard sometimes in Baltimore.
The proper names Dora, Cora are given for Boston as Dora, Cora (rather Dora, Kurd), for New York and southward as Dor-a, Cor-a, " with a short o."
The following additional note from Miss Loring gives observa- tions made recently in England : —
"Cow" pronounced "keow," and the nasal sound commonly supposed to be the Yankee distinction are very common and much more marked in the counties of Essex, Suffolk and the neighborhood in England. To " enjoy poor health," supposed to be an Americanism, I find is common among the peasants and poor townspeople in the Midland counties of England. I have found it in AVarwickshire and am assured that it is used in other places. The "keow" and kindred words, spoken as by the typical Yankees, are spreading in London, as London grows on the north over the counties where they are indigenous ; and the nasal pronunciation I have met with several times in persons of education who had no American connection, i
Professor J. P. Fruit, Russellville, Ky., is collecting peculiar words used in Kentucky. The following specimens are words used in playing at marbles : —
One may "knock," "pop," "plug," "plunk" or "plump" the "mid- dler" (middle marble) from "taw." The players "go to taw" to "shoot." Observe " I go last and hold the game fast." " Dubs " 2 means " doubles " or two " men " (marbles) ; "thribs," " thribbles " is three marbles ; "four- bles" (very rare), four marbles. To "get fat" happens when a player's taw rolls into the ring and there are two or more men in it already. "You can't fatten a pig on one ear of com." To " take everys " or " evers" is to move around so as to get every "man" in range. "Vent" or "vents" means {I) prevent; as in " vent(s) your every (s)," To "fudge" is to poke or something similar, and "comder" means corner. E. S. S.
G. L. K.
1 [Nasality of vowels has been already recognized as existing in London ; see Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics, p. 8. — E. S. S.]
2 [Z>m6« in this sense is in the Century Dictionary, and the word is there called an abbreviation of doublets. It is rather an abbreviation of doubles. The same dictionary has a reference for the word to the Century magazine xxxvi, 78, where one or two other words in the list above also occur. — E. S. S.]
PLAN OF WOBK. 25
THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY.
Plan of Work.
The present statement is made in order to give somewhat more in detail the purposes of the Society and the method of work planned by it. The dialect variations considered may be divided into two classes.
I. — Vocabulary.
Strange, uncommon, or .antiquated words or uses of words really current in any community. Such are deedies, young fowls ; gall, assurance, effrontery ; to play hookey or to hook off, to play truant ; to stump or to banter, to challenge ; let the old cat die, used of letting a swing come to rest gradually instead of stopping it ; slew, a great quantity; fool as an adjective ; he up and did it; he took and hit him; he^s been and gone and done it; dim or clum {clomb) ', housen as plural of house; the nagent for the agent; sandy Pete for centipede; to cut or to cut and run, to leg it; to buzz a person, to talk with him ; buckle, to bend, used of ice under one's weight ; likewise local names of fishes and plants, exclama- tions, and words used in games. Also lack of common words or phrases which one would expect to find everywhere. It is the natural unstudied speech of different localities that is of interest. Many school-teachers might contribute lists of words and phrases which they perhaps have to teach their pupils not to use. Any person of education, especially if living in a different place from that where his childhood was passed, may also be able to make contributions. Even one such peculiarity found in common use where it has not already been noted has a value for the purposes of the Society. Many such words and phrases have already been published in the collections of Americanisms, but much yet re- mains to be done in noting unrecorded usages and in defining limits of use geographically and otherwise.
II. — Pronunciation.
For example, the different pronunciations of r in words like hard, turn, cord, mother, of a in park, calm, past, of oo and u in room, rude, put, of o in stone, hot; such forms as git, ketch, shet for shut, sech or sich, he ken or kin for can, deestrict, holt for hold
26 DIALECT NOTES.
(noun), sneck for snake, hahmer for hammer, etc. It is often possible to tell by a person's pronunciation from what part of the country he comes. For the study of pronunciation the received spelling is very ill adapted, and a phonetic system is needed if this part of the work is to be conducted in an intelligible manner. In the cases mentioned under I., where the pronunciation is of only secondary importance, such a system is not needed. It is necessary only where the pronunciation is the main thing to be noted, though it will be welcome whenever the pronunciation might be doubtful. A practical, though necessarily imperfect, system of phonetic spelling is given herewith (see next page). Any persons who from their own studies in phonetics feel the need of a system which avoids the ambiguities of keywords are requested to communicate with the Secretary.
In substance the plan of the Society is to collect and publish dialect material through an Executive Committee with assistants in various places. The District Secretaries will doubtless after some experience become more and more acquainted with the con- ditions and needs of their respective districts, and will thus be able to advise the Executive Committee with more confidence. The members of the Executive Committee will naturally assist in the direction of active members in their own States. Further, Professor Gustaf Karsten, Bloomington, Ind., will act as secre- tary for Indiana ; Professor E. L. Walter, Ann Arbor, Mich., for Michigan; Professor Alc^e Fortier, Tulane University, New Orleans, for Louisiana ; Dr. James W. Bright, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, for Maryland ; Mr. W. D. Armes, Univer- sity of California, Berkeley, Cal., for California. Others will be announced later.
The conditions of membership have been made very easy in order to attract many members, for it is believed that the num- ber of those who can contribute material in large or small amounts IS very great. All who feel an interest in the plan of the Society are invited to join it, even if they do not feel sure of contributing anything but a membership fee. Without a large membership the expense of printing will render publication only possible in small quantities or at long intervals. With a large membership it will be possible to publish oftener and to send the publications to every member without additional charge. All who receive this circular are invited to communicate the plan to others.
At the* annual meetings it is not intended to have papers read.
PLAN OF WORK. 27
They are to be strictly business meetings, the work of publication being done through the Executive Committee and the Editing Committee. No regular issues can yet be announced, but it is hoped that it will be possible later to publish at stated intervals. Some of th^ dialect variations indicated above are doubtless survivals of dialects spoken in England, others may be due to the influence of other European languages spoken in the United States and Canada, as French, German, Dutch, Spanish, while still others are probably independent developments in America. All are worth noting, and will have an attraction for linguistic students, perhaps all the greater when they appear to show the beginnings of dialectal divergence. The materials thus collected are not only interesting in themselves : they may be utilized in many ways, as in the construction of dialect maps to show how far each peculiarity extends, in comparisons with dialects in Eng- land and on the continent of Europe, in the preparation of a com- plete list of Americanisms, in assisting the work of lexicographers, and otherwise contributing to the history of the English lan- guage in America.
System for Phonetic Spelling. I. — Vowels. a as in father, ah, card.
d for a sound intermediate between a in father, and aw in laiv. ce for the a in hat, mad, cap.
d, for the a in fast, pass, when pronounced with a. vowel inter- mediate between a and ce.
e as in pet, hen.
e, ei for the vowel sound in pay, they, name, fate. Use ei when the sound ends in a faint i.
9 (a turned e) for the indistinct vowel written e in butter, bat- tery.
e for the sound in her, sir, curl, word.
» (a turned a) for u in up, but, o in son.
i as in hit, bid, pin.
i for i in machine, ee in bee, seed.
0 (a turned c) for the vowel sound in law, haid.
o as in not, cob, top.
6, ou for the vowel sound in no, dough, note, tone. Use ou when the sound ends in a faint u.
d for the short New England sound in stone, ichole.
28 DIALECT NOTES.
u for u in full, pull, oo in book.
H for 00 in fool, pool, u in rude.
ai for the sound of i in time, pine. Use di for the sound usual in England.
au for the sound of ou in round, house. Use cew or dw if either represents the sound better.
oi as in hoil, coin.
ed for the sound in tliere, air, mare. Use cea or ^a if either represents the sound better.
09 for the sound in cord, hoard. Use da or od if either repre- sents the sound better.
td for the sound in fear, peer.
aid for the sound in ire, fire.
Hd for the sound in poor, tour.
aud for the sound in hour, tower, power.
(After these diphthongs ending in d, an r should be written only when pronounced, and the a should be omitted when not really pronounced.)
yH for the sound in use, few, pew. Use iH for the peculiar American sound in dew, new, which is intermediate between H and yil. Thus nyH is English, niH is American, but yHs, fyH are both American and English. Write rvix, dH when the words are so pro- nounced.
II. — Consonants.
b, d,f, g (always as in go, get), h, k, I, m, n, p, r (always as in red, road, hurry), s (always as in mason), t, v, w, y, z as usual. In addition : / for sh in she ; 3 for z in azure, s in pleasure ; }> for th in think; ^6 for th in this; y for ng in singing, n in sink, finger ; also tfiov ch in church; dZ for ^' and dg m judge, g in gem; kw for qu in quite; hw for wh in when; ks, gz for x (tax, exact). Doubled consonants are not to be used unless the consonant is really long or produces the effect of two consonants on the ear ; as siti (city), sitd {sitter), autt'ok {outtalk).
In case the ear makes finer distinctions than these and it seems important to note them, the sign for the nearest sound in the above list may be used in each case with an exponent {a}, o\ r\ etc.) to be explained by the writer. Other signs may be added later.
As to quantity, it will be understood that in unaccented sylla- bles the quantity of vowels is naturally lessened, and this lessen-
PLAN OF WORK. 29
ing is sufficiently shown by the lack of accent. Decidedly greater length than would be expected may be indicated by doubling the letter.
Nasality may be marked by ^ (a turned apostrophe) after the letter, as a^.
The accent may be marked by • (a turned period) before the vowel of the accented syllable. It should always be written, unless the accent is on the first syllable of the word. A secon- dary accent may be marked, when it seems desirable to mark it, hy : (colon) before the vowel, as ceks : esih ' iliti {accessibility).
Hyphens may be used when necessary to indicate syllable â– division and vocalic character of I, r, n, etc. Thus, a-a is differ- ent from aa, ai-d from aid; and tzl-i (easily) maybe written when the second syllable consists of I with no preceding vowel.
The ordinary word division is to be retained. If any persons wish to mark stress-groups, this can be done by using || for the beginning of each one.
When it is desired to mark inflections of the voice, an acute accent after the word may be used to indicate rising inflection, and a grave accent for falling inflection. The two may be com- bined for a compound inflection, rising-falling (a), and falling- rising (v).
E. S. SHELDON, Secretary.
Cambkidge, Mass., April 25, 1889.
30 DIALECT NOTES,
MEMBERS OF THE AMEEICAN DIALECT SOCIETY.'
J. W. Abemethy, Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, N.Y. Miss C. Adams, Lewisburg, Tenn. Frederic D. Allen, 10 Humboldt St. , Cambridge, Mass. Wm. D. Armes, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal. Sidney G. Ashmore, Box 256, Schenectady, N.Y.. Eugene H. Babbitt.
E. Barnes, Indiana Univ. , Bloomington, Ind. C. H. Beard, Indiana Univ. , Bloomington, Ind.
A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., Washington, D.C. George Bendelari, 7 HoUis Hall, Cambridge, Mass. Charles E. Bennett, 314 Mills St., Madison, Wis.
B. K. Benson, Dallas, Texas.
Frank Bolles, 6 Berkeley St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.
H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.
L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
James W. Bright, Johns Hopkins Univ. , Baltimore, Md.
Calvin S. Brown, Jr., Newbern, Tenn.
G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. J. Bryan, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Mrs. II. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
P. B. Burnet, Bethany Heights, Lincoln, Neb.
W. E. Byerly, Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. H. Carruth, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
A. F. Chamberlain, 36 Arthur St., Toronto, Can.
W. S. Chaplin, Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. J. Child, 67 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass. O. B. Clark, Indiana Univ. , Bloomington, Ind. A. Cohn, 21 Buckingham St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. C. Collar, Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass.
A. S. Cook, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
M. Grant Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, 259 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
W. M. Davis, 2 Bond St. , Cambridge, Mass.
M. J. Drennan, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A. Marshall Elliott, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
O. F. Emerson, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
E. Emerton.
W. G. Farlow, Hilton A, Cambridge, Mass.
Alc6e Fortier, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.
Jno. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
James M. Garaett, Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
James Geddes, Jr., Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
R. W. Gifford, 13 Stoughton Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
C. H. Grandgent, 19 Wendell St., Cambridge, Mass.
R. L. Green, Indiana Univ. , Bloomington, Ind.
H. E. Greene, St. Paul's Cathedral School, Garden City, L.L
J. B. Greenough, Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass.
E. E. Hale, Jr., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
1 The list is corrected up to January 27, 1890. Members are requested to give notice to the Secretary or Treasurer of any change of address.
LIST OF MEMBEBS. 31
E. W. Hall, Colby Univ., Waterville, Me.
D. A. Hamlin, Rice Training School, Dartmouth St. , Boston, Mass.
W. R. Harper, New Haven, Conn.
A. B. Hart, 11 Everett St., Cambridge, Mass.
Charles E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J.
James M. Hart, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, O.
D. C. Heath, 5 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
R. C. Hitchcock, 490 Canal St. , New Orleans, La. H. A. Hoffman, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
E. W. Hooper, Fayerweather St., Cambridge, Mass. G. L. Hunter, Lake Preston, Kingsbury Co., S.D.
A. V. Williams Jackson, Highland Place, Yonkers, N.Y. H. Johnson, Box 246, Brunswick, Me.
B. E. Johnston, 245 Longwood Ave., Boston, Mass. T. T. Johnston, 11 Lawrence St., Boston, Mass.
D. S. Jordan, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. Gustaf Karsten, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. T. C. Karus, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. Charles F. Kent, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
C. H. Kilborn, 3 Tremont PI. , Boston, Mass. W. C. Kitchin, 14 Avon PL, Cambridge, Mass. G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass. O. Klopsch, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. W. I. Knapp, Yale Univ. , New Haven, Conn. Horatio O. Ladd, Univ. of New Mexico, Santa Fe, N. M. W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Swain Free School, New Bedford, Mass.
Charles R. Lanman, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass.
John M. Lea, Nashville, Tenn.
M. D. Learned, Johns Hopkins Univ. , Baltimore, Md.
Francis B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N.J.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston Univ. , Somerset St. , Boston, Mass.
Miss K. P. Loring, 22 Congress St. , Boston, Mass. .
J. R. Lowell, Elmwood Ave. , Cambridge, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, 85 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. Thomas McCabe, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. C. F. McClumpha, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
J. McDuf&e, Greenfield, Mass.
J. G. R. McElroy, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
S. M. Macvane, 34 Kirkland St. , Cambridge, Mass.
J. M. Manly, 54 Trowbridge St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.
P. B. Marcou, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
John E. Matzke, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me.
R. M. Middleton, Jr., So. Pittsburg, Tenn.
M. H. Morgan, Hubbard Park, Cambridge, Mass.
L. F. Mott, 367 West 19th St., New York, N.Y.
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., N.Y.
John G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West 33d St., New York, N.Y.
W. W. Newell, Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. W. Nicolson, 21 Hollis Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
George S. Paine, Box 68, Winslow, Me.
B. 0. Peirce, 51 Oxford St. , Cambridge, Mass.
J. M. Peirce.
Samuel W. Pennypacker, 209 South 6th St. , Philadelphia, Pa.
M. L. Perrin, 12 Somerset St. , Boston, Mass.
S. Porter, National Deaf-Mute College, Kendall Green, D.C.
T. R. Price, 23 West 53d St., New York, N.Y.
Sylvester Primer, Friends' School, Providence, R.L
32 DIALECT NOTES,
Charles F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
G. M. Richardson, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal.
R. S. Robertson, Fort Wayne, Ind.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
R. L. Sanderson, 386 Harvard St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. F. Scarborough, Wilberforce Univ., Wilberforce, O.
H. Schmidt- VVartenberg, Deseret Univ., Salt Lake City, Utah.
N. P. Seymour, Hudson, O.
T. D. Seymour, 112 College St., New Haven, Conn.
N. S. Shaler, 25 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. C. Shattuck, 135 Marlboro' St., Boston, Mass.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 North Common St., Lynn, Mass.
Edward S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. R. Shipman, Tufts College, Medford, Mass.
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
Charles F. Smith, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
Clement L. Smith, 120 Brattle St. , Cambridge, Mass.
Herbert W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, 34 School St., Boston, Mass.
W. W. Spangler, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
E. Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. George L. Stowell, Lexington, Mass.
F. C. Sumichrast, 58 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass. Henry Sweet, Nunton, Salisbury, England.
W. H. Sylvester, English High School, Boston, Mass.
J. Henry Thayer, 67 Sparks St. , Cambridge, Mass.
W. R. Thayer, 15 Ware St., Cambridge, Mass.
Calvin Thomas, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
H. A. Todd, Johns Hopkins Univ. , Baltimore, Md.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.
W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N.B.
Addison Van Name, New Haven, Conn.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 29 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. L. Walter, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Johns Hopkins Univ. , Baltimore, Md.
G. Weinschenk, 1 Revere St., Cambridge, Mass. F. M. Weld, Storey PI. , Jamaica Plain, Mass. B. I. Wheeler, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
H. L. AVheeler, Newton Centre, Mass.
A. C. AVhite, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
W. 1). Whitney, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn. ^
A. H. Wilkins, Dallas, Texas.
R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. M. Wilson, 317 State St., Bridgeport, Conn.
Justin Winsor, Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Mass.
Woods, Terre Haute, Ind.
J. H. Wright, 14 Avon St., Cambridge, Mass. T. A. Wylie, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
[Total, 158.].
DIALECT I^OTES,
PART II.
A NEW EISGLANDEE'S ENGLISH AND THE ENGLISH OF LONDON.
The following remarks and word-list are intended to show ■some of the differences between the colloquial English of Lon- don, as represented in the second edition of Sweet's Elementar- buch des gesprochenen Englisch, and my own pronunciation, and their scope is accordingly, though narrower, yet somewhat similar to that of Professor Whitney's account of his own pronunciation in his Oriental and Linguistic Studies (second series. The Ele- ments of English Pronunciation, pp. 202-276). No exact pho- netic study of my dialect is here offered, — that I hope to prepare at a later time, — but only a presentation of such differences in colloquial pronunciation as can be generally understood through the system of phonetic spelling prepared for the American Dia- lect Society.
My native dialect is a mixture of the English of Bath and Waterville, in the state of Maine. I was early trained to avoid various vulgarisms, such as pronouncing -in for -ing, and nasality in vowels ; but the latter I did not entirely escape. My present pronunciation is a compromise between the natural speech of Bath and Waterville (the language in both places is doubtless about the same) and "standard English," with perhaps some- modifications due to Cambridge uses. The written form of the language has inevitably affected my pronunciation considerably, giving it a somewhat artificial character. This influence, I think, is rather stronger in America than in England, but it must exist wherever English is spoken and read.
The basis for comparison is the glossary in Sweet's Elementar- buch. It is assumed that Sweet's j, ij, uw, id, ud, ea, ai, au repre-
33
34 DIALECT NOTES.
sent nearly enough the same sounds as my y, i, it, ta, ^a, cea or ea, ai, au, to make it unnecessary to distinguish between these two sets of spellings. The signs ai and au, I think, represent my sounds in time, house, better than they do Sweet's. For ei and ou I may sometimes write ^ and 6, for these diphthongs are with me less distinct in some cases than in others.
In unaccented syllables it is sometimes difficult to decide be- tween e and i, as in the endings -age, -ed, and the prefixes ex-, -en, also between » (Sweet's a) and a. I accept Sweet's i and a gen- erally in such cases, and do not object to hdt for hut, the word being almost always unaccented. But there are in the glossary some slurred forms which I can hardly accept as correct eveii in conversation, though I occasionally do have some of them, such as Tcvrnftdhl for comfortable. I have intended, however, to accept as correct all the slurrings which I usually do make in ordinary conversation, no matter how different they may make words look from the usual spellings or the recognized pronunciations. An example of the kind of slurring which I do not in general recog- nize in my own pronunciation, though it exists in America, is -fl for the adjective ending -ful, where I usually say ful, as in beau- tiful. But for some of the adverbs, such as cheerfully, I could write /-I (in two syllables).
In some words, such as cloth, frost, cost, cross, long, also, alter, off, often, wrong, salt, soften, 1 felt a doubt as to whether o or a had better be written. I have accepted with some hesitation Sweet's spellings, except in the words salt, long, wrong, where I prefer o to Sweet's o.
A marked difference exists in the case of vowels followed by r, in regard to the presence or absence of the glide a. My rule for the r itself is the same as Sweet's : it is only pronounced when a vowel follows with no pause intervening ; and I believe this rule holds for New England generally and for the southern states. In New York City I think there are two ways of treat- ing the r in words like hard, word, bird, cord, etc., — one as in New England (a or nothing at all), the other as y consonant; and in Philadelphia there seem to be two also — one as a real r (as in red), the other as a y. In my pronunciation, if no vowel follows or if there is a pause, the place of the written r is taken by a, which is practically imperceptible after a and e. I write had for hard, wed for ivord, kcea (or fcea) for care, and a for final unaccented -er, as in mother. But I do not pronounce both a
A NEW ENGLANBER'S ENGLISH. 35
and a following r before a vowel in the same word, except when this vowel begins an ending of inflection or derivation, and the word without this ending has a, replacing an original r, for its final sound. Thus, for hear, hearing, Jlowery, I write htd, htdrij], Jlaudri; but for vary, Europe, curious, I write vM, yilrdp, kyUrids, not vedri, yudrdp, kyudrids. There are even a few cases of deriva- tives where I omit the a, as desirous, which I usually pronounce diz-airds. Similarly after o; thus, I say godri (or sometimes gori) for goiy^ because I feel its connection with gore (god), and board (or bo7'd) for borer, because it comes from bore (bod). But I write stdri, not stori, for story. The spelling stori would suggest to me an adjective formed with the ending -y from the noun store. So, too, I should write tdri, glori, dik-drdm, etc., for tory, glory, deco- rum, and similar words. But ghri, for instance, I have heard occasionally from Americans, perhaps only from natives of the state of New York. In weary, dreary, fairy, I have a before the r : perhaps this is caused by analogy with other words in -ry, but wary (a book-word) is weri. After o, when a consonant follows the written r. Sweet's glossary omits not only the r but the 9 as well. Thus, he writes lot, ko7i, sos for short, corn, source. In these cases I have oo, and my spelling would be jodt, koon, soos, the last word being very distinct from sauce ( = sos) in my (prob- ably somewhat artificial) pronunciation. There are some cases where I have no a for r after the sound a; thus, I say kwotd, rarely, if ever, kwodto, for quarter, though quart is usually kwodt; also forty is foti, but four and fourteen have aa. When a vowel follows the 09 and the wi'itten r is accordingly heard, I still keep the a in deliberate pronunciation; j)^^'^' aut=pour out, but it is often lost in rapid speech.
It may here be said that I make no distinction between such words as hoarse and horse, morning and mourning; they all have 09 (hods) with me. I have do (or oud) only in cases of derivatives from word ending in 0 or ou, like sower, mower, pronounced sdd, mdd, not necessarily in two syllables. More is to me mod, and " sore and soar are alike as soo. Though I make no distinction between hoarse and horse, I am well aware that mine is not the pronunciation of all Americans : it is not even of all New Eng- landers.
Sweet's rule for the long I in build (billd), and similar cases (" Ein jeder consonant," etc., p. 11), I should hardly be willing to accept. The preceding short vowel must be accented, and must
36 DIALECT NOTES.
not be followed by another syllable in the same word or pro- nounced as a part of the same word ; otherwise I, m, n do not seem to me long enough to be doubled in writing. It is only these three letters, and perhaps z, that I should double under these circumstances ; there is not so much lengthening for v nor for the stops. Thus, I might write billd, hvmmd, hcennd for build, hummed, hand; but bildii}, hvmij], hoendl for building, humming, handle, and bild it (pronounced as a word of two syllables) rather than billd it for build it. To me the I of bilt (built) has almost exactly the same length as that of bildii] (building). The monosyl- lables which Sweet gives as examples I should write as he does.
Another class of words where my pronunciation differs from Sweet's consists of those usually spelt with 7ich, nge, as bunch, strange, danger. For these I have ntl, ndZ (bnntj, streindZ, deindZd), not 71 J, nZ' It is curious that Sweet writes sentfari for century, while I pronounce senjdi'i.
In regard to the use of H instead of yii after the letters t, d, th, s, z, n, I, my natural pronunciation agrees with Whitney's in almost every word he mentions. I say naturally diX, nU, tilzdi, sUt, tilnik for dice (and dew), new, Tuesday, suit, tunic. But a com- promise sound between H and yil, namely the diphthong iH, has become almost equally natural to me now after t and d (in the cases where my pronunciation has not ^J and dZ) and after n; this iil I never use after I, and almost never after s, z, and ]>. 1 often, and sometimes unconsciously, say diH, niU, tiUzdi (tunic is only a book-word to me) ; but I should scarcely say liHt for lute, and while I might say siHt for suit, I should always feel it as an artificially acquired pronunciation. Sweet has dyH, nyH, tyUzdi, syiit, tyitnik.
An initial Ji (I do not mean the "silent 7i" of honor and other words) is lost in some cases with me; but the rule given by Sweet (pp. 22, 23) holds for my pronunciation of only the com- monest short words, such as the entirely unaccented pronouns he, him, her. I pronounce like him his father, it's Hs father, here 'e is, and should also say I told Hm so, ask Hm where, tell 'er (pro- nounced d) now, etc., and it would be rather an affectation for me to sound the h in these cases, just as it would be to sound an r in my sister says, or to pronounce e instead of a in the last syllable of moment, prudent. But I should say with h, a historical, the Jieroic, and usually keep h, 1 think, after a consonant (the dead historian, this heroic deed).
A NEW ENGLANBEB'S ENGLISH. 37
The greatest differences, however, between the English of Lon- don and that of New England — indeed, of the whole of the United States — are perhaps differences in the voice inflections, the rising, falling, and compound inflections not being the same. These differences, combined with others of less importance, such as the greater use of "mixed" vowels in England, sometimes even interfere seriously with the intelligibility of the spoken lan- guage.
In the following list I have intended to give all cases in the glossary where my pronunciation in ordinary conversation is dif- ferent from the one there marked, omitting the cases covered by what has already been said above. I have sometimes given more than one pronunciation, and have added a few notes. The words Alexandra, bilberry , Brittany, Epping, Essex, Fitzgerald, Graves- end, Hampstead, ha^penny, hips and haws, Carnaby, cad. Caven- dish, cockshy, concertina, Christiania, luggage (my word is baggage), laburnum, Margate, Marlborough, marmalade, Macdougal, Morti- mer, Ramsgate, Rosherville, cit {= citizen), Snowdon, Teddington, waistcoat (my word is vest) have been omitted from consideration as hardly belonging to my dialect. This does not mean that they are all strange to me, or even that they were all unknown to me when I was a boy, but that they did not belong to my stock of familiar words in frequent use. I give first the words in the ordi- nary spelling, arranged according to Sweet's order, and then add my pronunciation in phonetic spelling.
Some of the differences I have noted very likely are more apparent than real, or are made to seem greater than they really are. What seems noteworthy to one person may not seem so to another, when the system of spelling does not aim to reproduce all the niceties of actual speech.
answer : aensa, not ans9, which I have also heard.
asked : askt ; hut this is an acquired pronunciation for earlier
ast.
idea : The added r / look upon as vulgar and avoid.
either : i^a, not ai^a, which is also American.
umbrella : ^mbr-ela, not 'ember -ela, which in New England is a vul-
garism.
uncomfortable : 'enk-Binfatabl, rather than 'enk-'emftabl.
Athens : sej^enz, rather than 8e>mz. The e is distinct. It is an early
learned book-word.
average : aevr-idg (three syllables), rather than sevrids.
barrel : bseril, not bseral.
38
DIALECT NOTES.
been because blackberry, n.
bone both
difference different differently- difficult difficulty a good deal dishonorable : how do you do : January general generally just, adv. :
jaundice April anybody
envelope, etiquette
n.
every
earthenware
alone
February
favorite
furniture
forgot(ten)
[fix
flannel
fault
forehead
photograph
fourlegged
fortnight
fortune
fortunately )
forward j
gardener
government
gone gravel
bin, not bin, which I have heard from a Canadian.
bik'oz, rather than bik-oz.
blaekbari or, better, blsekbr-i {in three syllables), rather than
blsekb(9)ri. originally b6n, now boun. originally b6i>, noxo bouJ>. difr-ans {three syllables), rather than difrans. difr-ant (three syllables) , rather than difrant. difr-antli (four syllables), and difrantli. difikalt and difik'elt, not difiklt. difikalti and difik'elti, not difiklti. only one d.
dis-onr-abl (usually five syllables), not diz-onrabl. perhaps oftenest hau da ya du. dssenyueri, rather than dgsenyuari. d5eni:-al (three syllables), rather than djenral. dgenr-ali (four syllables) and dsenrali. dj^st, djijs, not dgest, dses. dgondis or dsandis. Bather a book-word to me. eipril, not eipral. The i is distinct. enibedi and enibadi, rather than enibodi, which I pronounce
only with a conscious effort. envaloup and envalap. etiket (accent on the first syllable), not etik*et, tc^ic^ I have
seldom, if ever, heard. evr-i (three syllables) and evri. eiSnwaea or -wea, not e\>n-. originally, I think, al-6n, now al'oun. februeri, rather than februari. feivr-it (three syllables), rather than feivrit. fgnitjua, rather than fenitja. fagBt(n), and by conscious effort fagot(n). no difference in pronunciation, but the commonest meaning
is to put in order.] flaenil, rather than flsenl. folt, not folt. forad, rather than forid. foutagraf , not foutagraef . foal-egid, not foalegd. foatnit and foatnait. foatjun, not fotjan. I often omit the a in the first syllable, and pronounce like
Sweet (fot/a— , fowad). gadn-a (three syllables), rather than gadna. gisvanmant, not gevamant, which, however, I think was my
natural pronunciation. gon, not gon. Buf Sweet has gon on p. 35 and on p. 96. grsBvil, rather than grsBvl.
A NEW ENGLANDEB'S ENGLISH.
39
greatcoat : The accent is on the first syllable plainly. See also coat.
My usual word was and is overcoat. got : g^t, and by conscious effort, got.
gooseberry : gusbr-i (usually three syllables), not guzbri. hullo : hal-ou, when used as a greeting ; h"Bl*ou, as an exclama-
tion of surprise, with both syllables accented equally, and
often with a double 1. history : histari and liistr-i {three syllables) , rather than liistri.
holiday (s) : holidei(z) , not holidi(z).
â– whole : originally and still sometimes h61 ; now also houl.
home : originally h6m ; now lioum.
hope : originally h6p ; now houp.
easily : tzili and izl-i (three syllables). See p. 57 in the Elemen-
tarbuch. extraordinary : ikstr-odn-eri (five syllables) and ikstr-odneri, not ikstr-
•odnri. ill-behaved : usually has the accent on the last syllable. In the sentence
in the texts (p. 98), I could use either accentuation. Cf.
well-behaved. immediately : im-idiatli, not im-idsatli, vjhich I have also heard. importance : imp-oatans, rather than imp-otns. important : imp-oatant, rather than imp-otnt.
your : My accented form is yoa ; the unaccented form approaches
or reaches ya. The form yiia is artificial to me. castle : ksesl, not kasl, which I have also heard.
comfortable : k-emfatabl, not k-emftabl, except by excessive slurring. character : kserakta, not kserikta.
catch : originally ketj" ; now ksetj".
Clara : klsera, not kleare.
clothes : originally klouz ; now oftener klou'Sz.
compliment, v.: I accent the first syllable, not the last (komplimant) . conquest : koqkwest, not koqkwist. The e is distinct.
coat : originally k6t ; now kout. So in coattail, overcoat, etc.,
also. of course : af koas, rather than av kos.
cuckoo : kuku, not kuku.
quarrel : kweril (and perhaps also -al), not kworal ; it requires a
conscious effort for me to give o in the first syllable, level, adj. and n.: levil (or -el), not levl. The participle levelling I might
pronounce levl-ir) (three syllables) . long : lor), rather than loij.
lonely : originally perhaps 16nli ; now lounli.
Marshall : majal, not majl.
misfortune : misf-oat/un, rather than misf 'otjan. Mitchell : mitjil, rarely mitjl.
milk : milk, not mylk.
moment : moumant, not moumint.
neither : niSa, not naitSa.
40
DIALECT NOTES.
none : originally n6n ; now n'en.
nothing : originally perhaps noHn or no)>n ; now n^Mq (misprinted -ing
in the glossary).
nursery : nesr-i (three syllables), rather than nesri.
nonsense : nonsens, rather than nonsans. The e is distinct.
Norw^ay : nowei and perhaps noawei, not nowi.
Australia : ostr-eilya, not ostreilya.
^ ! : originally perhaps with 6 ; now with ou.
open )
oatmeal : usually icith a plain accent on the second syllable, at least as^
strong as that on the first. office(r) : ofis(8), ?io« ofis(a). But 'd- exists also in America. punctual : p^qktjual, rather than pTjrjt/ual. parasol : paeras-ol and paerasol.
petticoat : originally petik6t; now petikout. pleasant : plezant, ra«/ier «Aa7i pleznt. I have both. postoffice : poustofis, not poustofis. practical : praetikal, not prsektikl. perhaps : par-aeps or pr-seps (two syllables) and pah-seps, rather than.
prseps. presence : prezans and prezns. present : prezant and preznt.
rascal : rseskal, not raskl.
ruffian : r^fian, rather than r^fyan.
respectfully : risp-ektfali and risp-ektfl-i. Respectful has -ful. Tvrong : ror), rather than roq.
road : originally r6d ; now roud.
cellar : s^la, and by conscious effort sela.
century : senjari, not sent/ari.
separate : separit and sepr-it (usually three syllables). separately : sepr-itii and sepritli, rather than sepratli. several : sevr-al (three syllables), rather than sevral.
suppose : originally perhaps sap-6z or sp6z; now sap-ouz. civilization : sivilaizei/an and siviliz-ei/an. smoke : originally sm6k ; now smouk.
saint : seint, and probably sent ; perhaps also snt and sn.
solitary : soliteri, not solitri. salt : salt, rather than solt.
soak : originally perhaps s6k ; now souk.
steamboat : originally sttmb6t ; now stimbout. stone : originally st6n ; now stoun.
strawberry : strobr-i (three syllables), rather than strobri. towards : toadz, not todz. trowsers : trauzaz. In the glossary, apparently misprinted, -ez/or az (see
p. 120 in the texts). My usual words were pants (paents),
and breeches (brit/iz). travel : traevil, rather than trsevl. Travelling / might pronounce traevl-
ii] (three syllables).
I
A NEW ENGLANDEB'S ENGLISH. ' 41
traveller : traevala, or, rather, trsevl-a (three syllables).
Chinese : tjain-is, not tjain-iz. So all similar words in -ese.
children : tjildran, not tjuldran, which I think I never heard.
thorough : jj-erou, not )>^r8, which is also American. But thoroughly I pronounce ]>^r8li, like Sweet.
throat : originally >r6t ; now \>Tout.
valuable : vaelyuabl, and sometimes vselyubl and vsely8bl.
wonderfully : w^ndafl-i (four syllables) and WBndafli. In wonderful / have both -ful and -fl, / think.
Wednesday : wenzdi, not wednzdi, which I never heard.
what : hw-Bt, not hwot, except by conscious effort.
woke : originally perhaps w6k ; now wouk.
warning : usually perhaps womj], like Sweet. J5w« warn is wo&n, rather than won.
worn : woan, not won or woon (the latter spelling is apparently a mis-
print; see p. 62 in the texts).
war : woo, rather than wo ; but the a is sometimes very faint. War-
ring / think I should write woriq.
In Whitney's paper, referred to above, I have noted a certain number of words where my pronunciation differs from his, and I add them here, so far as not covered by what I have already said, with my pronunciation : jpant and blaspheme (p. 206), with oe ; plant, like gape (p. 207), with a; plague and snalce (p. 209), always with ei\ naked, catch (p. 209), originally nekid, ket^, now neikid, kcet\; deaf (p. 209), always with e; leisure (p. 210), It^a; God (p. 215), with 0. To my list of words with d I can now add two cases : dbnou = donH know (the d is often plain, though the accent on it is not strong), and gbntH = going to (am, is, are about to), a following infinitive being understood. I say ritt, rM, riif (but sun, rum) for root, rood, roof, soon, room (p. 217) ; dvz for does. I should not pair as long and short e and v, a and o. Further : microscope (p. 226) has mai-, not mi- ; and pagan has -ce in the second syllable. In the last syllable of linen, chicken, woollen, velvet, secret, carpet, and perhaps all the immediately following words on p. 230, I am inclined to put i rather than e, also in enemy and ceremony (second syllable) (p. 231), and i rather than d in velocity, credible, indivisibility, originate (p. 231). (I have substituted a for Whitney's » (— u in but) in very short unac- cented syllables.) In the endings -tain, -age, -ace, -ege, -ness, etc., I also have i rather than e. In morsel smd parcel (p. 234), I have rather -il than I alone. On the same page, medal and metal I pro- nounce with -al (as apparently Whitney also does), and I distin- guish them from meddle and mettle where I is the vowel of the
42 • DIALECT NOTES.
last syllable. In reckoner, etc. (p. 234), n is with me the vowel of the second syllable. I do not remember the pronunciation of trough, mentioned on p. 257, as my own, though I have heard it. I have egz- for ex- in some words; e.g., example (p. 260). Asia and Persia (p. 260) are naturally to me pronounced with 39, and possess has a z for the first sibilant. The word anxious (p. 262) reminds me that I pronounce cerjjas (with no k), and similarly cei^z'aiiti, for anxious, anxiety. The words pronunciation, officiate, nauseate have with me Ji ; but I say nojds, not no^ids, for nauseous, and nold for nausea. Humor (p. 270) I think I used to pronounce yii; without the h. The wli question I cannot here discuss fully, but I should regularly write hiv in the words concerned, and not w. But some Americans do say w, especially in the word wharf (common, in New England at least, as wodf or wof). Compare the dialect of the Biglow Papers. I remember a college class- mate of mine, some twenty years ago, who came from Cincinnati, and who regularly said w for the written wh, as in where, when, etc. Perhaps the h now common was introduced or at least assisted by the schoolmasters.
E. S. SHELDOK
DIALECT BESEABCH IN CANADA. 43
DIALECT EESEAECH IN CANADA.
I. ERANCO-CAIfADIAN.
The investigation of the dialects of the various non-aboriginal peoples who make up the population of the Dominion of Canada offers a most promising field for the student of language. Wide as is the scope for research, but little has as yet been done, and that chiefly — almost exclusively, indeed — in the study of the Franco-Canadian dialect of Quebec and New Brunswick, with its offshoots into Maine, etc. In this dialect alone there is room for a vast amount of scientific work ; true, some of its aspects, such as its relation to the adjacent English language and its connec- tion with the aboriginal tongues of the surrounding regions, have been studied, but the development of the French core of the dia- lect, the growth of new words, the rise of new significations, remain yet to furnish an abundant harvest to the investigator. Maguire (1841), Buies (1865), Dunn (1880), Gingras (1880), Caron (1880), Tardivel (1880), Eeveillaud (1883), Legendre (1884, 1888), Suite (1885), Elliott (1886-1889), De Cazes (1887), and Squair (1888), have discussed the dialect of Quebec from various points of view, the article of the last mentioned being especially valuable as a study of the language of the parish of Ste. Anne de Beaupr6, systematic investigations of the dialect of each parish or district being just what is wanted. Pascal Poirier has studied the tongue of the Acadians of New Brunswick, and in works relating to that province and to western Nova Scotia scat- tered data of value are often to be found. The Magdalen islands and the isolated French settlements of St. Pierre and Miquelon may be studied to advantage, while on the north shore of the St. Lawrence Gulf and in the Territory of Labrador are scattered colonies of Acadians (mixed with Basques), whose language will no doubt be of great interest from a dialect point of view. Professor E. S. Sheldon has devoted some attention to the language of the French-Canadians in Maine, while scattered elsewhere through the United States are small settlements of the same people, whose tongue will well repay the labour spent in investigating it. In the American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal (XI, 64),
44 DIALECT NOTES.
Prof. A. S. Gatschet calls attention to just such a settlement in Eastern Illinois, on the Wabash River. In Ontario there are a large number (some 160,000, out of a population of 2,000,000) of French-Canadians; they are settled in two districts — in the east, between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, and in the south- western peninsula, in the counties of Essex, Kent, etc. The dia- lect of the French-Canadians in the province of Ontario is as yet uninvestigated. In Manitoba and the Northwest Territories there have been for more than a centtiry scattered settlements of French-Canadians, whose voyageurs and traders bore a great part in the early colonization of the country. Their influence extended into Oregon and down the valley of the Missouri, where no doubt they have left still discernible traces of their presence. In the Chinook jargon spoken on the Pacific coast, there are many words and expressions borrowed from the French-Canadian language. The peculiar fauna and flora of North America, presenting crea- tures and plants unknown to the peasant of France, have given rise to many new names, and to many strange applications of old ones. The devotion of the French voyageurs to trade with the Indians, and their migration throughout the great Northwest, have enriched their vocabulary with numerous new words and new significations of words previously existing ; similar has been the result of the attention paid by their compatriots in Ontario and Quebec to lumbering and the exploiting of the forest, while the fishermen of the Gulf region have their own peculiar terms and phrases. It is in the direction of these special dialects that the investigator may turn with advantage. The writer of this article has drawn up from various sources a considerable list of such words, from which the following are extracted : —
boBsu, le gros : black bass.
brasseur, le : name given in the Gulf region to a species of seal {Phoca greenl.).
canard branchu, le : wood- duck.
chat sauvage : raccoon.
coureur, le : name given by the fishermen of Quebec to the short-nosed sturgeon {Acip. brevirostris).
crapais: sun-fish.
laqu^che: shad.
margot: gannet.
mermette: penguin.
outarde : Canada goose (Auca Canadensis).
perchaude: perch (fish).
DIALECT BESEAECH IN CANADA. 45
siffleur
. : woodchuck (^Arctomys pruinosus).
Suisse: chipmunk. tourte : wild pigeon.
The appended Bibliography shows in general outline what has been done in the investigation of the French language in Canada. Besides the works there cited, reference might also be made to the series of the " Soirees Canadiennes," the " Foyer Canadien," the Abb6 Cuoq's "Lexique de la langue iroquoise" (1882), and " Lexique de la langue algonquine " (1886), and to such works as Tach^'s "Forestiers et Voyageurs" (1884), Le May's "Pterin de Ste. Anne" (1877), etc., which contain passim many canadien words and expressions.
II. EXGLISH.
Towards the investigation, scientifically, of the spoken English of the Dominion little indeed has been done. The essay of Eev. A. S. Geikie, "Canadian English,'' read before the Canadian Insti- tute, Toronto, March 28, 1857, and published in the " Canadian Journal" (New Series, Vol. II, 1857, pp. 344-355) and the paper of Mr. W. D. Lighthall, with the same title, in "The Week" (Vol. VI, No. 37, Toronto, Aug. 16, 1889), are rather general com- ments and sketches than attempts at scientific delimitation. The field for research here is wide ; for, as Mr. Lighthall points out, there appear to be several " dialects " of English spoken within the bounds of the Dominion. Of the English of Nova Scotia we learn something from Judge Haliburton's books and from other works relating to that province. It bears marked afiinities to the dialect of the New England states, whence very many of the early settlers came. Mr. Lighthall says : " As to the territorial boundaries of Bluenose, they contain nearly the whole of New Bri^nswick and the greater part of Nova Scotia, outside of Hali- fax, where British garrisons have very strongly influenced the lower and the society classes." In the island of Cape Breton and. the county of Pictou, in Nova Scotia, interesting details of the settlement of which may be found in Rev. G. Patterson's "His- tory of Pictou County," the population is chiefly of Highland Scotch origin, and a "Highland English" dialect prevails, some of the peculiarities of which Mr. Lighthall enumerates. About the English of the Island of Prince Edward little can be asserted; the same authority states that although nearly half the popula-
46 DIALECT NOTES.
tion are Scotch, " Gaelic, however, is far rarer, and the dialecti- cisms, chiefly Lowland, are disappearing." The province of Quebec contains but a small proportion of English-speaking inhabitants, and they are massed chiefly in the cities of Mon- treal and Quebec and in the Eastern Townships. Exact informa- tion as to the state of the spoken English of these districts - is lacking. It would appear from Mr. LighthalFs remarks on the subject, that the English of the Eastern Townships does not differ to a very marked extent from that of the adjoining New England states, but that here and there are to be found peculiar differences in speech, due to the native countries of the original settlers. In part of the counties of Huntingdon, Chateauguay, and Beauharnois, the history of whose early >settlement may be read in Sellar's "History of the County of Huntingdon," etc. (1888), there exists a dialect which Mr. Lighthall terms "Cha- teauguay Scotch," the chief peculiarities of which he mentions. 'T' The province of Ontario is the great main-stay of English speech and influence in the Dominion. While the federal par- liament and courts and the legislature of the province of Quebec (as was the case up to the close of last year in Manitoba also) recognize two official languages, English and French, in Ontario the one state language is English. In the investigation of the spoken English of this province but little progress has been made. The early settlers of Ontario were principally loyalists and 4migr4s from the state of New York and from Pennsylvania, and much that characterized the English speech of those states is still traceable in their descendants. A thorough examination of the works of early travellers in the province and of its earlier historians would no doubt reveal much of interest regarding the language of the settlers. Subsequent immigrations and settle- ments of Scotch, Irish, Dutch, Germans, and French have com- plicated the linguistic features. In the Niagara district and in the Gore district and the lake townships of the Home (York) district, the early settlers were from the state of New York chiefly. In the township of Markham (in the Home district) the settlers were principally Dutch, while in the Gore district there were large numbers of Pennsylvania Germans. The later settlers in these districts were largely English, Scotch, and Irish. In the Midland district, loyalists and European immigrants predominated, and also in the newer western portions of the province, towards Lake Huron. In the eastern counties of the
DIALECT BESEABCH IN CANADA. 47
province the settlement appears to have been much less uniform. In Perth, Lanark, etc., which were military settlements, colonized by half-pay officers and discharged soldiers_, the greater portion of the population continued to be Irish, with sprinklings of English and Scotch. In the county of Glengarry, Scotch Highlanders were very largely the settlers, and in some places a curious con- tact with the French Canadians has taken place. The riparian counties of the St. Lawrence were peopled chiefly by immigrants from New York (English and Dutch) and Germans from Penn- sylvania. In recent years the immigration into the province has been largely English, Irish, and Scotch, while the Germans have added to their numbers, and the French element, becoming more and more intrusive, tends to gain on the English in the eastern counties.
Owing to frequency of contact and commercial intercourse with the United States, the English of the province of Ontario abounds in so-called " Americanisms," some of which, however, are due to the original settlers, and are not recent importations. The in- fluence of the newspapers in giving currency to new words is very great.
The Kev. Mr. Geikie's paper, referred to above, is taken up with a discussion of words and phrases. Among others, he notices the following in their "American" sense: hug (= insect; and the compound lightning -hug), conclude (= resolve), considera- hle (=a good deal), donation, fix (v.), first-class, guess, hung (= hanged), locate, loan (s. and v.), pants ^.postedrup (=well- informed), rendition, rooster. He also remarks the occurrence of preterites, like dove, guv, ris, friz, chode, etc. This was in 1857, and in 1889 Mr. Lighthall, citing many other words of like origin, says: "What Canadian, on reading a list of Americanisms like (say) that in 'Appleton's Cyclopsedia,' will not feel surprise at his familiarity with the greater number ? " Among those noted by him as "Americanisms" are: balance (= remainder), cars (and compounds), clever (= skilful), dock (= wharf), dry-goods, mean (= unkind), reliable, sidewalk, store. This list might be very largely extended by the inclusion of all the "Americanisms," used in the city of Toronto, for example. The activity of politi- cal parties in Canada has given birth to many new terms and words. Among those most current at the present time are Orangist, Rielite, restrictionist (advocate of Protective Tariff), annexationist, provincialist (an upholder of state's rights), polit-
48 DIALECT NOTES.
ical union (the absorption of Canada by the United States, a less offensive term than annexation), and the curious phrase unre- stricted reciprocity, by which the politicians mean something that lies between free trade and commercial union (a term which is now current all over the Dominion). One of the most interesting inventions of the political linguistic faculty is the word saio-off (s. and V.) ; this is used when, in the same constituency, a mem- ber of one political faith having been elected to the local legisla- ture, and one of the opposite faith to the federal parliament, or vice versa, and petitions alleging corruption, etc., having been entered in the courts, it is agreed by the parties concerned to withdraw all petitions, the Liberal member for the local legisla- ture retaining his seat, and the Conservative being allowed to occupy his seat in the federal chamber. This expression was especially current in 1887-8; further back I am not able to trace it.
The writer has from time to time recorded peculiar words and pronunciations current in Ontario, and the notices following refer to the period from about 1880 to the present year. Of words noted in Bartlett as *' Americanisms," the following, among others, have come under his observation, and the particular dis- tricts in which the words were found current are the town of Peterboro' (P.), and the city of Toronto (T.) ; in the Peterboro' words the date is circa 1880 : saw-log (P.), saw-buck, also saw-horse (P.), punt (P.) J scow, mud-scow (P., vessel used to carry clay to brick-works), to dnve logs, a drive of logs, river-driver (P.), hug (P., T.), coal-oil (all over English Canada), great ^ big (very com- mon), boom^ smart (very common), fix (universal in English Canada), like Sam Hill (P.), so-long (P., T., quite common now), etc., etc. The more modern slang expressions, too previous, rats ! chestnut! had also a very great currency, the first, however, is perhaps extinct, and the other two have lost much of their vitality.
The word avenue, in Toronto at least, has lost any meaning it may have had, distinct from that of street, although there are some cases in which the old and correct signification is apparent.
Among other interesting words, the writer has met with the following : —
buck-saw: the saw used with a saw-buck (P., T.). cows : very common in the sense of "cattle " (P., T.). A frequent com- pound is cow-pasture.
I
DIALECT BE SEARCH IN CANADA. 49
funeral-card : the printed notice of death posted on a telegraph-pole, or some other convenient place (P.). Funeral-procession, in the sense of cortege is very common in Ontario.
gallynipper : a large reptile-insect, found under stones and used as bait , (P.). The form galnipper is also used (P.).
'lunge : an abbreviation of muskelunge, properly maskinonge, from the Algonkin name of the Esox estor, a fish of the pike kind. Muskalunge, mask- inonge are also heard (P.).
locks : the plural is used in the sense of lock, 5, in Webster. At Peter- boro' " the locks " was the usual term.
pike or pike-pole : the instrument (a shaft of wood armed with an iron prong) used by river-drivers to move or guide logs (P.).
scheme: "to scheme school" means to play truant (P.).
slide : the passage down which the water glides in a dam, used for the descent of timber, logs, etc. (P.).
target-practice : soldiers' practice in shooting at a target with a rifle (P.).
tread: to ^^ tread water" is to keep one's head and shoulders above the surface, by treading or tramping with the feet (P.).
An interesting class of words consists of those belonging prop- erly to the young, and not the adult, population of a district. The following, noted by the writer, were current in Peterboro' circa 1880: —
bell3rw-hackers : to jump or to fall hellywhackers, is to jump from a height (e.g., a bridge) so as to strike the water on one's stomach (P.).
blood-sucker: a name given to a broad-headed trilobite-shaped inhabi- tant of stagnant pools (P. ) .
bunty : applied to an individual who is short of stature ; short and stumpy (P.).
honey i : the yellow exudation from the grasshopper when pressed. In connection with this, the following verse is often addressed to the insect : —
Grasshopper, grasshopper, gree !
Give me some honey, and I'll let you go free. (P.)
Jinuniny Cripes ! and Jimminy Christmas ! are forms of oaths over- heard (P.).
minni : a very common form for minnow (P.) . pissybed: the dandelion (P.).
There is a promising field for the dialect student in the remains of peculiar dialects of old England, which still exist in Canada. As far as I know, no scientific investigation in this direction has been made. But one continually comes across words which
1 [In New England molasses is used in this sense. — E. S. S.]
50 DIALECT NOTES.
derive from the English dialect spoken by immigrants into the Dominion. To this class of words, perhaps, belong the following, which the writer has jotted down : —
mollycoddle. " He is such a mollycoddle " (= fool). Heard in Toronto*
in February, 1890.
smike. " We haven't had a smike of rain down there all summer." Spoken in 1888 by a man from Prince Edward County, Ont.
squaddie. "Put your feet in your slippers. I don't like to see you sqiiaddling about like that." Spoken by a native of Warwickshire who has been in Canada and the United States for eighteen years.
A study of the spoken English of the Dominion with regard to pronunciation would certainly be rewarded by very valuable results. The writer has noted a few peculiar phonetic forms, as heard in the province of Ontario, chiefly in the district around Peterboro', and in Toronto : —
Canada. There are two different pronunciations of this word. The educated as a rule make it Kaenad'B, or nearly so, while with others there is a tendency to approach the sound of this word to that of the proper name Kennedy. The adjective corresponding has also two sounds, Ksen-edian, that of the more precise speakers, and the Kaen-edsan of the populace. These two forms find parallels in the Canadien and the Cnnayen of the French of Lower Canada.
deaf. The pronunciation of this word as dif is very common.
EOlot. I have often heard this word as elvt.
elm. The vocalised el-m is very frequent.
follow. Outside the ranks of the educated classes this word is very generally foli. The same remark applies to borrow, and (rarely) to to- morrow, narrow, harrow, etc.
hold. The foim holt is very common amongst the mass of the people.
national. In analogy with the substantive, this is (rarely) pronounced neJ^uBl.
Qulnte. This proper name (Bay of Quinte) seems to have had a curious history. In the earlier years of this century it was pronounced KijUtS, and was most likely looked upon as a word of French origin. At present (and for some years past) the sound of the word would be represented by Kwinti.
quoits. A very common pronunciation is kwets.
Sault. In the town name Sault Ste. Marie, this word has the sound sfi.
squirrel. The pronunciation of this word is difficult to fix. With the educated it seems to be skweral. Among the less educated the soimd akwerl is very common. I have also heard skwedrdl once or twice.
supple. This word is very often heard as siip-l.
â– wrestle. The sound raes-l is very common with the uneducated and with the younger members of the community.
DIALECT BESEABCH IN CANADA. 51
These examples may be of interest for comparison with the English of the United States. More than this concerning the English of the province of Ontario, I am at present unable to state.
Passing to the west, we find in the province of Manitoba and the territories of the west, the English language gradually march- ing onwards to complete supremacy, although there are here and there limited areas in which French is the language of the great body of the inhabitants. Immigration from Europe into Mani- toba has brought with new settlers new languages, and as the settlements of the new-comers are grouped together in colonies, as it were, there are several portions of the Prairie province where neither French nor English is the dominant tongue.
The peculiar industries followed by a considerable portion of the inhabitants of the western territories — fishing, hunting, ranching, etc., — have favoured the development of a peculiar dialect, which of course resembles the dialect of the great cattle- raising and hunting districts of the United States. In British Columbia, the fishing, lumbering and mining industries have likewise influenced in the same direction, and in time to come the language of the great West of the Dominion will be a fertile field for investigation.
From a comparatively early period there appear to have been English settlers in the Hudson's Bay region, about Port Nelson. To these colonists are owing some peculiar words and meanings of words, which appear to be still current in that district. A few of these are noted by Ellis ^ in 1748 : —
deluge : a term applied to the flooding of streams, caused by the melting of the ice in their southern parts.
frost-smoke : a thick, black vapor, arising in winter.
juniper : a name given to the larch.
quick-hatch. This name, applied to the wolverine, is a corruption of the Cree Indian name of that animal.
There are also in the western territories large numbers of French, Scotch, and English half-breeds, whose language must be of great interest, in view of the intermingling of races.
1 Voyage of the Dobbs Galley and California. See pp. 130, 138, 172, 42.
52 DIALECT NOTES.
III. Other Non-Indian Languages.
(a) Gaelic. As I have indicated above, there are some districts in which Gaelic is the prevailing spoken language. This is the case in parts of the county of Pictou, Nova Scotia, and of Cape Breton Island, as well as in some portions of Glengarry and the adjacent counties in eastern Ontario, and in some districts of the counties of Bruce, Simcol, Middlesex, etc. In some parts of the province of Quebec we find Scotch Highlanders (by descent) speak- ing French, having lost their own tongue and become, to all intents and purposes, French Canadians. This has also happened in some parts of Glengarry. In Toronto there is a Gaelic society which devotes itself chiefly to the entertainment of its members by the cultivation and preservation of the Gaelic tongue. In other parts of the Dominion, especially in Manitoba, there are small settle- ments of Gaelic-speaking Highlanders. No investigation of the Gaelic spoken in Canada has yet been undertaken.
(6) German. German is spoken by a considerable portion of the inhabitants of Ontario, and there are several newspapers pub- lished in this language. The Germans are principally settled in Waterloo, Perth, Grey, and Bruce counties, but they are also found in other portions of central and western Ontario, besides a few here and there in the eastern counties. In tlie province of Manitoba there were, in 1885, 11,082 Germans, but to what extent they have preserved their language in that province is not exactly known. They are massed chiefly in the counties of Selkirk and Provencher. In Nova Scotia, in the Lunenburg dis- trict, there are also a considerable number of Germans. The investigation of the German language as spoken in Canada is yet to be begun. It may be said, however, that in central Ontario the speech is close to "Pennsylvania Dutch," as the early settlers were from Pennsylvania and the state of New York.
(c) In Manitoba and the newer districts of the Northwest, there are large numbers of Scandinavian and some few Slavonian settlers, and these, owing to their recent arrival, must still retain their native tongues. In 1885 the Scandinavian population of the province of Manitoba was over 3000, chiefly massed in Win- nipeg and Lisgar counties. There are some 400 Eussians and Poles, chiefly settled in the county of Winnipeg. The city of Toronto now has a considerable Italian element in its popu- lation.
DIALECT RESEARCH IN CANADA. 53
(d) There are several parts of the Dominion in which the negro element in the population is considerable. The region around Chatham, in the southwestern portion of Ontario, has a large colored population. Not far from Halifax, in Nova Scotia, there live in what is known as the ^^ Maroon" settlement, the remnants of the colony of Maroons who very many years ago were transferred thither from Jamaica. Mr. J. C. Hamilton, at the meeting of the Aifierican Association in Toronto, last August, read a paper on the " African in Canada." It was not, however, philological, and, I believe, nothing has been done in the latter line of research.
IV. Non-Aryan.
In British Columbia there are a large number of Chinese ; they are also found in the cities of Ontario, especially in Toronto, but not in very great numbers. A thorough investigation of their life and speech, conducted on the lines of Mr. Stewart Culin's researches, would be of value to science, no doubt.
I conclude this survey of the linguistic features of the Do- minion by simply noting that the contact of the Aryan with the aboriginal American tongues and their influence one upon another, has been very much the same as in the United States.
Appended is a bibliography of the " Franco-Canadian Dialect," and a very brief list (for little has been written) of articles on " Canadian English."
APPENDIX A. List of Articles on "Canadian English."
1. Geikie, Rev. A. S. "Canadian English." Canadian Journal, New Series, Vol. II (1857), pp. 344-355. General discussion and comments on "Americanisms."
2. LiGHTHALL, W. D. "Canadian English." The Week, Toronto, Vol. VI (1889), No. 37 (Aug. 16, 1889), pp. 581-583.
3. McLean, Rev. John. The Indians : their manners and customs. To- ronto, 1889. Pages 197-201 of this work are occupied with a discussion of the dialect of the Canadian Northwest, under the head of " Western Ameri- canisms. ' '
APPENDIX B.
Bibliography or the Franco-Canadian Dialect.
1. BiBAUD, Maximilien. Lc Memorial des vicissitudes et des progrSs de la langue fran^aise en Canada. Montreal, 1879.
54 DIALECT NOTES.
2. BuiEs, Arthur. Barbarismes canadiens. Articles in Le Pays, in 1865. [Title from Dunn's Glossaire.]
3. Anglicismes et Canadianismes. Qu6bec, 1888. This title was
kindly furnished me by I^ofessor E. S. Sheldon.
4. Bulletin de l' Alliance Franqaise. Les Canadiens et la langue fran^aise au Manitoba. In No. 20, novembre-d6cembre, 1887, pp. 294-295.
5. Caron, M. L'Abb£. Petit vocabulaire h I'usage des Canadiens-fran- ^ais contenant les mots dont il faut r6pandre I'usage, et signalant les barba- rismes qu'il faut §viter, pour bien parler notre langue. Trois Rivieres, 1880, pp. 63.
6. Casgrain, M. L'Abb£, H. R. Un pelerinage au pays d']fcvang61ine. Qufibec, 1887. This work contains at pp. 407-412 remarks on the dialect of the Acadians.
7. Chamberlain, A. F. "Words of Indian origin in the French Canadian dialect and literature. American Notes and Queries, Philadelphia, I (1888), pp. 220-1, 232-3, 258-9, 270-1, 278-9, 293-4, 305-0; II (1888-9), pp. 2-3, 16-17, 30-31, 52-53, 62-63, 76-77, 87-88, 99-100, 124-5; IV (1889), pp. 77-78.
8. De Cazes, Paul. La Langue que nous parlous. Memoires et Comptes- Rendus de la Societe Royale du Canada, pour I'ann^e 1887. Tome VI. Mon- treal, 1888. Section I, pp. 121-8.
9. De la BRiiiRE, L. L'autre France. Voyage au Canada, Paris, 1887, pp. 149. Contains, at pp. 65-67, a few notes on French Canadian words and expressions.
10. Dunn, Oscar. Glossaire franco-canadien et vocabulaire de locutions vicieuses usitfees au Canada. Quebec. Imp. A. Cot6, 1880, pet. in-12, xxv, 200. This glossary is, up to the present, the most ambitious attempt in French- Canadian lexicography.
11. Elliott, A, M. Contributions to a liistory of the French language of Canada. I. Preliminary : Historical. American Journal of Philology (Baltimore), VI (1885), pp. 135-50.
12. Speech- mixture in French Canada. External influence. Ibid.,
VII (1886), pp. 141-60.
13. Speech- mixture in French Canada. A. Indian and French. Ihid.,
VIIL (1887), pp. 133-57, 338-42.
14. Speech-mixture in French Canada. B. English and French. Ihid.,
X (1889), pp. 133-58.
15. On a Philological expedition to Canada. Abstract of a paper
read at the meeting of the Univ. Philol. Assoc, Oct. 3, 1884. The Johns Hopkins University Circulars, IV (1884-5), pp. 20-21.
16. Speech-mixture in French Canada. External influences. Ab- stract of paper read at meeting of Univ. Philol. Assoc, Dec. 4, 1885. Ihid., V (1885-6), p. 62.
17. Faucher de Saint-Maubice. De tribord d. bSbord. Trois croisiS- res dans le golfe Saint-Laurent, nord et sud. Montreal, 1880. This work contains, at p. 206, some remarks on the Acadian dialect.
18. Frechette, Louis H. Sainte Anne d'Auray et ses environs. Memoires et Comptes-Bendus de la Societe Royale du Canada. Tome VI (1888), Sec-
DIALECT BESEABCH IN CANADA. 65
tion I, pp. 77-91. Pages 77-78 of this paper contain some French Canadian â– words and phrases, compared with the French of Brittany.
19. Gagnon, Ernest. Petite causerie. La Revue Canadienne (Mon- treal). Nouvelle S6rie, Tome Premier. XVIP de la collection. Janvier, 1881, pp. 35-41. Pages 40-41 contain remarks on the French Canadian lan- guage, with a number of French Canadian words and Anglicisms.
20. Gaidoz, H., et Sebillot, Paul. Bibliographic des traditions et de la litt^rature populaire ou orale des Frances d'outre-mer. Revue de Linguis- tique et de Philologie comparee (Paris), Tome XIX (1886), pp. 1-43. This bibliography contains. Tome XIX (pp. 13-14), titles of works on and in French Canadian.
21. G^rik-Lajoie, a. Jean Rivard, scenes de la vie r^elle. Montreal, 1877. This work, which contains imssim many canadien words, etc., has, p. 96, a brief discussion of a few of these.
22. GiNGRAS, J. F. Manuel des expressions vicieuses les plus fr6quentes. 3® Edition, Ottawa, 1880, YI, pp. 61.
23. Harrison, J. A. The Creole patois of Louisiana. American Journal of Philology, III (1882), pp. 285-296. Contains, on pp. 288, 291, 292, 293, a few French Canadian words and expressions.
24. Johns Hopkins University Circulars: V (1885-6), p. 45, brief abstract of paper " Contribution to a history of the French language of Canada" ; VI (1886-7), p. 58, very brief abstract of article on " Speech-mixture in French Canada. External influence"; VII (1887-8), pp. 26, 88, brief abstracts of articles on " Speech- mixture in French Canada. Indian and French." See Elhott, A. M.
25. Lacasse, R. p. Zach., O.M.I. Une mine produisant Tor et I'argent, d^couverte et mise en reserve pour les cultivateurs seuls. Deuxieme Edition. Quebec, 1880. pp. 272. Pages 252-6 of this work, under the heading "Ces jeunes-1^, on ne les comprend plus," are taken up with the discussion of Anglicisms in French Canadian speech.
26. Legendre, Napoleon. La province de Quebec et la langue fran9aise. Revue du Monde Latin, Mars, 1884, pp. 265-78.
27. La langue que nous parlous. Memoires et Comptes-Rendus de
la Societe Boijale du Canada, 1887. Tome VI, Montreal, 1888. Section I, pp. 129-41. This article is a grammatical sketch of the French language of the province of Quebec.
28. Maguire, M. L'Abb£. Manuel des difficult^s les plus communes de la langue fran9aise, suivi d'un recueil de locutions vicieuses. Quebec, 1841.
29. Manseau, J. A. Dictionnaire des locutions vicieuses du Canada avec leur correction, suivi d'un dictionnaire canadien. Premiere livraison : Let- tre A. Quebec, 1881. pp. XII, 118.
30. Miles, H. H. List of specimens of woods of the Canadian forests, with their English, French, and botanical names. Transactions of the Quebec Literary and Historical Society, 1875, p. 22. Contains a list of tree-names in French Canadian.
31. Poirier, M. Pascal. La langue canadienne. In the Nouvelles Soi- rees Canadiennes, 1884. Deals with the dialect of the Acadians.
56 DIALECT NOTES.
32. RiivEiLLAUD, EuctxE. La langue et la littfirature fran9aises au Canada. Bibliotheque universelle et Hevue Suisse, aout, 1883, pp. 311-35.
33. Histoire du Canada et des Canadiens-fran9ais de la d^couverte
jusqu'S, nos jours. Paris, 1884. Appendice, pp. 521-42 : La langue et la litt^rature fran^aises au Canada [a reprint of No. 29].
34. Sheldon, E. S. Some specimens of a French Canadian dialect spoken in Maine. Transactions of the Modern Language Association of America, III (1887), pp. 210-18. Also separately printed.
35. Squair, John. A contribution to the study of the Franco-Cana- dian dialect. Proc. of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, Third Series, VI. (1888), pp. 161-68. Also separately printed. Deals with the phonology and vocabulary of the dialect spoken around Ste. Anne de BeauprS, near the city of Quebec.
36. SuLTE, Benjamin. La situation de la langue fran^aise au Canada. 1885, pp. 26. See notice of this essay in the Nation (New York), Oct. 8, 1885.
37. Tardivel, J. P. L'Anglicisme : voil^ I'ennemi. Causerie faite au cercle catholique de Quebec, le 17 d^cembre, 1879. Quebec, 1880, pp. 28. This essay is devoted to combatting the intrusion of English words and ex- pressions into the French language of Quebec.
A. F. CHAMBEELAIN. Toronto, Ont,
[A few notes may here be added on some of the words men- tioned in the preceding paper, pp. 48-51. Cow-pasture, target- practice and tread water are perhaps universal. On belly whacker Sy cf. p. 60. Bloodsucker is also used on Cape Cod. There was and perhaps still is in Maine, a rhyme corresponding to that on p. 49, which runs, as nearly as I (E. S. S.) can remember, as follows : —
Grasshopper, grasshopper, grasshopper gray, Give me molasses now, I pray.
On Cape Cod, piss-abed is used for the "field-daisy," "white-weed.^' The pronunciations noted for deaf, national, and quoits are also known in New England. On quoits and supple, cf. pp. 75, 72.
E. S. S. G. L. K.]
MISCELLANIES. 57
MISCELLANIES.
In studying dialects of any country we are constantly con- fronted with the question of the exact limitation of any one dialect. On the border lines between the districts in which different dialects are spoken there will always be more or less mixture, and this mixture will often be perceptible in the dia- lects of adjoining districts. It is therefore the duty of the investigator to separate the native element of a dialect from the foreign element and show clearly the influence exerted from without upon the dialect. The elements of which modern Eng- lish is composed are so diverse that this is frequently an impos- sibility. We are often in doubt whether it is the natural development of the native element, or whether outside influence has been active in producing certain changes which are observed in the language from time to time. It is true that some features of our language can be ascribed with absolute certainty to for- eign or native growth, but often the question admits of doubt. In the study of the dialects of America, if one can properly speak of an American dialect where the differences are so slight that they are to be considered rather as peculiarities than dialect- ical distinctions, this question becomes all the more complex, since the English brought over by our ancestors had the same peculiarities, and the changes have been so similar in the dif- ferent sections that real dialectical differences cannot be said to exist. In the early history of our nation there were, roughly speaking, three principal centres from which pioneers were sent out to settle the rest of the country : New England ; the South ; and the Middle States, with New York as central point. The settlements as a rule advanced directly westward, the Northwest receiving its settlers from New England and the Middle States,, the Southwest being dependent for its settlement in a great measure upon the South. The West, both north and south, has moreover had its own peculiar development, and though retain- ing in the main the peculiarities of the section whence its settlers came, it has marked peculiarities. But the differences in the different sections of the country are not so great that we can properly speak of a New England dialect, a southern dialect, a
58 DIALECT NOTES.
midland dialect. Furthermore, the sections are also divided into sub-sections, each of which has its own peculiarities. From the very nature of the case we shall find something common to all in the different sections of the country. It is the intention of the Dialect Society to collect not only dialectical differences, but also those expressions and pronunciations common to the various sections of the country. In this way, and in this way only, can the extent of the usage of words, expressions and pronuncia- tions be determined. In studying the growth of a language it should be considered, generally speaking, under four different phases : 1. We should consider the regular and natural develop- ment of the language of the place ; 2. Outside influence upon this development ; 3. Words, expressions and pronunciations peculiar to the place itself; 4. Eare words, expressions and pronunciations which may be found in other sections of the country. In the first case we have the actual growth of the language in the place. If intercourse with the outer world is active, it Avill be the same as that of the language of the country at large. If it is conservative or seclusive, there will be well- defined divergences which in the course of time, if free from out- side influence in any way, will become dialectical differences. This is best seen in country places. Outside influence is felt most in the foreign element of the place. Foreign words and expressions, foreign influence on the pronunciation, become a part of the language. The influx of any outside population Avill pro- duce the same effect. In the third case the place may have retained words, expressions, or pronunciations that have become obsolete elsewhere. This is frequently true in America when compared with England ; and it is also true of certain sections of America when compared with others.
The following rare words, expressions, and grammatical pecul- iarities are offered as contributions to the dialectical varieties of the country : —
coast, as a verb, is very common in Western New York.
cushion. I have heard the pronunciation quishion from two persons, and it is said to be a Cape Cod pronunciation.
disremember is common in the South, though it is considered vulgar.
fanner : an open basket dishing out from the bottom upward, is some- times heard in Charleston, S.C, Originally it was used to separate the chaff from the wheat, by tossing it up into the air and catching it as it fell down, thus allowing the wind to fan out the chaff. Hence the name.
MISCELLANIES. - 59
get. In Charleston, S.C., the principal parts of this verb are get, got, gotten ; the past part, got is seldom heard, and is considered improper.
gaufre (waffle) is still in use among the negroes, and is a relic of the early Huguenot French. [Cf. the Century dictionary, s.v. gofer. E. S. S.]
go. There are two peculiar expressions in Charleston, S.C., that I have never heard elsewhere. They say sometimes the church goes in at 11 o'clock and goes out at 12.30 ; more often they say the church takes in at 11 o'clock and takes out at 12.30.
jell, as a verb, is used in Charleston, S.C.
just is sometimes pronounced jist in Charleston, S.C, but I have never heard the pronunciation jest, though I should not be surprised if it were used by the vulgar.
might, pronounced mighnt, is quite general among the working people of Western New York.
milk: "marshy milk" in Charleston, S.C, is the milk of a cow feeding on the marsh grass, which gives the milk a peculiar marshy taste,
pop open is an expression peculiar to Charleston, S.C, used of the rend- ing or tearing or wearing through of a dress, etc. ; the dress is said to pop open.
scrap, a small portion, is quite frequent in Charleston, S.C
scellion or skellion, if my memory fails not, is a rare word in Charles- ton, S.C, meaning an onion or leek. The French is echalote, a plant belong- ing to the leek family. It is derived from the Latin ascalonia, and that from Ascalo, a city in Phoenicia, whence the plant came. The older form is esca- lone, whence the Charlestonian scellion. Two persons from Maine have told me that they have always called poor onions that grow up to stalk, with no bulbs, scullions. This may be the same word, though I am inclined to think it is simply the word scullion, kitchen-servant, used in the sense of a scullion among onions.
soot is commonly pronounced snt in Charleston, S.C
steboy. Instead of stehoy 1 have often heard sheboy, though steboy is the proper form.
take in, take out. See under go in, go out.
thrash. In my boyhood (in Western New York) I never heard the pro- nunciation thresh in either sense of the word. The farmers always (even now) speak of ' thrashing ' their grain.
Charleston, S.C, has one peculiarity which I have not noticed elsewhere ; viz. they constantly end the sentences with the rising inflection, so that they appear to be asking questions at first. I am told that this peculiarity also exists in Devonshire, England.
SYLVESTER PEIMER. * Friends' School, Providence, R.I.
60 DIALECT NOTES.
NOTES FROM CINCIKNATI.
The following are contributed by Prof. J. M. Hart, and others, members of the Philological Society of the University of Cincin- nati. The editors are responsible for the matter in brackets : —
allerickstix (used in common schools of Cincinnati) : all right. E.g. : Qu. " How did you get through examination ? " Ans. " Allerickstix," Pre- sumably a corruption of German alles richtig, used as equivalent for the Eng- lish all right.
Auburn : proper name ; often pronounced Or-burn. Western Ohio (Cin- cinnati) . Thus, Mount Auburn as if Mount Orburn.
barley : a child's word, common in Pennsylvania, meaning to intermit play (for a rest). The opposite is "barley's out." (W. O. SprouU.) (I am familiar with the rhyme, " Barley free All over me." J. M. H.) [Apparently a Scotch form for parley ; see Murray and Jamieson.]
belly-bumper : an awkward dive, when the boy, instead of cleaving the water with his hands and head, falls flat on his stomach with a splash. Com- mon in Philadelphia. Cf. hellyichackers, p. 49.
belly-grinder: to coast lying on the stomach. Western Pennsylvania. [In Maine and Massachusetts are used " to go belly-bump " and " to go belly- bunt." The corresponding " belly-whopper" and " belly-gutter " are reported from Jersey City, N.J., by Mr. E. S. Griflfing.]
cake. Take the cake : to be the best or very excellent^. From the darky festival kno^vn as a cake-walk, in which a cake is in the centre of a room, and the contestants promenade around it, the couple " putting on most style " winning the cake.
case, n. : a dollar.
catish, adj. : stylish, elegant ; generally preceded by very. (Accent on the ultimate.)
chuck: e.g. "to chuck one a blow on the ear." Western Pennsylvania and Western Ohio.
cinch, n. : a sure thing. (Really the belly-band or surcingle of a saddle. Hence the phrase "to have a cinch" on a thing; i.e. to have it tied up securely. Hence, "cinch" in general means a sure thing.) [See Murray,
8.V.]
commy : a clay marble of the kind least valued by boys. Western Penn- sylvania. Commony is the name in Ohio. [Tooser (tuza) was used twenty years ago (and probably is still used) in Boston in this sense. It was sup- posed to be derived from itoo.]
cracky-wagon: a one-horse wagon, without springs. Western Penn- sylvania.
dice. Craps, oontz : the usual game; peeties : loaded dice; to come: to throw 7 or 11 on the first shot ; to crap .- to throw 2, 3, or 12 at first ; to make
NOTES FROM CINCINNATI. 61
a pass : to repeat the number thrown first, before throwing 7 ; to fade : to bet against tlie player shooting ; to be hot : to liave a run of luck ; big Dick : 10 ; little Joe : 4.
do-less or doo-less : do-nothing, good for nothing. Common. [Scotch ; see the Century dictionary.]
drag, V. ; pret. drug (instead of dragged). Ohio and Indiana.
fen: to forbid; used especially by boys playing marbles. "Fen heist" (haist) : don't hoist or raise your hand while shooting. (Isn't this fend, from defend ? Cf. the French use of defendre= foihid, prohibit. J. M. H.) [Cf. p. 70, and Ft, I, p. 24.]
fen: to claim. Western Ohio. (W. 0. Sproull.) (Unknown to me. J. M. H.)
few : quite a few = a good many. Ohio. [Also New England. Cf . the Century dictionary.]
gas : in Fhiladelphia usually pronounced gaz [gsez].
Gee -whizz ! Gee Whittaker ! an exclamation of surprise. ( Gee from Jesus ? J. M. H.) \_Gee Whittaker is also common in New England.]
grouchy, adj. -. stingy. (Connected with grudge ?)
growler : [as in the Century dictionary, sense 4, and known generally.] To rush or work the growler : to buy beer in a growler ; growlering : the business of selling beer by measure. (Doesn't "rushing the growler" also mean " going on a spree " ? J. M. H.)
guardeen (gard-in) : a pronunciation of guardian. Pennsylvania and Ohio. [In New England also, and Kentucky (J. P. Fruit), without the r: gad -in.]
have: pronounced haf in such a phrase as " I haf to have it." (I am conscious of a tendency to slip into this pronunciation. Probably acquired in my boyhood in Philadelphia. J. M. H.) [Also common in New England, and due to partial assimilation to the following unvoiced consonant in any careless pronunciation. So, too, " had to " may become "hat to." " Hafter " for " have to " is also reported by Professor Fruit from Kentucky. E. S. S.]
heist (haist) : a common pronunciation for hoist. Also heist as a noun : in marbles, " I have heist " = I may raise my hand from the ground. [This pronunciation is probably known everywhere.] Cf. fen.
hellion, n. : a comic word ; = denizen of hell. [Now common in Massa- chusetts, meaning "a devil of a fellow." It was used at least sixty years ago as a term of abuse (= devil's imp) in Barnstable, Mass. G. L. K.]
hike (haik), v.: to hitch ; e.g. "The curtain hikes or hikes up^' (doesn't pull up smoothly). Western Ohio. (W. 0. Sproull.) (The word is famihar to me, but I cannot place it anywhere in particular. Perhaps a doublet of hitch. J. M. H.)
honey: good. "That's a honey strike." Western Oliio.
kid : small boy or girl. Common. (Nowadays, when the Horatian line, " Cras donaberis haedo," is translated. You will be presented to-morrow with a kid, the class usually smiles audibly. This would not have been so twenty years ago. J. M. H.)
king : (like barley) a child's word, to intermit play, for a rest. The oppo- site is king out. Western Ohio. [The New England expression is "no fair," also, in Massachusetts, " no fairs." Cf. king's excuse, p. 65, and barley, p. 60.]
62 DIALECT NOTES.
leery, adj. : (a) suspicious. " He was leery of me" [cf. the sense knoio- ing, sly, given as tliieves' slang in the Century dictionary] ; (6) drunk. " Looking leery. "
lop, both n. and v. , trans, and intrans. Common among students at Jef- ferson College, Pennsylvania. As a noun, one vv^ho curries favor with the Faculty ; as a verb, to curry favor.
lummox. In use in and around Philadelphia to designate an uncouth fellow, awkward in body or in mind. [Also in New England. ]
moke, n. : a negro. Especially "musical moke," a negro minstrel, who plays on a number of different instruments in succession. [Also knovni else- where.]
nicker : the marble to be knocked out of the ring. Western Pennsylvania.
pemickely : cranky. Western Pennsylvania.
Sam MacCordens, v., trans, and intrans. : to pick up and run off with another's marbles. It is inflected regularly. The tradition among boys is that a boy by the name of Sam MacCordens used to act in that way. Western Pennsylvania.
Bcasely : for scarcely, (Usually regarded as an Americanism. But cf. "they themselves could skaselye entre withoute iepardie," More's Utopia^ translated by Ralph Robinson, p. 73. Arber's Reprint. J. M. H.)
scrouge or scro-wdge, trans, and intrans. : to crowd. Common. [Also reported from the Seguachee Valley, Tenn., by Mr. R. M. Middleton, Jr. "Don't scrowdge me so"= "give me more room." Cf. the Encycl. Diet., s.v. In New England it is in use, pronounced skraucls (also skrHd^ in Massachusetts) , as noun, meaning one who drives a hard bargain ; and as verb, to drive a hard bargain with, to overreach one in trade; as, "he's an old scrouge," " he'd scrouge you out of your eye-teeth."]
service : for surbase. Western Pennsylvania.
skeeziz. In use in and around Philadelphia, to designate a man not altogether to be trusted, ein pjiffiger Patron^ but somewhat uncouth also. [Used by Bret Harte in the sense of a shiftless, good-for-nothing fellow, as the title of a story.]
slouch, n. : a disagreeable fellow. (Generally regarded as an American- ism. But cf . —
•• Och, there is nether duke ne barone,
Be they of never so grett power, But they be constrayned to croutche Before this butcherly sloutch,
As it were unto an Emproure." 1528. Hede Me and he not Wrothe, p. 59, top, Arber's Reprints.
The "sloutch" is Cardinal Wolsey. J. M. H.) [Several cases of slouch in early use are cited in Englische Studien, XIV, 388.]
slough : swamp, bog. Pronounced slU or sleu in Ohio and Indiana. [The pronunciation slu is noticed also in Louisiana. See p. 72.]
small-measure : the fourth part of a peck. Western Ohio.
snake-fence, worm- fence. " He's laying a snake- fence or worm- fence." Used to describe the gait of a drunken man. Western Pennsylvania.
snuck, v., trans, and intrans. : to sneak. " He snucked that," "he snucked up to it." Western Ohio. (Cognate of snug ? J. M. H.)
KENTUCKY WORDS AND PHBASES. 63
•snucker, v., intrans. " I'll snucker " = " I'll not do it." Western Penn- sylvania.
tom-troUer : name for a very big marble. Philadelphia.
â– wapper- jawed (pronounced wopar) : crooked. "The curtain is wapper- jawed. " Western Ohio. [In Massachusetts and New Hampshire with an h (hwopdd^jd)^ in this sense, and in Massachusetts also in the sense given by Bartlett. ]
â– whack. Out of whack = out of gear, out of order. Common.
whack up, V. : share.
wheelbarrow. A "Dutch wheelbarrow" is made by taking a boy by the ankles and holding his legs up in the air, and letting him walk on his hands. [Cf. the New England phrase to "walk Spanish." A boy is said to walk Spanish when he is lifted from behind by the seat of his trousers, so that he has to walk on his toes.]
wrench: for rinse, e.g. "Wrench your mouth out!" Common in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. [Evidently the same word as the New Eng- land "reuse," for rinse. Perhaps rentj ydr is simply a phonetic development from rens yar through rents ydr, s -\- y giving J. E. S. S.]
KENTUCKY WOEDS AND PHEASES. I. Peculiar Words and Usages.
beast-back: horseback. " I went beast-back to town."
bilious (bily^s). When one has insults heaped upon him, we say, "That is bilious.''''
bilin'. "I can whip the whole kit and bilin'' of you," i.e. "the whole kit and boodle of you." See Bartlett, s.v. kit and boodle [and Murray, s.v. boodle; and cf. compoodle, in this list.]
bobbed (bobd). Used in a game played, usually at a country party, called "Brother, I'm bobbed." A boy is blindfolded and seated in a chair ; another strikes him on the head with a book, when the hoodwinked boy says, "Brother, I'm bobbed!" "Who bobbed you?" "Jack Smith." If he guesses the right boy, that boy is to be bobbed. It is simply a play in which "they run the green off of a fellow." [This is obviously the old English game of hot cockles. For bob (= strike), see Murray.]
buck a fellow : to take a boy and swing him against a tree.
cahoot. See Bartlett. "We are in cahoot.''' [Farmer gives an example of "in cahoots."]
cat : a game at ball. In two- cornered cat, a boy with bat stands at each comer; there is a catcher behind each boy. If a batter is ' caught out,' or 'crossed out,' he gives up his bat. He is 'crossed out' when the ball is thrown between him and the corner to which he is running. [Compare the New England games of ball called two-ole-cat and four-ole-cat.']
64 DIALECT NOTES.
compoodle (komp'udl) : same as caboodle (q.v. in Bartlett). "He cleaned out {i.e. whipped out) the whole compoodle.'''' [Cf. kit and caboodle^ p. 74 ; and bilin\ p. 63.]
coon: for negro. "There is a strange coon in town." [Common else- where. ]
com (kon). Of a frisky fat horse, we say, " He feels his corn." [In New England, " He feels his oats.'''' Also used metaphorically of persons.]
comder: for corner (kona) (see Pt. I, p. 24). "Watch your comers" is the same as keep a sharp look out, be shrewdly attentive. The expres- sion comes in this way : when a man is ploughing and reaches the corners of his land, he must be careful in turning his team and plow, or he will not break up the land thoroughly at the comers.
cowbuncle (kaub^i]kl) : carbuncle. "Who is doctoring Bill Smith's coicbuncle ?"
co"wcumber : for cucumber; used now more as a reminder of how the old folks pronounced the word. [Once the accepted pronunciation of the word in England. See Walker's interesting note s.v.]
crawfish, v. : to back out [as in Bartlett]. " He will craicjish out of it."
critter (krita) was used for horse by old people. " My critter got foun- dered last week." " I went to church critter-back.'''' [Cf. beast-back., p. 63.]
cut. With tobacco- raisers cut means a portion of a tobacco field. " Did you finish worming that cut you were on ? "
dad (daed), dod: for God., in certain curses. Thus: " Dad- drat your hide," " Dad-drot you," "Dod-(d)rot you (cf. "God rot it," which I have heard pronounced God-drot it), "Dad burn." "Drat it" is also used (see Bartlett [and Farmer, s.v. dratted]).
dead-line : a line drawn a few inches from a ring of marbles on the ** taw " side, beyond which every player must "plump" in coming from "taw," or he is dead ; that is, out of the game for that time.
dodger, corn-dodger. See Bartlett. We have what we call "plain dodger," in which the meal is made up with cold water into pones; then, " shortened dodger," in which the meal is made up with lard, or grease of some kind. Our "crackling bread" is a corn-dodger made up with crack- lings.
drats (draets) : little brown marbles. " Let's play drats."
ear. " To spin round on one's ear" means to get violently angry. Slang. [Cf. to get up on your ear (New England), in a similar sense.]
fice (fais(t)). As in Bartlett. We often hear among negroes and illiter- ate persons, " He's got a little ^ce- dog." Also the adjective Jice-ty ; as, " He is Jice-ty (frisky)."
flicker (flika), v. : to fail, to back out. " He flickered to-day."
flummux, V. See Bartlett. We nearly always use another syllable ; as, " He ker-flummuxed to-day." " When they brought that in, I almost k'flum- muxed (kafl^m'Bkst)."
foz-fire : phosphorescent wood seen at night after continued rain. We have an expression, "That is all fox-fire," meaning, of no consequence.
frazzle (frsezl) : to fray. "This cloth frays, or frazzles." To frazzle out is to fray out. Also as a noun : " Look at the frazzles!''''
KENTUCKY WORDS AND PHRASES. 65
fudge (f-eds) : said when a player at marbles shoves his hand towards the marble at which he is shooting. " Now, don't fudge over it."
gee up (dgi 'Bp) : same as "g'lang" (p. 68).
git through. At protracted meetings the " mourners " (see Bartlett) " git through " when they profess conversion.
goody (gudi). One country school-boy to another, tauntingly : " Goody, goody gout ! Shirt-tail out."
go to grass (grses). [Also in New England.] As in Bartlett. "Go to grass, and eat mullein ! "
gourds (goadz). To " saw gourds " is to snore furiously.
hand running. As in Bartlett. Hand going (negro, hand gwine) means the same thing.
hants (hsents) : ghosts ; used by the negroes. " There's hants in this here house."
hold a stiff upper lip : put on a bold face.
hump one's self : to run fast, or work hard. " He will have to hump himself to get there." [Widely known as slang.]
hunk (h-Brjk.) As (1) in Bartlett. [Also in New England.] Also a coun- try fellow ; as, " He is a country hunk.''"'
Jimmie John : a demijohn.
joober. See J^iba, in Bartlett. "To make a child dance joober^^ is to whip him.
king's excuse (kir|zekskyus). Abbreviated to king''s ex. In playing base, when a boy falls down, to keep from being caught he says, "Kings ex." [Cf. king^ p. 61, and king's cruse, Mod. Lang. Notes, IV, 121.]
knucks (n-eks) : a game at marbles in which the winner shoots at his adversary's knuckles.
license. A pair of license = a license to marry.
luck. Live and luck well. ' ' May you live and luck well " [cf. Halliwell].
'lowed (laud) : for allowed (= expected). " I 'lowed he'd come."
lugs (I'Bgz). "Give me some lugs''^ is Give me a chew of tobacco. [Cf. the Century dictionary, s.v., lug ", n.]
lumber (I'Bmba). "Listen how he lumbers,'''' said of a deep-mouthed dog's barking when he has treed a 'coon or 'possum.
meetin': ior church, preaching [as in New England]. "I am going to meetin\'^ "Big-meetin' " is protracted meetin'. A " basket-meetin' " is a two or three days' meetin'', when they have "dinner on the ground."
mind out : to take care, to look out. " Mind out what you are doing." \_Watch out is used in the same sense in Indiana. (Professor William F. M. Goss.) Cf. tend out, Dial. Notes, Ft. I, p. 22.]
Mollie-Cotton-tail : a hare. " I saw a Mollie- Cotton-tail.''''
mollygascow (moligseskau) . See molly gasher, in Bartlett.
nigger-flea : a broom-straw coated with the tallow of the tallow-candle. It was stuck on the " nigger's " flesh while he was asleep, and lighted.
onery (onari) : for extremely ordi7iary. " What onery looking chap is that?" "He is an onery 'cuss'." [Also in the Middle States {orn'ry = mean, or vile. Prof essor J. Henry Thayer) . How wide-spread is this use ?]
'pears : for appears. [Common in Elizabethan English.]
ee DIALECT NOTES.
rippit (ripit) : a great noise. " He made a great rippitV
round'unce : for round once ; used in a game of marbles
nicas (riikus) : for rumpus.
Bcarripin (skaeripin) : for terrapin. By negroes and illiterate persons.
scat ! (skffit) : to a child on sneezing.
scatteration (sksetare/'en) : dispersion. " There was a great scatter ation.'''^
Bchool-butter : the direst insult to a country school-boy. To cry out school-butter to a lot of boys is to invite a fight.
scorripin (skoaripin) : scorpion.
scotch the preacher, to: to say "Amen" and grunt frequently dur- ing the sermon.
shakes. "I will be there in three shakes of a dead sheep's tail" ; i.e. directly.
slick citizen: an unprincipled fellow. " He is a slick citizen.''''
slipe (slaip) : a piece, or slice. "Cut me a slipe of bacon."
soaky (soki) : a free-for-all scramble for the ball, and the privilege to hit whomsoever one will. " Soak him ! " they all cry. When one is hit hard, they say, " That was a soaker ! " [Cf. soak-about, s.v. soak, in Farmer.]
stakes. When a player at marbles gets three of the five men in the ring, he has stakes.
stick me. Put a marble in the ring for me.
strike : to meet, or to find. " I struck him at Jim Bell's."
stumps. " He is in a bad row of stumps," means to be in trying places. Comes from the trouble one has in plowing in stumpy land.
sugar-game : the deciding game at marbles.
swipe (swaip) : a word imitating the sound of a switch brought down upon a mule or horse. " He fetched me swipe with a seasoned hickory."
tacky (taeki) : common. "That old hat is tacky." Recently we have had "tacky parties," where the guests dress in the commonest and most imfashionable costumes. [Also reported from Cincinnati, with the meaning slovenly, shabby.']
tetchus (tet/'Bs) : tetchy. "You are mighty tetchus.''"'
thing-um-a-bob (Mq'Bmabob) . "Give me that thin^-um-a-bob.''^ Used when the name of the thing cannot be at once recalled. [In New England are used thingembob (Hqambob), thingamy (l^iqami), and thingemajig (Mqa- madsig) ; also thigamy (Hgami) in Massachusetts.]
thing- em-a-dudgeon : same as the above. "Where is that i^iwgr-em-a- dudgeon ?"
thing-doodle (Hgdudl) : id. " What do you call that thing-doodle ?"
through (J'ru) : the number of rows worked by a set of hands through a tobacco field. To illustrate : Seven hands will take fourteen rows at a through, working from one side of a field to the other. " Did you finish that last throurjh P"
turning-row : a row unplanted in a com or tobacco field, where the horses turn around in plowing.
what do you know ? f or " What is the news ? "
whittlety-whet. When two are running a race, we say, " It is whittlety- w^et who will get there first. "
KENTUCKY WORDS AND PHRASES. 67
II. Pronunciations and Grammatical Points.
The "results" on p. 6, Dialect Notes, Part I, can be verified here without exception.
after (setts). For the a of the North ce is most generally used. You rarely have /«s^, ^os^, last, hnt fcBst, pcest, Icest; oiten fcecest, pcecest, Icemst.
again (agin). Frequent.
against (8ginst).
ain't (eint). For am not, is not, are not [also in New England] : as "I aintgoin'," "He aint goin'," "We or you aint goin'." Well nigh univer- sally used here and farther south. The ignorant, negroes and whites, say, " I aint gwine," " He aint gwine," etc. In order to be emphatic they put in 'grace' syllables, as " I aint-er gwine- ter to do it." [But er rather = a.']
are (aa). Pronounced like air (sea) by a few who have not forgotten their ' old field school ' training of thirty years ago.
ask (sesk).
" Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies; Give me some berries, I'll bake you some pies."
Said to an inquisitive youngster.
ast. Many do not say ask, but ast (sest) ; as, " Ast me nothing about it."
boil. Used sometimes for bile, by persons when trying to be exceedingly 'proper'; as " I took some calomel to work off the boil," "I am full of boil."
bretheren : for brethren. Sometimes pronounced " britheren " and " bruth- erin " and " breetherin. " " I tell you, breetherin and sisterin."
bug-a-boo (bug-a-bu). See Webster's pronunciation.
chair (tjseg) : sometimes tje.
champ : pronounced tjomp.
chimbly or chimly (t/imli) : for chimney, by children. Not so often heard now. [Also in New and Old England, and chimbly is reported from Louisiana by Professor Pearce.]
dog (do9g). "Dog-gone your skin," " Dog- gone my cats" are by- words.
done (d-en) : for did frequently. [Also heard in New England.] "He, done it"; also "He is done gone."
don't you: pronounced dontj'u, often dbnt^d [as doubtless elsewhere common].
drug (dr^g) : for dragged. "He drug him out of the house." [Also reported by Professor Pearce from Louisiana as pret. and p.p.]
dubersome. See Bartlett. Here it is jwfeersowe [dgu-].
for (fo9) : sometimes fe.
f otch (f ot/) : as in Bartlett. And for reared ; as " I was fotch up with the niggers." " I fotch him a slap with my hand " shows a frequent use of the word among the negroes.
garden : pronounced gyaden, by old Virginians. Kentuckians say gaden.
girl (gel). Not infrequently gyel.
68 DIALECT NOTES.
gal : for girl in the backwoods. " She is a mighty fine gal."
git : for get. [Also in New England. ] Frequently used. " Git my hat.'* «' Git!" for "be gone!"
git 'ligion : negro for " to get religion."
g'lang : for go along, to a horse in plow or wagon.
ground (graund). Often grceund.
gwine (gwain) : for going. Gain' of the Southern whites becomes gwine in the negro's mouth.
banted [with ae] : for haunted.
hare. Called ^^ rabbit,'''' except in negro-songs. "Ole hyar, what you doin' dyar ? " They never say " ole hare."
help. " I have no help " means / have no servant. [So in New England also.] Often pronounced he''p.
bender (henda) : hinder. " You can't hender me." [Also in New Eng- land. ]
hen nest (hennest) : for ^en's nest.
hit's : for it is. " Hit's no use talkin' " ; said by children.
holp (holp) : for helped. " He holp me out of the scrape." [Cf. hopd, p. 71.]
how d' y' do ? With rising inflection. Shorter, " Howd'y."
hyme (haim). Formerly used for hymn.
h'y'r'y' (liaiaya) ? how are you? Negroes meet, and one says, " H'y' 'zy'? " "I'zetol'ble; h'y' 'zy'?"
ingine (indsain). Negroes, for engine.
ingineer (indjin-ia).
intrust : for interest on money. Old persons, white and black, say, " What is the intrust on that amount ? "
jine: for join. Illiterates say, " I'm goin' to jine the chu'ch."
jiners (djainaz). " How many jiners did they have ? " is an inquiry about a protracted " meetin'."
joint. Often pronounced d^aint.
just. Often pronounced (Zjis or dges. "It is jis right." Children say, "Thes let me tell you." "Jes so" for just so is often heard [as in New England].
ketched: for caught. [Cf. Ft. I, p. 7.]
kilt : for killed. Frequently used. " He kilt him dead."
long. Pronounced lor).
ma (ma, often mo) = mother.
mam, mama (msem, maemi) : for mother.
nebber (neba) : for never, by the old negroes. '■'• Nehber min' dat, chile."
nothing (n^>in). [In New England also pronounced woHn-]
obstroperous : for obstreperous.
outdacious (autde/^s). See ' owdacious ' in Bartlett.
pa (pa or po). Note also pap (psep) and papa (psepi).
particular. Pronounced petikld.
passel (psesl) : for parcel. "She bought a whole passel o' things," " There was a whole passel o' folks there." Becoming rare.
NOTES FROM LOUISIANA, 69
pizin (paizn) : for poison. In all words with an "oi" in them the " oi" was formerly pronounced ai. Now growing rare. [So too in New England.]
plagued. Pronounced plegd.
po'ly (pouli) : for poorly. " How d'you do ? " " I am po'ly to-day."
pra'r (praa) : toT prayer., by old people.
Sad' day : for Saturday.
sho nuf (Jon-ef) : for sure enough., by children.
srink : for shrink. [Also in New England.]
there ('Sea). Sometimes thar ("Saa).
th'one O?oun) : throne.
th'ow (J>ou) : throw. " He can't th''ow any distance."
tol'ble (tol'bl) : tolerable. "I'm toVUe well." \_Tol9hl is a New Eng- land pronunciation. ]
uster (yusta) : used to.
" When it rains and wets our old rooster, He don't look like he useter."
[Yusta = used to, is also heard in New England.]
wa'n't (wont) : wasn't. " He said he wa^n''t goin' to do it." [Common in New England.]
wamut (won^t) : walnut. By children and negroes. [Also heard in New England. ]
â– weepuns (wipnz) : weapons.
where. Pronounced hwe9 [as in New England].
whip. Often pronounced hwup.
joh:n^ p. feuit.
Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
NOTES FEOM LOUISIANA. I. Peculiar Words and Usages.
afeared : afraid. [Information as to the survival of this word in America is desired.]
beast : euphemism for bull. Common among the women- folk on farms.
bed-fast : confined to bed. I have heard this word but once, and in the parish of East Baton Rouge, used by an old negress who had been since her childhood (as she told me) in the service of a family of English descent. An Illinois friend tells me that it is common in that state. [Murray calls it northern and Scottish, giving examples from Spottiswood (1639), Bums and Mrs. Gaskell.]
biddable: obedient, subservient. Not very common. [" Of Scotch ori- gin." — Murray. Cf. Bartlett and Farmer.]
black frost : a "freeze." Popularly supposed to be so called because the wilted vegetation turns black. A friend suggests that a black frost is so called because of the absence of any white frost (rime). [Familiar in New England. See the Century dictionary, s.v. frost.^
70 DIALECT NOTES.
brickie, brickly : brittle. Both brickie and hrickly are somewhat com- mon among settlers of English lineage. [For brickie see Murray. Bnckly is used in Georgia, according to Bartlett.]
carry: escort. "Shall you carry Miss Smith to the picnic?" "No, I shall carry Miss Jones." Almost universal in the northern part of the state. [See Murray, s.v.^ § 5. Also noted in Kentucky by Professor Fruit. Take is the New England word in this sense.]
faze. "You didn't faze him" = you did not disturb him, did not even attract his attention. Used also of inanimate objects. [Also reported by Professor Fruit from Kentucky. (Pronounced feiz.^ See the Century dic- tionary, S.V.]
fish-fry : a sort of picnic, where the fish are caught and cooked on the grounds.
gaum: to smear. "The baby is all gaumed up with molasses." [Still surviving in provincial English. Also on Cape Cod : gom or gom.']
gilt : a sow with her first litter of pigs. Very common among the farmers of northern Louisiana (noted only in Claiborne parish). (In Webster, etc., in a different sense.) [See Matzner, s.v. gilte.'\
infare. Though this is in Webster, I list it, as I have never seen it else- where in print. It is quite common in northern Louisiana (Claiborne and Webster parishes), and, I am told, in several of the southern states. [Also reported from Kentucky. "As in Bartlett, not used now. Was often pro- nounced infaa. ' The infair was splendid.' " — J. P. Fruit.]
kinry : relatives, kindred. This word I have heard several times, used with a somewhat contemptuous or jocular force.
noggin: head. Somewhat common among English settlers as a semi- slang term.
onliest, adj. : superlative of only. Common among the ignorant.
sick. To sick a dog on = to urge him to the attack. A friend suggests that this is the verb seek ("Seek him, Towser!"). ["Sick him!" (to a dog) is common in New England.]
some. To say of a woman that " she looks sowie," with emphasis on the some [cf. Bartlett], is equivalent to saying that she looks remarkably well, Lowell uses the expression. [Note also the New England phrase, ' some pun- kins,' to express a high degree of ability. "He's some punkins." Bartlett reports the phrase from the South and West.]
stag: an ox that has been "altered'.' (castrated) late in life, after run- ning as a bull for a while. Universal among farmers. [So in New Hamp- shire.— G. L. K.] In Webster, but with a different definition. [Bartlett and Farmer define stag as bullock. ]
turn. A turn of wood (for example) is an arm-load, a cart-load, or any other quantity that can be transported at one return.
whatfer. " Whatfer man is he ? " = what sort of man is he ? Prevalent where Germans are numerous, and evidently their "was fiir." Very com- mon in Eed River parish, and perhaps in Webster, where there are many German- Jewish merchants. [Compare the similar English idiom in "What is he for a ladde you so lament ? " Spenser, Shep. Cal. April, v. 17. " What are we going to have for weather to-day ? " (New England).]
NOTES FROM LOUISIANA. 71
II. Pronunciations and Grammatical Points.
are [rhyming with pare'], plural of am. This pronunciation is often heard in Louisiana, and is, I am told, common throughout the South.
axe and axed : ask, asked. Common among the ignorant, particularly those of English descent. It of course dates hack to Anglo-Saxon, days. [How wide-spread is this form ?]
clum, clom, dim: climbed (pret. and p.p.). [Both clum and dim are common in New England, at least as preterites. "He clum a tree" is re- ported by Col. K. S. Robertson, Fort Wayne, Ind.]
div, dove: dived (pret. and p.p.). Trench (English: Past and Pres- ent, p. 238) says that Longfellow uses dove as "perfect," and that he finds it also in a well-written American book of prose. [The usual form for the preterite in New England is dove.]
driv, dniv : drove, driven.
het : heated (pret. and p.p.). Webster and Nares each have this form. Vide Nares, s.v., and Webster, s.v., heat. [Common in New England.]
ho'p'd: helped (pret. and p.p.). [Cf. holp, p. 68. See also Bartlett and Farmer.]
mought (maut) : might.
The last two are quite common where settlers of English descent have long been isolated, [mought (pronounced maut) is also reported from Ken- tucky. "I mout, and then again I moutn't" (J. P. Fruit). See Bartlett and Farmer.]
riz: did rise. [Common in New England.] Nares quotes risse (p.p.), from Ben Jonson, but his spelling would indicate the sharp [voiceless] s, which I have never heard.
sont : sent. Used mainly by negroes.
were (rhyming with there). This pronunciation of were is used to a con- siderable extent by persons of respectable education.
â– WTiz : was. Usually in unemphatic parts of the sentence ; yet such sen- tences as this may be heard : " You icuz (emphatic) there, for I saw you."
arrow, n. ^
narrow, adj., v. i : with a as in father.
harrow, n., v. j
bile : boil, n., v.
rile : roil, v.
jine : join, v.
The last six pronunciations are heard quite commonly in our older English settlements. They will all be recognized as old acquaintances.
cheer, chur : chair.
yo : ewe.
hender : hinder. [Also in New England.]
maracle (maerakl) ) . .
, \ 1 1( [ : miracle. meracle (merakl) )
pore : poor.
shore : sure.
72 DIALECT NOTES.
slick : sleek. [Common in New England.]
sperrit : spirit. [Common in New England, and sperits = spirits or ghosts is reported from Kentucky by Professor Fruit.]
drap : drop, n. and v. [Not unknown in New England.]
The last eleven are quite common in settlements where the lineage is Eng- lish, yo, for eice, is almost universal among our small farmers, pore is very cgmmon indeed, [In rhyme with door, in Whittier's Maud Midler.]
dog, hog, log (with the vowel o). A frequent pronunciation of these w irds ; but bog, fog are always correctly pronounced.
stamp (stomp), v.
tramp (tromp), v.
tassel (with o in the first syllable).
bleat (with the vowel e).
These four are very nearly universal among our small farmers.
agg on : egg on.
slough (slu): a low, miry place, resembling the bed of a stream (cf. p. 62) â–º
soople: supple (cf. p. 51).
dreen: drain (n., v.). Very common among small farmers. [The verb is reported from Kentucky by Professor Fruit, with the same pronunciation (drin) , and both noun and verb are common in New England, the verb also- meaning to exhaust the supply of anything. "To dreen a boy of his mar- bles." Maine.]
J. W. PEAKCE.
TuLANE Univ., New Orleans, La.
VAEIOUS COKTEIBUTIONS.
bell-snickle : a grotesquely attired visitor on Christmas night, bringing candies, etc., for the good child, but rods for the bad. Eastern Pennsylvania^ (L. A. Swope.)
bif : usually a noun, meaning ' a quick blow.' Philadelphia. (A. C, Gar- rett.) Common in Boston as noun and verb. Oftenest used in such phrases as "to give one a biff in the ear." (C. A. Snow.)
bob-cat. " A California reader of the Neu-s-Letter writes to enquire what manner of beast a bob-cat may be, our summary of events of the past year having alluded to the presence of one on Kensington road. A bob- cat is very nearly the color of a raccoon, and from twelve to fifteen pounds in weight. Its head is large, and its mouth furnished with very strong, curved teeth. It has a tail about five inches long. The creature is very wild and keeps aloof from habitations, but when pressed by hunger will often pay destructive visits to poultry yards." — Exeter (N.H.) News-Letter, Feb. 28, 1890.
bob-sled: a " double-runner " (only of a boy's sled) . Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [In Bartlett in a different sense, and limited to Maine.]
bull-tucker : a frog. Usual word among Philadelphia boys. (A. C. Gar- rett.) [Bull-frog was the only form known to me in Maine. (E. S. S.) Bull-frog, bull-paddy, and bull-paddock are familiar on Cape Cod. Cf. "In.
VARIOUS CONTBIBUTlONi^. 73
New England 'bull-paddock' is a popular synonym for bull- frog." W. J. Rolfe, Macbeth, p. 152. (G. L. K.) I have heard hull-pad near Boston. (C. H. Grandgent).]
burden: crop. "A good burden of grass." Used by a farmer near Portsmouth, N.H. (G. L. Stowell.) Common on Cape Cod. [In Murray, with quotations from 1523 and 1669.]
carri'n (kserin) : carrion. Cape Cod. An early case of this pronunciation seems to occur in Colyn Blowbol's Testament, v. 109, Hazlitt, Early Popular Poetry, I., 96.
cassy (ksesi) : causeway. More than one town in New Hampshire. (F. Bolles.)
chipmuck (t/ipm^k) seems to be the only pronunciation known in north- eastern Indiana among the farmers' boys. (E. L, Walter, Ann Arbor, Mich.)
complected. In dark-complected and light-complected, used of dark and fair persons respectively. New England. Bartlett and Farmer restrict this to the AVest, and the Century dictionary calls it western and southern.
copper : a cent. New England. Seems to be going out of use.
crawm (krom) : a pile of old straw or rubbish (not structural rubbish, however). "Clear out that lot (or mess) of crawm," Portsmouth, N.H., or vicinity. (G. L. Stowell.)
darsn't (dasnt) : dare(s) not. " I, you, he, we, they darsn't." New Eng- land. Also pronounced dcesnt. Also even "You don't darse to" and "You don't darst " = you dare not.
eks (usually written X) : axle. Extremely common in New England. See ax, axe = axle in Murray. Cf. Dialect Notes, Pt. I., p. 6.
fezinah (faz-aing) : " a contraction of ' far as I know.' Equivalent to per- haps, I guess so, for all I know. An aged aunt of mine in Chicopee, Mass., who died fifteen years ago, used it constantly. ' It may rain to-morrow, fezinah.'' Often in answer to a question, as, ' Will he come back soon ? ' ' Fezinah.' " (F. L. Palmer.)
flicker : the golden- winged woodpecker. Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [Cf. Bartlett and the Century dictionary. Is it generally known ?]
fortinah (foart-aina) : " a contraction of ' for aught I know.' This seems to have had the same force as fezinah. An aged New Haven lady remembers that her mother, who died forty- five years ago, used it occasionally. Mrs. Julia H. AYilson of New Britain, Conn., says that 'fortinah' was a frequent word with a Yankee servant in the employ of her father. Professor E. A. Andrews. Mrs. Wilson pronounces the r. The servant died only four or five years ago. Some friends of the said servant also used the word." (F. L. Palmer.)
gallus (gaebs), adj. (or adv.?) : excellent(ly). New England and New York. " A gallus old time." In dialect use in England. An early example is "A gallows gay gif te ! " John Bon and Mast Person, v. 110, Hazlitt, Early Popular Poetry, IV, 13.
get. Observe the common New England phrase, " I got it " = I have it ; of course shortened from "I've got it." "I have it" is hardly popular ; it sounds literary.
gosh all hemlock: a mild or burlesque oath. New Hampshire. (F. Bolles.)
74 DIALECT NOTES.
hen-buBsy (henb'Bzi) : a man who concerns himself overmuch with house- hold matters or housekeeping. Cape Cod and Plymouth, Mass. (G. L. K.) It is in Halliwell. Also reported from South Yarmouth, Mass., spelt (at a venture) hennessi/, the second syllable evidently slurred in pronunciation. Explained as a man who meddles with women's affairs. (W. M. Davis.)
hommie: a young calf . (To children.) Eastern Pennsylvania. (L. A. Swope.)
huckleberry (h^klberi) : for ivhortleherry. New England and Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) In both whortleberry seems to be only a book form, not in popular use. Information as to the natural use of both forms is desired. Of course this is derived from whortleberry, by change of an earlier wh into h and substitution of k for t before I. Cf. Skeat, Principles of English Ety- mology, 1st series, §§ 336, 355, and the Century dictionary. (E. S. S.)
jigger : thing (very vague), "thingemajig." Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [See thinguni-a-bob, p. 66.^
jimber- jawed : with lower jaw projecting. A bull-dog is " jimber- jawed." Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [In Bartlett with no reference. See the Century dictionary, s.v. gimbal-jawed. Cf. wapper-jawed, p. 63.]
jook (dsiik) : to avoid a blow by dodging. Eastern Pennsylvania. (L. A. Swope.) [Scotch ; see the Century dictionary, s.v.jouk'^.']
kit and caboodle: the same as kit and boodle. Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [Cf. compoodle, p. 64, and the Century dictionary, s.v. caboodle.']
la (b). *'To this interjection two pages are given in Earle's Philology of the English Tongue, §§ 197-199. He questions if it may not still be in use. My aunt in Cliicopee, who died fifteen years ago, used it constantly, either alone or ' Oh, la ! ' usually expressing disgust, disapproval, or to show the absurdity of some remark. It is familiar to Connecticut people also, and is still frequent in New England." (F. L. Palmer.)
led : for lid. Massachusetts. (R. W. Willson.)
lickerish (likarij) : for licorice. New England. Cf. M. D. Learned, Penn- sylvania German Dialect, p. 98, where it appears that this word (taken from English) appears in the dialect as likrisch.
lives (livz) : lief. " I'd just as lives do it." New England.
lozenger (lozndja) : a lozenge. Common in New England.
mind. Note the New England phrase, " if he was a mind to " (pronounced W9Z d main /«, or ta).
mote (mot) : a sort of little pond or puddle in an old river bed. North- em and southern New Hampshire. (F. Bolles.)
mountain lamb or mountain mutton : deer killed out of season. New Hampshire. (F. Bolles.)
mushmelon (mu/mebn) : a muskmelon. New England,
mushrat (m'ejrset) : the muskrat or musquash. New England.
nable (nebl) : for navel. Provincetown, Mass.
ou (au) : an interjection of pain. New England.
ouch (aut^) : an interjection of pain = ou. Philadelphia (A. C. Garrett) and Ohio. [Cf . Bartlett and Farmer. ]
pee-pee (pt pi) : a very small chicken. Eastern Pennsylvania. (L. A. Swope.)
VARIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS. 75
pup, V. : to calve (used seriously). " So-and-so's cow has pupped." Ply- mouth, Mass. (L. B. R. Briggs.)
quate (kweit) : a quoit. New England and Philadelphia. " To pitch quates." (A. C. Garrett.) Cf. p. 60.
qua-wk (kwok) : the night-heron. Cape Cod. Elsewhere (where ?) called squawk.
quirl (kwel) : curl, v. " Quirled way up," Cape Cod. (G. L. K.) " Quid, both noun and verb, is familiar to me." (C. H. Grandgent.)
recess (rises) : with the accent on the first syllable. Almost universal among schoolboys in New England.
scrapple : a favorite Philadelphia dish, consisting of bacon chopped up and mixed with commeal, and fried in cakes. (A. C. Garrett.) [Cf. Bartlett.]
secont (sekant) : for second, both n. and adj. New England, and proba- bly elsewhere.
skate (skeit) : a worn-out horse. Plymouth, Mass. (L. B. R. Briggs.) Cape Cod and New Hampshire.
skite, V. (skait) : skedaddle. Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [Cf. Bartlett.]
slicker: a waterproof garment. "In common use in the Rocky Moun- tain country. I have not heard it elsewhere." (R. S. Robertson.) [Cf. Farmer.]
slum. " A slum trick " (very common) = a mean or dirty trick ; probably as coming from the slums. Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.)
snaggle. " To snaggle on to a thing " = to comprehend it, to ' catch on.' Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) " I use snaggle in the sense of steal.'''' (C. H. Grandgent.)
snoot (snut) : of the human face or nose, apparently the same word as snout. A vulgar word in New England. " I'll bu'st your snoot " ; "hit him on the snoot." As a verb in "to snoot round," i.e. to nose around, it is re- ported from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
sock, V. "To sock a ball " = to throw it hard. Common in New Eng- land and Philadelphia. (A. C. Garrett.) [Also provincial Enghsh. Cf. Bartlett.]
spludge (spl-eds) : splurge. Reported from Central Illinois. Of interest on account of the absence of r.
tittly benders (titli bendaz), pi.: sallies out on thin ice. "He cuts a tittly bender" is a possible phrase. Possibly applied to the ice itself. Cf. ticklish. Massachusetts. (F. Bolles.) In Barnstable, Mass., tikl-i (three syl- lables) benda. " Let's .make it tickly-bender. " [Cf. tiddlies and bendolers^ in Bartlett. ]
toot (tut) : a conical paper bag of grocers (German dute, dute). Com- mon in Eastern Pennsylvania. (L. A. Swope.)
tortience. "The youngest child of a family is called a 'tortience.' South Yarmouth, Mass. (W. M. Davis.) Used by old people in Barnstable, Mass., fifty years ago, and not yet extinct. Both tomans and to^am are pro- nunciations given me. "You're the tortience," i.e., the pet or "baby" of the family. "That's my toshuns " = that's my youngest. The latter pro- nunciation is also reported as known in Northfield, Me., forty or fifty years ago. (G. L. K.)
76 DIALECT NOTES.
twothree (tuj>r-l and tu^rl, not tu>ri) : two or three. " He'll come in two- three days." New England.
walnut. " In the east I only knew of ' walnut ' for the hickory- nut tree, and ' black walnut ' for the other. Here ' walnut ' distinctively means black walnut, and ' hickory ' takes the place of the other. The ' butter- nut' of the East is 'white walnut.' " (R. S. Robertson, Fort Wayne, Ind.) Of late years Boston furniture-dealers habitually say walnut^ instead of black ivulmit. (C. H. Grandgent.) [Cf. also p. 69.]
wive'B : for wifes. " Sixty years ago some families emigrated from New Ipswich, N.H., and vicinity. In some of those families — I do not know but in all — the pronunciation wive's for 'wife's' was the rule. This sum- mer past I was at Rindge, the town next west of New Ipswich, and there I noticed the same pronunciation in the mouths of natives of that place, who were kindred with those who had removed sixty years before." (F. B. Denio.) [Common on Cape Cod.]
wrastle (rasl, also rsesl) : for wrestle. New England. Cf. p. 51.
Mr. E. F. Griffing sends the following New York and Jersey City words used in playing at marbles : —
A " fat" is a square ring a foot or so each way ; the players stand at first on "toy" (presumably corrupted from taw); the large circular ring is a "bull," or "bull's ring"; "fen lusting" means that it is not permitted to raise the knuckles from the ground in " shooting," or, as it is often expressed, "You knuckle down"; "miggles" is the generic name for marbles, also meaning the commonest clay marbles; "alleys" are the white ones with colored lines; "croaters" are burned alleys, brown with blistered spots; "agates" are glass marbles; "flints" are marbles made of flint, agate, or some colored stone; "hoovers" or "bowlers" are marbles larger than the rest ; to "kill " is to hit another's marble and put him out of the game. [Cf. /en, p. 61, and other words in the same list; also the Kentucky words in Pt. I, p. 24. "Alleys" and "agates" were used in Maine some thirty years ago (E. S. S.), and " agates " and " blood- alleys " were used in Boston fifteen years ago (C. H. Grandgent.).]
The following is taken from the Cape May County Gazette, Cape May Court House, N. J., June 6, 1890 : —
"Among a list of so-called ' Jerseyisms,' collected by Mr. F. B. Lee of Trenton, I recognize a number as being in common use in Maryland, viz. : —
spungy : the land between a swamp and hard ground.
sad : heavy as applied to bread, as ' the bread is sad.'
saddle : used by children in thanking another for a gift [cf. Bartlett].
tacker : a little child.
jag : a small load.
gear : to harness.
banty : for bantam.
ADDITIONS AND COERECTIONS. 77
I judge it would be difficult to determine the etymology of many of these expressions. I have heard them used in the far West, also in the South.
I frequently hear two expressions used here that I never heard elsewhere. They are
clied : to surfeit. ' To died horses on grass.'
boyze : a boy. ' When I was a boyze,' etc. J. A. W."
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE WORDS MENTIONED IN PART I.
been: he's been and gone and done it (p. 25). "I have often heard it in the north of England." (R. M. Middleton, Jr.)
boogie (p. 18). In Kentucky booger (bugd) is used in the same sense (J. P. Fruit), also in Massachusetts (pronounced bugd).
budge (p. 18). Common in Saco, Me. Noticed from 1864 to 1868 by Professor B. I. Wheeler.
cat: let the old cat die, p. 25. " 'Let the cat die' is general amongst English children." (R. M. Middleton, Jr.)
caught (p. 18). Mr. R. M. Middleton, Jr., says, "I remember the use of this expression in Yorkshire for milk slightly burned."
coast (p. 21). Familiar in northern Illinois (R. M. Middleton, Jr.) ; also "in Chicopee, Mass., and New Haven, Conn. An elderly lady says it is a new word" (F. L. Palmer). Mr. E. S. Griffing vouches for its exclusive use in Jersey City, N.J., 1873-1882, and in Lexington, Mass., 1870-1872. Com- mon in western Ohio, but not at all common in western Pennsylvania. (W. O. Sproull.) See also p. 58.
croaky (p. 18). Reported through Professor E. Spanhoofd as familiar in the Western Reserve (Ohio).
cushion (p. 17). " In Chicopee, Mass., I learned to pronounce this word kwu^dn, and never thought of pronouncing it differently, till I noticed the dis- crepancy between the spelling and the pronunciation two or three years ago. I have since asked several people how they pronounce it, and am confident that this pronunciation is not uncommon in New England." (F. L. Palmer.) See also p. 58.
cut: to cut and run (p. 25). " 'To cut,' 'to cut and run,' 'cut your sticks.' Common undignified English." (R. M. Middleton, Jr.)
duck (p. 21). Always duck in Essex Co., Mass. (Miss Loring) ; duck on the rock in Jersey City, N.J. (E. S. Griffing); duck on Davy in Philadelphia (A. C. Garrett) ; duck and Davy in western Pennsylvania (W. O. Sproull) ; known in Chicopee, Mass., as duck on a rock or duck and drake (F. L. Palmer). Connection with the phrase common in England, making ducks and drakes, for throwing or shying a stone horizontally along smooth water (in New England skipping a stone), is suggested by Mr. R. M. Middleton, Jr., who also compares the familiar " he is making ducks and drakes of his money."
78^ DIALECT NOTES.
easy (p. 18). Frequent in Louisiana (J. W. Pearce) and in the Western Reserve. (E. Spanhoofd.)
fretty (p. 19). Frettish is a form familiar to an old lady in New Haven. (F. L. Palmer.)
fun, V. (p. 19). The same use is reported from Louisiana. (J. W. Pearce.)
funny, n. (p. 19). Known in the vicinity of Boston and perhaps in Con- necticut. (T. B. Lindsay.)
gall (p. 21). " Gall in the sense of effrontery is general in Tennessee, but I never heard it in England." (R. M. Middleton, Jr.) It is also reported from Louisiana as common slang for several years (J. W. Pearce), and from Ken- tucky (J. P. Fruit). Mr. E. S. Grifl&ng reports it from New York and New Jersey, adding that gall and gall of a stalled ox are very common among the farmers of Prince • Edward's county, near Belleville and Pictou, Ontario, Canada. " It was familiar at Williston Seminary (Easthampton, Mass.), and Amherst College in 1881, and probably earlier" (F. L. Palmer).
heavy-handed (p. 19). Also in the vicinity of Boston and perhaps in Connecticut (T. B. Lindsay) ; common in Salem and the neighborhood (Miss Loring). Professor J. M. Hart reports a lady who was a native of South Caro- lina, and who passed all her adult life in New Jersey and Philadelphia, as saying of her cook, " So-and-so has a heavy hand for salt." — " She put that (salt, etc.) in with a heavy hand," said of a cook who has seasoned a dish excessively. Cape Cod.
hookey (p. 22) . " To play hookey " was erroneously reported as not usual in Boston. It was the regular phrase in Salem and Chicopee, Mass., and New Haven, Conn. (L. B. R. Briggs and F. L. Palmer), and is reported from Cincinnati (J. M. Hart), also Jersey City and New York (E. S. Grifiing), Kentucky (J. P. Fruit), Louisiana (J. W. Pearce). "To play hook" in the same sense is reported from western Pennsylvania (J. M. Hart) . Mr. R. M. Middleton, Jr., remarks that hooh it is common among English schoolboys for go, begone. The two phrases in Bartlett are to play hookey and to hooh Jack.
indeedy (p. 22). Reported from Massachusetts (Mrs. Hinckley), Phila- delphia and eastern Pennsylvania (A. C. Garrett, L. A. Swope), southern Delaware (E. S. Griffing), and Kentucky (J. P. Fruit).
jell (p. 22). Reported as in common use in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee. A noun jell = jelly is also known in Massachusetts. See also p. 69.
kitty-cornered (p. 6). "In this [the Seguachee] valley [Tennessee] catty-cornered, for zigzag, is sometimes called kitty-catty-cornered.'''' (R. M. Middleton, Jr.) This bears out Mr. Grandgent's suggestion, Pt. I, p. 8.
meech (p. 19). In the phrase to go meeching about, to go in a mean or underhand way, it is reported as in familiar use in New Haven, Conn. (F. L. Palmer.) Of course this is the same as mich, niiche. See the Encycl. Diet, and Skeat.
on the mending hand (p. 19) . From the Western Reserve to be mending or on the mend is reported. (E. Spanhoofd.) On the mending hand is sometimes heard in Louisiana, but on the mend is commoner. (J. W. Pearce.)
mighnt (p. 22). See p. 69.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 79
pack (p. 23). It is reported as a general word for carry from Kentucky, as "he packed a pail of water" (J. P. Fruit) ; Louisiana (J. W. Pearce) ; Idaho, Montana, and the state of Washington (E. S. GrifBng).
pximlico (p. 190). Pimlico = primlico is familiar to elderly New Haven people, as in pimlico order (F. L. Palmer), and pimlico order was common twenty years ago in Essex County, Mass. (Miss Loring). See W. C. Hazlitt. English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (first edition), p. 421.
ride out (p. 19). This use is explained by the saying common fifty year«* ago on Cape Cod: "The room looks as if it was ready to ride out; ever^ chair saddled and bridled" ; used of a room in great disorder. (G. L. K.)
ride up (p. 19). Common twenty years ago at Cornell University. Mj favorite word is climb, which I believe is superseding the other. (J. M. Hart.)
ridic'lus (p. 23). Reported in this sense from Kentucky. (J. P. Fruit.) " I have heard this word used in the north of England in a sense most nearly represented by the word scandalous.'''' (R. M. Middleton, Jr.)
rubbers (p. 19). The phrase to meet with the rubbers is known on Cape Cod in this sense. (G. L. K.)
scoggins (p. 23). In the second line of the paragraph read aboard for abroad.
scooch (p. 19). "Isn't this a variant of the more common [?] scrouch (also pronounced sJcrautf)? " (J. M. Hart.)
so fashion (p. 23). It is known in Maine, New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts ; also in western Pennsylvania (W. 0. SprouU) .
sojer (p. 19). An old soldier = a person that shirks work, is common in Salem and Beverly. (Miss Loring.) He is acting the old soldier is common in England. (R. M. Middleton, Jr.)
squat (p. 19). Common among unlettered people in Bangor, Me. (Mrs. Hinckley.) Squat, meaning "rather squeeze, crush, than pinch, as 'I squat (pret.) my finger in the door,' " is reported by Professor B. I. Wheeler as in use in Saco, Me., 1864-1868.
steboy (p. 23). See p. 59.
stocky (p. 19). Used also in New York. (Miss Loring.)
thrash, thresh (p. 23). Professor Fruit finds the same distinction in Kentucky. " The distinction is just what I should make." (F. L. Palmer ; for Chicopee, Mass.) See also p. 59.
tough it out (p. 20). Also in Louisiana. (J. W. Pearce.)
touse (p. 20). "My father (New Hampshire) always used 'catouse* [kat-aus] for touse (as given by Professor Allen)." (B. I. Wheeler.)
80 DIALECT NOTES.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Mr. Gilbert M. Tucker has placed at the disposal of the editors a corrected and augmented copy of his valuable Bibli- ography of works on Americanisms (originally published in the tenth volume of the Transactions of the Albany Institute). The following Bibliography is, in the main, a re-arrangement of the material thus generously contributed by Mr. Tucker. In justice to him it should be added that his revised MS. contains several titles (entered by him before the publication of Dialect Notes, Part I) which were included in the Bibliography printed in Part I, and which are therefore not repeated here.
The editors desire once more to remind members of the impor- tance of co-operation in collecting bibliographical matter.
All the Year Round. Review of Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms, third edition. Feb. 18, 1871, p. 270.
Analectic Magazine, III, 404. (Sarcastic [?] defense of American freedom of speech ; recommends invention of a new language.)
Atlantic Monthly. See White, R. G. Compare also VI, G67 ; XL, 233 ; XLIII, 109 (freight-train and spool) ; XL VIII, 849 ; LIII, 286, 290 ; LV, 856 (right away).
Barringer, G. a. " ^tude sur I' Anglais parU aux ^tats Unis (la Langue Am&icaine),^^ in Actes de la Socie'te' Philologique de Paris, March, 1874, (Largely transferred from De Vere.)
Bartlett, John Russell. Dictionary of Americanisms ; a glossary of words and phrases usually regarded as peculiar to the United States. Fourth edition. Boston, 1877 ; 8vo ; pp. 814.
Beck, T. Romeyn. Notes on Pickering's Vocabulary. Albany Institute Transactions, I, 25 (Albany, 1830).
Bell, Alexander Melville. The " nasal twang." Mod. Lang. Notes, V, 150.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. Inroads upon English. LXXXIX, 421. (Reprinted in Littell's Liv. Age, XCV, 218.)
Boston Advertiser. Review of Bartlett. (Reprinted in Littell's Liv. Age, XX, 79.)
Bristed, Charles Astor. The English language in America (in Cam- bridge Essays. London, 1855).
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. Provincialisms. Sept. 10 and 11, 1888. (From Critic.)
Canadian Monthly. Review of De Vere, I, 87.
Chambers* Journal. (Cf. Littell's Liv. Age, CXX, 240.) American nick-
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 81
names. March 31, 1875, p, 171. Review of Bristed's Cambridge Essays
paper. April 19, 1856. (See also Dec. 20, 1873, p. 801 ; Sept. 25, 1875, p. 609.)
Choate, I. B. New England dialect. New Eng. Mag., VI, 583.
Crane, W. W. The American language. Putnam's Monthli/, XVI, 519.
DE FoNBLANQUE, Albany. Articlc On Americanisms (in Tinslei/, XXIX, 330).
Dodge, N. S. Lippincott's Mag,, V, 545.
Elwyn, Alfred L. Glossary of supposed Americanisms. Philadelphia, 1859.
Eclectic Review. (N.S.) XIII, 356, April, 1820 (Review of Pickering).
Fowler, W. C. English grammar. 8vo. New York, 1855, pp. 119-129. (Also 12mo ed., 1858, pp. 23-27.)
Freeman, E. A. Some points in American speech and customs. Long- man's Mag., I, 80. (Reprinted in LitteWs Living Age, CLV, 483.)
Graham, G. F. A book about words. London, 1869 (chap, 13, Slang words and Americanisms).
Hall, Fitzedward. English, rational and irrational. Nineteenth Cent., September, 1880. (See also Nation, March 5, 1890 ; April 17, 1890.)
Harper's Monthly. Sussex expressions. LXVI, 065.
Jespersen, Otto. The articulations of speech sounds represented by means of analphabetic symbols. Marburg in Hessen, 1889. (Reviewed by J. E. Matzke, Mod. Lang. Notes, V, 173.)
Kellogg, T. H. English phonology. Pop. Sci. Monthly, XXXII, 387.
Lakeside Monthly, III, 154 (maintains the necessity of American addi- tions to the language).
Learned, M. D. Application of the phonetic system of the American Dialect Society to Pennsylvania German. Mod. Lang. Notes, V, 237. (Cf. E. S. Sheldon in Mod. Lang. Notes, V, 376.)
Leisure Hour, XXVI, 110 (see LitteWs Liv. Age, CXXXII, 821).
Lippincott's Magazine, IV, 345. Review of Freeman's Longman
article, XXXI, 378. Mugwump, XLIV, 121.
London Quarterly Review. Review of Scheie De Vere, LVII, 392.
LouNSBURY, T. R. The English language in America. International Re- view, VIII, 472, 596.
Lowell, James Russell. Biglow papers, 1848, 1864. Introductions to first and second series, and Glossary.
Marsh, George P. Lectures on the English language. Fourth edition. New York, 1859. Lecture 30: " The English language in America."
Mellick, Andrew D., Jr. The story of an old farm ; or, life in New Jersey in the eighteenth century.
MoRwiTz . . . Worterbuch der englischen und deutschen sprache mit besonderer beriicksichtigung der Amerikanismen, Leipzig, 1885.
Nation. V, 428 ; VI, 392 ; XI, 56 (Pennsylvania provincialisms); XI, 72 (do.) ; XIV, 28 (Review of De Vere) ; XIV, 45 (Review of Hoosier School- master) ; XVI, 148 (North Carolina provincialisms) ; XVI, 183 (do.) ; XVII, 113 (Words from Indian languages) ; XVIII, 380 (Review of Barringer) ; XXI, 8 (Pennsylvania provincialisms) ; XXVI, 171 (Review of Bartlett) ;
82 DIALECT NOTES.
XXVI, 243 (Review of Bartlett) ; XXXII, 184 (blizzard) ; XXXII, 208 (do.); XXXII, 220 (do.) ; XXXII, 260 (do.).
Natioxal Quarterly Review, II, 230. (Review of Pickering and Bart- lett.)
New-Englanuer, N.S., III, 429. (No. 157, July, 1880.)
New- York Tribune. Aug. 14, 1881 (on Proctor's Gentl. Mag. article). See also Smalley, G. \V.
North American Review, III, 355 (review of Pickering); LXIX, 94 (review of Bartlett) ; XCI, 507 (review of Marsh) ; CXLVI, 709 ; CXLVII, 102, 348, 475.
Norton, Charles Ledyard. Political Americanisms. Mag. of Amer. Hist., XII, 564 ; XIII, 98, 199, 295, 394, 495. (Cf. XIII, 599.)
Penny Magazine. July 21, 1838, p. 278. (Severe on American speech.)
Pickering, John. A vocabulary, or collection of words and phrases which have been supposed to be peculiar to the United States, to which is prefixed an essay on the present state of the English language in the United States. Boston : Cummings & Hilliard, 1816 ; 8vo ; pp. 208.
Primer, Sylvester. The Huguenot element in Charleston's provincial- isms. Phonetische Studien, III, 139.
The pronunciation near Fredericksburg, Va. Proc. Am. Philol. Assoc.
for 1889, p. XXV.
Proctor, Richard A. English and American English. Reprinted from Gentl. Mag. in Appleton's Journal, N.S., XI, 315, and in part in N. Y. Tribune, Aug. 14, 1881.
The misused h of English. Atlantic Monthly, LV, 593.
Quarterly Review, X, 528. (Review of Inchiquen the Jesuit's letters ; notices progress as a verb, jeopardize, guess, grades, caucus, conglaciate, conflagra- tion, belittle.')
Reeves, Henry. Provincialisms. Lippincott's Mag., Ill, 310.
Sala, George Augustus. On Tucker's N. A. Rev. article. Illustrated London News, LXXXII, 87.
On Tucker's Albany Institute article. Id., LXXXIV, 339.
Reply to Smalley. Id., LXXXIV, 553.
Schele De Vere, Maximilian. Americanisms ; the English of the New World. New York, 1872 ; 8vo ; pp. 686.
Scribner's Monthly, III, 379. (Review of De Vere.)
Seemann, B. Die Volksnamen der amerikanischen pflanzen. Hannover, 1851.
Shelton, F. W. Review of " Queen's English." Hours at Home, V, 361.
Sherwood, Adiel. Gazetteer of Georgia. Charleston, 1827 ; Philadel- phia, 1829 ; Washington, 1837. (Has glossary of slang and vulgar words used in the Southern States.)
Smalley, G. W. On Sala's review of Tucker. N. Y. Tribune, May 17, 1884.
Southern Literary Messenger, II, 110; XIV, 623 (Review of Bartlett).
Southern Review. (N. S.) Americanisms, a study of words and man- ners. IX, 290, 529. (An elaborate essay, in review of Bartlett, Webster, etc. Severe upon American English.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 83
Spectator. Review of Zincke's Last winter in the United States. Re- printed in Littell's Liv. Age, C, 630.
Sweet, Henry. A primer of phonetics. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1890. (Cf. a notice in the Nation, June 4, 1890, which contains some remarks on American pronunciation. )
SwiNTON, William. Rambles among words. New York. (Ramble twelfth : English in America.)
Wager-Fisher, Mary. A summer outing in the North Carolina moun- tains, XI. Rural New- Yorker, XLIX, 230.
Webster, Noah. Letter to the Hon. John Pickering, on the subject of his Vocabulary. Boston, West & Richardson, 1817 ; small 8vo ; pp. 60.
Westminster Review, October, 1882 ; also CXXX, 35.
White, Richard Grant. Words and their uses. New York, 1870. (Chap. 3, British- English and American- English.)
Every-day Enghsh. Boston, 1880. (Chap. 6, American speech.)
* See also Galaxy, XXI, 521 ; XXIV, 376, 081 ; and Atlantic Monthly, XLI, 495, 656 ; XLII, 97, 342, 619, 643 ; XLIII, 88, 379, 656 ; XLIV, 654 ; XLV, 428, 669 ; XLVII, 697 ; XLVIII, 849 ; LII, 792.
Whitman, Walt. Slang in America. N. A. Rev., CXLI, 431.
Whitney, William D wight. BelVs visible speech. (In his Oriental and linguistic studies, 2d series, pp. 301-317.)
Language and the study of language. Fifth ed. New York, 1870
(pp. 171-174).
Witherspoon, John. Essays on Americanisms, perversions of language in the United States, cant phrases, etc., in 4th vol. of his works, published in 8vo, Philadelphia, 1801. (The earliest work on American vulgarisms. Originally published as a series of essays, entitled "The Druid," which appeared in a periodical in 1701.)
Worcester, Joseph. Dictionary of the English language, ed.' of 1881, p. Z.
[See also various encyclopaedias, — the Americana, Appleton's, Chambers's, etc., s.v. Americanisms.]
I
THE ITHACA DIALECT,
A STUDY OF PEESENT ENGLISH,
BY
OLIVER FARRAK EMERSON, A.M., Instructor in English, Cornell University.
PKEFACE.
This treatise is a study of the phonology of present English as spoken by the common people of Ithaca, New York. Since the material has been collected from people little influenced by the schools, the English here presented may be considered a natural outgrowth, under the conditions attending the coloniza- tion of New England in the seventeenth century, and the later migration to Western New York toward the last of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Special attention has been paid to the phonology as the proper basis of dialect study, and because no attempt has been made to present with completeness the phonology of any English dialect. However incomplete this treatment may be, it is believed such study may be of no small value in showing the development of the English language. This is the more necessary, also, because dialect study in England has confined itself almost wholly to the collection of peculiar words, leaving out of account the phonetic development and the underlying laws of change.
In the collection of material many facts pertaining to inflec- tional forms and syntax were obtained, as well as a considerable- number of new words, or of words in new uses. But it has seemed best to omit these, except so far as they illustrate the phonology, reserving them for a more systematic treatment than is possible here.
The writer does not wish to claim indulgence for the errors that may be found in his work. Whether they are many or few for such a pioneer attempt, those who know the difficulties of the
i 85
86 DIALECT NOTES.
task will be best able to judge, and the judgment of these alone is worthy of consideration.
It remains to acknowledge my indebtedness to those whose assistance and encouragement has materially aided in bringing this treatise to completion. The list of abbreviations will indi- cate sufficiently the books and authors most frequently consulted. But I am especially indebted to Professor Benj. I. Wheeler, of Cornell University, for the suggestion of the work and constant encouragement in it ; to Professor Friedrich Kluge, of the Uni- versity of Jena, for advice as to the arrangement of material, and for a critical examination of the Germanic element ; to Professor Dietrich Behrens, of Giessen, for examination of the Romance ele- ment ; lastly and pre-eminently, to my teacher. Professor James Morgan Hart, of Cornell University, not only for valuable train- ing in English philology, but particularly for his searching and painstaking review of this paper, when presented to the Univer^ sity as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. To these, therefore, I make special acknowledgment, and to them I dedicate this monograph as a token of gratitude and esteem.
O. F. E.
Ithaca, New York, March 1, 1891.
TRE ITHACA DIALECT. 87
TABLE or CONTENTS.
I. Introduction.
Historical and Ethnographic 90
The Speech Conditions 97
II. The Phonology.
The Vowels and their Symbols 100
Quantity and Quality 100
III. Historical Kelations.
Tables showing Development 103
Summary of Development from Middle English Ill
IV. The Vowels of the Ithaca Dialect.
The Vowel a, etc 116
The Diphthongs 151
Variations in Quantity 155
V. The Consonants 160
VI. Conclusion 169
iii
88
DIALECT NOTES,
ABBEEVIATIONS.
Beh.
Ch.
ChGr.
Con.
Contr.
Dan.
Du.
EEP.
Eng. Dial.
Fr.
Germ.
Or.
Goth.
HES.
Icl.
Ind.
Ital.
IthD.
Kl.
Lat.
LdE.
MdE.
ME.
ME.
Merc.
Murray.
OE.
GET.
OF.
OHG.
ON.
Orm.
Pal.
PBB.
PGr. Pog.
Port.
Behrens, Beitrage zur Geschichte der franzosischen Sprache in
England. Chaucer.
ten Brink, Chaucer's Sprache und Verskuust. consonant, contraction. Danish. Dutch.
Ellis's Early English Pronunciation. English dialect, or dialectic. French. German. Greek. Gothic.
Sweet's History of English Sounds. Icelandic.
Indian (North American). Italian.
Ithaca Dialect.
Kluge's Etymologisches Worterbuch. Latin.
London English, as in Sweet's History of English Sounds. Modern English. Middle English. Late Middle English. Mercian.
The New English Dictionary. Old English (Anglo-Saxon). Sweet's Oldest English Texts. Old French. Old High German. Old Norse. Orm, Ormulum. palatal. Paul und Braune's Beitrfige zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache
und Literatur. Paul's Grundriss der Germanischen Philologie. Pogatscher's Zur Lautlehre der griechischen, lateinischen und
romanischen Lehnworte im Altenglischen. Portuguese.
iv
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 89
PrPh. Sweet's Primer of Phonetics, 1890.
sb. substantive.
Scand. Scandinavian.
Sie. Sievers, Angelsachsische Grammatik.
Skt. Skeat's Etymological Dictionary.
Span. Spanish.
Swed. Swedish.
WG. West Germanic.
WS. West Saxon.
IWS. Late West Saxon.
Wye. Wyclif.
< from, or derived from.
90 DIALECT NOTES.
I. INTEODUCTIOK
1. HISTORICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC.
In order to understand the ethnographic conditions of Ithaca, it is necessary to glance at the settlement of the western part of New York state, and some account of the district from the earli- est colonial times will be found useful. The Dutch colonists of New York gave the name Terra Incognita to the territory west of Albany, or Fort Orange, as it was called. In 1683, after the Dutch colony had come into the possession of the English, the legislature divided the province into twelve counties, and gave the name Albany County to what is now the western part of the state. The western part of Albany was erected into a new county in 1772, with the name Tryon, in honor of the governor of the province. After the peace, in 1784, the name of the Tory governor Tryon was replaced by Montgomery, in recognition of General Montgomery of Quebec fame. The county was also divided into five districts, two of which, German Flats and Kings- land, embraced the western part so far as it was then settled, or open for settlement. In 1788 the German Flats were divided, and the western part called Whitestown from Judge White, a prominent citizen who had immigrated from Middletown, Connec- ticut, and had induced many from his native state to settle in Western New York. Whitestown was later separated into Whitestown, to the western limit of the present Madison County; Mexico, including the eastern half of the Military Tract, as it was called ; and Paris, embracing the western half of this tract.^
The Military Tract is the title of lands set apart by New York state for her soldiers of the Revolution. In 1781, in order to recruit the armies of the revolting colonies, the legislature passed a resolution, pledging the faith of the state, to give to every citizen who should enlist for three years, or until the close
1 Onondaga, by Joshua V. H. Clark, Syracuse, N.Y., 1849, Vol. I, p. 381.
1
THE ITHACA DIALECT. ' 91
of the war, five hundred acres of land as soon after the war as the land could be surveyed.^ This resolution was followed by the law of July 25^ 1782, setting apart lands for military boun- ties. "The tract included all the lands in Tryon County (all west of Albany County), bounded northward by Lake Ontario, Onondaga (Oswego) Eiver, and Oneida Lake; west by a line •drawn from the mouth of Great Sodus Bay (on Lake Ontario) though the most westerly inclination of Seneca Lake ; south by an east and west line drawn through the most southerly inclina- tion of Seneca Lake." ^ The lands so set apart were, however, still owned by the Indians, so that settlement was delayed some years after the close of the war. The state acquired the territory belonging to the Onondaga Indians, by treaty of Sept. 12, 1788, at Fort Schuyler, or Stanwix (now Utica). On the 25th of February, in the following year, the lands of the Cayuga Indians were also purchased by treaty at Albany.^ By an act of Feb. 28, 1789, the legislature formally appropri- ated the Indian lands recently acquired to the payment of Eev- olutionary soldiers, in accordance with the resolution and act of 1781-2. In 1791 Herkimer County was formed from the western part of Montgomery, and in 1794 the Military Tract was made a separate county and called Onondaga.*
The western boundary of the Military Tract (Onondaga County) was Ontario County, or the Genesee Country, as it was usually called.^ The original grant by James I in 1620 to the Massachusetts colonies was a tract of land extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This grant was renewed in 1693 by William and Mary, no change being made in the western boundary of the province. But in 1663 the Province of New York was granted by Charles II to the Duke of York and Albany, afterwards James 11. The result was that each state, as early as 1683, laid claim to certain lands of the Province of New York by virtue of original grants, but as there were no settlers in the country for more than a century, no adjustment of the claims was made during this time. By acts of legislature, New York in 1781, and Massachusetts in 1784-5, ceded to Con-
1 Sketches of Rochester and Western New York, by Henry O'Reilley, Rochester, 1838, p. 186.
2 Ibid. p. 156. * Onondaga, Vol. I, pp. 381-2. 8 Ibid. pp. 109-10. * Ibid. Vol. I, pp. 381-2.
2
92 DIALECT NOTES.
gress all lands west of the present boundary of New York state,^ and in the following year, Dec. 16, 1786, delegates from, both states met at Hartford, where a compromise was effected in respect to the disputed claims. By this compromise Massachu- setts obtained exclusive preemption rights to the lands between the Military Tract and the western boundary of the state, while New York retained all rights of government, sovereignty, and jurisdiction.^ In accordance with this arrangement the Massa- chusetts preemption lands were, in 1789, erected into Ontario County, before this time nominally a part of Montgomery County.
We may now return to Ithaca and Tompkins County. In 1799 the county of Cayuga was set off from Onondaga, and in 1804 Seneca County was formed from Cayuga. A new county was erected in 1817, from the southern portions of Cayuga and Seneca counties, and named after Governor Tompkins. Tomp- kins County received from Seneca the townships of Hector and Ulysses (Military townships 21, 22), and from Cayuga Dry den and the south half of Locke and Genoa (Military townships 23^ 18, 17). To these were added, in March, 1822, the towns of Caroline, Danby, and Cayuta, formerly parts of Tioga County.* Since that time the county has retained its present boundaries. The city of Ithaca is included in the town of the same name, one of three into which the old Military township of Ulysses was divided in 1821.
These Military townships were established by act of legisla- ture in 1789, in accordance with which the Military Tract was surveyed under the direction of General Simeon DeWitt, then Surveyor-General of the state. They were originally twenty-six in number, but two others were added in 1792 and 1796, making twenty-eight, each of which contained 100 lots of 600 acres. The drawing of lots by the Kevolutionary soldiers for whom the land was set apart took place in 1791. In 1792 the time of set- tlement, which had been limited to three years from the original survey, was extended seven years, or to 1799. Notwithstanding this extension of the time of settlement, few of the Revolution-
1 Rochester and Western New York, pp. 139-40.
2 Ibid. p. 141.
8 History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties, Philadel- phia, 1879, pp. 373-4.
3
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 93
ary soldiers became actual settlers.^ The patents were sold for little or nothing, prices of lots ranging from eight to thirty dollars for ten years after the war. This, as we shall see, mate- rially affected the character of actual settlers, and accounts for the fact that many came from outside the limits of New York state.
The first Americans to set foot in the country at the head of Cayuga Lake were soldiers of Sullivan's campaign against the Indians. In 1779 Congress had authorized Washington to send an expedition against the Five Nations, then acting with the forces of Great Britain. In ravaging their country Colonel Dearborn, with a detachment of Sullivan's command, reached the head of the lake and destroyed an Indian village not far from where Ithaca now stands.^ Many of these troops were New Englanders, and it is generally believed that their accounts of the country had much to do with later settlements.^
In 1788 a party of eleven men with Indian guides left Kings- ton on the Hudson, to explore the country about Cayuga and Seneca lakes. The following spring (1789), the year of the military survey, three of the eleven returned and located on the site of Ithaca. These were Jacob Yaple, Peter Hinepaw, and Isaac Dumond, all of whom had served in the Eevolution. The first two of these were of Dutch descent, while the ancestors of Dumond had also come from Holland, but were of French Huguenot extraction. These settlers, however, lost their land through carelessness or criminal negligence of their agent in Albany, and the property came into the possession of Simeon DeWitt, Surveyor-General of the state.* The immigrants them- selves moved from the village, and two of them were the first to settle the neighboring town of Danby.'' About 1800 the village of Ithaca was laid out by Simeon DeWitt, and, as the lands were now open to other than New York citizens, they were rapidly settled.
1 Rochester and Western New York, p. 158. History of Tioga (and other) Counties, pp. 476, 498. Pioneer History of Courtland County, by H. C. Goodwin, New York, 1859, pp. 108-9.
2 Sullivan's Expedition, by Fred Cook, Albany, 1887, pp. 77, 376.
3 Ibid. pp. 379-80. History of New York, by Jas. Macauley, New York and Albany, 1829, Vol. Ill, pp. 417-8.
* Early History of Ithaca, by Horace King, Ithaca, 1847, pp. 1-12. 6 History of Tioga (and other) Counties, p. 467.
4
94 DIALECT NOTES.
To understand the possibilities of settlement, let us glance for a moment at early routes of travel. In March, 1794, three commissioners were appointed by the legislature to lay out a road from Fort Schuyler (Utica) to the Cayuga ferry, or the outlet to Cayuga Lake.^ Little seems to have been done, however, until 1797, when the legislature improved the road to Geneva, furnish- ing the highway to the Genesee country and the northern parts of Western New York. In 1804 a turnpike was built from Albany to Canandaigua.^ These, with the water way by the Mohawk Kiver, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, and Oswego or Seneca rivers, furnished the principal northern routes of travel. A road was begun in 1792 from Oxford, on the Chenango Kiver, to Ithaca at the head of Cayuga Lake. This was completed in 1795, and, with its eastern connection to Catskill on the Hudson, " became the great highway for immigration in the southern part of the state for many years ";^ with slight changes this remained the principal east and west line of travel until supplanted by the railroads. In 1835 it crossed the Chenango at Greene, a few miles south of Oxford, and passed through Unadilla and Delhi to Catskill, where it connected with boats to New York. Still one other route belongs to very early days. In 1808 the Ithaca and Owego turnpike was built, and stages then connected with a line of travel from Owego through Binghamton, Delaware, Monticello, and Montgomery to Newburgh on the Hudson, where boats could be taken for New York City. This road, together with the water- way from Unadilla by the Susquehanna to Owego, was used from the earliest times, and was traversed by many of the first settlers in Tompkins County.* To the west Ithaca was connected with Bath, in the heart of the Genesee country, and by Cayuga Lake with the roads to the northern and western parts of the state, so that it became a great distributing point for the surrounding territory.
It is generally admitted that Western New York was settled largely by New England people. On this point, so far as there are historical statements, they are substantially in accord. " New
1 Annals of New York, by John F. Watson, Philadelphia, 1846, p. 85.
2 "Between Albany and Buffalo," by A. G. Hopkins, in Magazine of American History, Vol. XIX, p. 310.
8 History of Tioga (and other) Counties, p. 423. * Views of Ithaca, by Solomon Southwick, Ithaca, 1835, p. 44.
6
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 95
York inland has been especially indebted to New England for its intelligent and enterprising population. ... In a word, the Yankees, so called, have been almost everything to Western New York."^ "Between Seneca and Cayuga lakes the settlers are mostly from Pennsylvania, Jersey, and the western parts of this state, and in the other parts they are mostly emigrants from the New England states." ^ These statements might be multiplied almost indefinitely, and from the most diverse sources. Espe- cially are they true of the Genesee country to the west of the Military Tract. The preemption right to this fertile valley, gained by Massachusetts in 1786, was sold in 1788 to two of her citizens, Nathaniel Phelps and Oliver Gorham. Settlement began in 1789 and increased rapidly. In 1790 there were about 1000 inhabitants ; in 1804 there were 30,000 people in the territory. Imlay, in his Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America, says : " The New England settlers who have fixed themselves on the Genesee Tract have made such favorable reports of the climate and soil, that there are vast numbers of their countrymen preparing to move thither."^ "All the first settlers in the country (the Genesee) were from New England. . . . Indeed, until after the opening of the road to Pennsyl- vania over the Alleghany Mountains, there was scarcely an in- stance to the contrary." *
. Almost the same influences were at work in the case of the Military Tract and Tompkins County, and these were aided by the rapid occupancy of this fertile land to the west. "The county is chiefly settled by New England emigrants."^ "The county is settled by emigrants from various parts of the Union, but chiefly from the New England states."^ "The early emi- grants coming in were mostly of the Puritan stock of Massachu- setts, Vermont, and Connecticut."^ Investigation of the facts
1 Annals of New York, p. 91.
2 Documentary History of New York, Albany, 1850, Vol. II, p. 690.
3 Ibid. Vol. II, p. 649.
4 Ibid. Vol. II, p. 670.
* Historical Collections of the State of New York, by John W. Barber and Henry Howe, New York, 1845, p. 552.
® Gazetteer of the State of New York, by Thomas F. Gordon, Philadelphia, 1836, p. 730.
â– ^ Half-Century Club of Tompkins County, by Charles G. Day, Ithaca, 1881, p. 81.
6
96 DIALECT NOTES.
in the several towns, as far as that is possible from town histories, substantiates these statements.^ The foreign element in the population is small, and this, it is said by old settlers, did not begin to come in until 1830, when some Irish laborers were attracted by railroad construction. In 1835, out of Ithaca's population of 6101, there were but 179 aliens and 142 people of color.^ The county as a whole shows the same small proportion of foreigners. In 1824 there were in the county 26,178 persons, of whom 20 were not naturalized, 72 were colored. The popula- tion in 1875 was 32,897, with only 273 naturalized citizens. The population of Ithaca in 1875 was 10,026, with 1148 foreign born citizens, and 294 colored; but this increase of foreigners has been comparatively recent, and has not materially affected con- ditions existing from the earliest settlement.^
From these facts, and the examination of such repords as exist, as well as from the testimony of the oldest inhabitants, the people of Ithaca and the surrounding country may be divided into the following classes, in the order of numerical importance :
1. Settlers from the New England states. These may be again divided into those who came direct from New England, and those who took up temporary residence in other parts of the state, mainly the eastern counties. Immigrants from New Eng- land have been most largely from Connecticut and Massachusetts.
2. Settlers from the eastern part of New York state. The majority of these were from the counties of Ulster, Orange, Westchester, and Dutchess, bordering on the Hudson. As was indicated above, many of these, perhaps the most of them, were New Englanders, or were direct from England. Of those settling Tompkins County very few were of Dutch descent.
3. Settlers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the Union. Of these, the New Jersey people are the most numerous. The town of Lansing, on the east side of Cayuga Lake, and north of Ithaca, is largely settled by Pennsylvania people, but this is not true of other parts of the county. A few families from Maryland and Virginia came into the county in early times, most of them taking residence in the town of Caroline.
4. Immigrants from various parts of the world. These, as has been pointed out, are comparatively few, and they have come
1 History of Tioga (and other) Counties, pp. 394-534. 2 Views of Ithaca, p. 39. * History of Tioga (and other) Counties, p. 392.
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 97
mainly since 1830, or, as some say, 1850. Among foreigners the Irish are the most numerous.
The fact that the people of Ithaca and Tompkins County are principally from New England being established, it remains to determine whether one of the New England states has had greater influence than another. For this there are few unques- tionable data recorded, and local historians have made little effort in the direction of determining such a point, though some facts are available. From these, however, and from the testimony of residents it seems certain that a larger number can be traced to Connecticut than to any other state. In proof of this the fol- lowing facts are presented. Emigrants from Vermont and New Hampshire moved west on lines of latitude very nearly, so that they occupied Northern New York, but seldom reached southern portions of the state. The people of Massachusetts were natu- rally led into the Massachusetts preemption lands, or the Genesee country, both by the claim of that state and by the richness of the territory ; and even when the preemption right was sold, the tide of immigration from that state seems to have been greater than from any other. Massachusetts also acquired preemption rights to ten townships south and east of Tompkins County, and many of her citizens went to this portion of the state. This left the region about Ithaca and Tompkins County for settlers from the only other New England state sending out emigrants — Con- necticut, and from this state they came in large numbers. There still remain in the county two settlements, almost exclusively of Connecticut people who came in the earliest times, the Beers' settlement from Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Groton, said to have been named by people from Groton, Connecticut.^ In early times, there were Connecticut settlers in nearly every town, if not in all. There were, and still are, many families in Ithaca who claim Connecticut antecedents, and the distinct connection with the latter state is still made by many of Ithaca's most intelligent citizens.
2. THE SPEECH CONDITIONS.
The dialect of Ithaca is based, as has been shown, on a New England dialect, of which the principal element is Connecticut English. It has been modified, slightly, if at all, by the speech
1 New Topographical Atlas of Tompkins County, 1866, p. 12. 8
98 DIALECT NOTES,
of Massachusetts and New Jersey, but has remained practically uncontaminated by the speech of foreigners. Moreover, owing to its separation from through routes of travel since the building of railroads, Ithaca has remained comparatively isolated, so that it represents linguistically a speech-island in the truest sense. So far, therefore, as the people have been uninfluenced by the schools, their speech may be regarded as a natural outgrowth, exemplifying the laws of phonetic change.
The investigation here presented has been made from the speech of people essentially unaffected by the schools, or by more than casual association with educated people. Every pre- caution has been taken, also, to obtain only the natural and unaf- fected speech, and this has been recorded at the time with great exactness. In no case, however, did the individual know his speech was sought, and in all cases there has been a freedom on the part of the speaker which seemed to indicate complete unconsciousness of the form of expression.^ Individual peculiar- ities, clearly not representing the dialect as a whole, have been carefully excluded, and in most cases words or expressions have been heard several times, or from several speakers, before being taken as typical. In a similar manner, peculiarities occasioned by imperfect utterance, loss of teeth, or other defect of speech- organs, have been taken into account. The speech of middle- aged and older people has been especially investigated, in the belief that this would more exactly represent an uncontaminated dialect, these being less influenced by the schools or by mixture. It remains to say that each individual whose speech has been recorded has been born in the town or vicinity, or has been a resident of the town for the greater part of his life. In this respect the care with which the material was gathered will be attested by the following statements, in regard to those from whom the largest collections have been made : —
A was bom in a neighboring county, of Connecticut par-
entage. He came to Ithaca about 1845, and is perhaps fifty
1 The plan actually pursued was to talk with various individuals on such subjects as the history of the town, its business and manufactures, the cus- toms of former times. This allowed the collector to hold note- book in hand, and, under the guise of obtaining historical facts for future use, set down in phonetic symbols the words used.
0
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 99
years of age. He talks freely, and without special peculiarities of utterance.
B came here from Connecticut, when a boy, about 1840.
Word and sentence accent are stronger than in many individuals.
C was born of Connecticut parents within a few miles of
Ithaca. He followed the sea for a few years in early life, but this has not influenced his dialect perceptibly, except by the introduction of nautical terms, which, however, have been made to conform to the Ithaca dialect in character of sounds. He is about fifty-five years of age.
D was born a few miles from the city, but he early came
to Ithaca. He thinks his parents came from Connecticut, and this is supported by the fact that his early years were spent in a Connecticut settlement in the county. He has no special peculiarities of speech, and his appearance indicates that he is about sixty years of age.
E was born in a Connecticut settlement in Tompkins
County, but early came to the village. He is about sixty-two years old, but is active, and a rapid talker.
F was born in New Jersey, coming to Ithaca in 1820,
when one year old.
G was also born in New Jersey, but came to Ithaca when
a child. He is between fifty and sixty years of age.
H was born in the county, and has lived here ever since.
His father was from New Jersey, his mother from Massachusetts. He speaks slowly, and with precision of articulation.
I came from Albany in 1812. His name indicates Dutch
extraction, but he is thoroughly Americanized. He has the pecu- liarity of unvoicing certain voiced spirants, due probably to loss of teeth.
J is a man of nearly eighty; was born in Westchester
County, but came to Ithaca about 1830. The peculiarities of his expression are the loss of r, unusual here, and the sound of a {father) in such words as dog, log, fog.
10
100 DIALECT NOTES,
II. PHONOLOGY.
1. THE VOWELS AND THEIR SYMBOLS.
1. The phonetic symbols used in this treatise are those of the American Dialect Society, so far as they are necessary, but with the following exceptions : a indicates the short, d the long, sound of the same vowel, as heard long in the dialect pronunciation of card, father, short in that of not, hot, top; ce is the long sound of ce; iu is used instead of iH-, and before r appear ced {fair, there), id {fear, near), dd {more, pour), ud {poor, tour). For convenience of reference the complete list of IthD. vowels and consonants is given (§ 2), but their quality will be treated in proper order hereafter.
2. The vowels of the Ithaca dialect are a, d, ce, ce, e, S, e, i, %, d seldom, d, o, v, u, H, a appearing in unstressed syllables and as a glide before r, besides the diphthongs ai, au, oi, iu. The last is a true diphthong, though rare, distinct from the yOb for the written u in use, union. The consonants are h, d, 9", /, g, h, k, I, w, n, q, p, r, s, f t, ]>, V, w, y, z, 3.
3. Accent is marked only when the stress is upon some other than the first syllable, and when required to indicate accent a turned period is placed before the stressed vowel. For secondary stress and its effect on vowels of unstressed syllables, see § 142 et seq.
2. QUANTITY AND QUALITY.
4. In distinguishing quantity, long and short will be com- monly used, even when finer distinctions might be made. The vowels e, e, i, d (not common), u, d, are always short ; ^, t, 6, H, are always long ; 0 is usually long, but is half-long ^ before voiced consonants ; » is usually short, but is lengthened somewhat before voiced consonants and the fricatives ; a and ce appear as both short and long, the former being short when it represents earlier short 0 which has become unrounded. These statements
1 The term is used as by Sweet for a quantity half-way between long and short. Cf. Primer of Phonetics, last edition (1890), § 97, and History of English Sounds, § 942.
11
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 101
refer to length in stressed syllables, all vowels in unstressed syllables being short, or half-long under secondary stress.
5. A careful examination of the vowels shows some consider- able differences between their quality in Ithaca dialect and in London English as given by Sweet.^ These differences may be summarized as follows : —
1) There is a tendency to widen vowels narrow in LdE. or in the continental languages. Sweet now recognizes as wide rather than narrow the long vowels ^, t, 6, H, of LdE. (PrPh., § 189 et seq.). To these must be added for IthD. the long open 0, as in law, the » of but, hut, and the sound before r in there, hair (cea). The first is low-back-wide rather than low-back- narrow. The second is clearly wide, besides being advanced and lowered ; it is therefore mid-back-wide-forward-lowered. The last is low-front-wide, the low-front-narrow being heard so seldom as to be in no sense characteristic.
2) The long vowels ^, I, 6, H (cf. HES., § 969) are not diph- thongal as in LdE. This non-diphthongal character is not only evident to the ear, but is attested also by the position of the organs, which remain rigid in the formation of the vowel, and do not change as is necessary when making the glide.
3) Before r, which is regularly preserved in IthD., a glide is not always heard after a vowel, and never so distinctly as in LdE. or in the speech of educated people in America. It is most com- monly heard after the vowels t, H, d, ce, when the glide and vowel have together the quantity of a long vowel. Before r, there- fore, these vowels will be written id, ud, da, oea, but it must be remembered that the glide has not the prominence it has in drawled speech, and in no case does it take the place of the r as in LdE. (PrPh., § 211). The wideness of cea has been men- tioned in 1), ea of LdE. being rarely heard. Especially note- worthy is the fact that 6 before r has never become open o (a), as it has regularly in LdE. (HES., § 967, 6, and word list, p. 391; also PrPh., § 202).
4) The vowel a, as in father, is low-back-wide, not mid-back- wide as given by Sweet for LdE. As is well known. Bell makes the English a low-back-wide, and there can be no question that this is the right analysis for IthD. a, making it identical with the Swedish a in mat.
1 Reference is to the Primer of Phonetics, §§ 189-204. 12
102
DIALECT NOTES.
5) Common short o as in not (LdE. low-back-wide-round) is regularly unrounded, becoming identical in quality with a in father (low-back-wide), but remaining short in quantity.
6) The vowel ce, long of ce in man, hat (low-front-wide), occurs regularly in closed syllables before the voiceless fricatives /, th (|)), and s, instead of LdE. a {ad). Examples are ask, half path, and of. HES. word list, p. 382.
7) The diphthong in eye, my, usually written ai, differs from LdE. in being slightly lowered and retracted, so that it approaches more nearly the union of a and i.
8) The diphthong oi, as in hoy, is always low-back-wide-round instead of mid-back-wide-round in its first element. In many such words as point, poison, IthD. shows the variant ai ; but cf. § 124.
9) The diphthong au is fronted slightly, so that it approaches a union of ce and u more nearly than in the speech of educated Englishmen and Americans, but it never reaches the fronting represented by eou in such spellings as ceow, ceounty, in the New England and Southern dialects.
6. It follows, therefore, that the IthD. vowels, arranged so far as possible in the scheme of Sweet, may be shown thus : —
Vowel System of the Ithaca Dialect.
|
Nabbow. |
Wide. |
||||||
|
Back. |
Mixed. |
Front. |
Back. |
Mixed. |
Front. |
||
|
Q Z |
i |
i bit Isee |
|||||
|
[6 earth] i |
[^ butY |
a(i) eye^ a better |
e men e say, name |
||||
|
1 |
B.not a father |
a(u) how^ |
Sdhat & fast |
||||
|
H 1 |
(i)u/e«; |
ufull VitWO |
V |
||||
|
2 |
b only 6 note |
||||||
|
it 3 |
0 boy o(i) 0 law |
» Between mid-mixed and low-back-narrow. 2 Between mid-back and low-mixed-wide.
8 Compare notes on these in § 5, 7), 9),
13
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 103
7. The relation between lip-opening and tongue position is not perhaps an absolute one, but it is sufficiently definite to be worthy of consideration. The measurements of lip-opening in the case of a single individual are therefore given, though for the dialect as a whole they must be regarded as relative rather than absolute.
Lip-Opening for Vowels.
a 3.7 X 1.5 centimetres. e 2.8 x .5 centimetres.
88 3.3 X 1.2 " 0 2.5 X .5-.6
e 3.2X1. " i 2.5 X. 3
i 3 X.7-.8 " 6 2.3X.5-.6
-B 3 X.6 " u 2. X.3
e 2.8 X .8 " u 1.5 x 3
III. HISTORICAL SUMMARY.
1. GENERAL.
8. For completeness of presentation and for ease of reference a twofold arrangement of material is here given. The material as a whole has been placed under the vowels of the Ithaca Dia- lect, while the historical survey has been limited to the following tables, with references to succeeding sections. Of these the tables of West Germanic and Old Trench vowels are naturally most valuable, from the greater number of examples, but it has seemed best also to add tables representing the comparatively small early Latin and Scandinavian additions. The later words which appear in IthD. are not here tabulated, because there are but few from a single source, and the time at which these were introduced cannot be determined with accuracy. In giving ME. vowels late, rather than early, ME. is intended, and it has been in some cases impossible to verify the vowel, since the phonology of ME. presents in itself so many difficulties. In OE. a tagged q (open o) is used only before a nasal ; in ME., however, the tagged q (short) is used always for the open sound, while the untagged 0 indicates the close sound, unless otherwise marked. Similarly, the tagged ^ (short) is used in OE. and ME. for the open e, and untagged e indicates the close sound.
14
104
DIALECT NOTES.
2. THE WEST GERMANIC VOWELS.
9. West G-ermanic a develops as follows
WG.
a a a
a a a
a + h a + g a + g a + g a + g a+ w a + f a + nasal
a + r a + r a + r a + r a + r a + r a + g + r a + h + r
of contr.
ws.
86 (a), ea 86 (a), ea
86
86 (a), ea 86 (a) 86 (a), ea 86 (a) , ea ea+ Id ea (e) + Id ^ by umlaut
ie,5^ "
SB + g
^ + g (umlaut)
i + g
a, ea + g
a, ea by contr.
ea + f (w)
Q
Q
Q
Q
<2
Q + mb
6 by loss of nasal
6 " "
6 " "
e<6"
ea (se)
ea(a)
^ by umlaut
se + g + r ea by contr.
M£.
a, 6 open
e
eopen
e
ai
ei (ai)
ili(i)
au
au
au
a
a
a
Q
Q
6
6
6 open(Q)
Q
e open
a
§ open
§ open (ai)
§
IthD.
86 hat, 70 I 1) 86 lath, 73 I 1) e together, 78 I 1) a watch, 62 I 1) -B rather, 112 I 5)
0 small, 98 I 1) e acre, 82 I 3) 6 hold, 105 I 7) i wield, 92 I 14) e send, 78 I 3)
i chill, 88 I 8) e edge, 82, I 4)
1 heave, 92, I 13) i sfee/, 92 I 12)
e dai/, 82 I 1) e say, 82 I 2) ai night, 124 I 11) 0 draw, 98 I 2) 0 straw, 98 I 3) 0 hawk, 98 I 4) 86 man, 70 I 1) ^ hand, 73 I 1) a swan, 62 I 1) 0 long, 98 I 5) "B among, 112 15) u M;o»i6, 119 I 6) u tooth, 119 14) 0 so/?, 98 I 6) -B ofAer, 112 I 6) i heel, 92 I 6) a arm, 65 I 1) 868 care, 75 I 1) e earn, 85 I 3) 13 beard, 92 I 4) a barletj, 65 I 2) 868 swear, 75 I 2) 3&9fair, 75 I 3) ia fear, 95 I 3)
10. West Germanic e becomes :
e (eo) e (eo) eo, ie, y
e, 15
e swell, 78 1 1) 86 thrash, 70 I 2) i yesterday, 88 I 10)
THE ITHACA DIALECT.
105
|
WG. |
ws. |
MT^. |
IthD. |
|
e |
i |
i |
i give, 88 I 9) |
|
e |
e + ld |
e |
ijield, 92 I 9) |
|
e |
e |
e open |
i steal, 92 I 11) |
|
e |
e |
e open |
e break, 82 I 6) |
|
e |
go by contr. |
e |
1 see, 92 I 10) |
|
e + g |
i |
i |
ai scythe, 124 I 5) |
|
e + g |
e |
ei (ai) |
e way, 82 I 5) |
|
e + h. |
i pal. umlaut + h |
ili(i) |
ai right, 124 I 5) |
|
e + r |
eo |
e |
e earth, 85 I 1) |
|
e + r |
eo |
e(a) |
0 dwarf, 98 I 9) |
|
e + r |
60 |
6 open |
6a sword, 109 I 4) |
|
e + r |
60 |
e, u, 0 |
-B bu(r)st, 112 I 7) |
|
e + r |
eo |
a |
a star, 65 I 3) |
|
e + r |
e |
e open |
868 tear, 75 I 7) |
|
e + r |
6 |
e open |
ia spear, 95 I 6) |
|
11. |
West Germanic i : |
||
|
i(io) |
i |
i smith, 88 I 1) |
|
|
io (eo) |
e |
e hence, 78 I 5) |
|
|
i(u) |
u(6?) |
u wood, 117 I 8) |
|
|
i(u) |
i, e |
1 iveeJc, 92 I 16) |
|
|
i |
i + Id, nd, mb |
i |
ai child, 124 I 4) |
|
go by contr. |
e |
1 three, 92 I 16) |
|
|
eo " " |
e |
e friend, 78 I 4) |
|
|
i + h |
i |
iga) |
ai tile, 124 I 3) |
|
i + nasal i < i + n |
I,i |
iffy, 88 I 2) |
|
|
i+ " |
l<i + n |
t |
Siifve, 124 12) |
|
i + r |
i |
i, e, u |
e her, 85 I 2) |
|
12. |
West Germanic o : |
||
|
0 |
0 |
Q |
a gossip, 62 I 3) |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
-B honey, 112, I 4) |
|
0 |
u |
u |
ufull, 117 I 7) |
|
0 |
0 |
6 open |
6 hole, 105 I 4) |
|
o |
Q + ld |
6 open |
6 gold, 105 I 3) |
|
0 |
0 + ld |
6 |
u should, 117 I 6) |
|
0 + h |
o + h |
Q + h (ou) |
0 bought, 98 I 8) |
|
o + g |
0 |
ou |
6 bow, 105 I 5) |
|
o + r |
0 |
Q |
0 corn, 98 I 7) |
|
o + r |
0 |
6 open |
68 torn, 109 I 3) |
|
o + r |
0 (u) y "by umlaut |
o(u) |
e word, 85 I 4) |
|
13. |
West Germanic u : |
||
|
u |
u |
u |
-B sun, 112 I 1) |
|
u(?) |
u |
u |
upull, 117 14) |
|
u |
u + ld |
6 open 16 |
6 shoulder, 105 I 6) |
106
DIALECT NOTES.
|
WG. |
ws. |
ME. |
IthD. |
|
U |
u + nd |
U |
au hound, 129 I 7) |
|
u |
u (lengthened) |
U |
au now, 129 I 3) |
|
u |
y by umlaut |
i |
•B bristle, 112, I 3) |
|
u |
y " " +nd |
i |
ai kind, 124 1 13) |
|
u + g |
y (( (' |
ih(i) |
ai buy, 124 1 12) |
|
u + h |
U + h |
u + h (ou ?) |
u through, 119 I 11) |
|
u + nasal u < u + n |
u |
au mouth, 129 I 4) |
|
|
u |
U |
u(ou) |
u could, 117 I 5) |
|
u " |
U |
u |
•B southern, 112 I 2) |
|
u " |
^<u<u+n |
1(0 |
i wish, 88 I 4) |
|
u + r |
u |
6 open |
6a door, 109 I 5) |
|
u + r |
y by umlaut |
i |
eJirst,S61Q) |
|
14. |
West Germanic d : |
||
|
a |
& by umlaut |
a |
e race, 82 I 8) |
|
a |
& " " |
g |
i deed, 92 I 1) |
|
a |
& «' (( |
a |
86 bladder, 70 I 3) |
|
a |
& (( (( |
a |
ae blast, 73 I 2) |
|
a |
ss " " |
e open |
e breath, 78 I 6) |
|
a |
a after w |
6 |
u two, 119 I 3) |
|
a + g (w) ^ by umlaut |
ai |
e gray, 82 I 7) |
|
|
a + h |
ea(^) |
ih(i) |
ai nigh, 124 I 10) |
|
a + w |
a |
ou |
6 blow, 105 I 1) |
|
a + nasal 6 |
6 |
u moon, 119 I 3) |
|
|
a |
6 |
6 |
u soon, 117 I 2) |
|
a " |
6 |
0 |
â– B wionfA, 112 I 11) |
|
a |
a |
6 open |
0 yawn, 98 I 10) |
|
a " |
g < 6 by umlaut |
e |
i 9Meen, 92 I 2) |
|
a + r |
& |
e open |
ia/ear, 95 11) |
|
a + ii + |
r ea by contr. |
e " |
ia near, 95 I 2) |
|
a + r |
a(ea) |
a (g open) |
sea hair, 75 I 4) |
|
15. |
West Germanic ^ : |
||
|
g + r |
e |
§ |
la here, 95 I 5) |
|
16. |
West Germanic t : |
||
|
1 |
i |
ai while, 124 I 1) |
|
|
1 |
1 |
i wisdom, 88 I 3) |
|
|
1 |
t(i) |
i,e |
e since, 78 I 8) |
|
1 |
i after w |
U, 0 |
u woman, 117 19) |
|
i + w |
eu |
fi Tuesday, 119 I 10) |
|
|
i + r |
i |
aia iron, 125 1) |
|
|
17. |
West Germanic 6 : |
||
|
6 |
6 |
6 |
u cool, 119 I 1) |
|
6 |
6(eo) |
6 |
fi sAoe, 119 I 2) |
|
17 |
^ |
THE ITHACA DIALECT.
107
|
WG. |
ws. |
ME. |
IthD. |
|
6 |
6 |
6 |
n Aoo/, 117 1 1) |
|
6 |
6 |
6,0 |
z, fodder, 62 I 4) |
|
o |
6 |
6,0 |
"B iro^Aer, 112 I 9) |
|
6 |
u |
u |
an cow, 129 I 6) |
|
6 |
e by nmlaut |
e |
i/ee/, 92 15) |
|
6 |
e " " |
e |
e A:ei9f, 78 I 9) |
|
6 |
e " '^ |
g |
i weary, 88 I 11) |
|
6 + h |
6 |
on |
an^j^oM;, 129 16) |
|
o + w |
6 |
6 |
6 row, 105 I 2) |
|
o + r |
6 |
6 open |
68 >or, 109 12) |
|
18. |
West Germanic H : |
||
|
u |
u |
n |
an house, 129 1 1) |
|
11 |
u |
n(o) |
•8 sAoye, 112 I 8) |
|
11 |
y by nmlant |
i |
ai hive, 124 I 7) |
|
u |
y " " |
1 |
ijist, 88 I 5) |
|
li + g |
u |
on |
an how, 129 I 2) |
|
ii + nasal u |
6 |
n room, 117 I 3) |
|
|
ii + r |
n |
fi |
ana our, 130 1) |
|
fi + r |
y by nmlant |
i |
ai8>e, 125 2) |
|
19. |
West Germanic diphthong ai : |
||
|
ai |
a |
6 open |
6 no, 105 I 1) |
|
ai |
a |
6 open (q) |
0 cloth, 98 1 12) |
|
ai |
a |
6 open |
6 boat, 104 I |
|
ai |
a |
6(0) |
a Ao^ 62 I 2) |
|
ai |
86 by nmlant |
e open |
i eacA, 92 I 3) 4) |
|
ai |
£6 " " |
a |
88 /af, 70 I 4) |
|
ai |
36 " " |
a |
& ask, 73 I 3) |
|
ai |
86 " *' |
e open (e) |
e health, 78 I 7) |
|
ai + h |
a |
0 + h (on) |
0 ought, 98 111) |
|
ai + w |
a |
on |
6 snow, 105 I 1) |
|
ai + r |
a |
a |
a ^ar^tc, 65 I 4) |
|
ai + r |
a |
. 6 open |
69 oar, 109 I 1) |
|
ai + r |
86 by nmlant |
e " |
869 early, 75 I 6) |
|
ai + g + |
r 86 " '^ |
e "(open ei) aea stair, 76 I 6) |
|
|
20. |
West Germanic au : |
||
|
an |
ga |
g open |
6 ^rreaf, 82 I 9) |
|
an |
ea |
g " |
e death, 78 I 10) |
|
an |
ea |
a |
86 Chapman, 70 I 5) |
|
an |
ea |
g open |
i leaf, 92 I 7) |
|
an |
§a, f by nmlant |
Ui) |
i strip, 88 I 6) |
|
an + g |
e + g |
ei |
g Aay, 82 I 10) |
|
an + h |
ea, f by nmlaut |
1 |
2Ahigh, 124 18) |
|
an + h( |
w) ea |
eu 18 |
fi dew, 119 I 9) |
108
DIALECT NOTES.
|
WG. |
ws. |
ME. |
IthD. |
|
|
au + w |
ea |
eu |
in few, 133 I |
|
|
au + r |
ea, f by umlaut |
e open |
ia Acar, 9617) |
|
|
21. |
West Germanic eu : |
|||
|
eu |
60 |
g |
t freeze, 92 IS) |
|
|
eu |
go |
g open |
e breast, 78 I 11) |
|
|
eu |
go |
6 |
ti shoot, 119 I 7) |
|
|
eu |
eo or f by umlaut |
Ui) |
i sick, 88 I 7) |
|
|
eu + h (g) |
eo |
ei, ih (i) |
aify, 124 I 9) |
|
|
eu + w |
eo |
eu |
a <rue, 119 I 8) |
|
|
eu + r |
€0 |
e |
ia deer, 95 I 8) |
|
|
eu + r |
f by umlaut |
i |
aia mire, 125 3) |
3. THE EARLY LATIN ELEMENT.
22. Latin a, d become :
|
I<at. |
ws. |
|
a |
86 (a), ea |
|
a |
a |
|
a |
H |
|
a |
y by umlaut |
|
a + nasal |
a, Q |
|
a + r |
86, ea |
|
§ |
fe, ga |
|
23. Latin e: |
i
i + r 1
24. Latin i, i :
i(e)
i
i
25. Latin o :
o o o o o o + nasal
o 5 6 6
y < u by umlaut u + nd
26. Latin u, U
ME.
a a
6 open e, i
§ open
e
i
§ open
!
6 open 6
19
IthD.
86 Saturday, 70 II ^ plaster, 73 II 6 jDo/e, 105 II 1) i» ytiW/f-, 88 II 3) 86 candle, 70 II a ark, 65 II ! 5/ree^ 92 II 1)
e spend, 78 II 1) % fever, 92 II 2)
e pepper, 78 II 2) i dish, 88 II 1) 868 pear, 75 II ai mile, 124 II
a soc^, 62 II 6 rose, 105 I 2) u cook, 117 II 1) u school, 119 II i mill, 88 II 2) au pound, 129 II 2>
a copper, 62 II 0/<irA:,98II
THE ITHACA DIALECT.
109
|
I.at. |
ws. |
ME. |
IthD. |
|
u |
u |
u |
-B 6u«er, 112 II 1) |
|
u |
y by umlaut |
i |
i inch, 88 II 2) |
|
u + r |
u |
u |
6 /)ur/)/e, 85, II |
|
u |
u |
ii |
au trout, 129, II 1) |
|
u |
ti |
11 |
B plum, 112 II 2) |
4. THE SCANDINAVIAN VOWELS.
27. Scandinavian a (Ja), d, ce i
|
Scand. a a |
ME. a a |
|
|
a a ^ by umlaut |
a |
|
|
a + g (q by u a + r ja + r a |
-umlaut) |
au a e open, 6 " |
|
a + g |
ou g(e) e open |
IthD.
86 rash, 70 III
86 cast, 73 III
0 call, 98 III 2)
e take, 82 II 1)
e dwell, 78 III 1)
g leg, 82 II 2)
0 law, 98 III 1)
a harden, 65 III
sea, ia scare, 75 III ; 95 III 3)
6 loan, 105 III 1)
6 low, 105 III 2)
i wing, 88 III 2)
ia sneer, 95 II 1)
28. Scandinavian ^, ei : g e open
e e
e (?) + r e open
ei ei
ei ei, ai
1 leak, 92 III 2) e fellow, 78 III 2) ia blear, 95 II 2) ! weak, 92 III 2) g steak, 82 II 3)
29. Scandinavian i,
1 i
i + r i
i skill, 88 III 1) ejit, 78 III 3 6 whirl, 85 III ai thrive, 124 III 1)
30. Scandinavian d, ce :
o
6e + h
o ili(i)
u took, 117 III 1) ai sli/, 124 III 3)
31 . Scandinavian u, it :
y by umlaut y by umlaut
20
•B u^/i/, 112 III u bull, 117 III 2) i liji, 88 III 3) fl 6oo<A, 119 III 1) ai sky, 124 III 2)
110
DIALECT NOTES.
5. THE OLD FRENCH VOWELS.
32. Old French a :
OF.
a a a a
a + r a + r
33. Old French e:
e+ nasal e *' e + r e + r e + r e + r
34. Old French i
i i + r
35. Old French o
Q Q o
<2 Q+r
36. Old French u, it :
^ (°' o^) u (0, ou)
^ G (ou)
^ + '^ o(u,ou)
u + r ^
tt u
^ u (iu)
^ • u (iu)
|
M£. |
It,hT>. |
|
a after w |
a quantity, 62 III 1) |
|
a |
86 /an, 70 IV 1) |
|
a |
» cAance, 73 IV 1) |
|
a |
eface, 82 III 1) |
|
a |
a part, 6^ IV I) |
|
a |
sea sguare, 75 IV 1) |
|
e |
e letter, 78 IV 1) |
|
eopen |
e measure, 82 III 6) |
|
6 ♦' |
1/east, 92 IV 1) |
|
e |
3B relative, 70 IV 2) |
|
i |
i chimney, 88 IV 2) |
|
e |
i genera/, 88 IV 3) |
|
e, a |
a/arm, 65 IV 2) |
|
e(a) |
e clerk, 85 IV 1) |
|
e (e open ?) |
ia c/ear, 95 III 1) |
|
e, a |
3d pa(r)tridge, 70 IV 2) |
|
i |
i rich, 88 IV 1) |
|
1 |
ai cry, 124 IV 1) |
|
1 |
aia desire, 125 4) |
|
Q(o?) |
a Aonor, 62 III 2) |
|
Q |
0 cord, 98 IV 1) |
|
Q (6 open) |
6 r/ose, 105 IV |
|
6 |
ufool, 119 IV 1) |
|
6 |
u move, 119 IV 2) |
|
6 open |
68 store, 109 II |
V suffer, 112 IV 1)
au vow, sound, 129 III 1) 2)
6 disturb, 85 IV 2)
ana hour, 130 2)
U sugar, 117 IV 1)
'e justice, 112 IV 2)
e>5^78IV3)
fl cruel, 119 IV 3)
iu abuse, 133 II
21
THE ITHACA DIALECT,
111
37. Old FrencK a^ :
|
OF. |
ME. |
IthD. |
|
|
ai |
ai, ei |
e pay, 82 III 2) |
|
|
ai < all |
, ani |
ai |
efail, 82 III 3) |
|
ai |
e open |
e pheasant, 78 IV 2) |
|
|
ai |
g " |
t please, 92 IV 2) |
|
|
ai + r |
§ " |
sea repair, 75 IV 3) |
|
|
38. |
Old French ei : |
||
|
ei |
ei, ai |
e paint, 82 III 4) |
|
|
ei |
ei |
1 receive, 92 IV 3) |
|
|
ei + r |
g open |
sea/aiV, 75 IV 4) |
|
|
39. |
Old French ie : |
||
|
ie |
§ |
l^ne/,92IV5) |
|
|
ie + r |
g |
ia>rce, 95III2) |
|
|
ie + r |
' |
e,l |
aia entire, 125 5) |
|
ie + r |
ie,t |
868 squire, 75 IV 2) |
|
|
40. |
Old French oi, qi: |
||
|
oi |
oi (17th cent, ai) |
ai point, 124 IV 2) |
|
|
oi < 0 + 1 mouilUe |
oi " " |
ai oil, 124 IV 3) |
|
|
Qi |
oi |
oi choice, 132 I |
|
|
oi |
oi (u ?) |
â– B musty, 112 IV 3) |
|
|
oi |
u |
u bushel, 117 IV 2) |
|
|
41. |
Old French au : |
||
|
au |
au |
0 cause, 98 IV 3) |
|
|
au<a- |
f 1 |
au |
0 default, 98 IV 2) |
|
au < a + 1 |
au |
SB sausage, 70 IV 3) |
|
|
au < a + 1 |
au |
& sauce, 73 IV 2) |
|
|
42. |
Old French eu, eau |
ui, ue : |
|
|
eu |
iu |
iirM/e, 119IV5) |
|
|
eau < ell + cons. |
iu |
yu beauty, 119 lY 6) |
|
|
ui |
iu(u) |
ii fruit, 119 IV 4) |
|
|
ue |
g |
i beef 92 IV 2) |
6. SUMMARY OF DEVELOPMENT PROM MB.
43. The development since ME. times has special interest as throwing light on ME. phonology. For this the Chaucer Gram- mar of ten Brink has been consulted in all cases. However, when the later development of a series of words pointed to a vowel of different quality in ME., that has been taken as the IME. basis of the change, even when sometimes at variance with
22
112 DIALECT NOTES.
ten Brink. This applies especially to the difference between open and close e, o long and short, and it is hoped the present grouping of examples may serve to settle in some degree the questionable quality of those vowels. The numbers refer to sections.
44. ME. a appears in IthD. as :
1) CE regularly : hat, 70 I 1); bladder, 70 I 3); fat, 70 I 4); Chapman, 70 I 5) ; Saturday, 70 II ; rash, 70 III ; tan, 70 IV 1); pa(r)tridge, 70 IV 2).
2) eg regularly before/, th(\>), s, q, n+ cons. : lath, hand, 70 I 1); blast, 73 I 2); ask, 73 I 3); plaster, 73 II ; cast, 73 III.
3) a, after w, not before a back cons, nor before Z or r + cons. : wallow, 62 I 1); quantity, 62 III 1).
4) a before r + cons, (sometimes final r) not preceded by w : arm, 65 1 1) ; barley, 65 I 2); star, 65 I 3); garlic, 65 I 4); ark, 65 II ; harden, 65 III ; part, 65 IV 1); /arm, 65 IV 2).
5) 0 after w before r, Z or to + cons. ; or before I : small, warm, 98 I 1) ; dwarf, 98 I 9); call, 98 III 2).
6) c, V, occasionally : together, 78 I 1); rather, 112 I 5).
45. ME. e (open or close) has become :
1) e regularly: swell, 78 I 1); send, 78 I 3); hence, 78 I 6); spend, 78 11 1); pepper, 78 II 2); dwell, 78 III 1); fellow, 78 III 2); letter, 78 IV I); pheasant, 78 IV 2).
2) ce sometimes : thrash, 70 I 2); relative, 70 IV 2).
3) i occasionally : general, 88 IV 3); yesterday, 88 1 10).
4) c in a few words : edge, 82 I 4); leg, 82 II 2).
5) e in closed syllables before r: earn, 85 I 3); earth, 85 1 1); clerk, 85 IV 1).
6) v<er after loss of r : burst, 112 I 7), a few examples.
46. ME i appears as :
1) i regularly : smith, 88 I 1); ffiy, 88 I 2); wisdom, 88 I 3); fst, 88 I 5); wish, SSI 4); strip, SSI 6); sick, SS 11); chill, SS 1 S) ; give, SSI 10); dishy 88 III); mill, 88 II 2); kettle, SS 11 S) ; skill, SS 1111); Zi/?, 88 III 3) ; rich, SSIYI); chimney, SS IV 2).
2) ai<ih (g): tile, 124 I 3); right, 124 I 4); dry, 124 I 7); night, 124 I 11); buy, 124 I 12).
3) e occasionally : since, 78 I 8); ft, 78 III 3).
4) V seldom : bristle, 112 I 3).
5) e before r : her, 85 I 2); frst, 85 I 6); whirl, 85 III.
47. ME. 0 (open usually) has become :
1) a by unrounding regularly : gossip, 62 I 3) ; hot, 62 I 2) ; fodder, 62 1 4) ; box, 62 II ; honor, 62 III 2) ; cf. also from 62 I 1).
23
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 113
2) 0 before /, th (J>), s, r), r + cons. : Zon^, 98 I 5); sofl, 98 I 6); corn, 98 I 7); fork, 98 II ; cord, 98 IV 1); c/o^A, 98 I 12).
3) 0 from open oh (IME. ou) : brought, 98 I 6); bought, 98 I 8); ought, 98 I 11).
4) V (especially before nasals) < close o : honey, 112 I 4); among, 112 I 5); other, 112 I 6); brother, 112 I 9); one, 112 I 10); month, 112 I 11).
5) e (before r) < o close after w : wore?, 85 I 4).
48 ME. u and it are found as :
1) » regularly: sun, 112 11); southern, 112 I 2) ; shove, 112 18); butter, 112 II 1); plum, 112 II 2); ugly, 112 III ; suj'er, 112 IV 1); justice, 112 IV 2).
2) u after w or before I usually : pull, 117 I 4:); full, 117 I 7); woman, 117 I 9); 6mZ/, 117 III 2); 6MsAe/, 117 IV 2J.
3) iKuh: through, 119 I 2).
4) z M < M : abuse, 133 II.
6) c occasionally : ^ms^, 78 IV 3).
6) e before r : Thursday, 85 I 5); pwrp/g, 85 II ; disturb, 85 IV 2).
49. ME. d has become :
1) e regularly : race, 82 I 8); acre, 82 I 3); take, 82 II 1); /ace, 82 III 1).
2) cea before r : care, 75 I 2); square, 75 IV 1).
50. ME. ^ (open) , ^ appear as :
1) i regularly from ME. close e : queen, 92 I 2); feel, 92 I 5); freeze, 92 I 8); heel, 92 16); feld, 92 I 9); see, 92 I 10); he, 92 I 11); wield, 92 I 15); three, 92 I 16); fever, 92 II 2); ^ne/, 92 IV 5); beef, 92 IV 4).
2) i by later change from ME. open e : deed, 92 I 1); each, 92 I 3); leaf, 92 I 7); steal, 92 I 12); steel, 92 I 13); heave, 92 I 14); street, 92 II 1); leak, 92 III 2); feast, 92 IV 1); please, 92 IV 2).
3) e in a few words : great, 82 19); break, 82 I 6); measure, 82 III 5).
4) e sometimes by shortening in IME. or early MdE. : breath, 78 16); friend, 78 I 4); health, 78 I 7); kept, 78 I 9) ; death, 78 I 10); breast, 78 I 11); pheasant, 78 IV 2).
5) I occasionally: weary, 88 1 11).
6) id regularly from ME. close e before r : here, 95 I 5); deer, 95 I 8); sneer, 95 II 1); fierce, 95 III 2).
7) 19 through close e by later change from ME. open e : fear, 95 I 2) ; tear, 95 I 3); beard, 95 I 4); spear, 95 I 6); hear, 95 I 7); scare, 95 II 3); blear, 95 II 2); clear (ME. e ?), 95 III 1).
8) cea from open e before r when remaining open : swear, 75 I 2) ; hair, 75 I 4); rear, 75 I 5); tear, 76 I 7); pear, 75 II; scare, 75 III; repair, 75 IV S)',fair, 75 IV 4).
51 . ME. t has become :
1) ai regularly by diphthonging : while, 124 I 1); fve, 124 I 2); child, 124 I 4); scythe, 124 I 6); kind, 124 I 13); mile, 124 II ; thrive, 124 III 1); sky,
24
114 DIALECT NOTES.
124 III 2); from ih (earUer eh) high, 124 I 8); /«/, 124 I 9); nigh, 124 I 10); s///, 124 III 3).
2) i occasionally : wish^ 88 I 4).
3) ai9 before r: iron, 125 1); Jire, 125 2); mire, 125 3); desire, 125 4); entire, 125 5).
52. ME. (5 (open) appears as :
1) 6 regularly : no, 105 I 2); gold, 105 I 4); over, 105 I 5); shoulder, 106 I 7); hold, 105 I 8); pole, 105 II 1); rose, 105 II 2); /oan, 105 III 1); close, 105 IV 1.
2) 3 occasionally : yawn, 98 I 10).
3) 6 seldom : boat, 104 I.
4) 09 before r : oar, 109 I 1); Jloor, 109 I 2); «orn, 109 I 3); sword, 109 I 4); door, 109 I 5); store, 109 II.
53. ME. 6 (close) has become :
1) M regularly: cool, 119 I 1); shoe, 119 I 2); moon, 119 I 3); tooth, 119 I 4); two, 119 I 5); shoot, 119 I 7); ivomb, 119 I 6); school, 119 II; 6oofA, 119 III l);fool, 119 IV 1); move, 119 IV 2).
2) u by shortening from long u : Aoo/, 117 I 1); soon, 117 I 2); room, 117 I 3); sAoM/rf, 117 I 6); coo^•, 117 II ; took, 117 III 1).
3) V sometimes : whole, 112 I 10).
54. ME. H (written ou in Ch.) appears as :
1) au regularly by diphthonging : house, 129 I 1); bow, 129 I 2); now, 129 I 3); mouth, 129 I 4); cow, 129 I 5); hound, 129 I 7); pound, 129 II 2); trout, 129 II 1); vow, 129 III 1); sound, 129 III 2).
2) u sometimes : cou/cf, 117 I 5); wood, 117 I 8).
3) aii9 before r : our, 130 1); Aour, 130 2).
55. ME. ai, ei have become :
1) e regularly : day, 82 I 1) ; lay, 82 I 2) ; way, 82 I 5) ; gray, 82 I 7) ; hay, 82 I 10); steak, 82 II 3); pay, 82 III 2); fail, 82 III 3); paint, 82 HI 4).
2) I sometimes : either, 82 I 4); weak, 92 III 1); receive, 92 IV 3).
3) oe9 before r : /air, 75 I 3); stoiV, 75, I 6).
56. ME. au is found as :
1) 0 regularly : draw 98 I 2); hawk, 98 I 4); sfraw, 98 I 3); law, 98 III 1); rfe/au/^ 98 IV 2); cause, 98 IV 3).
2) ce, & sometimes : sausage, 73 IV 2); sauce, 70 IV 3).
57. ME. oi appears as :
1) at usually: point, 124 IV 2); oil, 124 IV 3).
2) oi sometimes : choice, 132 1).
25
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 115
58. ME. ou has become :
1) 6 regularly: snow, 105 11); grow, 10513); bow, 105 I 6); low, 105 III 2).
2) au sometimes: plow, 129 I 6).
3) a < earlier qA (cf. ME. q) : brought, 98 I 6); bought, 98 I 8); ought, 98 I 11).
59. ME. ew, iu have become :
1) u regularly : rule, 119 I 6); true, 119 I 8); dew, 119 I 9); Tuesday, 119 I \Q); fruit, 119 IV 5); u in su^ar, 117 IV 1).
2) yu in beauty, 119 I 7).
3) tu sometimes : few, 133 I ; abuse, 133 II.
IV. THE VOWELS.
1. GENERAL.
60. The English language presents materials from many- sources, received at many different times. It is peculiarly diffi- cult therefore to present a single dialect in so compact a form, as if it represented the uninterrupted development of a single speech. Scarcely less difficult is it to decide what forms shall be given as representing the language of older times, or the later loan-words. It would be impossible, for example, to give in all cases the exact forms from which our OE. words have come to us, or those which are the direct ancestors of our Romance vocab- ulary. Fresh problems present themselves when we consider the influx of words from all sources since Chaucer, or the newly- coined words themselves so numerous. It can scarcely be hoped, therefore, that all would agree with the present disposition of American dialect material, but some of the reasons for the pres- ent arrangement will be evident from the following explanation- of the grouping : —
1) For the OE. material belonging to the Germanic speech the WGr. vowel system is chosen as a standard for comparison,
(1) because of its well-known relations to all Germanic dialects,
(2) because of its simplicity compared with the WS. vocalism, and (3) because it agrees more nearly, than does the WS., with the ME. vowel system. But in all cases the WS. forms of Eng-
116 DIALECT NOTES.
lish material are given, not as the ground forms of MdE., but as useful for reference.
2) The Latin element in OE. is referred to the Latin vowel system, but here again the WS. form is given, since the words had become fully incorporated into OE. speech.
3) It is well known that not a few Scandinavian words are found in late OE. writings (cf. Kluge's treatment in PauVs Grund- riss, I, p. 785) . But it has seemed best to group all under ME. forms, and these will be given throughout for the Scandinavian element. The absence, however, of special treatises on our Scan- dinavian borrowings, with the exception of Brate's valuable con- tribution (Nordische leJmworter im Orrmulum, PBB. X), makes this part peculiarly difficult.
4) The Komance material in ME. is referred to the OF. vow- els, but the forms are those of ME., following in this the Chaucer Grammar of ten Brink, and the invaluable work of Behrens, Beitrdge zur Geschichte der Franzosischen Sprache in England.
5) Loan-words entering from various sources later than ME. times are referred to the forms from which they are derived, so far as that is possible, under such headings as late Latin, French, Greek, etc. Little care has been taken, however, to determine the exact source of these late loan-words, as whether a word of learned origin now common to the people came directly from the Latin or from a late French form ; nor has it seemed necessary to consider especially the original quantity of the vowels in these words.
6) Proper names are given when sufficiently illustrative, with references to origin when this is known, or conjectured with probability.
2. THE VOWEL a.
61. The vowel a occurs as both long and short in IthD. Short a usually represents earlier short open o, which has be- come unrounded in many words. Long a springs from earlier short a in certain consonant combinations, usually before r.
A. The Short Vowel a. ,f j
62. Short a in IthD. springs from :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. CB (a), ea by breaking, q before a nasal, ME. a (q). In open syllables : bar9 < barewe (i.e. wheel-barrow) ; nard < near-?/, ' narrow ' ; /ah, fair < fealu, ' fallow ' ; walr < wealwian, ' wallow ' ; swalr < swealwp,
27
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 117
* swallow ' ; talr (tab) < tealh, ' tallow.' In closed syllables : watf <, wceccan^ ' watch ' ; hwat (stressed) < hwcet^ ' what ' ; waz (stressed) < wees, ' was ' ; fram (stressed) <frgm, ' from ' ; swan < swi^n, ' swan ' ; wandr < wandrian, ' wander. '
2) WG. ai, WS. a, ME. ^ (p). In open syllables : sari < sdrig, 'sorry' ; hahde <, haligdceg, 'holiday'; nalid^ <^ cnawJt^can, 'knowledge.' Inclosed syllables: nat < ndwikt, 'not' ; hat < hat, 'hot.'
3) WG. 0, WS. 0, ME. p. In open syllables : mard < morgen, ' morrow ' ; bard < horgian, ' borrow ' ; Aa/t < holegn, ' holly ' ; Aa/a, hair < Ao/A, ' hollow ' ; fah, fair < folgian, ' follow ' ; gasip < godsib, ' gossip ' ; ^as/j/ < god spell, ' gos- pel ' ; badi < Joc^/^r, ' body ' ; batm < io^m, ' bottom ' ; datr (ddtr) < dohtor, 'daughter.' In closed syllables: lak<^loc (a fastening), 'lock'; flak < jioc, 'flock'; aks <, oxa, 'ox'; faks<fox; stap <ifor-stoppian, 'stop'; krap < crop ; tap < top ; rat < rotian, ' rot ' ; lat < hlot, ' lot ' ; fat < gescot, ' shot ' ; dat< dot.
4) WG. 6, WS. 6, ME. o {q). In open syllables : fadr <f6dor, ' fodder ' ; blasm < blostm, 'blossom.' In closed syllables : rad < rod, 'rod' ; /at/ < ge-scod, ' shod.'
II. Latin u, o, WS. o, ME. q. In open syllables : kapr < cuprum, OE. €Ojoor, 'copper.' In closed syllables: baks < 6mxms, OE. 6ox/ sak < soccus, OE. soc, 'sock.'
III. 1) OF. a, ME. a after m;. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : skwad < esquadre, ' squad ' ; skwat < esquatir, ' squat.' 6) In originally un- stressed syllables, closed : kwantdti < quantite, * quantity.' Open : kwahti < gualite, ' quality. '
2) OF. o, ME. ^. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : rab <:i robben (Germ, through Fr.), 'rob.' b) In originally unstressed syllables, open: anr<C. honour; stanif <i astonien (?), 'astonish'; pasdbl <^ possible ; kur'asdti < curiosite, ' curiosity ' ; pazstiv, paztiv < positif, ' positive ' ; kablr << cobelere, ' cobbler ' ; rabri < roberie, ' robbery ' ; k'atn < cotoun, ' cotton ' ; 6a</ < botel, ' bottle ' ; prafit < /jrq/if / navlti < novelte, ' novelty ' ; prapdti, prapti (prcepti) <C proprete, 'property'; papl, paplr <^ poplere, 'poplar'; akdpai <^ occupy ; salid < solide, ' solid. ' Closed : daktr < doctor ; apsit < opposite.
IV. Late Loan-words. 1) Fr. o. In open syllables : prabli < probable, ' probably ' ; papdlr, paplr < populaire, ' popular. '
2) Lat. 0. In open syllables : kamddet < accommodatus, ' accommodate ' ; kahri, kalri < cholera ; kamdkl < comicus + a/, * comical ' ; pabtiks < politicus (or through the French?), 'politics' ; tabbl <i tolerabilis, 'tolerable.' In closed syllables: kantrcektr < contractus (through Fr. contract ?), ' contractor.'
3) Greek o. In closed syllables : bai-agrfi < $ios -\- ypdcpw, ' biography ' j brankilz, sb., brankil, ad]., <)3pJ7;^ta, 'bronchial.'
4) Italian o. In open syllables : apdri^ apri < opera.
V. Names. 1) With written a : watlz < Wattles ; watkinz < IfafZrms.
2) With written o. In open syllables : staddrd < Stoddard. In closed syllables: bastik <, Bostwick ; wesk-ansin < Wisconsin.
63. Short a from older o appears regularly in open syllables, and before voiceless consonants, except the fricatives /, )>, and s.
28
118 DIALECT NOTES.
Occasionally it is also found before voiced consonants, as in ^ ro6,' ^rod,^ ^shodj ^from^ (when stressed), ^liod,' 'pod,' 'cod/ 'mob,' etc., while before g it is regularly o. For this, and for the length- ening of earlier short o, cf. § 103.
64. Short a from ME. a is found after w, except before back consonants, where ce occurs {'wag,' 'wax,' and cf. HES., § 785), or before the consonant combinations lengthening it to d, o; cf. §§ 66, 99. Other examples are: 'wad,' 'waddle,' 'twaddle,' ' wabble,' ' swab,' ' squabble,' ' wallet,' ' wallop,' ' wan,' ' squander,' ' swap.' This a, under the influence of w, was open o from very early times, unrounding in IthD. to a. Occasionally a appears before r, I, in open syllables, where in closed syllables it would have become long open o (o), as in "kaldri (cholera), beside call.
B. The Vowel d.
65. IthD. d is from :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. (B (a), ea before r + cons., ME. a : arm < earm, * arm' ; harm < hearm, ' harm ' ; yarn < gearn, ' yarn ' ; hard < heard, ' hard ' ; yard < geard, ' yard ' ; hdrvist < hcerfest, ' harvest ' ; ndrwin < nearu, ' narrowing ' ; mark < mearc, ' mark ' ; fdrp < scearp, ' sharp.'
2) WG. a, WS. f (/e < breaking) by umlaut, ME. a (e): mar A mier- ran, Merc, m^rran, ' mar ' ; bdrli < b^re, ME. barlic, ' barley ' ; bdrn < b^rern,
* barn ' ; ydrd (rod) < g^d, ' yard.'
3) WG. e, WS. eo by r + cons., ME. a: star <C steorra, 'star'; far (stressed) <^feor, ' far ' ; sldrv â– < steorfan, ' starve ' ; smdrt < smeortan, ' smart ' ; bdrk < beorcan, ' bark ' ; dd,rk < deorc, ' dark ' ; hart < heorte,
* heart.'
4) WG. at, WS. a, ME. a : gdrlik < gdrleac, ' garlic ' ; lark < Idwerce, ' lark.'
II. Latin a, WS. a, ea by r + cons., ME. a : drk < area, OE. care, ' ark ' ; mdrtr â– < martyr.
III. Scand. a, ME. a : Aarc?n < har\>na, Orm. harrdenn, ' harden ' ; fcarA; (of a tree) < bark, ME. 6arA:e, ' bark ' ; also with Scand. e : start < sterten, ON. sterta, to move quickly, ' start.'
IV. 1) OF. a, ME. a. a) In originally stressed syllables : tfard^ < charge ; if arm < char me, ' charm ' ; t/drt < cAarf ; arm < arwie (weapon), ' arm ' ; drt<i art, ' art ' ; pdrt < part ; d9p-drt < departen, * depart ' ; kdr < caire, ' car ^; bdr <, barre, ' bar.' b) In originally unstressed syllables : hdrdi < Aarrfy ; pdrdner < partener, ' partner ' ; gdrdn < gardin, ' garden ' ; kdrpntr < carpenter; drmr < armour ; hdrnis < harneis, ' harness ' ; drgsmsnt < argument ; bdrl < 6are/, ' bar- rel ' ; arfa^/ < article ; dr]>r < Arthour, ' Arthur ' ; taryrn (with excrescent r) (also toev9rn) < taverne, ' tavern.'
2) OF. e, ME. e (a), a) In originally stressed syllables : riz-drv < reserven,
* reserve '; /arm </er»ie, 'farm.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables:
29
THE ITHACA DIALECT, 119
sarin (sertn) < certein, sarten, 'certain'; sdrds9nt <. sergant, 'sergeant' ; pdrsli (also pi^sli with loss of r) < persely, ' parsley.'
V. Names. With written a : vdrni < Varna ; mdriSr < Mather, with excrescent r.
66. Long a (d) appears regularly before r final, or r + cons., that is, in a syllable closed by r. It springs uniformly from ME. a before r + cons. (sometimes r), cf. HES., § 783. This ME. a is regarded as long by Kluge (cf. PGr. I, p. 866) before rd, rn, but as the later development of this a does not differ from that of a before other combinations of r -f- cons. : the quantity of ME. a is here considered short in all these cases. There are, however, two words in which IthD. d springs from OE. d — the words Hark' and 'garlic/ but these had short a in IME. (cf. HES., § 632). In a few words d represents older e before r-\- cons., as shown by examples under I 3), and II, where start seems to belong. For further discussion, cf. § 86.
67. The lengthening of ce and o before the fricatives f, ]>, and s, the nasal r), and n -f- cons., makes it reasonable to expect a sim- ilar long d in such company, either from an earlier a or by the unrounding of an earlier o. But earlier a became ce in these cases, while o was lengthened before the unrounding. The only words in which (t does occur, besides those already given, are 'father' < OE. fader; 'wasp'<i OE. weeps, ME. wasp; wand < Scand. (?) ; and with written o, ' bond,'' 'fond' 'pond.' All of these but 'father ' had earlier an open o, either original or by influence of preceding w. We should therefore expect 'wasp' to appear with open o {wosp), as it does sometimes, though often with d. In the other words the former open o appears as d by unrounding and length- ening. 'Father' is peculiar in its development. We should expect its stressed vowel would be ce, as in 'gather' 'lather' 'fathom.' To explain its d we must remember (1) that its place is taken in the dialect of the common people by such words as 'pa,' 'pap,' ' dad,' 'daddy' and (2) that when used it is as a title, or word of respectful address. The same peculiarity appears in LdE., where fd'dd^r) is given beside gcetfd(r), Iced d {r), feed m.
68. The development of this d from ME. times is interesting. According to Sweet and Ellis, ME. a was ce in all words in the 17th century and ce, de in the 18th, though Ellis admits that a may have remained before r in the 17th century. Now in LdE. before /, }?, s, as well as before r + cons., ME. a is d, the change from w being assigned to the present century. But in IthD.
30
120 DIALECT NOTES.
ME. a is ^ before the fricatives, d before r + cons. If this d was ce in the 18th century in all dialects, it is difficult to see how it should have separated from the ce before the fricatives in IthD., while under the same circumstances it became a in LdE., with the CB before /, f, and s. It seems more probable that a before r final or r + cons, has retained its quality since ME. times, in IthD. at least, and perhaps in England also (cf. § 181-2).
3. THE VOWEL 89.
69. The vowel ce, not before r, is the regular descendant of WG. a, as well as of a in loan-words. When followed by r it appears with a glide, and corresponds to ME. long a before r. This ce has not become a, d as in LdE. before /, J>, s (cf . HES. word-lists, pp. 282-3). But before these consonants, as well as before r), n + cons., it has become ce, while it remains short in other words, except as it is half-long before voiced consonants.
A. Short ce.
70. The vowel short ce in IthD. is one of the commonest sounds, springing from :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. ce (a, ^), ea by breaking or after a palatal, ME. a. In open syllables : cepl < ceppel, ' apple ' ; scedl < sadol, ' saddle ' ; ce/iz < asce, ' ashes ' ; ftesn â– <C.fcBStnian, * fasten ' ; rcesl < wrastlian (wraxliari)^ ' wrestle ' ; hoemr < hqmor, ' hammer.' In closed syllables : voet <.foet, ' vat ' ; kcet < cat; hcet < hcEt^ ' hat ' ; ceks < cex, ' axe ' ; Jiceks < fleax, ' flax ' ; deep < clappian,
* clap ' ; glced < glced, ' glad ' ; drceg < draggian, also drceg, a harrow, ' drag ' ; /cevz < sceajl, ' shafts ' ; mcEn < mgn, ' man ' ; hcenl < h^ndele, ' handle ' ; Icen- lord, late from Ignd + lord, ' landlord ' ; censr < Qndswaru, ' answer ' ; hcensdm, hcendi, late formations from hgnd, ' handsome,' ' handy ' ; hoei]{n, sb. < han- gian, 'hanging'; lcem<,lQmb, 'lamb.'
2) WG. e, WS. e, eo, ME. c. In open syllables : yceh, ycelr < geolu, 'yellow.' In closed syllables: \>rcEf<:_\>erscan, 'thrash'; wcel, w^l (often when stressed) < wel^ ' well ' ; so sometimes stressed yces < geswd, which may also be y^s, ' yes.'
3) WG. a, WS. t^ by umlaut, ME. a (e). In open syllables : cedr < nMdre^ » adder ' ; hlcedr < bld^ddre, ' bladder ' ; cerdnt (erdnd) < {^rende, ' errand. '
4) WG. ai, WS. (^ by umlaut, ME. a. In open syllables : Icedr < hl<^dder,
* ladder.' In closed syllables : ^cef <,f&t, adj., ' fat ' ; wicec? < ge-m(Jid^ ' mad.'
5) WG. au, WS. ^a, ME. a. In closed syllables : t/cepman (proper name, and sometimes t/epmdn) < ceapman, ME. chapman, ' Chapman.'
II. Latin a, WS. a (oe), ea by breaking, ME. a. In open syllables: scetrdi < sceternesdceg , ' Saturday ' ; ^cem/ < camelus, OE. camel, ' camel ' ; Arces/ < castellum, OE. casfe/, ' castle.' In closed syllables : kcendl < candela, OE.
31
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 121
candel, ' candle ' ; pcem < paltna, OE. palm, ' palm ' ; seem < psalmus, OE. sealm, 'psalm' ; ceq^r < ancora, OE. ancor, 'anchor.'
III. Scand. a (o), ME. a. In closed syllables: r(ef<^roshr, ME. rasjfc, ' rash ' ; hcef<, horskr, ME. harsk, with loss of r, ' harsh ' ; nenscek < rannsaka^ ME. ransaken, 'ransack'; gced {'â– goad''') <:i gaddr, ME. ^rarf ; bceg <, bagge, ' bag ' ; /oc^ < lak, vb., < /aA:^en (?), ' lack ' ; Jlat <Jiatr, ME. flat, ' flat.'
IV. 1) OF. a, ME. a (au). a) In originally stressed syllables, closed: dt'cetf <i atachen, 'attach' ; cen <i Anne ; teen < tannen, 'tan' ; kiem < calme, 'calm.' h) In originally unstressed syllables, open: mcenr <^ manere, 'man- ner ' ; mdk-cenik < mechanike, ' mechanic ' ; dcemid;^ < damage ; mcetr < matere, ' matter ' ; A;oEf/ < cafe/, ' cattle ' ; ncetjl < natural ; bcehns < balance ; gmln < galoun, ' gallon ' ; wjcej-i < marien, ' marry ' ; mairid^ < mariage, ' marriage ' ; st(eblif<. establissen, '(e)stablish'; fcefn <ifacioun, ' fashion'; mcekarl < makerel^ ' mackerel ' ; fceyrn (also tdrvrn, with excrescent r) < taverne, ' tavern ' ; jacesi <C parcel, with loss of r; ^cejon (kceptn, keep) <C capitain, 'captain'; bceptis(t)
< baptiste, ' baptist ' ; tfceptr < chapitre, ' chapter' ; ce^-f/ < acfua/ ,• scetisf-cek/n satisfaction, Wye. ; so scetisf-cektri, ' satisfactory ' ; stcendard < standard ; green-, grejem-, in grceni, greem9 <^ grammer (?), 'granny,' 'grandma'; so grcens9n, ' grandson ' ; bcendn < abandune, ' abandon ' ; kdm'eenm?nt < commandement, ' commandment ' ; blcer^kit < blanket ; treembl < tramaile, ' trammel ' ; 5ce{/'
< bacheler, ' bachelor ' ; kcelkdlet < calculen, modified by Lat. calculatus, ' calculate. '
2) OF. e, ME. (e) a. In originally unstressed syllables, open : rcehtiv < relatif, ' relative.' Closed : pcetrid^ (with loss of r) < partriche, Fr. perdrix, 'partridge.'
3) OF. aw < a + Z, ME. aw. In originally unstressed syllables, open : scesid^ < saucisse, ' sausage. '
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. a. In open syllables: kcemdri <i camera ; klceri (proper name) < Clara; keeriktr < character; dceti < data, pi. of datum; grced^dli < Low Lat. graduale, ' gradually ' ; cendmil < animal. In closed syllables: dgz-cekli < exacf- + ly ; fcek(t) <i factum, 'fact' ; fe^ktri <C factor, ' factory ' ; traek{t) < tractus, ' tract ' ; tcentm < tandem ; cempdtet < amputare, ' amputate ' ; ceis/Mf < cebsolutus, ' absolute. '
2) Fr. a. In open syllables : trcefik < trafique, ' traffic ' ; kceddmi < acacf- ^m?'e, 'academy' ; spefcehti < sp€cialite', ' special (i)ty ' ; icen^ < baraque, 'barrack'; kdp-eesati <, capacity, 'capacity'; batu <, bateau. In closed syl- lables: meendf cektrdr <C manufacture •\--er, so mcendfeektrin, 'manufacturing'; CBks < act, ' acts ' ; tiek, sb., f^Z;^, foeArfjc? < attaquer, ' attack(ed) ' ; dieptid < adapter, ' adapted ' ; keetrid^ (with loss of r) < cartouche • Dryden cartrage ' cartridge ' ; eedvdtaiz < avertiss, ' advertise ' ; kcebnit < cabinet ; fiemli </<i- miV/e, ' family.'
3) Fr. e -J- nasal. In closed syllables : vcendU < vendue, a sale.
4) Span. a. In open syllables : bdn'ceni < banan^ ; dvceni < Habana^ * Havana' ; tdb'eekr < tabaco, 'tobacco' ; tam-cetd, tdm'cetr < tomate (some- times tdm-etd) , ' tomato.'
5) Greek a. In open syllables : oehpcE\> < 6.\\os + ira^os, ' allopath.' In closed syllables : mycezmi < /xiac/ta, ' miasma.'
VI. Names. 1) With written a {au). In open syllables: kceralain <^
32
122 DIALECT NOTES.
Caroline. In closed syllables : mceklini < McElhinney ; cendrs < Andrus ; kcenzss < Kansas ; hcenfil{d) < Banjield ; tfcensi < Chauncy.
2) With written e. In closed syllables : slcm'cektddi < Schenectady (Du.); cdmairi (celm'airi) < Elmira (sometimes also with long cf).
71. It will be seen that short ce appears in open syllables, before voiceless consonants except /, \, and s, and before the simple nasals n, m, while it is half-long before voiced consonants. Its separation from ce is discussed under that vowel, but oe before a consonant combination, as nd, is regularly short when that com- bination is simplified, as Icenlord, but Icend, from landlord, land.
72. Special attention may be called to the interchange of ce and e in many words, as yceld, yces, wcel, rceldtiv, celmairi, oerdnt, vcendU, skdwcekiddi, for 'yellow/ 'yes,^ 'well,* 'relative,^ 'Elmira,^ 'errand,^ 'vendue/ 'Schenectady.^ The opposite change may be seen in tfepmdn < Chapman, and cf. § 80.
B. Long ce {ce).
73. Long ce occurs before the voiceless spirants f, )?, s, and before I, i), w, or m + cons, in closed syllables. It springs from :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. CB, ^, ea by breaking or after a palatal, ME. a: Z(^>< Imtte, lai\>\>e (?), ' lath ' ; p^\> < /?cc)>, ' path ' ; gr^s < grces^ ' grass ' ; gl(^s (dhts)
< glees, ' glass ' ; ftj^st, adj., <Cfcest, ' fast ' ; d^Jlr < cejler, ' after ' ; so <$/tnun^ * afternoon,' (^flrardz, ' afterwards ' ; krd^ft < crce/i, ' craft ' ; h<$f<i healf^ ' half ' ; k&.f< cealf, ' calf ' ; l(%flr < hleahtor, * laughter' ; so Id^f, ' laugh,' ^^ai/, l^fbl, 'laughable ' ; tf(^f< ceaf, * chaff ' ;/($l < sceal (when stressed), * shall ' ; hiH^n^d)
< hQnd, ' hand ' ; l^n{d) < Iqnd^ ' land ' ; stdlln(d) < standan, ' stand ' ; (:gnf < amette, ' ant ' ; fitnt < sha(l)n't, ' shan't ' ; Acei) < hangiauj ' hang.'
2) WG. o, WS. <:e by umlaut, ME. a : bld^st < bl<!^st, a blowing, ' blast.'
3) WG. ai, WS. <:&, ME. a : c^sf ((^gsA;) < dscian, ' ask ' ; /(^sf (of a shoe) < Id^st, 'last.'
II. Lat. a, WS. a (a), ME. a : pld^str < em-plastrum, OE. plaster, ' plaster'; <:gs < asinus, OE. assa, ' ass ' ; /)/(:&«<, sb. and vb., < plante, plantian, Lat. planta, » plant.'
III. Scand. a, ME. a: k{!^st <::^ casten, ON. Arasfa, 'cast'; nCl^sti <C nasty, nasky^ cf. Swed. naskug (Skt.), 'nasty'; dd^mp <^dampe, ON. dampe, 'damp'; bd^r^k (of a river) < banki, Orm. bannkess, ' bank ' ; t^q^fr < anngrenn, Orm. , cf . Dan. anger, * anger.'
IV. 1) OF. a, ME. a (au) : t(tsk < fas^e, ' task '; rd^skil < raskailli, ' rascal ' ; 6(:gnc? < bande, ' band '. ; d^nt < aunf / tjli^nt < chaunt, * chant ' ; ^r<:gn< < graunt, granten, * grant' ; /(:gm;) < lampe, ' lamp ' ; rd^mp < rampen, ' ramp ' ; (/<:gns < chance; ddtns < daunce, 'dance' ; Id^ntf <;, launcen, 'launch'; k9m-<$nd < com- mande, 'command'; ld^j}gid^ <i langage, 'language'; md^m (mcem) <C madame, through ma-am ; skd^ntlin <; scantilon, ' scantling.'
2) OF. au<:^a'\-l, ME. au : s(ts < sauce.
33
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 123
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. a: k(:ii\>lik < catholicus, 'catholic' ; p(^str<^ pastor ; SO pili^stret, ' pastorate ' ; ctfriki < Africa ; d^lkihol < alcohol (Arabic) ; kli^i) < clangere, ' clang.'
2) Fr. a : kl($s < classe, ' class ' ; nuts < masse, ' mass ' ; mt^sk < masque ; ^Imdnik (olmanik) < almanack (Arabic), ' almanac ' ; kdn-^M < canal; k<!^mp < camp; Itj^ns <^ lance ; tntns <^transe, 'trance'; grttn(d) <^ grand.
VI. Names. 1) With written a : /an-c^q < Chenango. 2) "With written e : <^lmairi (celm-airi) < Elmira.
74. The vowel ce, both long and short, in IthD., is the direct descendant of ME. short a, except perhaps before r in a closed syllable (cf. § 68). ME. a became fronted to oe in the 17th cen- tury, and in the 18th was lengthened before certain consonants, and consonant combinations. In the 19th century long oe became d in LdE. (cf. HES., § 781), but it has been preserved in IthD. This LdE. d appears before the fricatives /, J), and s in closed syllables, as well as before r -|- cons., if we may formulate the law from Sweet's Word-lists (HES., pp. 373-93). The only exceptions given by Sweet are fasten^ castle, with long d in open syllables where we should expect ce, as in fatJiom, gather, lather. In IthD., as we have seen, d appears before r -f cons. Long ce, corresponding to LdE. d not before r, occurs before /, ]>, s as in LdE., but also before I, r), and ti or m -f cons. Lengthening before i) may be compared with a similar lengthening of short open 0 (§ 100), and ce before I, and n ov m -\- cons, with similar lengthening of a, o before I in the 17th century, and before nd, mh in ME. times. The separation of oe, ce is made more difficult because of half -long ce before voiced consonants. It is possible, also, that ce occurs sometimes in open syllables before the frica- tives.
C. Long ce before r (oea).
75. The vowel de before r in closed syllables appears with a glide, though this is not prolonged and is often hardly percepti- ble. This glide never represents, as in LdE., the lost r, is not drawled so that the word becomes dissyllabic, and is usually no more than is necessary in passing from the ce to the r position (cf. § 53). The vowel springs from:
I. 1) WG. a, WS. CE (a), ea by r+ cons. M-umlaut or by a palatal, ME. 9: spoe9r < spcer, adj., vb. < spar ion, ' spare ' ; faidr < scearu, a part, ' share ' ; kcesr <icaru, cearu, 'care'; wa^dr (in 'beware') < t/^aru; mce9r (in 'nightmare') <mara; stcedr ^ starian, 'stare.' ME. a (a?) in bce9r<,b(Br; dcear <;_ dear (challenge), 'dare.'
34
124 DIALECT NOTES.
2) WG. a, WS. e (Je) by umlaut, ME. f: swcesr "C sw^rtan, 'swear*; w(e9r<Cw^rian, 'wear'; mccar <C.miere, Merc, m^rc, 'mare.'
3) WG. a, WS. te + ^r, ME. at, ei : f(e9r <.f(eger, W£i.fayre,feijre, 'fair.'
* 4) WG. a, WS. (^ (a), ME. f (a) : hcedr<:h<!^r, ' hair' ; tfcear (3ar) < \><^ry
♦ there ' ; hwaar (hwar) < Awt^r, Au?ar, * where.'
6) WG. ai, WS. ^ by umlaut, ME. f : rcear (to rise)< r(^ran, 'rear' ; ceBrli (erli) < (^rlice, ' early.'
6) WG. ai, WS. <S by umlaut + g, ME. ai, ei : stcedr < stager, ME. sfaire,
♦ stair.'
7) WG. c, WS. c, ME. ^ : tear < feran, ' tear ' ; 6cear < heran, ' bear ' ; hcedr, sb., < 6cre, ' bear.'
II. Lat. I, WS. e, ME. f : jocesr < pira, pi., OE. perw, ' pear.'
III. Scand.ya = e, ME. f : skcedr (skidf) < skeren, of. Icl. skjare, ' scare.'
IV. 1) OF. e, ME, a : skwcedr < square, adj. ; dikl'CBdr < declaren, ' declare.'
2) OF. et, ME, le (t) ; skiccedr < sgtiicr, ' squire.'
3) OF. ai^ ME. ai : rdp'cedr < repayren (to resort to), ' repair ' ; ce9r < ajV.
4) OF. ci, ME. f : /tear (a cattle-show) <i /aire, fe ire, 'fair' ; disp'oedr <, despayr, despeir, so the vb. < despeiren, ' despair.'
V. Late Loan-words.^ Fr. a : r(Bdr<^rare, pdrp-adr <^pr^parer, 'prepare.'
VI. Names. With written ay : \>cedr < Thayer ; scear < Sayre.
76. The vowel ce before r (ce.d) has three sources : 1) ME. long open f, whether originally long, or lengthened in ME.
2) ME. ai, ei by monophthonging.
3) ME. d, whether originally long or lengthened in ME. The union of the first two classes is not difficult, when we consider that the first element of the diphthong ei, ai is supposed to have been nearly the same as the open ^ sound. The words of the third division are ' spare,^ vb. and adj., ' share,^ sb., '' care^* 'he- ware,^ * mare ' in ' nightmare,' ' stare,^ vb., ^ dare,^ ' bare,' ^ there,' ' where,' all of which, except the last four, had d in an open syl- lable in ME. In the 17th century this d became ce, when these words easily fell in with those having long open ^ in ME. Our words ^ there^' ' where,' probably descended from ME. ])^r€, hw^re, though the occasional forms ^dr, hvjdr, in IthD. point to the older forms as well. 'Dare' and 'bare,' ME. ^dar,' ^bar,' must have lengthened their a's, probably in IME., though in these cases also the forms ddr, bdr, occasionally heard, point to the original ME, forms.
All words with cea from original open f are to be separated from those which have developed id in present English. The conditions of the separation are these : IthD. ced springs from ME. open ^, remaining open, or from a diphthong of which open ^ is the first element. On the other hand, id (long i before r)
35
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 125
has descended from a ME. long close e, or from an open ^ which became close in early MdE. times (cf. §§ 93, 96). That open and close f were not entirely separate in ME. times is proved by double forms occasionally heard, as skcedr^ skidr, ^ scare ' ; rcedr, ridTj 'rear'; foedr (a part), 'share'; fidv (to cut), 'shear.' Sim- ilar proof of fluctuating quantity is given by such forms as CBdrlij wcedr, erli, wer ('early,' 'were'). Especially peculiar is 'squire' as skwcedr, but this may have been influenced by the adjective 'square,^ in the sense of 'just,' since the common people use the term only for one who is, or has been, a petty judge, or justice.
4. THE VOWEL e.
77. The vowel written e, a (^), and' in various other ways, appears as short close e (A), long close e (B), and as e before r (C).
A. The Short Vowel e.
78. This e has remained unchanged in the main from the earliest times. Its principal sources are WGr. e, WS. ^ by umlaut of a, and e in Erench or other loan words. It is from :
I. 1) WG. e, WS. e, eo by Z + cons, or w-umlaut, ME. e. In open syl- lables : ZetTr < le\>er, ' leather ' ; fe^r < fe]per, ' feather ' ; wetSr < weder, 'weather' ; ehm<ielm; heir <^hellan (?), cf. ON. helja^ 'bellow' ; feli<ifelg, ' felly ' ; rehn <recenian, ' reckon ' ; sell < setlan^ ' settle.' In closed syllables : fref<,fersc, ' fresh ' ; eldr < ellern, ' elder ' ; seldom < seldan, ' seldom ' ; swel
< swellan, ' swell ' ; spel < spellan, ' spell ' ; ye/ < gellan, ' yell ' ; melt < mcltan^ ' melt ' ; help < helpan, ' help ' ; yelk < geolca, ' yelk ' ; hevn < heofon, ' heaven ' ; sevn < seofon, ' seven ' ; neh<, hnecca, ' neck ' ; tred < tredan, ' tread ' ; west < west; nest <C nest; here may be placed the etymologically uncertain biyend<, begeondan, 'beyond' ; yendr <C geon, ME. yonder, 'yonder.'
2) WG. a, WS. ce (a), ea by breaking, ME. a (e). In open syllables: tdg -e^r < togcedere, ' together ' ; getfr < gaderian, ' gather ' ; hwe^r < hw(e\>er, 'whether'; het/<ChcEC (hatch, door); nekid<nacod, 'naked.' In closed syllables : eks < eax, ' axle ' ; in unstressed, hez < has ; ez < as ; tSet < \xstj ' that ' ; hev < habban, ' have ' ; hed < hcedde, ' had.'
3) WG. a, WS. f by umlaut, ME. e. In open syllables: beri^berie, ' berry ' ; beli < belg, ' beUy ' ; hevi < hefg, ' heavy.' In closed syllables : els
< elles, ' else ' ; hel< hell ; sel < sellan, ' sell ' \ fel< scell, scyll, ' shall ' ; fel < fellan, ' fell ' ; tel<: tellan, ' tell ' ; twelv < twelf, ' twelve ' ; eldr < eldra, ' elder '; hen < hen; men <^ men; joen, vb., <^on-pennan, 'pen'; end<ende, 'end'; senrf
< senc?an, ' send ' ; bend < hendan, ' bend ' ; /enl> < /ew^rtf, ' length ' ; er^glend < engleland (also cer)ghnd), 'England'; stret/<:_ streccean, ' stretch '; /e(/'< feccean, ' fetch ' ; Aec/s < Aec^, ' hedge ' ; weds < wecg, ' wedge ' ; set < settan,
' set ' ; net < ne< / let (a hindrance in let-up) < lettan ; betr < betera, ' better ' ;
126 DIALECT NOTES.
bed<ihedd, 'bed' ; wed<,wedian, 'wed'; red (Eng. ' rid ')<Arec/c?an/ step
< steppan, ' Step ' ; rest < rest.
4) WG. I, WS. eo by contraction, ME. c (e). In closed syllables : frend <^freond, 'friend' ; ben<gebeon, ME. been, 'been' (ten Brink, Ch. Gr. § 23).
6) WG. I, WS. eo by o-umlaut, ME. ^. In closed syllables : levn < end- leofan, cf. Goth, ainlif, 'eleven' ; hens <i heonan (cf. Ger. hinnen), ME. hennes with s ending, ' hence.'
6) WG. a, WS. ^, ca after a palatal, ME. f (e). In open syllables : fepard < sceaphyrde^ * shepherd ' ; herin < hdiring, ' herring ' ; mec/r < nuSc?, mMwe, ' meadow ' ; wepn < zt^cejoji, ' weapon.' In closed syllables : bre)p < 6r<g)>, ' breath ' ; et<^<!^t pret. of efan, ' eat ' ; let < /(^/an, ' let ' ; M;ef < wd^t, ' wet ' ; \>red < brt^rf, ' thread ' ; dred < dr^^dan, ' dread ' ; red < r^^c/rfe pret.,
* read ' ; slept < sl<j^pte, ' slept.'
7) WG. ai, WS. (^ by umlaut, ea after a palatal, ME. f (g). In open syllables: eni<i^nig, 'any'; so eni\>iny eniwez, eniwdrz, 'anything,' 'any- way(s),' 'any where (s).' In closed syllables: hel\><C hd5l\>, 'health'; evr<^ a^fre, 'ever,' so evri, 'every'; les<Cl<^ssa, 'less'; left<,l^fde, 'left'; led<. Id^dde, ' led ' ; spred < spr^dde, ' spread ' ; fed < sceadan, ' shed ' ; emti < dmetig, 'empty,' so emtinz (yeast), 'emptyings.'
8) WG. I, WS. I, ME. e, i. In open syllables : ferif<i scirgerefa, ' sheriff.' In closed syllables : sens < si&San, ME. sithens, ' since ' ; wed\> < OE. wid, but late in Drayton, width.
9) WG. d, WS. e by umlaut, ME. e. In closed syllables : kept < cepte,
* kept ' ; twenti < twentig, ' twenty.'
10) WG. au, WS. ea, ME. f. In closed syllables : de]> < c?ea}>, ' death ' ; hed < heafod, ' head ' ; rerf < read, ' red ' ; led (a metal) < /eao?, ' lead ' ; ded
< dead, ' dead ' ; bred < ireac?, 'bread ' ; erf < ead-weard, ' Ed(ward) ' ; tfepnidn {tfiepmdh) < ceapman, but ME. chapman, ' Chapman.'
11) WG. eM, WS. eo, _y by umlaut, ME. e (e). In closed syllables : brest <breast, 'breast'; \>ejl <^ \>eof]>, \>yff5, 'theft'; devl, debl<^deoful (Lat. diabolus), 'devil.'
II. 1) Lat. e, WS. e, ME. e : spend <^expendere, OE. dspendan, ' spend ' ; <emp/ < templum, OE. ^ewp/, ' temple.'
2) Lat. i, WS. I, c, ME. e. In open syllables : pepr < /jj'/^er, OE. pipor^
* pepper.' In closed syllables : t/est (t/ist) <:cista, OE. cest, cist, ' chest.'
III. 1) Scand. e by umlaut of a, ME. c. In closed syllable : dwel < dwellen, ' dwell,' cf. Icl. dvelja, or is it OE. dwellan, with meaning modified by dwelja 9
2) Scand. e, ME. e. In open syllables: felr<,felawe, Icl. /e%e,
* fellow.'
3) Scand. {, ME. e. In closed syllables : fet<:fitten, lc\. fitja.
IV. 1) OF. e, ME. c. a) In originally stressed syllables, open: letr<, lettre, ' letter.' Closed : det < dette, ' debt ' ; d^et < .7e«e, ' jet ' ; krekt < cor- rect, 'correct'; drekt<^ direct, 'direct,' so drektr, drektri, 'director,' 'direct- ory ' ; 9f'ekt < eject ; sdsp 'ekt < suspect ; teks(f) < texte, ' text ' ; septin < except + ing ; eks'ept < accepten, ' accept ' ; pres < presse, ' press ' ; ekspr-es < expressen, 'express' ; kmf-es <:^confessen, 'confess'; mend <:i amende, 'mend'; d9p-end<Cdependen, 'depend'; daf-end <;_ defenden, 'defend'; tendr <: tendre,
37
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 127
* tender ' ; repdz'ent < represenien, ' represent ' ; hans-ent < consenten, * consent '; rent < rente, * rent' ; kam'ens < commencen. * commence ' ; pled^ < pi^gge,
* pledge.'
6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : mehdi < melodie, ' melody ' ; veri < verray, ' very ' ; Twerit < merit ; tre^r < tresor, ' treasure ' ; paz-e/an < possession ; prezadant < president ; dezart < rfeserf / prezant < present ; metl < mefa/ / sekdnd < seconde, ' second ' ; remadi < remedie, ' remedy ' ; fgnani < <enon. Closed : ^re^n < Gregorie, ' Gregory ' ; memri < memorie, ' memory ' ; jo/e/i<i < plente, ' plenty ' ; end^ain < eri^rin, ' engine ' ; entapraiz < enterprysed, Ch. * enterprise ' ; ram -emftr < remembren, ' remember ' ; temprns < temperance ; eks'eptabl «< acceptable ; medsdn < medicine.
2) OF. at, ME. e. In originally unstressed syllables, open : fezant < fesanty OY.faisant, 'pheasant' ; vesl<^vessaile, OF. vaissel, 'vessel.'
3) OF. u, ME. u. In originally stressed syllables, closed: d^es<:ijust (also d^vsy d^is) .
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. e. In open syllables: Iedzisletr<^ legis- lator ; regdlr < regularis, ' regular ' ; regalet < regulatus, ' regulate ' ; febaweri < Februarius, ' February.' In closed syllables : desprit < desperatus, ' desper- ate ' ; lektrik < electrum, ' electric ' ; A;/eA:f < Low Lat. collectare, ' collect ' ; rekl-ekt, also 'recollect'; ekstri <^ extra ; slekt <^ selectus, 'select'; pap-el <i propellare, 'propel.'
2) Lat. a. In open syllables : d^enawari < Januarius, Ch. January ; plegi, &d].<iplaga, 'plaguy.' In closed syllables: ekwidak <C.aquaductus, 'aque- duct ' ; evrid^ < Low Lat. averagium Skt., ' average.'
3) Lat. 02. In closed syllables : semtri < Low Lat. ccemeterium, ' cemetery.'
4) Fr. e. In open syllables: me]>adis(t) <imethode, 'methodist' ; sekateri <; secretaire, ' secretary ' ; elafant < elephant ; elagant < elegant ; sked^al < schedule. In closed syllables: sental <^ centre -\- al ; senstiv <C sensitif, 'sensi- tive ' ; fedralis(t') <^ federal; sevral < several ; intr'estin < interess-, ' interesting.'
5) Greek t] : telagroif, telagrceftin < rrjXe -f ypd(pco, ' telegraph,' ' telegraphing.'
VI. Names. 1) With written e. In open syllables : c^e/a-ii^ar < Z^e/aii'are , • dserami< Jeremiah, also d^eri ; ad-esi< Odessa. In closed syllables: bentn < Benton; ezri<,Ezra; mekskan < Mexican ; etni<CEtna.
2) With written a (e). In open syllable: meri^Mary; meriland<, Maryland.
3) With written a. In open syllable : elik < Alexander ; devnpbrt < Davenport.
4) With written i. In open syllable : bej)am < Bingham. In closed syl- lable : end^an < Indian.
79. It will be seen that the vowel e from ME. f is not uncom- mon. Sweet has called attention to the shortening before d and t (HES., § 824) ; but it is also common in open syllables where it seems to have been peculiarly difficult to hold the long ^, ^ (see the number of ^'s in closed or final compared with those in open syllables), and also before ]), pt, ft. Especially worthy of note are those words having an orthographic ea, which seems to have
38
128 DIALECT NOTES,
been used in IME. for an open, as distinct from a close, ^. In such words the vowel was clearly long, until ea had become thor- oughly established. The shortening probably took place before the 16th century, when long ea became close i, the former close ^, commonly represented by ee, having become long t. Examples are: 'treasure^^ 'pheasant' ; 'measure' and 'pleasure' still have long i in IthD., either original, or by later lengthening (cf. § 83). For examples of shortening peculiar to IthD., see § 138.
80. The interchange with ce has been noticed in § 72. The place of ce is taken by e in many words, some of which, from uncertain etymology, have not been mentioned. Examples are : hetfj ^ hatch'; het/l, ^hatchel'; ketf, ketft, ketfi, adj., ^ catch,' ' caught,' ' catchy ' ; eks, ' axle ' ; ekwiddk, ' aqueduct ' ; getfr, ' gather ' ; tfepmdn, sometimes ' Chapman ' ; dZendweri, ' Janu- ary ' ; elik, ' Alex ' ; evridZ, ' average ' ; devnpdrt, ' Davenport ' ; and unstressed words like 'has/ 'as' 'had,' 'have, 'that.' This e replaces i, especially before nasals, as in hen, ' been ' ; ' since ' ; endZdn, 'Indian'; endZain, 'engine'; fteqam, 'Bingham'; ensaid, ' inside ' ; enclain, accented on first syllable, ' incline ' ; also in red (Eng. 'rid' < hreddan), fet < fit, wed^ < iddth, the latter possibly influenced by ' length,' ' breadth ' ; but cf . § 91.
81. The vowel e appears also in hiyend, yendr, yelk (' beyond,' 'yonder,' 'yolk') for an earlier eo long or short; and in such words as dZes, dZedZ, fet ('just,' 'judge,' 'shut'), where v occurs in common speech. The last word, it should be said, is found with e in ME. shetten (to shut). The same e occurs in the un- stressed you (yH), which is commonly ye through yv.
B. The Long Vowel L
82. The vowel ^ springs regularly from a Germanic front vowel followed by g (h), or from a Komance or other long d in ME. Its sources are :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. ce â– {â– g, ME. at (et). In open syllables: de<,doeg, ' day ' ; medn < mcegden, ' maiden.' In closed syllables : men < mtegen, ' main ' ; pel < poegel^ ' pail ' ; net < ncegel, ' nail ' ; snel < sncegel, ' snail ' ; tel < tcegel, ' tail.'
2) WG. a, WS. ^ by umlaut + 5^, ME. et (ai). In open syllables: le < lecgan, ' lay ' ; se < secgan, « say.' In closed syllables : led < legde, ' laid.'
3) WG. a, WS. ce (a), ea by breaking or after a palatal, ME. a. In open syllables : ekr < cecer, ' acre ' ; ekdrn < vecern, ' acorn ' ; hezl < hcesel, ' hazel '; nekid (nekid very common) < nacod, ' naked.' In closed syllables : blez < blase, ' blaze ' ; Jev < sceafan, ' shave ' ; e^ < acan, ' ache ' ; mek < macian,
39
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 129
* make ' ; wek < wacian, ' wake ' ; bek <i bacan, ' bake ' ; so bekin^ bekri, ' bak- ing,' ' bakery ' ; snek < snaca, ' snake ' ; stek (' stake ') < staca ; fek < sceacan, ' shake ' ; ef < eahta, ' eight ' ; vied < macode, * made.'
4) WG. a, WS, ^ by umlaut, ME. e. In closed syllables: ed^<:ecg, *edge.'
5) WG. e, WS. c + 5^, ME. ei (ai). In open syllables : we < i^e^, ' way ' ; dwe < onweg, ' away ' ; /?/e < plegian, ' play.' In closed syllables : sel < se^e/, ' sail ' ; ren < regen, ren, ' rain.'
6) WG. e, WS. e, ME. f. In closed syllables : brek < brecan, ' break.'
7) WG. o, WS. (j^ + g (h), ME. ai. In open syllables : gre<.gr<$g, * gray ''; hwe < hwc^g^ ' whey ' ; ne6r < nehhebur (nebr very common), ' neighbor.'
8) WG. «, WS. <:&, ME. a. In closed syllables : res (running) < r(j^s (?),
* race.'
9) WG. au, WS. ea, ME. f. In closed syllables : grit < greaf, ' great.'
10) WG. au^ WS. i'e by umlaut + g, ME. ei. In open syllables : he < Aegr, Kl., Sie. ;ii(e).9' *tiay.'
II. 1) Scand. a, ME. d. In open syllables: wevr<c,vafra (?), possibly OE. (?), ME. waver^ 'waver.' In closed syllables: kek <:^ kaka, ME. cake^ ' cake ' ; Jlek <ijlaka^ ME. Jlake, * flake ' ; tek < iaA;a, ME. taken, * take ' ; get < ^fa/a, ME. ^a^e, ' gate ' ; sel < sal, ME. sa/e, ' sale ' ; sem < samr, ME. sa/«e,
same
2) Scand. ^ by umlaut of a, ME. e. In closed syllables : leg < %.<7r, ME. legg, 'leg'; eg < egg.
3) Scand. ei, ME. ci, ai. In closed syllables : stek < steik, ME. s^e/^e 'steak'; bet<^beita, ME. baiten, 'bait'; re^ < re?sa, Wye. reisen, 'raise.'
III. 1) OF. a, ME. a (au). a) In originally stressed syllables, open: ebl < able; tebl < table ; stebl < sfa6/e ,- wed^iz, pi. of wa^-e ; ddk-e < o?ecas, pi. by Gower, ' decay.' Closed : fes < face ; pies < place ; pes < jmce ; ddf-es < deface ; Ms < case ; spes < s/^ace ; cVs < o^re ; Are^s < cage ; pel < pale, adj. ; c?tff < date ; plet < pZafe / kev < caye / sev < saye ; tfend^ < chaunge, * change '; rcnc?5 < rangen, ' range ' ; dr-end^ < arrayngen, ' arrange ' ; 6/em < 6Zame. 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : lebr < labour ; netfr < naf u7-e ; fevdbl <C favour, 'favorable'; so fevr, 'favor,' and fevr ait ('favorite'), a late word ; d^inr-efdn <:_ generation, Wye. ; infrm-efan < informacioun, 'information.' Closed : end^il < angele, angle (not < OE. engel), ' angel ' ; dend^ds < dangerous; tfembr < chambre, * chamber.'
2) OF. ai, ME. ae. a) In originally stressed syllables, open : pe <Cpaien, * pay ' ; dil-e < cfe/aie, ' delay.' Closed : wet < waiten, ' wait ' ; klem < claime, ' claim ' ; ^ren < grayn, ' grain ' ; plen < p/am ; f/en < chaine, ' chain.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : egr < ague ; tretr < traitour, ' traitor.'
3) OF. ai < -a/i-, -ani- (Beh. p. 135), ME. ai. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : fel <:fail€n, ' fail ' ; 9v -el < avail, b) In originally unstressed syllables, open : telr < taillours, ' tailor' ; d^elr <jaioler, ' jailer.' Closed : d^el < gayhol, ' jail.'
4) OF. ei, ME. ei, ai. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed: stret (* strict ') < streit ; fe\> < feyth, ' faith ' ; vel < veil ; ven (' vain ') < veyn ; pent < paint ; pen < peyne, * pain.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables, closed : denti < deynte^ * dainty.'
40
130 DIALECT NOTES,
5) OF. e, ME. f . In originally unstressed syllables, open : me^r < mesure^ * measure.'
IV. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. a. In open syllables : selhr'efsn < cele- bratus, * celebration ' ; S9rkdl'e/dn, sdrkl-efdn < circulus, ' circulation ' ; kaT)g-e- pnl < congregatus, ' congregational ' ; vceprefdn < evaporatus, ' evaporation ' ; papdl-efn < populus, ' population.'
2) Fr. a. In open syllables: slevri <C.esclave^ * slavery,' Gascoigne has slaveries ; piskap'elin < episcopalian ; panansi'e/bn < pronunciation ; spekdbefsn -< speculation; perdnt <, parent ; terif <,tariffe, 'tariff.' In closed syllables: ret < rate^ in * first rate.'
3) Fr. ai. In open syllables : he < haie^ * bay ' ; ple^r < plaisir, * pleasure '; trenin, sb., < <raj/n, through a later verb, ' training.'
4) Ital. a: kepr <i capriolus (Skeat), 'caper.'
V. Names : deni < Dana ; penslveni < Pennsylvania ; yepl < Yaple (Du.).
83. Except for the i from ME. ei (ai), the majority of words with ^ spring from older a, lengthened in ME. in open syllables, or before w, m + cons., as in ' change,^ ^ chamber.^ These retained the d sound until the 17th century, when it became fronted to ce, and in the next century raised to ^. The length in all words with a before n -\- palatal g seems to establish the lengthening as ME. The examples are: ^ change ^^ ^ grange j* ' strarige/ ^ range ^ < ME. rengen (cf. Fr. ranger), ''manger,^ '•stranger,^ '•danger,^ ^angeV Peculiar to IthD. are the lengthened vowels in ^ pleasure,^ ^meas- ure, ' leg,* * egg,' * edge,' though the ea of the first two words indi- cates earlier long vowels, which have been preserved perhaps. In the other words, the lengthening before g is parallel to that of open o in such words as dog, log (cf. § 103). Such forms as t^rif, y^pl, for tariff, Yaple, are to be accounted for as sight words, rather than as purely ear words.
84. In certain closed syllables, especially before the voiceless cons, k, sometimes before d and I, an i is often given which seems to stand between ^ and e. Such words are never pronounced short, as in some dialects (tek, mek, for Hake,' ^make'), but there is the suggestion of such a sound. It is not common enough to be regarded as normal, but it is not uncommon with some speakers.
C. The Vowel e (before r).
85. The sound represented by e, while nominally placed with e, ^, is rather a back than a front vowel, and open instead of close. It has developed, not only from e, i, but more commonly from the back vowels a, o, u, as will be seen from examples. When from
41
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 131
an original front vowel, the sound has become guttural in its formation through the influence of the r. It is from :
I. 1) WG. e, WS. eo by r + cons, or w-umlaut, ME. e (a, m): er]> < eor\>e, ' earth ' ; w'er)p < weor\>^ ' worth ' j werfip < weor]>scipe^ ' worship ' ; her}p < heor)>^ 'hearth'; ernist <C earnest , 'earnest'; lern <^ leornian, act. as well as pass., ' learn ' ; herd < heorde, ' herd ' ; werk < weorc, ' work ' ; werld < weoroldy worold, 'world'; Jer <feor when unstressed, 'far'; wers <:i wyrse, wirscy ' worse.'
2) WG. I, WS. t, ME. i (e, m): her < hire, 'her' ; bertf<^b{rce, 'birch' ; 6eVc? < bridd, * bird ' ; bern < ftiVnan (intr.), ' burn ' ; \>erd < \>ridda, ' third ' ; yerti <i\>rittig, 'thirty'; sterdp, or sfer/) often, <istigerdp, Kl., ME. s^irajo, ' stirrup.'
3) WG. a, WS. ea by r + cons., ME. ea, e (?): ern <_ earnian, 'earn'; fern <Cfearn, •' fern.' Here may be mentioned also the word perti <. prd^tig , with metathesis of r, ME. praty, pretie.
4) WG. 0, WS. 0, M, Me. 0 (m): /er< /or when unstressed, 'for'; sper
< spura, * spur ' ; were? < word ; ferdr <Cfurt5or, ' further ' ; merdr < mor>or, 'murder' ; df'erd (sometimes) < ge-for^ian, 'afford' ; spern < spurnian, ' spurn' ; berst, berstid < borsten, perf. part., * burst ' ; jperst < ]pyrst, ' thirst.'
5) WG. M, WS. M < M + n, ME. u (o) ; >erzc?i (' Thursday ') < Hresdceg^ Kl., or does our word come from ON. \>drsdagr?
6) WG. u, WS. t(, or ?/ by umlaut, ME. i (e, m): f'erst <C.fyrst (also /»st with loss of r ; f'ert < *scyrte, Kl., ' shirt ' ; s/er < styrian, * stir.'
7) WG. a, WS. (^S by umlaut, ME. f: wer <i wc^i-on (also u?ar, ircear), ' were ' ; emz < <^rende, also oeran/, ' errands.'
II. Lat. u, WS. M, ME. tt : perpl < purpura, OE. purpur, ' purple ' ; ferf/
< twrfwr, OE. fur^Ze (a dove).
III. Scand. i, ME. i : hwerl < hwirjla, ME. hwirlen, * whirl.'
IV. 1) OF. e, ME. e, (a), a) In originally stressed syllables: lclerk<. clerc, ' clerk ' ; ddvert < diverten, ' divert ' ; <erm < terme, * term.' 6) In orig- inally unstressed syllables : mersi < mercy ; persdn < persone, ' person ' ; ser- vant < servaunt, ' servant ' ; vert/a < vcrfu, ' virtue ' ; sertnli < cerfem + /y, ' certainly ' ; mertfdnt < merchant ; serd^^nt < sergant, * sergeant.'
2) OF. M, ME. 0, M, OM. a) In originally stressed syllables : tern < turnen, 'turn' ; pers <C purse ; dist-'erb < disturben, 'disturb.' b) In originally un- stressed syllables : d^er-werk <Cjornee (' journeyman,' ' journeyman's work '); pertfds < purchase, sb., purchasen, vb. ; dVerni (' attorney ') < aturne ; kertn < curtine, ' curtain ' ; perpds < porpos, ' purpose ' , skwerl < squirel, OF. escurely ' squirrel ' ; mermar < murmure, * murmur.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. i : serA:?e« < *circulat-, ' circulate.'
2) Fr. e : terbl < ferri6/c / yundversti < university, ' university.'
3) Fr. M : 6eV/es < burlesque; fernitfar <: furniture (Spenser) < OF. /orntr.
VI. Names. With written u : berl < ^urn7Z ; ierf, ber-rt < 5u7tj« ; c/erw
< Durham ; kerts < Kurtz (German).
86. This e is found regularly in closed syllables, but occasion- ally in open ones, as veri, sterdp, ferd7i, for ' very,' ' stirrup,' 'foreign.'
42
132 DIALECT NOTES,
Usually, however, in open syllables the sound is more exactly », the vowel which e is most like in IthD. In the majority of words, e springs from a vowel which must have been of guttural quality in syllables closed in ME. Sometimes this was a length- ened vowel, if we may trust the evidence of our ea in 'earth,' ' earn/ ' learn/ ' earnest ' ; but these must have been short at some time before the 17tli century, or they would be now pronounced like 'fear,' ' hear.' The early guttural quality of this vowel is shown by such ME. spellings as hurde, ivurth, wurship, urthe, lumen, shurt, hure, for ' herd,' ' worth,' * worship,' ' earth,' ' learn,' 'shirt,' 'her.' Occasionally ME. ii has become e, as in 'first,' 'stir,' though usually this vowel has become v by unrounding (cf . § 112) . The influence of w is seen in the spellings of our words 'worth,' 'worship,' 'ivork,' 'world,' 'worse,' which otherwise would have been spelled with e.
As noticed in § 66, ME. e before r is now d in some words. This confusion of er, ar dates from Chaucer's time at least, but the dr in many words probably dates from IME. or early MdE. (cf. HES., § 789), so that dr in present speech does not necessa- rily imply a ME. pronunciation ar. Some words with er in IthD. may have been influenced by the spelling, since they are dr in LdE. Examples are : ' cleric,' ' sergeant' On the other hand, sartin, riz-arvd, are sometimes heard.
5. THE VOWEL i.
87. The vowel whose quality is that of i (short), but which, when long, is represented by e, ee, ea, ie, and in other ways, will be considered under A, short i ; B, long i (t) ; and C, i before r, or id.
A. The Short Vowel i.
88. Short i has been preserved with regularity in WG., and in loan-words whatever their source. It springs also from the WS. umlaut y, and is sometimes a variant with e or a. Its source is :
I. 1) WG. t, WS. i (eo by M-umlaut), ME. i. In open syllables : wida (also widr) < widwe, ' widow ' ; midl < middel, ' middle ' ; Usl < \>istel, ' thistle ' ; hwisl < hwistlian, ' whistle ' ; sikl < sicol, ' sickle ' ; slipri < slipor, ' slippery ' ; slip < slippan, ' slip ' ; filn < scilling, ' shilling ' ; hitr < 6i<er, ' bitter.' In closed syllables : stil < stille, ' still ' ; wit < willa, ' will ' ; tfildrn < cildru, ' children ' ; silvr < seol/or, ' silver '; milk < meolc, ' milk '; S7ni]> < sw/>, ' smith ' ; wifS < xvit!, * with '; riz < risen, pp.; mis < missan, * miss '; gris{t) < grist ; rist < wrist ;Ji/<.
43
I
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 133
Jisc^ * fish ' ; miks < miscian, * mix ' ; bdtwikst < betwix, « betwixt ' ; fijl < scijlan, ' shift ' ; i/< gif, ' if ' ; //u < libban, ' live ' ; stit/<^ stician, ' stitch ' ; twig < iu7/(/ ; rit < writen, pp. ; 6<V < 6j7en, pp., ' bitten ' ; rid < riden, pp., ' ridden ' ; lid < A//</, ' lid ' ; slid < s/<'</cn, pp. , ' slidden ' ; rib < rib ; fip < scip, ' ship ' ; sii]lc < sincan, ' sing ' ; c?rtr|fc < drincan, ' drink ' ; n'q < hringan, ' ring ' ; Kg
< >i»^, ' thing ' ; sUj] < slingan, ' sling ' ; sii] < smfjraw, ' sing ' ; sivii] < swingan (with change of meaning ?), ' swing ' ; klii] < clingan, ' cling ' ; brii} < bringan,
* bring ' ; tn < tn / tin < <m ; spin < spinnan, ' spin ' ; win<igewinnan, ' win ' ; tfin < cjn, ' chin ' ; bdg-in < beginnan, ' begin ' ; twin < getwin, ' twin ' ; irmfr <; winter; hinder < hindrian, ' hinder ' ; if;mc? < w;m£/ / him < Am ; swi7n < swim- man, ' swim ' ; ftmfer < timber.
2) WG. t, WS. i (for i + n), ME. z. In closed syllables: Jift<fifla,
* fifth ' ; Jijli Kfiftig, ' fifty ' ; Jijlis Elizabethan Eng. also.
3) WG. {, WS. I, ME. I. In closed syllables: wizd9m<^ wisdom, 'wis- dom ' ; wimin < wifman, * women ' ; 6//s < bliss < 6/t>s, ' bliss.'
4) WG. M, WS. 3/, y by umlaut, ME. i. In closed syllables: iiv/< wyscean, foT *wunsc; 'wish' ; bild <,*bylden, 'build.'
5) WG. M, WS. y by umlaut, ME. i. In closed syllables: Jist<ifyst,
* fist ' ; \>imbl < ^yme^, ' thimble ' ; hid < hydde, ' hid ' ; litl < /^<e/, sometimes Utl, ' little.'
6) WG. au, WS. ea or y by umlaut, ME. e. In closed syllables : strip < be-strypan, ' strip ' ; rik (for hay) < Arm^, ' rick.'
7) WG. eu, WS. eo or y by umlaut, ME. e. In open syllable : driri < dreorig, *dryrig, 'dreary.' In closed syllables: drip<:idrypan (?), 'drip'; sik < seoc (sik sometimes) , ' sick. '
8) WG. a, WS. e, y by umlaut, ME. e, e (i). In open syllables: si7i< sel{d)lic, syllic Kl., 'silly.' In closed syllables: ms^ic? < onsferfe, ' instead ' ; tj^il < c^/e, ce^e, ' chill ' ; strii\ < streng, ' string ' ; liT\k < A/cncc, ' link ' ; mii^gl
< mengan, ' mingle ' ; stnrfs < sengean, ' singe ' j ^rin < grennian, * grin ' ; n/ft
< nebb, * nib.'
9) WG. e, WS. t, ME. i. In open syllables: livr< lifer, 'liver.' In closed syllable : giv<Cgifan, 'give'; liv<i libban, 'live.'
10) WG. e, WS. e, y (i) by umlaut of eo by u-umlaut or breaking, ME. i, e. In closed syllables : yistddi < geostran dceg, giestra, gystra, ' yesterday ' ; siks<^six; yit<Cget, 'yet'; git<igetan, 'get.'
11) WG. 6, WS. e by umlaut, ME. e. In open syllables: wiri <^werig, •weary.' In closed syllables: britfiz <^brec, 'breeches'; sims, 3d. sing, pres., <Cge-seman, ' seems.'
II. 1) Lat. i, WS. i (e), ME. i. In closed syllables: di/<discus, OE, rfisc, ' dish ' ; bifap < episcopus, OE. biscop, ' bishop ' ; (/isf (^/esf) < cista, OE. ccsf, cisi, 'chest' ; pitf<Cpicene, OE. ;)?'c, 'pitch.'
2) Lat. u, 0, WS. y by umlaut, ME. i. In open syllables: kitfin< *cocina < *cucina for coquina, OE. cycene, ' kitchen.' In closed syllables : 77ij7 <Cmolina, OE. my/en, 'mill' ; int/<Cuncia, OE. ynce, 'inch.'
3) Lat. a, WS. y by umlaut of palatal ea, ME. t. In open syllables : kitl < catillus, OE. c^feZ, cefe/, ' kettle.'
III. 1) Scand. i, ME. i. In closed syllables: skil<skil, ME. skill; drift
< driptf ME. rfny^c, ' drift ' ; skin < sA:mn, ' skin ' ; winder < vindauga, ME.
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134 DIALECT NOTES.
windoge^ ' window ' ; windhs < vinddss, ME. windas, ' windlass ' ; krik < krikl (?), ME. crike, 'creek.'
2) Scand. (^, ME. e {i): wir^ < v<!^ngr, ME. winge (cf. PBB. X.p. 65), ' wing.»
3) Scand. 3/ < u by umlaut, ME. i, y. In closed syllables : lift < Lypta^ ME. liften^ ' lift ' ; sistr < sysfer, ME. sister, syster.
IV. 1) OF. ?*, ME. I. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : dlivr<i delivren, 'deliver'; kans'idr <,considren^ 'consider'; prins<.prince ; simpl<C simple; ritf<riche, 'rich.' b) In originally unstressed syllables, open: piti < pitee, ' pity ' ; siti < cite, ' city ' ; rit/iz < richesse, ' riches ' ; A:r/A;if < criquety ' cricket ' ; /tifcr < licour, ' liquor ' ; Jigr <Cjigure ; sizrz < cisoures, ' scissors ' ; mizdri <.miserie, 'misery'; f3zif3n<CJisicien, 'physician'; vilid^ <, village ; j9tc/5an<;)«5'on, 'pigeon' ; difakdlti <;, difficulte, 'difficulty.' Closed: princapli < principal + /^ ; kantinyal < continuel, ' continual ' ; difarns < difference ; fim'il- y3r <:^familier, ' familiar ' ; 6i7a<i < habilite, ' ability ' ; arfilri < artilries, Ch,, ' artillery ' ; c?/s<'i7 < distillen, ' distil ' ; livri < liverie, ' livery ' ; privlid^ < privilege; pdrViklr <^particuler, 'particular'; sir)gdldr <C singuler (also siq^/ar), ♦ singular ' ; skripfan < description ; viztin < visiten, ' visiting ' ; stf^an < citizen ; mist/if <^ mischiefe, meschief.
2) OF. e, ME. i. In originally unstressed syllables, closed: tfimbli, tfimli < chimnei, OF. cheminee, chimenee.
3) OF. e, ME. c. In originally unstressed syllables, closed : d^inrali (^d^inali) <C general, 'generally'; printis <;^aprentis, 'apprentice'; dt'indans<^ attendance; ind^dn<^engin, 'engine.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. /. In open syllables: mdl-i/i <C militia ; pdh'ibdtri < prohibitorius, ' prohibitory ' ; tribun < tribunus, ' tribune.' In closed syllables : igz-ist < existere, ' exist ' ; histi'i < historia, ' history ' ; sistm < system ; instdtvt < institutus, ' institute ' ; intrist < interest ; intamit < intimus, ' intimate ' ; rsd'ikbs <Cridiculus, 'ridiculous' ; spirtfslisQ) <C spiritualis, 'spiritualist.'
2) French i. In open syllables : litratur < literature ; ribit < rivet ; cBbl'ifdnis <C.abolir, 'abolitionist'; p9viz9nz<i provision (also pdrvi^9n). In closed syllables : insdddnt < incident ; injluns < influence ; invlid < invalide, ' invalid ' ; p9S'ist9nt <^ persister^ ' persistent ' ; vizbl < visible.
3) Spanish e. In open syllables : nigr < negro.
VI. Names. 1) With written i. In open syllables : kaiskdd-ili < Casca- c?t7/a ; i]>iki < Ithaca ; vard^'ini < Virginia ; bir^dmtn < Binghampton ; mi/agn â– < Michigan ; yuiisas < Ulysses. In closed syllables : brir\krhof<i Brinkerhoff ; sins9po < Sincebaugh, Du.
2) With written e. In open syllables : smtA;i < Seneca. In closed syllables : mdhinzi < McKenzie ; pak'ipsi < Poughkeepsie, Du.
3) With written it. In open syllables : liki < Liicke, Ger.
89. Short I, like short e, has been stable from the earliest times, notwithstanding the occasional interchange with e (§ 81). It is found in both open and closed syllables, but is far more common in the latter.
90. Short i from a longer vowel is found in a few words, usually in closed syllables and before voiceless consonants. Such
45
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 135
cases are * wisdom^ ' woman/ conforming to the common rule that in compounds or dissyllables before combinations of consonants a long vowel was shortened in ME. (cf. 'duke/ 'duchess/ * child/ 'chil- dren '). The cases of shortening, arranged in order of the follow- ing consonants, are : 'Jifth/ 'ffty/ ' little/ ' breeches/ ' strip/ ' drip/ ' Poughkeepsie/ ' sick/ ' rick ' (for hay) , ' women/ ' thimble/ ' seems ' (sometimes), ' build/ 'hid/ ' dreary/ 'weary.' 'Build' is perhaps questionable as a shortening, and ' hid ' has no doubt been in- fluenced by the participle, which appears as ' hid/ not ' hidden.' Ger. ii, like ME. umlauted u, has become i by unrounding.
91. The interchange of e with i has been noticed under e. A similar, but more regular, interchange is of i with e, occurring especially before nasals. Examples are : ' general/ ' generally/ 'apprentice/ 'attendance/ 'engine/ 'Seneca/ 'Prentiss/ ' McKenzie.' Words that had earlier undergone the change are : ' string/ ' min- gle/ 'link/ 'singe/ 'grin.' After y or g, the change occurs in ' yet/ ' yesterday/ ' get/ and earlier in ' give.' Other examples are 'steady/ 'instead/ while it had earlier occurred in 'silly/ ' chill/ ' six/ and ' nib.'
B. The Long Vowel t.
92. The long vowel t, not before r, develops from ME. ^ (from whatever source) if remaining long. It comes also from e when lengthened in ME., as it was especially in open syllables and before Id, nd, mb. It springs from :
I. 1) WG. a, WS. <:&, ea by a palatal, ME. f. In open syllables : gridi < grMig, ' greedy.' In closed syllables : ivnin < <^fen, ' evening ' ; spitf<: sp(%c, * speech ' ; sid < sM, * seed ' ; did < dM, * deed ' ; nidi < n<^dl, ' needle ' ; rid < r^dan, « read ' ; slip < sld^pan, ' sleep ' ; fip < sceap, ' sheep ' ; mil < early ME. ttk^I, Eng. meal-time (cf. Kl. Mahl 2); bri8<br(^, sb. (ME. 6rcgf) before the shortening of the sb. to bre\>, ' breathe.'
2) WG. a, WS. e by umlaut of 6 before a nasal, ME. e. In closed sylla- bles : kwin < cwen, ' queen.'
3) WG. at, WS. ^ by umlaut-, ME. f. In open syllables : si < s<^, ' sea.'- In closed syllables : dil < &(^/, * deal ' ; itf< Mc, ' each ' ; rit/< r(^can, ' reach '; hit, vb., < h(j^tan, ' heat ' ; hwit < hwd^te, ' wheat ' ; lid < l<^dan, ' lead ' ; list < IdSst, 'least'; lin, vb., <hl(^nan, 'lean'; klin < cl(^ne, 'clean'; liv<l^fan, » leave.'
4) WG. ai, WS. <^ + g, ME. at, ei. In open syllables : iSr (it!r) < {^hwcE^er, ' either ' ; nitfr (nvfJr) < n(^ghwoe\>er, ♦ neither.'
5) WG. d, WS. e by umlaut, ME. e. In closed syllables: /i/<^/an, ' feel ' ; kin < cene, ' keen ' ; grin < grene, ' green ' ; sim (sims often) < seman, ' seem ' ; sik < secan^ ' seek ' ; bitf< bice, ' beech ' ; kip < cepan, » keep ' ;
46
136 DIALECT NOTES.
sivit < swete, ' sweet ' ; fit <Jet, ' feet ' ; mit < metan, ' meet ' ; grit < gretan^ ' greet ' ; fid <C fedan, ' feed.'
6) WG. a, WS. e by umlaut of d < a + n, ME. e. In closed syllables : hil < hela < Hohila, < hanhila, ' heel.'
7) WG. au, WS. ea, y by umlaut, ME. f . In open syllables : y?{, sb., < ^caA, ' flea ' ; stipl < stypel^ ' steeple.' In closed syllables : hsHv (bliv) < helyfan^ ' believe ' ; lif< leaf ' leaf ' ; rfi/< rfeo/; ' deaf ^ ; fit < scyte, ' sheet ' ; bit < beatan, * beat ' ; niV < nyd, nead^ ' need ' ; ist < ^asf, ' east ' ; bin < bean,
* bean ' ; stim < steam, ' steam ' ; strim < stream, * stream ' ; tim < team, ' team '; drim < dream, ' dream ' ; rfrm < dreahnian, Kl., ' drain.'
8) WG. eu, WS. CO, ME. e. In closed syllables : friz <ifreasan, ' freeze '; \>if< \>eof ' thief ' ; dip < deop, ' deep ' ; krip < creopan, ' creep.'
9) WG. e, WS. e, ME. e before W. In closed syllables : fid ^sceld, ' shield ' ; yild<geldan, ' yield ' ; fdd <feld, ' field.'
10) WG. e, WS. eo by contraction, ME. e. In open syllables : si < seon, <^*sehwan, * see ' ; ni <^cneo <^*cneow, 'knee'; tri <Ctreo <C*treow, 'tree'; ft < feo in inflectional forms, ' fee.' In closed syllables : hwil < hweol < *hwehol, ' wheel ' ; sin, pp. and pret., < seon, ' seen ' ; bdtwin < betweonan,
* between.'
11) WG. e, WS. e by lengthening, ME. e. In open syllables : hi <ihe, ' he '; 7711 < me, ' me ' ; wi -< u;e, ' we ' ; ivn (ivm) < efen, cf. Sie., 121 et seq., ' even.'
12) WG. e, WS. c, ME. f. In open syllables : wizl < wes/e, M;eso/e, • weasel.' In closed syllables : stil < stelan, ' steal ' ; mil < melu (ground grain); bakivitJ < becw€\>an, ' bequeath ' ; yist < ^re.sf, ' yeast ' ; /i(/'< leccean, ' leach ' ; f< < c<an, * eat ' ; wiv < wefan, ' weave ' ; win < wenian (to accustom), * wean.'
13) WG. a, WS. y by umlaut of contraction, ME. f , e. In closed sylla- bles : stil <C style, steli (cf. OHG. s^aAo/),' steel.'
14) WG. a, WS. f by umlaut, ME. f. In closed syllables : hiv < hebban, ' heave ' ; ww7 < mete, ' meat.'
15) WG. a, WS. y by umlaut of breaking, ME. e before Id. In closed syllables: wild <, gewyldan, Kl., 'wield.'
16) WG. I, WS. eo by contraction, ME. e. In open syllables: l)n < tireo, ' three ' ; f < seo, * she ' ; /n < /reo, ' free ' ; 6i < 6eo, * bee ' ; bi < 6eow, 'be.'
17) WG. t, WS. I, ME. 1, c. In closed syllable : wik < wicu, ME. weke (wike, wucu), ' week.'
II. 1) Lat. a, WS. eg, y by umlaut of palatal ea, ME. f. In closed sylla- bles : strit < strata, OE. sfrt:^^, ♦ street ' ; tfiz < caseus, OE. cyse, ' cheese.'
2) Lat. c, WS. c, ME. e. In open syllables: ftvr^febris, OE. fefor, ' fever.'
III. 1) Scand. et, ME. ct. In closed syllables : wik < weikr, ME. «;«!, ' weak.'
2) Scand. «, ME. f. In closed syllable : lik < ZeJba, ME. Zeitcn, ' leak.'
IV. 1) OF. c, ME. f (e). In originally stressed syllables, open : dgri < agreen, ' agree ' ; ddgri < rfe^rc, ' degree ' ; fibl <feble, ' feeble.' Closed : fst <feste, ' feast ' ; bist < best, ' beast ' ; pitf<, peche, * peach ' ; priff<^ prechen, ' preach ' ; sw < cessen^ 'cease ' ; rwt< < receit, * receipt ' ; kms-it < conseyte^ ' conceit.'
47
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 137
2) OF. ai, ME. f . a) In originally stressed syllable, closed : pis < pees^ ' peace ' ; pliz < plesen, * please ' ; dispHz < displesen ; iz < ese, ' ease ' ; dsfit
< c?e/e^, ' defeat ' ; rdtr-it < retreten, ' retreat ' ; trit < frefen, ' treat.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : tritis < <rc^/s, ' treatise ' ; fitJWz < fetures, ' features ' ; rizn < resoun^ ' reason ' ; si^rn < sesoun, ' season.'
3) OF. ei, ME. eu In originally stressed syllables, closed : ras-iv < receiven, ' receive ' ; das'iv < deceiven, ' deceive.'
4) OF. Me (Beb., p. 104, 152), ME. e. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : bif<. beef, b) In originally unstressed syllables, open : pipl < peple, ' people.'
5) OF. le, ME. e. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : yrif < grief; tfif <C chief; pis -< pece, ' piece ' ; rdl-iv < releve^ ' relieve.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. i. In open syllables : farini <C farina.
2) Lat. e. In open syllables : frikdjitli <^ frequent + ly ; aid-i < idea ; tipid
< tepidus, ' tepid.' In closed syllables : kbdHs < coalescere, * coalesce ' ; sindri
< scena, ' scenery.'
3) Lat. CE. In open syllable : tid^ds < tcediosus.
4) Fr. I. In open syllables : fivdri < charivari., ' charivari.' In closed syllables : distrikQ.) < district ; mdf-in < machine, not from ME.
5) Span. ?'. In open syllable : mdsk'itr < mosquito.
6) Greek t;. In open syllable : krait-irin < Kpcr-npiov, ' criterion.'
VI. Names. 1) With written e. In open syllables : A;arn-f/as < Corne/ius ; d^in'ivi < Geneva ; owigo (wigo) < Owego ; swidnhord^in < Swedenborgian.
2) With written i in closed syllable : wiznr < TF/sner.
93. Words in which t occurs have sprung from ME. ^, f (close and open). The separation is not easy, and from the standpoint of ME. alone has never been satisfactorily made. But comparing the earlier and later development, the separation may be made as follows :
1) Words now spelled with e, ee, ei, ie, had close ^ in ME., except 'greedy/ 'evening/ 'speech,' 'seed/ ' deed/ ' needle/ ' sleep/ ' sheep/ ' steeple/ ' sheet/ ' need/ ' steel/ ' street/ ' cheese/ possibly ' wiekV To these, fuller lists of t words would add some exam- ples, but not many compared with the whole number.
2) Words now spelled with ea had open f in ME., either from an OE. long open vowel, or by lengthening in open syllables in ME.
This division holds good also for words with long t before r (cf. §§ 95, 96). The exceptions under 1) show that in some words open ^ had become close ^ before others for some reason not easy to see.
The two classes of words remained distinct until comparatively recent times. Those of the first class became i in the 16th cen- tury, the words of the second class becoming close ^ about the
48
138 DIALECT NOTES,
same time. In tlie 18th century words in ea also became %, with a few exceptions, as great, break.
94. Certain words require special attention. Xdr, ni'dr, are the regular forms for ' either,^ ' neither,^ but nv'dr is often* heard, perhaps influenced by ' other J Instead of these forms we should expect ^dr^ n&dr, in uninterrupted development, forms surviving among the Irish to-day. But these words fluctuated in the 18th century, the % finally establishing itself. ' Drain,^ as drXn, is an exceptional development, unless two forms are to be predicated for ME. times, one ^drein-, *drain- < OE. dr^ahnian when the vowel + h has become the diphthong, and one *dr^n- in which the h had been lost before ME. times, as may be indicated by OE. dr^nian. The two words * leak,^ ^ leach,'' both with %, cannot both come from OE. leccean, which would give regularly only Ittf {'leach^). It seems clear, therefore, that Sweet is right in deriving 'leak' from the Scandinavian, represented by Icl. leka. The form sblldZ is perhaps from a late Fr. form, while the present English dbl-aidZ is the proper form from ME. obltgen. The written e is long % in tepid, coalesce, because these were introduced as eye- words (cf. a as ^ in tariff, § 83). The lengthening of written % in dlstrik{t) < district and wlznr< Wisner is late and peculiarly dialectal.
C. Long i before r (id).
95. Before r in closed syllables a glide is developed, more perceptible in the case of this closed vowel than after the more open ce. This is represented by id, and it springs from :
I. 1) WG. d (Germ, e), WS. db (ea by a palatal), ME. f (e): fi^r <if&r,
* fear ' ; yiar < gear^ ' year ' ; 6/ar < 6<:gr, ' bier.'
2) WG. d (Germ, e, WS. ea by contraction, ME. f : ni^ < near (*ndhor)^
* near.'
3) WG. a, WS. ea by contraction, ME. §: tivr <^tear (Hahor), 'tear*; idr (of corn) < eare^ *eahor, Kl.
4) WG. a, WS. ea, by r+ cons., ME. f: biard (hoeyrd) <:, heard ; gidr <i gear we, ' gear.'
5) WG. e, WS. e, ME. e : hisr < her, ' here.'
6) WG. e, WS. e, te by umlaut of breaking, ME. f : Jiar < sceran, ' shear '; 8pi9r < spere, ' spear ' ; smiar < smierwan, ' smear.'
7) WG. au, WS. y by umlaut, ME. f : hiar < hyran, * hear ' ; so hard,
* heard ' ; eV < eare (organ of hearing).
8) WG. eu, WS. eo, y by umlaut, ME. e : diar < deor, ♦ deer ' ; diar < deore, * dear ' ; biar < beor, * beer ' ; stiar < sfeor, sb., ' steer ' ; stisr < styran,
* steer,' vb.
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THE ITHACA DIALECT. 139
II. 1) Scand. (^, ME. e: sni9r < sneren, cf. Dan. sncerre, ' sneer.'
2) Scand. c, ME. §: Wtsr < bier- in blereyed, ' blear-.'
3) Scand. a, ME. § : sktdr (skcedr) < skeren, ' scare ' ; so skiart, ' scared.'
III. 1) OF. e, ME. § : kli9r < c/eer, ' clear ' ; phr < apperen, ' appear.'
2) OF. te, ME, e : Jiars <^fers^ ' fierce ' ; tfiar < chere^ ' cheer ' ; rhr < rerc, sb., ' rear ' ; phr < piere^ ' pier.'
IV. Late Loan-words. Fr. e, I'e : kdvidr <C carriere ; sins'iar <^ sincere.
V. Names. With written ee : bbrz < Beers.
96. According to § 93, the spelling of words with id indicates that the long t before r (id) springs both from close and open i, f of ME. The only exceptions are bier, which springs from open ^, and dear, adj., from close i. The first must have become close i in early MdE. times, and it is possible that dear merely indicates that confusion of spelling which we know existed before the distinctive use of ea and ee had been established. Certain double forms are discussed in § 76, and to these may here be added bidrd, hcBdrd, for ^ beard.'
6. THE VOWEL O, OPEN AND CLOSE.
97. The vowel o in English appears as open and close, long and short. In IthD., however, the open short o has become unrounded, and appears as short to the long a of 'father,' while the close short o is seldom found. It is necessary to separate also the long close o, which appears before r with a glide. The vowel will therefore be considered under (A) open long o (a), (B) close short o (d), (C) close long d, (D) close long o before r (da).
A. Long Open o (o).
98. The vowel o is not so common in IthD. as in LdE., where it appears regularly before r. In IthD. o before r is open or close o: the former as with a before r, appearing without the glide ; the latter always found as da. IthD. o springs from :
L 1) WG. a, WS. a (ce), ea by breaking, ME. a. In open syllables-: wotr < wcEter, ' water' ; smolif<, smml, * smallish ' ; ohz, olrz < ealne weg, Ch., alway, 'always.' In closed syllables: smol <. smoBl, 'small'; hoi, sb., < *gehaUan, KL, ' haul ' ; hoi, sb., < heal, ' hall ' ; ol < eall, ' all ' ; fol <feallan, ' fall ' ; gol<: gealla, ' gall ' ; wol < weal, ' wall ' ; stol < steal, ' stall ' ; solt < sealt, 'salt'; holt <healt, 'halt'; bold<*bcellod, ME. balled, 'bald'; bok
< balca, ' balk ' ; worn < wearnian, ' warn ' ; sworm < swearm, * swarm ' ; worm
< wearm, ' warm.'
2) WG. a, WS. a, ea + g, ME. a-{-w(au). In open syllables: dro
50
140 DIALECT NOTES.
< dragan, ' draw ' ; na < gnagan, ' gnaw.' In closed syllables : don < dagiarij ME. dagnien, 'dawn.'
3) WG. a, WS. a, ea by contraction, ME. a +u; (au). In open syllables : ro < hreaw, ' raw ' ; b^ < )>dwan, *\>agw, ' thaw ' ; A;/o < c/ca < clawu, ' claw ' ; stro < streaw < *strawa, Kl., ' straw.'
4) WG. a, WS. ca by u-umlaut +/, ME. a-{-w {au). In closed syllable : hok < heafoc^ * hawk.'
6) WG. a, WS. 9 before nasal, ME. g. In closed syllables: lor] <long; roi)< wrong, late OE. Chron. 1124; \)rori <, ];>rang, 'throng'; tor\z <,tange,
* tongs ' ; )>oq < ]>wang, ' thong ' ; sar) < sang, ' song ' ; stro^ < Strang,
* strong. '
6) WG. a, WS. 6<aJrn, ME. ^ (p). In closed syllables: sDft<^s6fte
< *sanft, ' soft ' ; hrot < ird^fe < *branhte, ' brought ' ; M < )>oAfe < *]f>anhtey ♦thought.'
7) WG. 0, WS. 0, ME. p. In open syllables : forsrd <,fore + weard, ' for- ward.' In closed syllables: horn <,horen, pp., 'born',^ korn<_corn; horn-C horn ; \>orn < \>orn, ' thorn ' ; storm < storm ; nor^ â– < norl>, ' north ' ; hors < hors,
* horse ' ; stork < sforr, ' stork ' ; lost < ge-losed, ME. y/osi, ' lost ' ; frost <i frost ; hro\> < bra's, ' broth ' ; mo\> < motStSe, ' moth ' ; o/?n < ofl, ' often ' ; dog < doggUy ' dog ' ; /ro^ <^frogga, ' frog ' ; ^-ac? < god (in oaths ^farf).
8) WG. 0, WS. 0, ME. Q-{-g (h). In closed syllables: tro\f<Ctrok (Eng. rrq/"), ' trough ' ; hot < 6oA?fi ; wrot < {ge-)ivorht,. through IWS. -wroht.
9) WG. c, WS. eo, by b/eaking, or o-umlaut, ME. p (o). In closed sylla- bles : dworf<^ dweorh, ME. dwerf, dwarf e, 'dwarf' ; forti <,feowertig,feowertig (cf.Kl. t'jer), 'forty.'
10) WG. a, WS. a, ME. q. In closed syllables : yon < gdnian, ' yawn ' ; gon,VV.,<gdn, 'gone.'
11) WG. ai, WS. a-f-A (u'), ME. 9+ A. In closed syllables: ot<:dhtey
* ought ' ; lord < hldford, ' lord ' ; /j< < fC^Afe, but IWS. tdhte, ' taught.'
12) WG. ai, WS. a, ME. 9. In closed syllables: klo\><cld\>, 'cloth'- brod < hrdd, ' broad.'
II. Lat. u, WS. 0, ME. g. In closed syllables : fork <Cfurca, OE. /orc> 'fork.'
III. 1) Scand. a-\-g, ME. aw. In open syllables : lo < Z^^r, pi. made sg.^ ME. lawe, 'law' ; fo <iflawe, cf. Swed.faga, 'flaw.'
2) Scand. a, ME. 9. In closed syllables : ^3/ < OE. callian, 'call'; wont <^want, sb., wanten, vb., cf. Icl. vant, vanta, 'want.'
IV. 1) OF. 0, ME. g. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : dk'ord <; acorden, ' accord ' ; kord < corde, ' cord ' ; riz'ort < resorten, * resort ' ; skortf
< scorchen, ' scorch' ; Aonf < haunten, 'haunt ' ; so prep., kordin, ' according,' and adv., kordinti, 'accordingly' <i acorden ; p9formons, cf. ME. performen^
* performance ' ; ordr < ordre, ' order. ' b) In originally unstressed syllables, closed : fortfan <^ fortune ; bordr < bordure, ' border ' ; kornr â– < cornier, ' corner ' ; forid^ <. forage (sometimes fe'rid^) ; mortl < mortal; mortofai < mortifieny
' mortify ' ; J>3r<iz < author itee, ' authorities.'
2) OF. au < a -I- Z, ME. au. In originally stressed syllables, closed : dif'olt < defaut, ' default ' ; kork (with excrescent »•) < cauken, ' calk ' ; skold ■< scalden, OF. escalder, later eschauder, ' scald,' may also be placed here.
51
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 141
3) OF. au, ME. au. In originally stressed syllables, closed : koz < cause ; poz < pause ; khz < clause ; sos {sois) < sauce ; frod <Cfraud€, ' fraud.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Fr. o. In open syllables : nidd^-ordti < majority, ' majority ' ; orind^ < orange. In closed syllables : kord^dl < cordial ; sortmaiit <; asortment ; hostail < hostile ; pork9pain < porkepyn (?), ' porcupine.'
2) Dutch a. In closed syllables : bos <C baas, 'boss.'
VI. Names. 1) With written a. In open syllables : bndnd'ogi < Onon- daga. In closed syllables : olbani < Albany.
2) With written o. In open syllables : grotn < Groton. In closed syllables : d^ord-^i â– < Georgia; inorgin < Morgan.
99. IthD. long open o (o) springs from two sources :
1) ME. diphthong au, either from OE. a + back guttural (sometimes w vocalized), or from OF. au.
2) ME. short open o, or a, which was rounded to open o in early MdE., when lengthened before certain consonants or con- sonant combinations.
Examples of the first class are ^ draw,' ^ straw/ ' yawn/ ' hawk/ * cause.'
100. The consonants or consonant combinations before which an earlier open o has been lengthened are, in general, those before which long ce and <% have developed ; that is, /, ]?, s, the back nasal I), and r + consonant. Examples are ^ often/ 'broth/ 'frost/ 'strong/ ' corn.' The vowel o also springs in a few words from ME. open 0, whether originally short or from long open o before ht (h). Here are to be placed ' brought/ ' thought/ ' bought/ ' wrought/ 'ought/ 'sought/ 'taught/ 'trough.' Certain words need special explanation. In 'for ' (when stressed /ar) the lengthening occurs before r final, as does d in far, also. ' Cloth ' (kb])) is to be explained as from ME. do]), with short o, the shortening being parallel to that in 'breath/ 'feather/ 'heather.' The proper name ' Groton ' should be grdtn, but has retained its open (5 as a place name, for some unknown reason. In yawn, gone, we should also expect 6, the arrested development being due perhaps to the nasal.
101. Before I final, or I -f consonant, a had, in the 16th cen- tury, developed a glide, which was represented often by u (cf. HES., § 784). Afterwards the vowel became long by the absorp- tion of the u, and fell in with w^ords having au from the OF., or from OE. a + g {h). Examples are 'all/ 'small/ 'hall/ 'halt/ 'salt.' Here belong also 'balk/ 'chalk/ 'walk/ ' talk/ which lost their I after lengthening the preceding vowel.
102. The effect of rounding by preceding w is seen especially in those words in which, but for this influence, we should have d,
52
142 DIALECT NOTES,
Examples are ' ivarn/ * warm/ ^ swarm,' ' water/ ^ dwarf/ ^ wharp In ' dwarf ^ the original e first became a, and then o by the effect of the preceding iv and the following r + /. In * want ' {wont) the w keeps the vowel from appearing as w, as is shown by such words as 'haunt' (hont, hcent), in which the ce is perhaps more common.
103. Before g, o is usual in 'dog/ 'hog/ 'frog/ ' log/ 'fog/ but d sometimes occurs. In 'God' (god) o is the reverential form, but a occurs in oaths. For ' broad/ cf. § 106.
B. Short Close o (d).
104. Short close o, so common in New England, is not found in many words of IthD., except in unstressed syllables. It changes in a few cases with long close 6, and in others passes into ». The nearest approach to the vowel is the d before r, when it is united with a glide (dd). Examples of d are :
I. WG. ai, WS. d, (^ by umlaut, ME. ^. In closed syllables : bnli < <Pnlice,
* only ' ; hbm (hvm) < ham, ' home ' ; so hbmli, homhli {hvmli, hvmblist), hbmspdn (hvmspdn), 'homely,' 'homeliest,' 'homespun'; bbt (bot) <Cbdt, 'boat'; rbd {rod) < rdd, ' road.'
C. Long Close d.
105. Long close d springs regularly from WS. d, 6 -\-w, or from ME. §, due to lengthening before Id, mb, sometimes from other sources. It develops from :
I. 1) WG. ai, WS. d + w {h), ME. oti. In open syllables : fo <fdh, ' foe ' ; ro (a series) < raw ; \>rd <C\>rdwan, 'throw'; wo <i wd-wa, 'woe'; Wd < bldwan (as the wind) ; kro < crdwe, ' crow ' ; sno < sndw ; so < sdwan, ' sow ' ; no (' know ') < cndwan ; 6 (' owe ') < dgan ; do < ddh, ' dough.'
2) WG. ai, WS. a, ME. ^. In open syllables : no <,nd, ' no ' ; fd < <a,
* toe ' ; holi < hdlig, ' holy.' In closed syllables : d|> < d}p, ' oath ' ; b6\> <, bd\>d, ' both ' ; kloz < cld)pas, * clothes ' ; roz < d-rds, ' rose ' ; tioz < \>dz ; drov < drdf, sb., and drdf pret. of drifan, ' drove ' ; grov < grdf ' grove ' ; fon
< scdn^ * shone ' ; ston < stdn, ' stone ' ; bSn < bdn, ' bone ' ; drSn < drdn,
* drone' ; r6d<Crdd, sb., and <rac?, vb., 'road,' 'rode' ; tdd<Ctddie, 'toad' ; bdt (bbt) < bdt, ' boat ' ; rot <i ivrdt, pret. of writan, ' wrote ' ; so/ < saf/'o/,
* soul ' ; mol < mdl (a spot) ; 61c < ac, ' oak ' ; rop < 7a/>, ' rope ' ; sop < sape^
* soap ' ; fom <ifdm, ' foam ' ; most < wiasf, superl. of more.
3) WG. d, WS. d 4- m;, ME. ow. In open syllables : ro < rowan, ' row ' ; fid <^Jl6wan, ' flow ' ; gro <Cgrdwan, ' grow ' ; bid, sb., < bldwan, to bloom ; sto
< stowian^ * stow ' ; 6is<-d, cf . ME. bistowen ; glo < gtowan, ' glow.'
4) WG. 0, WS. o, ME. ^ before Id, mb. In closed syllables : gold <gold; tnSld < molde, ' mould ' ; kom < cd7n6.
63
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 143
5) WG. 0, "WS. o (eo by palatal) , ME. q, q in open syllables : ovr < ofer^
* over ' ; opn < open. In closed syllables : hoi < hoi, ' hole ' ; fol <fola ' foal ' ; kol < co/, ' coal ' ; n6l<C cnol, ' knoll ' ; stol < stolen ; tol < tol, ' toll ' ; holt < &o/< / ^d/f < colt ; sok < *socian, ' soak ' ; yok < ^eoc, ' yoke ' ; brSk < brocen, pp., ' broken ' ; smok < smocian, ' smoke ' ; ^o« <C,Jlota, * float ' ; >rd< < \>rotu,
* throat ' ; Adp < hopian, ' hope ' ; stov < sfo/a, ' stove ' ; noz <^ nosu, ' nose ' ; hoz < AosM, * hose.'
6) WG. 0, WS. 0 + 5^, ME. OM. In open syllables : bo < boga, in ' rainbow.'
7) WG. u, WS. M, ME. ^ before /o?. In closed syllables : foldr < sculdor,
* shoulder.'
8) WG. a, WS. ea by Z + cons., ME. ^ by Id. In closed syllables : hold < healdan, ' hold ' ; also, Ad/<, sb., variant of Eng. hold ; old < eald, ' old ' ; bold < beald, ' bold ' ; told < fea/(fe, ' told ' ; sold < sea/ffe, ' sold ' ; fold < fealdan, ' fold ' ; kold < ceaW, ' cold.'
II. 1) Lat. a, WS. a, ME. ^. In closed syllables : pol < pal, Lat. /jaZus,
* pole.'
2) Lat. 0, WS. 0, ME. g. In closed syllables : roz < rose, Lat. rosa, ' rose '; 50/ <; sole, ' sole ' ; post -< posf , Lat. postis.
III. 1) Scand. a, ME. ^. In open syllables: fro <^ fro, Scand. /ra, *fro.' In closed syllables : Ion < lone, Scand. Idn, < loan.'
2) Scand. a + g, ME. om. In open syllables : Id < ZouA, Scand. Idgr, * low.'
IV. OF. 0, ME. ^ (^). a) In originally stressed syllables, open : stori < storie, ' story ' ; ndiZ < no6Ze ; closed : kloz < cZose, vb. ; sdp'oz < supposen, 'suppose'; A;Zds (klostr comp. with excrescent 0 < close ; kot ('coat') < cote ; not < note ; klok < cloke, ' cloak "^ ; vol <i rolle, ' roll ' ; dpr'6tf<i approchen, ' approach ' ; dom < Jome. 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : grosr <; grosser, ' grocer ' ; so grosri < grosser i/, ' grocery ' ; dcZr < odour.
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. 0. In open syllables: pdtr6lm<C petr- -}- oleum; I6kd-f 'Ska <C loco- -\-foco-; produs, sb., <iproducere, 'produce'; progres, sb., <C progressus, ' progress.' In closed syllables : d^ok <^jocus, ' joke.'
2) Fr. 0, OM, d. In open syllables : hotl < hotel ; rotin < routine ; notis < nofZce ; nofn < notion. In closed syllables : notsabl < nofZce, ' noticeable ' ; p9V'6k <:i provoquer, 'provoke'; tit - otlr <C total, ' tee-totaler.'
3) Ital. 0. In open syllable : gdnd-oh < gondola.
4) Port. o. • In closed syllable : kokndts < cocoanuts.
VI. Names, In open syllables : kcezdn-ovi <C Cazinovia ; dik-oti <i Dakota (Ind.) ; d^in'oi <:^ Genoa; gilb-6i <C, Gilboa ; ai-6i <^ Iowa (Ind.) ; mohok <^ Mohawk (Ind.) ; novi-sk-ofi <cNova Scotia; ovid <, Ovid (Lat.).
106. IthD. long close 6 springs regularly from ME. long open ^, or from a diphthong ou. ME. long open q springs in turn from two sources : 1) OE. d ; 2) OE. a, or q, when lengthened in ME. before Id, mb, or in open syllables. Apparent exceptions are ^ ought/ 'taught,' 'thought,' 'brought,' 'sought,' 'soft,' 'yawri,' 'gone,' ' cloth,' ' broad,' but all of these except the last have been noticed in § 100. 'Broad' is explained by Sweet (HES., § 841) as due to the preceding r, but this seems hardly true, since there are
54
144 DIALECT NOTES,
several words with preceding r in which the development is regular, as 'road/ 'rode/ ' rope J
107. All long (5's before I, not from ME. long q, are a develop- ment of the 17th century from o + a glide formed before I in the 16th century (cf. HES., §§ 784, 808). Parallel to this is the development of a before I into o through a -f- glide. An excep- tion to this occurs in stdl, from the preterit stal, ' stole,' but this may have been influenced by the 6 of stole, participle for stolen in IthD., or it may possibly have had d in ME. by lengthening in. a monosyllable. ' Old/ ' cold/ are not exceptions, since the a had been lengthened in ME. before Id. Many long (5's are to be accounted for by the lengthening which took place in open syl- lables in ME, This accounts for 'close/ adj., 'dose/ 'rose/ 'nose/ ' hose/ ' close/ vh., ' suppose/ 'over/ 'stove/ 'cove/ 'open/ 'hope/ 'soak/ 'yoke/ 'smoke/ and many others. It would not account for 'post' < ME. post, 'gross' < gros, 'hole' < hoi, unless we suppose these also had q in ME., by lengthening as monosyl- lables, or from the inflected forms. Such lengthening did occur in some words even in OE. (cf. Sie., 122).
108. The spelling with oa established itself about the time that the long o, written oo, became H in sound, so that oa, as ea, denoted a more open sound (cf. HES., § 831).
D. The Close 6 before r (da).
109. Before r close d appears with a glide, retaining always, however, its close quality. This is od in LdE., a sound never heard in IthD. (cf. HES., p. 280 et seq.). The sound springs from :
I. 1) WG. ai, WS. a, ME. g: hdr <^ dr, ' oar ' ; so9r < sdr, * sore ' ; go3r (of a dress) < gdra ; hoar (an animal) < hdr ; odr < dr, ' ore ' ; mb9r<C mdra, ' more ' ; hoars < hds, ME. h^rse^ ' hoarse.'
2) WG. o, WS. d, ME. ^ : swbdr < swor, pret., ' swore ' \flo9r <^dr, 'floor.'
3) WG. 0, WS. o, ME. ^ : hif-bar < heforan, ' before ' ; fb»r)> <for\>, 'forth' ; hbdrd < hard, ' hoard ' ; bbdrd < hord^ ' board ' ; mbarn < murnan, cf . OHG. mornen, ' mourn ' ; snbar < *snorian ; ME. snorin (Kl. schnarchen), ' snore ' ; bb9r < borian, ' bore ' ; also the pp. swbar < sworen, ' SWO131 ' ; tbar < torerif ' torn.'
4) WG. e, WS. eo by r + cons., or u-umlaut, ME. ^ : sb9rd < sweord,
* sword ' ; /bar <feower,feower (Kl. vier), ' four.'
6) WG. u, WS. u, ME. ^ : db9r, 'door' < duru(?)
II. OF. 0, ME. V •• stbar < store ; risVbdr < restoren, ' restore ' ; sbdr < soren,
* soar ' ", pb9rk < pork ; fbdrs <i force ; Icbdr < core.
55
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 145
110. The sound (da) represents in many cases an original sliort vowel lengthened in ME. in open syllables or before r -f- voiced consonant, as ' hoard/ ' board J This lengthening is proved by the spellings with oo, oa, o -{- e final in these words. In the case of those from OE. 6 we should expect H as in poor, but 'swore/ pret., may have been influenced by sworen the parti- ciple ; and the spelling 'floor/ ' door/ would indicate a H sound, actually heard in the 17th century, according to Ellis, EEP., I, p. 101.
7. THE VOWEL U.
111. Historically at least the vowels v, u, it, are to be placed together, » and u representing the older u, sometimes o, and H being a development from 6 of an older time. From these, also, must be separated the long u {H) before r, although the instances of it are few. The vowel r) is short and open, unrounded, while u and H are close rounded vowels standing in the relation of short and long.
A. The Vowel ».
112. The vowel » is derived regularly from WG. u, OF. u, u,
but as one of the commonest sounds it has also many other sources, as follows :
I. 1) WG. «, WS. u (o, eo by a palatal), ME. u. In open syllables : Tconin < cunnan, ' cunning ' ; fvra <furh, ' furrow ' ; >»ra < \>urh, ' thorough.' In closed syllables : svn < sunu, ' son ' ; svn < sunne, ' sun ' ; rvn, pp., «< urnen, with r-metathesis, ' run ' ; spnn < spunnen, pp., ' spun ' ; wvn < ge-wunnen, pp., 'won'; big 'vrK^i begunnen, pp., 'begun'; wvndr <Cwundor, 'wonder'; \>vndr <.\>unorj 'thunder'; sDX]k <i suncen, pp., 'sunk'; frvi)k <C scruncen, pp., ' shrunk ' ; drvijk < druncen, pp., * drunk ' ; hvJigr < hungor^ ' hunger ' ; s»q < sungen, pp., ' sung ' ; sprvj] < sprungen, pp., ' sprung ' ; tvij <. tunge, ' tongue ' ; y»r) <[ geong, ' young ' ; svm -< smw, ' some ' ; swvm -< swummen, pp., ' swum ' ; dvm < dumb ; tvmbl < tumbian, ME., tumben, tumblen, ' tumble ' ; plvk <C, pluccian, ' pluck ' ; klvk < cloccian, ' cluck ' ; fSvs < \>us, * thus ' ; nvt < hnutu, ' nut ' ; gvt < gut ; fvvl < sceofl^ ' shovel. '
2) WG. u, WS. u<,u^n, ME. «. In open syllable : svfSdrn < su\>erne; for *siin)>, ' southern. ' In closed syllables : »s < ms for *uns^ ' us ' ; dvst < dust for *dunst, ' dust.'
3) WG. u, WS. y by umlaut, ME. u (y, c). In closed syllables: brvsl <C brystl, 'bristle'; fost <,/yrst, with loss of r, 'first'; /»« (fet) <C scyttan, ' shut.'
4) WG. 0, WS. 0, M, ME, u (o). In open syllable : hvni < Aone^f, ' honey ' ; vvn, vvm, win < ofen, ' oven.' In closed syllables : bvk < bucca, ' buck ' ; Ivv < /u^an and /m/m, sb., ' love ' ; db-vv < abufan, ' above.'
6) WG. a, WS. a (g), ME. a (?). In open syllable: rotfr < Amt>or,
56
146 DIALECT NOTES.
♦rather.' In closed syllables: sm-vx) <i ongemongj 'among,' so mvr^kstf ♦(a)mongst.'
6) WG. a, WS. 6<Ca + n, ME. o. In open syllable : »&r < oiSer, ' other/
7) WG. e, WS. eo by r + cons., ME. c, u, o. In closed syllables, with loss of r : bvst < berstan, ' burst ' ; u;Db < weor]>e^ ' worth.'
8) WG. M, WS. w, ME. u. In open syllables : hvzi < huswif, ' hussy.* In closed syllables: rvst<^rust (Kl. but Sie. rust) ; fvv <, sciifan, 'shove' ; ]>vm<i\>uma, 'thumb'; svk<.sucan (sugan), 'suck'; rvf<^ruh, 'rough'; bvt < butan (< be + «/an), ' but ' ; up < ti/?, ' up ' ; s/omfer < sluma, ' slumber.'
9) WG. 6, WS. o, ME. 6 (o). In open syllables : rvdr < robor, ' rudder ' ; brvtJr < brotJor, ' brother ' ; mvtJr < modor^ ' mother.' In closed syllables : mvst <:i moste, 'must'; glvv<igl6f, 'glove'; dn'vf<,gen6h, 'enough'; <©/"< toh^ ' tough ' ; dvn < ^ret^on, ' done ' ; Jlvd < Jiod, ' flood ' ; blvd < 6Zdcf, ' blood.'
10) WG. ai, WS. a, ME. o. In closed syllables: wvn<Can, 'one'; nvn "Cndn, 'none'; wvns(t) <:idness, 'once'; hvmli^ hnmbli (with excrescent 6), (hoin) < ham (' home ') + -ly ; hvmspdn also ' homespun ' ; hvl <, hdl^ ' whole.'
11) WG. a (Germ. e + nasal), WS. a, ME. p. In closed syllables: mvn\>
< OTona'S, ' month ' ; mvndi < monandceg, ' Monday.'
II. 1) Lat. u, WS. w, ME. u. In open syllable : bvtr < butyrum, OE. 6u<re, ftufere, ' butter.'
2) Lat. u, WS. M, ME. u. In closed syllable : plvm < prunum, OE. plume,
♦ plum.'
III. Scand. «, ME. m. In open syllable : bvsl < bustelen, ' bustle.' In closed syllables : vgli < ugglig, ME. u^'/i, * ugly.'
IV. 1) OF. u (o, ou, Beh. pp. 104, 109), ME. u, o, ou. a) In originally stressed syllables, open : svfr < suffre^ ' suffer ' ; dvbl < f/u6/e, ' double ' ; trvbl < trublen, ' trouble ' ; A:»p/ < kuplen, ' couple.' Closed : trvs < frwsscn, 'truss'; tvtf <C touchen, 'touch'; spvnd^ <C spounge, 'sponge.' 6) In origi- nally unstressed syllables, open : kvrid^ < corage, * courage ' ; fvrid^in < forage, * foraging' ; fvrn <^forein, 'foreign ' ; kvri, vb., < curryen, 'curry' ; glvtn<^ gluiun, 'glutton'; bvtn<Cboton, ' button '; 6o<n < ftwfe/erie, ' buttery ' ; kvlr < colour ; mvni < moneie, ' money ' ; svmdn < somouns, ' summon.' Closed : nvmbr < number, nombre ; kvmpni < companie, ' company ' ; kvmfdrt < confort,
* comfort ' ; kvnst9bl < cunestable, ' constable ' ; kvntri < contre, ' country ' ; Ararirfgr < congeouren, ' conjure ' ; 6»fZr < buteler, * butler ' ; d^vglr < jogelour,
* juggler.'
2) OF. u, ME. u. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : d^vdj^ < juggen (also d}^ed^), ' judge ' ; d^vs(t) <just (also t/ges, c?5is). 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open : <f»(/Is<rfucAcssc, 'duchess.' Closed: d^vd^msnt
< gugement, ' judgment ' ; dj^vstis <i justice ; mvltaplai < multiplien, * multiply ' ; hvmbl < humble, ' humble.'
3) OF. oi, ME. M. In originally stressed syllables, closed: mvsti<. moyste, 'musty.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Fr. o, ou. In open syllables : bvkl < bode,
♦ buckle.' In closed syllables : bvtmdnts < aboutir + merit, ' abutments ' ; /owrfs <allonger, 'lunge'; Ivmbr <: Lombard, Skeat (?) 'lumber'; gvl/<golfe, 'gulf ; rdp'vbhkn < republique, ♦ republican.'
67
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 147
2) Lat. u. In closed syllables: agk-vltfdl <i agricultural 'agricultural'; rnvskalr <i musculus (*muscularis'), 'muscular.'
3) Span. u. In open syllables : bvfdh < bufalo, ' buffalo.'
VI. Names. With written o. In closed syllables: dam-Dn <C Dumond, Ft. ; mdng'vmri < Montgomery.
113. Under OF. and ME. the vowel u (o, ou) is given as by Behrens (pp. 104, 109) for a vowel appearing under several forms but with like quality, and best represented by u. From this is to be clearly separated the o, which in ME., as well as in OF., never appears as u, ou, and has become in ModE. (5 or o in most cases.
114. The vowel lo dates from the 17th century, when short u began to be so pronounced. In the 16th century short close o, especially before nasals, fell in with short u in sound, and this explains the » from o. It is to be noticed, also, that some WG. o's have been u from the earliest times, as shown by OE. lufuj dbufan (Sie. 55). Anomalous are those »'s from a and e. Of the first, however, ' rather ' {rrydr) may have been influenced by ^ otlier,^ which is like ^ mother,^ ' brother,^ from WS. 6. The r) in ^ among ' is the going over from open o before a nasal. Original e becomes v only by the dropping of r, which had, as in 'Jirst^ (fost), made the preceding vowel a guttural. This is proved, also, by the number of it's before r, which are now e (cf. § 85).
115. The shortening from 6 or H began in the 17th century (cf. Ellis, EEP., I, pp. 157-9), where it is found in 'blood/ 'flood/ as well as in Fr. words with ou. To these, no doubt, others have been added. The examples are here placed with relation to the following consonant: 'whole/ 'up/ 'but/ 'suck/ ' rough/ ' tough/ ' enough/ ' us/ ' rust/ ' dust/ ' must/ ' brother/ 'mother/ 'other/ ' southern/ 'huzzy/ ' husband/ ' rudder/ 'flood/ ' blood/ ' shove/ ' glove/ ' thumb/ ' slumber/ ' done/ ' one/ ' once/ 'none/ 'won/ 'month/ 'Monday/ 'plum/ sometimes 'homely/ and ' homespun.^ From these and the other examples it will be seen that r) occurs especially before nasals.
116. The interchange of e with v occurs in a few words, as ' shut/ 'just/ 'judge/ but the examples are too few for determin- ing the reason of the change. It may be said, however, that fet for ' shut ' occurs as early as ME. times and in Elizabethan English.
B. The Vowel Short u.
117. Short u is not a common sound in English, but it occurs somewhat of tener in IthD. than in LdE. It springs from :
68
148 DIALECT NOTES.
I. 1) WG. o, WS. o, ME. o. In closed syllables : huf<h6f, 'hoof* ; ruf < hrof (also r»/), ' roof ; huk < Adc, ' hook ' ; luk <i locian^ ' look ' ; fuk < scoCf ' shook ' ; buk < 6oc, ' book ' ; hruk < 6rdc, ' brook ' ; sut <i sot ; fut <if6t^ * foot' ; rut < lorotan (to ' root ') ; hud < hod, ' hood ' ; gud < ^rdc?, • good ' ; stud <sfdf/, 'stood.'
2) WG. a + nasal, WS. d, ME. d. In closed syllables : sun < sdna, 'soon' ; spun < spon, ' spoon ' ; brum < irdwj, ' broom ' ; hum < hwdm, ' whom.'
3) WG. u, WS. M, ME. d before a nasal (?). In closed syllable : rum < rum, 'room.'
4) WG. u (?), WS. u, ME. M. In closed syllables: pul<pullian, 'pull.'
5) WG. u, WS. M < M + n, ME. u. In closed syllables : kud < cj/Jjc < *cun\>a, ' could.'
6) WG. 0, WS. 0, ME. d before Id. In closed syllables : fud < sco/rfc, ' should ' ; wud < wolde, ' would.'
7) WG. 0, WS. M, ME. u (u). In closed syllables: ful<fuU,' wul < wuUe, ' wool ' ; wulf<C wulf, ' wolf ' ; here also put < potian (?), ' put.'
8) WG. ?, WS. z, ME. u after w. In closed syllable : wud < wudu, *widu^ ' wood.'
9) WG. I, WS. I, ME. u (o) after i^. In open syllable : wum9n < wifman^ 'woman.'
II. Lat. 0, WS. d, ME. d. In closed syllable : kuk < coc < coquus, ' cook.'
III. 1) Scand. d, ME. d. In closed syllables: kruk<icrdc, Icl. ^rd^r, ' crook ' ; tuk < <dc, Icl. tok, ' took ' ; ru< < rote, Icl. rd« for wrdf (or is this OE. ?), 'root.'
2) Scand. u, ME. u. In closed syllables : bul < bule, Icl. 6u/i (or is this Eng. *buUa? cf. Murray), 'bull.'
IV. 1) OF. M, u (o), ME. u, ou. In open syllables : fugr <:^ sugre, ' sugar'; hupin •< houpen in ' whooping-cough.^
2) OF 01 (ui), ME. u. In open syllable: bufl <, buschel, OF. boisselj 'bushel.'
118. Short w occurs usually in closed syllables and from early long 6, which first became li, as shown by the spellings oo, ou, and was then shortened. Sometimes, however, the vowel springs from ME. u, especially after labials and before I, as in 'pull,^ *full,' ^bull,' ^put,' 'bushel,^ while it occurs after w in ^wood,^ ^wooly^ ^wolf,' 'woman,^ though not before n. In 'wood,' 'wool,' the vowel may have been long in ME., and certainly was in early MdE. Short u from older long iX, 6, seems never to occur before the fricatives, and it is especially frequent before Tc, t, d, n, or m. In ' room ' both the spelling and the puns of Shake- peare lead us to assume that OE. it had become d before the nasal, perhaps in ME. times, as this is the only exception to the natural development of OE. H.
69
THE ITHACA DIALECT, 149
C. The Vowel Hl.
119. Long closed u {H) descends regularly from WS. 6 from whatever source, and from such Romance sounds as became 6 in ME. It springs from :
I. 1) WG. d, WS. d, ME. 6. In open syllables : tu<,td, * to ' ; c/m < don, *do,' In closed syllables: stul<Cstdl, 'stool'; kul<.c6l, 'cool'; tul<ctdl, Hool'; pul<,p6l, 'pool'; rusK^hrost, 'roost'; but <, hot, (» to boot' in a wager) ; blum < bloma, * bloom ' ; glum < gloma, ' gloom ' ; dum < dom, * doom ' ; lum < ge-loma, ' loom ' ; bi-ud < brod, ' brood ' ; fud <.fod, ' food.'
2) WG. d, WS. eo by palatal, ME. d. In open syllable : fu < sceoh, ' shoe,'
3) WG. a + nasal, WS. d, ME. d. In closed syllable : mun < widna, *moon.'
4) WG. a + nasal, WS. d, ME. d. In closed syllables : tu\> < td\>, ' tooth '; 57nu& < smo^, ' smooth ' ; gus < ^^ds, ' goose.'
5) WG. a, WS. a, ME. d. In open syllables : hu < Ai^ja, ' who ' ; <m < fu>a, ' two.' In closed syllables : uz (wuz, earlier) < wdse, * ooze ' ; swup < swdpan,
* swoop ' ; hum < hwdm, ' whom ' ; swun < a-swdnian, perhaps, ' swoon.'
6) WG. a, WS. Q + mb, ME. d. In closed syllable : wum < wowft.
7) WG. eu, WS. eo, ME. d. In closed syllables : fut < sceotan, ' shoot.'
8) WG. eu, WS. eo, ie by umlaut + w, ME. eu. In open syllables : tru < treoive, 'true' ; nu < nitre (niewe'), 'new' ; bru < breowan, 'brew' ; (/m < ceowan, ' chew.' In closed syllables : tru\> < treow\>, ' truth.'
9) WG. aw, WS. ea + A or w, ME. ew. In open syllables : Jlu <Jleah,
* flew ^ ; du<:_ deaw, * dew.'
10) WG. i, WS. I + g, w, ME. lu. In open syllables : stuard < sti(g)weard,
* steward.' In closed syllables : tuzdi < Tiwesdceg, ' Tuesday. '
11) WG. u + A, WS. u, ME. mA. In open syllables: Km < J>urA, ]>ruA, ' through.'
II. Lat. 0, WS. d, ME. d. In closed syllables ; skul < srAo/a, OE. scdl,
* school ' ; pruv < probare, OE. projian, ' prove ' ; nwn < nona, OE. ndn, ' noon.'
III. 1) Scand. w, ME. d. In closed syllables : bu]> < 6dl>e, cf. Icl. huxS, ^ booth.'
IV. 1) OF. 0, ME. d. In closed syllables : ful <fol, ' fool.'
2) OF. 0 (oe, Mc, Beh., pp. 104, 152), ME. d. In closed syllables : muv < moven, 'move' dpr-uv <C approven , 'approve' ; rdpr-uv <ireproven, 'reprove.'
3) OF. ii, ME. u (m). In open syllables: kyuris <^ curious. In closed syllables : krul < crwe/ ; ;>a2-i/m < presumen, * presume ' ; nic? < rude ; duk < o^uc (?), 'duke,' cf. Beh. ; d:^us <Cjus, 'juice.'
4) OF. Mf, ME. u, «i (m). In closed syllables: sut^sute, * suit ';/rM< <^fruyt, ' fruit.'
6) OF. eu, ME. /u, cu. In closed syllables : rul < riwle, ' rule ' ; d^uz < jewes, ' Jews.'
6) OF. cau, < cZ/ + cons., ME. eu. In open syllables : byuti < bealte, beaute, 'beauty.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. u. In open syllables : kupr < Low Lat. cuparius, 'cooper.' In closed syllables: intsd-us <,introducere, 'introduce';
60
150 DIALECT NOTES,
pdd-us < producere, ' produce ' ; rdd-us < reducere, ' reduce ' ; slut < salutare, ' salute ' ; krud < crudus, ' crude.'
2) Fr. u (ou). In open syllables: sumcek <^ sumac ; rdkr'utin<,recruter^ 'recruiting'; krupr <C croupihe, 'crupper.' In closed syllables: prun^ sb.,>< prune ; brut < brut, ' brute ' ; Jlut <ijiute.
3) Span. 0. In open syllable : kdn-u < canoa, 'canoe.'
4) Indian u (?) In closed syllables : pop-us <.pappoose.
VI. Names with written u. In open syllables : kyugi < Cayuga, Ind. ; kyuti < Cayitta, Ind. ; hugdiiats < Huguenots ; d^ubs < Julius ; d^ulai < July ; ruhf<iBuloff; yutiki < Utica. In closed syllables : brun < Bruyn; byulz < Buels,
120. Besides the regular development of H from ME. (5, the vowel springs usually from ME. eu, iu, from whatever source, by absorption of the preceding vowel. Long H occurs especially iu open syllables and before those consonants that have lengthened short vowels in MdE., that is, before ]?, s (not /), and I. The principal cases in which it occurs before other consonants are the following: 'bloom/ 'doom,' 'whom/ 'gloom/ 'loom/ 'loomh/ 'pre- sume/ 'moon/ 'noon/ 'prove/ 'move/ 'approve/ 'reprove/ 'hoot/ 'shoot/ 'suit/ 'fruit/ 'brood/ 'rude/ 'swoop/ 'duke.'
121. Especially worthy of note is the it from OE. d always after w. This is a regular development, and it is probable that the long d after w became close instead of open 6 in ME. times, since we have these words sometimes spelled with 6. Examples are : ' who/ ' ivhom/ ' two/ ' ooze/ formerly ' wooze/ ' swoop/ ' swoon/ if from OE. aswanian, as seems probable. Apparent exceptions are 'so/ 'woe/ but the first clearly develops from ME. sd {sq)j which had wholly lost its w, and ' woe ' was in OE. ' wia/ ' wdwa/ from the last of which forms our word, would be a natural development (cf. § 105). 'Swoon' is usually referred to ME. swownen, but this should give swaun or sivdn by regular development, the first of which does occur with excrescent d in 'swound.' For the rounding influence of w, cf. also §§ 63, 102.
122. Long u (H) occurs with y {yd) when initial, sometimes after a consonant, as in byUti, ky^ris, ByHlz, for ' beauty/ ' curious/ ^ Buels.' This is clearly distinguished from iu, which occurs in a few words (cf. § 133).
123. The examples of H before r (ud) are so few that they may be placed here in a note. They are noticeable only because of the appearance of the glide. Examples are: 'poor/ 'endure' < OF. poure, endurer, ME. poure, enduren; 'tour' < Fr. tour; besides, words in -er after H show the same {ud), due to shorten- ing, as 'brewer/ 'sewer/ (bruar, suar).
THE ITHACA DIALECT, 151
8. THE DIPHTHONG ai.
124. The diphthong ai comes from OE. %, ^, from a front vowel 4- front g (h), or from ME. t < older i + Id, nd, mb. Before r it appears with a glide aid, though the examples are not numerous. It springs from :
I. 1) WG. I, WS. i, ME. I. In closed syllables : hwail < hwile ' while ' ; ais < is, * ice ' ; waiz < wis, ' wise ' ; laif<. lif, ' life ' ; waif<i wif, ' wife ' ; naif<. cnif, ' knife ' ; dl-aiv < onlife, ' alive ' ; laik < gelic, ' like ' ; daik < c?{c, ' dike ' ; straik < strican, ' strike ' ; raip < ripe, ' ripe ' ; raid < ridan, ' ride ' ; sai'c? < sidan, ' side ' ; slaid < slidan, ' slide ' ; tt'ajc? < ivid, * wide ' ; taid < <ic?, * tide ' ; rait < writan, ' write ' ; At^aif < hwit, ' white ' ; bait < fiifan, ' bite ' ; fain < scinan, ' shine ' ; raim < rim, ' rhyme ' ; taim < iima, ' time.'
2) WG. I, WS. i < t + n, ME. £. In closed syllables : faiv <fif, ' five.'
3) WG. t, WS. i + 9 (Ji), ME. ih. In open syllables : ai < tc, ' I ' ; /rairfi <, Frigedceg, 'Friday.' In closed syllables: tail <:i tig ole, 'tile'; stail <C. stigele, 'stile' ; nain <^mgen, 'nine ' ; dl-ait < alihtan, 'alight.'
4) WG. t, WS. i + Id, nd, mb, ME. {. In closed syllables : waild < wilde, ' wild ' ; maild < milde, ' mild ' ; tfaild < cjVo?, ' child ' ; bih-aind < behindan, 'behind ' ; ivaind < windan, ' wind' )faind <,Jindan, ' find ' ; graind < grindan, ' grind ' ; baind < bindan, ' bind ' ; blaind < blindan, ' blind ' ; Ham < climban, ' climb.'
5) WG. e, WS. i by palatal-umlaut, ME. i-\-h (g). In closed syllables : rait < n'Af, ' right ' ; nait < cniht, ' knight ' ; here also brait < 6eorA<, *breoht, bryht, ' bright ' ; fait <Cfeohtan, ME.Jihten, ' fight.'
6) WG. e, WS. i by lengthening, ME. t. In open syllables : bai < bi, bl, * by.' In closed syllable : saifS < sitie, *sigfJe, ' scythe.'
7) WG. u, WS. y by umlaut, ME. i. In open syllables : drai < drygey *dry.' In closed syllables: bail<ibyl (Eng. 'boil,' 'bile'); mais<mys, ' mice ' ; Aat'y < hyf, ' hive ' ; praid < jor^fa, ' pride ' ; braid < bryd, ' bride ' ; haid < hydan, 'hide ' ; Aaitf, sb., < Aye?, ' hide.'
8) WG. au, WS. ea + h (g), ME. e + A (later tA). In open syllables: ai < eage, ' eye ' ; Aat < AeaA, ' high ' ; lai < leag, ' lye.' In closed syllables : hait][> (Aai» < heahfSu, ' height.'
9) WG. eu, WS. eo, ME. e + A (later iK). In open syllables : flai, vb., < Jleogan, ' fly ' ; /ai, sb., <fleoge, ' fly ' ; /ai < sceoA, ' shy.' In closed sylla- bles: lait, sb. and adj., < /eoAf, 'light'; lait, adj., < ZeoA^ 'light,' cf. Sie., 84, n. 4.
10) WG. a, WS. ea (cf. Sie., 57, 2), d.), ME. e + A (later lA). In open syllable: nai<^neah, 'nigh.'
11) WG. a, WS. i by palatal-umlaut, ME. i + A(0. In closed syllables : mait < miht, * might ' ; nait < nt'Af, ' night.'
12) WG. M, WS. 1/ by umlaut, ME. t + 5'(0- In open syllable: bai< by cyan, ' buy.'
13) WG. u, WS. y by umlaut + nrf, ME. i. In closed syllable : kaind < ge-cynde, 'kind.*
II. Lat. i, WS. t, ME. i. In closed syllables : mail < mi/, Lat. milia,
62
152 DIALECT NOTES.
*mile' ; pail<,pUum, OE. pt/, 'pile' ; pain<,pinus, OE. pin, 'pine'; wain < vinuniy OE. win, * wine ' ; kraist < Christus, OE. crist, ' Christ ' ; paip < Low Lat. pipa, OE. j9i/)e, ' pipe.'
III. 1) Scand. i, ME. i. In closed syllables : \>raiv < Mwen, ' thrive.'
2) Scand. y, ME. i. In open syllables : skai < sA;ie, ON. s^y, ' sky.'
3) Scand. a, ME. e + A. In open syllables : slai < s/eA, ON. slagr, * sly ' ; s/ai7 < 5/eAfe, ON. sloeg]> (?), ' sleight.'
IV. 1) OF. {, ME. i. a) In originally stressed syllables, open: krai <. cry ; spat < spien, ' spy.' Closed : braib < bribe ; ddvais < avys, ' advice ' ; prais < jons, ' price ' ; spais < spice ; nais < nice ; d^ais(t) < ^isfe, ' joist ' ; fain < fine; kwait <quyte, 'quite.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open: laibri<ilibrairie, 'library.'
2) OF. 01, ME oi (17th century oi, ai). a) In originally stressed sylla- bles, closed: paint <. point ; dp-aint <C apointen, 'appoint'; d^ain <^joynej 'join ' ; d^aint <C joint ; lain < loyne (of beef) ; bail < boylen, ' boil ' ; aistr <C oystre, 'oyster.' 6) In originally unstressed syllables, open: d^ainr <^ joinour, ' joiner ' ; paizn < poisounf * poison.' Closed : aintmant < oynement,
♦ ointment.'
3) OF. 0 + /, 0?', ME. oi (17th century oj*, at). In originally stressed syl- lables, closed : ail <, olie, oyle, ' oil ' ; spail < spoylen, ' spoil ' ; sail < so^Ze,
♦ soil' In originally unstressed syllable, open : aiht < ceillet, ' eyelet.'
V. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. i. In open syllables : dairi < diariuniy
♦ diary ' ; saibnt < silentem, ' silent.' In closed syllables : parvaid < providere^ ' provide ' ; yun-ait < unitus, ' unite.'
2) Fr. I. In open syllables: saiati <:i society (also sas-aiati), 'society'; rai/sf < violette ; pairet < pirate. In closed syllables : pail < joi7e.
3) Fr. oi. In open syllables : impl-aimant < *employment.
4) Du. I. In closed syllables : s/)Zajs(<) < s/j/issen, 'splice.' 6) Du. y. In closed syllables : haist < hyssen, ' hoist.'
VI. Names. In open syllables : baii < Bahia ; haia < Ohio ; karl'aini < Carolina ; pemb'aini < Pembina; daraitr < Z)e Ruyter ; elnvairi < Elmira (also almairi) ; aizik <. Isaac. In closed syllables: kant-ain <, Cantine ; laidj^-C Elijah.
125. The diphthong ai before r should be represented by aia, but it does not occur in many words. Typical examples are as follows :
1) WG. t, WS. I, ME. I : aiarn < iren, 'iron ' ; waiar < twr, ' wire.'
2) WG. M, WS. y by umlaut, ME. i : faiar <ifyr, ' fire ' ; haiar < Ayr, sb., hyrian, vb., ' hire.'
3) WG. CM, WS. y by umlaut, ME. i: maiar < myra (in 'pis-mire').
4) OF. I, ME. i : das-aiar < desiren, ' desire.'
5) OF. ic, ME. e : ent'aiar < enter j ' entire ' ; skwaiar (jshwcear) < squiere (IME. t?), 'squire.'
Other examples occur, especially by the addition of -er as in ' crier/ ' dyer/ * higher/ ^ buyer/ etc.
63
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 153
126. Three sources have been pointed out for MdE. ai, and these account in the main for ai of IthD. In LdE. this diph- thong is di, which, according to Ellis (EER, I, p. 227, long i), has prevailed since the 17th century. In IthD. the sound is nearer a + i than di would indicate, and perhaps furnishes another evidence of the preservation of an older speech.
127. From the examples it appears that ai springs regularly from ME. i {%) -{- h (g), while ME. e (ce) -\- h has given i, except in 'either/ 'neither' (cf. §§ 82, 94). MdE. ai < i (I) + h (g) indicates the final lengthening of the i in both cases, whether th remained long, or the t was first shortened before h, ov h -{- cons., as in the case of dh (cf. § 100). Examples of i + h are : ' 1/ 'by/ 'Friday,' 'tile,' 'stile,' 'mine,' 'light,' 'right,' 'knight,' 'bright,' 'flight,' 'might,' 'night' In 'eye,' 'high,' 'bye,' 'fly,' sb., vb., 'shy,' 'light' (easy), 'nigh,' 'sly,' the earliest ME. forms show ih (eh?), the regular development, but later forms show ih, from which the modern forms have come.
128. The most characteristic ai of IthD. is that which, in common speech, is oi in many words. Examples are : ' boil ' (a sore), 'joint,' 'point,' 'appoint,' 'join,' 'joiner,' 'joint,' 'loin,' 'sir- loin,' 'boil,' vb., 'oyster,' 'poison,' 'oil,' 'spoil,' 'employment,' 'hoist.' It is well known that oi, ai, were variants in the 17th century, and ai lived into the 18th century at least.
9. THE DIPHTHONG an.
129. The diphthong au springs regularly from ME. il from whatever source, as well as from a back vowel + guttural h (g), or w. Its sources are :
I. 1) WG. u, WS. M, ME. u. In open syllables: hrau<ihrii, 'brow' ; \>auzdnd < \>usend, ' thousand. ' In closed syllables : aul < ule, ' owl ' ; faul < ful, ' fowl ' ; haus < hus, ' house ' ; maus < mus, ' mouse ' ; taun < tun, ' town ' ; daun < of-dun, ' down ' ; braun < hrun, ' brown ' ; aut <, ut, ' out ' ; 9h'aut < onhutan (also haul), 'about' ; spraut <. sprutan, Kl., 'sprout'; witS-aut (iH^aut, tSaut) <iwi)putan, 'without'; praud<^prut, 'proud'; laud <CUud, 'loud'; fraud < scrud, ' shroud ' ; kraud < crihdan, ' crowd.'
2) WG. M, WS. u + g, ME. m. In open syllables: hau<,hugan, 'bow.' In closed syllables : draut < drugatS, ' drought.'
3) WG. u, WS. u, ME. u. In open syllables : nau <,nu<,nu by length- ening in OE., 'now.'
4) WG. u, WS. M<M + n, ME. u. In closed syllables: sau)><su\>, ' south ' ; mau)> < mu\>, ' mouth.'
64
154 DIALECT NOTES,
5) WG. 6, WS. u, ME. u. In open syllables : kau < cm, ' cow ' ; hau <
hu, 'how.'
6) WG. <5, WS. ^ + A, ME. 0 + w, ou. In open syllable : plan < ;)/dA,
* plough.'
7) WG. tt, WS. M + nd, ME. u. In closed syllables : haund < Aunc/,
* hound'; saund <ig€sund, 'sound,' adj. ; waund <,wund, sb., and wundian, vb., ' wound ' ; graund < grrunc?, ' ground ' ; faund <Cfunden, pp., ' found ' ; baund < bunden^ pp., ' bound. '
II. 1) Lat. u, WS. M + A, ME. u. In closed syllable : traut < frwcto, OE. fruAf, Pog., § 179, 'trout.'
2) Lat. 0 + nasal, WS. u, ME. m before nc?, nt. In closed syllables : paund < pondo, OE. punc?, ' pound ' ; wiawn^ < mont, OE. mwn^, ' mount.'
III. 1) OF. M, 0, ME. M, ou. In open syllables : vau < vow, avowen ; dl'au <; alowen, ' allow.'
2) OF. M, ME. M, ou. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed : saund < souTiy ' sound,' sb. ; saund < sounen, * sound,' vb. ; kanfaund < confounden, ' con- found ' ; raund < ronde, ' round ' ; ak'aunt -< acou;i<en, ' account ' ; kraun -< crowne, 'crown'; daut <C doute, 'doubt'; raut<Crute, *rout.' 6) In origi- nally unstressed syllables, closed : kaunti < counte, * county ' ; faundr < founder.
rv. Names. In open syllables : kaudri < Cowdry. In closed syllables : mag'aun â– < McGowan.
130. The diphthong au before r occurs with a glide au9. Examples are :
1) WG. M, WS. M, ME. u : auar < tire, ' our' ; saudr < sur, ' sour' ; fau9r < scur, ' shower ' ; bau9r < iur, ' bower.'
2) OF. u, ME. M : au9r < Aoure, 'hour' ; flawdr <,Jlur, 'flower' ; tau9r < tour, 'tower.'
131. The quality of the diphthong au has been described in §§ 5, 9). Since the 17th century it has had a pronunciation rep- resented by Ellis as du (EEP., I, p. 230), separating at that time from the written ou {ow), which is now 6, as in 'know,' ' grow^ (cf. § 105). In 'room^ no change to au has occurred (cf. ^ 118).
10. THE DIPHTHONG oi.
132. The diphthong oi occurs only in loan-words, mainly from the Romance languages. In many of these, as has been pointed out (§ 128), it interchanges commonly with ai, so that it is not a common diphthong. It springs from :
I. OF. ot, ME. oi. In originally stressed syllables, open: d^oi<:,joie, ' joy ' ; distroi < destroyen, ' destroy.' Closed : tfois < choys, ' choice ' ; vois < vois, ' voice ' ; moist < moyste ; noiz < noyse, ' noise ' ; void < voyde.
66
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 165
11. THE DIPHTHONG in.
133. This diphthong is rarer in IthD. than oi, H or yCt occur- ring in place of it in the majority of words. It occurs from :
I. WG. au, WS. ea, ME. e -{- w. In open syllables : Jiu <,Jeawe, ' few.'
II. OF. u, ME. u. a) In originally stressed syllables, closed: dh-iuz<c, abusen, * abuse ' ; exshiuz {skiuz) < excusen, * excuse ' ; 9k'iuz < acusen, ' accuse ' ; Jium <fum (?), ' fume '; mint < muet, ' mute '; before r in piur <Cpur, ' pure ' ; kiur < cure.
III. Late Loan-words. 1) Lat. u. In closed syllables: hint <i acutus ; skiur < secu7-us, ' secure.'
2) Fr. u. In closed syllables : kiub < cube ; miul < mule.
134. Perhaps no rule for iu can be stated with exactness for so few examples, but it seems to occur after labials, m, and the palatal k, especially when it is not followed by I.
12. VARIATIONS IN QUANTITY.
A. Hiatus and Contraction.
135. Hiatus occurs occasionally by loss of h, or w, and is fol- lowed by contraction. Examples are : a) by loss of h, sTcceri < Schoharie; h) by loss of w, dZ'M < jewel; mdkd'dl < McDowel; stdl < Stowell; mdg'aun < McGowan.
136. Contraction, without hiatus, by loss of consonant, occurs in:
1) M < M + a : krul < cruel; byulz < Buels ; brun < Bruyn. In unstressed syllables : injluns < influence ; and a < m + a in vertfas < virtuous.
2) ced<C.e -\-d: \>^9r < Thayer ; sce^r < Sayre.
3) ai < at + a : baimbi < by-an(d)-by ; laibl < liable.
4) In unstressed syllables, a) from t + z : ftcr/n < burying ; emptinz < emptyings (yeast) ; hvmlist < homeliest ; wel\>ist < wealthiest ; b) from z + » : yunit-erin <CUnitarian ; krait'irin <, criterion ; kiuris <^ curious ; kvr in <, currying.
B. Lengthening and Shortening.
137. Under the various vowels have been discussed the gen- eral laws of lengthening in IthD., and they are therefore not repeated here. A few examples of special peculiarity may be mentioned. Inclosed syllables: ^g, 'egg'; Ug ; MZ<edge; pUz^r, ^pleasure'; m^Z^r, 'measure'; stk ('sick'), sometimes; wlzndr < Wisner. In open syllables : t^kl < tackle; t^rif< tariff; p^rants < parents; ttpid < tepid; dvid < Ovid; bUtfr < butcher. Some of these, perhaps, as tirif, tlpid, are to be explained as
66
156 DIALECT NOTES.
book words, and it can only be said that these have been classed in speech with those words having long vowels in open syllables.
138. More numerous are the examples of shortening, as might be expected from the greater number of vowels shortened since ME. times. Examples are :
1) (c < a with loss of r : pmtrid^, ' partridge ' ; kcetrid^, ' cartridge.'
2) e < f, e : nebr, ' neighbor ' ; nebrhud, * neighborhood ' ; nekid, ' naked ' ; mebi < may-be ; deri < dairy ; meri < Mary ; plegi < plaguey ; fell < shaly.
3) i < ME. e (f ) : driri, wiri < dreary^ weary ; simz < seems ; psk'ipsi <i Poughkeepsie.
4) o < d : b)ili, ' only ' ; hbmli, ' homely ' ; hbmsp9n, ' homespun ' ; 66J>, ' both ' ; bbt, * boat ' ; rod, ' road ' ; hbm, ' home ' ; but cf . § 124, and the following :
5) »<d: hvm, 'home'; kvmlist, 'homeliest'; hvmspdn, 'homespun'; JidI <C whole.
Q) u<iu (oo) : fud, ' food ' ; sut, ' soot ' ; huf, ' hoof ' ; ruf, ' roof ' ; suriy 'soon' ; spun, 'spoon'; brum, 'broom' ; kupr, 'cooper.'
In many of these cases there are similar shortenings since ME. which belong to all dialects. Compare with 2) ^ every,^ ^ empty,^ ^iveapon,'' ^any^; with 3) ^riddle,'' ^ strip,'' 'drip/ 'breeches'; with 6) 'hook,' 'look,* 'book,' 'foot,' 'good,' 'room,'
C. MONOPHTHONGIXG AND DiPHTHONGING.
139. Diphthongs become monophthongs by the absorption of one element, usually the latter. This occurs in IthD., especially before r :
1) a < ai : dii/<C. Irish ; tdrd < tired ; am < iron ; harm < Hiram.
2) d<;^au: ar < our ; sdr < sour; Jidrin < flouring, adj., ' flouring mill ' j so hary9 â– < how-are-you.
3) CE < ai : skwce9r < squire ; cert < Ira.
Similar monophthonging of ai (ei) to ce, ced, has occurred since ME. times regularly in cases where the a was followed by a g which was vocalized to i : fcear < fair < /%er. Compare, also, § 76.
140. The first element in the case of the earlier diphthong iu has been absorbed, or in some cases has become the semi-vowel y. The absorption of the i has left the long it in such cases as nH < new, or knew; dit < dew; stUdrd < steward; tHzdi < Tuesday (ci., also, § 120).
141. Diphthongization sometimes occurs, as in faidr < fair (cattle show) ; kwairi < quarry.
67
THE ITHACA DIALECT, 157
13. THE VOWELS IN UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES.
A. Primary and Secondary Stress.
142. Secondary stress is much less forcible in IthD. than in the speech of educated people in America. The latter give a levelled stress to all words, so that the secondary is almost as strong as the primary accent. This may be exemplified by a comparison of the pronunciation of educated people in America and in England. Compare English Glcedstdn, Icebrdtri, labora- tory/ trcevUi], ^ travelling/ with American Glcedstdn, Icebrdtdri, tr(BVdlir\. The following words are from Sweet's Primer of Spoken English : solitri, ' solitary ' ; librdli, ' liberally ' ; grcedzdli ^ gradually ' ; wandrii}, ' wandering ' ; moenfli, ' manfully ' ; wmi- ddfli, ^wonderfully.' With these compare Sheldon's pronuncia- tion, as given in Dialect Kotes, Part II, pp. 37-41. Examples are: vnk'vmfdtdbl, 'uncomfortable'; cevr-idz (three syllables), 'average'; blcekbdri, 'blackberry'; dis'onrdhl (five syllables), 'dishonorable'; tzili, 'easily'; nesr-i (three syllables), 'nursery'; soliteri, 'solitary'; wnynddjl-i (four syllables), 'wonderfully.' In this respect IthD. more nearly corresponds with English speech, as the great number of cases of syncope will show (cf. § 147).
143. The commonest vowels of unstressed syllables in IthD. are ^, a, e only before r, in general i representing front vowels and 9 back vowels. Before nasals a appears regularly in '-ment/ '-ent/ ' -ence/ ' -ance.' Under secondary stress the long vowels may be preserved in quality, though never so completely as in the speech of educated persons. The short i occurs regularly in the endings ' -ed,' '-es,' '-est,' '-e^,' '-e^e,' '-age/ '-ate/ ' -ness,' ' -less/ as well as for final a, or ia. Examples of the latter are numerous, but may be illustrated by the following :
1) {<:a final : vidn-ervi, ' Minerva ' ; apri < opera ; afriki, ' Africa ' ; Tcalri, 'cholera'; Uceri, 'Clara'; sindreli, 'Cinderella'; kcBnsdi, 'Canada,' etc.
2) t<m final: pensl-veni, 'Pennsylvania'; kcehforni, 'California''; mdl'eri <, malaria ; vikt'ori <^ Victoria; v'erd^'ini <, Virginia, etc.
B. Apocope.
144. Examples of words in final i < ia may be regarded as apocope (see above). It occurs also in aid'% (aidt) < idea; daidV't < diarrhoea; fdn-cei] < Chenango; dz4rdm-ai < Jeremiah; taidg < Tioga; mnbdvel < umbrella; laidz < Elijah.
68
158 DIALECT NOTES.
C. Aph^resis.
145. Aphseresis is very common in IthD. It occurs in the cutting off of :
1) a: bcendand, 'abandoned'; bihti, 'ability'; baut, 'about'; bntrndnts^
* abutments'; kcsdami, 'academy'; kamdd'efdn^ 'accommodation'; kordin, kordinliy ' according(ly) ' ; kaunt < account ; kros < across ; dceptid, ' adapted ' ; grid < agreed ; /or), ' along ' ; merakn, ' American ' ; pisi-d < appeared ; point ■< appoint ; printis, ' apprentice ' ; sortnidnt, ' assortment ' ; stanif, ' astonish ' ; tenret < at-any-rate ; tcetjl, ' attached ' ; tcek < attack ; tendz •< attends ; tenfn "< attention ; we < awag ; kiut < acute.
2) e : lektid, ' elected ' ; lek/n, ' election ' ; lektrik, ' electric ' ; laid^ < Elijah ; nvf, 'enough' ; piskap'elin, 'Episcopalian' ; stoiblijl, 'established' ; vcepvefn,
* evaporation.'
3) de : pend < depend ; skripfn, ' description ' ; stilr < distiller.
4) Other examples are : kjz < because ; tehd^dnt < intelligent ; tetrz, tetiz < potatoes ; haid < Ohio ; ungb << Owego ; \>ordti^ ' authority ' ; septin •< excepting.
D. ECTHLIPSIS.
146. For ecthlipsis of single consonants, see under the several consonants, especially w, y, §§ 153-6. Ecthlipsis of a syllable is also not uncommon, as the following examples show : ceftniln, ' afternoon ' ; ceglc • vltfl, ^ agricultural ' ; br>t7idt, ^ butternut ' ; fivdri <chivirari; koelUtid, 'calculated'; kar^g-^fdnl, 'congregational'; kdns • iddhl, ' considerable ' ; d^ndZds, ' dangerous ' ; /• ^vdhl, ' favor- able'; gvvndr, 'governor'; mcendf-cektrdr, 'manufacturer'; mizdbl, ' miserable ' ; ncetfdlaiz, ' naturalize ' ; ncetfli, ' naturally ' ; pform- dns, ' performance ' ; part • ikli, ' particularly ' ; prceksin, ' practis- ing'; sUpntend, 'superintend'; tilsn< Tillotson ; taldhli, 'tolerably. It will be seen that in the majority of cases the dropped syllable contains a liquid, usually r.
E. Syncope.
147. Owing to the strength of the primary stress syncope is very common. The examples may be grouped as follows, as they show syncope :
1) In the syllable preceding the principal accent : cebli/9nis(t), ' abolition- ist' ; bliv, ' believe ' ; karl-aini, ' Carolina ' ; kgiigi < Cayuga ; kyuti < Cayuta ; sindr-eli, ' Cinderella ' ; klekt, ' collect ' ; kampfifn, ' competition ' ; krekt, ' cor- rect ' ; drektr, ' director ' ; drektri, ' directory ' ; plis < police ; slUtid, ' saluted ' ; skiur < secure ; slekt, ' select ' ; saiati < society ; spdzj ' suppose ' ; spraiz, ' sur- prise.'
I
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 159
2) In syllables following the principal accent : cebslut^ ' absolute ' ; cekrit,
* accurate ' ; cemptet, ' amputate ' ; en\)in, ' anything ' ; arfilri, ' artillery ' ; bekri^ ' bakery ' ; harl < barrel ; bauri, ' Bowery ' ; bvjid < buffalo ; berl < Bur- rill ; bert < Burritt ; bvtri, ' buttery ' ; kcebnit, ' cabinet ' ; koensrds < cancerous ; kceptlis(t), 'capitalist' ; kcBdrlain^ 'Caroline' ; kce)>lik, 'Catholic'; sitzn, 'citi- zen ' ; kokndts, ' cocoanuts ' ; kerntsi < currency ; desprit, ' desperate ' ; darcemtr, ' diameter ' ; dairi, ' diary ' ; drektri, ' directory ' ; dist'ilri, ' distillery ' ; derm < Durham ; elgdnt^ ' elegant ' ; fcektri, ' factory ' ; fcemli, ' family ' ; fedrdlis(t)^ ' federalist ' ; fainli, ' finally ' ; falwdrz, ' followers ' ; d^enrl, ' general ' ; gregri,
* Gregory ' ; grosri, ' grocery ' ; hikri, ' hickory ' ; histri^ ' history ' ; intrist,
* interest ' ; d^ulr, ' jeweller ' ; Icefbl, ' laughable ' ; laibri, ' library ' ; Mr,
* littler ' ; livri, ' livery ' ; inceklini, ' McElhinney ' ; m9f-inri, ' machinery ' ; mod^-orti, ' majority' ; mcendf-cektrin, 'manufacturing' ; merhnd, 'Maryland' ; memri, 'memory'; mekskdn, 'Mexican'; milrait, 'Millerite'; mdng-vmri, 'Montgomery'; narwin <i narrowing ; nai-cegri, 'Niagara'; notsdbl, 'notice- able ' ; dk'efnli, ' occasionally ' ; ofsarz, ' officers ' ; apzit, ' opposite ' ; pdvoilsis, ' paralysis ' ; pcestret, ' pastorate ' ; pitr-dlm, ' petroleum ' ; paltiks, ' politics ' ; paplr, ' popular ' ; paztiv, ' positive ' ; patri, ' pottery ' ; prezddnt, ' president ' ; privlid^, ' privilege ' ; prabli, ' probably ' ; prapti^ ' property ' ; rilaiz, ' realize ' ; rili, ' really ' ; rid^mdnt -< regiment ; reglr, ' regular ' ; rid'ikhs, ' ridiculous ' ; sevrl, ' several ' ; sii}glr, ' singular ' ; slevri, ' slavery ' ; slipri, ' slippery ' ; spir- tfdlis(t), 'spiritualist' ; skwerl, 'squirrel' ; svlfri, 'sulphury' ; tenn', ' tannery ' ; telgrcef, ' telegraph ' ; tifotler, ' teetotaler ' ; terbl, ' terrible ' ; terblist, ' terri- blest ' ; tij]krin, ' tinkering ' ; )>iri < theorie, ' theory ' ; vaiht, ' violet ' ; vail'in,
* violin ' ; vizbl, ' visible ' ; viztin, ' visiting. '
3) In syllables separated by one from the principal accent: brviSrnh,
* brother-in-law ' ; semdtri, 'cemetry'; kdns-idrbl (a syncopated), 'consider- able'; difrns, 'difference'; difrnt, ' different '; ^rroerfsa/i, * gradually '; ^^rn <i figuring ; incekrl, ' mackerel '; pnnsa/)/i, ' principally '; joaA-tiafn, 'prohibi- tory ' ; temprns, ' temperance ' ; wvndrfii, ' wonderfully.'
4) In syllables where syncope leaves vocalic /, n, m, r. Vocalic n : bentn,
* Benton ' ; karpntrin, ' carpentering ' ; karpntr, ' carpenter ' ; sertnli, ' cer- tainly ' ; kalnz^ ' Collins ' ; katn, ' cotton ' ; kertn, ' curtain ' ; dentn, ' Denton ' ; distiln, ' distilling ' ; kiln < killing ; lukn < looking ; martngilz, ' martingales ' ; mitnz, 'meetings' ; mitn, 'mitten' ; pudn, 'pudding' ; pvnkn <. pumpkin ; rezn,
* raisin ' ; ratn, ' rotten ' ; setn, ' setting ' ; /i7n, ' shilling ' ; Jevn, ' shaving.' Vocalic I : tfoenl, ' channel ' ; navlti, ' novelty ' ; tvnl, ' tunnel ' ; vcsZ, ♦ vessel ' ; ZcE/W, 'laughable'; skwerl, 'squirrel'; terbl, 'terrible'; vizbl, 'visible.' Vocalic r: d^enrl, 'general' ; d^ulr, 'jeweller' ; paplr, 'popular'; reglr, 'regu.- lar ' ; sevrl, ' several ' ; sii^glr, ' singular.' Vocalic m : fcentm, ' phantom ' ; tcentm, ' tandem ' ; batm, ' bottom ' ; batmin, ' bottoming.'
70
160 DIALECT NOTES.
14. FURTHER NOTES ON THE VOWELS.
A. Nasalized Vowels.
148. Nasalized vowels occur but seldom, and have been noticed as constant only in a few cases. In asking for tbe repetition of a remark not understood, hv^, or M^, is used. The word ' something^ becomes successively sr)m]nn, sx>n|7in, with assimilation of m to n, and then sw^pin, very commonly.
B. SVARABHAKTI.
149. The influence of the liquids I, r, is very decided in IthD., as shown by the changes taking place in the preceding vowels, as well as in the introduction of glides. The introduction of a full vowel under the influence of Z or r occurs occasionally. Examples are : eldm for 'elm/ vmbdrel for umbrel, shortened from 'umbrella.'
C. Change of Accent.
150. The recessive tendency of the Germanic accent shows itself in IthD. in carrying over some words accented on the last syllable, or last but one, in ordinary English. These words are constant in showing the accent on the first syllable : hdtelj enklairij sb., ensaid, sb., bcetit from ' hotels' ' incline/ ' inside,* 'bateau/ sl small boat. The following words have the accent on the first syllable in most cases, though sometimes they are accented, as in educated speech : aidt, intens, celmairi, pdlts, for 'idea/ 'intense/ ' Elm- air a' (Elmira), 'policed
V. THE CONSONANTS.
1. GENERAL.
151. The general relations of the consonants is sufficiently indicated by the following table from Sweet (PrPh., HES.). Any peculiarities will be indicated in the special discussion of each consonant.
71
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 161
Consonant System of Ithaca Dialect.
|
Throat. |
Back. |
Front. |
Point. |
Point- Teeth. |
Blade and Blade, point. |
Lip. |
||
|
09 OD > |
open |
h |
\> |
s,/ |
f |
|||
|
side |
||||||||
|
stopt |
k |
t |
P |
|||||
|
nasal |
||||||||
|
(J 1 |
open |
y |
r |
« |
z, 5 |
V, w |
||
|
side |
1 |
|||||||
|
stopt |
g |
d |
b |
|||||
|
nasal |
^ |
n |
m |
Besides these should be mentioned the double consonants tf, dZ, Jcs, gz, and hw.
152. In the discusion the consonants will be considered in the following order :
1) The Sonorous Consonants, including the semi-vowels w and y, the liquids I and r, the nasals m, n, q.
2) The Non-sonorous Consonants, including the labials ,_p, h, f and V, the dentals t, d, \, 'd, s and z, the gutturals and palatals h, 7c, g, /, and 3, the double consonants hw, tf, dZ, Tcs, and gz.
2. THE SEMI -VOWELS W, y.
w.
163. Initial w corresponds to Germ, and OE. w, as in the word ^ wound ^ ; to Scandinavians, as ^ window^ <vind-auga; to Latin V, as in ^walV < vallum, OE. wall; ^wine' < vinum, OE. win. It does not occur in original Eomance words, except for u in the combination hw (qu). w occurs also in the consonant combina- tions hw, kw, skw, tw, dw, ]>w, sw, being wholly lost in the OE. combinations wl, wr. Examples of existing consonant combina-
72
162 DIALECT NOTES,
tions are : kwcedTj ^ where ' ; Icwik, ' quick ' ; skwcedr, ^ squire * ; twaist, * twice ' ; dwel, ^ dwell ' ; \wort, ^ thwart ' ; swim. Initial giu is heard in rapid speech where w develops from o before a vowel. Examples are : givaut, gwin, gwvp, gwon, from ^ go^ -{- ' out,^ ^ in,' ' wp,' ^ on.'' Initial w is sometimes dropped, as in Iks for ^ weeks ^^ ' 0' for ^ witli,^ ' id -in ' for ^within.'
154. Medial w occurs in 1) stressed syllables, as biwcear, tdwdrdz < beware, towards; 2) compounds where the vowel after it receives secondary stress, as skidwP. < skid-way ; 3) consonant combinations, as vdkwaidr, intwain < require, intwine. Medial w is lost in unstressed syllables, before the unstressed vowels a, i. Before a: oldz < always; bcekdrdz, ^backwards' ; ceftrardz, * after- wards ' ; forard, ^ forward ' ; sdskdJi-ceni < ' Susquehanna ' ; wuddrd
< Woodward; yvr^anz < young ones; Ikdwakfl < equinoctial; frl- kdntli < frequently. Before i: bastik < Bostwick; Icei^gidz < lan- guage; noritf <. Norwich ; natist-cendin <, notwithstanding. Medial w is developed in ndrwin < narrowi^ig ; falwdrz < follower, ' fol- lowers ' ; dZenaweri, febdweri < January, February.
y-
165. Initial y is equivalent to the Germ, and OE. semi-vowel j, written g in OE., as in ^yard,^ ^ yellow.^ It has been developed initially also before H in words from the OF. or Latin, as in yHz
< use, ytnydn < union, yHtiki < Utica. By this development before a vowel, or by reason of contraction, it appears in the consonant combinations by^ ky, as in byillz < Buels, byUti < beauty, kyilgi < Cayuga, kyUti < Cayuta, kydris < curious; in myceZmi > miasma it has developed from the vowel i.
156. Medial y occurs in biyend (also bi-end), ' beyond ' ; kdnt-inydd, ^ continued ' ; mcenydl < manuel, ' manual ' ; while it is developed before a in gcelydns < gallons. But medial y, like medial tu, suffers ecthlipsis in many cases, as shown by the fol- lowing: karn-ilds < Cornelius; doenol < Daniel; ^gu (j^gdr) < a^ue; Jigard < figured; dytnds < genius; dZenuain < genuine; dzialds < Julius; loil < loyal; papalr, ^popular'; papdHfn, ^pop- ulation'; regdlr {reglr), ^regular'; repdt'^fn, ^reputation'; roilti
< royalty; sii^gdlr, ^singular' ; spekdHfn < speculation,
73
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 163
3. THE LIQUIDS 1, r.
I.
157. The consonant I occurs in all positions and in words from all sources. It is a stable sound, though it appears as vocalic I in many words (cf. § 147, 4, for examples). I occurs in the combi- nations pi, hi, kl, gl {dl) , jl, si. It is heard as dl for gl in ^ glass ' occasionally, and it appears as excrescent in tfimbli, tfimli < chim- ney. Besides this it is found replacing r in moltr < mortar. â–
158. Ithaca dialect r is the cerebral r, made with a recurved tip of the tongue placed nearly against the hard palate. It is found in words from all sources, and occurs frequently in all positions, the final r never becoming the vowel glide a as in LdE. r occurs in the consonant combinations pr, br, fr, tr, dr, ])r, kr, gr, fr, as in ^ proud ^^ 'brow,^ 'friend,' 'trout,' 'drown,' 'throat,' ' crowd' ' groic,' ' shroud.' Sometimes dZr, sr, occur by syncope of a vowel before r, as in dZrdrd < Girard, sraund < surround. Vocalic r also occurs not infrequently, as shown by § 147, 4. Initial r is occasionally lost, as in ait < right.
159. Medial r often shows metathesis, as in cendarz < An- drus; bai-agdrfi, 'biography'; tfilddrn, 'children'; hvnddrd, 'hun- dred ' ; mcekdrl, ' mackerel ' ; pdrp'cedrd, ' prepared ' ; perti < pretty; pard'Hs, ' produce ' ; pdrPekfn, ' protection ' ; parvaidn, ' provid- ing'; pdrviZnz, 'provisions'; tcevran, 'tavern'; iparn, 'apron.' It should be said that in many of these cases the sound is often simply vocalic r.
160. Ecthlipsis of r occurs regularly in certain stressed syl- lables, more commonly in unstressed ones.
1) In stressed syllables: d(^st, dttsnt <*darst, 'dare,' 'dare not'; fmt (fvst-ret) <, first (' first-rate ') ; pcesl < parcel ; has <^ horse ; mos < Morse ; pvsi<ipurs!i ; his <C curse ; wv\> <. worth ; hcef<. harsh; kcetrid^ <^ cartridge} pcEtrid^<C. pc^rtridge ; sometimes svkamstcens, pvfek(t)li <C circumstance, per- fectly.
2) In unstressed syllables: advdtai^, 'advertise'; (sftdnun, 'afternoon'; kvbd <^ colored ; entaprai^, 'enterprise'; infam'efn, 'information'; intdd'us 'introduce'; tet9z, tetiz^C potatoes; prapdti <. property ; p9S-ist9nt, S9ve < sur- vey ; yestddi, 'yesterday' ; y^s'elf, 'yourself ; vsm-ant, 'Vermont'; d^endl <:i general ; p9z-um, ' presume ' ; paz-efn, ' possession ' ; psh-ibatri, ' prohibitory * ; p9p-el, 'propel'; pat-ekfn, 'protection'; pwi^n, ' provision '; /j^yd^,* ' pro- voke ' ; repdz-entid, 'represented'; sekdt-eri, 'secretary'; \>i<ithree.
74
164 DIALECT NOTES.
It should be noted tliat these are representative examples actually heard, though ecthlipsis does not always occur, since r is preserved even in unstressed syllables as a rule.
161. Excrescent r is not infrequent. Examples of it in stressed syllables are : dartr < daughter , mardr < Mather, marstr < master, kork < calk, orhdrn < Auburn, ortr < ought + to. In unstressed syllables it occurs as medial in fdrm-ilyer, ^ familiar,' pdrt-Hrz < potatoes, hwindrd < whinnied, ohrz < always; as final in felr < fellow, fair < fallow, fair < follow, hair < halloo and hollow, narar < narrow, nigr < negro, fcelr < shallow, tcelr < tallow, tdh'cekr < tobacco, walr < wallow, windr < window, ycelr < yellow, ortr < OMflf/i^ -f- to, kaindr < fcind + of
4. THE NASALS 222, 22, i).
m.
162. The labial nasal m occurs in all positions and in words from all sources. It occurs in the consonant combination ^, besides vocalic m, for which see § 147, 4. The consonant assimi- lates to n in sr)n\in < something, and in this case the n finally nasalizes the vowel (cf. § 148).
For m by assimilation of n, see under n. With few exceptions the consonant is stable.
n.
163. The dental nasal n occurs also in all positions and in the combination sn, as well as from all sources. In general n is stable, but it is assimilated to m in baimbai < by-an{d)-by, tvm < even, wm < oven, grcema < gran{d)ma. Before m, n is lost in gwdmdnt < government, n results regularly from q of the ending -ing (cf. § 164). n is sometimes excrescent, as in hizn, hern, thcearn., for 'his,^ ^hers,^ ^ theirs,^ and in ^mo'dr^ for ^ other ^ in ^ some way o' nother,' ^ something or nother.' For vocalic n, see § 147, 4.
164. The consonant r), written in present English ng or n before k, is strictly a Germanic sound, but it occurs in words early introduced, as cerjfcr, ^anchor,' or by assimilation in words of later borrowing, as kaT}gris < congress. It can occur only as medial or final, while in the formative ending -ing it has regu- larly become n. Examples are very numerous, as bildin, * build-
76
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 165
ing ' ; Jiwipin, ' whipping ' ; hahlin, ' cobbling ' ; drawing ^ driving ' ; haer^inj ^banging/ etc. This is further reduced to vocalic n in many cases, as kiln < hilling, lukn < looking, pdrvaidn < provid- ing, r^zn < raising, etc. Sometimes, though less commonly, final T] is reduced to n, when not a part of the -ing suffix. Examples are : en^in, ^ anything ' ; na)^in, ' nothing ' ; pudn, ^ pudding ' ; filn, ' shilling ' ; and occasionally a proper name, as kufin < Cushing.
5. THE LABIALS p, h, f, V.
165. The labials are preserved with few changes in IthD. They may occur in all positions, but initial p is rare in Germanic words ; and initial v is not original in English, being developed from / in a few words, and occurring in many from Romance sources, h is excrescent after m in a few words, as t/imbli, troembl, hdmbli, hiomhlist < chimney, trammel, liomely, homeliest. It is unvoiced to p in plump < plumb, sinsipo < Sincebaugh, a Dutch name. / has become v in kcevskin (' calf -skin '), perhaps in imitation of the plural, while v has become / in tcen-fcet < tanvat, dvf-tel < dove-tail, and b in ribit < rivet.
e. THE DENTALS t, d, h tJ, S, Z.
t, d.
166. The dentals t, d, occur in all positions and in words from all sources. They are for the most part stable, but certain pecu- liarities have been noticed.
1) t is lost, when final, after s: d^aisK joist; cebH/nis, 'abolitionist'; 97n -anits, 'amongst'; gris < grist ; bceptis, ' Baptist'; Us < beast; bitwiks (from earlier betwixt) ; fedrdlis, ' federalist ' ges < guest ; d^vs, d^is <just ; me\>ddis, * Methodist ' ; pris < priest ; sp'irtfdlis, ' spiritualist ' ; /ces < last. After/, k, p : 9if< gifi ; W< il^^fi ! distrik, ' district ' ; ekwiddk < aqueduct ; rekelek < rec- ollect ; trcek < tract ; fmk <fact ; kep < kept ; rep < rept for reaped. In greaV (gret) it is lost sometimes, especially before a consonant : gre-big for great big. This t is not replaced in the plural, and is occasionally dropped before s within a word, as prceksin for practising ; so ceks < acts, but mkt usually in the singular.
2) t is excrescent in : dkrost < across ; klostr < closer ; wvnst < once ; twaist < twice; 9t'cekt and dfoektid, ' attacked' ; wijl, present, ' wish' ; seftr < safer; telagrcejlin < telegraphing ; tendnt < tenon ; tviSr < other; in ojln it has probably always^ remained in common speech. It is very common between n and s final, as hents, ' hence ' ; hwents, ' whence ' ; sents < since ; wvnts, ' once ' ;
76
166 DIALECT NOTES.
kvrantsi < currency ; uniting with / also in the double consonant tf (cf. § 176).
3) t becomes d regularly in pdrdnr < partner.
4) t is also common in words pronounced with tf by educated people^ when the t is older, and probably in these words originally. Examples are netr < nature ; cektl < actual ; kritrz < creatures., applied to cattle especially ; led^isletr < legislature.
For t < d, see under d.
167. The dental c?, like t, is sometimes lost, sometimes excres-^ cent, and sometimes undergoes changes.
1) d is lost when final or in compounds aftern : 6cEn(</), 'band '; hih'ain(d)y 'behind'; grcBn(d), 'grand'; gra^nma&r, 'grandmother'; grcensan, 'grand- son' ; hoen^d), 'hand' ; hcensdm, 'handsome' ; lcen{d),l(enlDrd, 'land,' 'land- lord'; sa;n(^d), 'sand'; scen-hoard, 'sandboard'; saun{d), 'sound'; stcen(^d), 'stand' ; \>aus9n(d), 'thousand' ; kjrthn <C Cortland <.Tf\\.. Cortlandt ; hcemdtt < Hammond ; hcenfil <, Banjield ; especially before z: frenz, tenz, erdnz, paunz, haunz <C friends, attends, errands, pounds, hounds ; after n and before / in hoenly. kcenl, kinlin -< handle, candle, kindling. After / in g6l{d), 61(d), mol ho9rdy ' mould board ' ; skcejlin < scaffolding.
2) d becomes t, especially after /, n, as in holt <, hold ; sekdnt <i second ,- tcEntm < tandem ; also in hogzit < hogshead.
3) d is excrescent in draund, draundid < drown, drowned ; fold, foldid >< foal, foaled,: af ter Z in maild<,mile, as " a ma'ild from here" ; in staild (as "a certain staild house ")< siy/e; so also in fremd <, frame, as "a/remrf house," where it is by analogy of part. adj.
4) d appears regularly in fe'rdr <^ further.
5) d unites with following i to form c?5 in ind^du < Indian.
y,&.
168. The dentals ]>, S", occur only in words of Germanic origin^ never from Latin or Eomance sources. The former occurs most commonly in initial and final position, sometimes as medial. It is lost especially before s, z, as in leijks < lengths, mvns < months, saiz < scythes, Mdz < clothes, 6z < oaths, pcez < paths, hcez < baths; perhaps is dropped in sevn di < seventh day. A ]> occurs by anal- ogy for t in haitp < height, a form which existed in the 17th and 18th century English also ; and in tro]> < ME. trog, troug, MdE. trough.
169. Initial 3" is found only in words which do not usually bear sentence stress, as ^ then,^ ^ the,^ ^ that^ ^ these,'' ^ this,' ^ those,' Uhem,' 'their,' 'there,' 'though,' 'thus.' Medial 3* is commonest between vowels, as in 'father,' 'feather.' Final 3" is not common, but occurs in ' with,' ' smooth,' ' soothe,' and certain verbs 'bathe,' ' breathe,' ' clothe ' ; sometimes before the voiced plural sign Zy
77
THE ITHACA DIALECT, 167
where it, however, usually disappears. In all other cases, how- ever, it is stable, ferdr < further, in which d replaces it, being an old word.
s, z.
170. The consonant fricative s occurs in all positions and in words from all sources. The sound z, on the other hand, is purely a late English development from s. It occurs initially in a few loan-words, of which 'zero/ 'zest,' 'zinc,' 'zigzag,' 'zeal,' are in common use. It occurs medially between vowels especially, and finally often. Especially to be noticed is z final in words which do not bear sentence stress : 'as,' 'has,' 'is,' 'was,' 'these,' 'those'; but s is preserved in ' this,' ' us,' and after n in ' hence,' ' since.'
7. THE GUTTURALS AND PALATALS h, k, g, f, 5. h, k, g.
171. The guttural h is an aspirate, occurring only initially and medially, more commonly the former. It belongs primarily to Germanic words, but has been introduced in many from Eomance sources, in which it was written but not pronounced. There is no such fluctuation in the use of h as among the common people in England — a fluctuation which Sweet says began at the close of the 18th century (cf. HES., § 888), though some evidence of it exists in very early MSS. Initial h is mute only in 'heir,' ' hour,' ' honor,' ' honest ' ; but it is lost in certain words when not bearing sentence stress, as ' he,' ' him,' ' have,' ' had' Medial h is lost before vowels in htaiv < beehive, bei]dm < Bingham, hiY]mtn
< Binghamton, nebrdd < neighborhood, derm < Durham, forid < forehead, hogzit < hogshead, mceklini < McElhinney, skceri (skd-ceri)
< Schoharie. It is excrescent in ' handiron ' < andiron by folk- etymology.
172. The gutturals k, g, occur in all positions and in words from all sources. They are stable consonants, few peculiarities being noticed in IthD. A g is heard as d in spaidlms < spy glass, but this is not common. A A; is lost occasionally, as in berles < burlesque, kces < casks.
/, 3.
173. The palato-dentals /, 3 (from sy, zy), are late English developments, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The sound 3 does not occur initially, and seldom finally ; medially it
168 DIALECT NOTES.
is found between vowels in ' measure/ ^ pleasure,^ * azure/ ' seizure/ ^fusionJ
174. The sound / is a regular development of OE. palatal sc, as in ' slioe/ ^ shaft/ ' shadow/ ' dish.' It probably springs from Scand. final sk in ^ harsh/ possibly in other words, and develops from OF. sounds represented by ci, ce, si (se), ti, in such words as 'fashion/ 'ocean/ 'version/ 'faction/ etc. The consonant is stable in IthD., but after n a Ms often introduced, giving the double cons. (/* (cf, § 176).
8. THE DOUBLE CONSONANTS hw, tf ds, ^S, gz.
hw,
175. The guttural aspirate hw is purely Germanic and occurs only as initial or medial. In England this sound has been reduced to w, the change beginning toward the close of the 18th century (cf. HES., § 918). In IthD. the sound is regularly preserved, though w for hw is occasionally heard as an individual peculiarity. In unstressed syllables hw is sometimes reduced to w, sometimes lost, as is h. Examples are : iiddrz < nowheres, svmdrz < somewheres, enitodrz < anywheres. Occasionally hw is heard for w at the beginning of a word, as hwH < wait.
tf dz.
176. The dental-palatal tf, dZ, from t, ot d-{-y are late devel- opments, but are now very common. The change is similar to the change of s + 2/ into / (cf. HES., §§ 915, 927), and began in the earliest MdE. Distinct from these later developments are the tf, dz, from OE. palatal c, OF. ch (Beh., pp. 177, 178), and OF. J, g (pronounced dZ)- The sounds occur in all positions and are in the main stable. The former, usually represented by ch, springs from :
1) OE. palatal c : ' chose ' < ceas ; ' chaff"* < ceaf ; ' Chapman ' < ceapman / * bench ' < bene, through Hence ; ' teach^ < td^cean.
2) OF. ch: ^ chase,'' ^chapter,'* 'â– chance.''
In LdE. (HES., § 930), the groups ntf Itf are reduced to nfy If, by loss of t, but this is not true of IthD. On the other hand^ in the combination n/ a Ms often introduced, making ntf as in sentfdri < century, sentfdr < censure, mentfdn < mention. In some
70
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 169
words, instead of the tf that we should expect, we find t (cf. § 166, 4).
177. dZ springs initially and medially from :
1) OF. orLat. J {g) : 'jail,^ ^journei/,' 'join,' 'joke,' 'juice'';
finally from :
1) OE. eg: 'edge,' '
2) or. or Lat. g : ' age,' ' cage,' 'gage.'
It is found occasionally, also, from late d -\-y, SiS in indZdn < Indian. Occasionally it is unvoiced, as in hatf-patf<, hodge-podge. In LdE. (HES., § 930) ndz becomes n3, as in singe, but in IthD. wc?3, as well as IdZ, is stable.
TcSj qz.
178. The double consonant ks, and its voiced companion gz, show no peculiarities in IthD. Neither occurs in any other than medial or final position, ks being more common as final, and medial in voiceless company, as extri < extra. The gz occurs finally only in plurals of words ending in g, as ^gz, Ugz < eggs, legs. Medially it occurs between vowels when the accent follows it, as in ^ exist ^ (igzist), ^ exact,' 'examine,' 'exempt,' 'example,' ' exaggerate.'
VI. CONCLUSION.
179. It remains to point out, if possible, the relations of IthD. to the natural development of English in the mother country. This is not easy, since dialect work in England has been confined to present dialects with little or no regard to their historical relations, while the history of English sounds has considered only the standard speech. But we may safely assume that IthD. is the outgrowth of the speech of English immigrants coming to- this country in the 17th century, except so far as it has been influenced by the conditions affecting American English since that time. The influences affecting American English are these :
1) later immigration from the mother country ;
2) schools and schoolmasters ;
3) a more constant and wide-spread intercourse within Amer- ica itself, than has been true among the common people in the mother country.
80
170 DIALECT NOTES.
All these influences, whatever be their individual importance, have tended to prevent the formation of such decided differences in dialect as exist between the north and south, the eastern or southwestern parts of England ; in other words, they have tended to keep the local dialects nearer the standard language than is common to the dialects of England or Germany.
To settle the question of the original English dialect, or dia- lects, from which IthD. has sprung, it is necessary to know exactly either the English dialects of the 17th and 18th centuries, or the part or parts of England from which the first immigrants came. The first seems impossible, since English dialects have not been treated historically ; the second is almost equally hopeless, since in the cases of all individuals there has been a second migration, usually from New England. But the present resemblance of American English to standard English, and especially to that of the last century, appears to indicate that an English dialect with close resemblance to standard English is the predecessor of IthD. This has some confirmation in the judgment of Ellis, as shown by the following quotations, in which he is speaking of the " Eastern Division " of English dialects : " In the American Colonies, afterwards the United States, a distinctly East Anglian character was introduced " (English Dialects : Their Sounds and Homes, p. 57). " In the eastern United States — New York and Massachusetts — there is a tinge of Norfolk " (EEP., V, p. 236). These statements are by no means conclusive, but from them and from other facts already mentioned it seems probable that we are to look for the English predecessor of IthD. in the " Eastern Division," as Ellis calls it, or that part of the older Midland of which Ellis says : " The general character is a closer resemblance to received speech than can be found in any other division" (English Dialects : Their Sounds and Homes, p. 48).
180. If, therefore, we may assume that IthD. has developed from an English dialect closely resembling standard English, we may gain some idea of historical relations by a comparison of IthD. and LdE. with the English of preceding centuries. This may be done by means of the following tables, based on Ellis (EEP., p. 28-240), and Sweet (HES., p. 202-272). The table of LdE. is based on Sweet (HES., PrPh.), and the Primer of Spoken English.
81
THE ITHACA DIALECT,
ITl
The Long Vowels.
Middle English.
a acre
e (close) feel
^ (open) heat
e (close, open before r), fear
^ (open before r) . . hair
i while
i (before r) .... iron
6 (closed) cool
Q (open) stone
Q (open before r) . . floor
u house
ai (ei) say
au draw
ou snow
eu deio
16th Cent.
e, 1
e
er
ei eir 6, u Q
ai au ou eu
17th Cent.
£6
(e),i
e
er
ser
ai
air
u
6
or
au
sei, e
0
6
iu, yu, u
18th Cent.
ai
air
u
6
or
au
e
0
6
m, yu, u
19th Cent.
IthD.
e
1 I iar
aiar
u
6
dar
au
e
0
6
iu, yu.
LdE.
ei ij ij
la (r) ea (r) ai (ai) aia (r) uw ow oa (r) au ei
0
ow iu, yu, u
The Short Vowels.
a hat
a + f , )>, s, r|, n + cons,, laugh
a before r + cons. . . harm
e (open) set
e (before r) . . . . earth
i sit
9 body
Q + f, i>, s, q, r + cons., long
u sun
a
a
ar
e
er
i
Q
86
ar
e
er
i
Q(a)i
Q
SB
se
(a?)r
e
er
Q(a)i 1?
33
ar
e
er
a
0
a (se)
a(r)
e
ea (r)
i
Q
o, 0
-B
It will be seen from this table that the vowels of the IthD. show not only a marked difference from LdE., but a marked similarity to standard English of the 18th, and in some respects of the 17th, century. The differences between IthD. and LdE. have been given at length in § 5, and need not be restated. But that IthD. corresponds in the main to standard English of the 18th century is proved by the following facts :
1 For this a cf. Kluge, PGr., p. 883. 82
172 DIALECT NOTES,
1) The long vowels i, l, 6, it, have not become diphthongal, as in LdE.
2) Short and long ce, ce, have been preserved, even before the voiceless fricatives /, ]j, s, where LdE. has d.
3) The semi-vowel r and the double consonant hw are always preserved, while in LdE. r remains only before a vowel, and hw has lost its first" element.
181. In addition to these are three features of the IthD. vowel system, which, compared with standard English, are even older than the 18th century, so far as the researches of Ellis and others indicate. They are :
1) The unrounding of older short open ^ to a (cf. table, and § 5, 5).
2) The preservation of the variant ai for oi in such words as 'point,' 'joint' (cf. § 124).
3) The <% before r -f- cons., sometimes before r final, as in 'harm' 'far'
The first of these was first noted in the last years of the 16th century, according to Kluge in PGr., p. 883, § 102. The second is assigned by Ellis and Sweet to the 17th century (cf. EEP., I, p. 229, HES., § 854), but it lingered into the 18th century (cf. EER, I, p. 135).
182. The last peculiarity, a before r -|- cons., requires special mention. IthD. d < ME. a appears only before r + cons., or occasionally before r final. This d before r + cons, is found in the 17th century, and Ellis thinks it may have remained into the 18th century (cf. EEP., I, p. 72). Either supposition would account for IthD., since the latter contains both 17th and 18th century peculiarities ; and we must suppose it possible for the d to have remained before r, even if it did not in LdE. Moreover, if the d had become ce in the 18th century, it would have ranged itself with the <b's before the voiceless fricatives f, }?, s, and would probably have remained de, as they have done in IthD.
When it is stated that IthD., in comparison with the standard language, represents an 18th century English, it is not to be implied that some of the peculiarities of IthD. may not be found at present in one or more English dialects. Thus the ai for 01, the flat ce, and the non-diphthongal long vowels ^, t, 6, H, are still found in the Eastern Division in England, while the cerebral, or reverted, r, so characteristic of IthD., has been lost. The latter is found, on the other hand, in southern or southwest-
83
THE ITHACA DIALECT. 173
em England; but as the loss of r in standard English and in ' Eastern ' occurred in this century, according to Ellis and Sweet, cerebral r may be more naturally accounted for as a survival in IthD. than as the influence of another English dialect.
183. The question remains, " Why should IthD. preserve an older English than that of the mother country ? " To this the answer of Ellis may be inferred from the following extract : " The results of emigration ... are curious and important. By emigration is here specially meant the separation of a consider- able body of the inhabitants of a country from the main mass, without incorporating itself with another nation. Thus the Eng- lish in America have not mixed with the natives, and the Norse in Iceland had no natives to mix with. In this case there is a kind of arrest of development, the language of the emigrants remains for a long time in the stage at which it was when emigration took place, and alters more slowly than the mother tongue, and in a different direction. Practically the speech of the American English is archaic with respect to that of the British English ; and while the Icelandic scarcely differs from the old Norse, the latter has, since the colonization of Iceland, split up into two distinct literary tongues, the Danish and Swe- dish. Nay, even the Irish English exhibits in many points the peculiarities of the pronunciation of the 17th century " (EEP., I, p. 19, 20). Without accepting all that is here said, the numerous instances in which isolation, as by emigration, and an arrested development in speech occur side by side seem to indicate a causal connection between the two. At least, in the absence of any other assignable cause, it may be stated with assurance, that the older forms of speech in IthD. are due to conditions attend- ing isolation from the mother country by emigration.
184. Erom these considerations the following conclusions are drawn :
1. The dialect of Ithaca represents, in comparison with stand- ard English, a dialect of the 18th century, with certain peculiari- ties usually attributed to the 17th century.
2. This arrested development is due to emigration and sepa- ration from the mother country.
3. The predecessor of IthD. is probably the English of the Eastern Division in England, as given by Ellis.
84
174 DIALECT NOTES.
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY.
The meeting for the year 1890 was held on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1890, beginning at about 9.15 a.m., at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., the University kindly offering a room for the purpose. In the absence of the President and the Vice-President, the Hon. John M. Lea of Nashville was requested to preside, who welcomed the members of the society and others present, and spoke briefly of the conservative character of Southern pro- nunciation. Committees were appointed to examine the Treas- urer's accounts, and to prepare a list of officers. The Secretary's report was then read as follows ;
Keport of the Secretary for the Year 1890.
Since the last annual meeting of the Society the first part of Dialect Notes has been published, and sent to all members of 1889 and to such others as have later paid for it. It was not ready to be sent to members until February; and the list of members as published in it accordingly includes not only those who had paid for the year 1889, but also some others who had become members for the year 1890 only. It did not appear, after a short trial, that copies could be sold through booksellers at the price of one dollar; and it was therefore decided in March to reduce the price from that time on, for non-members of 1889, to fifty cents. A little over seventy copies were placed on sale with various booksellers, and a small number of copies have been sold at this reduced price, some through booksellers, and some in consequence of direct application to the Secretary. But it is obvious that the publications cannot be regularly put on sale to the general public at a less price than members themselves pay, and if we are to have any success in selling them, it will be necessary to enlarge our membership so as to be able to print more, and thus not need to put the price for single parts very high.
It was thought well also to offer the publication at cost to any of our own members who had paid the full fee for the year 1889,
THE ANNUAL MEETING. 175
and might wish to take additional copies. For Part I. this price was twenty cents per copy, this including the cost of postage. The edition consisted of five hundred copies. Further, it was later decided that such members of the Executive Committee and such District Secretaries as thought they could make good use of some copies in the interest of the Society should receive five copies each for free distribution.
In April the printing of one thousand copies of two articles in Part I. which illustrate the kind of collections we desire — the ^' Contributions to the New England Vocabulary " and the " Vari- ous Contributions " — with a brief accompanying circular, was authorized, it being intended to distribute them in the hope of gaining new members and new contributions, as well as correc- tions and additional information for the words noticed in Part I. About three hundred of these are still left, which it is intended to send out after the 1st of January. This reprint was the near- est approach that has been possible during the year to the word- list spoken of at the last meeting as desirable, the reSult of •careful study of some one dialect. The publication of a special study of one dialect is, however, in contemplation, and this may furnish the desired material.
The preparation for the printer of Part II. of Dialect Notes, the Society's publication for the year 1890, was completed about the end of June, but this part was not ready for delivery until late in August. It contains much more material from various parts of the country than Part I., and in every respect except one was a gratifying publication. This exception was its cost, which exceeded the amount in our treasury ; and in consequence the Society is still in debt, though the amount of its debt has been considerably diminished. Only a few copies have thus far been sold, and these almost if not entirely only to members themselves as additional copies at cost. This price for members of 1890 has been set at forty cents, the price for non-members being one dollar.
The delay in the publication of Part I. until 1890 cause'd some misunderstanding in a few cases, where Part I. was called for, and one dollar sent after the price of this part had been reduced to fifty cents. It was sent in these cases with the explanation that this payment would not entitle the sender to the publications for 1890 as well as to Part I., but that for this purpose an addi- tional payment of fifty cents was necessary, while full payment
176 DIALECT NOTES,
of one dollar for 1889 would give the privilege of taking, if desired at any time, additional copies of Part I. at cost. In two cases no answer was received to this explanation, and Part II. was sent to the persons concerned, it being assumed that it was not likely they wished to pay one dollar as members for 1889 for the privilege mentioned, and it being then not quite certain that no more would be published in 1890. A letter was also sent ex- plaining the circumstances, but no answer has yet been received in either case. [Since this was written payment has been received from one of these persons, and the address of the other was unknown to the postal authorities.]
The following persons have consented to act as District Secre- taries in addition to those mentioned in the last report : Professor E. Alexander, Chapel Hill, N.C. ; Dr. W. E. Waters, Cincinnati, 0. ; and Dr. M. D. Learned, Baltimore, Md. (for eastern and southern, Pennsylvania) .
During the year several of the members of 1889 dropped out^ but this loss has been more than made good by new members ; and our list for 1890 numbers about 164 [increased somewhat since the meeting].
It seems that the most success in gaining new members is obtained by personal communication and explanations made by members to others who may not at first be much interested, and who would pay little or no attention to printed circulars. It is much to be desired that every member should do what he can towards increasing our membership and towards getting contribu- tions of all sorts to our publications, even from persons who may not wish to join the Society. We have either already received^ or are in expectation of receiving, much more matter than was published in Part II. ; but we cannot print this amount in 1891, to say nothing of what we may fairly expect to receive in the coming months, unless our supplies of money are increased. To print according to even so simple a phonetic system as ours is more difficult and more expensive than to follow the ordinary usages 6f English orthography, which for scientific purposes are so cumbrous and misleading as to be almost useless. Postage, too, is no unimportant item in our list of necessary expenses, and some saving could be made if members would all pay their fees promptly. Membership fees received at any time during the calendar year are regularly credited to that year, unless another year is specified.
THE ANNUAL MEETING, 177
The members of tlie Society are doubtless aware of the at- tempt made by Mr. Grandgent (our Treasurer), as Secretary of the Phonetic Section of the Modern Language Association, to col- lect material for determining some of the variations in pronun- ciation in this country. We may hope that the results derived from his study and classification of the answers to his circular will soon be accessible. They will, it may be supposed, be read in the course of the sessions of the Modern Language Associa- tion, which were begun yesterday evening at this University.
E. S. Sheldon, Secretary,
The Treasurer then presented his report, covering the period since the organization of the Society :
Treasurer's Keport for 1889 and 1890.
1889.
From March 14, 1889, to March 14, 1890.
Receipts.
157 membership fees for 1889 $157 00
Sale of 86 copies of Dialect Notes, 1 21 75
Total $178 75
Expenditures.
Printing 500 copies of Dialect Notes, I $85 68
2340 copies of Constitution 22 50
2280 circulars 20 00
1000 bills for Treasurer 2 25
and sending 140 notices 2 00
12 placards 2 00
Stamps and stationery 30 61
Total $165 04
On hand, March 14, 1890 $13 71
1890.
From March 14, 1890, to Dec. 23, 1890.
164 membership fees for 1890 ' $164 00
5 membership fees for 1891
1 membership fee for 1892
1 membership for 1893
Sale of 13 copies of Dialect Notes, II
Left over from 1889
Total ^189 91
|
5 00 |
|
1 00 |
|
1 00 |
|
5 20 |
|
13 71 |
178 DIALECT NOTES.
Expenditures.
Printing 500 copies of Dialect Notes, II $184 27
" 1000 copies of Select Sheets 11 00
" 900 circulars 5 00
" and sending 175 notices 2 75
Stamps and stationery 15 51
Total .«S218 53
Deficit, Dec. 23, 1890 $28 62
C. H. Grandgent, Treasurer.
The committee appointed to examine the Treasurer's accounts reported that they had been found correct. The committee chosen to present nominations for officers for the year 1891 offered the following list : For President, James M. Hart, Ithaca, N. Y. ; for Vice-President, Charles F. Smith, Nashville, Tenn. ; for Secretary, Edward S. Sheldon, Cambridge, Mass. ; for Treasurer, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass. ; for the Editing Committee, the Secretary, George L. Kittredge, Cambridge, Mass., and W. H. Carruth, Lawrence, Kan. ; for the Executive Committee, in addi- tion to these officers, James W. Bright, Baltimore, Md., John P. Fruit, Russellville, Ky., and Charles W. Kent, Knoxville, Tenn. These nominations were approved by the meeting; and there being no further business, it was voted to adjourn.
E. S. Sheldon.
In this number of the Notes is presented the study of an American dialect referred to above in the Secretary's report. The expense of printing renders any extended editorial com- ments for the present impossible, but perhaps some points will be taken up later. Meanwhile it is recommended that investi- gators give their attention mainly to collecting the facts as they now are, and to recording such information concerning the state of the language in America and incidentally in England since the beginning of the colonization period as may be obtainable from, for example, the various printed and written records, the memory of aged persons as to their own early pronunciation and that of the preceding generation, determination of the original homes of the settlers and their later migrations, and comparison with the dia- lects spoken in England in this century and with "standard" English in its somewhat varying forms.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 179
MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1890.i
J. W. Abemethy, Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, N.Y.
E. Alexander, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C
Frederic D. Allen, 10 Humboldt St., Cambridge, Mass.
Sidney G. Ashmore, Box 256, Schenectady, N.Y.
Eugene H. Babbitt.
W. M. Baskervill, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
C. C. Beale, 180 Washington St., Boston, Mass.
A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., Washington, D.C.
George Bendelari, 7 Hollis .Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
Charles E. Bennett, 314 Mills St., Madison, Wis.
Frank Bolles, 6 Berkeley St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.
Miss Bradbury, Riversvale Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, England.
C. B. Bradley, 668 18th St., Oakland, Cal.
H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.
L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
James W. Bright, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Calvin S. Brown, Jr., Nevs^bern, Tenn.
E. M. Brown, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 0.
G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Mrs. H. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
P. B. Burnet, Bethany Heights, Lincoln, Neb.
W. E. Byerly, Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. H. Carruth, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
A. F. Chamberlain, 36 Arthur St., Toronto, Can.
F.J. Child, 67 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass.
O. B. Clark, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
W. M. Clyde, 237 Martha St., Montgomery, Ala.
A. Cohn, 21 Buckingham St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. C. Collar, Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass.
A. S. Cook, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
M. Grant Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, 259 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
H. J. Darnall, Missouri Military Academy, Mexico, Mo.
1 This list includes five names of persons who have paid the full price, one dollar, for Part II. of Dialect Notes since the close of the year 1890, without specially requesting that this be considered as the membership fee for that year.
180 DIALECT NOTES,
Horace Davis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CaL
W. M. Davis, 2 Bond St., Cambridge, Mass.
r. B. Denio, 168 Hammond St., Bangor, Me.
M. J. Drennan, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A. Marshall Elliott, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
O. F. Emerson, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
E. Emerton, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. Tracy Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, Hilton A, Cambridge, Mass.
W. P. Few, Spartanburg, S.C.
Miss Fletcher, Spencer, Ind.
Alce'e Fortier, l\ilane Univ., New Orleans, La.
A. R. Frey, 499 Vernon Ave., Long Island City, N.Y.
Jno. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
James M. Garnett, Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
James Geddes, Jr., Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
N. Gordon, Exeter, N.H.
C. H. Grandgent, 19 Wendell St., Cambridge, Mass.
Chas. A. Greene, care of Messrs. Borden & Lovell, 70 and 71 West St., New
York, N.Y. H. E. Greene, St. Paul's Cathedral School, Garden City, L.I. J. B. Greenough, Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Nathan Guilford, South Broadway, Yonkers, N.Y. E. E. Hale, Jr. W. G. Hale, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
E. W. Hall, Colby Univ., Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England.
D. A. Hamlin, Rice Training School, Dartmouth St. , Boston, Mass. W. R. Harper, New Haven, Conn.
A. B. Hart, 11 Everett St., Cambridge, Mass.
Charles E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, NJ.
James M. Hart, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
D. C. Heath, 5 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
George Hempl, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. R. C. Hitchcock, 490 Canal St., New Orleans, La.
E. W. Hooper, Fayerweather St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. G. Hubbard, Berkeley, Cal.
E. B. Hunt, Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass.
G. L. Hunter, 67 Maple St., Chicago, HI. Indiana Univ. Library, Bloomington, Ind.
A. V. Williams Jackson, Highland Place, Yonkers, N.Y. H. Johnson, Box 246, Brunswick, Me.
B. E. Johnston, 245 Longwood Ave., Boston, Mass. T. T. Johnston, 11 Lawrence St., Boston, Mass.
D. S. Jordan, Indiana Univ. , Bloomington, Ind. T. C. Kams, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. Gustaf Karsten, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. Charles W. Kent, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 181
C. G. Kidder, 32 Nassau St., New York, N.Y. Mrs. J. H. Kidder, Wood's Holl, Mass.
C. H. Kilbom, 3 Tremont PI., Boston, Mass. W. C. Kitchin, Arlington Heights, Mass.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Milliard St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Swain Free School, New Bedford, Mass.
Charles R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass.
John M. Lea, Nashville, Tenn.
M. D. Learned, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Francis B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N.J.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
Miss K. P. Loring, 22 Congress St., Boston, Mass. . .
J. R. Lowell, Elmwood Ave., Cambridge, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, 85 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
t Thomas McCabe, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. F. McClumpha, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
J. McDuffie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass.
t J. G. R. McElroy, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
S. M. Macvane, 34 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. M. Manly, Brown Univ. , Providence, R.I.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.
P. B. Marcou, 42 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
Albert Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
John E. Matzke, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
R. M. Middleton, Jr., 5 Amherst Road, Ealing, London, W., England.
L. F. Mott, 367 West 19th St., New York, N.Y.
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., N.Y.
John G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West 33d St., New York, N.Y.
W. W. Newell, Brattle St. , Cambridge, Mass.
F. W. Nicolson, 21 Hollis Hall, Cambridge, Mass. George S. Paine, Box 68, Winslow, Me.
Francis L. Palmer, 8 Lawrence Hall, Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge,
Mass. Mrs. R. G. Patrick, Yorkville, S.C. J. W. Pearce, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La. B. O. Peirce, 51 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass. Samuel W. Pennypacker, 209 South 6th St., Philadelphia, Pa. M. L. Perrin, 12 Somerset St. , Boston, Mass. T. S. Perry, 312 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass. Philological Association of Boston Univ., 12 Somerset St., Boston, S. Porter, National Deaf-Mute College, Kendall Green, D.C. T. R. Price, 23 West 53d St., New York, N.Y. Sylvester Primer, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Col. Henry Reeves, Bridgeton, N.J. Charles F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
G. M. Richardson, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal.
182 DIALECT NOTES,
R. S. Robertson, Fort Wayne, Ind.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
R. L. Sanderson, 386 Harvard St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Schmidt- Wartenberg, Univ. of Dakota, Vermilion, S.D.
Mrs. Seward, Walnut St., Bloomington, Ind.
N. P. Seymour, Hudson, O.
T. D. Seymour, 112 College St., New Haven, Conn.
F. C. Shattuck, 135 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 North Common St., Lynn, Mass.
Edward S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. R. Shipman, Tufts College, Medford, Mass.
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
Charles F. Smith, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
Clement L. Smith, 120 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
Herbert W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, 34 School St., Boston, Mass.
E. .Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. William O. Sproull, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, 0. J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Canada. George L. Stowell, Lexington, Mass.
F. C. de Sumichrast, 58 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass. Henry Sweet, Cambray, South Park, Reigate, England. W. H. Sylvester, English High School, Boston, Mass.
J. Henry Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass.
Calvin Thomas, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
George W. Thompson, Terre Haute, Ind.
Reuben G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis.
H. A. Todd, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass.
Gilbert M. Tucker, Box 74, Albany, N.Y.
Miss Lillian Tucker, Crescent City, Del Norte Co., Cal.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.
W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N.B.
William Tytler, Guelph, Ontario.
Addison Van Name, New Haven, Conn.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 29 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. L. Walter, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md. W. E. Waters, Box 412, Cincinnati, O.
G. Weinschenk, 1 Revere St., Cambridge, Mass. F. M. Weld, Storey PI. , Jamaica Plain, Mass. Fred. S. Wharff, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal. B. I. Wheeler, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
H. L. Wheeler, Watertown, Mass.
A. C. White, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
W. D. Whitney, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
E. B. Willson, Salem, Mass.
R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 183
r. M. Wilson, 317 State St., Bridgeport, Conn. Justin Winsor, Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Mass. E. L. Woods, 219 Sansome St., San Francisco, Cal. W. B. Woods, 665 Poplar St., Terre Haute, Ind. J. H. Wright, Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. S. G. Wright, Crescent City, Del Norte Co., Cal. T. A. Wylie, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. [Total, 183.]
DIALECT l^OTES.
PART TV.
A CONTEIBUTIOK TOWAEDS A YOCABULAEY OP
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WOEDS USED
IN TEXAS.
During a residence of nearly nine years in the state of Texas, at different intervals, I have collected the words in the following vocabulary, among people, mostly Americans, who had spent most of their life in the state : surveyors, cattlemen, jjrospectors, land agents, and old settlers on the border, who used the words intro- duced as they would words already naturalized in English.
My thanks are especially due to two gentlemen who have fur- nished me with valuable information, — E. W. Andrews, Esq., and W. E. Cox, Esq., the former of Waco, the latter of San Antonio. The most valuable help received, however, was from General X. De Bray, Spanish clerk in the Land Office, in Austin, whose long acquaintance with words, manners, and places in this state has provided me with valuable data, historical and etymological. To him I wish especially to express my gratitude.
In working out my notes I have constantly consulted Bart- lett's Dictionary of Americanisms, and references are made to his work (B.). Through the kindness of the author I was also able to use for native words a vocabulary of Mexican words used in Spanish, privately printed for the author (Glosario de Voces Castellanas derivadas del Idioma Nahuatl 6 Mexicano, por Jesus Sanchez; no date or place) (S.).
Professor Coulter's work on the Texas flora (U. S. Department of Agriculture. Manual of the Phanerogams and Pteridophytes of Western Texas, by John M. Coulter. Washington : Govern- ment Printing Office. 1891) (C.) has furnished me with much valuable aid, especially in the botanical determination of Texas plants with Spanish or Mexican names.
1 185
186 DIALECT NOTES,
This vocabulary could easily have been made much larger, the difficulty being in selecting words used only, or mainly, in Texas, or with special Texan acceptations.
The population of Texas, and especially of the western por- tion, where naturally the largest number of the words introduced are in use, being exceedingly heterogeneous, and the settlement of the country too recent to have produced amalgamation of the different nationalities, it goes without saying that there can be no question of uniformity in pronunciation or accentuation. In fact the phonetic phenomena vary almost infinitely according to place and person, this being especially the case with words frequently used in writing or printing, when most Americans pronounce them as if they were English, while the original pro- nunciation persists with occasional variations among others. I have heard, e.g., the word acequia is pronounced acequia (tha nor- mal pronunciation), acequia or even assay-kwia.
The vowels have become obscured and have often vanished altogether. The common appellation of San Antonio, for exam- ple, is San Antdn or even Santdn. The consonants, as may be expected in a Spanish dialect, have also undergone great vari- ations. The d is often entirely elided, especially in endings between vowels; Salaclo has become Saldo ; Colorado, Colordo; and at the end of words. The soft c and z are sounded sharp, like Spanish s. The j and g aspirated (x) have lost their gut- tural aspiration and are reduced to a spiritus lenis or even to a mere hiatus : Bexar, be^ar. The b and v are even more inter- changeable than their Spanish prototypes ; the family name Benavides is often written and pronounced Venabides. The r and rr are not trilled as in Spanish. The II when initial is pro- nounced like I (by Americans) or like y, and generally like ^ when in the body of a word: Llano, lano or yano ; tortilla, torti-ya. H is frequently aspirated, as in hondo. Americans very fre- quently give s, especially between vowels, the value of English z, as in El Paso, etc.
For the convenience of American readers the accented syllable in the following words will bear an acute accent ('). This, how- ever, should not be understood to be the Spanish graphic accent, which is used only according to certain limited rules. The plural ending is sometimes added, preceded by a hyphen, to the singular form.
2
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 187
ac^quia (for the accent see p. 186) : irrigating ditch or trench (see B.).
ad6be: sun-baked tile or large brick, as in B. By extension the tena- cious clay used as material. The word is often pronounced by Americans ad-ob ; on the border it is ad-o-be or even simply dob-e.
aguardiente (i.e. agua ardiente): brandy or whiskey.
dlamo : poplar, cotton wood (Popiilus monilifera). Many places in Texas bear this name, among others the famous mission in San Antonio (Mision de San Valero), scene of the massacre of the Texan garrison by the besieging Mexicans. This mision, secularized in 1804, was occupied in 1811 by troops sent out to suppress the insurrection, and among others by a battalion from the district of "El Alamo de Parras" in Coahuila, Mexico. The build- ing was then given the name of this battalion, which it has retained ever since.
alam^da : a walk planted with alamos, cottonwood trees ; in general, a walk or park planted with any kind of trees.
alberca: a water hole, water pocket, watering place. Used only in Western Texas.
alcalde : a judge, magistrate, from Arabic (see Littre) . This word is often applied to justices ci the peace, more specifically to 0. M. Roberts, governor of Texas, who was a justice of the peace in the early days of Texas, as an affectionate nickname, " the Old Alcalde."
alfarga, -s, alforjas : saddlebags. Used almost exclusively in the plural. The forms alforge, alfarge, etc., are also used in Texas.
alfildria: a forage plant of Western Texas {Erodium cicutarium, L'ller.) (C).
amargoso : the bark of the goat hush. (Castela Mcholsonii, Hook). Used as a febrifuge, and intensely bitter, as its name implies (C).
aparejo : pack saddle. The j is reduced to a mere spiritus lenis.
arriero : mule driver (B.). Seldom* used in Texas.
arroba : Mexican weight, twenty -five pounds, and Mexican measure, thirty-two pints.
arroyo: a ravine with very steep banks, and no water except after a rain (B.) ; a creek with steep banks, sometimes a small watercourse in sandy country, a drain. The Spanish meaning is simply brook or creek, or even street gutter. This word is in common use all over the Southwest.
atajo : a drove of mules (B.), From atajar, to divide off. The j is a mere hiatus.
atole : thin gruel made of maize meal and water or milk (B.). This word is probably of Mexican origin, though not in S. The prepared corn meal only is often called atole.
barrdnca: a deep ravine with very steep banks and without water at the bottom except in the rainy season (New York Nation, No. 969. See B.). The form barranco is applied to a bluff or to the steep bank of a river.
bdyou. Though aware that this word is commonly derived from French boyau, I am not aware that a stream of any kind has ever been so called in French, nor is the change of French boy- into English bay- probable. The word is found only in countries formerly under Spanish rule, and Spanish
3
188 DIALECT NOTES.
bahia comes nearer, both> as to phonetics and meaning, to the Anglicized bayou. An arm of the sea, the accidental and secondary outlet of some river.
beld^que (or Spanish verdugo) : a sheath knife, smaller than the machete (q.v.) and larger than the cuchillo. The changes in this word are a striking instance of the fate of consonants in Spanish and its dialects. The forms used in Texas and Mexico are verduque, berduque, belduque. This word is in very common use in Western Texas.
bis^gre : a plant of the cactus family, sometimes sliced and candied in Mexican sugar {Echinocactus horizonthalonius) .
bonito : a species of fish also called albacore (^Scomber pelamys) . Though this word may come from the following, it may also be derived from French bonite, a fish in the Mediterranean, which Littr6 derives from Low Latin boniton.
bonito : pretty, nice. It supersedes in Spanish America Undo, and is of frequent occurrence in Western Texas.
brasero : a pan to hold lighted charcoal, mostly of copper or brass. The brasero, which takes the place of fireplaces and stoves in Spanish America, is found in every household in Southern Texas, to keep lighted charcoal from one meal to another.
brdvo : bold, impetuous, in speaking of a stream ; Bio Bravo del Norte, synonym of Rio Grande. Said of Indians it means wild, roaming, uncivilized.
bronco : rough, wild, not broken, in speaking of horses.
br6nca (from the preceding word) : an unbroken mustang, and by exten- sion any native pony, even after being broken.
b6rro : an ass, donkey. Also a saw-horse. Of common use in Western and Middle Texas.
caballada : a 'â– '^ bunch '^ or drove of horses. Generally pronounced cavy- yard by Americans. The forms cdvallad, caballad, cavallard (B.) are the more common in Texas.
caballeria : a land measure (that which was granted to the caballero, or man on horseback in contradistinction to the peon, or man on foot) = 107.95 acres.
caballero : a horseman, a cavalryman — more generally, a gentleman.
cab^Uo : a horse. Also written cavallo.
cab^stro : rope made of hair. Also cabero (B.) ?
cachupin : a native Spaniard settled in America ; used opprobriously. Also gachupin.
cacoinfte (from Mexican cacomitly S.) : an edible bulbous root. The name is applied to a number of different bulbs, but chiefly to Sisyrinchium Bermudiana and Tigridia pavonia, both belonging to the family of Iridioe.
calabacilla : a gourd with round fruit the color of an orange {Gucurbita foetidissima, H. B. K.). (C.)
calabozo: jail, guard-house, prison. The common form is calaboose (as in B.).
cain6te (from Mexican camotli, S.) : sweet potato, yam (Batata ediilis). Occasionally heard on the Rio Grande. Camote del monte (mountain potato) : a shrubby plant with yellow flowers and small edible tuberous roots
4
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 189
(Peteria scoparia, Gray). (C.) Camote del raton (mouse potato) : Ifojf- manseggia stricta. (C.)
cauon : a deep gorge or mountain pass. This word may be said to be naturalized in English, which has shifted the accent to the first syllable.
carga: a load, a charge. A Mexican dry measure, tour fanegas (q.v.).
carne: meat. Used mostly in conjunction with other words in names of dishes; as chile con carne, i.e. red pepper and meat, red pepper seasoned with meat.
cavalli ; a species of fish found in the Gulf of Mexico. The etymology of the word is doubtful. The U is not liquid.
ceboUa : onion. Often found in proper names of rivers or creeks. The word in such connection has frequently been translated into English.
chacate : a small shrub common in Southern and Western Texas (Kra- meria canescens. Gray). The bark is used as a dyestuff by Mexicans. Probably of Mexican origin.
chaparajo, -s : leather overalls worn by cowboys to protect their legs from thorny bushes. Probably from Spanish chapa, a protecting strip of leather on seams. The form chaperajo is found sometimes (see Harper^s Magazine, July, 1891).
chaparral: primarily a thicket of chaparros, stone oaks or scrub oaks, then any kind of extensive bushy thicket (cf. B.), In very common use. The berries called in Texas chaparral berries are the fruit of a species of Berheris {B. trifoliata),
chareo : a puddle, shallow water hole.
chilaquiles : a Mexican dish of vegetables seasoned with red peppers, or of pieces of fried tortilla in red pepper sauce. From Mexican chilaquilitl (S.).
chilehote: green peppers, sweet peppers. From Mexican c/ii7c/ioiZ (S.).
chile: the Spanish ^jimz'en to, red pepper. Used in Texas especially in the name of the Mexican dish chile con carne (see carne). From Mexican chilli (S.).
chiiiche: chinch-bug, bed-bug (Cimex lectularius).
chivaro, -s : leggin ; used almost altogether in the plural. Origin un- known ; probably from Spanish chavari, a kind of cloth, or from chiva, a goat.
cibolo : wild bull, primarily buffalo bull. Seldom used in Texas except in names of rivers, creeks, and bayous,
clenega (B.) : a morass, a small marsh. The Spanish form is cenagal.
cincha : saddle girth, generally made of plaited hair ropes. The usual form in Texas is cinch.
cinch, v.t. : to put the cinch on a horse, to tighten the girth. Sometimes- two cinchas are used ; they are then called cinchas de gineta.
coliina : a small tree or shrub, prickly ash {Xanthoxylum pterola). (C.) Origin unknown.
Colorado : dark brownish red, reddish. Often used of rivers or creeks.
comal : a slightly hollow utensil of stone or earthenware on which tor- tillas are cooked or baked. Name of a river and county in Texas. From Mexican comalli (S.).
comiuo : a way, path, trail, and by extension a journey. It is the form used in Texas for Spanish camino.
5
190 DIALECT NOTES.
corrdl : an enclosure for cattle (see B.), and in general a pen or enclosure.
corral, v.t. As in B. (4th ed.). The Spanish verbal form is coiTular, and more usually acorralar.
coyote : prairie wolf. Often improperly spelled and pronounced cayote. From Mexican coyotl (S., as in B.).
coyotillo : a shrub of Western Texas, with blackish poisonous berries and beautiful pinnate-veined leaves {Karwinskia Huniholdtiana) . It is a diminutive of the preceding word.
esquite: pop-corn sweetened. From Mexican izquitl (S.).
exido, -8. Originally commons, a tract of land upon which the citizens had the right to tliresh their wheat, to pasture their cattle, etc. In Spanish or Mexican settlements in Texas the town tract, land set apart to lay out a town. Very seldom heard, but frequently found in deeds and other docu- ments, public or private. See Porcion and Suerte.
fauddngo : a dance brought over from Spain and not originally American, also the tune ; by extension any dancing party or public ball of low order.
fan6ga : a dry measure, about two and a half bushels. By extension as much land as may be sowed with a fanega of seed.
fiesta : a festival, formerly a holiday celebrated on the patron saint^s day of a church, town, or village. By extension any festivity, religious or national. Even a corrida de toros, a bull fight, is a fiesta.
frijol, -es (also frejol) : a kind of long red bean, one of the standard arti- cles of diet of the Mexicans. The name in Spanish applies to a different kind of bean (Phaseoliis vulgaris).
frijolillo : a large shrub of the family of Leguminoscey with bright red, very poisonous beans (Sophora secnndifiora). (C.)
frio: cold. In proper names of rivers, etc. Name of a river, county, and town in Texas.
g^ucho : a crooked iron for branding horses.
griillo (also spelled gruia), adj. : smoke-colored, "clay bank,'* of Isabel color, in speaking of horses. The word comes from Spanish grulla, a crane.
guayacdn : lignum vitse (Guiacum angustifolium^ Engelm). A medicinal plant used by Mexicans.
hacienda : a large farm or plantation. In land measurement the hacienda held five square leagues or 22,440 acres.
h6ndo : deep. In names of rivers, etc., Arroyo hondo.
huajillo : a shrub of Southwestern Texas (Pithecolobium brevifoliurn) . (C.) Probably of Mexican origin with a Spanish diminutive suffix.
huajol6te (also guajoldte) : wild turkey {Meleagris gallopavo). From Mexican huexolotl (S.).
huar^cho, -s : a kind of sandals worn by Indians and the lower classes generally. Used generally in the plural only. This must be a native word, though not in S.
huisdche (also huaji, guaje) : a small tree or shrub with very sweet smell- ing yellow flowers (Acacia Farnesiana, Willd.). From Mexican huaxin.
Istle, fxtle : very strong fibre from which sisal hemp is made. It is taken by decortication from the long leaves of Agave rigida, var. sisaleana. From Mexican ichtli (S.). This word should not be confused with
6
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 191
iztle : a sort of obsidian used by the Indians to make arrow points, knives, etc. From Mexican itztli (S.).
jabalf : wild boar, peccary.
jacdl : a hut, cabin ; the name given to the dwellings of the lowest classes in Mexico. From Mexican xacalli (S.),
jam6n. Properly a ham, but not used in this acceptation in Texas. On the border it is the name commonly given to a guitar.
Jornada. The extension of meaning of this word has been very great in Spanish and its dialects, and several of the meanings have been brought across the sea. Meaning primarily a day's time, like journee in French, it may mean a day's work, a day's fight, a day's journey, or a journey in gen- eral, as in English, without specification of time, life's journey, a battle, a campaign, the number of pages that may be printed in one day, the work of any kind that may be done in that time. More specifically, in Texas it has two popular meanings : a land measure, i.e. as much land as may be ploughed in one day ; the other a long reach of travel in a desert country without water (see B.).
labor: a land measure of 177 acres, as in B. (4th ed.).
labrador : a farmer, a countryman.
ladino. In Spanish, learned, knowing Latin ; then crafty, cunning. In Texas as a noun, a vicious, unmanageable horse, full of cunning and tricks.
lag^na : a lagoon, shallow lake without outlet, or an arm of the sea, a sound, a bay.
lariata : lariat. See Reata.
legua : a league ; a land measure in Texas, 4420 acres.
limpio : clean, clear. Used in names of rivers, creeks, etc. Rio Limpio.
llano : a plain. Name of a river, county, and town in Texas. In tliis state the II is pronounced like English Z, not as in Spanish.
lobo: a wolf . In Texas the larger wolf is called Zo&o wolf (Canis occi- dentalis) to distinguish it from the prairie wolf or coyote (Canis latrans).
loco, adj. Applied to a number of plants that are hurtful to cattle. Loco grass, loco weed (Astragalus mollissimus and Oxytropis Lamherti). The plant called melon loco is a gourd about the size of an orange (Apodanthera undulata, Gray). (C.)
loma : a hill, an eminence. Often found in proper names of places.
machete. As in Webster. Carried by almost every Mexican laborer, often without a sheath.
maguey: a succulent -plant (Agave Americana'). Often applied indis- criminately to any species of Agave. This word, according to Sanchez, is not Mexican, but probably of West Indian origin.
maudda : a flock, a herd. In Spain it usually means a flock of sheep. In Texas it is applied specifically to a small drove of horses, about a score.
manzanita. Diminutive of manzana, an apple. Name given to a shrub not identified, probably Achania malvaviscus.
matador : a killer, butcher, slaughterer.
mecate : a rope or cord. This word is often used by cattlemen. From Mexican mecatl (S.).
m6sa : a table ; more specifically a flat plateau or mountain top (cf. B.),
7
192 DIALECT NOTES.
so common in the geological formation of Texas and other states to the west, as well as of Mexico.
mesilla. As in B. A diminutive of the preceding word.
niesquite : a tree {Algarohia glandulosa) found extensively in Western Texas, and forming immense roots, so that the larger part of the tree is underground. This is not to be confused with mesquite grass {Stipa spata), which is a fine, sliort grass found in the same region. From Mexican mis- qiiitl (S.). B. has mesquit or muskeet.
niet^te : a hollowed stone on which corn is ground, as in B. The most indispensable utensil of every Mexican household. The instrument or pestle with which the grinding is done is called metlapil in Mexico. In Texas the first word generally implies both parts. From Mexican mellatl (S.).
mezciil: spirituous liquor distilled from pulque (q.v.). From Mexican mexcaUi (S.).
niision : mission, missionary station of the Roman Catholic church ; also the buildings and settlement of such stations.
moute : a game of cards, as in B. ; three-card monte. Also timber land. 3Ionte del rio : river bottom.
mulada : a drove or herd of mules, as in B. Not Spanish, but formed from Spanish mula^ a mule, and the suffix -ada expressing aggregation, in analogy with caballada {q.v.).
navaja : clasp-knife, pocket-knife.
nogal : properly the walnut tree, in Texas the pecan tree {Carya olivoefor- mis), as nuez (nueces), in Spanish walnut(s), applies in Texas to the pecan nut, and is found in the proper names of rivers and creeks ; as Nueces river. The hickory is called nogal encarcelado.
nopal : a cactaceous plant belonging to the prickly pear, or Opuntia tribe. In Mexico all Opuntice with flat articles are called nopal. More specifically the nopal is Opuntia coccinellifera. The common prickly pear {Opuntia vul- garis) goes by the name of nopal in Texas. From Mexican nopalli (S.).
ocotillo : a tree or shrub of the tamarisk family with long racemes of hright scarlet lowers (Fouquiera splendeiis) . (C.) Origin unknown.
ojo : properly an eye. Used in Texas only in the sense of a spring — ojo de agua (see B.).
palo : a stick, pale, pole, tree. Found in names of trees : palo pinto, red- wood, 2'>nlo bianco, hackberry, palo de hierro, ironwood ; also in proper names of places : Falo Alto, Palo Pinto. Palo verde, a shrub (Parkinsonia Tor- reyana).
partida : a drove of cattle. This word answers to the common American words ' a lot,' ' a heap,' etc., speaking of an indefinite quantity.
pdtio: interior court in Mexican houses, surrounded by buildings, and often adorned with fountains and flowers ; the Roman impluvinm.
pelddo, -s. Originally the past participle of pelar, to peel, to strip off, to pluck. The word is generally pronounced paldo, the first a being very much obscured or entirely slurred, and the d silent. The term is applied to Mexi- cans of the lower classes, the rabble, and is more generally used in the plural. Cf. French va-nu-pieds, sans-cidotte, and Spanish descamisado. Compare this word with Colorado and Salado, which are frequently seen in print or
8
. SPANISH AND MEXICAN WOBDS USED IN TEXAS. 193
writing, and have preserved the d in the pronunciation of English-speaking Texans, while this, seldom written or printed, has dropped it. Colorado and Salado show the influence of the written upon the spoken language.
peon : a day laborer, as in B. The men of the lower classes are com- monly called thus. The primary meaning is foot soldier, a man on foot in contradistinction to one on horseback, cabaUero.
peyote : a plant of the cactus family, sometimes called "dry whiskey," as it is said to produce intoxication when chewed {Mamillaria fissurata, Engelm., or Anhalonium flssuratum, Lemaire). Probably of Mexican origin.
picacho : a large, isolated peak (see B.).
pilon : a loaf of sugar. The usual forms in Texas are pilonce and pilon- cillo ; they are applied to small loaves of unrefined Mexican sugar in the form of a truncated cone three or four inches high, which come generally wrapped in yucca or palm leaves. They taste very much like maple sugar.
pinion : a species of pine tree, also the fruit or nuts of the tree, which are sweet and nourishing. This is the Texas form of Spanish piTion (cf. B.).
pinole: parched corn ground and mixed with honey or sugar (as in B.). From Mexican pinolli (S.).
pinto : painted, mottled, light red. In speaking of horses it has been translated in the Southwest into paint .(see B., s.v. paint), i.e. piebald. As a noun, a piebald horse. This word is frequently found in names of places, as Falo Pinto, i.e. painted pole, the name of a county in Texas.
pita : name of certain agaves and their fibres which are used as thread by the Mexicans (see B.).
pitahaya, pitdya : the fruit of certain cacti. The fruit of almost any cactus, except opiintia, is called thus by the Mexicans, almost without dis- crimination, although it is generally the fruit of some echinocereus. In Ari- zona and Sonora the fruit of Pilocereus giganteus and (jiganteus Thurberii goes also by this name. Probably of native origin.
playa : properly a beach. In Texas the dried-up bed of some shallow lake or lagoon (see B.).
plaza: a public square (as in B.), sometimes planted with trees. It is the representative of the Southern court-house square, and no village with self-respect is without at least one.
p6mpano : a fish of the herring family found in the Gulf of Mexico.
porcion. Primarily a portion or share. A quantity of land apportioned to primitive settlers when organizing new towns, and lying outside of the exidos (q.v.) , town tract. The extent of these varied according to province^, etc. ; the more generally accepted extent was 30,000,000 square varas (q.v.) or li square leagues, equivalent to 5814 acres. The present meaning is a tract of land, indefinite both as to dimension and situation.
potro, fern, potra : a young horse or mare not yet broken.
potr6ro : a pasture, generally for colts and young horses. Also a piece of land easily fenced in, situated in the bend of a stream or in a valley with a narrow pass for entrance.
presidio: a military post or settlement (as in B.), often also a place of confinement for convicts. This word is often retained in names of places,
9
194 DIALECT NOTES.
though sometimes dropped. The Spanish name of Del Bio, a town on the Texas side of the Itio Grande, was Presidio del Rio Grande del Norte.
pr6pio : common, reservation for public buildings (as in B., s.v. propios).
pueblo : a village (as in B.).
pu6rco : dirty, from puerco, a hog. Often found in proper names of rivers, etc., as liio Puerco.
pulque : the fermented juice of Agave Americana or maguey. Sanchez ascribes to this word a South American, Chilean, origin ; he says the word is not Mexican, though Mexicans enjoy the thing.
rancheria : a collection of ranchos (see Raneho ; also in B.).
ranchfiro : a man who keeps a raneho (q.v.) or lives in one. Seldom used (cf. B.).
raneho : a ranch ; primarily a mess, mess-room (see B., Farmer's Ameri- canisms and the Century Diet.).
reata: a lariat. Both B. and Webster now give the origin of lai'iat correctly. There is no Spanish lariata.
reboso : the headgear of Mexican women, corresponding somewhat to the mantilla of the mother country (see B.).
retaina : broom sedge. In Western Texas a plant of the family of legu- minosce (Parkinsonia aculeata).
rincon : a corner, a nook, a mountain recess, the bend of a river, etc. Often used by surveyors in describing land.
r6deo : a circuit, a " round-up " of cattle (see B.).
salado, adj. : salt, salty. Used frequently in names of rivers and creeks, as Pio Salado. Name of a river and town in Texas. Americans pronounce the second a flat, as in late ; old inhabitants and Mexicans pronounce saldo, w^ith the first and the second a broad, as in father.
scrape : a Mexican blanket, generally woven by hand by Indian women, with stripes of variegated colors. The serape has no opening or slit for the head, like the poncho, but is worn by men only, thrown across the shoulders (cf. B.).
sitio (de ganada mayor') : a land measure equal to 25,000,000 square varas (q.v.), 4428 acres, a square league of land. Sitio de ganada menor = 1777 acres (cf. B., s.v. sitio).
sombrero : a hat. More specifically a Mexican hat with high tapering crown and wide brim, either of felt or straw, and often profusely adorned with silver bands, medals, and embroidery.
sotole : a species of cactus not identified.
8u6rte: chance, lot, a quantity of land in a newly founded town, for which the settlers drew lots. These were situated within the limits of the exidos (q.v.), and were intended for gardens, orchards, etc. The suerte was generally irrigable, and contained 152,352 square varas (q.v.), or 27 acres. The word is now applied to any small lot of land.
tamdl, -es, tonidle, -s : a Mexican dish made of maize crushed on the metate (q.v.), mixed with minced meat and a liberal quantity of red pepper. The mass is rolled in pieces of corn shucks, and after being dipped in oil is cooked in the steam of water. Tamales are about three or four inches long by one in circumference. It is a favorite dish in Texas, and they are sold on the streets by Mexican pedlers. From Mexican tamalli (S.). This word is
10
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 195
used in Texas as if the singular were tomale or tamale ; it is seldom used except in the plural. San Antonio goes by the name of Tamale village, Tamale town, or Tamaleville (cf. B.).
tapadero : "toe-fender" of Mexican stirrup. Also and more frequently, though incorrectly, tapidero. Probably from Spanish tapar, to cover.
tertulia : an evening party.
tinaja. Primarily an unglazed jar in which water is cooled by the evapora- tion of the percolating water. By extension a water hole or pocket (cf. B.).
toriiillo : a tree or large shrub closely related to the mesquite (q.v.). The beans are used as food by men and animals (Prosojns pubescens).
toro : a bull, buffalo bull. Correr toros, to take part in a bull fight.
tortilla : a thin, round, soft cake made of coarse meal ground on the metate (q.v.) and baked on a stone or earthenware griddle. The substitute for bread among Mexicans ; used also as spoon and napkin (cf. B.).
tresillo : a Mexican game of cards played by three persons.
tule. As with other plant names this applies to a variety of species that have nothing in common but the name. On the Pacific slope it is Scirpus lacustris (see B.). In Texas it is applied to several species of yucca, and to certain kinds of reeds not identified. Prom Mexican tollin (S.).
tuna: the edible fruit of certain Opuntioi. More specifically of Opuntia tuna, not of the jntahaya as B. has it (see B.).
iiua de gdto : i.e. cat's claw. Name of a shrub with sharp spines, of Western Texas {Mimosa hiuncifeva) . (C.)
vdca : a cow. Often spelled with double c in Texas. The word is found in compound names of creeks, rivers, etc. Rio de la Vaca, Lavacca river.
vara: a rod; a lineal land measure, 0.93118 American yards (cf. B.). Still the only measure in use in Texas ; the old system of measurement has been superseded by the metric system in all Spanish-speaking countries.
verde : green. A component of many geographical names. Val verde, Agua verde, etc. For Palo verde see Palo.
verdiigo. See Belduque.
yerba del buey : i.e. ox grass, a plant of the Vitis family, a very orna- mental vine of Western Texas (Cissns incisa). (C.)
yerba de vemulo : a medicinal plant known also under the name of damiana {Turnera diffusa). (C.)
zacate: grass, fodder. From Mexican zacatl (S.).
zopilote: turkey buzzard (Cathartes atratus). The national bird of Mexico. From Mexican tzopilotl (S.).
H. TALLICHET.
A few notes only may be here added on some of the words mentioned by Professor Tallichet. For hayou the French source seems to me for phonetic reasons better than Spanish haUa (with its accented i), and the meaning raises no serious difficulty; cf. the various senses of gut in English. A Spanish honito is in
11
198 DIALECT NOTES.
Salv^ where it is called ^^muy comun en los mares de Espafla" As to the origin of the name, see Murray. On cincha, cinch, see " Dialect Notes," Part II, p. 60. Corral in the new Webster is marked as accented on the a ; in the previous edition it had the accent on the first syllable. Was this latter accentuation merely a mistake, or is it really in use anywhere in the Southwest? On the history of the word fandango, see Skeat in the Transactions of the London Philological Society, 1886-87. The spelling yarner for llano occurred in the Century magazine some months ago. Salva defines sarape (he does not give serape) as a blanket "que tiene una abertura en el centro para meter la cabeza," thus agreeing with B. Professor Tallichet writes me that the serape certainly has no such opening, and that his statement is corroborated by two persons who have resided for years in Mexico and Texas.
E. S. S.
Mr. H. C. Kipley, civil engineer, Galveston, Texas, writes me that the hacienda contains five ^leagues,' or 22,140 acres, not 22,440 ; that the legua or ^ league,' is 4428 acres, not 4420 ; that the vara = 33^ inches == .925925 + yards, not .93118 yards.
G. H.
UNCLE EEMUS IN PHONETIC SPELLING.
[The following phonetic transcription of a part of an U7icle Bemus story was originally made by Professor J. P. Fruit of Kentucky, for the Phonetic Section of the Modern Language Association of America. We afterwards went over it together several times, he reading the tale, and I following him with the phonetic text and making the few changes that seemed to be neces- sary. Professor Fruit tells me that the language he spoke as a child was essentially the dialect of Uncle Remus. He says, further, of this story : " It represents the negro dialect that has most influenced the speech of the South. It is the language of the negroes when they were parts and parcels of our households. Then the negro was a great factor in forming our spoken lan- guage." The alphabet we have used is that of the American Dialect Society. I have kept the ordinary word- divisions except in the case of unaccented particles, which I have joined to the words with which they seem to be most closely connected. A dot (•) indicates that the following vowel has the stress. Professor Fruit's H (as in too) is, when accented, pronounced a little further forward than the u of the North. His au often approaches ceu. — C. H. Grandgent.]
wailz deaz gwain daun dab-ig roud, d3oin gtwen an-e, bre foks hi t^kn stop rait kwik, anl-au : " rijn ye, bre raebit ! r^n ye ! ef
UNCLE REMUS IN PHONETIC SPELLING. 197
raa-ai eint sivmi, ye das'ainz liw§, mista dog bin lor), onm-oun dset, deo rait frej." bre rsebit hi saidl -ep nl-uk. deu hi lau : " dset a trsek eint neva fit inisto dog fut indor-aun wel. wot mekit mo baindn," soz-i, "ai d'en gon nb-in kweintid wid dam-sen wot mek daet trsek, tu lor) gou tat'ok bant," saz-i. "bre rsebit, plizsa, telmi hin-eim." bre ra3bit hi Isef Isek him-ekin lait as-empn ne. "ef ai eint mek no mist-eks, bre foks, dip -6 krita wot mek daet trsek izk"Bzn wailkset, no mon no les." " hau big izi, bre rsebit ? " "hi des baut yo heft, bre foks." den bre rsebit mek Isek hi tokin widhis-ef : "t^t, t-et, t'et ! hit maiti f-^ni dset aijud r'en -ep on k-ezn wailkset ind-is pat adiwel. tubi Jo, tCibi Jo ! meni anni-eniz dit-aim ai si mai oul grsendsedi kik ank^ef k^zn wailkset, twel aig'it sari bautim. ef yu wont eni f-en, bre foks, rait nau dit*aim tag'itit." bre foks -epn seks, hi did, hau hi gwain hsev eni f-en. bre rsebit hi lau : " izi n^i ; des goan tsekl oul k'Bzn wailkset, anl-semim raun." bre foks hi sota skrsetj hiye, anl-au: "e, e, bre rsebit, ai fyed. hi trsek tu m'etj Isek mista dog." bre rsebit des set rait daun indir-oud, anh-ola nl-sef. hi lau, saz-i: "Ju, bre foks! hud a])"Br)k yuz so skyeri? des kmn luk atd-ij ye trsek rait klos. izde eni sain akl-o enihwaz ? " bre foks blidz tagr-i datdewont no sain no klo. bre rsebit sei : " wel, den, ef hi eint got no klo, hau hi gwain tah"Btyu, bre foks?" "wot gon widhit-ufs, bre rsebit?" "Ju, bre foks ! kritaz wot baks ditr-iz eint gwain bait." bre foks t-ekn t'Bk ne gud luk atdatr-seks, and-en himan bre rsebit put aut fataf'olam -Bp. dewent -ep dir-oud, and-aun dil-ein, ankr-os dit-enip psetj, and-aun adr-in, an-'ep ab-ig g-eli. bre rsebit hi d-en ditr-sekin, an-evi taim hi fain w^n, hi -epn hola : "ye ne trsek, an-6 klo da ! ye ne trsek, an-6 klo da ! " de kep on ank-ep on, twel baimibai de r^n 'Bp widikr-ita. bre rsebit hi hola aut maiti bigiti: " heou da ! wot yu duin ? " dikr-ita luk raun, bathi -eint sein n-Bl^in. bre rsebit lau : " ou, yun-inta luk s^lin ! wial mek yu tok fo wia d^n lor) widyu ! k^m, nau ! wot yu duin aut d§,? " dikr-ita rt;b his-ef gin atr-i des Isek yu si diz ye haus ksets r-eb gin atjy-e, bathi -eint sein n'B])in.
"go 'Bp da, bre foks, nef hi fyuz tasp-on, slsepm daun! dset diw-ei mai grsendsedi d^n. yu go -ep da, bre foks, nef hi dsest tatr-ai tar-en, ail des hwel in ank-etjim."
bre foks si dikr-ita luk so maiti -embl, setin -ep d^ leek hi begin of, anh-i sota tSk hat. hi saidl -ep todzim, hi did, and-esaz hiaz
198 DIALECT NOTES.
mekiu redi fatasl-sepim, oul k-ezn wailkset drod baek anf-otj bre foks awaip kros dist'-Bmak.
"hitim 9g-in, bre foks! hitim 9g'in ! aim ob-aeknyu, bre foks! ef hi dsest tar-en, ail inab-aut kriplim, daet ai wil. hitim ag-in ! " ol dis taim, wailz bre raebit gwain on dis owei, bre foks hiaz askwotin daun, holin hist'-emak widb-of hsenz, and-es am-onin : " aim rAint, bre raebit ; aim ruint ! r^n fetj did-okta ! aim titotali ruint ! ''
J. P. FRUIT.
ENGLISH SENTENCES IN AMERICAN MOUTHS.
In a circular issued, in behalf of the Phonetic Section, in the summer of 1890, I requested members of the Modern Language Association of America to write out, in phonetic spelling, their pronunciation of paragraph 38 of Sweet's Elementarhiich des ge- sprochenen Englisch. The following seven specimens have been offered to me. Wherever Sweet's phraseology was foreign to the contributor, it has been slightly modified. The spelling used is that of the American Dialect Society. In the matter of spacing it has seemed to me best to abandon Sweet's system: I have "written separately all words containing either a primary or a secondary accent, and have joined unaccented particles to the words with which they seem to be most closely connected. A dot (•) indicates that the following vowel is accented; when the stress is on the first syllable of a group, the accent is not marked. Letters enclosed in parentheses represent sounds that are omitted in hasty speech. Inflections have been marked with some care : ' after a word denotes a rising, ^ a falling, a a rising-falling, v a falling-rising, ~ a level tone. Sounds that do not correspond to Sweet's descriptions I have mentioned in my brief introductions to the several specimens.
Maine.
Contributed by Professor E. S. Sheldon, of Harvard University. Pro- fessor Sheldon's Maine pronunciation has been somewhat altered by the study of phonetics, by travel, and by residence in Cambridge, Mass. His mother was from Boston, and his father from Connecticut. His e seems to be higher than Sweet's, and is usually slightly rounded. I suspect that his pronunciation of * more * (and words that rhyme with it) is not the
ENGLISH SENTENCES IN AMERICAN MOUTHS. 199
commonest one in Maine ; his moa is, however, the ordinary form in New York City, and is common in Boston.
(hae)v^-ei giet af-at^g'? nou'^ tiaf^aSaz'^ ded^ battSam-eSaz'^ stil (8)l-aiv^. hw'B(t)di dai ov^? kans-'emjan^ esam-'B^a diz-iz av^al-Brjz^. ai )5ot iwazk'ild (i)nar-eilroud'^ 3eksidant\ nou'^ Ssetwaz tii-'Bqk? (h)izbr-'BSa\
hail dayud-u"^? kwait ^ wel^ ])8er)kyu'^ hau ayu^? hau at5ei ol 9t-oum^? ol wel~ (a)ks-ept t5ab-eibi\ hwBts t5am-8eta wiSab-eibi'^? ai dount^ nou^ (e)gz8ektli~ Jiwazkr-aiirj'^ ol nait loq^^ '5am"Bs(t)bi SBm]nq'^ rorjwiSa''.^ pua* |>ii]^ aim sori tuh-iarit^ yu dount luk wel'^ yas-elt\ nou^ aim iP f ram wont a(v)sl-ip\
ai kant" it fset^ itm-eibi veri gud fos-i3m'^ pipl~ batitd-Bznt sut mi^ itm-eiksmi fil sik"".
itsveri klous^ inh-ia" wi(5'8et big faia" (a)n(d)-ol Sawindouz J'Bt" aikn hadli brit3\
ai(h)8ed hadli eni brekfast'' t5is moanir)~ bataid-ount fil at-ol" h-Bqgri^ ai-aem'^ rseSa pesti'^ 6ou\ hwetl yuh-sev tadr-ir|k^ ? aijad^ laik samwota\ hsev ak"Bp avt-i'^ Ssetl duyu moa gud'^ itlrifr-ejyu\ hsev an-^^aM haf ak^ep^ pliz\ ai nou am-i3en- (h)u]rir)ks nEpiq^ 9vdr-ir)kir) siks k'eps avtl" streit of^^ batS-en idr-iqksit veri wik\ itm"Bs(t)bi veri baed'^ forim". yes^ itsp-oilz izdid3-estjan\
Massachusetts.
Contributed by myself. My mother was born in western Massachu- setts ; my father (a Frenchman by birth) was bred in Philadelphia ; my own dialect was formed in Boston and Cambridge. My o is almost, and my 0 is quite unrounded ; I think, however, that the rounded vowels are common in eastern Massachusetts. My e is probably higher than Sweet's, and decidedly round. For my a the tongue lies nearly flat in the bottom of the mouth. My v is, I suppose, pronounced further forward than Sweet's ; my o is a rounded o.
v«-ei enif-aSa'? nou^ Saf-a«az^ ded^ batSam-eSaz'^ stil laiv". hwaddi dai ov^? kans-'empjan^ asam-B^a diz-iz aSal-'egz". ai pot iwazk-ild' nar-eilrod 8eksdant\ nou" «aetwaz tSi-^qkP hiz br^«a\
hau dayad-u^? veri wel al>'8ei]kyu- hau ayu^? hau ot5e-ol
1 Either kwait or wel may have the stronger accent. Perhaps veri wel is more usual. * ^^ P^^-
2 Or dou nou, or d6n-ou. ® Or aijt.
8 Perhaps rather bq, roq. ® Rather of with long o.
200 DIALECT NOTES,
ath*oum\ ol" wel" ksept ■5ab-eibi\ hwats •Sara-seta wit5ab-eibi'^? aid'ount nou^ gzsekli" Ji\vazkr*aiir) ol~ nait" loi)^ tSam'-esbi S'emppiq'^ roqwit^a". pua ))iq^ aims-ori tah-irit^ yud-ount luk wel yas'ell:\ nou" aim-il"^ f ram wont afsMp^.
ai" kant- it" fset^ tmeibi veri~ gud" fas'-em^ pipl" batitd-Bznt sut mf tmeksmi fil sik\
tsveri klos nh'ia" witS-set big faia~ nol tSawindoz ^ Jet" aikn hadli bri5\
aisedh-adli eni- brekfast^ t5ism*onir)~ ^ bataid-ount fil tol'^ h'Bijgri^ aimr-afSa festit^o^.^ hwatl yuh-sev tadr-ir)k^? aijt laik smwota\ hsev ak"Bp at-i'^ 'SsetP duyu moa" gud'^ itlrafr-ejyu\ haev an-'B^a^ ! haf ak-^p^ pliz~. ai nou am-sen" ufiqks n'B]?ii]'' avdr-iqkir) siks k^ps at-i" stret of ^ batt5en^ idr-iqksit veri^ wik\ tm-esbi veri bsed'^ forim". yes" itsp-oilz izdid3-estjan\
New York City.
Contributed by Mr. L. F. Mott, of New York City. Mr. Motfc is a good representative of that part of cultivated New York society whose speech has not yet been affected by Anglomania. He has not the tradi- tional ei of his native city ; both his e and his v are, I'think, like mine.
hgevt^ei af-at5a'^? nou" tJaf-aSaz ded^ batSam"B^az~ stil al*aiv\ hwatdidi daiov^? kans-emjan" osam"Bt5a^ diz-iz avt$al"Bqz\ ai])*ot" hiwazk-ild" inar-eilwei^* seksidant^. nou" 'Ssetwaz t5i"Br)kr hiz- br"Bt5a .
hau duyud-u'^? veriwer 'Sseqkyu' hau ayu"^? hau atJei-ol eth'oum^? ol wel'^ eks-ept Sab'eibi\ hwats t5am-9eta wit5ab*eibi^ ? aid-ount nou^ egz-aektli^ Jiwazkr-aiiq'^ ol nait loq^ tSam-ijstbi s-Bmjjiq^ roi]wi3a\ pua ])ii]^ aims-ori tab-irit^ yud-ount lukw-el" yas-elf\ nou" aim-il~ f ram wont avsl-ip\
aik-ant it fset^ itm-ei'^ bi'^ veri gud fas-'em'^ pipl" batitd-Bznt^ Slit 8 mi'^' itm-eksmi fil sik^.
itsveri klos^ inh-ia" wiS'set big faia" and-ol 'Sawinddz J-et^ aikan hadli bri8^.
1 In an accented syllable I should write ou at the end of a word or before a voiced consonant.
2 ' Morn ' = moan, but ' morning' = moniq. ^ I should be more likely to say rait daun.
* iz15erf -a-Sa liviq would be more natural.
^ Oftener reilroud.
® Rather a compromise between syut and sut.
ENGLISH SENTENCES IN AMERICAN MOUTHS, 201
aihsed hadli enibr-ekfest^ t$ism-onir)- bataid-ount fil at-ol h-erigri^ aimr-atJa pesti^ t5ou~. hwatl yuh-aev tadr-iqk^? aijud laik S8mwot8\ hsev ak-ep ati"^ t^setl duyu moa gud^ itlrifr-ejyu\ hgev 8n"Bt58^! haf ak"Bp^ pliz~. ain-ou am-sen'^ hu}>-ir)ks n'B]?ir) ovdr-iqkir)" siks k-eps 8vt-i stret-of^ battS-en" hidr-iqksit veri wik\ itm"Bstbi veri b3edforim\ yes" itsp-oilz hizdid3-estj9ii\
Pennsylvania.
Contributed by Mr. A. C. Garrett, of Philadelphia. Mr. Garrett's », o, and D are almost exactly like mine. His a varies between my o and a ; before r it is nearly always o. His e is slightly rounded, and is modified by the formation of the following r, which begins simultaneously with the e. After all other vowels the r begins later, and is generally preceded by an audible glide. The r itself is a somewhat vowel-like consonant, as the tip of the tongue, which is raised toward the roof of the mouth, does not come within fifteen millimetres of the top of the palate ; after front vowels it rises toward the roots of the teeth ; after other vowels it is formed much further back, the vowels themselves being pronounced with the tongue somewhat retracted. At the end of an unaccented syllable r often disappears ; r before a vowel is made in about the same way as final r. Mr. Garrett's sentences show greater variations in pitch than American speech usually offers : the first word of a sentence is especially apt to be pitched high.
haev^e af-atSar'? nou^ t5af-at5az^ ded^ b8tt59m-^t59z^ stil ol-aiv". hwotdidi daiov^? k9nsTmpj9n^ or smn -BtSar diz-iz av^9l"Br)z\ ai |?ot iwazk-ild inar-elrod^ 8eksidant\ nou^ tSsetwaz tSi-^qkl^ izbr'-BtSaN
hau dyud-u^? veri wel~ ]78er)kyu' hau ayu"^? hau art5e-ol ath-om^? ol' wel^ eks-ept Sab-eibi\^ hwots «am-seta wiSab-eibi'^ ? ai dont nou^ akz-aektli' Ji wazkr-air) ol nait loi)^ t5ani"Bsbi s^mj)ir)^ ror)wit5ar'. puar ]>ir)^ aim sori tah*irit\ yud'ont luk wel'^ yars'elf\ nou^ aims'ik^ framwont avsMp\
ai^ ksent^ it faet^ itm-ebi veri gud fas"Bin pipF batitd"Bznt sut mi'^ itm-eksmi fil sik\
itsverikl-os^ inh-iar^ wi^-set big faear^ and-ol Sawindaz'^ J-et" aikn^ hordli briS^.
ah-sed hordli enibr-ekfast^ Sism-ornii]- batad-ont fil ab-it h^qgri^ amr-o«a J^ersti'^ Sou", hwotl yah-aef tadr-iqk^ ? aid laik samwotar\ hsev ak'-ep at-i^ tSsetl duyu moar gud'^ itlrifr'ejya\ hsev an"BSar^ ! hsef^ ak"Bp^ pliz- ai nou am-aen" uj7-ir)ks n-efii) avdr'ir|kir| siks^
' The final i in beibi is very close.
2 The vowel in ksent and h«f is intermediate between my a and se.
202 DIALECT NOTES.
k-eps avt'i^ stret-of^ battS-en it-eksit veri wik'^. itm-Bsbi veri baed- forim^. yes~ itsp-oilz izdid3-estjaii\
Maryland.
Contributed by Mr. D. H. Wingert, of Hagerstown. Mr. Wingert's dialect was formed in northern Maryland. His o and o are about like mine ; but his a before r is o, and he pronounces o for o in the word 'on.' His e is very high before s, and very low before other consonants. His e has no lip-rounding, and seems to be higher than mine. His o, which appears to be produced further forward and higher than mine, sounds almost exactly like Parisian o in hotte. His u and u are formed a little further forward than Northerners pronounce them ; for ur (as in 'poor') he says oBr. The two elements of diphthongs are very distinct ; the first element differs according to the nature of the following consonant : —
First Element op Before Voiceless Cons,: Final, or before Voiced Cons.: ai : between a and v ; a.
au : " " " " between a and ce.
ou : o; 0.
At the end of a word, and before a consonant, r appears as a glide, the tip of the tongue approaching the tops of the teeth, but not coming near enough to produce a buzz ; between vowels it generally disappears, or is replaced by a faint w, between a consonant and a vowel it offers no peculiarities. Throughout Mr. Wingert's speech there is a tendency to prolong accented and omit unaccented syllables.
hsevSei gf-a^ar'? nousar" t5af-at5arz ded'' batSam-BtSarz stil livii]\ hwoddidi daiov^ ? kans-empjan- Grs-Bm-eSgr diz-iz avt58l-'Br)z\ ai|>-ot probbli iwazk-ild inar-eilrod^ seksdant^. nou~ probbli tSaetwaz •Si'T^rjkr hizbr-BfSar^.
haudd-u^ ? vei wel" ]>aer)kya^ hau orya^ ? hau er-ol yerfouks^ ? t5e8 ol wel~ eks-ept t58b*eibi\ hwotiz •Sam-aetar wit$ab-eibi^ ? ah'ordli nou^ Jiwazkr-air) ol nait loq^ ^er sertnli m-esbi S'Bmpj^iq roq^ wiSar\ poar )>ii]^ aim vei sori tah-iavit^ yud-oimt luk^ wel" yars-elf^. nou~ aim sik~ farwont afsMp^.
ak-aent it faet^ itm-eibi vei gud fars"Bm^ pipl" batitd-eznt sftt mi^ tm§ksmi fiP sik^.
itsvei hot^ inh-iar^ wit5-aet big faiar" an-ol ^awindaz J'et" ak-aent hordli brl6\
aised hordli enibr-ekfast^ sm-ornir;^ batad-ount fil tol h-erigri^ aimr-ae^ar fersti tSouX hwodl yuh-aev tadr-irjk^ ? ail tek samwodar\ wilyah-aev ak-ep at-i^ tJaetl duyu moar gud~ itlrifr-ejyu\ haev
ENGLISH SENTENCES IN AMERICAN MOUTHS, 203
en-B'Sar^ ! hsef ak'-ep"^ pliz". ain-oii am-aen- hu])'ir)ks n-Bj^ir) ab-aut^ drirjkir) siks k'eps Qt-i" rait stret of^ bettJ-en hidr-iqksit vei wik\ itm-'Bsbi vei b3edfoini\ yes" itsp-oilz izdidS-estJaiA
Kentucky.
Contributed by Mr. G. T. Weitzel, of Frankfort. Mr. Weitzel's a, o, and 0 are about like mine. His » is pronounced with the mass of the tongue in the middle of the mouth, the tip touching the bottom of the lower teeth, and the jaws almost closed; this v is common in the South. His u and u are made further forward than mine. His « is rounded, and is modified by the formation of the following r, which begins simultane- ously with the e. After all other vowels the r begins later. The r itself, which is formed near the roots of the teeth, is (except before a vowel) never more than a glide, and generally becomes inaudible at the end of unaccented syllables.
hsevt^ei of-at^o'? nou" t^af-at^az ded^ battSam-^t^az*' stil 9l-aiv\ wotdidi daiov^? k8ns"BmJan^ or sam-et^ar diz-iz 9vt58l-'Br)z\ ai I>ot iwazk-ild inar-eilwei aeksd8nt\ nou" 'Ssetwaz â– Si-Brjk? hizbr-et^aN
hau aryg^? priti wel^ fserjkyQ^ hau aryii^? hau arol Saf-oks eth-oum^ ? evri bodi wel^ eks*ept 'Sab-eibi'^. wots 'Sam'seta wit5ab-eibi^ ? ai dan-ou ekz-sektli^ Ji wazkr-aiiq ol nait lor)^ t5erinasbi s-cmjTir) ror)wi8ar^. puar ])ir)^ aim sori tahyerit^. yu dount luk^ we? yars-elf^. nou aim filir)^ baed^ framl-aek asl-ip\
aik-sent it fset^ itm-eibi veri gud fars-'Bm"' pipl batitd"Bznt agr-l wit5m-i^ tmeksmi fil sik\
tsveri klos^ inhyer^ wit5*8et big faiar" nol t5awindaz^ jvV' aikan hardli briS\
aiad hardli eni brekfast^ •Sism-ornir)'^ bataid-ount fil at-ol h'erigri^ aim rset^a fersti^ Sou", wotlyu^ hsev tadr-iqk^? aijad laik sam- wota\^ haev ak-'ep at-i^ t^setP duya.inoar gud^ itP rifr-ejya\ hddv an"BSa'? bsef ak-ep*' plIz". ai nou am-sen huj^-iqks ms]>iT} avdr-irjkir) siks kijps atl stret of^ bat«-en- hidr-ir)ksit veri wlk\ tm-Bsbi veri bsedfarim^. yes" itr-uinz izdid3-estjan\
Missouri.
Contributed by Mr. R. L. Weeks, of the University of Michigan. Mr. Weeks's parents came from New York State, but his own pronunciation was formed in northern Missouri. His a and a are like mine ; his o is a
1 The t in these words has a sound between t and d.
204 DIALECT NOTES.
short a ; his v and q are formed a little further back than mine. His,e before I is very low. His e has no lip-rounding, but is modified by the formation of the following r, which begins sinmltaneously with the e. After all other vowels the r begins later, and is often preceded by an audible glide. Whenever r occurs in this piece, it seems to be produced at the roots of the teeth, the tip of the tongue being turned backward; but final r after a is formed further back. Mr. VVeeks's r is, of course, never trilled, and at the end of an unaccented syllable it is often scarcely audible.
haevS-ei af-a^ar'^? nou^ ^af-a^arz ded^ b9tSam"BtSdrz- stil ol'aiv\ hw^tdidi daiov^? kans-'empjan^ orsam-T^^ar^diziz av58l"Br)z\ ai)>-ot~ iw9zk-ild~ inar'eilrod'' 8eksid9nt\ nou^ ^aetwaz tiix^qkr hizbr"BSar\
hau duyud-u^? veriweP Ssegkyu^ hau aryu^? hau orSei'ol ath'oum^? ol weP (a)ks'ept t5ab-eibi~. hwets t^am-aetar wi8ab-eibi^? aid-ount nou^ ekz-sekli" Jiwazkr-aiiq ol nait loq^ 'Sarm-'Bsbi S'Bmp|>iq ror)^ \viSar\ puar })ir)^ aims'ori tali*irit\ yud'ount luk^ wel" yars-elf\ nou^ aim-il~ ^ framwont ^ avsl-ip\
aik-aent it^ faet" itm-ebi veri gud^ fars-um^ pipl" batitd"Bznt slut mi^ itm-eksmi fil sik\
itsveri klos^ inh*iar~ wi6-set big faiar" and'ol tSawindaz'^ J'et" aikn hardli bri5\
aihaed hardli enibr-ekfast^ •Sism-ornii]~ bataid-onnt fll at'ol h^qgri^ aimr-se^ar" persti^ t5ou~. hwetl yuh-sev^ tadr-iijk^ ? aijud. laik" samwotar\ haev ak'-ep avt-i^ tSaetl duyu moar gud"* itlrifr-ejyu\ haev an"Bt5ar'' ! haef ak-'ep^ pl!z~. ain-ou^ am -sen" huj^-iqks n-ej^ir)^ avdr-iqkiq siks k^ps avti" stret-of^ batt^-en" hidr-iqksif^ veri ■wlk\ itm-usbi veri baedforim\ yes^ itsp-oilz hizdid3-estjan\
C. H. GRANDGENT.
ISTEWSPAPER JAEG0:N".
Almost every newspaper office has phrases or words peculiar to itself, growing out of the necessity of daily work or the fancy of some inventive youngster who finds a short way of saying something. For this reason it would require the aid of a good many persons to form a list anywise complete of the slang of the
1 iztJerfa'Sar livig would be more natural.
2 aimd5"BSt ab-aut sik would be more natural. * Tends toward want.
NEWSPAPER JARGON. 205
newspaper. In general, the inciting cause for the invention of peculiar phrases in a newspaper office is haste, and not a desire to be picturesque or fanciful, as might be thought the case with actors. So adjectives and verbs, the significant words of a sen- tence too cumbersome to be frequently repeated orally or in type, come to be used as nouns. The semi-transparent paper used for copying, beconies manifold or Jiimsy, as it is looked upon from the point of utility or that of frailty. An article which requires to be published promptly is marked must, evidently the sole relic of some sentence like " This must go in to-night." The proof usu- ally returns from the composing-room with must repeated several times in large bold-faced type across the top, I think this word is used in a large number of newspaper offices. In The Cincinnati Gazette, however, before it was merged in The Commercial Gazette, the phrase was get in. This, of course, was a complete sentence, but whether or not it would eventually have been Shortened to get or in is hard to say. An article marked with the word must is spoken of as a must, or emphatically — if there is absolutely no way of keeping it out of the paper — as a dead must. Moreover, as the word is usually accompanied on the copy with the initials of the man who makes the order, there follows a gradation, so that one hears of "Mr. X's must," "Mr, Y's must," and these degrees sometimes have a value according to the authority of the person named, and when accompanied by certain initials might be contemptuously disregarded. Where an article is not a must, it may still be a desirable, and if for some reason delay is neces- sary, the copy or the proof is marked deferred, though I do not remember having heard this word used as a noun. It is usually worked into a sentence, as " That is deferred matter,"
The word stuff is of frequent use in a newspaper office, some- times with almost the exact meaning of the German staff, some- times in allusion to completed work ; as, for example, a man might say " That was pretty good stuff," meaning that the writ- ing was of some value. On the other hand, he would say " What stuff ! " meaning that the material was worthless or had been ill- handled. The word matter is also much used, with a common, though, perhaps, not invariable distinction, that it refers to an article after it has been put in type, while stuff more frequently characterizes what is still in manuscript. In New York the word story is of more frequent use than in other cities ; almost every- thing that a reporter can possibly write, especially if it is of any
206 DIALECT NOTES.
length, is looked on as a story : a good story, if well done ; a bad story, if ill done ; a ghost story, if doubted. The phrase fairy tale is synonymous in this case with ghost story. A story is called~a fake when the writer has evidently been at no pains, because of haste or some other reason, to gather his material ; when he has depended on a too fertile imagination for his details ; or when he has invented the whole thing and some delicacy is felt about calling him point-blank a liar. Fakes are the natural and habitual product of an order of beings called space-grabbers, space-fiends, who are the special abomination of the copy-reader. It is the space-grabber^ s ambition to enhance his weekly bill by every variety of device, but his main reliance is on the quantity of manuscript that he can get through the copy-reader's hands into type. The blue-pencil is used mercilessly in such cases, and the space-grabber takes revenge by describing the copy-reader as a butcher or cutter. The words space-fiend and space-grabber are also used enviously sometimes in speaking of a reporter who is fortunate in obtaining subjects that fill worthily large place in the paper. To fake and faker are obvious cognates of the noun already defined.
Space and time are not metaphysical entities to newspaper men, for they bear a vital relation to the pay of most reporters* Metaphysically space and time coexist, but they cannot coexist in a newspaper man^s bill. He may receive pay for the number of hours he has worked on a given task, or for the dimensions of the result of his labor as printed, but he cannot obtain botlj measures of payment for the same article. Space measurements are usually in columns and fractions of a column, the denomina- tor of the fraction being the price of a column. Thus at ten dollars a column, the fraction is rendered in tenths and, perhaps, a half-tenth. The work for which the reporter is paid is usually done on assignment. His name is placed in a book called the assignment-book, along with others, and opposite each name is the topic which the man is expected to look after. As the tool of his trade is what the English artisan usually calls a " blacklead," he is called somewhat sardonically a pencil-shover or pencil-pusher. When he has obtained considerable space for a story, he declares that he has had a good show. He describes by the verb to work up both the method of obtaining his material and the manner of writing it. The opposite of a fake is a straight story. Important news which he has obtained for his own paper in advance of
NEWSPAPER JARGON. 207
others, he calls a beat or a scoop, and if the news is exceedingly important, he plumes himself on a king beat. If the subject he is at work on is uninteresting to him he characterizes it as a grind; if it is something he has to work up in the track of some- body else, he flouts it as stale neivs, a contradiction in terms. In one newspaper office that might be named a mannerism which was frequentl}^ met on the assignment-book became the regular phrase for a theme that had lost its freshness, and it was called a farther-about, the original formula having been " Mr. Jones — Further about such or such a matter.^' Keporters characterize a task in which there is more running than writing by the expres- sive compound leg-work. If a reporter is at a distance from the office and has to use the telegraph, he is usually expected, unless he has definite instructions already, to wire the office a query. If a correspondent intends to cover a variety of subjects, he fre- quently sends in advance a schedule, which contains a list of topics and an estimate of quantity. When he comes to make up his bill, he takes all the articles he has written for a given period and pastes them together, end to end. This he calls his string. This practice he borrowed from the printers, from whom he also obtained the word take, which he uses sometimes in the sense of assigriment. Like the printer, he has fat takes and lean takes, those by which good pay is easily obtained and those which cost much labor and give small returns.
An article sent by mail, express, or telegraph to a newspaper by one of its own writers is described as special correspondence, special dispatch, or simply special. Coming from one of the news or press associations it would be called a general news dispatch or credited to the individual association ; but in conversation it would probably be described by the initial letters of the associa- tion's name, thus A. P. for Associated Press ; or it would be spoken of as regidar. In New York the word special is also used as a noun to describe an article of interest from some other point of view than that of news. In other cities such an article is frequently called a feature.
Some of the words and phrases peculiar to the composing-room require also to be used by the editors. The title and sub-titles of an article are called its heads; and in the office of The New York Tribune this word is transferred to the paragraphs in the first column of the editorial page, which are called ed-heads. If an article is sent to the printer without its heads or without being
208 DIALECT NOTES,
completed, it is accompanied with the direction turn rule. In the proof the article then appears with a black bar at the top or bottom, as the case may be. Sometimes a particular sort of rule is used for this purpose, and then the direction becomes, for example, ad. rule; that is, "Put an advertising rule at the place indicated." Various kinds of dashes are used in a newspaper office, but the only one I can think of now that has a legend attached to it is the two-em dash, so called because its length is twice that of the type face of the letter m. Described with Roman numerals in lower case, after the old fashion, the name looks like this : jim dash. Naturally it came to be called the Jim dash. But in some newspaper offices it is called a shirt-tail dash, because the manuscript sign for it is made in the following manner : —
Of course other dashes can be indicated in the same way, with an additional description of the size required. A frequent use of the shirt-tail dash is to separate a ne\vs paragraph from explan- atory matter added to it. The result is that the explanatory matter also receives the name shirt-tail, and the novice is aston- ished by having a dispatch thrust at him with the injunction, "Put a shirt-tail to that."
Examples of abbreviated phrase are subs for suburban news; home-city for Home and City News; by-tel, used in conversation for by telegraph. Many such abbreviations are forgotten probably as soon as they are invented. Only the few that are found to be really time-saving apparatus are retained.
The telegraph office also furnishes the newspaper with some phrases. In rapid writing after the telegraph instrument this morning becomes smorning and this afternoon, safternoon. He committed suicide is replaced by the barbarism he suicided, and thus some money is saved. These bits of economy have to be translated into ordinary language before being sent to the printer. When the Press Association has completed its night's work, the newspapers in many cities receive notice of the fact in the words, Thirty on report. As some time elapses, however, before the newspaper is ready to leave the press, and in the interval news might be received of a great fire or some other important matter which should be mentioned, it is usual to supplement the pre- liminary leave-taking. A messenger opens the business-office
A FEW NEW ENGLAND WORDS. 209
door and bawls out, " Good night, Mr. So-and-So," not for polite- ness' sake, but merely as a matter of duty. He thus gives notice that no more dispatches under any circumstances are to be ex- pected from the association until the work of the next day begins. In New York the words Two o'clock give the finishing touch to the work of the night.
The process of arranging the masses of type in the form is called making-up. The result is spoken of as a make-up, with adjectives appropriate to the degree of merit in the arrangement. But the man who handles the type in the process is also called a make-up, and the phrase has still another signification ; as, when things are brought into juxtaposition that would have been better apart, the night editor may be asked, "Well, what sort of a make-up do you call that ? "
I have used the word article oftener, perhaps, than I should. The ready writers for the press usually sprak of their produc- tions as pieces. The distinction is similar to that between jour- nalist and newspaper man. A journalist is said to be a person who writes things and a newspaper man is one who puts what the journalist writes into the waste-basket.
J. s. tu:n^ison.i
A FEW NEW ENGLAND WOEDS.
In the following list I have marked all words and phrases that I know to have been used in other places than Plymouth, Mass. ; but many of the unmarked words are doubtless common through- out New England. Where no place is mentioned, Plymouth is understood.
band- -wagon : omnibus or "barge."
brief (brif) : prevalent (as in Bartlett) . «' Measles are brief in Westport." Little Compton, R.I.
chunk : a closely-built horse. New England, passim. [Cf. Bartlett.]
clearn through (klian) : clear through, clean through. Perhaps it is clean influenced by clear. Plymouth and Cambridge. [Also at Southwest Harbor, Me., klidn has been heard.]
1 The author desires to acknowledge indebtedness in the preparation of this paper to Messrs. L. C. Bradford and Frederick Evans of The New York Tnhune.
210 DIALECT NOTES,
clevel or clevil : a grain of corn. [Cf. Murray.]
cleverly. "As soon as I cleverly can; i.e. possibly or reasonably can.''^ [Cf. Murray, s.v. 4.]
college : an outhouse.
cross critter : a bull. Swanzey, N.H.
dass (dies): dare (affirmative of dasn't [dsesnt], see p. 73). "I don't quite dass.''''
digging tracks : shovelling paths in the snow. Salem.
dike : bank of earth, without reference to water ; e.g. bank of a terrace. Perhaps a result of the Pilgrims' sojourn in Holland.
doze : to decay.
dozy: decaying. "A (Zo^y post." [Farmer gives this for Pennsyl- vania.]
drudge (dn3d3) : to dredge. Plymouth or Sandwich, Mass. ; also Wil- mington, Del.
empire : umpire. Almost universal among boys in Plymouth.
fair to iiiiddlin' : pretty well (of the health). Common in replying to the question " How are you ? "
farow (lero) : farrow. "A/aroio cow."
folded: foaled. " The colt was folded at such a time."
full as a tick : drunk. Used also of fulness of any kind.
get it over : get over it, Salem.
goriiiy or gormin' round (gom-). Said of a horse that "gawks" in stable or harness.
grubby : the sculpin. Salem. [In Century dictionary, without citation.] [Cf. Bartlett, s.v. toadfish ; and "The 'crapies' (pronounced crarpies), as the latter [sculpin] were denoted," in the Boston Evening Transcript (Notes and Queries). Sept. 6, 1890 (R. W. Willson).]
hain't (heint) : am not. " I hain't very well."
harry. " A harry of time " = an uncomfortable time or experience. Cf. " Old Harry " (= the devil) and " a devil of a time."
hightantrabogus (h:ait8entr8b'6g8S) : a noisy good time ; as in "raisin* hightantrahogus.''''
h'ist (haist) : to get up. " Won't you please to hHstf'' Wilton, N.H.
hookiu' oflf: playing truant. [Seep. 78.]
letter-egg : a small egg, the last of the letter (litter).
mild : a mile. [Cf. pp. 9, 160.]
miser (maiza) : mouser. " Her [a kitten's] mother was a dreadful good miser.''''
mull : to move sluggishly. " I went mulling along." " Let the fire mull along." Rhode Island.
opodildocs (opad-il-). " He's on his opodildocs " (said of a spirited horse).
pelter : an old, worn-out horse.
perky : " chipper." " A perky little girl."
p'ison (paizn). " P''ison neat" = extremely neat.
poke: to travel slowly. " This train poAres." [Cf. slow-poke.]
poky : slow. " A poky train." [Cf. pokey in Bartlett.]
porch : the " L" of a house.
NEW ENGLAND NOTES. 211
potterin. [See Bartlett, s.v. potter, 2.] ''Goin^ potterW " (a boy's sport). Salem.
powerful: very (as in Bartlett). 'â– 'â– Powerful weak."
pudge up (p'Bd3) : to rouse and stimulate ; to "prod."
rut : the noise of the waves on the beach.
saxon : sexton. Sandwich, Mass.
second-handed : second-hand.
setters, steerers, belly-bumpers: three ways of "coasting." Salem. [Cf. p. GO.]
shakes. No great shakes = mediocre.
skimp : to scrimp.
skimpy: stingy. [Cf. Century dictionary.]
skwy (skwai) : askew. " Put the book on the table s^•^c^/." " This pic- ture hangs s/jto?/. " Salem.
skwyvvise (skwaiwaiz) : the same as skwy. Salem.
slow-poke : a slow person. [Cf. poke, poky, and Bartlett, s.v. poke, n. 3.]
sneakins-meakins (snik-, mik-) : mean. " She called me sneakins-. meakins.^''
sog-gy : comatose (of a dying person). Marblehead. [Cf. sog in the Century dictionary.]
some punkins: of some importance. "He thinks he's some _pMnA;ins." [Cf. some, p. 70.]
spade (speid) : to spay.
sprightly : high-flavored, tart. " A sprightly apple."
spudge : to stick (as with a knife). Plymouth (or Salem?).
squawmish (skwo-) : queasy.
takle (tek-1) : tackle, as in block' and takle.
tantrum: tandem. [Cf. p. 1G6, § 107, 2).]
teethache : toothache. "She's got the teethache, and so she come down town to have it out." Plymouth and Cape Cod, [Cf. Bartlett.]
tempest : a thunder-shower.
tough. " Tougher' n a biled owl " (said of an enduring person).
trainers: soldiers. [Cf. p. 20, and also Bartlett, s.v. train, v. and trainers.']
trap-door: a triangular rent in cloth. [Cf. trappatch, p. 20.]
w^allop (wolap) : to belch. " My food don't set well. I kind o' wallop it up." Wilton, N.H.
whipstock : whip-socket. Khode Island.
L. B. K. BRIGGS.
]srEW ENGLAND NOTES.
My dialect is that of the town of Needham (now Wellesley), where my father was born and lived the first twelve years of his
212 DIALECT NOTES.
life. My mother was Boston born and bred. Her early life was passed among literary people, and she was better edu- cated in childhood than most of her sex at the time (she was born in 1811). Locality excepted, I might adopt the language of Part II, p. 33.
I was familiar in my boyhood with the expressions to play hookey and liook Jack (pp. 22, 78), to stuynp (= challenge), let the old cat die, slew (= a great quantity), he up and did it, he took and hit him, to cut and run, to leg it (p. 25). The expression cut, cut behind, was used to call the attention of a driver to boys run- ning behind his wagon. So fashion (p. 23) was a phrase of my father's.
P. 35. Unless my memory is entirely at fault Tutor James Jennison at Harvard College taught me the pronunciation gbri, rather than gldri. I pronounce source sods and sauce sos; hoarse hods and horse hos, with an inclination towards hos. 1 should also say sentjdri (p. 36).
umbrella (p. 37). I heard last summer (1890) an aged Cape Codder say mmhdr-il.
been (p. 38). My father always said hen.
because. I now say biJc-oz, but I think bik'oz is more natural to me.
jaundice: d3andis.
earthenware : e^nwsea.
extraordinary (p. 39) : ekstr'odn-eri.
castle : kasl ; trained to kasl.
quarrel : kworil.
lonely: lounli.
oatmeal (p. 40) : accent on first syllable strong, on second slight. Bye meal and Indian meal hardly as compound words at all, or at least with equal accent on both parts.
rascal: raskal.
P. 41. I say (or said before making a conscious change) rut, rud (only an arithmetic word with me), ruf, sun, rum, for rooty rood, roof, soon, room. Pagan is to me peigan, and in morsel and parcel I have I rather than il.
P. 5G. Bloodsucker was common in my childhood, so piss-abed for the " white-weed." KwMs was the only pronunciation I knew till I saw the word quoits in print.
go (p. 59) . Suggested by goes out, is my childhood phrase lets out. " School lets out at 12."
belly -bumper (p. 60). My word was guts-dive.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 213
guardeen (p. 61). I find the word spelled exactly so in a Suffolk probate document dated April 14, 1761.
Ingine (ind3ain ; p. 68). This was the ordinary pronunciation till cor- rected in school.
tassel (p. 72). My pronunciation was tosl.
bull-tucker (p. 72). Bull-frog and bull-paddy were very familiar to me.
fezinah (p. 73). I often heard this from a Yankee farmer thirty years ago.
gosh all hemlock (p. 73) is very familiar to me.
tlttly benders (p. 75). My pronunciation was titl-i benddz or benddz. The expression was applied to the ice itself. "Running benders" was a common phrase.
tortience (p. 75). I never heard the word, but am reminded of the word titman, applied to the last born and often weakest and smallest pig in a litter. I have known two schoolmasters who applied the term to their weakest and least promising pupil.
jag : a small load (p. 76) , is familiar to me.
coast: to slide down hill (p. 77). Perfectly familiar. In fact, I never used any other word.
duck (p. 77). Duck-stone was my name of the game.
forelay or forlay (folei, with nearly equal accent on each syllable) : to lie in wait for, head off. Heard last summer from a Cape Cod farmer who had in early life been a sailor. The dictionaries give the word with this meaning, quoting Dryden. Is it common nowadays ?
I have a neighbor, unschooled but intelligent, a native of Ver- mont, who says "get offn that grass," "take the harness offn the horse." Is offn common anywhere in New England ? The form housen (p. 25) I heard frequently used thirty years ago on Cape Cod (Chatham).
M. GKANT DANIELL.
ADDITIONS AND COKRECTIONS TO WORDS PREVI- OUSLY MENTIONED.
A SPECIAL interest attaches to the notes of Professor J. Henry- Thayer, as they give some Boston uses among schoolboys of forty or fifty years ago ; and to those of Mr. P. P. Claxton of Ashe- ville, N.C., who finds that several of the words in the list in Part I, pp. 18-20, are not confined to New England, but " are not uncommon in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee." Those which he notes below he has frequently heard. Besides what appears here, Lieutenant H. J. Darnall has contributed notes on
214 DIALECT NOTES.
words heard in the South and not previously mentioned, which will be used with similar contributions from others for a later issue of the " Notes." The following extract from his letter of Feb. 18, 1891, shows the territory covered by his observations : " I was born in Virginia and spent the earlier part of my life there. Since then I have lived in North Carolina for ten years, and then in Tennessee. Most of the words given are those I have heard in that section, but several of them I have gotten during the last few months in Missouri.''
afeard (p. 69). "I have heard this from old people in Chicopee, Mass." (F. L. Palmer.)
banty (p. 76). Common in New England. (F. L. P.)
beat hoOp (p. 18). Also in Salem. (L. B. R. Briggs.)
belly-bumper (p. 60). See p. 212.
belly-whacker (pp. 49, 60). Lieutenant H. J. Darnall writes that belly- buster is the word he has always heard in this sense.
bif (p. 72) or bifF, " Current among students in the South, meaning 'to strike.' It is used ©ftenest in the game of marbles, but has also a wider use. ' He hi fed him on the ear.' " (H. J. Darnall.)
black frost (p. 69). "Also English and Irish; usually understood, I think, as opposed to white frost, the hoar frost being absent." (James Lancey.)
bob-sled: double runner (p. 72). "Common also about New York City and Eastern New Jersey." (James Lancey.) (See Century diction- ary.)
boogie (pp. 18, 77). Not peculiar to Portsmouth. Children in Belcher- town (Western Massachusetts) used to call the thing in question a poker (rhyming with joker, stoker) ; some called it a boogher (pronounced so as to rhyme with cougar by some, with sugar by others). (Chas. W. Greene.) Called bugger in the South, the u sounded like oo short [m]. (John C. Branner, Little Rock, Ark.)
budge (pp. 18, 77). "Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.)
bull-tucker. See p. 213.
carry (p. 70). Lieutenant H. J. Darnall reports from Virginia, "Carry the horse to water," and " To carry (= escort) a lady to or from church." Common in Virginia and Maryland. (James Lancey.)
cat : in " let the old cat die " (p. 25). " Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.) See also p. 212.
cat: a game at ball (p. 63). "We also played [in Georgetown, D.C.] round-cat = 'scrub' here in New England." (Angelo Hall.) " I am very familiar with the uses mentioned on p. 63, also with 'Cat-I one holt.'" (H. J. Darnall.) [" Scrub " in New England is that form of base ball played when there are too few players to have opposing sides.]
caught (pp. 18, 77). " Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.)
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 215
cellar-case (p. 18). Cellar-door was used in Salem, Mass., up to 1864. (W. S. Beaman.)
claw out (p. 18). Also in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. "He'll claw out of it in some way." (P. P. Claxton.)
coast (pp. 21, 58, 77). "The only word used by the boys in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.) " Common in Boston in 1862-67, and has been in Orange, N.J., since at least 1868. Of late years it has become, I think, universally applied to bicycle- riding down hill by gravity," (James Lancey.) " A much-used colloquial word in this section [Mexico, Mo.]. I have always heard it in the South." (H. J. Darnall.) In Western Pennsylvania is used to sled or to sled-ride. (W. 0. Sproull.) In Georgetown, D.C., the word is sleigh-ride, v. (Angelo Hall.) See also p. 213.
corn (p. 64). " He feels his oats" is said by Mr. James Lancey to be common in England and Ireland of a frisky horse (regardless of his fat), and, metaphorically, of a frisky boy or young man.
croaky (p. 18). Also in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. (P. P. Claxton. )
cut (pp. 25, 77). Mr. James Lancey notes that to cut, to cut and run, to cut sticks, and to cut his stick are all English school- slang in the sense of "to run away." See also p. 212.
deaf (dif ; pp. 50, 56). This pronunciation is frequent among uneducated people in North Ireland. (James Lancey.)
dlght (p. 18). Cf. doit, a trifle, in the dictionaries.
duck (pp. 21, 77).) " 'To play duck' was the only phrase" in Boston. (J. Henry Thayer.) In Georgetown, D.C., duck on davy. (Angelo Hall.) "I remember in Queen Elizabeth's time, a wealthy citizen of London left his son a mighty estate in money, who, imagining he should never be able to spend it, would usually make 'ducks and drakes' in the Thames, with twelve pences, as boys are wont to do with tile sherds and oyster shells." (H. Peacham, The Worth of a Penny, 1641 [?]. Arber's English Garner, VI, 259.) See also p. 213.
ear (p. 64). Cf. to go off on his ear - to go away angry, and to get on his ear = to get angry, cited by Mr. James Lancey as New York and New Jersey slang, but perhaps universal in the United States.
easy (pp. 18, 78). Also quite common in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. (P. P. Claxton.)
fen: to forbid (p. 61). So in "English school (Cheltenham) slang; e.g. fen fubs (at marbles). ' Fen plucks ! ' would avert the plucks (i.e. pinches), which were the penalty for small fibs, stale news, and other improprieties, provided the phrase was pronounced before the infliction of the penalty was begun." (James Lancey.)
(ker)flummux (p. 64). This is used in some parts of New England as an adverb ; as, to fall kerflummux. (F. L. P., Chicopee, Mass.)
fezinah (p. 73). See p. 213.
fogo (p. 21). "I have heard fugo (pronounced Jiugo) in the Same sense in New England. Fogo is common enough among North of Ireland people." (Chas. W. Greene.)
216 DIALECT NOTES.
fortinah (p. 73). " I find this word is knowa also in Chicopee, Mass." (F. L. P.)
fretty (p. 19). Also in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. (P. P. Claxton.)
fun: as a verb (pp. 19, 78). Also in parts of North Carolina and Ten- nessee. (P. P. Claxton.)
funny : as a noun (pp. 19, 78). " Not common, but I have heard it once or twice." (P. P. Claxton, Asheville, N.C.)
gall (pp. 21, 78). " Common slang about New York City and Newark, N.J. I think it usually conveys a note of approval, just as cheek carries a shade of disapproval. Gall denotes pluck, audacity, courage of one's con- viction under difficulties. Cheek often implies conceit, effrontery, offensive self-assertion, etc." (James Lancey.)
gas (p. 01). The pronunciation gcez is common in Baltimore, Md. (James Lancey.)
go, goes out (p. 59). See p. 212.
guardeen (p. Gl). See p. 213.
heavy-handed (pp. 19, 78). " Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.) "In England said of one who, in shaving carelessly, cuts away some of his beard." (James Lancey.)
hen-hussy (p. 74). Known in New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass. (F. L. Palmer.)
het : heated (p. 71). " Common also in blacksmiths' forges in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and, I should say, generally in the Northern and Eastern States." (James Lancey.)
hookey (pp. 22, 78). " I was born and brought up on Fort Hill, Boston, attended three public schools and one private school there, and served one year as usher in the Boston Latin School ; and in all the period from 1840 to 1850 the current phrase among the boys was to hook Jack. The phrase to play hookey never greeted my eye or ear before I opened the ' Dialect Notes,' Part IL" (J. Henry Thayer.) " I am sure I never heard the ex- pression [to play hookey} used in any of these seven schools [in Boston, 1865-79] ; nor have I ever heard it at any other time from a Boston school- boy." (C. H. Grandgent.) See also p. 212. 'To play hookey is much heard in Springfield, Mass. In Camden, N. J., the boys ' bag it.' Hook it, hook 0.^= steal off, and bag it = steal it." (Chas. W. Greene.) To play hookey is common in Western Ohio, but is never used in Western Pennsyl- vania. (W. O. Sproull.) To play hookey was a common phrase in George- town, D.C. (Angelo Hall.)
houscn (p. 25). See p. 213.
Idea (p. 24). The accent on the first syllable is very common in Phila- delphia. (Chas. W. Greene.)
indeedy (pp. 22, 78). " In Georgetown, D.C, used only in such phrases as yes indeedy, or no indeedy. We never said indeedy with no other word before it." (Angelo Hall.)
inglne (p. 68). See p. 213.
jag (p. 76). The sense " a load of drink " (more than one can well carry; see Century dictionary) has been known in Boston for only a very few years. See also p. 213.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 217
king's excuse (p. 65). Lieutenant Darnall reports the North Carolina phrase as king^s crew.
kilt: killed (p. 68). "Also Irish, but sometimes = very nearly— not quite — killed; '■kilt and spacheless and callin' for a dhrop o' dhrink.' " (James Lancey.)
kitty-cornered (pp. 6, 78). " Familiar to an elderly lady of Springfield, Mass., a native of Chicopee." (F. L. P.)
knucks (p. 65). In Chicopee, Mass., this game is called knugs (nvgz) and the process of shooting the marbles at the knuckles of the defeated one is called giving him the knugs. (F. L. P.)
la (p. 74). "This word is very familiar with me ; in fact, I use it con- stantly myself and have heard it all my life." (H. J. Darnall.)
leg It (p. 25). See p. 212.
meech (pp. 19, 78). " Common in Boston in my youth, especially meech- ing as an adjective." (J. Henry Thayer.) Michin (mit/in) is reported from Plymouth, Mass., and is in use in various parts of New England.
on the mending band (pp. 19, 78). " Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.) " I found Mr. Attorney and Mrs. Gerrard and all their howshold in helth, saving the yong gentleman, who I trust is on the mending hande.'''' (Recorder Fleetwood to Lord Treasurer Burley, 1577 ; Ellis's Letters, 2d Series, III, 65. See also Century dictionary, s.v. hand.) (G. L. K.)
mlled (maild) : for mile (p. 9). Also Plymouth, Mass. (L. B. R. Briggs.)
musb-inelon (p. 74). Also New York and New Jersey. (James Lan- cey.)
ornery (p. 65). " This is familiar in New England, but is it a native word or an imported one ? " (F. L. P., Chicopee, Mass.)
out (p. 19). "The wind is ow«" is common in North Andover^ Mass. (Chas. W. Greene.)
particular (p. 68). The accent of petikld is on the i.
pernickely (p. 62). For this read pernickety.
pope-night (p. 18). " I saw the Gunpowder Plot celebrated by a 'bone- fire ' 1 at Norwich, Conn., in 1844. My mother told me that she had often seen its celebration in that place." (Chas. W. Greene.) " Thirty years ago what we called ' Gunpowder Treason ' was celebrated by a big bonfire on Salem Neck." (W. S. Beaman.) [In this connection I may note that while I knew as a boy the rhyme, " Remember, remember, The fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot," I never connected it, so far as I can remember, with the pumpkin lanterns which were familiar to me as to other boys. I think it likely that I got it directly or indirectly from some book, and have since found it (also beginning "Please to remember") in the "Mother Goose" rhymes, a source suggested by Mr. Bendelari. — E. S. S.]
practical (p. 40). For proetikdl read prcektikdl.
prlmlico (pp. 19, 79). "Two elderly ladies, natives of Chicopee, Mass., recall the phrase 'dressed in their primlicues ' = dressed in their best."
1 Is this form still in use ?
218 DIALECT NOTES.
(F. L. P.) Professor J. Henry Thayer notes that in pimlico order was com- mon in Boston in his youth.
quale : a quoit (pp. 50, 75). See p. 212.
ride out (pp. 19, 79). " This use is familiar in Chicopee, Mass. ; as, ' The room looks as if it was going to ride out.'' " (F. L. P.)
ride up (pp. 19, 79). Also in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. (P. P. Claxton.)
rubbers (pp. 19, 79). Quite common in parts of Middle Tennessee, where the phrase is to pass through the rubbers. (P. P. Claxton.) "Tb meet with the rubbers was common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.)
scooch (pp. 19, 79). "Instead of this we have scrooch^ which is quite common." (P. P. Claxton, Asheville, N.C.) "Here called scrooch.'''* (John C. Branner, Little Rock, Ark. )
skeezix (p. 62). " Slang about New York City, where, I should say, it has the force of a slightly contemptuous but good-natured appellative ; as who should say ' old stick-in-the-mud.' " (James Lancey.)
slew : a great quantity (p. 25). See p. 212.
snoot: nose (p. 75). Also in vulgar use in New York City and Philadel- phia. (James Lancey.)
soaky (p. 66). " Cf. English school slang (Cheltenham) soak it., a con- temptuous and insulting rejoinder to a complaint against a blow or other injury = ' I'm glad of it ! make the most of it ! ' " (James Lancey.)
so fashion (p. 77). "Common in Boston in my youth." (J. Henry Thayer.) See also p. 212.
sojer (pp. 19, 79). Also, in England, "to play old soldier," i.e. to sham illness or other disability. (James Lancey. ) Soldiering = shirking, used of a horse that makes his mate do more than a fair share of work. Plymouth, Mass. (L. B. R. Briggs.)
soople (p. 72). The reference should be to p. 50. The pronunciation siipl is noted by Professor L. B. R. Briggs as common in Plymouth, Mass. , and in New England generally, and by Mr. James Lancey as "frequent among uneducated people in North Ireland (say County Londonderry)."
sound : sound asleep (p. 19). Also Plymouth, Mass. (L. B. R. Briggs.)
sprawl (p. 19) = energy ; as, "I haven't si>ny sprawl to-day." Marble- head and Salem. (R. W. Willson.)
squirrel (p. 50). The pronunciation skwerl is " frequent among unedu- cated people in North Ireland (say County Londonderry)." (James Lancey.) [My dialect has skicvril. — E. S. S.]
Brink (p. 69). The appearance of sr for initial Jr is also known in Eng- land ; see Ellis, Early English Pronunciation^ V, 14*, No. 52, shrivelled. It is common in New England, where Mr. F. L. Palmer notes sn7, sraud, srain, srvb for the written shrill, shroud, shrine, shrub. Mr. James Lancey remarks that srink is " heard among Philadelphians of fair education."
stand In hand (p. 19). Also in parts of North Carolma and Tennessee. (P. P. Claxton.)
stump : to challenge (p. 25). See p. 212.
swipe (p. 66). See the citations in the Century dictionary.
ADDITIONS AND COBBECTIONS. 219
tassel (p. 72). The pronunciation tvsl is heard among farmers in Chico- pee, Mass. (F. L. P.) See also p. 213.
thing-um-a-bob (p. 66). " Thingembob or thingumbob (not thingem- a-bob), thingamy, thingmajig (not thingemajig) , also English." (James Lancey . )
thrash, thresh (pp. 23, 79). The same distinction holds good in Eng- land. (James Lancey.) " I should use these just as E. S. S. would ; but in Jefferson County, N.Y., where the population is mostly pure New England stock transplanted about eighty or ninety years ago, thrash is the only word used ; thresh would mark the person who used it as one who put on airs." [Cf. p. 59]. (Angelo Hall.)
tittly benders (p. 75). See p. 213.
took : "He took and hit him" (p. 25). See p. 212.
tough it out (p. 20). " Among the uneducated of this section I believe this phrase is used in this sense, to the exclusion of all others," (P. P. Claxton, Asheville, N.C) Mr. Chas. W. Greene writes that he heard this lately from a negro once a slave in Maryland, now living in New Jersey.
up : "He up and did it " (p. 25). See p. 212.
vengeance: gentians (p. 24). "In Western Massachusetts I have heard this plant called jinshang, evidently by confusion with ginseng, which is called sang for short in many parts of the United States." (Chas. W. Greene.)
wrestle (p. 76). The pronunciation rcesl is *' frequent among uneducated people in North Ireland (say County Londonderry)." (James Lancey.)
The following notes have been received on words used in play- ing at marbles (see p. 24, and Mucks in the preceding list, p. 217). In Georgetown, D.C., are used : —
allies : marbles. Marbles is never used.
agatey : a marble made of material supposed to resemble agate.
cungeons ! or cungeon roots 1 An exclamation supposed to prevent one's marble from being hit.
baclt-a-licks : used in " back-a- licks takes over"" ; that is, if a marble hit another by rebounding from a wall, that shot shall not be counted, but another one shall be allowed.
cunny-thumb : used in the phrase "to shoot cunny- thumb" ; that is, with the marble held between the thumb and the middle of the forefinger. This kind of shot is much feebler than when the marble rests on the end of the forefinger.
fat. One's marble is fat when in playing ** little ring" it stays in the ring when it ought lo have come out.
fen. When you said " fen clarances " your opponent had no right to dear away the rubbish lying between his marble and yours. The phrase "fen everything" deprived your opponent of all privileges, such as clarances. When boys saw a dead animal they would say, "fen all round my family and spit out," and then would spit. [Cf. fen (p. 215).]
go. By calling " first go " you obtained first shot.
220 DIALECT NOTES.
, purgy : the hole in the durt which was the first goal into which to get your marble.
toy : the marble with which you shot. . to play for good: to play for "keeps.'*
ANGELO HALL.
The uses in Missouri are somewhat different [see p. 24]. Thus dubs means, not doublets, but that the player has blundered, and by crying "dubs" is entitled to play again. To fudge is to cheat. The expression to bunker means to win a game ; as, " I bunkered him," meaning " I won." A taw is the playing marble, especially in the game of simple rolling ; as, " Long Taw.'' Another com- mon expression is dip; as, "I clipped- it," or "two at a clip." It means either success in a shot or a single chance. Marbles themselves are almost universally called chineys (from china per- haps). Evers and verit are used as in Kentucky.
A. A. BEELE.
The following corrections have been noted : —
P. 36, line 15. For sentfdH read sentl^ri.
P. 55, No. 20. For XIX (pp. 13-14) read XIX (pp. 63-64) ; and in No. 30 for 1875, p. 22, read 1871-72, p. 22 of the Appen- dix. (J. Geddes, Jr.)
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY.
By the kindness of President Welling of Columbian University, Washington, D.C., a room was obtained for the Annual Meeting of 1891 at that University. The meeting was called to order about 8 P.M. on Wednesday, December 29, by the President of the Society, Professor J. M. Hart, and committees were appointed to examine the Treasurer's accounts (Dr. J. W. Bright and Mr. E. H. Babbitt) and to nominate a list of officers for the" year 1892 (Pro- fessors A. M. Elliott, H. E. Greene, and E. M. Brown). The former committee reported in due time that the Treasurer's accounts had been .examined and found correct, and the latter reported the following list of officers for 1892, which was approved : For President, James M, Hart^ Ithaca, N.Y. ; for
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY. 221
Vice-President, James M. Garnett, University of Virginia ; for Secretary, Edward S. Sheldon, Cambridge, Mass. ; for Treasurer, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass,; for the Editing Com- mittee, the Secretary, George L, Kittredge, Cambridge, Mass., and George Hempl, Ann Arbor, Mich. ; for the Executive Com- mittee, in addition to these officers, James W. Bright, Balti- more, Md., E. M. Brown, Cincinnati, 0., and Alcde Eortier, New Orleans, La,
The reports of the Secretary and the Treasurer were read as follows : — •
Secretaky's Eeport for 1891.
During the year 1891 a third part of ^' Dialect Notes " haS been published, containing a study of the Ithaca Dialect, by Dr., now Professor, 0. F. Emerson, and the proceedings 6f the Annual Meeting of the Society in 1890, A special agreement was made with Professor Emerson as to the amount to be contributed by him toward the cost of printing, in view of the number of copies of his paper desired by him and the estimated length of his work ; and it was hoped that as a result it would be possible to print this part without leaving the Society in debt. But the paper proved longer than was expected, partly in consequence of some editorial additions (the translation of examples), and though the author kindly increased somewhat the amount of his contribution, and although the size of the edition was reduced to a total of three hundred and fifty copies, the printer's bill was considerably in excess of the amount in the Treasurer's hands, and our deficit is larger than at the time of the last report. In consequence it will probably be necessary to lessen the amount to be published in 1892, unless our funds can be increased. There has been some sale of our publications, and we have received enough new sub- scriptions to make our membership list a very little larger than it was one year ago. This is in great part the result of a circular prepared in September and sent mainly to libraries in this coun- try and in Europe, the expense, which was not great, being borne by two of the Society's officers.
Several interesting and difficult questions are raised by Pro- fessor Emerson's paper, which the Secretary hopes to discuss later.
The price of additional copies of Part III to members of 1891 has been set at ninety cents, and a few copies have been taken at this price.
222 DIALECT NOTES.
Some new contributions have been received, among which may be specially mentioned a paper by Professor H. Tallichet on Spanish or Mexican words used in Texas, which was forwarded to the Secretary through Professor Sylvester Primer, now Dis- trict Secretary in Texas at the University of Texas in Austin. There has been some correspondence with Professor Tallichet in regard to this paper, which is in itself of interest and shows how similar work can be done elsewhere for words of foreign origin, and the author has finally offered to contribute thirty dollars for two hundred copies of it, to be printed as early as possible in 1892, as part of the next number of " Dialect Notes." It seems to the Secretary desirable to print this paper with some of the other material on hand, and to postpone the question of a further publication in 1892 till a later time in the year, when perhaps our financial condition will allow the issue of another number.
E. S. Sheldon, Secretary,
Treasurer's Report for 1891. From December 23, 1890, to December 28, 1891.
Receipts.
1 membership fee for 1889 $1.00
14 membership fees for 1890 14.00
162 membership fees for 1891 162.00
9.} membership fees for 1892 9.50
1 membership fee for 1893 1.00
1 membership fee for 1894 1 .00
Sale of " Dialect Notes," I, II, III 109.40
Total $297.90
Expenditures.
Deficit of 1890 $28.62
Stamps and stationery 11.20
Printing and mailing " Dialect Notes," III 311.34
Printing and mailing notices of meeting 3.00
Total $354.16
Deficit, December 28, 1891 $56.26
C. H. Grandgent, Treasurer.
These reports having been accepted, a call was made for any reports or statements which District Secretaries present might be
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY. 223
prepared to offer. In response Dr. Learned said that he had laid before the Pennsylvania German Society a scheme to prepare a Pennsylvania German lexicon containing forms and etymologies also. The matter had been referred by that society to a commit- tee, which was now considering it. Dr. Learned had asked an appropriation of that society for continuing the work ; the expense of publishing the lexicon when complete had not yet been considered. The phonetic notation used by him in his already published work on the Pennsylvania German dialect had raised some difficulties, but these did not appear to be serious.
The condition and prospects of the Society, in view of its indebtedness and consequent inability to print all the material it has, were then discussed. President Hart said that this was practically a cooperative society existing for the sake of publica- tion, and the value of such an organization must depend largely on the amount — not on the merit only — of what it published. Two hundred pages a year would be equivalent to more than four times one hundred pages, while a society which could only print fifty pages a year would seem hardly worth keeping alive. We should print much and bring out the great variety in American speech. The more and the more diversified our matter is, the better. He hoped we might print generously, but not recklessly. The question might arise whether we should increase our sub- scriptions.
The Secretary hoped it would not be necessary to increase the membership fee. Many of our members are college professors or other teachers who do not receive large salaries, and have many calls for money, from other associations, for example. He was not yet discouraged, though his hopes had not been fully real- ized. It might in the future be worth considering whether our organization had better be merged in some other, as the Folk- Lore Society, the Modern Language Association, or the American Philological Association. Some of our members would then drop out, for those associations all charged a higher fee. In answer to a question from Professor Elliott, he specified some of the material which he hoped to see printed early in 1892, estimating the number of pages and the probable cost. There would remain a quantity of material and some surplus in money for another number to be published later in the year if enough additional money could be raised.
Professor Elliott agreed with what the President had said, and
224 DIALECT NOTES. ^
hoped the policy adopted would be aggressive^ that we should push forward, and in case of a deficiency which we could not meet otherwise, that special subscriptions would be called for. He said also that the lack of an interesting programme for the meeting caused a number of persons to absent themselves [there were not quite twenty members present]. He had been asked what the programme was, and had been obliged to answer that it was purely a business meeting, whereupon his questioners had said, "Then we won't come." Perhaps it would be well to have a paper read, followed by discussion and an interchange of ideas.
It was here proposed that a collection be immediately taken to diminish the deficit as far as possible by contributions from those present. Other members would, it was to be hoped, contribute also as soon as the urgent need of funds was brought to their attention. This was put to vote and carried unanimously, and as a result the sum of seventeen dollars and fifty cents was later placed in the hands of the Treasurer.
Mr. Grandgent reminded members that there had been such a discussion as Professor Elliott wished at the meeting in Cam- bridge in 1889, and it was that feature which had made that meeting so interesting. In answer to a question whether an increase of the annual fee to two dollars would diminish the money receipts, he said it probably would somewhat.
Mr. Babbitt suggested that money could be raised by appeals to wealthy men. Cooperation in publication was also possible ; if matter on dialects were printed through other societies, copies enough for our use might be obtained. On the other hand, as was said also by another member, our own imprint was desirable.
Mr. Grandgent said that if any of our members who published elsewhere would send deprints to all our members it might help us not to lose members. They would get more for their money.
Professor Elliott spoke of the experience of the Modern Lan- guage Association, whose membership fell off when only one issue a year was printed, while now with quarterly publication a great advance was shown. So for the Dialect Society ; it was not necessary to print very much at a time, but it was important to print oftener.
Mr. Chamberlain mentioned that he had planned a collection of material on Indian languages, which might be sent to members of this society though printed by another.
Professor Smyth, the secretary of the American Philological
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY. 225
Association, said that that association had a considerable sur- plus, and that papers might be proposed to it for publication. Deprints were regularly supplied to the number of fifty copies.
Dr. Bright said the Society was not moribund ; there was no necessity for hurrying ; it was doing good in keeping alive. The whole problem of dialect study here was new ; we ourselves were not altogether clear as to what should be done or how it should be done. All the higher institutions of learning were preparing graduates who would be more and more fit to do such work. One of his own students was thinking of a linguistic island in the Tennessee mountains as a field for future work. It was not well to press matters too much now. In answer to dis- agreement expressed by the President, who wished to have word- lists printed as fast as possible, otherwise we should only be putting off the day when the material can be Avorked over, he explained that he wished to emphasize the need of caution. There was no immediate cause for alarm.
Dr. Learned spoke of the local pride in the preservation of a varying speech in some localities, which might be successfully appealed to. He would have found explanatory circulars useful. The Secretary said that such a circular had been widely dis- tributed, and it must be due to accident or oversight that Dr. Learned had not received a supply. Mr. Babbitt said that such circulars did little good unless accompanied by personal explana- tion or appeals, and Professor Walter said that he sent circulars to all the high school teachers in Michigan without a single response. A similar result was reported from Ohio.
The Secretary spoke of some of the problems offered in America, particularly in pronunciation, such as the question what phenom- ena were new developments in America. He mentioned as exam- ples of cases where doubt might exist the pronunciation of wh in America (see Modern Language Notes for May, June, and Novem- ber, 1891), the r after a vowel and not followed by another vowel (hear, hard, cord, etc.). He said there was considerable evidence that the pronounced r in such cases, in some parts of the country, particularly Ohio and vicinity, was a later development from an earlier stage represented now in New and Old England. In New England, for example, words with older final r, like here, there, father, had each two pronunciations depending on the beginning of the next word when closely connected in pronunciation \ one with the r {here is, thei'e are, father or mother), the other without a
226 DIALECT NOTES.
real r (here she comes, there goes). One of these two forms might have become exclusively used, the other being lost. Or the r might be in part artificial, due to the spelling and the influence of the dictionaries and the school teachers. It could not be assumed as certain that the pronounced r was a retention of the earlier English pronunciation.
Mr. Grandgent thought that this r, when more retracted than the ordinary initial r, was probably of artificial origin, and instanced a case where he had been able to observe the pronun- ciation of three generations of the same family, the last having a pronounced r in such cases, while the first did not have it. He mentioned also a book of near the close of the last century, which gave, in a list of words pronounced alike but spelt differently,/ws^ and first, and also hxist and hurst. As another case of artificial influence, he mentioned that while usually in New England words like ask, pass are pronounced with a, yet nearly all the children in the Boston schools now say cesk, pees, etc., probably on account of the dictionary pronunciations taught them by grammar school teachers.
Mr. Babbitt said the y-\ike pronunciation of r (in words like first) common in New York City and vicinity was certainly an American development ; and this reminded Mr. Grandgent that the same peculiar sound for r had been reported to him from Western South Carolina.
Mr. Chamberlain said that after about two years passed in Worcester, Mass., he found himself losing the r in such words as those mentioned. Personal pronunciations (and vocabularies) such as were given in Part II of " Dialect Notes " were inter- esting and desirable.
Professor E. M. Brown said that the rapid collection of differ- ent pronunciations is difficult, there are so few who can notice pronunciations and record them correctly.
The President said that we needed not pronunciations only, but should collect words and meanings of words, and the sooner the better. The literature, and particularly the theological liter- ature, of the Elizabethan age might throw light on American usages. The word near, in the sense of ^ close in money matters,' ' stingy,' was used in older English, neerenes (i.e. nearness — of the nobility) occurring in the Third Blast of Retrait from Plates^ etc., p. 133 (anno 1580. In Hazlitt's English Drama and Stage, etc., Koxburghe Library, 1869).
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY. 227
Mr. Chamberlain mentioned this use of near, and the word nash, ' dainty/ as familiar to him. He mentioned also two-handed in the sense of ' awkward ' — " don't be such a two-handed boy '' — as known in Warwickshire. The President spoke of sottth meaning Heft' in south paw, a left-handed base-ball pitcher,- south-handed had been mentioned to him by Englishmen.
On account of the lateness of the hour, it being about half-past ten, the meeting then adjourned,
E. S. SHELDON.
Suggestions of subjects to be discussed at the annual meeting of 1892 are invited from all members of the Society. They should be received early enough to be considered, so that notice of one or more such subjects may be given with the call for the meeting.
DIALECT NOTES.
PART Y.
KENTUCKY WORDS. I. Peculiar Words and Usages.
beatenest : not to be beaten (in the superlative). " He is the beatenest man I ever saw." " That is the beatenest trick I ever heard of."
bein* as (bins). " Bein's it's you, I will take a dollar for it." [Also in New England ; but the pronunciation is binz. Is it really bins in Kentucky ? In Michigan bidn dz. Cf. Bartlett, s.v. being.']
bent : the timbers of one side of a barn as they stand framed together. [Not in Murray ; cf. the Century dictionary and Webster's International dictionary for this sense.]
bit. " To get bit" : to be cheated in making a purchase. [Also in New England and Michigan.]
bobbee (bobi). See Webster, baubee^ bawbee. [The definition there is a half-penny, a sense which does not have a clear meaning in this country ; cf. Bartlett, s.v. cent.']
brash (brtej) : pert. "He is too brash." [Cf. Murray, s.v. brash, adj. ,2 and Century dictionary.]
bread and butter, come to supper. In the game of "hiding the switch" this is the call to hunt the switch.
chinches : bedbugs. [See Murray and Century dictionary.] " The chinches like to eat [:= nearly ate] me up in that hotel."
confab, n. As in Webster. [Murray and Century dictionary give a verb also ; is it used anywhere in this country ?]
conostogas (konastogiz) : brogans. [In Michigan stogies. Cf. p. 237.]
cut out. " He cut me out of my girl." [Universal ? In New England rather icith than of, or, as in Michigan, simply " he cut me out."]
dare (daea). Children in quarrelling say, "I dare you," "I dog dare you," "I black dog dare you," "I double dog dare you," "I double black dog dare you." [In Michigan dare and double dare. ]
doin's (duinz) : entertainment. "What kind o' doins are you goin' to have at your house ? " [Vulgar in Michigan. ]
doodle bugs. See Bartlett [who gives it only for Louisiana].
229
230 DIALECT NOTES,
dry grins : the smiles of one teased.
fix. ''Out of fix" = out of health, out of humor, out of almost any normal condition of body or mind. [Also known in Michigan.]
frog-sticker : the old blunt-pointed Barlow pocket-knife bought for chil- dren. Schoolboys say, " Loan me your frog-sticker.''''
funked : rotten. Used only of tobacco : funked tobacco.
gallows (gsel^s) : suspenders [pi. ? or sing, goelas, pi. gcehsiz, as else- where?] "A o ne-g alius'' d fellow" is a worthless man. In the sense of 'gibbet' the pronunciation is gcel'ez [in Michigan gceloz].
good. "For good and always" = forever. [Cf. ordinary English for good and a/Z.]
groun* y (grauni). " Groun' y coffee."
hand-gallop (hsengsel-Bp) : hurry. " He went in a han'-gallop."
hard-run. To be hard run is to lack money and the comforts of life.
heeled. To be heeled = to be prepared for an undertaking. [So to be irell heeled, Massachusetts.]
hiding the switch (haidin switj*). This is the name of a game.
hind-sights. See socks, p. 232.
honey-fuggle (hEuif'Bgl). See Bartlett.
jewlarky (d3ulaki) : sweetheart. " I'm going to see my jewlarky."
jower (d3aua) : to quarrel. " They jowered ever so long."
june-in' (d3unin) : running fast. " She came a-june-in'." An onomato- poetic word, from the humming noise made by what we call June-bugs. They are the bronze-coated beetles that children catch to tie long strings to their legs to hold them while they hum in their efforts to fly away. [The name June-bug is probably known all over the Northern states.]
kitin' (kaitin) : moving rapidly. "To go a-kitin." [kite, v., in this sense is known also in New England and Michigan. Cf. Bartlett, s.v. kite, skite.]
knee high to a duck : very short. [Bartlett gives four other similar jocular expressions, — knee high to a mosquito, to a grasshopper, to a toad, to a chaw of tobacker. The second of these he assigns to Maryland, the third to New England ; but at least the second is also known in New Eng- land.]
lay. " I lay you'll catch it," same as " I 'low you'll catch it" and " I'll be bound you'll catch it." [Is this use of lay (= bet), nearly or quite obso- lete in book-English, with a dependent clause and no noun as object, com- mon elsewhere ?]
lay. " To see how the land lays (lies) " = to understand things.
lay off: to intend. " I laid off to tell him."
level : levy. "To level on one's property."
licks. "To mend one's licks" = to quicken one's steps. "When the dog got after me, I mended my licks."
lift. "On the lift" = convalescent. "He is on the lift." [Cf. on the mend, on the mending hand, pp. 19, 78, 217.]
make up. Referring to something planned, it is asked, " When did you all make that up ? "
mind out. See the example under word with the bark on it, p. 233.
KENTUCKY WORDS. 231
muley cow : cow without horns. [Cf. Bartlett. Is the first syllable pro- nounced myu or mu ? The latter is the pronunciation marked in Webster's International dictionary and the one used in Michigan,]
po'. " To put up a po' mouth " = to plead poverty.
pullikins : a dentist's forceps.
punish : to suffer. "I punished so in my new shoes,"
quiled up (kwaild) : coiled up. [The pronunciation looks analogous to that in other words with ai and oi (cf. jine = joiu, p, 68) in Kentucky and elsewhere, and the qu (kw) by the side of c (k) suggests the same variation in spelling in other words, as in coit and quoit, coif and quoif, coin and quoin, and other cases. Apparently the phenomenon is due to labialization of the initial consonant under the influence of the following rounded vowel, analogous to p:nglish dialect forms with wh instead of h (whoame = home), Cf. the note on huckleberry, p. 74, and quirl = curl, p. 75, These spellings with qu occur from the sixteenth century on ; see the words in Murray, so far as they occur, — E. S. S. Cf. also the initial 2c of one.—G. H.]
rain seeds : the clouds that make the mackerel sky.
red: a red cent. See Bartlett, s.v. nary red, red {cent). [Perhaps still in general use ; but when now used does it not mean simply a cent, not a red cent ?]
rig : to tell a joke on. " He rigged him good." Also as a noun : " he got. a rig on him,"
sand. "To raise sand" is slang for to get furiously angry, the same as "to raise Cain." [2'o raise Cain means in New England and Michigan to " cari^ on " noisily, whether from anger or not.]
sass: sauce (impertinence), also as a verb. See Bartlett and the diction- aries.
sassy (saesi) : saucy. See Bartlett and the dictionaries.
[In New England the uneducated pronunciation is generally sasi, or per- haps scesi ; in Michigan the vowel is vulgarly cb, otherwise o. ]
segashuate. "How duz yo' symtums seem ter segashuate ? " [also in J. C. Harris, Uncle Bemus, 1881, p. 24] = how do you do? [See the inter- esting notes on sagatiate, segashuate, in Joum. Amer. Folk-Lore, III, 64,. 311.]
setfast (setfaest) : the knot on the horse's back made by the saddle.
shank. " To'ds de shank o' de evenin' " (touds di Jaenk [Jaeqk ?] 'b [a ?] di ivnin) = late in the afternoon, A negro phrase, [Cf. jest the edge o' the evenin''. New England,]
sharply, " Right sharply " = pretty well, " He did right shai-ply,"
shindig (Jindig) : a dance or party. See Bartlett. [Also in Michigan,]
sight unseen. To trade knives sight unseen is to swap without seeing each other's knife, [unsight unseen in New lingland and Michigan.]
skeet (skit) : skate, [Which sense is meant ?]
skoot (skut). To skoot away is to disappear suddenly. [Apparently = scoot in Bartlett ; in New England and Michigan pronounced skUt^.
skrieky (skriki) : creaky. [Cf. screak in the dictionaries.]
skunked : beaten in a game without having made a single point, "white- washed." See Bartlett and Century dictionary. [Also in New England.]
232 DIALECT NOTES.
slanchindicular (slsent/indikele). See slantendicular in Bartlett. [The accent is probably on the third syllable.]
smack dab (siupek daeb) : exactly [?]. "He hit him smack dab in the mouth."
socks. To "knock the socks off" is to whip one thoroughly ; the same as to "knock one's hindsights off."
soon (sun): shrewd. "He is a soon man." "He is a sooner." [Is the word sooner here a comparative, or does the second example (also heard at Saginaw, Mich. — (i. H. ) mean the same thing as the first one, and is the ending -er added somewhat as in goner (see Bartlett)?]
souse (sauz) : to plunge, to stick in. " Souse a pin into him."
sparkin': courting. " To go sparkin'." " What girl were you sparkin' last Sunday ? " [Cf. Bartlett, who does not mention the use with a personal object. It is common in New England and Michigan.]
spit. "The ve'y spit an' image o' him" = the exact image of him. ["He's the spit of his father," or a similar phrase, has been reported for New England, perhaps only from Irish speakers of English. Cf. also J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus, 1881, pp. 82, 91.]
split tlie difference. "I'll give you twenty cents for your knife." "I'll take thirty for it." They split the difference, makipg the price twenty- five cents. [Also in New England and Michigan.]
spludge. "To cut a spludge." See cut a splurge in Bartlett.
spunk: i)unk. Figuratively, 'pluck.' "He's got a heap o' spunk.'''' [Both these meanings are in the dictionaries, but in the dialect familiar to me, in Maine, spunk has only the second meaning, and the word for the first meaning was punk. Does punk anywhere have both senses, and does spunk regularly have both ? — E. S. S.]
squeaky : creaky. [Also in New England and Michigan.]
squench (skwentj) : quench. [Also in Michigan.]
squinch (skwintj) : squint. " He s^winc/ies his eyes." [Cf. squinch up ''isself= draws himself together, cowers, in C. C. Jones, Negro Myths from the Georgia Coast, 1888, p. 4.]
squinch-owl. Sometimes for screech-owl.
stand. " To stand one up and down " = to contend vehemently. " She stood me up and down that I was mistaken."
staviu' (stevin) : very [also in Michigan]. " That is a stavin' fine horse." Cf. Bartlett [who defuies it only as 'great,' 'strong.' Both uses are known in New England].
suck-egg. A suck-egg dog is a superlatively mean dog. " He is as mean as a suck-egg dog.''''
sugar-tit (Jugatit) : sugar-teat. Sugar tied up in a piece of cotton cloth for the fretful child to suck. [Also in New England and Michigan.]
swivet (swivit). Cf. Bartlett, s.v. sweat, in the addenda. "Don't be in such a swivet.'''' [An etymological connection with siceat seems out of the question.] ,
tads (taedz) : children. "She had three little tads.'" [See Bartlett, who gives also old tads = old men. Cf. little toad as a term of endearment in New England and Michigan.]
KENTUCKY WORDS. 233
tailor : to ' skunk ' [see skunked, p. 231] . " We tailored them." [Any connection with the German use of Schneider?']
tan his jacket : to whip him (a boy). [Also in New England.]
tlirow up. "To throw up one's socks" = to vomit vehemently and copiously.
tobookit (tabukit [the accent is presumably on the second syllable]). A child's imitation of the sound of the gallop of a horse.
toes. To "turn one's toes out to grass" is said of children when they first go barefoot in spring.
wasliin*. To go in washin' = to go in bathing. [The only New England vernacular phrase is to go in szoimwu'w'.]
wliere ... at. " Where is it at ? " [Also Missouri, Ohio, and Baltimore, Md. Not used in New England or Michigan. ]
widow-man : widower.
widow-woman : widow. [Also New England and Michigan.]
word witli tlie bark on it. For emphasis. "That is the word with the bark on it ; you better mind out."
yeller janders (yela dSsendaz) : jaundice.
II. Pkonuxciatioxs axd Grammatical Points.
borned : born. Used by illiterate persons. " He was horned in 1852."
bulge (buld3).
bulk (bulk). [Cf. p. 238.]
cupola (kyupal-o[-6?]). [Cf. fistula, scrofula, in this list, kyupdlou or -o, with the accent on the first syllable, is common in New England and Michigan. Cf. Bartlett, s.v. cupalo.]
cure (kyour). [Is the r really pronounced?]
druggy (dregi) : dreggy.
fistula (fistyai-o[-6?]).
flatform. Sometimes used for platform.
further (f-eSa).
fuss. Sometimes pronounced fes.
gather (gye^a). [Often in Michigan ; so 'gethers,' in sewing. — G. H.]
gear up (gye up) : to harness. [Cf. Part II., p. 76.]
hilt or helt : for held. " He hilt 'im fast."
hurricane (hgeriken).
len'th (len)?). [Also in New England, as well as the similar form stren\> = strength. Occasional in Michigan.]
less go (les go) : let's go. [Also very common in New England and Michigan, where let's is hardly used except as a result of education.]
pillow pronounced like pillar, as pild. [Common everywhere ?]
rat terrier (raet tearia). [In New England the second word is pronounced teriB.]
rear up (rea «p). " The colt reared up." [In New England also rear in this sense is often red or rcea, but before op an r is heard : r(^(9)r vp.]
screech-owl (skritj aul).
234 DIALECT NOTES.
scrofula (skrofyul-o[-6?]).
skint or skunt : skinned. " He skunt [pronounced sk^nt ?] his hand."
start-naked : stark naked. " He is a start-naked villain." [An interest- ing retention of the old form ; see Skeat's Etymological dictionary. Mr. A. W. Long, of North Carolina, reports that he never heard any other form than start-naked used in conversation in that state ; and that two of his friends — one from Virginia, the other from South Carolina — make the same statement for those two states. The Century dictionary, s.v. stark-naked, refers to stark^ adv. , and to start-naked, but the latter word is not in the book. ]
together. Often pronounced ttygcetid. [» in the first syllable, or » ? The accent is doubtless on the second syllable.]
trivet. In slave times pronounced by negroes and children trihit.
trompled on (tromp^ld) : trampled on. [A vowel » in the second sylla- ble is surprising : in New England, at least, the second syllable is pld ; never pt)ld, nor even pdld. The vowel of the first syllable is probably often o, or perhaps even o, in New England ; as in tromp = tramp, stomp = stamp.^
want for wasnH. "He wa'n't there." [Common in New England, Michigan, and doubtless elsewhere, with the pronunciation icont. See B. I. Wheeler, Analogy and the Scope of its Application in Language, 1887, p. 24.]
wasp nest (wos nes).
where 'bouts : whereabouts. [Common in New England, Michigan, and doubtless elsewhere.]
yeast (ist). [So occasionally in Michigan. — G. H.]
III. Words mentioned in Part II. The following words mentioned in Part II are used here also : —
Pp. 60, 61, 62, 63. allerickstix ; the pronunciation of Auburn [but the r is surely not pronounced ; this must mean that Orhurn and Auburn repre- sent in Kentucky the same thing, — the first syllable being y, or perhaps od~\ ; cake [this use is perhaps known all over the country] ; chuck (also chug) ; do-less, drag [the pret. drug is doubtless meant] ; Gee w^hiz, Gee Whit- taker, hellion, honey, kid, scasely, scrouge, slouch ("he's no slouch"), slough [apparently pronounced slil or sleu], wapper-jawed, whack ("my liver is out o' whack "), wrench (rentj : " did she rench the clothes ? ").
Pp. 69, 70. afeared, bed-fast, fish-fry, gaum, noggin, onliest (" that's the onliest one there"), some, turn.
Pp. 71, 72. All of Professor Pearce's pronunciations I find here.
Pp. 72, 73, 74, 75. bif ("hit 'im a biff," also "hit 'im a clip " [this latter word is used likewise in New England], complected, copper, get [appa- rently I got it = I have it, is meant], jigger, led, lickerish, lozenger, mind [doubtless in "if he was a mind to"], mushnielon, mushrat, ou, ouch, pee-pee (=a small turkey), quate, quirl, recess [of course the accent is the point], secont, slicker, spludge.
P. 76. sad, gear, banty. JOHN P. FRUIT.
Bethel College, Ruesellville, Ky.
NOTES FROM MISSOURI. 235
NOTES FROM MISSOURI.
These brief notes are compiled from my remembrance of the rustic dialect in Jackson County, Mo., and have been substan- tiated by recent examination. I hope to make later a more extended study of this dialect and to outline in a systematic way its peculiarities, a few of which may be inferred from these scat- tered notes.
I. Peculiar Words and Usages.
banter: to dare. A boy will say, "I'll banter you to dive from that bank." Used also as a noun. [Cf. Bartlett.]
bat (bset). "To bat the ears" is said of the action of a rabbit or other animal when it lays its ears close to the body. Kansas City, Mo. A man originally from Ohio, who had lived twenty years or more in central Kansas, tells me that in both places he has been familiar with the expression hat the eyes, used of the quick action of the lids when one tastes sharp vinegar. [See for this sense Murray, s.r.] He did not know the other sense, nor had I ever heard this latter.
belly-buster. Boys always use this word for coasting face downwards on their sleds. To coast sidewise, with the left leg slightly folded under the body, is called lady-fashion. [Cf. belly-whacker. Dialect Notes, Ft. IV, p. 214.]
belt. Very common for hlow^i in the expression, "Hit him a &eZ<." Kansas City, Mo. [The verb to belt is used in New England ; see also Mur- ray, s.v. belt, v.^
bit : twelve and a half cents. General in phrases such as four bits, six bits, etc. [Introduced into northern Michigan by the miners. — G. H. ]
booger (buggr) used in the sense already reported ; see boogie. Ft. IV, p. 214. [Mcgdr, mucus in nose, in Michigan is only used playfully in speak- ing to or of a baby or small child. — G. H. ]
butternuts. The popular name for overalls of a butternut brown. To this day the natives in country neighborhoods so hate blue that they will not wear overalls of this color. Kansas City, Mo.
cahoot. A favorite word in the phrase, "The whole cahoot" = "the whole lot of them." Kansas City. [Cf. cahoot in the Century dictionary.]
cellar-way. Bulkhead and cellar-case (cf. p. 18, Ft. I) are unknown. Instead cellar-way is used. The word also applies to an entrance from within the house. Kansas City. [So in Michigan. —G. H.]
charivari. Pronounced ^ivar-i in the well-known sense sufficiently illus- trated in Murray and the Century dictionary. [Cf . Emerson, Ithaca Dialect, §146, p. 158 above.]
236 DIALECT NOTES.
chirk up : cheer up. Frequent. Cf. Bartlett.
cinch (sintj) : to pull a saddle-girth tight. Kansas City. I have heard of this word in New Mexico and Colorado, as well as in Kansas. It may- well have been brought from New Mexico by the "prairie schooners," which had Kansas City and vicinity for their eastern terminus. To get a cinch on a person = to get a 'â– ' bind^'''' a hold, on him. There is a game of cards called cinch. Can this be meant for Fr. cinq? [Cf. Ft. II, p. 60; Ft. IV, p. 196.]
dumpy. Very common in the sense of heavy, stupid, as of a chicken with some disease. Kansas City.
gee : to suit. " They don't gee worth a cent " = they don't get along well together. Kansas City. Probably from the ox-call. [Cf. Century dic- tionary. ]
gumbo. Gumbo is a name given in Kansas, Missouri, and Indian Terri- tory, perhaps elsewhere also, to a hard, tough soil underlying the good soil. Gumbo can scarcely be plowed through at all, and is called a sure sign of poor soil. I have heard it also called hard-pan.
gump(y). Both gumpy and gump are heard ; = stupid dunce, awkward creature. Kansas City.
hl-spy. This is the name given by little girls to out-door hide-and-go- seek. I cannot remember having heard the word used of the in-door game. [In New England the game (not confined to girls !) is variously called / spy, hi spy, hi-spry (Cape Cod), hide and (go) seek, hide and whoop.'\
hoolcey. ' To play hookey ' for to play truant is universal. Kansas City. [See hookey. Ft. IV, p. 216.]
jell : to jelly. The usual verb in Kansas City is to jell. [So in Michi^ gan.— G. H. Cf. R. II, p. 78.]
jiggle = joggle. [Both words are common in Michigan. — G. H.]
johnnies. A popular name for violets. Also used in Michigan.
king's ex (cf. p. 65) : a call used by children to stop a game for a mo- ment ; = our call of time in baseball, etc. Cf. barley's out, p. 60.
kitty-corner (kiti) (cf. p. 8) = to cut oft" a comer by going across lots. In the Chicago Inter-Ocean for March 10, 1892, p. 1, the word is spelled catty -corner. Has this use been influenced by ctit a corner?
lam. " Lam him one over the head," " give him a lam," = hit him once. Kansas City. [So in Michigan. — G. H. The verb is well known ; see the dictionaries. ]
lickity-split and full-split : at full speed. Kansas City. [lickity- split and lickity-cut in Michigan (G. H.) and New England; slipity-licksty has been heard from natives of Foughkeepsie, N.Y. Cf. like split in Bart- lett.]
like. I like to = 1 came very near ; as in " 7 like to died laughing." Cf. used to and wished in this list. [So in Michigan (G. H.) and New Eng- land. ]
nut-^rack : nut-cracker. Missouri, Michigan, and some other places.
onery (onari), in the well-known sense (see pp. 65, 217).
ouch. Here, as elsewhere, the exclamation autl is a cry of pain. Kansas City. [So in Michigan. Also German. — G. II. Cf. ou, ouch, p. 74.]
NOTES FROM MISSOURI, 237
plumb : completely. The well-known use ; see Century dictionary and Bartlett. [Familiar to me as a boy in Michigan. — G. H. Not a natural use in New England.]
pufilg, see suke.
skiff. 'Canoe' is almost purely literary. Its place is taken by 'skiff.' Kansas City.
smack. " Go smack and do it," said to children, = go at once. Kansas City.
sock it to him = "give it to him without mercy," "hit him hard," " let him have it. [Vulgar in Michigan. — G. H. Cf. p. 75.]
stake and rider. In building a rail fence, these are the pieces which are not horizontal, but act as leaning supports. Kansas City.
steboy (stib-oi) : used in driving pigs. Sui, pronounced very rapidly, is also used. The same word with its u much prolonged is often used in calling pigs. Perhaps the usual cry in driving stock, especially cows, is 7ii there. Cf . suke. Kansas City.
stogies (stogiz) : coarse, rough shoes- or boots ; also cheap cigars. [Cf. conostogas, p. 229, and Bartlett, s.v. Conestoga wagon.'\
suke. Cows are often called by the word silk or suki (Kansas City). A general feed-call, often heard in the evening and not restricted to pigs, as might appear, is puuig. The u is given the length of two or three syllables. The ig often approximates to a surprising degree the German -ig in lief tig ^ etc. *Cf. steboy.
that-a-way : in that way or manner. Kansas City. A fixed phrase is " I wouldn't go along thet-a-way, if I was you."
used to (yuz ta). "I use to go there often," referring to past time. Use to could is often heard. [So in Michigan (G. H.) and New England; cf. p. 69.J
II. Pronunciations and Grammatical Points.
across. Usually dkrost. [Common in Michigan (G. H.) and in New Eng- land also.]
adept. See crept.
arctics (artiks) : meaning 'overshoes.' [So in Michigan, but the word is restricted to such as cover the ankles. — G. H. In New England atiks is com- mon; the adjective is atik.']
asked (sest). \_aist — 'asked' is almost universal in Michigan ; but mst — ' ask ' is rare. — G. H, ast = ' asked ' is common in New England. Cf . pp. 6,37, 122 (§73,1,3).]
asphalt. Often, if not generally, in Kansas City cesfelt. [Common in Michigan. — G. H.]
ate. Almost universally et, and so often in the past participle. [Occa- sional in Michigan. — G. H. Is not et an accepted pronunciation, at least when the past tense is spelt eat? Cf. the New English dictionary.]
aught. People in Kansas City almost invariably say aught for naught, 200 would be read, tu ot ot. [Cf. New York Nation, Feb. 25, 1892, p. 149. This is also common in New England. ]
238 DIALECT NOTES.
baptist. I know at least one large family in Kansas City, all the branches of which say babdist, and I think this pronunciation is found more genemlly. This same group of families also say debudi for 'deputy,' deb\> for 'depth,' debydt-eldn for 'deputation.'
been. The pronunciation ben is common ; I have also heard it in Frank- lin County, N.Y. [Common in New England.]
bleating. Generally blcetir] in Kansas City.
bob (bob). Kansas City.
bog. This and all similar words, as do(j^ hog^ etc. , are pronounced 63^/, dog, etc. [Also common in New England. Cf. p. 72.]
boggy. I heard a man from central Kansas pronounce this word exactly like buggy. He used the word half a dozen times, hence I can have made no mistake. The same man said bog.
bulk. Both biflk and bnlk are heard in Kansas City. [Bulk accords with the rule for u between labial and I ; cf . Sweet, History of English Sounds, p. 320. — G. H. Cf . also the pronunciations buldZ and bulk for bulge and bulk, p. 233.]
calm. Generally kcem. I have heard the same pronunciation in central Kansas. Cf. psalm.
cartridge (kaetridS). Cf. partridge [and p. 6].
catch. Almost universally keti in Kansas City. [Common in New Eng- land. Cf. p. 6.]
cement (sim-ent). [Both noun and verb are generally sim-ent in Michi- gan. — G. H. So in New England. ]
climb. The preterite is often klini. I have also heard klom, but the usual form is klvm. [Both klim and klvm are common in New England.]
closter. "Come closter " is very frequent in Kansas City for 'come closer.' [Is the pronunciation klostdr? The positive kloust and the compar- ative klousta can both be heard in New England, I think. — E. S. S.]
congregation. Generally koT)grigeldn. [The accent is presumably on the /5.]
creek. Always ^riX' in Kansas City. [So in Michigan. — G. H. Proba- bly "known all over the country.]
crept. In crept, adept, slept, kept, swept, wept, the t is generally left off in Kansas City. [So in New England, except perhaps in the unpopular adept, and possibly in wept, which is not universally popular. ]
cupola. Universally kiupdlo. [Cf. p. 233.]
Daniel. This name is pronounced in Kansas City both dcenyel and dcenl [as in New England, where, however, a third pronunciation dcenil or -el is also known]. Similarly Nathaniel.
depth, deputation, deputy. See baptist.
egg. The natives seem to pronounce eg ; eg prevails in the city (Kansas City). [Cf. p. 6. In New England eg or eig is common.]
faucet. Always pronounced foesit in Kansas City. [Both ce and 0 in Michigan (G. H.) and in New England.]
forge and forgery both have in Kansas City the vowel of for. [So in Michigan. — G. H. ]
from (frem), even hi stressed positions.
NOTES FROM MISSOURI. 239
fur side. Very frequent f or ' further side ' in Kansas City.
gape: to yawn. UniversjOly pronounced gcep in Kansas City. [So in Michigan (G. H.) and not unknown in New England.]
get. In the great majority of cases called gii in Kansas City. [Common in New England.]
gossamer. I have heard three pronunciations of this in Kansas City : gosamdr, gozdmdr, (jdzamar. [The pronunciation gozdmd is known in New England, as well as gosdmd. ]
grease, v. Pronounced in Kansas City griz, as in the dictionaries. My family brought with them from western New York the sound of s instead of z in this word, and one very oftefl hears this in Kansas City, but almost never in the surrounding country. [Is not z general in the South in the verb and the adjective (greasy) ? My natural pronunciation has s in both. — G. H. In New England s is general in both. Cf . Bartlett. ]
halloo, V. In Kansas City almost always holar. The exclamation is ht)l'd. [So in Michigan. — G. H. Is the word holler (hold in New England) identical with halloo, or are these two different words '?]
haunt. Pronounced by the natives (Kansas City) hoint. Jaunt is d^c^nt. I myself always said hont, etc., but I do not know where I learned it, unless from my family, which came from western New York (Wyoming County). [I have heard only o in Michigan, but ' aunt ' is cent. — G. H. All these words have usually, or at least often, a in New England. ]
het. This is the favorite form in Kansas City instead of heated. A farmer would almost invariably say, for example, of a horse, that it was overhet. [Common in New England.]
hit. Very often pronounced het in Kansas City.
holt = hold, n. The usual word in Kansas City. •' Give me a good holt." [Common among boys in Michigan. — G. H. Tlie sound of the o is o. In New England holt is the noun in very common use.]
hoof. In this and all similar words the native pronunciation (Kansas City) has li. Later settlers have of course [?] introduced w. [In Michigan u is usual. — G. H. Cf. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 464-5. My word is hiif. — E. S. S.]
idea. Generally accented on the first syllable in Kansas City. [Is this not general in the South ? — G. H. Cf. pp. 24, 216.]
Kansas. The medial s is sounded in Kansas City either as s or as 2; ; generally z. [z in Michigan (G. H.) and in New England.]
keg. Often pronounced kceg and keg in Kansas City, [kceg represents the older form in standard English. —G. H. Both kceg and keg or keig are common in New England. Cf . egg, leg. ]
kept (kep). See crept.
leg. Very often indeed leg or leig in Kansas City [and New England. Cf. egg, keg].
licorice. Generally likdrij in Kansas City. [In Michigan likrii.—G. H. Cf. p. 74.]
lief. Children on the street (Kansas City) in time of snowballs cry to the passers, " Give me a lief ? " = " permission to throw at you." [Common in Michigan in similar cases. —G. H. Also in New England.]
240 DIALECT NOTES.
lin. A popular shortening of linden in Kansas City ; also called hass.
loam (Ifim). Kansas City [and New England].
loft. In this and all similar words the vowel is o in Kansas City. Cf . bog. [Also known in New England.]
ma. The native pronunciation in Kansas City for ma (= mother) is mj. The same is true of pa. [So in southern Indiana. — G. H. Cf. p. 68.]
men. In Kansas City I have heard many say min who were not of Irish or other foreign birth or immediate descent.
Methodist. One occasionally hears in Kansas City & in this word, and the final t is often omitted.
Missouri. Three pronunciations are heard in Kansas City, which I give in the order of frequency of use : miz-uri, miz-uvB^ mis-ura. The first is the favorite with the natives [and is usual in Michigan (G. H.) and New Eng- land] .
mucli. Many words, such as much, such, touch, are in Kansas City very frequently pronounced met^, etc. [Cf. p. 6.]
nalced. Among the people (in Kansas City) it is generally nekid. [Cf. p. 41.]
nape. Almost universally ncep in Kansas City. [So in New England.]
Oliio. The every-day pronunciation in Kansas City is ahaia [of course accented on the second syllable. This is also known in New England. Cf. p. 17].
pa. See ma.
partridge (p8etrid3). [Cf. cartridge.]
pert. Pronounced by natives (in Kansas City) pirt. [I find that most Southerners understand by pirt, or rather piat, 'well' or 'chipper,' and to those that know ' pert ' it has its usual meaning ; but to many it is only a book- word. — G. II.]
psalm. Generally seem.
pumpkin. Always j9»r)^m in Kansas. [Very common in Michigan. Why less "correct" than hcer^kartlif ? — G. H. Probably the natural pronuncia- tion everywhere.]
purslain or pursly [?] (p^sli). [push is all but universal in Michigan (G. H.) and New England.]
pursy (p'Bsi). Cf. purslain, above. [p»si is general in Michigan, but is not considered a fine word. — G, H. Also common in New England.]
put (p-Bt). In Kansas City very often made a perfect rhyme for but, cut. [So in New England often.]
quinine (kwainain). [Almost universal in Michigan now; kwin-m and kdn-in were foimerly common. — G. H. All three may be heard in New England, but the word has hardly become popular. ]
quoit. Generally kwet in Kansas City. I am not sure that I ever heard any other pronunciation. [Cf. quate, p. 218.]
really. Among the natives in Kansas City rili. [Occasionally so in Michigan. — G. H. ]
reservoir. Pronounced in Kansas City rezdt'voi. I have heard this in Concord, N.H., and in Cambridge, Mass., also at Ann Arbor, Mich. [I once
NOTES FROM MISSOURI, 241
heard the popular perversion razor-boiler at Saginaw, Mich. — G. H. The pronunciation intended above for tlie places in New England is probably rezdvoi ; this can often be heard in Cambridge. ]
rinse. Generally reus in Kansas City. I have also heard rentl. [Both are known in Michigan, but regarded as vulgar. — G. H. Cf. wrench, pp. 63, 234.]
roily. The form rily [pronounced raili?'] is alone in use. [Is this word in its literal sense (rily water, etc. ) in use anywhere in the South ? I have failed to find it south of Indianapolis. — G. H. The forms roi7, roily, in any sense are perhaps practically never used in New England. ]
route. All but universally raut in Kansas City, {raut is yielding to rut in Michigan. — G. H. Both are used in New England.]
sarsaparilla (ssesprilg). ' [In Michigan s(£s(d)pr-ila. — G. H. Is not the accent on the i ?]
second. In general with t at the end, instead of d, in Kansas City and some other places. [Cf. p. 75.]
shafts. Often called Jeers, an exact rhyme for calves, as pronounced in Missouri.
shut. Very often ^et. [Known also in New England. Cf. p. 0.] since. In Kansas City very often pronounced like seiise (sens). Cf. rinse. [So in New England. ]
slaliLed. In slaked lime this word is always pronounced just like slacked, or rather like slack : sleek laim. [So in Michigan. — G. H. In New Eng- land the verb is slaek, but sleek as the participle is not certain.]
sleazy (slezi). [Also spelt slazy. Is the pronunciation slizi common anywhere ?]
slept. See crept.
slough. In Kansas City, as also in Michigan, pronounced slil. I think this is the word generally written slew in the phrase "a slew of them" = a great many. [In Michigan the pronunciation slau = mire, slu = great <iuantity. — G. H. Cf. p. 218, the two pronunciations in Webster's Interna- tional dictionary, and sloo, slue in Bartlett.]
soda. Always sodi in Kansas City. [Common in New England. Is it unknown anywhere ?]
stirrup (ster^p). Universarin Kansas City. The same sound [e] is always given in squirrel and syrup. [In Michigan stevdp. — G. H. In New England e can probably be heard in all three words. Cf. p. 218 and Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 85.] such. See much.
sure. The popular pronunciation in Kansas City among the natives is lor. [Is not the u of this word generally lowered to o in the South ? — G. H. Cf. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 87.]
swam. The usual preterite is 'swum,' pronounced swmn [which is very common in New England] . swept. See crept, syrup. See stirrup.
tassel. Generally tosdl or tos9l in Kansas City. [In Michigan tosl and t(Ksl. — G. H. New England agrees with Michigan. ]
242 DIALECT NOTES.
teat (tit). Kansas City, universally. [So in Michigan. — (J. H. Also in New England. Cf. sugar-tit, p. 232.]
terrible. In Kansas City terabal in the popular pronunciation. [Is there really a vowel before I ? The e in the first syllable is doubtless common in New England. Cf. stirrup, in this list.]
that. Often pronounced t!et in Kansas City [and New England]. " What's thettoyou?"
thrash. The form thresh is not in use in Kansas City. [So in Michigan. — G. 11. Cf. p. 219.]
Tom (tom). Kansas City.
touch. See much.
tract. The final t is generally dropped.
tremendous. Often heard as trimendZos [accent on e ?] in Kansas City. [Probably known elsewhere.]
trestle (tr-esal). [So in Michigan. — G. II. In New England perhaps trusl. ]
until. Popularly called mit-el in Kansas City.
want. In Kansas City one often hears '' what do you whunt ( = hwent) ? "
was. Almost the only form of the verb in the past tense, which runs ; / icas, you ivas, he was, we loas, etc. You was is perhaps more frequent than you were, and is by no means confined to the country. Was is pronounced WDZ [originally only the weak form. You was is still common among edu- cated people in Michigan. Cf. the Nation, March 10, 1892, p. 191. It is the regular construction in Colman's Terence, 1768. — G. H.]. '
well (wsel) . Kansas City.
wept. See crept.
wished = a true present tense. "I wished you'd go" = I wish, etc. I have noticed this form elsewhere. [So in Michigan. Is this a contraction of " wish that" ? — G. H. Or is it an imperfect subjunctive ? This use is known also in New England.]
wrestle. Universally pronounced roesl in Kansas City. [So by boys in Michigan. Cf. Skeat. — G. H. Cf. p. 219.]
yes. In Kansas City, as elsewhere [e.g. in New England], often pro- nounced yea. [yea, yoia, and ya&oia are all common in familiar talk in Michi- gan ; yep, yop, and yop are playful. — G. H. Of these at least yep (with an unfinished p) is probably very well known all over the country, j
yolk. Fully four forms of this word are in use in Kansas City: yok, yolk, yolk, yelk (the last also so spelled). Of course the yolk is sometimes called the yellow. [My natural pronunciation is yulk. The primitive yellow is also common in Michigan. — G. H.]
E. L. WEEKS.
Univbbsitv of Michigan.
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 243
ADDENDA TO THE VOCABULARY OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS.^
A FEW of the addenda to this vocabulary are due to the kind- ness of Captain John G. Bourke, U.S.A., to whom I wish to express my thanks.
abra : a narrow pass between mountains ; in Texas, more specifically, a break in a mesa (q.v.) or in a range of hills.
ac^ite : any kind of comestible oil.
acemila : a pack mule. From the Arabic.
acequia (p. 187). Add: The words zdnja, zangero, replace in Arizona acequia and acequiadur (q.v.). From the Arabic.
acequiad6r : the officer in charge of the acequias (q.v.) in a community, who, between planting time and harvest, ranks everybody, even the alcalde (q.v.). Acequiador in Spain is the acequia builder, while acequiero is the officer mentioned above. (Franceson.)
adios : a farewell salutation, — good-bye, adieu.
adobe (p. 187). Under this word add : The forms doby, dobies are found in the Galveston News, April 19, 1892, with the meaning of adobe house(s).
agostad^ro : a tract of open country used as a pasture ; summer pasture. From Agosto, the month of August.
agrito. See algireta for the meaning. Evidently a diminutive of (igrio, sour. Cf. French aigret in IJttr^.
agii^ro : augury, omen. Generally used with buen and mal.
ahijdr, v.t. : to give a young domestic animal — more generally a lamb — a foster-mother. The j has a slight aspirated chuintant sound.
ajol6te. See axolotl.
alacrdn : a scorpion. Different species of the genus scoi'pio, common in Texas and Mexico.
alb^rca (p. 187). Add: Also permanent water hi a canon or barranca. Originally in Spanish, a water basin. From Arabic.
albiir : a game of cards. From Spanish albures, of Arabic origin.
alfildria (p. 187). Add: Also alflleria, evidently from aljilel or alfiler, a pin, the suffix -ia or -ria expressing assemblage, aggregation, — pin grass. From the Arabic.
algir6ta or algereta : a small, red berry ; the fruit of a species of ber- beris not identified, probably identical with the chaparral (q.v.) berry. (Geo- logical Survey of Texas for 1890, p. 485.) The forms algarite, aguirite, and alguiritte have been met with. Probably from the Arabic, though not found in any Spanish dictionary available. See agrito.
1 See Part TV, pp. 185 ff.
244 DIALECT NOTES.
aljibar : a cistern. The Spanish form is aljibe or algibe. From Arabic. For the sound of j, see ahijar.
almiid : a dry measure, one-twelfth of a, fanega (p. 190), about a peck. Also as much as may be sowed with an almud of wheat or com. (Eagle Pass Guide. ) This word is probably of Arabic origin.
dlto : a hill, an eminence, generally without trees.
aniarg6so (p. 187). Add : Used by Mexicans as a remedy for diarrhcea.
ainparo : protection. Specifically, in mining, permission to stop working a mine for a definite period, without forfeiting the concession. (Eagle Pass Guide. )
auacahuita : a small tree of the borage family, often confused with the anaqna (q.v.). Cordia Boissieri (A. DC). Both words from the Mexican anacahuite or amaqumthitl (S.). Sanchez adds: "usada vulgarmente para combatir la tisis. El nombre Mexicano significa Arbol para hacer papel (Amatl, papel, y quauhitl, &rbol 6 madero)."
anaqua: a tree or shrub of the borage family found in southwestern Texas; also known as "knackaway." Ehretia elliptica (DC). See aaaca- huita.
ane6n : a piece of land on the banks of a river, generally in a bend, which is cultivated by irrigation. Very common on the lower Rio Grande. In Spanish the name applies to a small anchorage or roadstead. See Franceson.
afieja : a heifer. Origin obscure.
arddo : plowed land, cultivated land in general. Spanish arada.
ardilla : ground squirrel.
arroyito, arroy6llo : diminutives of arroyo (p. 187).
atajo (p. 187). Add: Also a "bunch" of horses, tame or wild, though more generally the latter. Also a fence or enclosure in the corner of a pasture to stop or gather wild cattle.
aiira : a species of large Mexican vulture, not identified. Black vul- ture (?).
axoldtl or ajolote : Amhlystoma mavortium, Mexican water-lizard. From Mexican atl, water, and xolotl, glutton (S.). This lizard is the object of a great many curious superstitions among the Mexicans. Sanchez says: "su carne es agradable al paladar, y el cocimiento de la piel es usado en la medi- cina vulgar para el tratamiento de la tIsis pulmonar."
ayuddnte : a man temporarily employed on a ranch or hacienda. Span- ish ayudar, to help. Cf . English adjutant. See Skeat.
az6te : a switch, or anything used as a whip.
beld^que (p. 188). Add: Captain Bourke, U.S.A., suggests a popular etymology : he informs me that Mexicans derive the word from Bel Duque, handsome duke, which they say was the brand of a once famous blade of small size. This derivation would not account for the forms verduque and berduque ; besides, the identical form of blade is known in Spain as verdugo.
berr^ndo, fern, -a : a deer, antelope. In southwestern Texas berrendos were found in herds of as many as two hundred. Though hunted down unmercifully, they may still be seen in herds of from ten to twenty. Prob- ably so named on account of its color, berrendearse being used in some
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 245
provinces of Spain of the change in the color of ripening wheat. Salvfi, gives berrendo = "manchado de dos colores." Franceson has berrendo = californische Ziege.
heztigo : a sort of coarse fish, buffalo fish ; see Webster. Spanish besugo, a sort of fish.
bot6n : a button. More specifically in southwestern Texas, a peculiar knot at the end of a rope, or 7'eata (q.v.).
bragu6ro : one of the girths, when two are used (see cincha) ; the one nearer the shoulder is the cincha proper ; the one nearer the hip, the bra- guero. In Spanish, the breeching rope of a gun, to check the recoil.
bras^ro (p. 188). Add: Used also in southwestern Texas for heating purposes during northers.
bridgo: a drunkard. The word is usually employed adjectively with andar, ir, estar^ etc. Spanish briaga^ a rope made of rushes tied round the beam of a wine-press.
b6ey : an ox. This word is used as an exclamation in driving cattle.
cab^stro (p. 188). Add : Often pronounced cabresto. Similar metath- eses are of frequent occurrence.
candelia : bad weather ; cold, wet weather, with rain and sleet, killing sheep and cattle ; a wet norther. The origin of this word is obscure ; it may be related to candela in the Spanish idiom acabarse la candela or estar con la candela en la mano, to be dying. The word implies the notion of dying.
cantina : bar-room ; of frequent use. Often found on signs of Mexican bar-rooms.
caAoncito : a diminutive of canon, a small caiion ; more specifically, in southwestern Texas, an opening in the chajmrral (q.v.) or in the monte (q.v.).
capor&l : overseer, man who directs the work, but does not pay the laborers. See mayordomo.
capiil, -es : a tree or shrub of southwestern Texas, not identified, with small, blackish red or deep yellow edible berries, called capules. See Salvd, capuli.
cdracara : a sort of vulture, probably the typical Mexican eagle, rather than zopildte (p. 195). This word is probably of Mexican origin, though not inS.
cdrga (p. 189). Add : 336 pounds.
cargador : the man in charge of the packs, in a pack train. (See patron.)
carreta : a primitive, two-wheeled cart ; the wheels are generally solid and held together by wooden pins. The creaking noise made by these wheels is altogether unearthly, and may be heard at long distances.
cdscara : bark. More specifically, the dry bark of trees which is used to kindle fires.
catdn : a fresh-water fish of the gar family, growing to a large size. Possibly from Spanish cota, a coat of mail, on account of its scales.
c§ja : eyebrow. In Texas, a long and narrow strip of chaparral (q.v.).
c^lva. See selva.
cenc6rro : leading mule in the pack train, wearing the bell, bell mare. From the Arabic.
246 DIALECT NOTES,
cenizo : a shinib of southern Texas, not identified. Probably from Span- ish ceniza, ashes, the leaves being ash-colored.
cenzdntle or cenz6otIi : mocking-bird, Mimus polyglottus. From the Mexican centzontlatole, four hundred voices (S.). The forms chinchonte {ch as in French) , sinsonte, censontle, are also seen and heard.
c6rda : horse- or cow- hair.
cerilla or cerillo : slender wax taper. Wax match of Mexican manufac- ture, far superior in the way of matches to anything manufactured in the United States.
cerr§ro, fem. -a : wild, unbroken ; applied to horses. From an obsolete Spanish adjective, meaning proud, haughty.
chdpa : a plate of metal, varying in shape and design, — usually of some precious metal, but also of brass and copper, or even of leather, — worn as ornament on the Mexican sombrero. See chaparajo.
chapardjo (p. 189). Add: Also csdled chapareras.
chaparral (p. 189). Add : Also the name of the chaparral cock, or road- runner, Geococcyx Californianus (Less.).
chap6te or zap6te : in Texas, a shrub or tree of the ebony family, Mexi- can persimmon. The fruit, smaller than the common persimmon, is quite as astringent when green and as sweet when ripe. It is also called black per- simmon, and stains black everything it touches. It is used by Mexicans to dye sheepskins by boiling. Diospyros Texana (Scheele). From the Mexican zapote, tzapotl (S.). The Mexicans designate by this name a variety of fruits which have nothing in common, but that they are all edible : Lucuma salicifolia (Kunth.), Diospyros ohtusifolia (Willd.), Casimiroa edulis (La Llave), Achras sapota (?) (L.), Mammea americana (L.).
chaqu6ta : a jacket ; more specifically in Texas, a jacket made of leather or very heavy cloth, worn by cowboys as a protection against thorns of the chaparral (q.v.).
chdrco (p. 189). Add: Also, sometimes, a bold spring, generally gush- ing fo^th from a ledge of rocks.
chichdrra : harvest fly, Cicada spumaria.
chicharron : crackles ; bacon left in the pan after it is fried.
chicote : a long whip with a wooden handle, used by cowboys in driving cattle. In Spanish, a rope end.
chiltapin : bird-pepper ; a shrubby plant of the nightshade family, with yellowish or red berries, used by Mexicans as a condiment. Capsicum bac- cattim (L.). From the Mexican cM^ecpm (S.).
chlvArro, -s (p. 189 ; not chivaro, -s). Add : Also chivarra, -s.
clcatriz : a scar, generally on a head of cattle or a horse.
clmarr6n or siinarr6n ; wild, speaking of plants. Also used as a noun for shy, bashful children. See Salvd.
cincha (p. 189). Add : More specifically, the girth nearer the shoulders of the horse ; see braguero. The form cinche is also common, and the mas- culine form cincho is also used. In Spain this form applies to a broad leather girdle worn by the peasants. See Franceson. . .
comdl (p. 189). Add: Also the name of a round, black berry, with a taste somewhat resembling our whortleberry ; oftener spelled comd.
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 247
comino (p. 189). Add: The form camino is also used in Texas. Also cumin, cumin seed, often used as a condiment (the Spanish comino), of course a different word.
con6jo : a rabbit, " cotton tail."
coneton : an arborescent plant of the nightshade family, also called tronadora. Nicotiana glauca (Graham). Origin unknown.
copa : a land mark ; any well-known tree or group of trees in the prairie by which travellers or cowboys are guided. In Spanish, tree tops rounded in form.
copfta : a diminutive of copa.
corona: a crown. Specifically, in western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the highly decorated piece of canvas used to put over each pack.
corrdl, v. (p. 190). Add: The verbal form encorralar is also used in southern Texas.
coyotillo (p. 190) . Add : Captain Bourke informs me that the berry itself is edible, but that the people believe that if the small round seed is swallowed it will cause paralysis of the lower extremities. The Mexicans along the lower Rio Grande say that the coyote knows this important fact and, while very fond of the berry, invariably rejects the seed, hence the name.
crin : horsehair, from the mane only, also pronounced din.
cuarta : whip of cowhide or horsehide. The form used all over Texas is quirt. Salv&, gives it as a Cuban form.
cuatezon : a head of cattle, a goat, or ram without horns. Origin unknown, probably a native word.
cuero : cowhide or horsehide.
damiana : a small western Texas plant of the composite family, with yellow flowers, exhaling a strong aromatic odor. Chrysactinia Mexicana (Gray) . Several plants bear the same name in Mexico.
denuneiam(i)ento. The Anglicized form denouncement is found in the Eagle Pass Guide (May 7, 1892). For the sense (' a mining claim ') see Geol. Survey of Texas, p. 705.
derramad6ro. From derramar, to pour, to pour out, to empty (liquids). The noun, which is obsolescent in Spain, means in Texas a drain, a draining canal, etc., and is found in proper names of such canals, e.g. Derramadero del Gato.
devisad^ro : a commanding hill or eminence used by cowboys to look for their horses or cattle. From devisar, to descry at a distance.
domador: the equivalent of ginete (q.v.). From Spanish domar, to' tame.
d6lce, -s, sweets ; all sorts of desserts, sweetmeats, and candies are called dulces. Mostly used in the plural.
empMne : a horse's fetlock.
eslab6u : link, steel. Pedernal (q.v.) y eslabon, flint and steel ; still much used in western Texas.
exido (p. 190). Add : Sometimes spelled ejido, -s.
feria : a fair ; often synonymous with fiesta (q.v.). (Eagle Pass Guide.)
fi§rro : a brand or mark on cattle and horses. Old form of hierro, iron.
248 DIALECT NOTES,
fiesta (p. 190). Add : In the plural las fiestas is synonymous with a fair, which generally lasts several days. The two words are used interchangeably.
fosforo : sulphur match, match in general.
funcion : function, high church ceremony or celebration. This Spanish word is being rapidly naturalized in English. Found under its English form in the New York Times and other metropolitan dailies with the meaning of ceremony in general.
gandn : specifically in Texas, the man leading the oxen when plowing.
gaiicho (p. 190 ; not gducho) . Add : Also the hook and crook such as the shepherds use in the miracle play of the Pastores, so common on both sides of the Rio Grande, at the Noclie Buena = Christmas. A lop-eared horse is also called a gaucho.
gavildu : a chicken-hawk ; a species of falconidce, not identified.
ginete : a man whose business it is to break mustangs ; a "bronco buster." From the Arabic ; see Littre, genet.
guage, hudge: a gourd, the fruit of Crescentia cugete (L.), used to make a variety of domestic utensils called in Mexico tecomates. Also the edible fruit of a plant of the leguminous family (Acacia esculenta). From the Mexican huaxin (S.).
guayacan (p. 190). Add : The root is used as a substitute for soap.
hechizo : any object whatever that is manufactured.
horqueta, horquita : a little fork, diminutive of horca. A forked piece of wood tied to the leg of a horse to prevent his straying or running away. Often used on ladinos (see p. 191).
huage. See gudge.
huajfllo (p. 190). Add: A diminutive of hudge or gudge. (Dele the second sentence.)
huaracho (p. 190). Add: Also spelled ^wamc^e.
hu611a or hudya : a trail, a track.
Inventarlo : an inventory. This word is in constant use among mer- chants and shop-keepers on the border.
jdlma : pack saddle. Sobre en jalma, pronounced suorin hammer (Cap- tain Bourke) in Arizona, cover to the pack saddle. Franceson has enjdhna, in one word, with the meaning of "maurischer Saumsattel." Of Arabic origin.
jamon (p. 191). Add: In Arizona, bacon.
jicara: a Mexican household utensil, — a cup, etc., — made of certain gourds. From the Mexican xicalli (S.). Called also tecomate in Mexico. See gudge.
jic6te : a ground bee, the sting of which is exceedingly painful. From the Mexican xicotli (S.).
jicot6ra : the nest of the jicote (q.v.).
jilote : a " roasting ear," an immature ear of com. Also helote, or hilote. From Mexican xilotl (S.).
Joc6qui or joc6que: butter-milk. From the Mexican xococ (S.). San- chez defines it "cosa agria. Preparacion alimenticia de gusto fuiido hecha con leche."
j6rra : any female domestic animal that is sterile. Origin unknown.
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WOBBS USED IN TEXAS. 249
labor (p. 191). Add: The word has come to mean any field of small size ; not definite. Milpa is used in Arizona and New Mexico in the same acceptations.
lagarto : an alligator ; also the name of a town in Texas. lechiiga: lettuce.
lechAza : a small species of owl ; undetermined. Also, and frequently, a witch. In Spain the tax-collector is often called lechuzo. legAmbre : vegetables, " kitchen truck. " 16aa : any kind of fine wood or timber.
lepidna : a southern Texas annual of the composite family, used by Mexicans and Indians as a remedy for catarrh. Hymenatherum gnapha- liopsis (Gray). Origin unknown.
116bre : a hare, a jack rabbit. In Texas used as an exclamation to express disbelief, incredulity ; would probably answer to the American " rats ! "
limonillo : a low herb of the composite family used as a perfume plant. Actinella odorata (Gray). Diminutive of limon, a lemon.
loco, V. To be locoed = to be rendered insane by eating loco (q.v.) weed or grass. " Sheriff Cooke brought down from the Quemado, yesterday, two Mexican families, — who all have the appearance of being locoed^ (Gal- veston News.)
machete (p. 191). Add: The form machet is found in the Galveston News.
madre: mother. Used adjectively and meaning principal, main: veta madre^ principal vein or lode, in mining ; sierra madre, main range, of moun- tains ; acequia madre, principal ditch. The name of a lagoon in southwest- ern Texas, Laguna madre, which, on account of its proximity to the island called Isla del Padre (see padre), has been thought to bear some connection with it, and variously distorted into Laguna de la Madre, or even Laguna del Madre, even in the best atlases and geographies (see, e.g., Stieler's Hand- atlas) .
madrona : a shrub or small tree of the heath family found in the foot- hills west of the Pecos. The berries of this plant are yellowish red, the size of currants, and have a pleasant sub-acid taste. Arbutus Xalapensis var. Texana (Gray). From Spanish Madrono, strawberry-tree (Arbutus Unedo).
majada : temporary camp or hut of shepherds.
majorano : a low shrub of the sage family in southern and western Texas, with small bluish or purple flowers. Salvia ballotajlora (Benth). From Spanish mejorana, sweet marjoram.
malpais : bad lands, lava country. Cf. French mauvaises terres.
manada (p. 191). Add : The word is more specifically applied to mares. See reiniido.
mdno : a pestle or roller. See metate.
mdsa : the cornmeal, after it has been ground in the metate (see p. 192) and before being spread into tortillas (see p. 195).
mayord6mo : the manager on a ranch or hacienda. See caporal.
mdza : a mace, a hammer, a pestle.
m^cha : fuse or rope, taking the place of tinder in using flint and steel. See eslabon.
260 DIALECT NOTES.
mfidano : a hill of pure white sand, without any vegetation whatever, common in southwestern Texas. The form muegano is also heard and seen.
meldda : a heavy crystallizing syrup, as it comes out of the vacuum pan and before it is run through the centrifugals, more generally called by its French name " masse cuite.'''' This word is not in common use ; it is a tech- nical term used by sugar-boilers.
melcoche or melcocha : a sort of sweetmeat, candy. From me?, honey, and cocer, to cook, to boil.
mel6n : a musk melon.
niet^te (p. 192) : in Texas the second part is generally called mano (q.v.).
mezcdl (p. 192). Add: Capt. F. H. Hardie, U.S.A., writes me : '-'â– mezcal is not distilled from pulque^ but from the bulb of the maguey after it has been baked underground. ' ' This seems to agree with Sanchez, who says : " Aguardiente que se extrae de la misma planta."
niogote: a thicket with heavy undergrowth, the refuge of wild cattle. The divergence of meaning from the Spanish acceptation is striking. In Spain it designates an isolated mountain with fiat top (the American mesa, q.v.), or a sand-hill, a down.
monte (p. 192). Add : Often used as an equivalent of chaparral {q.v.).
montedr, v. : to be constantly in the monte (q.v.), to live or roam there. Used principally in the participle monteando.
niztaindl or nixtamal : corn, after having been boiled with lime and before it is ground on the metate (q.v.), lye hominy. Of Mexican origin, though not in S. (nexatl, lye, and tamal, q.v. ?)
nogdda : pecan candy, sold on the street in southern Texas by Mexican peddlers. Cf. French nougat.
noria: more or less complicated machinery to raise water from wells, tanks, or rivers, for cattle or for irrigation. In Texas, also a well. From Arabic ; see Littr6.
orejoii, -es (i.e. big ear, from oreja, an ear, with the augmentative -on) : dried fruit, — apples, peaches, apricots, and quinces. See pasa. This word is almost exclusively used in the plural.
ortigia : a kind of grass; not determined. Probably from Spanish ortiga, nettle.
padre: father (Eagle Pass Guide). The title now given exclusively to Catholic parish priests since the suppression of the regular clergy in Mexico. Jsla del Padre, name of a long and narrow sandy island on the southwestern coast of Texas, separated from the mainland by the Laguna Madre (see madre). This island was granted by the Spanish government to Franciscan padres, hence the name.
pdsa, -s : dried fruit, generally berries and small fruit, more specifically raisins. Used almost exclusively in the plural. See orej6n.
pas6o : public walk or promenade.
past6r : a shepherd.
patr6n: the "boss," the man in charge of the pack train. See car- gador.
pederndl: flint. See eslabon. The name of a river tributary to the Colorado, Hio de las Pedernales^ Flint River, now Pedernales River. This
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. 251
word is regularly pronounced and very generally written Perdinales, or Per- dinalis.
p6na : a rock or cliff. Often found in proper names of places : Pena Blanca, etc. The n is not pronounced liquid as in the original Sp. pena.
peon. Under this word (p. 193) add: peon dog or pelado (q.v.) dog, a name given sometimes to the hairless Mexican dog.
perteuencia: right of property. More specifically, in mining, a claim 100 metres square (Eagle Pass Guide).
pescado : any kind of fish after it is caught. The d is silent.
pezona, peztina, pesuna : the hoof of a horse or cow.
pilon (p. 193). Add : Also the gratuity given by merchants to customers, whenever accounts are settled. This is always insisted upon by the poor along the Rio Grande. Cf. Louisiana French lagniappe.
piltonte : a kind of fish, not determined. It is probably of Mexican origin (piltontli, a, child ?) ; not in S.
pontediiro : a kind of sweetmeats, or candy made of piloncillos. (Cf. pilon, of which piloncillo is a diminutive.) Origin unknown. Perhaps from poner and duro.
potrdnca: a filly. See potro (p. 193).
potrillo : a very young colt. Pronounced potriio. Diminutive of potro (see p. 193).
pozo : a spring, generally issuing from a hole in the ground, not from a rock. Cf. B. Also called pozo de agua. A synonym, oi 6jo Siud 6Jo de agua (see p. 192). The diminutive
pozu§lo is also frequently used.
puchero : a sort of thick soup, a favorite dish of the Mexicans. It is generally made of mutton and a bewildering variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits.
quemddo, adj. and n. : a burnt district. From Sp. qiiemar, to burn (Galveston News).
quiote : the fruit of the pita or maguey (q.v.) borne in a panicle on a long stem. It is always baked before being eaten. From the Mexican quidtl (S.).
quirt. See cuarta.
ranch6ro (p. 194). Add : According to Captain Hardie this word is used very extensively.
reboso (p. 194). Add: Also rebozo. See tapadero.
rem6do or remAda : a " bunch " of horses, about a score. Usually applied to geldings only. See manada. From remudar to exchange. The Spanish form is remuda, remuda de caballos, a change, a relay of horses.
reparad6ro : part of a pasture fenced in or stockaded, into which herders run cattle or horses. See atdjo.
revent6n : a spring, bursting forth from the earth, from reventar, to burst. See charco.
ruisendr : the Mexican nightingale, the mocking bird. See cenzontle.
sdeo (the a as in fate) : a dry water course, or ditch, probably the Sp. seco, diy. [Cf. scopet, seca.]
sal6a: sheep- or goatskin, curried and stained or dyed. Probably from saL salt.
262 DIALECT NOTES.
sandia or zandfa : a watermelon. From the Spanish, of Arabic origin. 8ap6te. See chapote.
8cop6t : a short musket or carbine, from Sp. escopeta ; cf. French estopette. This word and saco above are from the narrative of a participant in the Confederate expedition to New Mexico in 1862, published in the Galveston News.
seca : dry ; as a noun, a drought. [Cf. saco.]
s61va : a shrub, not identified, but probably an ilex, of southern Texas, used in infusion as a substitute for tea.
sendera: a path, a foot-path. Spanish senda and sendero.
sestiadero : a shady spot where domestic animals take shelter during the heat of the day. The Spanish form is sesteadero.
sotole (p. 194). Add: The same name is applied also to a species of yucca, undetermined, from which a vile liquor is distilled. In Arizona the name applies to soap weed. See tequila.
sudadero : a fissure in a well or water-tank, from which the water is flowing. From sndar, to sweat.
tdjo : a deep cut or trench to collect water in time of drought.
tapadero (p. 195). Add: The word is often used in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico for reboso (q.v.).
tdpalo : a coarse piece of cloth, a substitute among the lower classes for the finer and costlier reboso (q.v.). Taparse in some parts of Spain means to cover one's face with the manto.
tapojo or (better) tapujo : the blinders used on mules in pack trains.
tecolote: a species of owl. Bubo Virginianus (Bp.). From the Mexican tecnlotl.
tepocate : a peculiar, small, black fish, found in the pools and lagunas of southwestern Texas, Probably Mexican. Not in S.
tequesquite : a kind of pop-corn. The native word tequezquitl (S.) means an entirely different thing. Sanchez defines it : " eflorecencias salinas natu- rales, formadas especialmente por carbonato de sosa." He adds : "La pala- bra mexicana me parece derivarse de tetl^ piedra, y quixtia, parecido 6 seme- jante." See esquite (p. 190) and cf. tesquite in B.
tequila : a seductive Mexican alcoholic drink, made from the sdtole (q.v.). (Eagle Pass Guide.) From the name of a small city in Mexico, where the liquor is principally distilled.
tern6ra : a heifer.
tert61ia (p. 195). Correct: An m/ormaZ evening party.
tinajera : the stand upon which the tinaja (see p. 195) is kept, usually the three-pronged fork of a tree. Also a weed, not identified, covering miles of country in southern Texas. The leaves of this weed, like those of the selva (q.v.) are used as a substitute for tea.
tiaco, tlac (the Galveston Neics has the form thlack) : a copper coin, about the size of an old style United States copper cent, one quarter of a real, also called cuartillo. "Two thlacks are equivalent to two and a quarter cents of our money " (Galveston News). From the Mexican tlacoualoni. (S.)
tolodehe : annual of the family of Pedalinese, with purple, sweet scented flowers. The Mexicans think this plant has the property of developing grad-
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WOBDS USED IN TEXAS. 253
ual and permanent insanity. Martynia fragrans (Lindl). It is a strong narcotic. From the Mexican toloatzin. (S.)
trompillo: a common weed of the nightshade family in southern and western Texas. The berries, first green, then yellow, and black when ripe, the size of small marbles, are used for curdling milk. Solarium elceagnifo- liuni (Cav.). From the Spanish, a diminutive of trompo, a top.
tronadora : see coneton. From Spanish tronador, a rocket.
6nto : the liquid fat of animals.
vaciero : the name of the man who oversees the shepherds on a sheep ranch.
vallo : dun colored, speaking of horses. Origin unknown.
vaqu^ro : cowboy. From vaca, a cow. Occasionally heard on the border. (Galveston News.)
ven^ro : a spring, a vein of water. See sudadero.
venta : a sale. Papel de venta, bill of sale, written agreement.
vineg(a)r6n : an insect of the family of Arachnida, said to be exceedingly poisonous, so much so that when a Mexican is bitten he does not send for the physician, but for the priest. Origin unknown ; from vinagre, vinegar ?
vizndga or biznaga (Eagle Pass Guide). EcMnocactus ingens (Zucc.) is also known as E. viznaga (Hook.). By extension this name has been applied to other echinocacti, all growing to large dimensions, and some weighing as much as a ton, or more. They are armed with formidable spines, used, it is said, as toothpicks by Mexicans. The same word applies, in Spain, to a plant of the family of Umbelliferce {Ammi viznaga., L.), the sprigs of which are used as toothpicks. The origin of the word is obscure. Forster says of this plant: " Dieser Art legte Hooker den Namen Viznaga bei, well die mexicanischen Ansiedler sich ihrer Stacheln als Zahnstocher (viznaga) bedienten." (Handbuch der Cacteenkunde.)
y6gua : a mare. Found in proper names of rivers and creeks. Yegua River.
zapote. Seechapote. H. TALLICHET.
[The few notes which follow suggested themselves to me in reading the preceding list.
On almud, see Korting, Lat.-roman. Worterb., No. 450. For briago, cf. Old Sp. embriago and see Korting, Lat.-roman. Worterb.., No. 2746. Pre- sumably this is or was a Spanish dialect form. For the etymology of ginete, cf. Diez and Korting. The reference to Littr6 is intended to include the supplement. As to jorra, cf. in SalvS, the adj. jorro, "con que se designa en la isla de Cuba el tabaco que no arde por su mala calidad." Instead of madrona an Anglicized form mathrone (presumably pronounced mdtiron or -oun) is quoted in the Century Magazine, XLIV, 839. Is not vallo simply the Sp. bayof — ^. S. S.]
254 DIALECT NOTES.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.!
Thp: following bibliographical notes are confined, for the most part, to entries that concern the English language in America. The editors have kept a record of such titles as have come to their notice, but the list is doubtless far from complete. Mem- bers are reminded that without their co-operation a satisfactory bibliography cannot be compiled.
Academy (London). Americanisms, March 2, 1889, p. 151 {blaze and telford).
American Notes and Queries (Philadelphia). Vols. IV-IX, 1889-92, contain many notes on dialect words, etc.
Barrere, Albert, and Leland, Charles G. A dictionary of slang, jargon, and cant. 2 vols. Printed for subscribers only at the Ballantyne Press, 1891. Reviewed in The Nation, LIU, 261, Oct. 1, 1891.
Baskervill, W. M. The etymology of English tote. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 359-61.
Bell, Alexander Melville. The sounds of r. See Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc, of America, for 1891, pp. xxiv-vi.
Bergen, Mrs. Fanny D. Some bits of plant-lore. Jour. Amer. Folk- Lore, V, 19-22.
Popular American plant-names. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 89-106.
See also Newell, W. W.
Blackmar, F. W. Spanish American words. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 91-7.
Blascke, J. H. A few steps to a complete dictionary of English dialects. Progr. der hoheren Biirgerschule zu Hamburg, No. 717. Hamburg, 1890.
Bolton, Henry Carrington. The pronunciation of folk-names in South Carolina. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, IV, 270.
"Injun-giving." Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 68.
The counting-out rhymes of children : their antiquity, origin, and
wide distribution. A study in folk-lore. London, 1888.
Bonny, H. P. Anglicisms in Lower Canadian French. Jour, and Proc. of the Hamilton Association, Hamilton, Can., 1891, pp. 101-109.
Boston Evening Transcript. How Yankee dialect has grown in Boston. Aug. 12, 1892.
[Observations on the sound of r, on / admire to drive, on / feel
like, etc.]
[Skilligallee], Dec. 5, 1891 ; see also Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 1891.
1 See also Part I, pp. 13-16, and Part II, pp. 80-83.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 255
Brown, Calvin S. Dialectal survivals in Tennessee. Mod. Lang. Notes, IV, 409. Reprinted in Amer. N. and Q., IV, 16, 64.
Other dialectal forms in Tennessee. Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc, of
America, VI, 171-5 ; see also Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc, for 1890, pp. xvii- xxiv. Reprinted in Amer. N. and Q., VIII, 62, 75.
Campbell, Douglas. The Puritan in Holland, England, and America. New York, 1892. 2 vols.
Carruth, W. H. Foreign settlements in Kansas. Kansas University Quarterly, I, 71-84. (With preliminary map.)
Dialect word-list. Kansas University Quarterly, I, 95-100.
Earle, Alice Morse. The Sabbath in Puritan New England. New York, 1891.
Elliott, A. Marshall. [Review of Sweet's] Primer of phonetics. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 301-8.
Ellis, Alexander J. Phonetics. In Johnson's (revised) Universal Encyclopcedia, New York, 1888, VI, 261 ff.
Emerson, Oliver Farrar. The Ithaca dialect. (Dialect Notes, Pt. III.) See notices in Nation, LIV, 54, and New York Sunday Tribune, Jan. 10, 1892.
Sweet's Phonetics and American English. Mod. Lang. Notes, V,
404-8.
The etymology of English tote. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 503-4.
The new Webster and the Guide to Pronunciation. Mod. Lang.
Notes, VII, 34-40. See Porter, Samuel.
The American dialects. Providence (R.I.) Sunday Journal, Oct. 16,
1892, p. 4.
English pronunciation. The "Guide to Pronunciation" again. Mod.
Lang. Notes, VII, 388-92.
Farmer, John S. Slang and its analogues, past and present : a dictionary, historical and comparative, of the heterodox speech of all classes of society for more than 300 years. With synonyms in English, French, German, Italian, etc. London. Printed for subscribers only. Vol. I, A to Byz, 1890 ; vol. II, C to Fizzle, 1891. Reviewed in The Nation, LI, 288 ; LIII, 261.
FoNETic Herald, The. Port Hope, Can., 1885 and following years.
French, Alice ("Octave Thanet"). Folk-lore in Arkansas. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 121-4.
Garner, Samuel. Bobbin and latch-string. Nation, LIV, 72 (Jan. 28, 1892).
Conner. Die Luxemburger in der neuen welt. Dubuque, la. Verlag des Verf., 1889. (See Lit. Centralblatt, Sept. 20, 1890, col. 1366.
Gore, J. Howard. The go-backs. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 107-9.
Grade, P. Das Neger-Englisch. Anglia, XIV, 362 ff.
Grandgent, C. H. German and English sounds. Boston, 1892. [In International Modern Language Series.]
[Circular concerning American pronunciations reprinted in] Mod.
Lang. Notes, V, 461-3.
The Phonetic Section of the Modem Language Association. Mod.
Lang. Notes, V, 437 ; VI, 116, 312 ; VII, 183.
Notes on American pronunciation. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 82-7.
256 DIALECT NOTES,
Grandgent, C. H. More notes on American pronunciation. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 458-67.
[Review of] Introduction to phonetics, by Laura Soames. Afod.
Lang. Notes, VII, 91. (Contains notes on New England pronunciation.)
Vowel Measurements. Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc, of Amer., V, 148-74.
Hall, Fitzedward. Recent exemplifications of false philology. New York, 1872.
Modern English. London, 1873.
On English adjectives in -able, with special reference to reliable.
London, 1877.
''Happify." Nation, Aug. 7, 1890 ; Jan. 1, 1891.
Been and gotten. Nation, LIII, 447.
Expect for suspect. Nation, LIV, 52.
The conjunction like. Nation, LV, 86.
" Literarian. " Nation, LV, 145.
"Very pleased." Nation, LV, 281.
Harrison, James A. Negro-English. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 123.
Harrison, J. B. "Dog gone it." Nation, LIV, 303.
Hausknecht, Emil. " Hutchels." Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 58.
Hay WARD, S. Popular names of American plants. Jour. Amer. Folk- Lore, IV, 147-50.
Hempl, George, Unstressed loh. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 310-11.
Wh in America. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 437-8.
Weak forms of been, and Pope's rhymes. Nation, LIII, 487.
Aught and naught. Nation, LIV, 149.
A philological analogy. Nation, LIV, 247.
Herrig, Ludwig. Die englische sprache und literatur in Nord-America. Archiv f. d. Stud, der neueren Sprachen u. Literaturen, XII, 241 ; XIII, 76, 241 ; XIV, 1.
Handbuch der nordamericanischen literatur. Sammlung von mus-
terstiicken nebst einer literarhistorischen abhandlung iiber den entwick- lungsgang der englischen sprache und literatur in Nord-America. Braun- schweig, 1854.
Hill, Adams Sherman. Our English. New York, 1889.
Hoke, N. C. Folk-custom and folk-belief in North Carolina. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 113.
Journal or American Folk-Lore. Waste-basket of words, III, 311 ; IV, 70, 159 ; V, 61, 145, 236. Notes and Queries, IV, 354. (Miscellaneous notes by A. L. Alger, F. D. Bergen, J. C. Brown, F. J. Child, A. M. Earle, T. W. Higginson, C. G. Leland, J. H. Newell, W. W. Newell, and others.) Proverbs and phrases, V, 60.
Karsten, Gustaf. [Remarks on American pronunciation in his review of] Lyttkens et Wulff, Compte-rendu sommaire d'une transcription phon6- tique. Literaturblatt f. germ. u. rom. Philol., 1890, col. 386.
KoEHLER, F. Worterbuch der Americanismen. Eigenheiten der eng- lischen sprache in Nordamerica. Leipzig, 1866.
Lang, Henry R. The Portuguese element in New England, Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, V, 9-18.
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 257
Learned, M. D. The Pennsylvania- German lexicon. [Circular prepared by order of the executive committee of the Pennsylvania-German society, 1892.]
Learned, W. The dialect of railway employees. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore IV, 175.
Leland, Charles G. See Barr^re, Albert, and Journal of Asieri-
CAN FOLK-LORE.
Lentzner, Karl. Worterbuch der englischen volkssprache Australiens und einiger englischer mischsprachen. Halle, 1891. (See Liter aturhlatt, 1891, col. 388.)
Lloyd, R. J. Speech sounds : their nature and causation. Phonetische Studien, III, 252-78 ; IV, 37-67, 183-214, 275-306 ; V, 1-32, 129-41, 263-71.
Some researches into the nature of vowel sound. 1890. (See 3Iod.
Lang. Notes, VI, 214.)
Maitland, James. The American slang dictionary. Embodying all American and English slang phrases in current use, with their derivation and philology. Chicago, 1891. (Condemnatory review in The Nation, LIV, 469, June 23, 1892.)
Matthews, Brander. Americanisms and Briticisms. New York, 1892. (Harper's American Essayists.)
Mead, Theodore H. Our mother tongue. New York : Dodd, Mead, & Co., 1890. (Treats of pronunciation in England and America.)
MoFFATT, Adeline. The mountaineers of middle Tennessee. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, IV, 314-20.
Nation, The (New York). [Various brief notes], LIII, 181, 237, 239, 447, 506; LIV, 286, 338, etc. See also Garner, Samuel; Hall, Fitz- EDWARD ; Hempl, George.
Newell, William Wells, and Bergen, Fanny D. Topics for the col- lection of folk-lore. Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, IV, 151-8 (especially pp. 157-8). See also Journal of American Folk-Lore.
Norton, Charles Ledyard. Political Americanisms : a glossary of terms and phrases cun-ent at different periods in American politics. New York, 1890. Reviewed in The Nation, LII, 240.
Passy, Paul. I^tude sur les changements phon^tiques et leurs carac- tSres genfiraux. Paris, 1890.
Porter, Samuel. Guide to Pronunciation. (In Webster's International Dictionary, Springfield, Mass., 1890, pp. Iv-lxxxviii. )
A review of Dr. Emerson's criticism of Guide to Pronunciation.
Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 235-42.
Primer, Sylvester. The pronunciation of Fredericksburg, Va. Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc, of America, V, 185-99.
Dialectical studies in West Virginia. Colorado College Studies for
1891 ; Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc, of America, VI, 161-70.
Riley, James Whitcomb. Dialect in literature. The Forum, XIV, 465-73, Dec, 1892.
Robertson, J. Drummond. Glossary of dialect and archaic words used in the county of Gloucester. English Dialect Society, 1890. (Frequent references to American usage.)
258 DIALECT NOTES.
RoussELOT, L'abbe. Les modifications phonfitiques du langage 6tudi6es dans le patois d'une famille de Cellefrouin (Charente). Bevue des patois gallo-romans, IV, 65-208.
Scarborough, W. S. The negro element in fiction. Prqc. Amer. Philol. Assoc, XXI, xlii.
ScHucHARDT, HuGO. Beitragc zur kenntniss des englischen Kreolisch. Englische Studien, XII, 470 ; XIII, 158 ; XV, 286.
Scott, Fred N. Pronunciation of Spanish-American words. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 435-6.
Sheldon, E. S. Wh in America. Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 378-81.
Origin of the English names of the letters of the alphabet. Harvard
Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, I (1892), 66 ff.
Review of Skeat's Principles of English Etymology, Pt. II, The
Foreign Element. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 411-24.
Smith, Charles Forster. Americanisms. Southern Methodist Quar- terly, January, 1891.
The dialect of Miss Murfree's mountaineers. Christian Advocate
(Nashville, Tenn.), Jan. 17, 1891.
SoAMES, Lalra. An introduction to phonetics. London, 1891. (See Grandgent, C. H.)
amerikan prauAnsieiJan. Le Maitre Phonetique, June, 1891, p. 75.
Sproull, William 0. Hebrew and Rabbinical words in present use. Hehraica, VII, 72-74, October, 1890.
Stockley, W. F. Wove (for waved), dove (for dived). Mod. Lang. Notes, VI, 504.
Sykes, Fred. H. American speech and standard English. The Educa- tional Journal, Toronto, reprinted in Our Language, II, 52, etc. (New York, Sept., Oct., 1892.)
Tallichet, H. a contribution towards a vocabulary of Spanish and Mexican words used in Texas, reprinted from Part IV of Dialect Notes. Noticed in The Nation, LIV, 398, May 26, 1892.
Notes on some words used in the sugar industry, not in the Century
dictionary. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 393-4.
The etymology of bayou. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 395-7.
Thaxet, Octave. See French, Alice.
Truesdell, Seneca E. "Injun-giving." Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, Y, 240.
TwEEDiE, W. M. Popular etymologj'. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 377.
Wheeler, B. I. Analogy and the scope of its application in language. No. II of the Cornell University Studies in Classical Philology, 1887.
The standard language. (In Strong, Logeman, and Wheeler's The
History of Language, London, 1891.)
Wilde, William Cumming. Notes on thief talk. Jour. Amer. Folk- Lore, III, 303-10. Cf. Ill, 314.
Williams, Ralph O. Some peculiarities, real and supposed, in American English, pp. 71-160 of Our dictionaries and other English language topics. New York, 1890.
WiiySON, Charles Bundy. Dove for dived. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 60.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 259
MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1891.i
J. W. Abemethy, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
E. Alexander, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Frederic D. Allen, 10 Humboldt St., Cambridge, Mass.
Eugene H. Babbitt, Columbia College, New York, N.Y.
Miss Emma A. Babcock, Grammar School, No. 48, West 28th St., near Sixth
Ave., New York, N.Y. W. P. Barton, Malone's Landing, Miss. W. M. Baskervill, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn. A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., Washington, D.C. George Bendelari, 7 Hollis Hall, Cambridge, Mass. Charles E. Bennett, Brown Univ., Providence, R.I. (69 Angell St.). Birmingham Free Libraries, Birmingham, England. C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass. Miss Bradbury, Riversvale Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, England. H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y. L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. James W. Bright, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md. Calvin S. Brown, Jr., Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
E. M. Brown, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 0. G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass. J. D. Bruce, Danville, Ky.
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The Buffalo Library, Buffalo, N.Y.
Mrs. H. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
P. B. Burnet, Bethany Heights, Lincoln, Neb.
W. E. Byerly, Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. 0. Carpenter, English High School, Montgomery St., Boston, Mass. W. H. Carruth, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
A. F. Chamberlain, Clark Univ., Worcester, Mass.
F. J. Child, 67 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass.
O. B. Clark, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
Miss Julia demons, 106 East 71st St., New York, N.Y.
W. M. Clyde, 108 North McDonough St., Montgomery, Ala.
W. C. Collar, Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass.
A. S. Cook, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
M. Grant Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, 259 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
H. J. Darnall, Missouri Military Academy, Mexico, Mo.
Horace Davis, 49 First St., San Francisco, Cal.
F. B. Denio, 168 Hammond St., Bangor, Me.
Detroit l^iblic Library, Detroit, Mich.
M. J. Drennan, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A. Marshall Elliott, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore. Md.
O. F. Emerson, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
E. Emerton, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. Tracy Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, Hilton A, Cambridge, Mass.
1 This list includes a few cases like those added to the list for the year 1890 (see p. 179).
260 DIALECT NOTES.
W. P. Few, Spartanburg, S.C.
Miss E. Fletcher, Spencer, Ind.
Alce'e Fortier, Tulane Univ. , New Orleans, La.
A. R. Frey, 499 Vernon Ave., Long Island City, KY.
Jno. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
James M. Garnett, Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
James Geddes, Jr., Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
A. Gerber, Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.
N. Gordon, Exeter, N.H.
C. H. Grandgent, 19 Wendell St., Cambridge, Mass.
Chas. A. Greene, care of Messrs. Borden & Lovell, 70 & 71 West St., New
York, N.Y. H. E. Greene, Wells College, Aurora, N.Y. J. B. Greenough, Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Nathan Guilford, South Broadway, Yonkers, N.Y. W. G. Hale, Chicago Univ., Chicago, 111.
E. W. Hall, Colby Univ., Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England. Alexander Hamilton, 57 Harbord St., Toronto, Can.
D. A, Hamlin, 12 Ashford St., Allston, Mass. W. R. Harper, Chicago Univ., Chicago, III.
A. B. Hart, 15 Appian Way, Cambridge, Mass. Charles E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J. James M. Hart, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
D. C. Heath, 5 Somerset St., Boston, Mass. George Hempl, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
E. W. Hooper, Fayerweather St., Cambridge, Mass.
F. G. Hubbard, Berkeley, Cal.
G. L. Hunter, 67 Maple St., Chicago, 111.
A. V. Williams Jackson, Highland Place, Yonkers, N.Y. H. Johnson, Box 246, Brunswick, Me. Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kan. T. C. Karns, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. Gustaf Karsten, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. Charles W. Kent, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. C. G. Kidder, 82 Nassau St., New York, N.Y. Mrs. J. H. Kidder, Wood's Holl, Mass.
C. H. Kilborn, 3 Tremont PI., Boston, Mass.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass.
James Lancey, 18 Clinton St., East Orange, N.J.
W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
Charles R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass.
John M. Lea, Nashville, Tenn.
M. 1). Learned, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Francis B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N.J.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
Miss K. P. Loring, 22 Congress St., Boston, Mass.
t J. R. Lowell, Elmwood Ave., Cambridge, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, 6 Mason St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. F. McClumpha, Univ. of the City of New York, Washington Sq., New
York, N.Y. J. McDuffie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass. J. M. Manly, Brown Univ., Providence, R.I. F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. P. B. Marcou, 42 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass. A. Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. John E. Matzke, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md. Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, Pa. R. M. Middleton, Jr., So. Pittsburg, Tenn.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 261
L. F. Mott, 367 West 19th St., New York, N.Y.
B. H, Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., N.Y.
John G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West .33d St., New York, N.Y.
W. W. Newell, Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
New York Historical Society, 170 Second Ave., New York, N.Y.
New York State Library, Albany, N.Y.
F. W. Nicolson, Wesleyan Univ., Middletown, Conn. Francis L. Palmer, West Gardner, Mass.
Mrs. R. G. Patrick, Yorkville, S.C.
J. W. Pearce, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.
B. O. Peirce, 51 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
Samuel W. Penny packer, 209 South dth St., Philadelphia, Pa.
M. L. Perrin, Boston Univ., 12 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
T. S. Perry, 312 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.
Philological Association of Boston Univ., 12 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
S. Porter, National Deaf-Mute College, Kendall Green, D.C.
T. R. Price, 23 AVest 53d St., New York, N.Y.
Sylvester Primer, Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas.
Henry Reeves, Bridgeton, N.J.
H. A. Rennert, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
G. M. Richardson, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal. R. S. Robertson, Fort Wayne, Ind.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.
R. L. Sanderson, 13 Pollen St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Schmidt-Wartenberg, Univ. of Mississippi, Lafayette Co., Miss.
t N. P. Seymour, Hudson, O.
T. D, Seymour, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, Conn.
H. A. Shands, University, Lafayette Co., Miss.
F. C. Shattuck, 135 Marlboro' St., Boston, Mass.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 North Common St., Lynn, Mass. Edward S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass. W. R. Shipman, Tufts College, Medford, Mass.
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
Charles F. Smith, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
Clement L. Smith, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. H. Smith, care of Messrs. Ginn & Co., Tremont Place, Boston, Mass.
Herbert W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, 34 School St., Boston, Mass.
E. Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. William O, Sproull, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, O. J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Can.
B. F. Stevens, 4 Trafalgar Sq., London, England.
(Strassburg) Kais. Universitats- und Landesbibliothek, Strassburg ini Elsass, Germany.
F. C. de Sumichrast, 16 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. Henry Sweet, Cambray, South Park, Reigate, England. W. H. Sylvester, English High School, Boston, Mass. J. Henry Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. Calvin Thomas, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Reuben G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis. H. A. Todd, Leland Stanford Jr. L'niv., Palo Alto, Cal.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass. Gilbert M. Tucker, Box 74, Albany, N.Y.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H. W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N.B. William Tytler, Guelph, Ontario. A. N. Van Daell, 105 Irving St., Cambridge, Mass.
262 DIALECT NOTES,
Addison Van Name, New Haven, Conn.
H. C. G. von .Jagemann, 20 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. L. Walter, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Adelbert College, Cleveland, O. J. M. Webb, Bell Buckle, Tenn.
R. L. Weeks, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
G. Wehischenk, 1 Revere St., Cambridge, Mass. F. M. Weld, Storey PI,, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Fred S. Wharff, 1020 F St., Sacramento, Cal.
B. I. Wheeler, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
A. C. White, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
W. 1). Whitney, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
E. B. Willson, Salem, Mass.
E. R. Willson, Qb Westminster St., Providence, R.I.
R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
Justin Winsor, Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Mass.
W. B. Woods, 425 North Sixth St., Terre Haute, Ind.
B. I). Woodward, Columbia College, N.Y. (Worcester) Free Public Library, Worcester, Mass. J. H. Wright, 6 Riedesel Ave,, Cambridge, Mass,
T. A. Wylie, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
[Total, 183.]
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
For future publication : —
Language used to Domestic Animals. — W. H. Carruth. What is a Dialect?— £". S. Sheldon.
It is hoped that copies of Professor Carruth' s Language Map of Kansas can be obtained for members of the Dialect Society when it is completed. Similar maps a\'e desirable for other states also. A few of the many other subjects which deserve treatment are here mentioned by way of suggestion,
1. Additions and corrections to articles or books already published, espe- cially to Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (4th ed,, 1877, with addenda. The statements should be made as exact as possible for place, time, nation- ality of speakers, frequency of use, limitation to certain classes or sets of people, etc. Notes of this kind are best sent on separate slips of paper, one for each word or phrase discussed. If articles of some length are sent, what- ever be the subject, a generous margin should always be left. Copies of the explanatory circular, reprinted in Part I, pp. 25-29, can be had on applica- tion to the Secretary).
2. Further observations like those asked for by Mr. Grandgent in his various circulars (see the Bibliography in this number, and also pp. 196-204 in Part I\0.
3. Additions to our system of phonetic notation, or other improvements in it.
4. A comparison of "standard English" pronunciation as given in Mur- ray, New English Dictionary^ with that of one or more localities in this country. (Cf. also Part II, pp. 3;3-42.)
5. (See the last paragraph on p. 178, Part III,)
6. How shall the really popular elements of a dialect be determined ?
7. Pronunciations or idioms current locally, which are traceable to foreign influence, but are not confined to foreigners speaking English.
8. Scotch and Irish influence on American speech.
9. The influence of "standard English" exerted, for example, through the dictionaries and the schools, on popular speech.
DIALECT I^OTES.
PART VI.
THE LANGUAGE USED TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
There is a peculiar interest attaching to the language used to domestic animals, due to the conditions under which it is employed. This language is wholly unhampered by conventional standards, by the restraints of consideration for authorities or dictionaries. With a given basis received by oral transmission, the modifica- tions are subject solely to the instincts of the speaker. Thus, in this little field, language is still free to grow somewhat as we may suppose all our language grew before the introduction of writing and schools.
For convenience of reference I take up the matter under the heads of the animals involved. And first,
The Cow.
The most common long-distance call is siik,^ in such variety and modifications as follows : s-HTc bos, s'ilk bos, s'H-uk, silk, espe- cially the divided sH-uk with the first syllable much prolonged.
When near at hand the call is sy}k (y} = short, rounded, low- mixed vowel), becoming shorter and with vanishing musical tone as the cows approach. This call is universal in Kansas, and, so far as I can learn, in the United States.^
The musical notation of this call as commonly given is as follows : —
(1) 4f:- It-.' :^.' W ■"^•
^^j^-
su - uk su - ilk su - uk sii - uk
\} Phonetic spelling is used.] \} Cf. the note on suke, p. 237.]
263
264 DIALECT NOTES.
(2)
i^^ * =: (spoken.)
(spoken.)
then as in (1).
suk - bas, suk - bas, and
To be noted is the gradual shading from high-back it, at a dis- tance, to low-mixed u^, as the animal comes nearer.
The derivation of the call seems uncertain. It has been sug- gested that it is from Sukey, as being a common name for a cow ; but against this is the fact that the name is met only occasion- ally, while the call is general.
Another long-distance call is kd-h'di, or with modifications and the interspersed bds-: kd-7i'dt, kd-h-d-bds, kd-Jrd-bdsi, kd-b'dsi. Another similar call is kd-vp, seldom, if ever, modified to kdp for cows. This call has less musical quality, and the dominant tone is about a fourth lower, as : —
^
JZ.
t— r
(Spoken, k6) - ho - i | (k6) - ho - (basi).
When the animal is quite near at hand, this call is shortened into a coaxing kd-b-ds, or k'd-bds, and this again, accented on the ultimate, is often used for a long-distance call, the d of the first syllable being almost eliminated, as k^-bds or k^-bdsi, the musical element being a single note, without downward slide.
The elements of this call are plainly : ko^ = come, ho' = liome, while the word bos seems to be a borrowing from Latin directly into colloquial language. Bartlett's notes on the word are incomplete.
From Arkansas is reported a variation of stk in the form swilk, sung as in the former case, and running over into suk as the animal approaches. This w seems to be developed naturally out of a general tendency to round the sounds of calls for animals.'
From North Carolina is reported this peculiar call: " Lnk, steer, kwd," used not alone for steers, but also for cows. The intoned syllables are luk and kwd, on the same pitch, the word steer being spoken, as : —
[^ Cf., however, also the note on quiled up, p. 231.]
LANGUAGE USED TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 265
fmm^
Luk (steer), kwo - - 6, the sentence ac-
cent being on kwo.
I have no suggestion satisfactory to myself for the first word. It may be a call to the shepherd-dog transferred in use to his charge. Kwd can hardly be anything else than a modification of kd for come, the w to be accounted for by the tendency to round- ing above referred to. If this is the actual origin of ' kw6/ it is interestingly suggestive of Gothic qiman (i.e. kwiman).
Further, I note from Lincolnshire, England, the call k-iila, of which I can be certain of the accent only, but this accent suggests the division kH-la, the first part of which would probably be a modification of come; for the second I have no suggestion. (From Jean Ingelow.)
A few other words used to cows are : Haist, in urging the animal to lift a leg or to stand over ; sd, modified to so, in anger, used to persuade her to stand still ; st'dhoi and liw^, used in warn- ing or driving away. Of these, haist is a verb in the imperative, the same as Jioist; sd is the common adverb; hw^ is 'vjay, with the initial labial strongly aspirated ; stdboi, used also in urging on dogs, is probably an initial hiss, common for this latter pur- pose, followed by boy, not an uncommon title for a dog.
Swine.
Next to the cow is the hog for variety of terms used in talking to him. The most common calls are the various modifications of the word pig. P-it-ig, the first note prolonged, is sung, and on the same pitch as sUk for cows. (See p. 263.) When the animal is nearer, the word contracts into one syllable, shading as it approaches from p% to pe^g (e^ = French eu), and pi^g (i^ = Ger- man u), at last like the spoken word, save that the vowel is rounded.
Other forms of the distant call are : Pii-^-X sung with a yod- ling effect on the last syllable (Arkansas); pig-'H-i, the middle syllable accented and sung, with a drop upon the %, with the same pitch as sUk; pig--oi, with same pitch as kd-hoi above: The last three are from Indiana.
266 DIALECT NOTES.
In Illinois a familiar call is hio'ii-%j with* same pitch and final drop as pii-ig. In Missouri and the South generally one may hear hit-%, the % long drawn and squealy. There may be a degen- erate word in these calls, but it is not evident.
In Tennessee, loitts for the long-distance call and wuts when near at hand is sung like silk. The syllable wuts is used in Kansas to drive hogs away.
In Virginia a long call for hogs is t\dk, corresponding in pitch to kd-hoi above. Kop is also reported as in use for hogs.
In Pennsylvania a long-distance call is hwMj, on the same pitch as stik above. Among the Pennsylvania Dutch the call for hogs is M.^, while to drive away hogs the word u^ is used. Both I'uboi and s'uhoi are also heard.
In Indiana a peculiar call is used to bring pigs to the swill- trough, tsu, tsu, the consonants pronounced with an inspired breath.
For driving pigs away, common words are : s'u-i, s'u-hoi, he^f and hiv^.
Horses.
The only long call I have heard for horses is kdp, undoubt- edly a contraction of kd-up. From New York is reported a call, k-d-djdk, of which the latter syllable seems to be plainly the name of a horse.
Interesting are the signs used for starting, stopping, and direct- ing horses. The various sibilant -sounds used in starting, gener- ally a right-sided click with breath inspired, may be literated (phonetic spelling is not used) ' chk,' 'tsk,' 'tch,' ^kch' (the last used by Hamlin Garland in Main Traveled Roads), but not * cluck,' as often written. Hd and hwd, for halting, seem to be primitive exclamations, but suggest a possible connection with hold. A variety of this is hwop, in which the p is naturally developed after the rounded vowel, for here, too, the vowel is more or less rounded.^ For the same purpose Germans say Bn-,^ and Cam- bridge (Mass.) drivers st The familiar djl and ho as directions
[1 For this p, cf. yep for yps, p. 242, and the explanation of nope for no in the Harvard Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, I, 67 (Origin of the English Names of the Letters).]
[2 That is, with a long labial r, sometimes, at least. See Sievers, Pho- ncizA:, 4thed., §290.]
LANGUAGE USED TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 267
for right and left (in the West used chiefly to oxen) correspond to Scotch Jwp and din. This Jwp often becomes he-p, which shades easily into hip. This again suggests the familiar yip of the army-mule driver corresponding to his yd for ho. In the Southern states hail ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^- ^liese calls are met in such combina- tions as : Hwo-hail,^ kdm-yL It is to be noted, furthermore, that djt-Top and yip are used for urging on, while yd is sometimes used for hwd or as a sign of encouragement, especially when drawn out into yi-i-i-i-i-ei. Still a different couple of words for right and left is reported from Suffolk County, England : lo-ftrt and k'Dbhl.
Of the above words hiop and even yip are probably from hl-vp^ though yipt may be from gyvp for get vp; kvbbt may be denasal- ized from JcDmmt for come here. For the source of dji, hail, din, and wiirt I have no suggestion.
Sheep.
In Illinois the long call for sheep is k-d-^tp, sung like kd-bds. From Vermont, South Carolina, and Kansas is reported the call kce-d-i, often repeated on a pitch like kd-bds. From Kansas and Michigan comes a call trt-n-cei], also often repeated. In the Scotch Highlands the sheep call is k-iri, oft repeated.
Dogs.
Sik, from seek, and st, are common for setting on a dog ; hi on is rare and bookish, save in hunting. In Scotland the equivalent of St is str with (trilled r) . Further are to be noted the peculiar modifications of ^here' made in calling, as, hya, hye, hyu; the last when the dog is near at hand.
Fowls.
For chickens the call is a modification of ^ chick ' (^Je^fc), more nearly approaching tlik when near at hand. The form JA for driving away, even at long distances, seems to be a warning J supported by the vowel to make it carry. In southwest Mis- souri chickens are often called by drumming on a tin pan. In
\} Hico-hail also exists in Maine, being used to oxen.]
268 DIALECT NOTES,
default of this a call imitating the sound is used, something like Moe^, klce^, klce^.
Young turkeys are called by an imitation of their own plaintive call, pU Ph the vowel generally somewhat rounded.
If any point of value is to be derived from these observations, it is the occurrence in the calls for animals of rounded vowels not met in other parts of our language, and the connection of these rounded vowels with the persuasive character of the words in which they are employed.
W. H. CAREUTH.
Kansas State University.
[Note. — I intended to add some notes to this paper, but so much mate- rial has collected in my hands that it will be best to make a separate paper, to be published in the next number of the Notes. — G. H. • Some other edi- torial notes are reserved for use in the paper here announced.]
HAF AND H^F, 269
HAF AND H^F,
The English language contains about 150 words in which an accented 'a' is pronounced by some speakers a, by others (je} For most of these cases the dictionaries prescribe an interme- diate sound, which, however, seems to be habitually used by comparatively few persons. In northern England ce prevails, in southern England a. America, too, is divided on this question, eastern New England inclining toward a, and the rest of the country toward ce. A similar difference of pronunciation exists for the prefix ' trans- ' and the ending * -graph/
Last October, acting in behalf of the Phonetic Section of the Modern Language Association of America, I sent to nearly all parts of our country circulars containing a question about the treatment of 'trans-' and '-graph,' and 128 words with doubt- ful 'a.' I have recorded 186 answers, representing Ontario, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, and all the United States east of the Mississippi, except Delaware and Georgia. The results have been carefully tabulated; the most important facts ascertained will be set forth in this paper.
I shall apply the term " eastern Massachusetts " to all parts of that state east of the Connecticut Kiver. "Eastern New Eng- land" consists of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts. My " eastern Virginia " includes the northern and central (as well as the eastern) portions of the state. My " South " comprises all the region south of the Poto- mac; Ohio, Arkansas, and Canadian Elvers, except eastern Vir- ginia. The rest of the country will be called " North and West." Of the 186 replies above mentioned, 57 came from eastern New England, 86 from the North and West, 13 from eastern Virginia; and 30 from the South.
1 In nearly all the cases the ' a ' (or ' au ') is followed hy : (1) one of the spirants /, «,&,>; or (2) a nasal standing before another consonant ; or (3) an m that is written 'Im.' Almost all the other examples are words that have been borrowed from foreign languages.
270 DIALECT NOTES.
The pronunciation examined is that of highly educated speak- ers ; but this does not differ very mucl), with regard to the words under consideration, from the speech of the lower classes. It is not to be supposed, however, that our dialects are free from arti- ficial influences. The force of the dictionary, operating through the schools, has made itself felt in two ways. In the first place, it has impelled some careful students actually to adopt the theo- retical intermediate sound : nineteen of my 186 correspondents ^ say they use it in at least some of the cases ; it is commonest in the words in ^-ance.' Sometimes, of course, this midway vowel is not due to the dictionary, but is simply one stage in a transi- tion from ce to a, or vice versa. For instance, I used to say dcents ('dance') ; but having lived for a number of years among people who pronounce dants, I often find myself saying dd.7its. In the minds of other persons, the dictionary, while not imposing its own pronunciation, has created an impression that the vowel actually in use, whichever one it be, is the wrong one : hence pupils in the oe-country are often trained to say a, and those in the a-region are taught with equal care to pronounce ce. At the present time the children in the public schools of Boston gen- erally say ce; this is due partly to teaching and partly to the influence of the large Irish element in the classes. On the other hand, we find many speakers in the North, South, and West who use a in book-words, such as 'quaff' and 'waft,' but ce in the commonplace 'calf,' 'half,' and 'laugh.' In eastern New England the example of the mother . country has reinforced our natural tendency toward a, and has led some persons to adopt this sound in such words as 'ample,' 'example,' 'salmon,' 'sample,' 'answer,' ' banana,' ' piano ' (which their parents pronounced with ce) , and even to introduce it into 'banter,' 'canter,' 'masculine,' 'slander,' and the like, where it can hardly be said to belong at all.
Before going further, it may be well to examine the vulgar treatment of the series in question. On the shores of the Great Lakes, in Indiana, in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and all the South, ce seems to be employed by the uneducated in every one of the variable words ^ ; in all the rest of the country, except
1 Three from New Hampshire, five from eastern Massachusetts, four from New York, and one from each of the following states : Rhode Island, Con- necticut, Vermont, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, Alabama. In some of the words a seems to be really popular in certain parts of eastern New England.
2 Not including ' father.'
HAF AND H^F. 271
eastern New England, a is said to be used in final ^-alm ' ('calm' = kam),^ and ce in all the other examples. In the rustic speech of eastern New England, so far as I have been able to observe it, a occurs in fully half of the 128 cases 2; moreover, in some of the New England dialects,^ a is regularly substituted for stressed ce before r followed by an unaccented vowel, as in ' arrow,' ' barrel,' 'barrow,' 'harrow,' 'marrow,' 'marry,' 'narrow,' 'Paris,' 'sparrow,' pronounced ard, badl,^ hard, hard, mard, mart or mai, nara, j^o-ris, spard. The same substitution is found in some other words ; I have noted the following: 'adder,' 'apple,' 'asthma' {aznid), 'bantam,' 'Francis,' 'hammer,' 'matter' (pronounced exactly like 'martyr'), 'rancid,' 'Saturday,' 'shadow' (Jac^a).^
It should be mentioned, furthermore, that the quality of ce is not everywhere the same. In Pennsylvania, Maryland, the Valley of Virginia, western Tennessee, and doubtless in many other parts of the North, South, and West, ce before the spirants /, s, and \> is drawled and formed very high, so that it becomes almost or quite a long e : ' half,' ' grass,' ' path ' = heef, grees, pee]). ' Past,' as I have heard it pronounced in Philadelphia, has often sounded to me nearly like ' paste.' Before m and n, in this same region, ce is very nasal. The vowel a, too, is subject to variations. In Pennsylvania, Maryland, eastern Virginia, and, I think, many parts of the North and West, a is often replaced by a long o, or even an o : ' father ' = /ooSar.
Eeturning now to our list, we find that both a and ce are used in every word given; yet some of the specimens have so few defenders of one sound or the other, that we can discard these examples from the list of variable cases. Such words are ' father,' which regularly has a,^ and 'ample,' 'fancy,' 'fantastic,' 'gap,' 'rant,' 'scant,' which almost invariably have ce. The plurals 'baths' and 'calves' and the verb 'halve' are treated so nearly
1 But k(Km is cited by Professor Emerson for the dialect of Ithaca, N.Y. I think it is tolerably common in all the North and West.
2 It is common before the spirants, and rarer before the nasals, except in a few words, such as 'Alabama,' 'almond,' 'calm,' 'aunt,' 'can't,' 'shan't.'
[3 Also in parts of northern Indiana, southern Michigan, and Ohio. — G. H.] * Also harl and hal. ' A barrel of apples ' = dh-al raplz. ^ 'Barrel' and 'tavern' with a have been noted in Ithaca, N.Y., by Pro- fessor Emerson. See Dialect Notes, Pt. Ill, p. 118.
6 Five correspondents apparently have (C in ' father ' : two from southern Pennsylvania, one from the District of Columbia, one from Tennessee, and one from South Carolma. I am told that fcuSdr is often heard in Connecticut.
272 DIALECT NOTES,
like 'bath,' 'calf,' 'half/ that they need not be separately noted. Some speakers make a distinction between ' grant ' and ' Grant ' : the latter is pronounced with ce a little oftener than the former ; but the difference is too slight to be regarded. There is no dis- tinction between 'aster' and 'Astor.' 'Draft' and 'draught/ on the other hand, cannot be classed together. We have left, then, 116 examples, besides 'trans-' and * -graph.' The derivatives that come from some of these words generally have, I think, the same vowel as their primitives. I might have added to my list ^Cincinnati,' 'Cleopatra,' 'giraffe,' 'Indiana,' 'mastiff,' 'molasses,' ^mustache,' 'Montana,' 'Nebraska,' 'pastime,' and 'pasture': if I am not mistaken, ' Cincinnati ' and ' Montana ' are treated some- what like ' Alabama,' ' Indiana ' and ' Nebraska ' almost like 'Alaska,' 'Cleopatra' nearly like 'drama,' 'giraffe' about like 'raft,' 'mastiff' like 'master,' 'molasses' like 'lass/ 'pastime' and 'pasture' like 'pastor.' I take it for granted that 'alms,' *balm,' 'palm,' 'psalm,' 'qualm,' have the same vowel as 'calm.' Several of my correspondents, in different states, pronounce ' drama ' and ' gape ' with ^ ; and a good many, in various parts of the country, have o or o in ' tassel.'
1. Eastern New England.
The votes from eastern New England show 9 % for a to 91 % for ce in ' trans-,' but 51 % for a to 49 % for ce in ' -graph.' In all the 116 words above mentioned both vowels are used ; a has, in the following ones,^ —
(1) from 1% to 10%:
|
salmon aster classify |
drastic |
massive |
|
|
pantry 2 bastard dastard |
gas |
tassel |
|
|
(2) from 10 % to 20 % : |
|||
|
example pant blather |
asp |
classic |
nast |
|
sample piano Alaska |
blasphemy |
elastic |
plastic |
(3) from 20% to 30 % : answer askance rather gaff lass
1 The words in each group are arranged with regard to the consonant — J), m, n, 3, \>^ /", or s — that follows the accented vowel.
2 I think pantri was formerly common in the rural dialects.
HAF AND H^F.
273
(4) from 30 % to 40 % : advantage enhance aghast casket gasp
|
banana command |
trance bask lather bass |
castle castor |
ghastly rascal |
|
|
(5) from 40 % to 50 % : |
||||
|
advance blanch branch dance |
glance prance grant slant lance daft plant haft |
alas basket cask cast |
clasp flask grasp mask |
mass nasty pastor rasp |
|
(6) from 50 % to 60 % : |
||||
|
ant chance |
France chaff aft Taft |
waft ass |
mast master |
plaster task repast vast |
|
(7) from 60 % to 70 % : |
||||
|
almond chant craft draft |
graft staff quaff ask raft blast shaft brass |
class fast fasten glass |
grass last pass past |
(8) from 70 % to 80 % :
gape drama lath path
(9) from 80 % to 90 % :
can't shan't bath half
(10) from 90 % to 100 % : Alabama calm aunt calf
wrath
laugh
after
draught
The vote on ' calm ' is unanimous. It is to be noted in general that the more a word is used, other things being equal, the more it inclines (in eastern New England) to a : compare ' after ' (8) and ^ aft '(6),^ ask' (7) and 'bask' (4), 'fast' (7) and 'cast' (5), 'grass' (7) and 'mass' (5), 'basket' (5) and 'casket' (4), 'clasp' (5) and 'asp' (2). It appears, further, that, throwing out unpopular examples, the per cent, of votes for a in most of the 7i-words ranges between 40 and 60 ; in nearly all the s-words, between 30 and 70 ; in almost all the /-words, between 50 and 80 ; and in all the |>-words, between 70 and 90. The distinction between 'calf,' 'half,' 'laugh' and the other cases of /can probar bly be traced to the dictionary j and the separation of 'can't/
274
DIALECT NOTES.
* shan't' from other ?i-words is perhaps the result of some arti- ficial influence. The almost unanimous vote for a in 'aunt' seems to be due partly to the spelling ' au ' and the analogy of words like ' haunt/ and partly to an effort to distinguish * aunt ' from 'ant.' Most of the support for a in 'advance/ 'advantage/ ' answer/ and ' castle ' comes from Massachusetts.
The percentages given above represent eastern New England as a whole ; but the pronunciation is not always the same in all quarters of this territory. We may, in fact, divide the region into three parts :* in the first, which comprises Maine and eastern Massachusetts, the practice does not differ essentially from that shown by the general averages ; in the second, which consists of New Hampshire, ce is a little more prevalent, especially before n ; the third, Rhode Island, is unanimous for a in ' Alabama,' ' calm,' 'aunt,' 'can't,' 'shan't,' 'calf,' 'half,' 'laugh,' and prefers the same vowel in ' gape,' ' almond,' ' drama, ' banana,' ' bath,' ' path,' ' class,' 'pass,' but shows a decided liking for ce in the other words.
2. Eastern Virginia.
Eastern Virginia is unanimous for ce in ' trans- ' and ' -graph.' It is divided on the pronunciation of 97 words, but does not show over 40% for a in any of them, except 'calm' (62%), 'aunt' (46%), and 'master' (54%). I am told that the old whig families affect a, while the democrats use ce. The vowel a has, in the following examples, —
(1) from 1 % to 10 % :
ant slant daft
banana blather Taft
pant lather aghast
bask
castor mass gasp rascal
ghastly rasp
(2) from 10 % to 20 % :
example askance plant rather
salmon enhance prance craft
sample lance trance draft
graft blast clasp
alas cask flask
basket castle massive
(3) from 20 % to 30 % : gape branch France aft
almond can't
advance command
advantage dance
glance calf grant chaff
lath haft
raft fast mast
shaft fasten task
brass grasp tassel
cast mask vast
|
half |
waft |
grass |
past |
|
laugh |
ask |
last |
pastor |
|
quaff |
class |
nasty- |
plaster |
|
staff |
glass |
pass |
HAF AND H^F. 275
(4) from 30 % to 40 % :
Alabama chance path
drama chant wrath
answer shan't after
blanch bath draught
It will be seen that 'calf/ 'half,' 'laugh' are not separated from the /-words, nor ' can't,' ' shan't ' from the other cases of n.
3. North and West.
In the North and West only three speakers out of 86 use a in ^ trans-' and in '-graph.' Both vowels are heard, however, in 103 of the 116 words ; but in 89 of them a has less than 10 % of the votes. The occasional use of a in these 89 examples is probably due to the schools or to Eastern influences ; ct is a little less rare in 'can't,' 'shan't' than in the rest of the ?i-list. A trace of artificial influence can be found in the fact that there are more votes for a in ' wrath ' than in ' bath,' ' lath,' aud ' path.'
Here are the fourteen words in which a received 10 % or more, with the per cent, of votes for a in each : ' gape,' 11 ; 'Alabama,' 27; 'almond,' 81; 'calm,' 84; 'drama,' 36; 'salmon,' 14; 'aunt,' 22; 'piano,' 13; 'rather,' 11; ' draught,' 10 ; 'half,' 10; 'laugh,' 10; 'quaff,' 22; 'waft,' 13.
In general, there are more cases of a in Ohio and Indiana than in Michigan and Illinois. Nearly all the votes for ce in ' calm ' come from Ontario and central and western Pennsylvania, which are almost unanimous for kcem. All the correspondents from Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, and almost all from Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri use cm in 'aunt,' ' can't,' ' shant.' Some speakers in Missouri pronounce ' shan't ' with an ^.
4. South.
The South has no a in 'trans-' and '-graph,' and shows traces of it in only 27 of the 116 examples. Furthermore, only three of these 27 words received over two a-votes : ' Alabama,' with 17 % f or a ; ' calm,' 33 % ; ' drama,' 20 % - The Gulf States are unani- mous for oe in ' Alabama.'
C. H. GRANDGENT.
276
DIALECT NOTES.
LIST OF VERBS FROM WESTERN CONNECTICUT.
This list of verbs represents the actual usage of an individual who may be taken as a typical representative in the matter of dialect, of the rural population of his section in Litchfield County, Connecticut. He is about sixty years old, can read and write, but never goes to church, and seldom has occasion to talk with those who speak more conventional English than himself. His position in the town is somewhat that of Mr. B. Sawin in the Biglow Papers, The town is one remote from railroads, and city boarders do not reach it; the older inhabi- tants speak with considerable uniformity the same dialect as our subject.
No verb in their speech, with the single exception of see, has more than two forms ; the preterit and past participle are in all cases alike.
. I have used the ordinary spelling, occasionally adding the phonetic spelling in parentheses for the sake of certainty. Where two forms are given, it means that I have heard my subject use both ; if one is in parentheses, he uses that form much less than the other.
|
bear |
bore (born in p.p. in speaking of birth, but " my trees haint bore so good this year ") |
||
|
beat |
beat |
||
|
begin |
begun |
||
|
bid |
bid |
||
|
bind |
bound |
||
|
blow |
blowed |
||
|
break |
broke |
||
|
bring |
brought (brung) |
||
|
burn |
burnt |
||
|
bust |
busted |
||
|
catch (pron. |
ketj) |
catched (pron. ketjt) |
|
|
choose |
(pron. tjiuz) |
chose |
|
|
clunb |
clura (clim is perhaps more common, but our |
||
|
- |
friend never uses it) |
||
|
come |
come |
||
|
creep |
crep |
I
VEBBS FROM WESTERN CONNECTICUT.
217
|
cuss |
cussed (pron. kijst) (but cursed as a book- |
|
word. He never says curse in the present, |
|
|
even when a book-word. The adjective |
|
|
cussed (pron. k'Bsid) is of course a very |
|
|
useful part of his vocabulary) |
|
|
dare |
darst (negative in pres. dassent [pron. dsesnt]) |
|
dive |
dove |
|
do (pron. diu) |
done |
|
draw |
drawed |
|
dream |
dreamt (pron. drempt) |
|
drink |
drinked (used often causatively, = to water : |
|
"go drink them oxen ") |
|
|
drive |
druv |
|
eat |
eat (pron. it) |
|
fall |
fell |
|
fight |
fit |
|
find |
foun(d) |
|
fling |
flung |
|
rty |
flew |
|
freeze |
froze |
|
-it |
got (pron. got, never gijt) |
|
give |
give (gin) |
|
go |
went {gone in p.p. is confined to adj. use, = |
|
* away,' ' no longer present ') |
|
|
grow |
growed |
|
hang (pron. heq) |
hung |
|
hear |
heared (pron. hird) |
|
heat |
het |
|
heave |
hove (pron. hov or h^v) |
|
hide |
hid |
|
hold |
held, hild |
|
hurt |
hurt |
|
keep |
kep |
|
know |
knowed (knew) |
|
lay |
laid (used also for pret. of lie) |
|
lean |
leaned (leant pron. lent) |
|
learn (pron. lern, lam) |
learnt |
|
lie |
(lay) laid is also used |
|
light |
lit |
|
put (pron. put) |
put (pron. put) |
|
quit |
quit |
|
ride |
rode, rid |
|
rise |
riz |
|
rive |
rived (a familiar word in this region, being |
|
applied to a process of getting out shingles) |
|
|
run |
â– run |
|
see |
see, p.p. seen |
|
shine |
shone (pron. /on) |
278
DIALECT NOTES.
|
show |
showed |
|
shoe (pron. Jiu) |
shod |
|
srink |
srunk |
|
shet |
shet |
|
sing |
sung |
|
sink |
sunk |
|
set |
set, sot (the verb sit is not used : set when tran- |
|
sitive has pret. set, when intr. set or sot) |
|
|
slay- |
slew (pron. sliu) |
|
smite |
smote |
|
speak |
spoke |
|
spill |
spilt |
|
spile |
spilt |
|
strive |
strove |
|
swear |
swore |
|
sweep |
swep |
|
swim |
swum |
|
take |
took |
|
teach |
teached (only in sense of 'keep school.' He |
|
uses learn, trans., in other senses) |
|
|
tear |
tore |
|
thrive |
thriv, throve. |
|
throw |
throwed |
|
tread |
trod |
|
wake |
waked |
|
wear |
wore |
|
weave |
wove |
|
wet |
wet |
|
whet |
whet |
|
write |
wrote |
In my boyhood, in western Connecticut, I learned to know a common carpenter's tool as a " madz," and I think most of the fellow-workmen of my father, who was a carpenter, used that name. The explanation of the prefixed m is to my mind un- doubtedly this : The word on account of its form was looked on as a plural, and always took a plural verb, as I remember the usage. The form v/ith a demonstrative pronoun would then always be, in the dialect of the region, them adz, and the m was transferred to the noun, as the n of the indefinite article has changed places in some words.
E. H. BABBITT.
Columbia College.
I
LOSS OF E IN ENGLISH THBOUGH DISSIMILATION. 279
LOSS OF R IN ENGLISH THEOUGH DISSIMILATION.^
That r not followed by a vowel is lost or reduced to a mid- mixed vowel in southern England and in the Southern and a part of the New England States is well known (Grandgent, German and English Sounds, § 15, 5). In his excellent study of the Ithaca dialect (Dialect Notes, III, §160), Professor Emerson has recorded the occasional loss of r in a dialect that regularly retains it. With many of Professor Emerson's examples of loss of r at the end of a syllable and with others like them (for instance dcesnt, Jcvs ^ curse,' jjcetridj, bvst 'burst') I have been familiar from my childhood as a part of vulgar speech ; and posi ' pursy,' pmli 'purslain,' smsdprild, I should say now, if I had occasion to use the words. But most of these are descended from a dialect that lost r in this position before it was lost in the districts where dasnt kes, patridj, pesi, etc., are said ; as is shown by the quality of the vowels. The modern kcetridj is probably due to the influence of pcetridj, and scesdprild may have been influenced by scesdfrces.
But I would to-day note a very common but less extensive loss of r in my own dialect, which was formed in southern Michigan. I have observed the following cases ; there are doubtless more. At least two-thirds of my students agree with me in nearly all the cases cited. The usage of a community, and even of an individual, varies according to the degree of influence exerted, consciously or unconsciously, by the spelling.
1) 'there' are,' ^i^r, d^r, der, ^ar, or tfr; 'where' are,' hw^r, hwqr, hwevy hwr; ' far' are,' far, far; ' for' her, ' for, for, far;
2) less generally in 'fa(r)ther,' 'fo(r)\vard,' 'fo(r)mer,' 'fo(r)merly ' or 'forme(r)ly,' 'wa(r)mer,' ' wa(r)m water ' (but *warm'), ' pa(r)liamentary ' (but 'parliament'), ' co (r) poration,' 'inco(r)porate/ 'no(r)thern' or ^northe(r)n '^ and the name
1 The symbols used in this article are those of the American Dialect Society, but I have adopted from Mr. Grandgent ^ for the vowel in 'fair,' and e for the first part of a in 'hate.' Syllabic r, w, are printed r, n. Where the ordinary spelling is used, the acute accent marks words, (comparatively) stressed.
2 I usually say ' northen,' but sometimes ' nothern ' in contrast to * southern. '
280 DIALECT NOTES.
*Northen' (but < north'), ^qua(r)ter' (but ^ quart'), 'co(r)iier' (but 'corn'); occasionally in *pa(r)lor,' 'fa(r)mer/ *o(r)der/ ' wa (r) m weather ' ;
3) usually in ' su(r)prise,' * ante (r) prise,' ' o(r)thography,' Hhe(r)mometer,' *comfo(r)ter,' 'pa(r)ticular' (but 'participate'), less generally in 'afte(r) wards,' 'pe(r)fumery ' (always 'per- fume'), 'pe(r)formance' (but 'perfection'), and my wife's maiden name : ' Purmot ' or ' Purmont ' for ' Purmort ' ; ^
4) 'afte(r)noon,' 'yeste(r)day ' (and 'yes(ter)day morning,' etc.), less frequently in 'Satu(r)day,' 'you(r),' 'you(r)self,' 'cornf (or) table' ;
5) 'lib(r)ary' (sounded laihri or laihri; I have also heard laibieri, only recently from a professor in Williams College, a native of Williamstown), 'Feb(i')uary' (sounded fehyu-.eriy febu : eri, or febd : tcei^i) ?
It is evident that the loss of the stressed r in 1) and 2) is due to dissimilation : ^ in 3) and 5) lack of stress (always favor- able to dissimilation, cf. Greek cf>(p)aTpLa, Spvcfy{p)aKTo^, Latin co(n)gnosco, etc.), aided the loss. The forms oeftiviin, yes{td)d^, scet(r)d^, cvmf{r) table, etc., may be simply contractions, r etc. falling away next cognate sounds. Still ' afte(r)noon ' may be due to 'afte(r) wards,' and '3^este(r)day ' and ' Satu(r)day ' may have arisen before 'morning,' 'afternoon,' etc. yu for 'your' probably arose in the very common locutions, 'you(r) father,' 'you(r) mother,' etc. ; if so, it too is dae to dissimilation.
The different forms given under 1) arise from difference in time and rhythm : ^^r and hw^r begin trochaic sentences, and so do 3"^?' and hw^r when followed by a very light syllable (for example, 'the (re a) re the boys,' 'whe(re a) re you going?') ; 3"^?', 9'er, and 3"r etc. begin iambic sentences when followed by a stressed sylla- ble ; while tfer and especially tfr precede a very heavily stressed
1 Observe a similar uncertainty in the name of • Philemon Pormort ' or 'Pormont,' the first master of the Boston Latin School (Phillips Brooks, The First School in America, pp. 13, 20).
2 This loss of one of two medial r's I have observed also among those who, while losing final r, usually retain medial r.
3 That the loss of r in ' there are ' etc. (' I'll get it for her,' ' How far are you going?,' etc.) is not the same as that in 'what (are) you doing?,' ' how soon (are) you going ?,' etc., is evident from the dissyllabic forms tS^r, for, etc. ; unless it be regarded as more likely that these forms are later and arose out of rhythmical considerations from the monosyllabic &fr, etc.
LOSS OF B IN ENGLISH THBOUGH DISSIMILATION. 281
syllable, for is the usual final form (' I'll get it fo(r h)er '), for and fdr are used when a stresse'd syllable follows, but not neces- sarily immediately (*I'd do it fo(r h)er any day,' *slie bought them fo(r h)er old friend').
d^r is often resolved into 9"^ and r, the d^ being used after a strong ar ^are' (so in Hhere are many poor ones, are there ?') ; but as the sound ^ occurs only before r, 3"^ becomes d^ (like unstressed 'they'), occasionally it is reduced to dd. This is so common that d^ for the indefinite ' there ' is frequent even when not suggested by a preceding "d^r ' there are,' and may, if stressed, become full dei. Thus 'th^ were a good many in the room,' 'I only found two, but th^ may be more,' Hh^'s {or tha's) a man downstairs.'
This use of d^ for 'd^ is another illustration of the principle made use of by Sweet, History of English Sounds, § 732 (and afterwards by me. Academy, April 25, 1891), that when a sound arises under certain conditions and is brought into a position or condition in which the sound does not otherwise occur in the language in question, it is apt to be displaced by the nearest sound that does occur in that situation.
GEORGE HEMPL.
University of Michigan.
282 DIALECT NOTES.
SQUINT AND SQUINNY,
Having found by accident that my wife associated with the word squint an idea (namely, to peer through partly closed eyes) that differed materially from the one I had always entertained (that is, to be cross-eyed), I inquired of some 120 members of the University of Michigan as to what current usage is, and here- with present the results of this investigation.
Arranged without regard to parts of speech but with some attempt at logical development, the meanings of squint (in a few cases, squint-eyed) fall into the following scheme : —
I 1) to have strabismus, or improper direction of one or both of the eyeballs, due to disproportion in the length of the straight muscles (usually a permanent defect, though many persons can imitate it at will) : " He squints." So squint-eyed = cross-eyed or cock-eyed.^
2) to look askance, for example, (a) contemptuously : " You needn't squint at me in that style, you're no better than we are"; (b) furtively: "What are you squinting at? This matter is none of your business " ; (c) suspiciously : " He kept squinting at me all the time, as though he thought I'd pocket one of them."
3) (a) to have an indirect reference or bearing (cf. Century dictionary, squint, V 3) ; (&) squinting or squijit-eyed = ambigu- ous or dubious, as "squinting praise," "a squinting construc- tion," etc.
4) to incline or tend in a certain direction: "The very first article squints toward what I said he had in mind."
1 As was pointed out by Dr. S. W. Norton at the meeting in Chicago, this word too is differently understood : to me it means having one or both eyes directed outward while looking straight ahead ; to Dr. Norton it means hav- ing eyelids that droop, especially at the outer corners. When reminded of a certain "cock-eyed" governor of Massachusetts, I remembered this use of the word. I must also have often heard the, word squint in the sense marked II above, but it was only a year ago that I became aware of it and of its divergence from what is my usual meaning. All of which goes to emphasize the well-known fact that one's own usage may long keep itself uninfluenced by the usage of many about him.
SQUINT AND SQUINNY. 283
5) (a) squints: two narrow openings in intercepting pillars of a church, which enable those in the side aisles to look obliquely at the high altar ; (&) squint-holes : the long slits in the walls of barns to admit light and air (Gloucestershire).
II to contract the eyelids so as partly to close the eyes (either steadily or intermittently), blink: (a) occasional, because of unusually bright light: "He stood in the glare of the sun, squint- ing (up) his eyes, and," etc. ; (b) occasional or habitual, because of near-sightedness ; so squint-eyed = near-sighted.
III 1) to contract the eyelid at the outer corner so as partly to close the eye : (a) a knowing or lascivious wink: "He squinted at his partner, but said nothing '* ; (6) a permanent defect in the eyelid: "His left eye squinted, or opened incompletely."
2) to twitch (usually because of some nervous affection), said of the corner of the eye.
IV to close one eye —
1) and with the other (a) look through a crack or hole, peer : "I saw him squinting through the key-hole" ; (b) a) look along an edge or a series of points : "' Just squint along that edge, if you think it isn't straight"; /3) take aim, as with a gun: "He levelled his rifle, took a squint at the spot, and fired " ; (c) get a good view of an object, slang for a) a brief but critical glance : " You'd better take a squint at that before you," etc. ; P) any glance : " I wish I could get a squint at that " = get sight of it.
2) and draw up the cheek as a sign of uncertainty or of unwil- lingness to answer : " A shrug of the shoulders or a squint of his right eye was all the reply I could get from him."
It will be observed that I has to do with the ball of the eye and its muscles, while II, III, and IV relate to the eyelids. Now, strange as it may seem, the dictionaries recognize only I, and betray no acquaintance with II, III, and IV, and yet these mean- ings are by far the more familiar and general in America. That even the new American Century Dictionary so thoroughly mis- represents present usage in this country is a sad reminder that the making of dictionaries from older dictionaries is not yet a thing of the past.
Of the persons of whom I inquired, two (a little more than one per cent) knew I and part of IV but not II; 35 (27 %) knew I 1 and II, and some of them III or IV; 89 (70 %) knew II, and 60 of them part of III and IV, but not I 1, though four
284 DIALECT NOTES.
knew I 2. In other words, 85 (67 %) knew II, but not I, and 124 (98 % ) knew II ; while only two (something over one per cent) knew I and not II, and even these knew part of IV. By states they are as follows : —
I and IV, but not II : 1 Maine, 1 Michigan, = 2 ;
I, II (and some III or IV) : 3 Massachusetts, 1 Connecticut,
I Rhode Island, 1 Maryland, 1 Pennsylvania, 1 New York, 2 Ohio, 16 Michigan, 3 Indiana, 1 Tennessee, 1 Illinois, 2 Iowa, 2 Utah, = 35;
II (and some IV or III), but not I: 1 Vermont, 1 Massachu- setts, 1 Connecticut, 1 Florida, 1 Pennsylvania, 6 Ohio, 6 Indiana, 50 Michigan, 17 Illinois, 2 Iowa, 2 Missouri, 1 Kansas, 1 Califor- nia, = 90 ; but 3 from Michigan, and 1 from Illinois knew I 2.
From which it appears that I is best known in the East, and
II in the West.
I 2 was known to most of those that knew I 1, and to some that did not. I 3 and 4 were known only from books, I 5 was not reported.
II b is as general as II a, but squint-eyed = near-sighted was reported only from 15 Michigan, 2 Indiana, 4 Illinois, 2 Iowa, 1 Missouri, 1 Kansas, 1 California, = 26 ; and so only in the West.
III 1 a is general, b is occasional. III 2 was reported only from 3 Michigan, 2 Chicago, 1 Indiana.
IV is well known all over the country.
As regards England, I have not been able to find that II, III, and IV are known there. To squint at = to glance at, is reported from Yorkshire, but the meanings I have classed under IV a and 3 may nearly as easily fall under I 2.
But squinny shows in England similar diversity of meaning : I 1 in East Anglia, Leicester, Sussex, and Somerset ; I 2 in Leicester and Sussex; II in Leicester {" squin{n)y ing eyes: nar- row, contracted, like those of a very short-sighted person trying to make out something at a distance '') ; IV in Somerset (" I seed thee squinning round the corner"), and Leicester ("What have you got there? Let's have a squinny"). The word also means weakly, undersized, shrivelled (Leicester), lean, thin (Isle of Wight), and even contemptible (East Anglia).
It will be observed that the above arrangement of the meanings of squint implies that the transition from I to II lies through the use of squints in a church, and later any similar narrow open-
SQUINT AND SQUINNY. 285
ing to peer through. It is, however, as likely that the change came about because when an eye is partly closed, especially at the tail of the eye, the pupil and iris appear much as they do when the eyeball is turned outward and so into the tail of the eye.
If I may be allowed to add the " moral " of this brief paper, let it be this : When you observe a word, or a pronunciation, or a use of a word, that strikes you as strange, do not condemn it and prove its wrongness by showing the ones that used it that it is not so "in the dictionary"; but rather try to find how general the unrecognized word, or pronunciation, or meaning is, and put the results of your inquiry in such shape that they will receive justice at the hands of the next dictionary.
GEORGE HEMPL.
University of Michigan.
286 DIALECT NOTES.
WHAT IS A DIALECT?'
The discussion of the question here chosen as a subject involves repeating much that has already been said before by such men as Whitney^ in this country, PauP in Germany, P. Passy^ in France, and others. The only excuse for such repetition is that in the study of dialects in America the conditions are sufficiently peculiar to make it desirable to restate some main principles now perhaps generally accepted by scholars, with attention to these American conditions which make it well to emphasize certain principles specially, and well to note some possible additions or modifications. This will be but imperfectly done in the present article, for the study of the special conditions under which the English speech has taken and is taking shape in America is still in its beginnings. But the present is a time — the American Dialect Society being now in its fifth year — when we may well feel that a discussion of our subject with special reference to America can be begun with more hope of early profitable results than would have been justified when our Society began its exist- ence. This article is meant as a contribution to such discussion, and its author will be best pleased if it shall provoke criticism and further discussion.
We may now make the following general statements, some of which we shall then discuss.
1 See his Language and the Study of Language, Lectures i and iv, and Life and Growth of Language, chap. ix.
2 See his Principien der Sprachgeschichte, 2d ed., 1886. For the reader's convenience I may refer also to the work based on this German original, though in some respects independent of it, by Strong, Logeman and Wheeler, entitled Introduction to the Study of the History of Language, London, 1891. In this see particularly chaps, i, ii, xxii, xxiii. No attempt is made here to mention all works which deserve study in connection with the general subject of dialects ; some of the most important have been already mentioned under the heading "Bibliography" in previous numbers of Dialect Notes.
8 See his £tude sur les changements phonetiques et leurs caracteres gene- raux, Paris, 1890.
I
WHAT IS A DIALECT? 287
Language we consider primarily as spoken by the various indi- viduals who use it. No two individuals use exactly the same language. All language is constantly changing and the gradual changes in different localities produce in time, in the lack of con- servative or unifying forces, forms markedly different, even though the source of all these may have been the same, that is, with only slight and unnoticed individual variations. These different local forms of speech we may provisionally call dialects, but it is evi- dent that a sharp line between dialects and language can only be drawn after adopting strict definitions of both words, also that no sharp line can be drawn between the slight, and for the most part unnoticed (though not necessarily imperceptible), differences among individuals speaking the same dialect or language and the more noticeable ones which we call differences of dialect. Dialects, thus understood, cannot be assigned in general to definite regions with sharply drawn geographical limits ; but each one of their characteristics can be so delimited, though no two such character- istics may cover exactly the same territory. The so-called stand- ard language is not a fixed and infallible standard, but is itself constantly changing with the course of time, and is different in the different places where it is spoken. The conservative and unifying forces keep these different forms of the standard lan- guage from departing excessively in any place from the somewhat ideal norm. In all its forms the standard language is, or very soon becomes, somewhat artificial, but this does not prevent it from exerting a strong influence on the more natural speech of different localities with which it comes in contact, nor from being somewhat affected by this. The tendency of its influence is to substitute a form of the standard language for each local dialect, as we see clearly wherever the standard language has such recog- nition as it has in England and France for example. The distin- guishing characteristics of dialects most commonly noted are those of pronunciation; the phonology furnishes the usual dia- lect test.
For the sake of convenience may be added here that the method of study of dialects now recognized as the scientific one is the historical method.
After this brief statement of what seem to me the most impor- tant general principles for my purpose, — principles which I hope I may assume to be now pretty generally accepted by linguistic scholars, — we may discuss some of them with special reference
288 DIALECT NOTES.
to America and add such special considerations as may seem necessary.
In speaking of language we mean primarily spoken language, not the written form which is, speaking generally, only a later and inexact representation for the eye of the language as spoken, that is, of the real language. But it is well not to forget that the written language has become extremely important in modern times, and that as a means of communication — the original pur- pose of language — it often completely takes the place of the spoken language, besides merely supplementing the latter. It has some obvious advantages which I need not here discuss, for our concern now is with the spoken language. Yet even the written language we must consider to some extent, for the written form has in the history of English, and not in that of English alone, exerted some influence on the spoken language. The most important influence of this sort is when the written form of a word has led to a change of pronunciation, a thing which in English has not been confined to words now only literary or uncommon, though it was doubtless at first confined to such words. The written language may also affect the vocabulary in any locality where it is known, introducing new words. I need only mention the spread through the newspapers of bookish words which easily get into use even among persons who cannot read, through those who do. Similarly bookish phrases spread. We recognize them usually at once, and rightly feel that they are not part of the natural speech, that they are not "popular words" or popular phrases. But are we not apt to forget that many words are now distinctly popular which once were as strange as any of the cases that now make us smile when we hear them ? It is only necessary to think of the numerous common, every-day words in English which are of French origin, and to reflect on the influence of the speakers of more or less good book-English in this country where almost everybody reads and where, all over the country, children are carefully taught to avoid various forms of " bad English " by persons not all of whom can correctly distinguish in every case between bad English and idiomatic colloquial English, — it is only necessary to think for a moment of these things to realize the need of caution. The French adverb encore is not an old word in English use; the earliest citation in the New English J)ictionary is from the year 1712, but the same century shows
i
WHAT IS A DIALECT? 289
us the word used in English as noun (1763) and verb (1748) as well as an interjection, and all three uses are common in the newspapers nowadays, as well as in conversation, while "there appears to be no evidence that . . . the French . . . word was ever similarly used in its native country." In spite of this advance towards popular use the pronunciation of the word is still fluctu- ating among those who know its origin. It depends on the meaning we assign to the word "dialect" whether or not we shall say that it belongs to the dialect of certain people, who pronounce it (I do not say incorrectly) as if spelled ongcore and put the accent on the first syllable. In the words advance, advan- tage the d is an intrusion in the spelling, due to mistaken et}^- mology, but these words are now more popular than the nearly or quite obsolete avaunt. Similarly corpse is more popular than corse, which is now only poetic, but the p of corpse is again an etymological intrusion in the spelling. So the g of recognizance is an intrusion, and it is not always pronounced, though the older pronunciation without the g is perhaps in this country confined to lawyers, but in recognize we all pronounce the written g. Yet after all we should be surprised if we found more than comparatively few instances in the spoken language where the spelling had affected the pronunciation, especially if we found that any widely spread phenomenon in phonology affecting a large class of words was due entirely to this cause. We should also be ready to admit it only in the " standard language " or as a consequence of the influence of this, if we do find it in more popular use.
With regard, now, to the slight differences between individuals which, when they become considerable enough and localized enough, we call dialect differences, it is obvious that such dif- ferences may and do more or less exist not only in pronunciation, but also in other characteristics of speech. No two persons use the same vocabulary, or use with the same frequency all words common to both, and there are shades of meaning also different, in the cases of different persons, for the same word. There are the different vocabularies of the different trades and professions, of the mathematician, the physicist, the sailor, and so on. Even the language of women is to a certain extent different from that of men, and children, because they are children, differ in language from adults, and these forms of language also may be called dialects. The shifting character of word meanings is even greater than
290 DIALECT NOTES,
that of pronunciation, and we may even say that in popular use words do not have in general exact meanings at all, that is, the boundaries of the idea expressed by a given word are more or less vague and shifting. The word dialect is itself an example which shows this to be true not of popular words only, but of many which are distinctly not popular. There are many words familiar to us to which we should yet be puzzled to assign exact meanings, and perhaps this is more the case in this coun- try than in some others, because many words common in litera- ture, and not uncommon in speech, are learned from books or from the conversation of others, without actual acquaintance with the things themselves. Consider how many city children have never seen a cow, or how many men and women know no more of the words spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, than that they are names of different kinds of trees. Even in a language with so little inflexion as standard English possesses, there may be differences in inflexion ; compare the uses of drank and drunk, the former of which is actually preferred by some as the past participle of drink. Obviously, too, the processes of derivation and composition and all syntactic phenomena are subject to vari- ation of a kind which we can hardly avoid calling dialectal. Where there is a literary or standard language, it is true, these variations can, to a greater extent than is the case with sounds, be kept under control, but there is nothing in the nature of language to prevent them from developing and causing linguistic change enough to produce what might properly be called dialects, as being local forms of speech not readily intelligible outside of the locality where they are in use. The reason why phonology is usually made the basis for dialect study is that it furnishes the most convenient and the most trustworthy criterion.
Before leaving the subject of individual differences we may note that it is possible to speak of the speech of any individual as a dialect. This may be done either when we wish to empha- size the existence of individual differences, and the fact that they are of the same kind as those greater ones which we usually have in mind when we speak of dialects, or when an individual's speech is under discussion as representative or typical of the speech of his locality, which all might • agree in calling a dialect. A community of a considerable number of speakers is always, of course, found wherever a language or dialect is spoken, and each individual learns his dialect from the language used by others in
WHAT IS A DIALECT? 291
the same community, but he always and necessarily individualizes the dialect in his own use, and can use it, though he could not learn it, without their help. To be sure, in general his use of it is constantly affected by that of others. But it is obvious that, if we wish to be cautious, to guard against misrepresenting the dialect or dialects of a given locality, we must be careful to exclude, as far as possible, mere individualisms from our account, and therefore, when we study only one individual's speech, we shall be almost obliged to speak of it as his dialect. In the study of dialect it is only from observing individuals that we can get a correct idea of what is not individual.
It has been said above that exact delimitation of dialects con- sidered as different local forms of speech is impossible, but that such delimitation is possible for their individual characteristics. But even for these the problem is by no means always equally easy of solution. In Europe there have been for many centuries no great migratory movements of population, the territory has long been settled, and single communities have a long history, to a great extent the history of the ancestors of the people who live in them at this day. The conditions were favorable for the development of dialects, and dialects developed with some well- marked characteristics, and developed with comparative freedom, each for itself, unhampered in the beginning by the paramount influence of a standard language, and comparatively little affected by mixture with other markedly different dialects. (I do not mean that there was no mixture of dialects; of course this always existed on the borders of adjacent dialects where there was inter- communication, and some of the adjacent dialects may have belonged to very different language types, as, for example, Hun- garian and Slavic or Eoumanian, to say nothing of the contacts between French and German or German and Italian.) In such cases the characteristics of, for example, phonology, which altered in the course of time and spread, each over a certain extent of ter- ritory, can be mapped, each according to its extent. Such is the case still, to a large extent, with the dialects of England, Ger- many, France, and Italy. But in this country the case is very different. At the time when English was brought here, the local dialects of England had already begun to be affected by the standard English, and probably no one dialect of England, as represented in any one community, was brought over here and has continued its existence as such, with even so much freedom
292 DIALECT NOTES.
from outside influence as it might have had in its English home. In this country various English dialects have mixed, and over all has predominated from the first the standard English/ the influ- ence of which on all speakers has been, and still is, much greater than is or ever was the case in England. In this connection I may quote a passage from Whitney's Language and the Study of Language (pp. 171-2) ^ from which it will appear that I am here saying nothing new, but rather have felt it important to repeat what ought to be common knowledge, but what some, even among linguistic scholars, are apt to forget, under the influence of German and other European models, when they come to the treatment of dialects in this country : —
" But it was impossible that, in the transfer of English to the continent of America, these local dialects should maintain them- selves intact : that could only have been the result of a sepa- rate migration of parts of the local communities to which they belonged, and of the continued maintenance of their distinct iden- tity in their new place of settlement. Such was not the character of the movement which filled this country with an English-speak- ing population. Old lines of local division were effaced ; new ties of community were formed, embracing men of various province and rank. It was not more inevitable that the languages of the various nationalities which have contributed to our later popula- tion should disappear, swallowed up in the predominant English, than that the varying forms of English should disappear, being assimilated to that one among them which was better supported than the rest. Nor could it be doubtful which was the predomi- nant element, to which the others would have to conform them- selves. In any cultivated and lettered community, the cultivated speech, the language of letters, is the central point toward which all the rest gravitate, as they are broken up and lose their local hold. And our first settlers were in no small part from the instructed class, men of high character, capacity, and culture. They brought with them a written language and a rich literature ; they read and wrote ; they established schools of every grade, and took care that each rising generation should not fall behind its predecessor in learning. The basis, too, of equality of rights and privileges on which they founded their society added a pow- erful influence in favor of equality of speech. As a natural and
1 Cf. the foot-note, p. 296. 2 i quote from the fifth edition, 1872.
I
WHAT IS A DIALECT f 293
unavoidable consequence, then, of these determining conditions, and not by reason of any virtue for which we are to take credit to ourselves, the general language of America, through all sec- tions of the country and all orders of the population, became far more nearly homogeneous, and accordant with the correct standard of English speech, than is the average language of England."
We have many traces of English dialects in this country, and of Scotch as well, as we also have in some parts of the country traces of other European languages among those who speak English, notably of German, Spanish, and French. But the his- torical continuity of our dialect variations with those of England has been, to say the least, much interfered with, and, apart from certain isolated communities which may, it is quite possible, exist, it may perhaps be said that the basis of all our American English, local varieties included, is standard English, or, which is saying nearly the same thing, that English dialects which are or were at the time of the English colonization almost identical with standard English have been the main source of the popular speech. If, now, this be granted, as it perhaps will not be by all, then it is obvious that it is all but impossible to map the terri- tory of all the dialect peculiarities we have received from Eng- land, and that it is to some extent even useless for the study of dialect variation in this country, for these isolated or occasional peculiarities have here largely lost the interest as dialect feat- ures which they had in England. It is only in so far as they are really distinctive in this country that they have considerable value for the linguistic student of dialect growth and development, and in such cases their territory can really be mapped, though the task is no easy one. Those peculiarities which are only isolated retentions and are not now distinctively local have, how- ever, an interest for the history of our speech, and they should be recorded as parts of the material for the history of American civilization of which the linguistic history is a part. Moreover some of them may turn out to be of greater importance than the observer at first suspects.
But, some one may say, if we note only scattered and isolated peculiarities, of what use will this fragmentary work be, and how are any but such observations of unimportant details possible if in this country we all speak standard English ? Are there any dialects of English at all in America? To the first of these
294 DIALECT NOTES.
objections it might be answered that all truly scientific work involves the collection of a large number of single facts which only become valuable when all are co-ordinated and studied in their relations. Every science must have its toilsomely accumu- lated store of single facts. But it is not true that we must all con- fine ourselves even in this early stage of work to collecting facts, though this is certainly the most pressing need. With a small material only Ave can begin an intelligent study which tries to explain as well as collect, and thus add the interest of a definite purpose to the drudgery of collecting. Professor HempFs short paper in this number of Dialect Notes on the loss of r in English through dissimilation is an illustration of this. Then it is not the case that in this country we all speak standard English. It does appear to be the case that our local forms of speech, or most of them, go back to some form of standard English, as their main (by no means their only) source, but there has been time already for the beginnings at least of dialect differentiation, and the standard language itself in this country already shows such differentiation clearly.^ Much more is this likely to be the case with the careless popular speech which is less easily held within the bounds of any artificial standard. Then, too, we have the phenomena of dialect mixture to study here, and we can watch these as they take place, as the speakers of foreign languages (and, for that matter, of some forms of Eng- lish, as Irish-English) who come as immigrants mix in varying proportions with the English speakers already here. The settle- ment of thQ largest part of our immense territory by white men
a —
1 As possible examples of such dialect variation in phonology alone we may mention the loss or retention (to some extent probably the restoration) of r in many cases ; the peculiar y-like sound substituted for r in some regions ; the widely spread unrounding of " short o " so that it becomes an a sound (of different quality in different localities) ; the change of A in some parts of the South into w^ (a more forward sound resembling or identical with a Scandinavian vowel), so that -those who have made this change no longer possess the vowel >& (as in boot) at all, as those who have unrounded the o no longer possess the recognized o (as in hot) of the standard English of England ; the vowel o (as in bone, stone, etc., in New England and else- where) ; and even vowel nasality. To some extent these phenomena, except perhaps the last, are distinctly local. How far they are retentions of pro- nunciations in England and how far they are the result of dialect divergence in this country or of foreign influences we do not fully know as yet. Cf. the foot-note, p. 296.
WHAT IS A DIALECT? 295
is still so recent that the memories of old men yet living can furnish facts of value for the study of the language problems. We have in this country opportunities for the study of dialect differences at their very beginnings, from the very fact that even local forms of speech in general still diverge so little from the standard in England. The difeerentiation has apparently not yet gone very far, but it is perceptible enough, and the question comes whether fully developed dialects such as those known in Europe will ever be known here. The study of our American conditions, not only for English but also for the French of Canada and Louisiana, the German of Pennsylvania, the Spanish of the Southwest, may also make it easier for us to understand the con- dition of things in England after the Norman Conquest, and in Gaul after the conquest by the Eomans and the later one by Germanic tribes.
There is another sense in which the word dialect is sometimes taken, or seems to be taken, when it implies a local form of speech with a history, as is so often the case in Europe, but excludes all the words of that local form of speech which have not the form they would have if they had shared in all its history ; that is, it excludes all words of comparatively recent introduction, all loan-words, except those which are too old to be detected as such. When a person says that such and such a word does not belong to a given dialect, and gives as his reason that it does not have the form which the historical laws of development of that dialect require, and we learn that it is, however, in full local use by the speakers of the dialect, Ave feel that he is really stating, not what the dialect is, but what he thinks it ought to be, or, if he is cor- rect in his opinion as to the foreign origin of the word, he is still stating, not what the dialect is, but what, without foreign intru- sion, it would be. The historical study of dialects is scientific and to be recommended, but it should not be forgotten that the stage actually observed belongs to that history as the latest stage described, and to disguise or conceal the facts of the present is . no more allowable than to treat past facts in the same way. In studying a dialect its history, including the history of its vocab- ulary, must be traced as fully as possible, but a definition of dialect which rests only on its history, or rather only on a part of its history, and is inconsistent with the dialect itself as it actu- ally exists, is clearly objectionable. Generally, to be sure, this use occurs only as a convenient or abbreviated form of language, and
296 DIALECT NOTES.
SO long as the real facts are not hidden and the reader is not misled the objection is not of great practical importance. When we are speaking of past stages of dialects, where the real facts are not open to direct observation, there is perhaps more justifi- cation for the use in question.
We have now reached the point, after wandering a good deal, it may seem, for giving an answer to our question. It is clear to me that we should start with the ordinary idea of the meaning of the word dialectj limiting or modifying it by considerations such as those dwelt on above. We must avoid any attempt to draw too definite lines; it is not a definition like that of a mathe- matical term, such as circle or square, that we shall find most useful, and our definition must rest on observation of the facts as we find them. We may perhaps say :
A dialect is a form of speech actually in natural use in any community as a mode of communication, varying somewhat in the mouths of individuals, but only within comparatively narrow limits at any one time.
We may properly speak of the dialect of a trade or profession, of the dialects of different classes in the same community (if they form what may be called sub-communities), or' of individuals, and may recognize different dialects of the same individual, according to the different circumstances affecting his speech at different times (Passy's dialectes occasionnels) , and we may even speak of dialects of the standard language,^ so far as the latter is naturally spoken, though not all these uses of the word will be equally acceptable to all. If in ordinary use the standard language is contrasted with dialects the distinction is one which we may express by contrasting the somewhat artificial or acquired speech with the natural speech, and there would be no risk of being misunderstood, in spite of the apparent contradiction, if we spoke of the standard language anywhere in use as an artificial dialect. The natural dialect is not artificial, though some elements of it may have been so once, before they became parts of it ; the standard language is more or less artificial, but it is not entirely artificial, a large part of it, far the largest part of it indeed, may be natural too, or may become so. When I say " natural " here I do not mean given by nature, for even the natural dialect
1 For varying forms of standard English cf., for example, p. 269 ff., and Phonetische Studien, V, 79-96.
WHAT IS A DIALECT f 297
is of course taught and learned. I mean, when I call it natural, that it has been so far mastered as to be used readily and with practically no conscious effort ; its use has become " second nature." There is nothing impossible about acquiring a similar mastery of the essentials of the standard language. Wherever the distinctly artificial element is present or at least strongly present, we find the word dialect less suitable, and perhaps this is the best reason for excluding slang in general, and such things as the so-called thieves' slang. But it is evidently not easy to draw a sharp line of division between slang and dialect.^
E. S. SHELDOK
1 See also the article, written from a different standpoint, of A. Horning, Ueber Dialektgrenzen im Bomanischen, in the Zeitschrift filr romanische Philnlogie, XVII, 160c-187.
298 DIALECT NOTES.
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY.
The annual meeting for 1892 was held at Columbian Uni- versity, Washington, D.C., on Thursday, December 29, at 3 p.m., President Garnett in the chair. Committees were appointed to examine the Treasurer's accounts (Professors J. P. Fruit and J. W. Pearce), and to nominate a list of officers for the year 1893. Before the close of the meeting the former committee reported that the Treasurer's accounts had been found correct, and the latter reported the following list of officers for 1893, which was approved: for President, James M. Garnett, Univer- sity of Virginia ; . for Vice-President, A. M. Elliott, Baltimore, Md. ; for Secretary, Edward S. Sheldon, Cambridge, Mass. ; for Treasurer, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass. ; for the Editing Committee, the Secretary, George L. Kittredge, Cam- bridge, Mass., and George Hempl, Ann Arbor, Mich.; for the Executive Committee, in addition to these officers, M. D. Learned, Baltimore, Md., A. F. Chamberlain, Worcester, Mass., and H. K. Lang, New Haven, Conn.
The reports of the Secretary and the Treasurer were read as follows : —
Secretary's Report for 1892.
In the spring of the year 1892 Part IV of Dialect Notes was prepared, and early in May it was sent to those who had up to that time paid their dues for the year, one hundred and thirty-four in number. Further copies have been sent since as payments from old or new members have been received. The price for additional copies of this part for members of 1892 has been set at forty cents. Part V will be distributed soon to members of 1892; it is all in type, and the last corrections have been made. As was mentioned at the time of notification of this meeting, there has been sent to every member a copy of the Sec- retary's paper on the origin of the English names of the letters (an extract from the Harvard Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, I), which contains some matter likely to interest
TEE ANNUAL MEETING, 299
students of dialect in this country. Any who have not received it are requested to communicate with the Secretary at once. A limited number of copies are still available to supply later payers of the regular assessment for the year 1892.
Our list of paid members now (December 26) contains one hundred and sixty-eight names. The list for 1891, as printed in Part V, contains one hundred and eighty-three names, but a certain number were added after this date in 1891, and we have lost by death two members whose namjes appear in that list. With the omission of these names [James Eussell Lowell and Professor N. P. Seymour] the list for 1891 has one hundred and eighty-one names, and compared with this our present list shows a loss of twenty-eight, partly counterbalanced by a gain of fifteen new members. Among the names now dropped — it is to be hoped only for a time — are those of two district secretaries, and two others have for a year or more failed to renew their membership. This is perhaps in part the result of discourage- ment from insufiicient interest shown in the states concerned, the district secretaries finding no intending collectors or other work- ers to assist, and having no preliminary editing of papers to attend to. Failure to get responses to efforts to arouse interest in our work was spoken of at our last meeting, and the states there referred to are not the only ones to show such unsatisfac- tory results.
It will interest such as do not already know it, to learn that, in the spring of 1892, Professor Hempl started a local Dialect Society at Ann Arbor. Under his guidance good progress may be expected. The experiment will perhaps be followed by others elsewhere, and in that case it will be well to consider what meas- ures shall be taken to ensure the best results in harmony with our general organization.
In regard to exchange of our publications with other organiza- tions it has been decided to give the Secretary considerable dis- cretion, he being authorized to make exchanges only when it seems to him likely to be for the advantage of the Society to do so. The present Secretary would in general be ready to exchange whenever the publication in question contains, pr is likely to contain, matter of interest to the Society and is not already easily to be consulted at the Harvard library.
In a circular dated at Philadelphia, March, 1892, a committee of the American Oriental Society broached the subject of a com-
300 DIALECT NOTES.
mon time and place for meeting, every other year, of eight soci- eties, — philological, archaeological, and ethnological, — of which ours is one. No final decision has been reached by the Executive Committee, the plan being favored, though not altogether without limitations, by several, while about an equal number thought it of doubtful expediency or undesirable. The subject will proba- bly come before the Committee again on account of the plan for having various societies meet at Chicago during the Columbian Exposition, but as no formal communication has yet been sent to this Society by any representative of the authorities of the Exposition, no action can now be taken. The Executive Com- mittee has authority to call a special meeting at any time, though our regular annual meeting must be held in December.
With the call for this meeting notice was sent of several sub- jects for discussion, and, by an oversight, one — the Creole dia- lect— was omitted. A short list of subjects for contributors to Dialect Notes is printed in Part V [p. 262] by way of sug- gestion, with, of course, no intention to limit workers to these subjects only. It would perhaps have been well to call special attention to the desirability of monographs on local forms of speech, such as Professor Emerson has already given in Part III for Ithaca. Perhaps the variation of educated pronunciation of English could be studied to advantage also by means of a long list of words prepared by one person representing one place as a temporary standard of reference, others giving their different pronunciations. Of course all pronunciations would have to be given in phonetic spelling, and the various local values of the elementary symbols used would have to be described carefully for purposes of dialect study. This would also furnish material for the future pronouncing dictionaries to ascertain the real facts of usage, instead of copying the statements of older dictionaries which are more or less antiquated, and would make it easier to describe the facts of usage instead of trying to lay down laws for usage to follow, — a practice as unscientific for the dictionary to follow in the matter of pronunciation as it is to give what the meanings of words ought according to theory to be, instead of what they are^ or as it is for a grammarian to legislate for the language instead of describing it as it really is. Another useful but laborious task would be to prepare an alphabetical index with references to the places where all noteworthy words men- tioned in the magazines, papers, or separate articles covered by
THE ANNUAL MEETING, 301
our Bibliography occur, of course not including the dictionaries of Americanisms, but including all the publications not already indexed or arranged alphabetically.
E. S. Sheldon, Secretary.
Treasurer's Report for 1892.
From December 28, 1891, to December 28, 1892.
Receipts.
14 membership fees for 1891 ^14 OO
157.] membership fees for 1892 157 50
5 membership fees for 1893 5 00
1 membership fee for 1894 1 00
Sale of Dialect Notes, I, II, III, IV 65 23
Vohmtary contributions . . . " 38 50
Total $281 23
Expenditures.
Deficit of 1891 $56 26
Stamps and stationery 16 41
Printing 500 bills for Treasurer 2 50
Printing Dialect Notes, IV 134 25
Printing and mailing notices of meeting 4 00
Total 1213 42
On hand, December 28, 1892 §07 81
C. H. Grandgent, Treasurer.
After the acceptance of these reports the discussion of the subjects announced for this meeting was taken up. These sub- jects were : —
1. To what extent can the members of this Society co-operate on certain definite lines ?
2. Can local working dialect societies be made to promote the purposes of this Society?
3. Can the plan of Dialect Notes be improved ?
4. The relative merits of German and English work on dia- lects in relation to the method to be employed in America.
5. The financial condition of the Society.
6. What is a dialect?
302 DIALECT NOTES.
Of these, the first two were taken up first to be considered together, and the discussion was opened by Professor Hempl, who said that, at the larger universities, where students gather from all parts of the country, opportunities are offered for dialect study that should not be neglected. One opportunity of which every instructor can avail himself is that of making inquiries of the members of his classes, at the opening or at the close of his recitations, with reference to their pronunciation or use of a word, or as to the regard in which a word or phrase is held in their native places. In this way reliable statistics may readily be gathered from various parts of the country. To make such statistics more representative, an instructor may send his ques- tions to colleagues at other centres of learning. Professor Hempl has received in this way courteous assistance from others, even strangers to him.
As a means of getting at students in other departments of the University, Professor Hempl organized a local dialect society at Ann Arbor, taking as a nucleus the members of his class in Spoken English.^ The society met fortnightly in one of the University buildings, and each evening was devoted to a certain part of the country. All University students registered from that section were invited by mail to be present, but compara- tively few responded, usually about thirty. The result was, that after the strangers had got over their reserve, an evening was spent pleasant and profitable to those present, but the material obtained was usually insufficient for scientific uses. The chief difficulty was found to lie in the reluctance of many to come to a public meeting where their peculiarities of speech might be made the subject of criticism. Professor Hempl had found that this was largely overcome when young people were brought together in a social way, and he purposed another year to try the experi- ment of having some of the meetings of the society in the form of informal social gatherings at his home.
Professor H. E. Greene said that we all admit that we have some dialect peculiarities. He had done in a modest way some- thing like what Professor Hempl suggested, asking, for example,
1 " In this course a study is made of colloquial English as distinguished from the English of books and artificial speech ; and the attempt is made to settle some of the important facts as to the fortunes of English speech in our country." — Catalogue of the University of Michigan.
THE ANNUAL MEETING. 303
"How do you pronounce that word? " the word being one ending in written r, where, he said, his own pronunciation had no final r. One may succeed better in getting replies by implying that his own pronunciation is not better than that of the person he is speaking with.
President Garnett said, concerning the formation of local soci- eties, that it seemed desirable to have such, and that they should work together ; results could be sent to the central office to be co- ordinated by the Secretary, and presented at the annual meeting.
Professor Pearce said that at some places, as New Orleans and generally in Louisiana, it was doubtful if such local societies were possible, on account of the lack of competent persons not already overburdened with work, though they might be estab- lished elsewhere. Uniform lists of words were desirable, and pronunciations might be obtained from local representatives, and thus geographical limits could probably be determined. We might do this and keep up Dialect Notes as before.
Professor Elliott asked if school-teachers had been tried. They are the most unprejudiced class we can apply to, and they know how children pronounce. The Secretary answered that this had been attempted, chiefly by mailing circulars, with very little effect. Personal conversation would be much better. We have some school-teachers on our list and some material has been received in consequence.
Dr. Bright said many teachers had some hobby or other, as when each pupil was taught to say at all with a little pause between the words, so that the t was entirely separated from all. If anything in the world was un-English, that was. We might get at the fads in the schools.
Professor Hempl said that teachers untrained in phonetics were not of much use. Such teachers could only collect words and usages, not data as to pronunciation. The members of local dialect societies needed first some training in phonetics and in the application of phonetics to English. The class he had been teaching were now scattered over the United States, and reports were now coming in gradually. Some of this material would be of value.
The Secretary said this should be remembered by teachers of phonetics. We could gradually get material to be trusted. The work is not ended when our classes leave us. They may continue observation and investigation.
304 DIALECT NOTES.
At this point the third subject was taken up, and it was said that Dialect Notes should be published oftener. Dr. Learned said that if other forms of speech than English were to be repre- sented, the funds of the Society must be increased. The Treasurer thought an increase of fees hardly advisable ; membership fees were hard to collect, and an increase of the fees would cause a loss of members. Personal appeals to such as might give more had been tried in the preceding year. Professor Hempl thought a quarterly publication appearing regularly would help in getting more subscribers. There should be more unity in articles, which should treat subjects as wholes, instead of giving merely frag- mentary notes.
The Secretary agreed with the last speaker that more frequent and regular publication was desirable, but there were difficulties in the way. To mention one only, the editing of the contribu- tions received for Dialect Notes was very laborious, and the work he already had to do would not permit him to add much to it, and he knew the same thing could be said of at least one other member of the Editing Committee. Moreover, his other work was increasing.
Professor Matzke had come to the conclusion that there are no such things as dialects in this country, in the sense that there are dialects in Europe. Will Dialect Notes ever be able to furnish articles not like those already given ? A man from Florida men- tions a peculiarity, and is followed by one from California who says that is nothing new. What we have are localisms ; what we publish will always be notes. Professor Emerson's paper in Part III showed nothing peculiar to Ithaca.
At five minutes past four the meeting adjourned, to make way for the afternoon session of the Modern Language Association.
E. S. SHELDON.
LIST OF MEMBERS, ' 305
MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1892.^
J. W. Abernethy, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Frederic D. Allen, 10 Humboldt St., Cambridge, Mass.
Eugene H. Babbitt, Columbia College, New York, N.Y.
W. P. Barton, Malone's Landing, Miss.
A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., Washington, D.C.
George Bendelari, 7 HoUis Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
Charles E. Bennett, 7 South Ave., Ithaca, N.Y.
Birmingham Free Libraries, Birmingham, England.
R. E. Blackwell, Ashland, Va.
C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.
Miss Bradbury, Riversvale Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, England.
H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.
L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
James W. Bright, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Calvin S. Brovi^n, Jr., Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
E. M. Brown, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, O. G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St. , Cambridge, Mass. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr. Pa.
The Buffalo Library, Buffalo, N.Y.
Mrs. H. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
W. E. Byerly, Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. H. Carruth, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
A. F. Chamberlain, Clark Univ., Worcester, Mass.
F. J. Child, 67 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass. Miss L. K. Coggeshall, 35 Kay St., Newport, U.I. W. C. Collar, Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass. H. Collitz, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
A. S. Cook, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.
M. Grant Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, 259 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Horace Davis, 49 First St., San Francisco, Cal.
F. B. Denio, 168 Hammond St., Bangor, Me.
Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Mich.
M. J. Drennan, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A. Marshall Elliott, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
O. F. Emerson, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
E. Emerton, 19 Chauncy St. , Cambridge, Mass.
W. Tracy Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. P. Few, 32 Felton Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
Alcee Fortier, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.
A. R. Frey, 499 Vernon Ave., Long Island City, N.Y.
Jno. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
James M. Garnett, Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
James Geddes, Jr., Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
A. Gerber, Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.
1 This list includes one or two cases like those added in previous years (see pp. 179, 259).
306 * DIALECT NOTES,
N. Gordon, Exeter, N.H.
C. H. Grandgent, 13 Sacramento St., Cambridge, Mass.
Charles A. Greene, care of Messrs. Borden & Lovell, 70 & 71 West St.,
New York, N.Y. H. E. Greene, Wells College, Aurora, N.Y. J. B. Greenough, Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. . Nathan Guilford, 1 West 81st St., New York, N.Y. W. G. Hale, Chicago Univ., Chicago, 111.
E. W. Hall, Colby Univ., Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England. Miss Paschal Hall, 364 Church St., Roanoke, Va. Alexander Hamilton, 57 Harbord St., Toronto, Can. tD. A. Hamlin, 12 Ashford St., Allston, Mass.
W. R. Harper, Chicago Univ., Chicago, 111.
A. B. Hart, Cambridge, Mass,
Charles E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J.
James M. Hart, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
D. C. Heath, 5 Somerset St., Boston, Mass. Miss Carrie Heaton, Pueblo, Col.
George Henipl, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
E. W. Hooper, Fayei-w^eather St., Cambridge, Mass.
A. V. Williams Jackson, Highland Place, Yonkers, N.Y. H. Johnson, Box 246, Brunswick, Me. Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kan. R. Henry Kellogg, Ann Arbor, Mich. Charles W. Kent, Univ. of Virginia.
C. G. Kidder, 32 Nassau St., New York, N.Y.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass. James Lancey, 18 Clinton St., East Orange, N.J. W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass. H. R. Lang, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn. Charles R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass. John M. Lea, Nashville, Tenn.
M. D. Learned, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
Francis B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N.J.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston Univ., Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
Miss K. P. Loring, 22 Congress St., Boston, Mass,
tJ. R. Lowell, Elmwood Ave., Cambridge, Mas.s.
D. G. Lyon, 6 Mason St., Cambridge, Mas.s.. J. McDuffie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass. J. M. Manly, Brown Univ., Providence, R.I.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.
P. B. Marcou, 42 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
A. Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
.lohn E. Matzke, Leland Stanford Jr. Univ., Palo Alto, Cal.
Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, Pa.
R. M. Middleton, Jr., South Pittsburg, Tenn.
L. F. Mott, 367 West 19th St., New York, N.Y\
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., N.Y.
John G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West 3:Jd St., New York, N.Y.
W. W. Newell, 175 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
New York Historical Society, 170 Second Ave., New York, N.Y,
New York State Library, Albany, N.Y.
Andrew Oliver, 2d, 27 Brimmer St., Boston, Mass.
Francis L. Palmer, West Gardner, Mass.
Mrs. R. G. Patrick, Yorkville, S.C.
J. W. Pearce, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.
B. O. Peirce, 51 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
Samuel W. Pennypacker, 209 South 6th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 307
John W. Perkins, cor. 12th and Washington Sts., Kansas City, Mo.
M. L. Perrin, Boston Univ., 12 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
T. S. Perry, 312 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.
Philological Association of Boston Univ., 12 Somerset St., Boston, Mass.
Miss Maud Pierce, Rochelle, 111.
S. Porter, National Deaf-Mute College, Kendall Green, D.C.
Eene de Poyen-Bellisle, Box 62, Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.
T. R. Price, 263 West 45th St., New York, N.Y.
Miss V. V. Price, Southwest Kansas College, Winfield, Kan.
Sylvester Primer, Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas.
H. A. Rennert, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa..
Charles F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
G. M. Richardson, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Cal.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.
M. Scheie DeVere, Univ. of Virginia.
H. Schmidt- Wartenberg, Chicago Univ., Chicago, 111.
T. D. Seymour, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, Conn.
H. A. Shands, Georgetown, Texas.
F. C. Shattuck, 135 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 North Common St., Lynn, Mass.
Edward S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. R. Shipman, Tufts College, Medford, Mass,
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
Mrs. A. T. Slosson, 38 East 23d St., New York, N. Y.
Charles F. Smith, Vaiiderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
Clement L. Smith, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. H. Smith, care of Messrs. Ginn & Co., Tremont Place, Boston, Mass.
Herbert W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, Ames Building, Boston, Mass.
E. Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H.
William O. Sproull, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, O.
J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Can.
B. F. Stevens, 4 Trafalgar Sq., London, England. Miss C. A. Stevens, Valparaiso, Ind.
(Strassburg) Kais. Universitats- und Landesbibliothek, Strassburg im
Elsass, Germany. E. C. de Sumichrast, 16 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. Henry Sweet, Cambray, South Park, Reigate, England. W. H. Sylvester, English High School, Boston, Mass. H. Tallichet, 2010 University Ave., Austin, Texas. J. Henry Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. Calvin Thomas, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Reuben G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis. H. A. Todd, Columbia College, New York, N.Y. Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Can.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass.
T. C. Tmeblood, 88 Hill St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Gilbert M. Tucker, Box 74, Albany, N.Y.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.
W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N.B.
William Tytler, Guelph, Ontario.
A. N. Van Daell, 105 Irving St., Cambridge, Mass.
Addison Van Name, New Haven, Conn.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 29 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. L. Walter, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Adelbert College, Cleveland, O. R. L. Weeks, 21 rue Valette, Paris, France.
G. Weinschenk, 150 Pearl St., Boston, Mass. F. M. Weld, Storey PL, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
308 DIALECT NOTES.
E. E. Wentworth, 20 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn, N.Y. B. I. Wheeler, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
A. C. White, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
W. D. Whitney, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn. E. B. Willson, Salem, Mass.
E. R. Willson, 65 Westminster St., Providence, R.I. R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. W. B. Woods, 425 North 6th St., Terre Haute, Ind.
B. D. Woodward, Columbia College, N.Y. (Worcester) Free Public Library, Worcester, Mass. J. H. Wright, 6 Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. T. A. Wylie, Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind.
[Total, 176.]
IL.
DIALECT I^OTES.
PART VII.
THE CONDITION OF THE SOCIETY.
The Society enters upon its sixth year with very encouraging prospects. It has not only kept alive, but fully maintained its numbers, and there is no abatement, but rather an increase, of the interest shown by the members in our work. The six numbers of Dialect Notes already published have been well received by the philological world, and contain matter of decided interest foi the student of the history of the English language.
It is needless to remind our old members that this success is very largely due to the active and sustained efforts of our first Secretary, who has given to the work a great deal of time which he could often ill afford to spare. His wide scholarship and practical judgment have established a model for the editorial work which, now that he is compelled by other duties to retire from the office, makes the task of his successors much lighter than it would have been without his initiative.
Public interest in the Society's doings is increasing. Libraries are subscribing for the Notes, and the periodicals which deal with philological matters are watching our work. Letters of inquiry are more frequent and more intelligent than formerly, and this year (1894) there is a considerable increase in the num- ber of members. We are getting more definite ideas of what work is to be done, and how to do it, and modifying the details of our methods accordingly.
It appears that the reports of untrained observers in matters which concern the finer distinctions of pronunciation are entirely untrustworthy. This part of the work is therefore to be left- in the future to those members who are practical phoneticians. All members, however, are earnestly requested to aid in collecting vocabulary material. There are two steps in the treatment of
310 DIALECT NOTES,
eaciL word or idiom : first, to fix the fact that it occurs in dialect usage in a sense differing from standard English, and secondly, to fix the local limits of such usage. The first object is accom- plished by the publication of the word in one of the local lists of the Notes ; the second has been partially accomplished so far by reprinting words in later lists, with cross references. This plan is already becoming cumbersome, and we intend now, as soon as possible, to enter each word in our collections on a large card, on which can be added all further facts which come in concern- ing the word. When the account of a word seems tolerably complete, it can then be published all at once. To do this work properly, we need to spend some money at once for copying. If our membership could be doubled, we should have enough from membership fees to meet this expense, as well as to continue publishing as often as heretofore. It has been found that, while no one pays much attention to general appeals made in print, almost any one can be interested in our work, and very often induced to join, by a little personal solicitation from a friend who is a member. We have therefore issued another circular of information, which is reprinted in this number. Each member receives herewith a few copies, and the Secretary will supply others to any one asking for them. They are to be used as sug- gested above : not distributed at random, but given to such per- sons as have already been sufficiently interested to be willing to read them carefully. It is well to emphasize the fact that the conditions of membership are very easy, and that members are not bound to do anything more than pay their dues unless they choose.
E. H. Babbitt, Secretary.
THE 1894 CIRCULAR, 311
THE AMEEICAN DIALECT SOCIETY.
There is hardly a person of any considerable degree of educa- tion who does not take at least a languid interest in forms of speech which differ from his own; and there are very many whose interest is active enough to induce them to aid the work of this Society with great alacrity, if they know what that work is. It is for the information of such persons that this circular is issued.
It is a well-known fact (at least to those who read many of the present crop of novels) that, in the English spoken in the United States, there are variations from the literary standard, which again show differences among themselves when we com- pare the usage of various parts of the country. Most people, especially those possessing a certain degree of education, are prone to look upon these variations simply as the bad usage of the ignorant, and therefore as something to be avoided and done away with as soon as possible. The idea that they can have any serious value to the scientific student of language is strange to a surprisingly large number of people. The truth is, however, that these variations represent just the class of facts on which the scientific study of language rests. Many of them are survivals from older periods of the language ; many new words are formed or adopted to meet a real need arising from new conditions, and so ultimately gain a place in standard English; and many variations in pronunciation illus- trate phonetic changes which are constantly going on in lan- guage development, and furnish valuable data for arriving at conclusions concerning the laws which govern such changes. The philologist who has to work with such material needs to know, from a more reliable source than the ordinary novelist furnishes, the exact locality where each word or phrase is used (implying, also, a knowledge of where it is not used); just what it means to those who use it, and what local variations there are, if any, in its form and meaning ; just when each new word came in or old one went out of use. There have been many attempts, more or less praiseworthy and successful, varying in scope from
312 DIALECT NOTES.
a "Dictionary of Americanisms" to a newspaper paragraph, to collect and publish such information ; but all of them are unsat- isfactory, for the very good reason that no one person has the means at his command for giving a complete account of any one word, and the authors too often supply, from very dubious sources or their own imagination, what they cannot get at first hand.
In England and Germany, a great deal of work in this line is being done by organized dialect societies, whose members collect facts, compare notes, and finally publish their material through an editing committee. It was thought that the same thing might be done in this country, and in 1889 the American Dialect Society was organized. A preliminary circular was sent to per- sons likely to take interest in the matter; the idea was gener- ally received with favor, and a reasonable number of members joined the Society, many of whom have done some active work in collecting material. The number has remained about the same until the present year, when there is a considerable increase ; the quality of the membership has, however, somewhat improved ; the relative number of those who take an active part in the work has increased. The plan of work, though some slight changes of detail have been made, remains in general the same as proposed in the preliminary circular, — " to collect and publish dialect material through an Executive Committee with assistants in vari- ous places."
The publication is known as Dialect Notes; it appears when- ever there is material and money enough on hand to warrant an issue. So far, six numbers have appeared, and a seventh is in press ; making towards four hundred pages in all. The contents comprise lists of words from New England, collected by F. D. Allen, L. B. R. Briggs, and others ; from Kentucky, by J. P. Fruit ; from Louisiana, by J. W. Pearce ; from Missouri, by R. L. Weeks ; from New Jersey, by F. B. Lee ; and shorter col- lections from various sources. The late Professor Tallichet has contributed some lists of Spanish and Mexican words used in Texas ; Prof. O. F. Emerson has an exhaustive study of the phonology of the Ithaca dialect ; and Mr. Grandgent, Professor Sheldon, and Professor Hempl, some papers on questions of pro- nunciation. Some other articles of interest are : Dialect Research in Canada (A. F. Chamberlain), Newspaper Jargon (J. S. Tuni- son). The Language used to Domestic Animals (W. H. Carruth), and What is a Dialect ? (E. S. Sheldon).
THE 1894 CIRCULAR, 313
Experience has shown that observations on general questions of pronunciation have little or no value unless taken by those who have made a thorough study of phonetics. But any edu- cated person can make valuable contributions on matters of vocabulary, including pronunciations such as shet, git, ketch, sherk (for shark), etc., where the dialect pronunciation is at variance with the standard spelling in such a way that it is really a question of vocabulary. While, then, the phoneticians of the Society will continue to study and publish in their line, the rank and file of the members will do the most useful work by noting, and sending to the Secretary, facts such as the fol- lowing (taken from various numbers of the Dialect Notes) : —
heavy-handed : said of a cook : " she's heavy-handed with salt," — uses much salt. This was reported from Portsmouth, N.H., in Part I. In Part II, it was reported from the vicinity of Boston ; and a native of South Caro- lina, who had lived in Philadelphia, is quoted as saying of her cook, " So-and- so has a heavy hand for salt." In Part IV, another authority was given for its use in Boston, and an English use in a totally different sense was men- tioned ("said of one who, in shaving carelessly, cuts away some of his beard"). In Part II, some one says that it is used "perhaps in Connecticut," The Secretary is very certain that it is not used in the western part of that state. The evidence so far, then, seems to show that this word belongs pretty strictly to eastern New England, but is fairly well known there.
het : for heated ; reported from Louisiana in I'art II, is given in the follow- ing numbers as used in so many different parts of the country that it may be considered practically universal.
housen : plural of house ; is reported from various parts of New England, New York, and New Jersey, but so far not from any point farther south.
tote : to carry ; might be mentioned as a word well known throughout the South, but entirely foreign to New England. Evening, in the sense of after- noon, is another well-known Southernism.
An examination of the published numbers of Dialect Notes will show how this part of the work of the Society is done. Lists of dialect words and usages in certain localities are pub- lished. These serve as a basis for comparison with other locali- ties ; and the occurrence or non-occurrence of the same forms, with any existing variations, is noted by members, and sent to the Secretary for record and eventual publication.
Professor Hempl is now trying the experiment of issuing a circular of questions regarding some particular usages. He has had this reprinted in Modern Language Notes, the Dial, and Part VII of Dialect Notes, and will send copies to any one interested. It contains such questions as : "At what time of day
314 DIALECT NOTES.
do you begin to say ^ Good Evening ' ? " " Do you use pack in the sense of 'carry' ?" "Do you use carry in the sense of * escort' (on foot) ? " " Is the word shilling in use ? If so, what is its value ? " " Would you call a wooden vessel for carrying water a pail or a bucket ?" "Do you say frying-pan, skillet, or spider f If more than one, how do you differentiate ? "
If the returns from this circular warrant the course, the matter already in hand will be made the basis for similar circulars. Whatever is sent in, either in response to such circulars or inde- pendently, will be edited by the Committee, and published in due time. The present plan of following up words, with the constant cross references which it requires, is becoming unwieldy; and the Executive Committee has under consideration a plan for entering on a set of cards all facts concerning words once published, and publishing nothing further on such words until their record is fairly complete.
It will readily be seen that the success of the Society depends upon a large and widespread membership, for two reasons : the more active members there are, all over the country, the more matter will be sent in ; and the larger the amount received from membership fees, the larger will be the amount of printing that can be done. All persons who take any interest in the work are invited to join, even if they contribute nothing but the member- ship fee ; and all are invited to send in dialect matter, even if they do not join. Educated people who for any reason change their residence, have the best opportunities for observation. Such persons should note at once, before the strangeness wears off, any variation from their own usage. Country physicians and clergy- men, commercial travellers, summer boarders, and many teachers, are instances of the classes of people who can help on the work.
The membership fee is one dollar (four shillings, four marks, or five francs) a year. This entitles the member to all the publi- cations for that year. Any person or institution may become a member by sending the fee to the Treasurer. All other commu- nications should be addressed to the Secretary. The back num- bers of Dialect Notes can be purchased of the Secretary at one dollar a number.
E. H. Babbitt, /Secretory, Columbia College, Neio York City. Lewis F. Mott, Treasurer, 367 West 19th St., New York City.
AMERICAN SPEECH-MAPS, 315
AMERICAN SPEECH-MAPS.
The systematic study of American speech and customs is made difficult by the fact that no map has yet been made of the centres and currents of diversity of usage. In order that this may be done, it is necessary that as many answers as possible be obtained to a number of test questions. I have prepared such a list from questions suggested by members of the Modern Language Asso- ciation of North America and shall be glad to send copies to any one desiring them. The attention of those professionally interested in English speech is particularly called to this list, because they have it in their power to interest many others in the matter, while they will also find the exercise a profitable one to their students.
It is desirable that as many replies as possible be obtained, even if it is not convenient, in certain cases, to answer all the questions. The list looks formidable, but is more quickly answered than one would expect. Other information than that asked for will be gladly received, but would better be written on a separate sheet. It may be some time before the results of the investigation can be published, but when they are, some public statement of the fact will be made. It will be impossible to reply to all those that may be so kind as to contribute material ; but inquiries will always be answered, and extra copies of this list will be sent to all those that can distribute them to advantage.
It cannot be too distinctly emphasized that what is wanted is a report of natural speech, without regard to what dictionaries and teachers say is " correct." If a word or usage is in vogue only among the old, mark it " O " ; if only among the illiterate, " I " ; if only among negroes, " N " ; if rare, " R." If you are acquainted with other usage than your own, state it after yours and designate its geographical situation as definitely as you can. If you are somewhat uncertain or are reporting what others have told you, say so. Correspondents will please write only on one side of the paper, and number the answers as the questions are.
816 DIALECT NOTES,
1. State your name and present address. 2. Where was your usage formed? [Give county and state, and add "S," ^'SW," "C," etc., according as the county is in the southern, south- western, or central part of the state. The basis of one's usage is generally what one hears between the years 8-18.] 3. Has your speech been modified by that of persons speaking differently from what is usual in your neighborhood? If so, explain. [For example, are your parents foreigners, or from another state, or have you been taught by or associated much with such persons ?] In case your present usage is different from your natural usage, state the fact in each case. 4. Where did most of the settlers in your neighborhood come from ? 4i. If there is a large foreign population, of what nationality is it ?
5. (a) Is to you the word ' stoop ^ ( = ' porch') familiar, strange, or unknown ? (6) Do you know the word in the sense of ' story (of a building)' ? (c) Of ' horse-block ' ? 6. Is * bayou ' to you a familiar word or a book word ? 6^. (a) If familiar, what does it mean ? (6) Is it used of a, particular body of water or piece of land, or generally, of any such place ? (c) In what state and near what town is the bayou or bayous that you know ? 7. Does the first syllable rime with * by ' or ' bay ' ? 8. Does the second rime with ^ go ' or ^ you ' ? 9. Are the two syllables separated by the sound of y in * jet ' ? 10. Which syllable has the stress? lOJ. Do you say ^harmonica/ ^mouth-organ/ or ' French harp ' ? 11. At what time of day do you begin to say " Oood evening ^^ ? 12. Do you speak of the 'forenoon' ? 13. Of the ' afternoon ' ? 14. Do you say " Good forenoon " ? 15. " Good afternoon"? 16. Do you use 'pack' in the sense of 'carry'? 16^. (a) Do you say ' right good ' = ' rather good ' ? (6) Do you say 'pretty good ' = ' rather good ' ? (c) Do you say * quite good' = 'rather good'? 17. Does 'you alV mean 'eVery one of you' or simply ' you ' ? 18. Which word has the stress ? 19. If you say 'you' all,' do you do so in speaking to one person? 20. Is ' yous ' in use for ' you ' ? 21. Is ' you'n's ' used for ' you ' ? 22. Is ' yous ' used in speaking to one person ? 23. Is ' you'ri's ' ? 24. Do you say "What all did he say" ? 25. "Who all were there " ? 26. Is ' a hunch of cattle ' familiar to you ? 27. Would you say " / want up" = '1 want to get up ' ? 28. Would you say " The butter is all " = ' It is gone, there is no more ' ? 29. Do you occasionally say " / guess " = ' I think ' ? 30. Do you occasionally say " I reckon " = ' I think ' ? 31. Might you
AMERICAN SPEECH-MAPS, 317
say " I wonder if I shall get to go " = ^ shall be able to go'? 32. Would you say " I got to go riding yesterday " = ' I got a chance to ' ? 33. Do you say " I shall wait on you " = ' for you ' ? 33i-. (a) Do you say * kerosene/ ' coal-oil/ ' oil,' or ^petroleum'? If you differentiate, explain. (6) If you use 'kerosene/ which syllable has the stress? (c) In ^kerosene oil' would you stress ker- or -sene? 34. (a) Do you use ^ carry' in the sense of ' escort (on foot)' ? (6) In carriage ? 35. Is the word ' creek ' in common use ? If so, what does it mean ? 36. Does it usually rime with ' speak ' or with ' stick ' ? 37. Is ^tote' to you a common word, or a comparatively recent slang word? 38. Just what does it mean ? 38 J-. (a) What does the word 'to squint' first suggest to you ? (6) Mention other mean- ings in the order of their familiarity. 39. Would you say ''Just feel (smell, taste) of it"? 40. Or "Just feel it"? etc. 401 (a) Are you familiar with the word ' conniption ' ? (&) What does it mean ? (c) Is it used seriously or sportively ? {d) What variant forms (for example, 'niption,' ' catniption,' etc.) do you know ? (e) Are you familiar with ' duck-Jit ' or similar ex- pressions ?
41. Is the vowel in ' ^o ' like that in ' grow ' or that in ' youth ' ?
42. Do you pronounce ' wJiere ' and ' wear' ' whet ' and ' wet ' alike ? 42i. Do you pronounce wh like w (a) in 'wJiarf? (b) in the exclamations 'Why no!' 'Why yes!' 'Why! Why!' (to child)?
43. Has any one ever said he thought you pronounced wh like w ?
44. In which of the following words do you have the sound of sh in 'shun' and not the sound of s in 'vision': Asia, ambrosia, Persia, dispersion, immersion, diversion, aversion, versioyi, inver- sion, conversion, excursio7i, convulsion, expulsion, mansion, pension, exertion, desertion ? 45. In which (if any) of the following does s have the sound of 2 : ' the grease,' ' to grease,' ' greasy ' ? 46. Do you pronounce th in the following cases as in 'thick' or as in 'the': (a) with' 'em, (b) with' me, (c) ivith all'? 47. Do thought,- taught, ought, daughter, author, etc., sound like ' hot ' ? 48. Does the vowel in 'hot' resemble that in 'law' or that in 'board,' or neither ? 49. Which of the following words usually have a as in 'cat,' or nearly that? 50. Do any have a sound resembling a in make ? 501 Do any have a sound resembling a in art ? 51. Do any have a sound resembling a in 'all'? —
calm, psalm, yes m,a'm, rather, haunt, drama, gape 'yawn,' gape 'stare,' almond, salmon, ant, aunt, can't, shan't, plant, com-
318 DIALECT NOTES.
mandy dance, answer, sample, laugh, calf, half, staff, draft, path, past, nasty, fasten, ask, basket, glass, grasp ? 52. Which is most usual: 'pa'pa,' 'papa',^ 'pap,' or 'pa'? 52}^, If 'pap,' does the a sound as in 'art/ ' hat,' or ' all ' ? 53. If ' pa,' does the a sound as in ' art,' ' hat,' or ' all ' ? 54. Do you say ' down' town ' or ' dow7i town',' or both ?
55. Is the word ' shilling ' in use ? If so, what is its value ? 56. Is 'levy'? If so, what is its value? 57. Is 'hit"^ If so, what is its value ? 58. Is 'fip ' ? If so, what is its value ? 58 J. (a) Is 'fourpence ' ? If so, what is its value ? (6) Is ' ninepence ' ? If so, what is its value ? 59. Do you call the pipe that conducts smoke from a stove to the chimney a ' stove-pipe ' or a 'funnel ' ? 60. Do you call a tin vessel of the size of a cup and with a looped (not long straight) handle a ' tin cup,' a ' tin,' a ' dipper,' or a ' tin can ' ? 61. Would you call an iron utensil having a large open top and used for boiling potatoes, meat, etc., a 'pot' or a 'kettle'? If it depends on the shape, explain. Qi2. If large and made of brass, what would you call it ? 62|-. What is a boiler (in a kitchen) ? 63. Would you call a wooden vessel for carrying water, etc., a 'pail ' or a ' bucket ' ? 64. What would you call a similar vessel of tin for carrying water, milk, etc. ? Q5. Would you call a covered tin vessel for carrying a small amount of milk or a dinner, and having a swinging bail, a 'pail,' a ' bucket,' a ' can,' a ' billy' a ' blick ' or ' blickey,' or a ' kettle ' ?
66. Do you say 'frying pan,' 'f-y-pan,' ' skillet,' or ' spider ' ?
67. If more than one, how do you differentiate ? 67^. What term is used for the punishment inflicted on a child by striking (a) his palm, (6) his finger tips, (c) his knuckles ? What calls (to come, to go, to stop, to turn to the right or left, or the like) are used to the following animals: 68. Horses, 68^. Mules,
69. Cows, 69^. Oxen, 70. Dogs, 71. Cats, 72. Pigs, 73. Sheep, 73J. Goats, 74. Chickens, 74:^. Tame doves, or pigeons (which word do you usually use for the tame bird, 'dove' or 'pigeon'?), 75. Ducks, 76. Geese, 761^. Turkeys? 77. In calling a person do you usually prefix 'Of ? 78. If so, is 0 / more heavily stressed or the name ? 79. Do you often say ' Yes indeed ' ?
70. If so, which word has most stress?
GEORGE HEMPL.
Univbbsity o» MioBioAir.
UNACCENTED I, 319
UNACCENTED I.
The vowel that I propose to study is found (aside from diph- thongs) only in absolutely unstressed syllables, and is generally represented in standard English spelling in one of the following ways: — (1) by i ot y: as in comical, disturb, glorious, ivjinity, polytechnic, sorry ; (2) by e at the end of a syllable : as in begin, competent, comprehend, congregate, destroy, electricity, erect, impe- cunious, independent, posse, prefer, relate, select; (3) by e, ce, or ce before a vowel : as in ^olian, Boeotia, meander, piteous; (4) by initial e followed by a consonant in the same syllable : as in ec- centric, effect, ellipse, employ, engage, erratic, essential, estate, exact, except; (5) by the vowel letters in final -ace, -age, -ain, -ange, -ate, -ay, -ea, -eb, -ed, -edge, -ee, -ege, -eign, -eit, -el, -em, -en, -enge, -es, -ess, -est, -et, -ey, -iage, -ie, -ief, -ies, -uce, -uit, -ute, and in some deriva- tives of the words with these endings : as in palace, forage, moun- tain, mountainous, orange, senate, Monday, guinea, Caleb, crooked, crookedness, knovjledge, coffee, college, foreign, foreigner, swf eit, vowel, poem, sullen, sidlenly, lozenge, rushes, lawless, biggest, sonnet, pul- ley, carriage, Minnie, mischief, mischievous, fairies, lettuce, circuity minute. It ranges in sound between i (the i in bit) and e (the e in bet), bat is seldom or never exactly identical with either of these vowels. For the sake of convenience I shall call it, in this article, I. To form it, the tongue takes nearly the same position as for i, but lies a little further back, so that the quality of the vowel is not so clear ; according as the tongue is slightly higher or lower, we have the impression of i or of e. If, however, the tongue is considerably flattened, we get an a (the a in sofa), which is a distinctly different sound. It should be added that our impressions of the quality of I are more or less affected by our associations with the written symbol.
Sweet, in his Handbook, defines our I as being sometimes a raised e and sometimes a retracted i, two sounds which, he says, "it is difficult to separate with certainty"; in his Primer he merely states that !, or " weak i," is " intermediate between i and e." Murray, too, recognizes an obscure i and an obscure e, but his distinctions seem to depend entirely on the spelling. Miss
320 DIALECT NOTES.
Soames observes, in her Introduction, that there are " two varie- ties of unaccented i," the i in rabbit, frolic being practically the same as accented i in bit, lick,- while sl *' more open sound, inter- mediate between i and e," is used in such terminations as -es, -ed, -ness, -less, and such prefixes as en- and ex-, " and wherever i is final or followed by a vowel " ; some of her examples of " inter- mediate " ! are : fishes^ waited, goodness, restless, engage, exist, ex- ceed, folly, glorious. Lloyd's 1 {Phonetische Studien, Y., 1) is almost identical with i whenever it is final or followed by a vowel, and generally when it is represented by i (that is, in such cases as folly, piteous, rabbit, frolic) ; it is lower and more obscure in the endings -ed and -es and in the prefixes be-, e-, es-, ex-, pre-, re-; in the endings -less and -ness it tends toward se or a.
My own practice differs somewhat from those just described. In the first place, when my i is followed by a vowel (as in mean- der, beauteous), I form it at least as high as i; if the preceding consonant is Z or r (as in Lillian, glorious), I pronounce that con- sonant and the ! simultaneously. Let us now examine in detail the cases where I does not stand just before a vowel; most of them are included in the following three classes, which will be considered separately: (1) initial syllables immediately before the accent ; (2) next-to-last syllables of words accented on the third syllable from the end; (3) final syllables. These three categories may be represented by begin, comical, and senate. Words like congregation and infinitely, which are not very nu- merous, are left out of account ; they do not differ essentially from the examples of classes 1 and 2.
1. Before the accent. — In very rapid conversation I tend (as I think most Americans do) to omit the 1 altogether or to replace it by a short 9 : when does it begin = hwenzitbagin, all except you = olkseptjii, wJiat do you refer to = hwodayurgfetu, wJiat shall I select = hwotjlaislekt ; in words like employ, impose, engage, in- sist, as they are usually spoken, the m and the n serve as vowels. These slurred pronunciations seem to be particularly common in Philadelphia and New York City. In more careful speech, how- ever, the ! is heard, and here we find a difference between Eng- lish and American usage. Sweet, Lloyd, and Miss Soames all agree in classing the prefixes consisting of e followed by a conso- nant (en-, es-, ex-, etc.) with the other initial syllables {be-, de-, pre-, re-, etc.) ; in America, on the other hand, the I of ec-, ef-, el-, em-, en-, er-, es-, ex-, strongly suggests e, while that of be-, ce-.
UNACCENTED I. 321
ere-, de-j dis-, e-, /e-, /re-, ^7-, im-, in-, ir-, ne-, phe-, phi-, pre-, re,- se-, te-, tre-, ve-, vi-, etc., certainly gives the impression of i. Hence the English phoneticians' spellings, iksept, ingeid3, seem all wrong to an American ; in an ordinary phonetic transcription I should write either: ksept, ngeid3, or: eksept, engeid3. In be-, de-, pre-, re-, etc., some Americans have a close but short i ; this pronunciation is very common among the Irish.
2. Penult of proparoxytones. — Here the I suggests i rather than e: examples are competent, plentiful, polygon, miniature. More or less careless speakers, however, both in England and in America, are inclined to substitute e for i in many cases. I reg- ularly do this in the endings -ihle and -ity, also in analysis, holi- day, magnanimous, 2)olicy, politics, and probably in some other words. Some of these forms (such as ebibti, holadei, polatiks, posabl) are, it seems to me, well-nigh universal in familiar speech in the parts of America that I know. Among the Irish, and, so far as I have observed, in the pronunciation of Philadelphians and New Yorkers, o prevails in all the common words.
3. Final syllables. — It is very hard to tell, in these cases, whether the 1 is nearer to i or to e ; with patience, however, we can distinguish, even here, two varieties of the !, one a trifle higher than the other. Let us call the higher one !^ and the lower one 1^ In my own speech i^ occurs regularly before voice- less consonants (as in palace, rubbish, senate), and i^ before voiced consonants (as in berries, courage, naked) and at the end of a word (as in folly, 3fonday). Hence I have !^ in words like good- ness Siud finest, and I^ in cases like fountain, orange, coffee. Spell- ing seems to have nothing to do with the distinction. There are two exceptions to my general rule : the ending -es or -ies after a sibilant has the sound of \^ rather than I^; and final -chy, -ggy, -ngy, and -ing have a decidedly high l\ The latter exception {sticky, foggy, stringy, running) is easily explained : the k, g, or q, which is formed very far forward, requires a considerable elevar tion of the middle of the tongue, and this has its effect on the !. In the case of -es or -ies after a sibilant (passes, rushes, ditches, pussies), I am inclined to think that the close quality of the sound is due, not to a high tongue-position, but to the fact that the upper and lower teeth, which are brought together for the two hisses, are not separated during the emission of the interven- ing vowel. I do not know whether my rule is followed by other speakers. The Irish generally substitute 9 for I throughout the
322
DIALECT NOTES.
series; this substitution is a peculiarity, also, of a very large proportion of the cultivated American inhabitants of Philadel- phia, New York City, and some parts of the South and West.^ It seems to be very prevalent in Maryland, southern Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Kansas, and is said to be common in Virginia, southern Illinois, and Minnesota. It is entirely for- eign to my dialect. In the South and West, words like fountain are not infrequently pronounced with no vowel but n in the final syllable. I give below, in the form of percentages, some results obtained by correspondence with 150 highly educated speakers in various parts of our country ; seven states west of the Mississippi are represented, and all the states east of that river, except New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.
|
V 1 |
Is J ^ a |
1 n |
ork State (without York City and klyn). |
1 .2 1. |
O 00 1^. |
1 |
1^1 |
|
|
o o |
r,« |
ii |
a s fe s |
P |
||||
|
pq |
^ |
^ |
^ |
(2 |
$25 |
^ |
cS |
|
|
XI 12 e |
11 X* 9 |
X» X2 a |
XI X» e |
X»X2 9 |
XI X2 9 |
XI X2 9 |
XI X2 9 |
|
|
palace . . . |
69 22 9 |
4060 0 |
36 955 |
641818 |
33 067 |
304030 |
2114 65 |
48 3022 |
|
courage . . |
50600 |
3066 4 |
3666 9 |
55 45 0 |
335017 |
5546 0 |
72 7 21 |
6743 0 |
|
fountain . . |
66440 |
4060 0 |
1045 45 |
55 36 9 |
336017 |
37 3330 |
282844 |
57 2617 |
|
orange . . . |
64460 |
4249 9 |
36 28 36 |
7318 9 |
5050 0 |
52 3810 |
51 21 28 |
6130 9 |
|
senate . . . |
4947 4 |
3566 0 |
18 73 9 |
3664 0 |
3367 0 |
30 45 25 |
35 5114 |
3952 9 |
|
Monday . . |
56440 |
256610 |
5536 9 |
6436 0 |
603317 |
6248 0 |
35 68 7 |
70 30 0 |
|
naked . . . |
66440 |
4555 0 |
18 73 9 |
3664 0 |
336017 |
355015 |
365114 |
3961 0 |
|
college . . . |
6842 0 |
4060 0 |
3664 0 |
3664 0 |
5050 0 |
6035 6 |
58 28 14 |
6535 0 |
|
fishes .... |
78 220 |
6536 0 |
36 36 28 |
7327 0 |
335017 |
60 2615 |
61 28 21 |
6139 0 |
|
goodness . . |
48 484 |
3070 0 |
3665 9 |
4555 0 |
106717 |
305516 |
285121 |
6139 0 |
|
finest .... |
60500 |
4060 0 |
3666 9 |
3664 0 |
08317 |
306010 |
355114 |
5347 0 |
|
sonnet . . . |
46540 |
16 86 0 |
363628 |
1882 0 |
08317 |
4060 0 |
2168 21 |
4753 0 |
1 A familiar instance is the Western pronunciation Mizura for Missouri.
UNACCENTED I.
323
To obtain a rough estimate of the practice in the United States, taken as a whole, I have averaged the foregoing figures, giving, however, three times as much importance to the North as to any other division.
t
|
XI |
12 |
9 |
XI |
X2 |
9 |
||
|
palace . . |
. . 41 |
27 |
32 |
naked . . |
. . 38 |
53 |
9 |
|
courage . |
. . 51 |
46 |
3 |
college . . |
. . 55 |
42 |
3 |
|
fountain . |
. . 40 |
37 |
23 |
fishes . . |
. . 58 |
31 |
11 |
|
orange . . |
. . 51 |
37 |
12 |
goodness . |
. . 34 |
56 |
10 |
|
senate . . |
. . 34 |
55 |
11 |
finest . . |
. . 34 |
59 |
7 |
|
Monday . |
. . 50 |
45 |
5 |
sonnet . . |
. . 30 |
63 |
7 |
1
C. H. GRANDGENT.
324 DIALECT NOTES,
A VOCABULARY OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN WORDS USED IN TEXAS. — ADDITIONS AND CORREC- TIONS.i
aiira (p. 244). Dele "not identified. Black vulture (?)", and add: probably the true turkey buzzard (Cathai'tes aura).
baile : a dance, a ball. "Sunday night at the baile, in Santa Cruz, a woman of Matamoras attended the baile, and got up to dance." (Galves- ton News, Oct. 14, 1892).
bolero. See the Century Diet.
canaigre : a tall weed of Texas and Northern Mexico, belonging to the dock family (Eumex hymenosepalus). The root of this plant is very rich in tannic acid. From Sp. cana and agre, an old form of agrio.
cdracara (p. 245). Add: (Polyboros cheriway).
chaps: abbreviation of chapardjos (q.v., p. 189) [as in Farmer].
compadre: friend, companion, not partner. From Sp. meaning god- father. This word has the same meaning in Andalucia.
compauero : partner; corresponds in mining slang to "pardner," "pard," etc. Sp. properly = companion.
concha, -s : silver ornaments on the Mexican spur (cf. Farmer). Sp. concha, a shell, anything in the form of a shell.
course, cource, cors6 : a cover of light leather to protect the saddle in wet weather. From Sp. cojse, a corset (?).
enchilada, -s: a Mexican dish, the principal ingredient of which is chile (qv., p. 189).
cuidado : take care ! look out ! mind ! A common explanation of warn- ing. Often pronounced cuiddo.
enjdlma. See jdlma (p. 248).
estiifa : a stove, for heating, not for cooking purposes. Also the room in which the stove is. Cf . the Century Diet.
h6mbre : man. Often used to call Mexican tamale men or candy ped- dlers on the street.
hondoo, hondou: the slip-knot of a reata (q.v., p. 194). From Sp. Honda, a sling for throwing stones, a parbuckle used on shipboard to ship and unship casks, spars, and other heavy objects.
huajolote (p. 190). Add: Mexicana after Meleagris gallopavo.
jacdna : a tropical bird of the rail family found along the north banks of the Rio Grande, its northern limit. Cf . the Century Diet.
jdquima: the headstall of a halter; often pronounced somewhat like hackamore.
1 See Part IV, pp. 185 , , and Part V, pp. 243 fE.
SPANISH AND MEXICAN WOBDS USED IN TEXAS. 325
lab6r (p. 249). Add: Milpa (g.v., below) is also used in Texas, though not frequently.
larigo : a ring at each end of the cinch (see cincha, pp. 189, 246) through which the Idtigos (q.v., below) are passed and wound to fasten the saddle. This word, probably of Sp. origin, is not found in any dictionary or glossary within my reach.
Idtigo : a thong ; used mostly in the plural. The two ends of the cinch (see cincha, pp. 189, 246) terminate in long, narrow strips of leather — Idtigos — which connect the cinch with the saddle and are run through an iron ring called larigo (q.v., above). [Cf. latigo-strap in the Century Diet.]
legadero, -s : stirrup strap. Probably from legadura, Sp. for strap to bind sheep while shearing. Used almost exclusively in the plural.
16na (p. 249). Instead oifine wood read^re wood.
Ie6n: the American lion, puma. Occasionally found in Texas. Fre- quent in the names of places and rivers, Leon River, Leona Springs (Sp. leona — lioness), Leon County, etc.
milpd: a land measure of 177 acres. See labor (pp. 191, 249). Sanchez gives this word a Mexican etymology, — milli^ a piece of cultivated land. He adds : Ahora solo se aplica el nombre k los sembrados de maiz. From Lat. mille and j^assws (?).
61Ia. See the Century Diet, (sense 3). Pronounced 6-ya.
paiisdje : a barbecue in which the panza, paunch, or body of the animal is barbecued. In addition to the panza and roast ribs, there may be other eatables and wines, mezcal (see pp. 192, 250), and coffee. As a rule, the feast is spread on rough boards and every person eats with his fingers. It is a feast for men exclusively. "Also a pansaje where all could refresh the inner man." (Galveston News, Feb. 11, 1893.)
pitahdya, pitaya. Add : Karwinsky, the botanist, derives pitahaya from Sp. pitayo, a long organ-pipe.
porci6n (p. 193). Add: Often pronounced procion.
presidio (p. 193). Add: Often pronounced persMo.
pr6pio (p. 194). Add : Of ten pronounced porpio.
quebrdda : a strip of broken country, cut up by arroyos (q.v., p. 187) or barrancas (g.v., p. 187). From quebrar, to break. See Franceson. Cf. the Century Diet., s.v.
qui^n sdbe. See the Century Diet.
sdbe : do you know ? do you understand ? do you see ? Used interroga- tively only. See qui6n sAbe, above. [Cf. Farmer for the use of this word as a noun.]
sdca de dgua, the water outlet from the river or creek into the ac^quia (g.t>., pp. 189, 243), the taking of water. Cf. French pme d'eau.
sacdte. See zaedte, below.
tecol6te (p. 252). Add: sub arcticus Sifter Bubo Virginianus.
tilpdh : a parti-colored rug often used under the saddle and over the true saddle blanket. Probably of Indian (Navajo) origin. Cf. Farmer.
vdmos, vam6se. As in B. (see vamose, vamose the ranch).
viiieg(a)r6ii (p. 253). Add: A\m vinagrdn.
zacdte (p. 195). Add: M&o sacate.
326 DIALECT NOTES,
zopil6te (p. 195). Dele the whole, and substitute : a species of turkey buzzard, black vulture {Cathartes atratus). From Mexican tzopilotl (S.)- Cf. the Century Diet.
H. TALLICHET.
[The death of Professor Tallichet, on the 16th of April of the current year, made it impossible to settle some doubtful points which were referred to him when this paper was prepared for the press. They are mentioned here, in the hope that some reader will furnish the desired information.
canaigre. The etymology proposed does not explain the accented vowel (nor the w). But compare the pronunciation in the Century Diet.
hondoo, hondou. Which syllable is accented ?
jdquima. In the indication of the pronunciation (hackamore) the letter before r was uncertain. Farmer has hackamore, and both hackamore (marked "origin obscure") and jaquima are in the Century Diet.
milpd. Is the accent on the second syllable ? Cf. under labor, above.
Leon (as a proper name). Is it simply from ledn = puma, or not rather the Spanish geographical name Leon (which is from legionem) ?
pita(ha)ya. I find no Spanish j9i<a?/o.
The word legaderos Farmer suggests may be really English leg-guards in a Spanish dress, but he does not establish this.
E. S. S.]
JEBSEYISM8, 327
JEKSEYISMS.
Mr. F. B. Lee, of Trenton, assisted by various persons through- out the state, has collected the following list. He writes : " It will be understood that these are mostly to be found in Cape May and other lower counties. I have not gone far from the coast. In the preparation of the collection (which will doubtless be found incomplete), I have included words not distinctly local with those which are undoubtedly provincial. To many friends in various parts of the state I am indebted for words which ap- pear in these pages. Those who have materially aided me are —
Benjamin F. Lee, Trenton,
Hannah L. Townsend, Dennisville,
William E. Trout, Dennisville,
Mary L. Townsend, Trenton,
Marie Bryan Eayre, Vincentown,
Dr. J. S. Brown, Vincentown,
Charles G-. Garrison, Merchantville,
William Garrison, Camden."
Jersey is the form used by the natives, instead of the Kew Jersey of the geographies. We have followed the usage in edit- ing the list ; our abbreviations, N. J., C. J., and S. J., mean, there- fore. North, Central, and South Jersey respectively.
afeared : afraid. Common in all parts of the state. [See p. 69.]
afore : common in all parts of the state [and elsewhere].
ague: pron. eigdr.
alluz (obz) : common pron. of always. [In Connecticut generally oUs. — E. H. B.]
anen, anend, anan, nan : interrogative word used to a limited extent in S. J. Halliwell says it implies " How ? What did you say ? " In this he is correct. Cooper uses the word, and undoubtedly learned it in his old home at Burlington. Cf. DeVere.
anxious seat, anxious bench : the seat or bench near the altar where persons concerned for their spiritual welfare may sit during revivals. Pre- served by the Methodist and Baptist communities in S. J. and C. J. Fast falling out of use. [Common in N. E. in figurative sense.]
apple palsy : "plain drunk " caused by too much *' jack" (q.v.). (Bur- lington County.)
328 DIALECT NOTES,
aside: used in an expression "Are you aside?" meaning, "Have you your household goods in order after moving ? " (C. J.)
asparagus : pron. spoerdgras.
ax: old form of ask. Retained in N. J. as well as in the South. Cf. DeVere.
back-load : maximum quantity of game which a man can carry on his back ; as, "a back-load of ducks." (Coast.)
bag o' guts: a useless individual; a "bum." (S. and C. J.) Also implies a big man with little brains.
barnacle : in Cape May used incorrectly for limpet found on oysters.
bateau : used only by oystermen. A small, flat-bottomed boat.
be: used for both am and are ; as, " I be going," "we be going."
beant : negative form of above ; used for both am not and are not. [Is this ever heard in N. E. ?]
beach: sand islands on Jersey coast. "Young" or "little beach" is new-made beach containing younger timber; "old beach," parallel ridges crowned by old timber.
beard: the byssus of mussels or the fringe on an oyster's mouth. (S. J.)
belly-wax : molasses candy. (S. J.) Often pron. Bailey-wax.
belly-whistle : a drink made of molasses, vinegar, water, and nutmeg, used by harvesters at the daily nooning. [Is there any possible etymo- logical connection with switchel ? See Webster, s.v., and p. 343 below.]
bender : common in N. J. as elsewhere, [p. 75, Tiitly bender.]
blatherskite : common in N. J. Cf . DeVere.
blicky (blickie, blickey) : a small bucket or pail. Said to be Dutch in its origin, but used extensively in S. J., where there are no Dutch.
blister: an oyster smaller than a quarter dollar. Used from Bamegat south to Cape May.
blocks: used in North Jersey for streets or squares (q.v.). [Influence of New York City, where the "block" is the regular unit of distance — 20 blocks = a mile.]
bloomaries : iron forges in S. J. (Law of 1779.)
blowhard : a noisy, demonstrative, self-important person.
board-bank: floor of boards, placed on the bed of a creek near the shore, on which oysters are laid to " fatten." See floats.
boom-pole : pole used to hold a load of hay on a wagon. [Binding-pole is used in this sense in Connecticut. — E. H. B.]
boughten : that which has been bought, as distinguished from what has been given. DeVere confines it to New York, but it is very common in N. J. E.g. " Were those melons boughten or guv to you ? " [Known in N. E., but generally used in distinction from home-made.']
boyzee: boy ; as, " when I was a boyzee." [p. 77.]
brackwater : salt water of bay or river, near shore, modified by flow of fresh water. The adjective " brackish " is more commonly used.
braes : burned and charred wood in a charcoal pit.
buck: a fop. Used contemptuously; "he's a pretty buck, now ain*t he ? " Also buck-a-dandy, with the same meaning.
buck-darting : a zigzag method of sailing employed on tide-water creeks.
JERSETISMS. 329
bull: terrapin 3 or 4 inches across the belly. Five are required for a ** count," or 60 to a dozen. (S. J.)
bull nose : a useless hard clam. (Cape May County.)
bulldoze: common in Jersey. [See Century Diet, and Murray.]
bullrag, bullyrag: to tease, domineer over. (S. J.) [See Murray, s.v.]
butterfingered : an adjective used to describe a person whose powers of retaining an article in his grasp are not great. (C. and S. J.) [Known else- where, but generally confined to base-ball.]
by-and-by : pron. bairn bai. [Common in N, E.]
calk : pron. kork.
careful: pron. karjl. [Common in N. E.]
chaw : common pron. for chew. [As elsewhere.]
chinkin : boards, sticks, or clay used to fill spaces between logs in cabin building.
chunker: coal boat used on the canal. (N. J.)
cions, scions: pron. science {saidns) in S. J. Young growth of oak timber. Pines and cedars have no scions. To "science" (verb) is to cut off these sprouts- clink : used of two chairs which are tilted so as partially to support each other, each having two legs on the floor.
clucker : frozen oysters. (S. J. ) See rattlers.
cluttert : for cluttered. E.g. " cluttert into heaps."
coal: charcoal. (S.J.)
collier: charcoal-burner. (S. J.) A place in Ocean County is named ♦♦ Collier's Mill."
coon oyster : small oyster attached to the sedge rather than to the usual more solid supports.
count: terrapin six inches across belly, fit for market. (S. J.)
count olanis : quahaugs, 800 to the barrel. [The extent of use of the word quahaug is an interesting question.]
cow: six- inch female terrapin. (S.J.) (One " count.")
cowcumber : for cucumber, [p. 64.]
crib: horizontal sticks piled triangularly around the "fergen" (q.v.) in charcoal burning. (S. J.) Sticks of cord-wood placed at right angles (usu- ally in fours) to form a column against which cord-wood may be piled in *' ranks."
crock : earthenware vessel. (Common in S. J. ) [Also known in N. E.]
cubby : a little hollow-square cabin. (Charcoal industry.)
cubby-hole: place in a garret where refuse is stored. [The word is familiar to some New Englanders in the sense of a little cosey place, behind furniture, or in a hay-mow, for instance, where one or two children might hide.]
cull: to assort (oysters). Poor oysters are cullins.
culls : the grade next to the poorest.
cullinteens : bushel oysters ; like cullings or cullens.
curricle : two-horse chaise. (Law of March 20, 1778.)
damnify: to injure. Law of 1677 (referring to hogs running loose) "in damnifying meadows by rooting."
330 DIALECT NOTES.
daubin : mud between the logs in a log house.
dicked : arrayed. Possible corruption of " decked." Not very common.
dod (dod blasted, dod slammed, etc.) : f or " God " in quasi-profanity. [p. 64.]
dominies : common in Jersey iii an adjective sense. E.g. " a dominie- lookin' feller."
double up : to marry.
downcome : a fall or attendant disaster. Used with reference to politics.
down felowyers : used in Cape May County to indicate people from the southern part of the county. (Corruption of down belowyers.)
dreg, drudge : pronunciations for dredge among the oystermen. [p. 210.]
drugged : pret. of drag. [p. 67.]
dubersome : doubtful. (C. J.)
durgen : old horse, worn out by use. (S. J.)
Durham boat : used on Delaware River till 1835. Washington probably used them in crossing before the battle of Trenton. They were sharp- pointed, flat-bottomed scows, built to run the rapids in the hill country. They were common in the colonial period between the "Forks" at Easton and Burlington City.
earnest : pron. cerridst.
errand : pron. erdnt. [Known also in N. E.]
extra meetins : certain periods devoted, in Baptist and Methodist circles, to special religious services of the nature of revivals.
eye opener: big drink of liquor ; say, " four fingers."
fag eend : the end piece of anything.
fast land : upland near coast. (S. J.)
faze: to injure. As noun in "he went through and nary a faze." (S. and C. J.) [p. 70.]
fellies: pi. oi felloe. (Law of 1766.)
fergen : centre pole in a charcoal pit, forming the central part of the "crib" {q.v.). (S. J.)
field: deserted farm overgrown with pine, scrub oak, and brambles. Some of xhQ^Q fields — the term is equivalent to plantation —are from a cen- tury to a century and a half old. Distinguishing names are Broomstick Ridge Field, Lawrence Field, etc. (Cape May County names).
firing place : spot suitable for charcoal burning.
fist : "to make a bad fist of it " ; to make mistakes or do work incorrectly.
flirch: abundant. (S.J.)
floats: (charcoal industry) irregular sods laid on "four-foot lengths," over which sand is placed. (Oyster industry) pens of boards placed in fresh water, upon which oysters fatten during one tide. They are then marketable by the thousand.
folks : immediate family. [Also N. E. In Connecticut I have heard men say "my folks," meaning strictly "my wife," though there were others in the family. — E. H. B.]
footy: small, insignificant. [Professor Sheldon knows the word in Maine as a noun = simpleton. There is also a N. E. expression " footin* around" (fl) = fussing, busying one's self uselessly.]
JEBSETISMS. 331
funeral : " his funeral was preached " = " his funeral sermon," etc. (S. J.)
gad: small whip used to drive cows to pasture. (S. J.) [Known in N. E. in sense of whip. ]
garvey : a small scow. (Barnegat region.)
glommox, glummicks : a muss, or a conglomeration of matter. (S. and C. J.)
go by water : to follow the sea as a calling. (Coast.)
golly keeser : oath heard in S. J.
goodies : a fish of peculiar delicacy, much eaten on the coast. The " spot fish " of Virginia. (Atlantic and Cape May.)
goody-goody: contemptuously applied to an over-fastidious person. (S. J.)
gorramity (gordmaiti) : for God Almighty. (S. J.)
goster : to domineer.
gosterer : one who boasts or brags.
grass : spring of the year. "I'll move out o' here next grass."
gravel : to steal sweet potatoes (the act identified by the newly turned earth).
green head : a fly common in the coast district.
ground oak : to inflict injury on the person, or threaten to do so ; a sort of duress per minas. (A ground oak is a small oak of little value.)
gulf weather: warm, moist, cloudy weather, attributed on the Jersey coast to the influence of the Gulf Stream. It is felt as far west as Trenton.
heifers : young cow terrapins. Two or three to " counts." (S. J.)
hether: equivalent to peddy whoa, q.v.
hike : of clothing, to be uneven or not to " set well." [p. 61.]
holdfast: a sore, eating to the bone, which may come from various causes.
honey-fogle : to allure by traps.
horse coursers : defined as drovers in law of 1682.
horse-proud : adjective used of a man who has pride in his blooded stock. Similar words are used made up with names of other animals ; e.g. hog-proud.
housen : plural of house.
hyper: to hurry about ; to bustle at work. (Little used.)
Indian bread: fungus found underground in the pine woods. The Tuckahoe. (S. J.)
jack (apple) : in Salem, Sussex, and Burlington counties, where apple whiskey is made, it is commonly called "jack." "Jersey Lightning" is hardly used by natives for this article. [How widely is the word "apple whiskey " used ? " Cider brandy " is the natural word to New Englanders.]
jag : a small load. In S. J. a load of hay. Not used among the country people in its present slang sense. [Century Diet. See p. 216.]
Jersey blue : color of uniform worn by Jersey troops in the French and Indian War.
Jiinminy crickets : common in Jersey, [p. 49.]
kerf: [see Webster] word not used in North Jersey. When employed in the Supreme Court it was not understood by the judges.
ketchy: changeable (weather).
kettereen : a kind of carriage. (Law of 1779.)
332 DIALECT NOTES.
killick : small anchor. (Very common on coast. )
kink : used in N. J. for kinky. Used as noun = idiosyncrasy.
lap : a " hank " of thread.
lashin(g)s: plenty; abundance. " Lashins o' money. "
lenter: for "lean to" = an addition to a house. Pron. lentr^ lintr^ and lintr.
lift the collection: take up the collection. In common use in some localities.
lug : bark. "The dog lugs at the waggin."
mam, mom, msB : for mamma or mother.
marsh: pron. mce/. [Also in N. E.]
meadow: salt marshy tract used for grazing and "shingling" (v. infra) in S. J.
menhaden: called "moss bunkers," "mossy bunkers," "green tails," "Sam Days," and "bony fish," in Cape May County, and "mud shad" in Cumberland County.
milchy : adjective applied to oysters "in milk" — just before or during spawning.
molasses: pron. merlassers^ merlasses, millasses.
mosey : to leave suddenly, generally under doubt or suspicion.
mought (maut) : for might, [p. 71.]
mudwallop : to soil one's self with mud. To play in the mud when fishing.
miy : pron. mi.
nary : never.
nothing: pron. no/>in.
nubbin : imperfect ear of com.
nutmeg: muskmelon (generic). (S.J.)
O be joyful: hilariously drunk. (Common.)
ordinary : innkeeper, in laws of Lord Proprietors. Now out of use.
ornery : common in use. See p. 65 of Notes.
overly : used in speaking of health, etc. ; e.g. " not overly good." Gener- ally in negative use. [Known in Maine. — E. S. S.]
oyster grass : kelp found in oyster-beds. (Cape May.)
oyster knockers : culling tools. Double-headed hammer used to sepa- rate bunches of oysters.
pap, pop, poppy: ior papa or father.
patent thread : linen thread. (S.J.)
peddy whoa : teamster's word = haw; go to the left.
perianger : oyster boat. Law of 1719 (DeVere, p. 137).
petty chapman : itinerant vender. (Law of 1730.)
pile, piling, pile driver: often pron. spile, etc., in N. J.
piners: those who live in the Jersey pines, — the "ridge" sections (eastern and southern) of the state. ^ pit : wood stacked for charcoal burning.
platform : planked floor where oysters are freshened. (Atlantic County.) See board-bank and floats.
pool holes: holes, two to six feet deep, full of "mucky" water, found on meadows. (See Shingle Lidustry below.) Often spool holes.
JEBSETI8MS. 333
pretty : pron. pdrti, puti.
pretty middlin' smart (smcert) : indicates a fair state of health. Com- mon in N. J.
progue: pron, progr. To search for anything imbedded in the mud, as clams, terrapins, or cedar logs, by means of a sounding rod.
quiler: holdback strap (see Webster). \_Side-strap is used in Connecti- cut.—E. H. B.]
quite : not a common word in S. J. Common in C. J. in such expres- sions as " quite some."
rattlers : oysters in poorest condition. So called because they rattle in their shells. See clucker.
reach : that portion of a circuitous creek in the tide-water district between two sharp turns. Eeaches are from 200 feet to a mile or more in length.
salt holes : pool holes of small size filled with salt water. Frequent in marshes.
scions. See cions.
scoot, scoat, skeet : to leave suddenly.
scrub oak : a low-growing species, usually the first timber growth on a burned district. As soon as the larger timber grows above it, the scrub oak dies out.
setoffs: sugar and cream in coffee ; "trimmings."
shacklin' : shiftless ; lazy ; going from one job to another.
shell bed : collection of oyster shells in S. J., where Indians made wam- pum, or dried bivalves for food.
shellers : those who open clams for market.
shenanigan : fooling or playfulness. Also expressed by "monkey busi- ness." [Known in N. E.]
sherk : for shark. [Also reported from coast of Virginia.]
shoots : spaces between concentric rings of oyster shells, showing years of growth.
shuck, shock : to open oysters. To husk corn.
singing sand : sand found on Long Beach, Ocean County, which emits a peculiar musical tone when the wind passes over it rapidly. It is found on a portion of beach made since 1818.
sistern : pi. of sister. Used in Baptist and Methodist churches.
skeins : for Skene. A dagger (see Webster). (Law of 1686.)
skift : for skiff. A yawl used in E. J.
sky scraper: one who reaches high; one who is exalted in his own estimation.
slash : swale filled with water. (Cape May.)
slews: (corruption of sluice) a thoroughfare (q.v.). (Coast.)
slug : a big drink of whiskey.
snag gag : to quarrel or have an irritating controversy.
snail bore: a moUusk, also called "drill," "borer," etc.
sneathe : snath of a scythe (see Webster).
snew : pret. of snow. (N. J.)
snoop : to pry into another's affairs ; to sneak.
334 DIALECT NOTES.
snub : to " canal it" on a boat. (C. J.)
snubbin' post : post around which rope of boat is fastened in lock.
soft shells: crabs with soft shells.
spoom : to run before the wind. [See Webster.] (Coast.)
spung: piece of low ground at the head of a stream in the tide-water district.
squares, streets : used generally in S. and C. J. as unit of distance in cities, like blocks (q.v.) in N. J. Philadelphia influence.
stepmother : a ragged nail or a roughness of the skin.
stlckup : a long, thin oyster ; so called in Cape May from the fact that it "stickups," as oystermen say, in the mud.
stone horses : stallions. (Law of 1709.) [Used in this sense in jBo&- inson Crusoe.]
stuffy : close and sultry, like a " Gulf weather" day {q.v.).
sun do"wn : sunset ; very common.
sun up : sunrise ; not common, but still in use.
swale : low land between sand ridges on the coast beaches. •
sward : pron. sord.
sw^lng seat : a seat used in a wood wagon, hung from the sides. Used after unloading.
tacker : small child. The adjective little generally precedes the noun.
tar kiln : place where tar is tried out of pine knots.
ten fingers : oysterman's slang for thief. Not very common.
thawt : for thwart ; rower's seat. Used to a limited extent, [p. 24.]
thill horse : shaft horse. Not very common.
thoroughfare, throughfare (see also slews) : long, narrow body of water connecting the bays which separate the sandy islands of the southern coast from the mainland. [Reported as proper name for such passages from Maine and Virginia.] In law of 1695 a " thoroughfare " was a wagon road.
three-square : a kind of grass found on S. J. meadows.
thunder-heads : cumulus clouds piled above the black mass of the storm. [In Connecticut, heavy cumulus clouds which appear before a shower. — E. H. B.]
tickly (tiekely, ticklish) bender : running on yielding ice. [See p. 75.]
ticky: Rio coffee. (S. J. traders).
tittavating (v = w) : repairing; e.g. " The housens need tittavating."
tongs : oyster tongs.
toxlcatious : for intoxicating. (Law of 1679.)
traipse : final e pronounced. The word has a good use in Jersey; no idea of " slackness " is attached to it, as Webster would imply.
truck : to barter or to trade. (Law of 1688.)
upheader : horse that holds his head high. Applied figuratively to men.
V is often pronounced like w by the older people in S. J. A Gloucester County saying is, " Weal and winegar are good wittles to take aboard a wessel."
wain : wagon. (S. J.) Not much used.
wherries: ior ferries. (Law of 1716.)
wind breaker : a screen or the like used to break the force of the wind.
winders : an instrument used on the oyster boats for winding the dredge line.
JEBSETISM8. 336
The Glass Industry.
Mr. William Marks, of Millville, and Mr. Charles Simmerman, chief of the State Bureau of Labor and Statistics, furnish the fol- lowing list of words. Some of them are used only in the flint glass houses, others in the green glass works as well.
all aboard : used in flint glass works as order to begin and quit work.
batch : the mixture of soda and sand of which the glass is made.
bench stones : resting-place for pots inside the furnace.
blast : the ten months of the year when fire is in the furnaces.
blower : one who forms or "blows" molten glass.
blowover : bottle finished by grinding its mouth on a stone. Fruit jars are usually finished in this way.
bounty jumper : a cylindrical mould.
breast stones : sides of the furnace.
bull : glass unfit for use after the melt.
cap : top of the melting furnace.
carrier in : one who takes bottles to the annealing oven.
cordy glass : bottle glass containing strips resembling fine cords, caused by glass not being thoroughly melted, or being kept too long in pot.
cullet : waste glass.
draw pickle : wooden stick used in pot setting. (Flint glass manufacture.)
fiddle : a fulcrum for the "sheen " {q.v. below) in pot setting.
fire out : end of the ten months' blast. Factories close during July and August.
fire over : cessation of work for the day.
flip flop : bladder of thin glass used as a toy.
flip up : an old-fashioned style of mould.
foot bench : bench around the furnace, upon which the workmen stand.
furnace : where the glass is melted in the pots.
gaffer : one who finishes bottle by putting mouth upon it.
gatherer : one who takes the glass from the pots.
get-up: one day of labor; e.g. "Ten get-ups (ten days) before fire out."
glory hole : small furnace where bottles are finished.
goat : two-wheeled wagon used to carry the pot to the furnace from where it is first tempered.
heel-tapped : unevenly blown (bottle).
Henry: a lie (in Millville glass houses). Perhaps the name of some notorious liar.
lamp workers : Bohemian blowers who work glass by a lamp.
lazybones : iron machine used for resting iron bars when the furnace is being cleaned or repaired.
leer : annealing oven, where glass is tempered for 24 hours.
mauer : iron plate where blower rolls his glass.
melt : process of reducing the " batch " (q.v.) to molten glass.
mill hands : those who make the clay stone.
336 DIALECT NOTES.
monkey : small pot used in flint factories.
necktie : imperfect bottle wrinkled in the neck.
pot : the clay jar where the batch is placed during the melt. The pot is from 32 to 54 inches in diameter, and 2| feet high ; from five to ten of them go in one furnace.
pot shells : pieces of broken pots which are ground up for the making of new pots.
presser : one who presses glass in the mould.
presto: an exclamation which implies "Be careful of your language, as visitors are in the works."
puntey : iron rod with holder used to finish bottles. [Pontee in Webster.]
rack on : term used to imply the blower's loss of ware through imperfect work.
ring hole : hole in furnace where blower gets his glass for bottle work.
ring stone : stone to close the ring hole.
salt water : salts in soda which rise to surface of molten glass, and after being skimmed off, harden into cakes.
sandy glass : glass poorly melted.
shears : cutting tool used in glass making.
shear hole : hole where fire is " set."
shear to : to heat up the furnace.
shearer : the " master shearer " has charge of the furnace during the melt. His assistant is the "shearer."
sheen : long iron bar used to set pots on edge of furnace.
slocker: refuse glass.
slow fire : commence work.
snap : iron rod used to finish bottles. See puntey.
snapper up : boy employed in glass works.
stone : clay. There is no stone in S. J., and clay takes its place.
tap : to open tone of furnace to take away refuse glass, which when it cools becomes slocker (q.v.).
tempo : a cry implying cessation of work.
tone : central space of furnace around which pots are set. The flame melting the batch circulates therein.
tube blower : one who makes tubes for lamp works. (Flint works only.)
tuck stone : stone (clay) sustaining arch over furnace grate.
jink yank : equivalent to necktie, q.v.
The Shingle Industry. Carried on in the cedar swamps of South Jersey.
bolt : piece of cedar, 2 feet long, 6 inches wide, 2 inches thick.
break down and windfall are terms describing conditions in which cedar logs are found beneath the surface. The log is chipped and it« condition is indicated by the odor of the chip.
butting : the process of levelling shingles.
JEBSETISMS. 337
dug ups : shingles made from logs fallen and covered with soil. Called also mud, rove, and split.
free : instrument used to rive cedar into bolts. A blade 16 inches long and 3 inches wide, with a handle 6 inches long at right angles to one end.
horse : contrivance for holding shingles while they are being shaved.
pool holes (q.v., p. 332) are caused by removing cedar logs.
progueing iron or progufc: iron rod 4^ to 7 feet long used to progue (q.v., p. 333) for cedar logs.
rive : to cut cedar bolts into pieces ^ inches thick.
shave : to prepare rived bolts for use on roof.
shingling : the process of taking cedar logs from the meadows or swamps and converting them into shingles.
straight rift and twisted are two conditions (as to grain of wood) in which cedar logs are found.
tap or cut : a piece sawed from the log beneath the surface.
wind shakes : trees which have been twisted by the wind so that the effect is shown by the twisted grain of the wood.
FEAJSrCIS B. LEE.
Teenton, March, 1893.
338 DIALECT NOTES,
THE DIALECT OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT.
A GROUP of towns near the New York line, half-way up the state of Connecticut, forms a "speech-island" of more than usual interest. These towns are in the hilly district at the south end of the Taconic range of mountains. It is a country of granite hills, 1000 to 1500 feet above sea level, intersected by narrow valleys, sometimes broadening out into small plains, and traversed by swift clear streams, of which the Housatonic Eiver is the larg- est. About 30 miles up this river, several of the valleys con- verge into a plain, the largest in the region ; and here, in 1704, a company organized at Milford, at the mouth of the river, acquired land from the Indians and planted a settlement which they named New Milford. The enterprise prospered, and soon New Milford became the centre of an active colonization, and in and about the above-mentioned valleys a group of towns grew up, for which New Milford was and is to-day the natural business centre. Their town and church records have been in the main carefully kept, and in most towns have been used for material in local histories, which often give very clear information as to the origin of the early settlers. From a somewhat extended study of these sources I draw the conclusion that they were of as pure English stock as is to be found anywhere in New England. They seem to have come in about equal proportions from (1) the western towns of the New Haven colony ; (2) the Connecticut River settlements about Hartford and up into Massachusetts (one of our towns is named Brookfield) ; and (3) the original settlements in eastern Massachusetts. Hardly a Dutch or other foreign name is to be found on the records, and the names on the earliest records are the same to a remarkable extent as those met to-day. By the time of the Revolution, the region was well settled, and probably received no considerable accessions from outside till our own time. The economic conditions have been such that, while the indigenous population has been able to maintain itself in a com- fortable and dignified condition, outsiders, since the first opening up of the country, have not been attracted to move in. The natural increase of the population has been sufficient to maintain its numbers, and to send very many natives of the region " out
THE DIALECT OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT. 339
Wesf (some of them very likely to Ithaca), or, in our days, to the cities. Some fifty years ago a good many Irish came in, and now of course there is a general mixture of all sorts, as elsewhere in New England. But down to the time of people who are alive now, the region has had a stable, homogeneous population of sturdy, intelligent farmer folk, whose English comes of good stock, and has been transmitted from generation to generation free from outside influences. The present generation has come greatly under the influence of the schoolmistress and the news- paper ; but the generation now gray-haired has a dialect inherited in all its integrity.
I was born and "raised" in this region on a rather isolated farm, and passed a somewhat solitary childhood, having almost no playmates of my own age until I went to school. I learned to speak from my parents, my grandmother, the "help" indoors and out, and the neighbors. This dialect is therefore my mother- tongue, and I did not change to more conventional English till well along in my school years. I may be a little " rusty " in it now, but when I go down home and talk with the natives, it comes back to me well enough so that they do not feel called upon to " talk polite " to the city man, and so spoil my observa- tions. Of course I can always say what my own usage was in any case, and it is generally fair to take this as representative, except in case of words which I did not know until my speech began to be modified by the school. Here I take the usage of some older person, but always what I have heard in actual use by some one.
The phonology is interesting, but so close to that of the Ithaca dialect that it can be most conveniently treated as an appendix to Prof. Emerson's study. After he completes his word-lists, I will publish some matter in comparison. I shall also devote a chapter in my book on American pronunciation to this dialect.
I publish here chiefly words which have not appeared before in Dialect Notes. Very many of those already reported from New England are heard in my dialect, but there is generally nothing to add except the fact that they do occur.
The figures in brackets refer, of course, to pages in Dialect Notes.
alligator: larva of the hellgramite [corydalus cornutus'], an aquatic insect used as bait for bass.
angle- worm : earth-worm. Known by no other name, though the verb to angle is not used.
340 DIALECT NOTES.
balk : strip accidentally left unploughed between two furrows [see Web- ster]. [This word is reported from Westchester Co., N. Y., as meaning an iron stake used to " stake out" an animal to graze].
be : the verb substantive has some peculiar forms. The regular forms of the present indicative are all used, but there is a secondary inflection as follows: —
I be we be
you be you be
he is they be
This form he is never used in the third singular, nor in the negative, which is aint for all persons and numbers. Be is not used in an independent direct statement; "I be agoin' " (see Jerseyisms, s.v.) would be contrary to the usage. It is used in dependent sentences generally, including conditions, questions, especially indirect questions, and the second part of the favorite Yankee form of inquiring if the contrary of a stated negative is true. " You aint goin' up town, be ye ? " " Them cattle aint yourn, be they ? "
A restatement with emphasis of a previous remark after a contradiction would usually take be. " Now, Hiram, you aint agoin' t' the store to-night 1 " " I say I be agoin' tew ! "
Perhaps it is safe to make the general statement that be is not used when the predicate is complete, except under emphasis in an indirect or dependent clause. The handling of this word is a very delicate matter, and the usage appears to be pretty uniform throughout New England; the "dialect" novelist often meets with shipwreck on this rock. 7s is sometimes used as plural, especially with demonstrative pronouns, or with two personal pro- nouns, or one such and a noun, of different persons. "Them's the kind I want." " Him and me's good friends."
The past tense is was (neg. wa^nH — pron. wont) in all cases, p. p. gener- ally pron. ben.
belly-gut : manner of coasting — face downward on sled. [49, 60, 212, 214, 285.]
bill : to get a bill = to get a divorce.
booger: in the sense reported. [18, 77, 214, 235.] The pronunciation bugr is used for bugger in the sense defined in Webster, while bvgr is a harmless word meaning much the same as "chap" or as "tacker" in New Jersey [334], and used by schoolgirls and all sorts of people who certainly never attach any other meaning to it.
boss cow : the cow which can " lick " or " drive " all the rest of the herd, and so has the privilege of being first in all matters of advantage.
brake : fern of any kind.
bub : small boy. Used only in the vocative case.
carriage: any vehicle having a top. (The generic word for any four- wheeled vehicle is wagon. Buggy is only applied to those vyithout tops ; a top buggy would be called a carnage.)
cast: hue ; tinge. Good flour has a "yellow cast."
caterin': diagonally.
cheese is sometimes used as plural = cheeses.
chipmunk : the only form of the word heard in the region [73],
THE DIALECT OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT. 341
coot : (like cuss) a person (contemptuously). " A poor drunken coot."
conniption fit : an ovfr wrought state of mind, or nervous excitement (over a particular circumstance).
critter: a neat animal; sing, of cattle. "Is that a horse out in the road ? " " No, it's a critter." (Creeter {^ritr'] is used in the general sense of the noun being. Cf. Widow Bedott : " We're all poor creeturs.") This use of critter is so well fixed that the natives, when they are trying to "talk polite" with strangers, use creature with the same meaning.
donnock (donak) : a large stone or boulder imbedded in th^ ground, but not a " tight stone " or ledge.
Dutchman: any foreigner who speaks English brokenly or not at all. (Going out of use.) [In carpentry] a piece of wood inserted to fill a space left or made by mistake from careless work.
ea : the word yes (pron. yis) is used, but much oftener is heard ea, 69, es, (dissyllabic and barytone) very rarely vsrith a final p.
emptins : yeast. To run emptins is to show signs of not holding out well, as for instance a speech or an enterprise of any kind. Probably from analogy of a beer-barrel.
fall : the word autumn is only known from books.
farse : eager. " He's dretful farse to go fishin'." [Is. this merely fierce, or is it an older Germanic word ? Cf. O.N. fuss.']
gad : sometimes whip in general, but oftener a whipstock without lash, made of a young shoot of ironwood or hardbeam (Carpinus Americana).
gob : a small quantity of any matter in a plastic state ; e.g. a gob of mud.
guUop : to belch.
haily over (Jieli-ovr) : a game among the schoolboys, in which they choose sides and the parties get on opposite sides of a building. A ball is thrown over ; if one of the opposite side makes a fair catch when it comes over, he is entitled to run round and throw it at any one of the other party, who if hit must change sides.
hard-pan: mixture of clay and subsoil ("yellow dirt") underlying the upper soil in certain situations throughout the region. When this is reached in ditching the work is much harder.
hist (haist) for hoist : used to a cow, as an order to take her hind leg out of the way of the milker.
holler: to shout [239]. Hollow (as verb) is substituted by some when talking " afore folks."
housens as plural of hoiise is heard, though rare.
hunk : chunk, piece (of anything solid).
jag : exactly as in New Jersey ; see Mr. Lee's collection [331].
jigger: gig; sulky.
koboodle [63, 64, 74] : the hull koboodle is commonest; kit and boodle is also heard.
letter in the post-oflBce : expression current among boys, denoting that the seat of the trousers is so out of repair that the shirt-tail is visible.
lot : field. In all compounds ; pasture-lot, corn-lot, meadow-lot, etc.
lot-rows : when several men are hoeing in a "lot" where the rows are of unequal length, the farm etiquette requires the outside man to take the
342 DIALECT NOTES,
next row to his own in returning, and the others to follow in order, so that each shall do, the same amount of work in the " bout."
mallis: probably for mallows; a plant whose seed-vessels resemble cheeses in shape, and are called mallis-cheeses by children.
meadoAY : strictly confined in, meaning to land devoted to the hay crop. [Discussion of the meanings of this word will be found interesting. Where does it mean grass land in general, and where does it mean low, wet land ?]
meat-victuals: the meat course at dinner. "If you're through with meat-victuals, they's some pie comin'."
mooley-cow : cow without horns.
nigger-head: clump of fern-roots in swamps. When the land is re- claimeci they remain for years undecayed, showing as black lumps in the ploughed field.
nubbin : defective ear of corn (as in N. J.).
on is used often for o/with a pronoun object : onH for of it, as in Shak- spere, is common. Often used redundantly with verbs and present par- ticiples ; e.g. " What ye duin' on ? Hayin' on't ? " Also with reflexive verbs (which, by the way, take the simple personal pronouns and not the forms
with self); e.g. (Mrs. excuses her husband to a caller.) "Mr.
can't come jes' now ; he's a-shavin' on him."
overhauls is the universal word. I heard a dispute as to this word settled summarily in a country store as follows : "Of course they're overhauls ; you haul 'em on over your pants, don't you ? "
pair of bars: set of bars, five or six generally. Pair (= flight) of stairs is the only word in use.
pint o' cider : proverbial in comparisons to denote something very small. " 'Taint so big as a pint o' cider."
poose-back : manner of carrying a child on the back ; = pig-a-back. From pappoose undoubtedly.
popple: ioT poplar.
pussy (pvsi) : fat, corpulent, pot-bellied. [240.]
stale: handle of a tool (Ger. stiel ; see Webster, s.v.). In regular use in rake-stale, less common in fork-stale. Pipe-stale is rare.
round snow : hard, hail-like snow which falls when a snow-storm is just turning to rain.
runt : the smallest pig in a litter. Not used of other animals, but applied humorously to an undersized man or boy.
Bass (sees) : stewed or preserved fruit. (Also in sense of impertinence, as elsewhere.)
scoot : to move quickly a considerable distance ; to dart or glide. (No idea of running away, and by no means limited to persons. A piece of ice propelled across the surface of a frozen pond " scoots.")
shack : a tramp.
sight unseen : " blind swap " ; without seeing articles beforehand.
shilUn : a " long " or "Yankee shillin " = 16| cents ; a " York shillin" = 12J cents.
short rows : in a field not quite rectangular, planted in rows, there will be a few rapidly shortening rows at the end which hoe off with surprising
THE DIALECT OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT. 343
rapidity after the rest are done. Hence the proverbial expression "gittin' into the short rows " = nearly finished.
skunk: a mean, contemptible fellow. Much more opprobrious than bugger, coot, cuss, etc.
skunk blackbird : the bobolink.
sojer: [19, 79, 218.] Does not this use of the word come from the old militia " training days," when " soldiering " was the occasion for more or less fun, and no great amount of serious work ?
spunk : only in sense of pluck. Funk as name of fungus. [232.]
spunky: angry, irritated.
square: used in "three-square" = triangular^ "eight-square" = octag- onal, etc.
stub : used like stag (which also occurs in same sense [70]).
stoop : porch or small veranda (with roof) [exact definitions from all sections of stoop, porch, veranda, gallery, piazza, and balcony would be interesting].
stout: strong (of muscle). Never used = corpulent. In that sense the word is pussy [342], ov fat.
swat (swot) : to strike or slap.
switchel : drink made of molasses, water, and ginger (with or without vinegar). [See Webster, and belly-whistle in Jersey isms.']
teeter : to see-saw, oscillate up and down. Used of the children"'s sport with plank and fulcrum, and in composition in a popular name for the sand- piper.
throw up : vomit. " Throw up one's boots " [cf . 233]. The word vomit is or was little used. Puke was in perfectly good standing till comparatively recent times ; I never heard my grandmother (1795-1869) use any other word. When this began to be considered vulgar, a euphemism was sought rather than another plain word substituted.
tother : the other. A good old form, still in common use.
wench : a negro woman. (Often " nigger-wench.")
winkum: Cider brandy.
E. H. BABBITT.
[]\Ir. Grandgent reports the following words of the list as current in the same sense in Massachusetts: bub, coot, connip- tion fit, ea, fall, gob, gullop (with pron. gobp), hard-pan, hist, holler, hunk, on (for of), pussy, sass, skunk, spunk, teeter, throw up, tother.]
344 DIALECT NOTES.
BIBLIOGEAPHY.
The following bibliographical notes are complete for the Dial, MoDERX Language Notes, and the Natiox, from the last bibli- ography, Dialect Notes, Part V, 1892, to Sept. 1, 1894. There are, besides, occasional references to other sources. Members of the Dialect Society are requested to furnish any notes which they may think available for future bibliographies.
Academy, The (London). The American Dialect, XLIII, 265-267. See Hall, Fitzedward.
Allen, E. A. The origin in literature of vulgarisms. Cfiautauquan, Nov. 1890.
Babbitt, E. H. American Dialect Society. MocL Lang. Notes, IX, 383.
Bell, Alexander Melvill. Speech Tones. A paper read before the Modern Language Association, Dec. 27, 1893.
Brown, Calvin S. Dialectal survivals from Spenser, Dial, XVI, 39.
Bruce, J. Douglas. Tote. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 501, 502.
Bruce, Philip A. "Tote." Nation, hVlll, \2l.
B., W. G. "Tote." Nation, IN 111,121,
C, A. B. All by myself. Nation, LVI, ^4.
C, J. G. Back and forth. Nation, LIX, 102. See also Channing, J. Parke ; F., P. J. ; M., G.
Carter, Henry H. "Grass widowr." Nation, LVI, 235.
Chamberlain, Alexander F. " Ch'nai-sny." iVaiton,»LVI, 82. See Coues, Elliott.
Channing, J. Parke. Back and forth. Nation, LIX, 63.
Chittenden, L. E. La chine. Nation, LVI, 384.
Coues, Elliott. " Snibar." Nation, LVI, 50. See Chamberlain, Alex. F.
Cutler, Carroll. Cousin and niece. Nation, LV, 449. See Walker, G. L.
Dall, Caroline H. Grass widow again. Nation, LVI, 253.
Dial, The (Chicago). The future of American speech. XIV, 233, 234.
Various notes. XIV, 172, 233, 270, 271, 302 ; XV, 8, 85, 109, 179,
218; XVI, 39, 170. See also Brown, Calvin S. ; Emerson, G. F. ; Hall, Fitzedward ; Hempl, George ; N., A. H. ; Williams, R. O.
Dole, Nathan Haskell. Typescript and Typoscript. Nation, LVII, 27.
Education. Americanisms, XIII, 367-374. See Hartt, Irene W.
Eggleston, Edward. Wild flowers of English speech in America. The Century Magazine, XL VII, 848-856.
BIBLIOGBAPHT, 345
Emerson, Oliver Farrar. The future of American speech. Dial^ XIV, 270, 271.
F., P. J. Back and forth. Nation, LIX, 102.
See also C, J. G. ; Channing, J. Parke ; F., P. J. ; M., J.
FoRTiER, Alcee. Louisiana studies, literature, customs, dialects. New Orleans, Hansell «& Bro.
Grandgent, C. H. Off and on. Read before the Modern Language Asso- ciation, Phonetic Section, Dec, 1893. And published by the Phonetic Section.
American Pronunciation again. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 273-282.
Teat-yure. Mod. Lang. Notes, IX, 136-138.
Griffis, William Elliot. The Dutch influence in New England. Harper's Magazine, LXXXVIII, 213-221.
Brave little Holland and what she taught us. Houghton, Mifflin &
Co., 1894.
H., K. W. The understatement of guess. Nation, LVIII, 11.
Hall, Fitzedward. The American dialect. Academy (London).
Breach of Idiom. Dial, XV, 85.
None but they. Same, XV, 179.
Is being built. Same, XVI, 39.
" To part with," and " to part from." Same, XVI, 170.
Mistaken souls. Nation, LVI, 122.
Widow bewitched and grass widow. Same, LVI, 214.
The cleft infinitive. Same, LVI, 274.
Easy chair philology. Same, LVI, 384.
"Bore." Same, LVII, 27.
An unpardonable Americanism. Same, LVII, 45.
" Slang." Same, LVII, 155.
"Practitioner." Same, LVII, 229.
Sundry "Americanisms." Same, LVII, 484.
A brace of whims. Same, LVIII, 175.
Mend or end. Same, LVIII, 252.
An apparently unnoticed sense of "hard." Same, LVIII, 388.
A nice point of Biblical English. Same, LVIII, 427.
"Back and forth." Same, LIX, 8.
Harper's Magazine. LXXXVII, 304-312 ; LXXXVIII, 213-2^. See Griffis, Wm. Elliot ; Matthews, Brander.
Harris, C. J. Cousin and niece. Nation, LVI, 11.
Harrison, T. P. Elnyard. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 255.
Hartt, Irene Widdemar. Americanisms. Education, XIII, 367-374.
Hempl, George. Grass widow and widow bewitched. Nation, LVI, 292.
American dialects. Mod. Lang. Notes, IX, 124, 125 ; IX, 310-313.
Some uses of " like." Dial, XIV, 172.
Local usage in American speech. Same, XVI, 262.
Herald, Boston. Real Americans, Nov. 20, 1892. See Warren, Arthur.
L, A. The cleft infinitive. Nation, LVI, 367.
M., F. E. " Tote," Nation, LVIII, 85.
M., J. Back and forth. Nation, LIX, 102. See also C, J. G.; Chan- ning, J. Parke : F., P. J.
346 DIALECT NOTES.
Macmechan, Archibald. Team. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 122.
Matthews, Albert. " Notch.'" Nation, LVIII, 484.
The adverb between the infinitive and its sign. Boston Evening
Transcript, Mar. 1, 1893.
The adverb and the infinitive once more. Nation, LVI, 49.
Matthews, Brander. The Function of Slang. Harper^s Magazine, LXXXVIII, 304-312.
Menger, L. E. 9 no:t an amerikn praiiAnsierJan. Le Mattre FhonStique^ Dec, 1893, pp. 168-171.
MoDERX Language Notes. Various notes, VII, 180, 181, 411-424 ; VIII, 122, 145-150, 255, 273-282, 478, 501-502, 607 ; IX, 124, 125, 136-138, 310-313, 383. See Grandgent, C. H. ; Harrison, T. P. ; Bruce, J. Douglas; Ott, J. H. ; Macmechan, ARcniBALi> ; Super, Charles W.
N., A. H. Some new "American words." Dial, XIV, 302.
Nation, The (New York). Various Notes, LV, 390, 433, 449; LVI, 11, 49, 50, 82, 122, 214, 235, 253, 274, 292, 367, 384, 454; LVII, 27, 45, 142, 155, 229, 484; LVIII, 11, 48, 85, 121, 175, 252, 388, 427, 484; LIX, 8, 63, 102. See also Bkuce, Philip A. ; B., W. G. ; C, A. B. ; C, J. G. ; Carter, Henry H. ; Chamberlain, Alex. F. ; Channing, J. Parke ; Chittenden, L. E. ; Coues, Elliott ; Cutler, Carroll ; Dall, Caroline H. ; Dole, Nathan Haskell ; H., L. W. ; Hall, Fitzedward ; Harris, C. J. ; Hempl, George ; M., F. E. ; Matthews, Albert ; Scott, Fred. N. ; Walker, George Leon.
Ott, J. H. Team. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 507.
Porter, Samuel. Dr. Emerson and the "Guide to pronunciation." Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 145-150.
Russell, T. Baron. Current Americanisms. (London, 1893.) Re- viewed in Nation, LVII, 142.
Scott, Fred. N. An Americanism. Nation, LVIII, 48.
ScoTT, Charles P. G. Attraction of N. Transactions of Amer. Phil. Association, XXIII, 179 ff.
Shands, H. a. Some peculiarities of speech in Mississippi. Published by the author, 1893.
Sheldon, E. S. The Origin of the English names of the letters of the alphabet. Harvard Studies and Notes, I, 66 ff.
Further notes on the names of the letters. Same, II, 165 ff.
Review of Skeat*s Principles of English etymology. Series II. Mod.
Lang. Notes, VII, 411-424.
Super, Charles W. Chick, chicken, chickens. Mod. Lang. Notes, VII, 180-181.
Transcript, Boston Evening. New England dialect. Mar. 8, 1893 ; Mar. 13, 1893.
Briticisms real and imaginary. Mar. 1, 1893.
The adverb between the infinitive and its sign. Mar. 1, 1893.
Notes, Apr. 13, 29, 1893. See Matthews, Albert; Wadleigh,
Frances E.
Wadleigh, Frances E. New England dialect. Boston Evening Tran- script. Mar. 8, 1893.
BIBLIOGBAPHT. 347
"Walker, George Leon. Cousin denoting nephew. Nation^ LV, 390. See Cutler, Carroll ; Harris, C. J.
Warren, Arthur. Real Americanisms. Boston Herald, Nov. 20, 1892.
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide. Americanisms. Johnson's Cyclopedia, new edition, 1893.
Whitney, William Dwight. Life and growtli of language.
Language and the study of language, chap. IV, V.
Williams, R. O. Perhaps an error. Dial (Chicago), XV, 8, 62.
An unauthoritative authority. Same, XV, 109.
A pardonable forgetting. Same, XV, 218.
Not so very American. Mod. Lang. Notes, VIII, 478.
348 DIALECT NOTES.
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY.
The annual meeting for 1893 was held at Columbian Uni- versity, Washington, D. C, on Friday, December 29, at 2 p.m. The President of the Society, Professor Garnett, being unable to attend the meeting, the Vice-President, Professor Elliott, presided. Committees were appointed to examine the Treas- urer's accounts (Mr. E. H. Babbitt and Dr. M. D. Learned), and to nominate a list of officers for the year 1894 (Professors J. W. Bright, H. A. Todd, H. C. G. von Jagemann). The former com- mittee later reported that the accounts had been examined and found correct, and the latter reported the following list of officers for 1894, which was approved : for President, Edward S. Sheldon, Cambridge, IMass. ; for Vice-President, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass. ; for Secretary, E. H. Babbitt, New York, N. Y. ; for Treasurer, L. F. Mott, New York, N. Y. ; for the Editing Com- mittee, the Secretary, George Hempl, Ann Arbor, Mich., and 0. F. Emerson, Ithaca, N. Y. ; for the Executive Committee, in addition to these officers, M. D. Learned, Baltimore, Md., J. M. Manly, Providence, R. L, and H. R. Lang, New Haven, Conn.
The reports of the Secretary and the Treasurer were read as follows : —
Secretary's Report for 1893.
In January of this year Part V of Dialect Notes, concluding the publications for 1892, was ready for distribution and was sent to all members of that year. The price of additional copies of this part for members of 1892 has been set at forty cents. The list of such members printed in Part VI, the only regular publication of the Society for 1893, shows a loss of eight in our numbers, as compared with the list for 1891 published in Part V, and the number now on the list for 1893 shows a still further decrease, the total now being one hundred and forty-eight.
In January also the invitation to the Dialect Society to take part in the Congress of Philologists at Chicago by holding a meeting there, under the auspices of the World's Congress
THE ANNUAL MEETING, 349
Auxiliary of the Columbian Exposition, was accepted by the Executive Committee, and in February notice was accordingly sent to members of the Society that it was intended to hold a special" meeting in Chicago at some time in the week ending July 15, 1893, at which papers should be read and disxjussed. In June it was further announced that this Chicago meeting would be held in the Art Institute, Adams Street and Michigan Avenue, on Eriday, July 14, at 3 p.m., and papers by Professor Carruth {The Language used to Domestic Animals), Mr. Grand- gent {Haf and Hmf), Professor Hempl {Loss of R in English through Dissimilation; Squint and Squinny), and Professor Geddes {Specimens of an Acadian Dialect spoken on the North Shore of Chaleurs Bay) were announced. All these papers except the last, the substance of which will probably appear elsewhere, are printed in Part VI of Dialect Notes. The Sec- retary was not present at the Chicago meeting, but is informed that the programme was gone through in regular order and that the meeting was an interesting one.
Part VI of the Notes also contains a List of Verbs from Western Conriecticut by Mr. E. H. Babbitt, of Columbia College, and a short paper by the Secretary, entitled What is a Dialect? Besides this part, members also receive a small amount of addi- tional printed matter, Mr. Grandgent giving copies of Off and On, published by the Phonetic Section of the Modern Language Association, and the'" Secretary distributing copies of his article, Further Notes on the Names of the Letters, published in the Ha/rvard Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, II.
E. S. Sheldon, Secretary.
Tkeasurer's Eeport for 1893.
From December 28, 1892, to December 29, 1893.
Receipts.
4 membership fees for 1892 $4 00
141 membership fees for 1893 141 00
4 membership fees for 1894 4 00
Sale of publications 28 50
Left over from 1892 67 81
Total $245 31
350 DIALECT NOTES.
Expenditures.
Printing and mailing three notices of meetings $10 00
Stamps and stationery ' 11 00
Printing Dialect Notes, V (1892) 115 90
Total $136 90
On hand, December 29, 1893 $108 41
C. H. Gkandgent, Treasurer.
After the adoption of these reports the Secretary's paper {What is a Dialect?), published in Part VI of Dialect Notes, was proposed as a subject for discussion, and Mr. Babbitt opened the discussion by asking the Secretary to repeat the main points of the paper, as the copies of Part VI had not been as yet received by all members. The Secretary did so, and Mr. Babbitt then said there were two distinctions to be made in speaking of dialects in this country. In the older parts of the United States there was something more closely corresponding to dialects in Europe, in those parts of the East and South where modern means of communication were not much used, — not, for example, in the cities, — in what had been called speech- islands. If we use the word dialect in speaking of these places, then what shall we call the differences between educated people in New England, the South, etc.? We have, in the East and South, in the parts settled before modern means of communi- cation came into use, the descendants of the dialects of those who settled these districts ; yet there is seldom such continuity as in Europe, for the settlers came in general, though not always, from different parts of England. In New England these older dialects have contributed to the formation of a fairly uniform variety of English, which differs distinctly from that of the New York region, as this again differs from the English used farther west or farther south. In the hill districts these older dialects are still to a great extent preserved, though the distinctions are constantly diminishing. So too in New York, less so in the South. In the West have met people from all over the country and their descendants, though the movement has in general been on east and west lines. In the Mississippi valley there is a pretty uniform speech. In the settling of the remoter West
THE ANNUAL MEETING. 351
thefe was a still further mixture. There is now an almost abso- lute* uniformity north and west of the Ohio River, which is the most marked line of division, the territory northwest of the Ohio containing a population of about thirty million, or about forty- seven per cent of the population of the United States. Here indi- vidual differences are greater than any local differences. Thus for America the question is somewhat simplified. There are no horizontal dialect distinctions, no differences according to strata of society, no dialects of the lower classes, which, so far as they exist, are made up of foreigners and are of a shifting character. Only in the older large cities, as New York, are there traces of what may be called vulgar dialects.
Dr. Learned said that in the matter of definitions we are allowed to disagree, and he was not in agreement with the Secretary. He thought there was properly no dialect of a guild or trade ; it was the same language, though there are of course differences of vocabulary. English had thus far been mostly spoken of, but there are other languages spoken in this country. There are distinctive German dialects here. In Berks County, Pennsylvania, was a dialect differing in phonology, vocabulary of common life, and idiom from the German spoken in Lancaster and York counties. We can trace the immigrants to their former homes on German soil, and see one trend of speech tra- ditions transported to this country, not much altered in pho- nology, though altered in vocabulary, and essentially the same as in the German home. There are varieties of dialect, and a process of levelling of sharp provincialisms has gone on. A dia- lect might be called a phonologically and morphologically definite form of speech proceeding in its direct line of historical growth. It is proper to speak of the New England dialect, of the Virginia dialect, and of the Swabian dialect, if districts where such a dialect is spoken exist, as they do. He disagreed with Mr. Bab- bitt as to the existence of a population of thirty million with the same dialect. Erom this number must be subtracted the millions of Germans, the many Norwegians, and Danes in the region referred to. Those who did not bring with them English speech must be excluded.
Mr. Babbitt replied that he did not mean that all the thirty million spoke the same dialect ; those who do not speak English should not be counted. But the children of these learn English from their playmates, no matter what their parentage is. We
352 DIALECT NOTES.
must also eliminate the negro population of the South in making a comparative estimate, and the percentage would then probably be about what he had already indicated. At 3 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
E. S. SHELDON.
MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN' DIALECT SOCIETY EOR THE YEAR 1893.
F. D. Allen, 10 Humbolt St., Cambridge, Mass. Gustave A. Anderson, Ann Arbor, Mich.
E. H. Babbitt, Columbia College, New York.
Miss A. L. Bacorn, Ann Arbor, Mich.
John \V. Beach, Ann Arboi", Mich.
A. M. Bell, 1225 :55th St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
G. Bendelari, 7 HoUis Hall, CainlDridge, Mass. C. E. Bennett, 7 South Ave., Ithaca, N. Y. Birmingham Free Libraries, Birmingham, England.
R. E. Blackwell, Kandolph-Macon College, Asheland, Va.
Miss Clara L. Botsford, Ann Arbor, Mich.
C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.
"H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y.
L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
X W. Bright, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
C.S. Brown, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
E. M. Brown, University of Cincinnati, Ohio. G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Fa.
Buffalo Library, Buffalo, N. Y.
Mrs. H. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
W. E. Byerly, 30 Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. H. Carruth, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
A. F. Chamberlain, Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
Richard O. Champion, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Miss E. Chase, Cumberland, Me.
F. J. Child, 07 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass. Allison Clark, Jr., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Miss L. K. CoggeMiall, 102 East 57th St., New York.
W. C. Collar, Roxbury Latin School, Roxbury, Mass.
H. Collitz, Byrn Mawr College, Byrn Mawr, Pa.
A. S. Cook, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Miss Jane E. Cook, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Miss Katharine A. Crane, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Alexander Gumming, Ann Arbor, Mich.
A. N. van Daell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.
M. G. Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, Boston, Mass.
A. McF. Davis, 10 Appleton St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Davis, 49 First St. , San Francisco, Cal.
Mrs. Clara S. De Motte, 77 North Franklin St., Valparaiso, Ind.
Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Mich.
M. J. Drennan, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
A. M. Elliott, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
LIST OF MEMBERS, 353
O. F. Emerson, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
E. Emerton, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. T. Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. A. Fay, National Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green, D. C.
W. P. Few, 32 Felton Hall, Cambridge, Mass.
A. Fortier, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
A. R. Frey, 399 Vernon Ave., Long Island City, N. Y.
J. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
J. M. Garnett, Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
J. Geddes, Jr., Boston University, Boston, Mass.
A. Gerber, Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.
N. Gordon, Exeter, N. H.
Miss Annie M. Goshen, Ann Arbor, Mich.
C. H. Grandgent, 79 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. A. Greene, 70 West St., New York.
H. E. Greene, JcJhns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
J. B. Greenough, 13 Brewster St., Cambridge, Mass.
N. Guilford, 102 Park Ave., Yonkers, N. Y.
W. G. Hale, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
E. W. Hall, Colby University, Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England. A. Hamilton, 57 Harbord Street, Toronto, Canada. W. R. Harper, 5057 Wellington Ave., Chicago, 111. Miss Achsah M. Harris, Ann Arbor, Mich.
A. B. Hart, 15 Appian Way, Cambridge, Mass.
C. E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J. J. M. Hart, Ccrnell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Miss Edith A. Hartshorn, Ann Arbor, Mich. Miss Nellie M. Hayes, Ann Arbor, Mich.
D. C. Heath, 5 Somerset St., Boston, Mass. Miss Carrie Heaton, Ann Arbor, Mich.
G. Hempl, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Miss Julia A. Holland, Ann Arbor, Mich. .
E. W. Hooper, 50 State St., Boston, Mass.
A. V. W. Jackson, 16 Highland Place, Yonkers, N. Y.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 29 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Johnson, Brunswick, Me.
Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas.
Benj. F. Kastl, Ann Arbor, Mich.
R. H. Kellogg, Ann Arbor, Mich.
C. W. Kent, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
G. C. Kidder, 34 Nassau St., New York.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
C. R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass. Miss Clara Lapham, Ann Arbor, Mich.
J. M. Lea, 306 N. Vine St., Nashville, Tenn.
M. D. Learned, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
F. B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N. J. .
T. B. Lindsay, Boston University, Boston, Mass. Miss K. P. Loring, Pride's Crossing, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, 6 Mason St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. McDuffie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass.
J. M. Manly, 9 Arlington Ave., Providence, R. I.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.
P. B. Marcou, 42 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
A. Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
J. E. Matzke, Leland Stanford Jr. Univ., Palo Alto, Cal.
354 DIALECT NOTES,
Miss Ina McBumey, Ann Arbor, Mich. Mrs. S. E. McComb, Ann Arbor, Mich. ' Allan C. MacDonald, Ann Arbor, Mich, Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, Pa. Miss Cascil Montague, Ann Arbor, Mich. L. F. Mott, 3(57 West 19th St., New York.
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., N, Y.
J. G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West 33d St., New York.
W. W. Newell, 175 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
New York Historical Society, New York.
New York State Library, Albany, N. Y.
Miss Florence R. Nowland, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Rev. F. L. Palmer, West Gardner, Mass.
Mrs. R. G. Patrick, Maysville, Ky.
J. W. Pearce, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
S. W. Pennypacker, 209 South 6th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
J. W. Perkins, 12th and Washington Sts., Kansas City, Mo.
M. L. Perrin, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
T. S. Perry, 312 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass.
Mrs. Mary McC. Peters, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Philological Association, Boston University, Boston, Mass,
S. Porter, National Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green, D. C.
T. R. Price, 263 West 45th St., New YorK.
S. Primer, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
Miss N. Edith Purdiim, Ann Arbor, Mich,
Miss Carrie E. Read, Ann Arbor, Mich.
C, F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.
G. M. Richardson, University of California, Berkeley, Cal. F. E, Rockwood, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. Miss Annie L. Rooney, Ann Arbor, Mich.
St. Louis Public Library, St, Louis, Mo,
H. Schmidt- Wartenberg, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
F. L. Searing, Ann Arbor, Mich.
T. D. Seymour, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, Conn.
H. A. Shands, Georgetown, Texas.
F. C. Shattuck, 135 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass, C. C, Sheldon, 49 N. Common St., Lynn, Mass,
E. S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlburt St., Cambridge, Mass. W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, III. Mrs. A. T. Slosson, 38 East 23d St., New York. C. F. Smith, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. C. L. Smith, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. ^
J. H. Smith, Ginn & Co., Tremont PI., Boston, Mass. H. W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa. C, A, Snow, Ames Building, Boston, Mass, E, Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, Mass. W. O. Sproull, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, Ohio. J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Canada. B. F. Stevens, 4 Trafalgar Sq., London, England.
Strassburg Kais. Universitats- und Landesbibliothek, Strassburg, Germany. H. Sweet, 38 Norhara Road, Oxford, England,
W. H. Sylvester, English High School, Montgomery St., Boston, Mass. J. H. Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. R. G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis. H. A. Todd, Columbia College, New York. Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Canada. . C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass. ^
T. C. Trueblood, 88 Hill St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
G. M. Tucker, Box 74, Albany, N. Y.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 355
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H. W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Saekville, N. B. W. Tytler, Collegiate Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Miss May Van Horn, Ann Arbor, Mich.
A. Van Name, New Haven, Conn.
E. L. Walter, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
E. M. Warren, Adelbert College, Cleveland, Ohio.
K. L. Weeks.
E. E. Wentworth, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
B. I. Wheeler, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
A. C. White, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
t W. D. Whitney, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Howe A. Williams, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Rev. E. B. Willson, Salem, Mass.
R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
B. D. Woodward, Columbia College, New York. Worcester Public Library, Worcester, Mass.
J. H. Wright, 6 Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Miss Elizabeth Young, Ann Arbor, Mich.
[Total, 182.]
DIALECT IN^OTES.
PART VIII.
IN GENERAL.
The increase of public interest which followed the 1894 cir- cular and the newspaper work, as stated in the Secretary's report for 1894 (p. 402), has been fully maintained. Our membership is now 258. Much material has been sent in, and the latest received has generally been better selected and better arranged than earlier contributions. The Secretary has spent on an average something like an hour a day in answering various communications. Many have asked for more definite instructions for collecting and send- ing material, and the Executive Committee have decided to issue a circular to meet this demand, which is reprinted herewith, and will be sent to all members, in the same way as the 1894 circular, for distribution. It is particularly desired that any members who can bring the matter to the notice of the press shall make efforts to have the circular, or parts of it, widely reprinted and circulated in that way. Our work has a good deal of interest for the news- paper reader, and the editors of almost any paper will give us space if the matter is properly presented to them. For instance, we received through a clipping bureau more than fifty notices or articles in consequence of the meeting in New York mentioned below. We are just now at a point where a large increase in membership is possible, if our members will bear the matter in mind and proselyte vigorously. Such an increase would place money enough at our disposal to pay for the clerical work neces- sary to keep our material in good shape, and to branch out some- what, for instance, in the way of sending circulars like Professor Hempl's. There is a great deal of work in sending circulars, tabulating results, etc., which any intelligent typewriter or library hand can do, under proper supervision, just as well as a college professor whose time is much more valuable. The money spent
367
358 DIALECT NOTES,
in this way, in pursuance of the vote of the Society at the last meeting, has enabled us to have all our material, printed and imprinted, entered as described in the circular (p. 362), at an expense of about $75, which includes the cost of the plate for the outline map. We can furnish sheets from this plate, such as we use, to any local circle or individual who needs them.
Just after the last meeting we received communications from the English Dialect Society regarding their proposed dictionary, asking us to take charge of the collection of whatever American material they use. After some correspondence with their secre- tary and with our active members, the Secretary felt authorized to promise them the use of whatever material we have on hand, to be sent them from our records for each volume at the last moment before they go to press, and to promise whatever coopera- tion our members should feel able and willing to give in the way of reading and excerpting printed matter for their dictionary. A letter on the subject was printed in the Nation, part of which was as follows : —
"Besides the collection of material now going on, an important new line of work is the reading and excerpting of all the dialect matter already printed in this country, and editing it for dictionary use. Besides the books written wholly or partly in dialect, many newspapers, legal documents, old letters, etc., show occasional interesting local usages, and are worth watch- ing. The more active members of the society have been in consultation for some time regarding this work, and ask the cooperation of the public hi doing it. So far as it is perfected, the plan may be outlined as follows : A committee of the society will have supervision of the whole work, and decide what books shall be excerpted, and who shall do each one. This is abso- lutely essential to avoid duplication of work and other waste of energy. All persons who know of any books or other printed matter which they think may be useful, are requested to send full titles, with date and publisher as far as possible, to the secretary, who will take charge of the matter for the present. A list will be made up from these and others already known to the committee, and their value will be examined by competent persons. Those decided upon as important for the work will be assigned to the readers who volunteer. A list of such persons will be kept, and full directions for doing the work will be given with the assignment of the books.
It is desired that each book shall be read, so far as possible, by persons native to the region where the dialect used in the book is current. Prefer- ences expressed as to the choice of work will be regarded so far as possible. The work is likely to be better done if the readers who are within reach of each other are organized into local clubs, working under the supervision of some one who is better informed than the average on the relations of the subject; such a club could be formed, for instance, at almost any town
IN GENERAL. 359
where there is a college or other educational institution, to work under the supervision of the instructor in English. Such clubs can be made head- quarters also for the old work of collecting material from the spoken lan- guage, and can be kept up after the reading work is done."
It seemed safe to announce that a committee would be put in charge of the matter, and it is proposed to bring up at the next meeting the question of appointing a special committee for this work, and issuing a circular giving definite instructions for doing it.
This meeting will be an important one, for beside this matter, action is to be taken on the amendment to the constitution pro- viding for life memberships, and the question of issuing circulars of questions is to be discussed, and a committee appointed to take charge of it if the matter is brought so far along.
The matter of local circles has made encouraging progress. There were already such at Ithaca and Ann Arbor ; one has been formed at Minneapolis, and one at New York, and others are in contemplation or already organized. The New York circle was organized through a public meeting duly announced in the news- papers, at which addresses were made by active members, and a committee was appointed to arrange for a second meeting for definite organization. The same plan could be followed in any large city, and the attention called to it through the press is likely to bring, as it did in this case, members and contributions of material from outside the limits of the local organization.
A matter which we are about ready to take up now is the foundation of a library for the Society. A few books have been sent us already by their authors or publishers, and the English society offer us a large number of their own publications and duplicates. It would be a great convenience to the editors if all the special dictionaries and monographs bearing on our work were at their elbows. If any of the members can contribute any- thing in the way of books or otherwise toward this end,^ it will be gladly received. The matter will probably come up at the
December meeting.
E. H. Babbitt, Secretary.
360 DIALECT NOTES,
THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY.
The Society, in November, 1894, issued a circular calling atten- tion to its work and asking for public cooperation. Efforts were also made to bring the Society to the notice of the public through the press. Results have shown that the field in which the Society works is of almost universal public interest, and the very genuine and hearty cooperation called forth leads to the issue of this cir- cular, giving more specific directions for the work.
The plan of work has from the outset been based on the idea of a large membership. This essential condition has so far not been realized, but seems now to be a probability in the near future. The wish was expressed last November that the member- ship might be doubled. This has now (July, 1895) very nearly been done, and the accessions still continue. There is no reason why the members should not be numbered by the thousand, for it has become very evident that almost every educated person takes an interest in the work and is willing to help it along. For instance, a single article in the New York Sun brought over a hundred communications, some of them containing valuable mate- rial. Every writer of one of those might well be a member. A member has two distinct functions : to contribute material for the Society's work, and to contribute the nominal annual fee to cover the expenses of the work. If a member fulfils only the latter function he is nevertheless valuable, and any person who wishes the Society well to the extent of a dollar a year is cor- dially welcome. But of course very many persons will desire to take a more or less active part in the collection of material, and such persons, if they become members, are kept informed, by the receipt of all our printed matter, of what the Society is doing, and at the same time reminded of their share in the work and told how to do it.
The ideal result, to which we could get a fair approximation with a membership large and active enough, would be a complete record of American speech-forms in our day, say in 1900. This would form when published an authoritative dictionary of Ameri- can usage, which would supersede all other work in that line, and
THE 1895 CIBCULAB. 361
remain the standard reference book till usage changes so far as to require a revision. If only the material can be got together and put away for future use, the editing and publishing could wait until means are found to accomplish it.
As was said last year, the study of pronunciation is too diffi- cult a matter for the average person, and must be left to the specialists. Very many of these are members of our society, and this side of the work is by no means being neglected, but is in good hands, and solid results may be expected after the reason- able time which must always be given for any thorough scientific work. Reports of varying pronunciations are, however, often of great use, and will be thankfully received and recorded if they are found valuable. The principal work, however, for most of the members is in lexicography. Some specific directions as to gathering material have been asked for by many persons. The steps necessary to get at a complete account of a word or usage for our purpose are somewhat as follows : —
(1) To ascertain and make public the fact that the word is used, or supposed to be used, in a special or local way.
(2) To get reports from a sufficient number of reliable observ- ers in different places to determine the extent of such usage.
(3) To collate and publish the results.
The first of these steps is perhaps the most difficult, for the amateur observer at least. Most people use words as they have always heard them used, without ever considering whether their usage is local or peculiar, and are disposed to be resentful if any one else says it is. It is only when they meet people from other localities that they notice differences of usage, and then they incline to be simply amused at what they consider the mistakes of the others, without taking further interest in the matter, often without knowing that there can be any scientific interest in it. Now the chances are that if two persons of ordinary education have different expressions for the same idea, one at least of the expressions is worth noting for our society. A glance at one of the large dictionaries will often tell which one, if either. But just here arises another difficulty. A large dictionary is an inclusive work ; it aims to give all current usages under each word, and often does so without specifying minutely as to the locality or authority of each usage. A person therefore who has
362 DIALECT NOTES.
made a large collection of words and usages which are new and interesting to him, generally finds on going over the list with the dictionary that nine-tenths of it is apparently already common- place to the dictionary-makers. The Century Dictionary is espe- cially full on American usage. Moreover, there are special works on Americanisms (Bartlett, De Vere, and Farmer are the most extensive), and if these are consulted the list dwindles most astonishingly. Accordingly, our enthusiastic collector finds his ardor dampened to such a degree that he concludes that the one or two, or half-dozen, really unrecorded things that he has are not worth sending. Now this is a great mistake. The chances are much greater that the whole original list would have been welcome. A really new word is not a common occurrence in language; unless a word is the most unmitigated slang, it is pretty sure to have a place in some general or special dictionary. It is therefore special uses of already known words which are chiefly to be observed. These may be words which are obsolete or no longer generally used in the literary language, or there may be special developments of meaning for words familiar in their usual sense. The former will be given in the dictionary, often without comment or simply marked " Obs." The latter are some- times so near the border-line of slang that they are not given in the large dictionaries, though many of them are to be found in the special works. It is seldom, however, that a very thorough account of them is given anywhere. The large dictionaries define the usage and label it " U. S.," or at most '• Local U. S." The special works say " New England," " Southern," or " West- ern," and rarely go any farther. The Dialect Society aims at a much more definite account than this. It would be possible, with a sufficient number of reports, to indicate on an outline map of the United States the exact area where each word or usage which we investigate is current. We have actually begun on such a plan. The scheme mentioned in last year's circular for entering our material has been perfected and put into opera- tion. We have a set of cards, on each of which is an outline map of the country. When a word is reported it is entered with its definition and locality and the initials of the contributor, whose letter is put on file. At the same time a mark is made on the map to indicate the locality. If it is reported from any local- ity that a word mentioned as used elsewhere is not used there, another kind of mark is made. When anything on the cards is
THE 1895 CIRCULAR. 363
printed in Dialect Notes, the page number is entered on the card. We have thus a complete index of everything that we have printed, as well as a storehouse of material for future print- ing, in such accessible form that, if the plan is fully carried out, it is really the manuscript of the future great American diction- ary, so far as it contains usages which are not in the standard dictionaries. Of course a complete investigation of the subject would require treatment of all the words in Bartlett and the other special works, and of all words given as American in the large dictionaries. The Society cannot undertake so extensive a task at present ; but many of the words we have published are found in the dictionaries (especially as the dictionaries that have come out since we began to publish have used our material), and if we have a thorough working organization for handling the new material, it will be a relatively easy matter to go over the rest when we are ready to take it up. Meanwhile nothing that comes to us is lost. A report as to the occurrence or non-occurrence in any locality of any word marked " Local U. S.," in the Century, or ^' Southern," " Western," etc., in Bartlett, or of any word not found in the dictionaries, is welcome. To be sure, the latter class is likely to contain much that is mere ephemeral slang, but we have had cases where a correspondent sent with much hesitation a word which he was not sure was current outside of his own family, which proved to be in some of the dictionaries, and quite worthy of our attention. Just where we shall draw the line in the matter of slang is a troublesome question. In publishing we try to be somewhat conservative on this point; but, on the other hand, we do not want anything to escape us which may turn out to be worthy of record, and therefore are glad to receive notice of any expression that seems to be current among any considerable number of persons, and to stand for a pretty definite idea, for which it is, under the circumstances, an adequate expression. We do not expect to publish all the matter â– of this kind which we receive ; but it will go on record with the rest, and if any such expression is reported from different quar- ters, we will call attention to it and see how far it is known.
A few examples will illustrate some of the above points.
People often see for the first time on some occasion of moving into a new region a small, shallow tub called a keeler. This looks like dialect material, and it is often sent in by our correspondents; but the word is in all the dictionaries, and means the same thing
364 DIALECT NOTES.
wherever English is spoken ; it is only the thing itself which is not used everywhere. The words piggin and noggin, on the other hand, designating other small wooden domestic utensils, have some local variations in meaning ; and a person's use of the words pail, bucket, and kettle is often almost sufficient to determine what part of the country he comes from. Blickey is another interesting word in this group. It was strictly a New York word, from a Dutch word meaning sheet-metal, and meant a tin pail ; but the word has spread and its meaning has extended, and a wooden blickey is now common enough in New Jersey.
When plain-woven cloth is caught on some sharp point, a right- angled rent, following the weaving, is often made. There is no good literary English word for this pretty definite idea. There is a good Dutch word, which in the form ivinklehawk has been cur- rent for generations about New York ; it has been reported once in the form nicklehatck. From New England we have trappatch (probably trap-hatch) and barn-door used to express the idea; and very likely we shall have others now that we have begun.
Bartlett says that bucket is used instead of pail " in the South and West." He gives winklehaivk, and the Century has taken the word on his authority; but he has not trappatch nor barn-door. He also gives blickey as a tin pail only. Now Bartlett is better authority for New York than for any other region ; it is easy to see how much we can add to his material even there, and else- where we can find things that none of the special dictionaries have touched.
There is a good old verb beal, corresponding to the noun boil, and meaning to suppurate. Murray says this is " obsolete except in Scotland " ; but we have it reported from Western Pennsyl- vania.
If we had been working twenty years ago, we should probably have had on our lists a word of probable Indian origin, current to a limited extent in parts of New England, used humorously to mean an important man (at least in his own estimation). This word happened to express an idea which came forward in the presidential campaign of 1884, and is now an integral part of the language, and appears in the International and the Century, from the latter of which this history of mugwump is taken.
Having brought forward a word for investigation, we need for the second stage of the process a large number of persons who are intimately acquainted with the current usage of certain local-
THE 1895 CIRCULAR. 365
ities. Here the best results come from a sort of people somewhat different from those who are quickest to report new uses. The ideal man for the "checking" of reports is one who was brought up in the locality whose dialect is to be studied, and knows thoroughly what is, and especially what is not, current there. If he has later lived elsewhere and made a study of language in any way, so much the better; but any intelligent person who has really spoken and thought in the dialect of a region can answer with yes or no the question whether such and such a usage is current there, with much more certainty than any outsider. (Whoever has studied the dialect novel has ample evidence of this.) The best way to get results is to put such direct questions to the right people. Professor Hempl has tried this in the form of a circular, and the returns justify the belief that if the Society could issue such circulars freely, covering not only the newer words, which we are now most carefully studying, but also the words in Bartlett and elsewhere which are not thoroughly treated, the results would give as authoritative a statement of the actual condition of American speech as could possibly be obtained. Some work in this direction is now under considera- tion, and will be carried as far as circumstances justify it; but this need make no difference to any one who has anything to contribute.
Finally, the preparation of the material for publication belongs chiefly to the Editing Committee, but a good deal can be done before it reaches them to make their task lighter. There is a large amount of mere clerical work which can be minimized by sending communications in convenient form. Every word must be looked up in the dictionaries by somebody, and the correspond- ents can often do this as well as the editors. It was in our origi- nal plan to have local branch circles at places where the reference books are accessible, and where the matter could be somewhat sifted and put in order before being sent to headquarters. These were slow in getting started, but there are several doing active work now, and we hope that many others will be formed. A few persons almost anywhere who are accustomed to doing intellect- ual work together can take up this matter, if they are interested in it, with pleasure and profit. It can be made a topic for many of the countless literary societies which already exist among us. Such a group could take a membership in the name of one of the party, and thus receive the publications, and could meet occasion-
366 DIALECT NOTES.
ally and compare notes, put their material in order, and send it to the secretary of the nearest local branch, or of the Society, for final record and publication. Our ideal organization would be to have a large number of such small groups and individuals working in communication with a sufficient number of local centres, where the material would be put in shape and sent to the Editing Com- mittee.
From our experience so far, we can give the following sugges- tions for the guidance of our contributors : —
(1) Keep a note-book for dialect words and phrases, and note everything the first time you hear it. What seems strange at first soon becomes familiar, and you may not think of it again. If it turns out to be already on record, there is no harm done.
(2) If you can get at the Century or the International Diction- ary, or any other as complete, or at Bartlett or any other special work on Americanisms, go through your list and see if your observation has been anticipated. If you seem to have nothing to add, suppress your item, but remember that often a report as to locality is useful, even if the usage seems to be well known. If you have not the reference books, send on whatever seems note- worthy to you, and the elimination can be done later.
(.3) It often saves much copying if each separate item is on a separate slip of paper. The form and size are of no great conse- quence, and we would rather have any kind of slips used than no slips at all. But it is a convenience to have all of the same size, and we recommend that used by the English Dialect Society, chiefly because some of our work goes to them, and they have already this size in use. They chose the size of the ordinary (English) note-paper — 41 x 7 inches. The work for which they use these slips is, to be sure, mostly the entering of material from printed sources ; but we also dcx that, and the slips are equally useful for both purposes. Blank slips with printed headings for the points to be noted are a help to the beginner and a conven- ience to the experienced worker. They are very inexpensive, and some of the members have had them printed for their own conven- ience. It would perhaps be well if each local circle should print some and furnish them to workers in their vicinity. The Secret tary is prepared to furnish a few to any one who desires them. The form of some which have been printed is as follows (of course spread over 4|- x 7 inches) : —
THE 1895 CIRCULAR. 367
Word Pronunciation
Meaning Exact Locality
Date of Book Author
Title Volume, Chapter, and Page
Quotation, or use the word in a sentence
Of course the headings referring to books will not be used for colloquial material. It is well to give the pronunciation in every case — in the Society's phonetic alphabet, if you are sure of it, otherwise by Webster's or other diacritical marks, explaining your use if there can be any doubt. Be exact as to locality ; the actual town where the usage is heard is best, and a number of such actual towns is better than the general territory where they are. Any particulars as to the person or class of persons using the word are desirable. A quotation illustrating the use of the word should be sent in every case. A sentence actually heard is best; after that one made by the sender to show how he understands the use. Finally, legibility is all-important. Here is what the English Dialect Society says, after twenty years' experience : —
" Too much importance cannot be attached to handwriting, as affecting the value of the results. In transcripts of ordinary book-English the context will generally determine what word is intended if its appearance is ambigu- ous, but with the arbitrary and outlandish spelling, in which some strange vocable is often presented, there is little or nothing to show what the word meant really is, if it is carelessly written. Many slips sent in will prove worthless for tJiis reason. We would, therefore, earnestly commend extkeme LEGIBILITY, combiiied with accuracy, as the cardinal virtue of a dictionary worker."
The present style of American handwriting is even less legible than the English, and we suffer still more than they accordingly. The only safe way is to write each letter by itself, as in print, for every unusual word. Send in your slips in alphabetical order.
A very large contribution may quite possibly take the final form of a few dots on our maps, but these dots will convey valu- able information, and there is no way to make such information complete but the patient cooperation of all the workers who are willing to contribute. We therefore appeal to the American public to make this essentially national task a thorough successi.
Columbia College, E. H. Babbitt, Secretary.
New York, August, 1895.
368 DIALECT NOTES,
WOED-LISTS.
It is possible that the local lists in this number are the last that it is worth while to publish. Our contributors have now "tapped" most of the localities where extensive peculiarities are to be looked for, and localisms which are at all widespread, such as those which are pretty common all over New England or the South, are likely to have been published already; so that long lists, while they are very useful as additional evidence, and are always welcome, must contain less and less of absolutely new material. A good number of such lists, each long enough to have furnished a separate article in the early days of the Society, have been incorporated in the general list in this number. Everything in those contributions has however been entered on our cards, and is thus on record for future use. Worthy of mention among them are lists from
Miss E. M. Hussey, New Bedford, Mass.
Mrs. H. W. Myrick, Springdale, Pa.
George W. Nash, Ottawa, Kan.
W. J. Lampton, Winchester, Ky.
Kimball Morrison, Chumuckla, Fla.
Miss Helen Mansfield, Gloucester, Mass.
Mrs. C. P. Scott, Worcester County, Md. In editing the lists, we have in general endeavored to give only words that have not appeared before in Dialect Notes, and that seem worthy of note in some way or other. Much of the matter sent in is suggested by Professor Hempl's circular (Part VII, p. 315). All such is kept back until his material can be edited ; whatever was in direct response to his questions was sent to him when received. All matter on animal calls is also reserved for use in a special article, as well as all matter on college slang, which is being carefully worked up by some of our members. We have also left out most of the matter which can be classified as mere, slang, though some of this is interesting and may in the the future turn out to be valuable. A few words of this sort (see Jluken, jucket, niassy) are given, with the verbatim account of the contributor, as samples of the way in which words may be
WORD-LISTS. 369
caught in the very act of originating. Such words may or may not turn out to be a permanent addition to the language; but it will certainly be worth while for the Society to have such facts on record. Furthermore, all reports which deal with questions of pronunciation simply, have been kept back until the whole matter has been dealt with more scientifically, so that there may be a basis for more intelligent work in this line. Finally, and of course chiefly, all words sent in which are found in the standard dictionaries in the sense reported have been omitted, unless it seemed desirable to call attention to them on account of special meanings or locations, or in order to get fuller reports on them.
After all these eliminations, there remain about six hundred words which seem worthy of note. These are printed for the main purpose of calling attention to them and setting members and others to looking out for further information concerning them. We intend that some of them shall later form the basis of more circulars on the plan of Professor HempPs ; but mean- while we hope that every member will consider these lists in the light of such a circular addressed to himself, and send to the Secretary of the Society, or of his local circle if he belongs to one, any further information, positive or negative, which he can con- tribute regarding any words in the lists. There is nothing in any of them which has not been sent in by some intelligent con- tributor because he thought it worth sending, and it is fair to suppose that others will take a similar interest in the matter. The whole list has been carefully compared with five diction- aries, — the International, the Century, Murray, Bartlett, and De Vere, — and contains nothing which appears in them, unless it seemed advisable to bring forward some word for more accu- rate information. For instance, the word prong in the Tennessee list is given in Bartlett as " Southern " in the sense used. But no other correspondent in the South has reported it, though it is a word tha,t would naturally occur to any one as worthy of notice. We should therefore like to know in just what parts of the South the word is in use in that sense. Other examples in abundance will be found in the lists.
Matter on our cards which is in addition to what we have printed on words which have already appeared, is withheld until the record seems to be complete. We can probably begin before long to publish some of this, but the matter in this number is strictly confined to the initiative step of our investigation.
370 DIALECT NOTES.
Tennessee Mountains.
This collection contains words and usages from the mountains of Tennessee and the adjoining regions of Kentucky and North Carolina. Nearly all of it comes from Rev. H. A. Edson, who spent a year on Roan Mountain, near the line between North Carolina and Tennessee. A considerable collection by Miss Edith M. Fairchild, of Berea, Ky., has been incorporated with his, and a few scraps have been added from other sources. The two principal collections, made independently, agree almost without exception on each word which appears in both.
Professor Fruit's collection in Part II shows much similarity of usage to this neighboring dialect, and in fact some things sent by Mr. Edson had already appeared in that collection. Others are at work in this region, and no doubt we shall have much more interesting material from them.
aim : intend. " She aims to go to-morrer."
ambuscades : disagreements. " Him an' me had several little am6MS- cades.''''
anent: opposite. " It was cment two houses."
antic, clown, joker. "Ab Deel's a natchul (natural) antic.''''
apast: beyond. "I don't put that shootin' any apast him." [Cf. "apass," vb. Cent. Diet.]
appearanced (part. adj. from appearance). "She is very good appear- anced.''^
battle : to beat.
battling-stick : with which clothes are beaten by the washwoman. [Cent. Diet., Murray.]
beatenest: for strange or remarkable. (229.) "Well, I wish I may never, ef you ain't the beatenest boy ever I see (saw)."
bllnky: sour, "The vinegar is blinky.''^ [Elsewhere apparently used only of things spoiled by souring, as milk. (p. 384.)]
a body: commonly used for o/ie, a person; as "a body can't git along here." [Common elsewhere ; cf. the Scotch song "Comin' thro' the Rye."]
bold : freely, plentifully. " The spring don't flow as bold as it did."
brought on: not home-made. "The clothes you have on I see are brought on.''"'
bussy: sweetheart. "Ef you'd a ben thar you mout (might) a got a bussy.''"'
cappin': hulling. " Hit's mighty slow, pickin' an' cappin^ berries."
chaw: hold, attachment. Of a flirt: "She's tryin' to git a chaw on a feller."
clamber (verb trangf.). " Clambering the mountains." Cf. Shak. Cor. II, 1; Rasselas. [See Murray for other citations.]
WORD-LISTS. 371
clatterments : belongings, accoutrements, " Sam, what did you do with all the clatterments that belong to the mo win' scythes and the harness ? "
clinkers : insects. "The clinkers are mighty thick in this yere cabin."
coast : region. By a mountaineer : " I live on yon coast.'''
come by: visit. " Come by and stay to supper." [See p. 385 s.v. hy.]
come on : for do. (Most common salutation.) " How do you come onf
come through : to be converted. " Here's a mourner just come through, an' wants to give his experience before the church."
confidential (adj.): trusty. "Oh, that mule won't hurt you. He's a confidential mule." — (adv.) = honestly, well. " They will do your work confidential and right."
corn-shucking: corn-husking. (The latter I did not hear once among the mountains. — H. A. E.)
crave the benediction : j^ronounce the benediction. " Brother Johnson, will you crave the benediction."
cuckold: "She cuckold 'em" — of an unscrupulous but pretty woman, who made fools of neighbors' husbands.
deviling: bothering. "Johnny, quit deviling the cat."
disremember: do not remember. (58.) " I disremem&er to have heard any one call."
don't guess : do not think. " Don't guess I will go out to-day."
dreggy: turbid. "The water's dre^r/?/."
drugs: sequelae, dregs. " The old woman has the rheumatiz ; I reckon hit's the drugs of the fever."
eats: tastes. Of woodchuck: " It eats like bar (bear)."
expose: suppose. "I ea;pose it's about a mile."
favorites: friends. "Me an' Abernathy is great /auonYes."
favors: resembles. "-It favors awfully a wild-cat hide" (of the drum of a banjo).
fist : a small dog.
fisty: low, mean. "I'm not so fisty as that." (H. A. E.) = cross. "That cow is fisty."" (E. M. E.) (64.) [See etymology in Cent. Diet., s.v. fise-dog, etc. Also De Vere.]
fitified : subject to fits. " He's very fitified.""
folkses : folks, people.
forrard: early. "I've got some forrard peaches." [N. E. in sense of ahead of season.'\
frazzled out : tired out.
frog-stools : toad-stools.
funeralizing : conducting a funeral service for. "The bereaved parents whom we ?iv& funeralizing to-day." [Bartlett and De Vere give the impres- sion that only the deceased is " funeral ized."]
furriners : persons not living in the vicinity.
gawmed up: covered with litter. "Tliey're gitting the floor gawmed up."" [In the dictionaries generally with somewhat different meaning.]
givey: unsteady. " That table's (/iuey."
glut: wedge. (In common use.)
a good few : many. •
372 DIALECT NOTES.
gum : bee-hive. " Folks is goin' into church to-day like bees into a gum.'** [See Bartlett, bee-gum.']
hang up: quit work. A mower, when rain was coming on: "I reckon we'll have to haiig up for all day."
hftnt: ghost. (65.) " There is a AanMn the mill."
hardness : ill feeling. '' There's a right smart of hardness between them two boys."
head (adj.) : best, chief. " That's the head trick I ever see."
heap sight: good deal or much. " I'd a heap sight rather stay than go."
hit: set fruit. "The peach trees didn't hit this year" — a late frost destroying the fruit.
holler: hollow, inside cavity. "I 'low it struck the holler.''^ (Of a deep cut.)
house: room. This grew up from the custom of having houses of one room, or two connected by a porch, each of which rooms was called a house.
Howdy ! The universal substitute for " How do you do ? "
humans : people. (Note the very frequent use.) '-'• Humans aint got no business up this yere creek." ["American." — Bartlett. "Frequent in Chapman's Homer." — Cent. Diet.]
ill: cross. "It's an ill creature" (of the woodchuck). "Them's ill bees." "The cow is ill wlien she is pestered." [Cf. the proverb "It's an ill wind blows nobody any good."]
j6berous: timid. " He was j?(&eroMS about crossing the stream." [AbOv"" in Georgia dialect, Major Jones'' Courtship (1843), has the iorm. juhous. — C. H. G. (382, 390.)]
knack: familiarity, habit of staying near. "Ef them pigs gits a ^n 'round the house, we'll hev to git shet of 'em."
lasty: enduring. "They's the lastiest blossoms in the gyarden."
lay in' : lying in ambuscade. " He's a layiii' to kill him."
let go : say. " The road is back yander, let go abeout a mile."
the lever is the common expression at Roan Mountain for hand-car,
little bit : at all. " I don't care a little bit.''''
long sweetning : molasses. (In distinction from sweetning, q.v. below.) " Will you have some long sweetning from this jug? "
love : like. " I love it splendid." "Would you love to buy some eggs ? "
'low: for presume. (68, 71, 234.) "I ^low the crops won't be good this year."
A lumpln* bargin : including the whole business.
main: very. "I seen a 7nain big rabbit to-day." "Hit's the main biggest rabbit ever I see."
make a beginning: ask the blessing. "Brother Morin, will you make a beginning ?"
make-do : make-shift. " These 'ere make-dos are no 'count."
manful: vigorous(ly). "The engineer' d whistle manful ef he'd see us on the track."
meet up with: meet. "I met up icith him a while back." "I never met up with a kinder hearted man."
WORD-LISTS. 373
misery: pain. [Common elsewhere in South and West. De Vere and Bartlett.] "I've got a misery in my back." Of a man suffering with scrofula : "It takes a heap o' misery to git the bones out of your laig (leg)."
molasses is usually treated as plural. " They's all gone " — the molasses, " We've only got a few " —molasses. [De Vere gives this as " Western."]
name: mention. "If you see hira, name it to him."
ninfidel : infidel. " A ninfidel is worse than a hoss thief."
norate: advertise. "We will norate the preaching" (i.e. announce the services to be held).
old Christinas : January 6th. (The day is remembered by those who never heard of Twelfth Night or Epiphany.)
old^-man: invariably and respectfully used for husband. "My old man is plowing."
old woman : wife, in same way as old man above.
on: for of or from. "I won't take it on him." "To-morrow's on a Saturday."
one seems to be superfluous or else * or the other ' is omitted. " I will see you or send word, one."
outen: (1) out. " I can't get the sliver oitieri." (2) without. " I can't go outen my sunbunnit."
owing: lacking (in reckoning time). "Hit's owin^ fifteen minutes to five."
pack: to carry. "I have to pack the corn to mill. ["Western," Bart- &.]
patien' (v.) : content. " I never could patien^ myself to keep pets."
piedy: spotted. " A sort of jDiecZz/ cow."
piggln : a wooden tub with a stave projecting above the rest. [Usual ueaning given in the dictionaries ; but some variations are reported from elsewhere, and comparisons are wanted.] " The pig gin is full of water."
plum: (1) very, (2) excellent, (3) wholly. (1) "He ought to be here plum soon," (2) " Ef I hed your gun, I'd hev plum fun," (3) "I'm plum done out."
poke : bag. " He had a poke of peanuts.'
pone: hard swelling. " He's got 2^ pone in his side. I reckon ef it busts inside, he'll die right now."
popular: stylish. "It is too bad your clothes are spoiled, for you are going among r\^\it popular people."
post-an-rallin* : a kind of fence. " Won't you light an' hitch to the post- an-railin'?'''' ["A kind of open wooden fence for the protection of young quickset hedges, consisting mainly of posts and rails." — Cent. Diet.]
pukes : nausea, attack of vomiting. "The baby has the pukes.'' ^
put yourself level on a chair : a hospitable invitation to be seated. " Right glad to see you, come in and put yourself level on a chair.'''*
powdering: powder. " She has got poicdering on her face."
prong : branch. " I come down the other prong of the creek."
protracts: protracted meetings. "Are you going to the protract to- night ? "
proud : for happy. " She will be proud to have her tooth stop aching."
374 DIALECT NOTES.
quench the spirit : resist the Holy Ghost. " They ain't got no religion where they don't shout — they quench the spirit till he don't come no more."
rest your hat : take off your hat. ** Won't you come in and rest your hatf'
right smart little bit : considerable. " I got a right smart little bit of roughness in for the beastis."
rock: stone. *♦ I got a rocA; in my eye." (Grind-rock = grind-stone. )
roughness: coarse fodder, hay, shucks, and the like, in contrast with grain. " The horses kin stay, but we've nothin' but roughness fur 'em."
scope of land ; tract of land. " My brother has a big scope o' land."
scoot: slide.
scribing: writing.
scrouge: crowd. " Oh, we scrouge 'em up."
set to : to court. " Jim is going to set to his girl."
shaller : shallow. " She's started it too shaller " — of a tune pitched too high.
shattered corn : broken corn.
get shet on : get rid of. "I can't get shet on that dog."
shore nuff: certainly, without fail. " Are you going, sho7'e nufff'*
skillet, defined as follows : " Is that a skillet ? " " We call it 2i fry-pan.''^ " What is a skillet, then ? " " Why, a skillet is a fry -pan with legsV
smoke wagon : train. " Next time you come, perhaps the smoke wagon will bring you."
smouch: kiss.
snack : bite or bit. " Will you give me a snack of something to eat ? "
snack houses: restaurants. "There's a right chance o' snack houses down to Bakervul (Bakerville)."
some several. " Are there many squirrels this season ? " " Yes, there's some several.'''*
soon (adj.) : early. " We'll have a soon supper."
sop : gravy. " We like bread and sop.'*''
spraddle out : sprawl. To a baby : " Crawl along and spraddle out."
squander (v. intrans.). "They jes squandered and lit out." (Cf. Intro- duction, Bob Boy, p. 11.)
stepped back: retreated. Of a soldier: "He neyer stepped back once, 'less the officers ordered it."
study: talk, discuss, consider. [Also reported from Md.] "I studied about her hair to my man when I got home."
sunrise water : water flowing from the east.
sweetening : sugar. " Will you have sweetening in your tea? "
sweltersoine : sweltering.
talkenest: most talkative. " She is the talkenest woman I ever saw."
talkin' to: courting. "Judge Jackson's son has been talkin'' to my daughter nigh on a year."
this he(r)-way and that-a-way: for this way and that way. [Familiar to the editors. Evidently from this here and that there.'] " Ef the world's as big every way as she is that-a-way, she's a whopper."
WORD-LISTS. 375
tolerable (pron. always toldbl) : rather. " It is a tolerable hot day."
tooth-brush: snuff-stick (used in "dipping").
uses: lives, makes his home. "That's whar the bar uses.'' "These chickens uses round the place."
varmints: wild animals. "He lay out among the varmints'' —of one hiding from recruiting officers during the war.
way yander : very much, exceedingly. " Do you 'low ef we know'd all we know now, an' hed all the book-larnin' o' them folks on the hill, thet we'd be up with 'em ? " " Yes, I do. I reckon if we know'd all we know now, an' hed all the book-larnin' them folks has, we'd be ahead of 'em way yander."
weddiners : the bride and groom, with the wedding party.
"what fer of country is it?" — a question to one returning from the Far West. (70.) [0/heremaybe simply a. The pronunciation is likely to be hwot fara in both cases ; and in trying to pronounce carefully hwot farav might be used through a misconception.]
wreck (v. intrans.). " The bed wrecked" — fell down in a heap. (Of a mishap in a mountaineer's cabin.) [Cf. Milton, P. B. II, 228.]
you alls : for you. " You alls come by and see us."
Pronunciation.
Several general features of the pronunciation are indicated by the examples above. Present participles are in n, instead of /y, as in other dialects. The front variety of g and k are used as in other parts of the South, giving the pronunciation represented by kyah, gya(r)den, etc. From some of the examples it would appear that r after vowels is, at least sometimes, pronounced. Short e is lengthened in many words like leg, fresh, etc. The most interesting thing (reported by both collectors as a special feature) is the use of a vowel in plurals and the third singu- lar of verbs, giving such forms as costes, vestes, posies, nestes, etc. No examples were sent of this usage except after t.
Some other words reported individually are the follow- ing:—
Afeard (not strictly a case of pronunciation), Babtlst, BakervP (=Baker- viile; so Knoxvl), banjer (banjo), bed-kivers, chiinley, contrary, cur- rantses (currants), diflficulty, ef (if), epitap, frail (flail), gineral, git, hev, hotel, jes (just), Kerliny, mounting (mountain), onct, twict, pianer, pore (poor), purty, quile (coil), settlement, summons (for summonsed)^ summoned (to court), sunthin, thar, turcles (turtles), Tfennessee, whelts (welts) .
1 J = syllabic I.
376 DIALECT NOTES,
Grammatical Forms, etc.
Most of these are known elsewhere, but are given to show what is in this dialect, and to call out comparisons.
ary and nary = any and none {e'er a and jie'er «, according to Cent. Diet.). Ary other shows how completely the old sense has been lost.
as : for than. " I would rather see you as him."
chee, singular ; cheese, plural.
come : for came, pret.
fotch: iov fetched.
growed : for grew. _
haint is used for am not, and is not, as well as for have not.
beap o' = many.
hit = it. Sometimes used with almost the force of a demonstrative ; e.g. a native, on seeing a trolley car, points first to the car and then to the trolley, and asks, " Does hit run hit, or hit run hit ? "
help (pron., generally hop) = helped (68, 71, 2-34).
must = shall. (Invariably used for questions.)
prize = pry. (Very general.) [An interesting word. See the diction- aries.]
scringe = cringe.
seed = saw.
slep = slept.
squez = squeezed.
swinge = singe.
swole = swollen.
taken = took (pret. and p.p. ; invariable use. — E. M. F.).
them = those.
throwed = throvm.
went = gone.
A few specimens of exclamations and the like, quoted by Mr. Edson, are added as specimens of the dialect.
"Lawsakes! I wish I may never." " I never seen nary 'thout that wasn't one." " Where's that boy ? He went off and never said dog." "I'll be dad gummed if I tech that ! " " Gee buck ! See all them bees drownded m the honey ! " "Daoust them oxen." " Drat their hides ! "
" Well, if it ain't the purtiest critter ever I seen ! " "You measure your miles with a coon's hide, the tail throwed in every time."
" Sickness is mighty interruptin'."
WORD-LISTS, 377
" O ! that did tickle me so good."
" I'm the-fellow-that-got-cut's brother."
" We've ben havin' a gosh wet spell."
" Hit's too-my-goodiiess cold ! "
" Nealy's ben cry in' the tales to me " (telling tales).
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
This list contains words collected by Prof. W. M. Tweedie, of Sackville, N. B. He sent in a very long list, some of it very interesting as reports of usages which are attributed to other regions ; but in pursuance of our plan to publish only new matter in this number, we have left the rest to be entered on our cards and published later along with other reports on the same words.
After Professor Tweedie's list was in type, he sent us a copy of a casual publication issued at St. Johns, containing a collection of Newfoundland words made by Kev. William Pilot, a clergyman resident there. There is much good material in the collection, though in a rather chaotic condition, and we have taken the liberty to incorporate about 50 words from this list. Mr. W. A. Hervey has been kind enough to sift the matter in the article, and put it through the dictionaries.
Abito, bito, aboideau (abido) : A word used in connection with the dikes of the Tantramar marshes in N. B. and of the Grand Pre in N. S. It means a sluice through a dike so arranged that the water can run out of the creek at low tide, but a valve automatically closes the passage when the tide is coming in. Of obscure origin. (See a letter by S. E. Dawson in Montreal Star, Aug. 9, 1889.) [Def. in Cent. Diet, is too general.]
admiral: applied to the oldest man of a settlement. ["The recognized chief commander of a mercantile fleet, as one of fishing vessels off Nfld." — Cent. Diet.]
auntsary: a kind of catamaran turned up at both ends. [Variant of "Aunt Sarah." Cf. "Aunt Sally," the name given to an athletic game in vogue among the English country folk.]
barber : the vapor rising from the water on a frosty day.
belly flounder : belly bumper, etc., in coasting. (49, 60, 212, 214, 236, 340.)
bet: pret. of beat. (Sir Walter Scott used this form. See Lockhart's Life of Scott, chap. 82.)
billet: wood cut up for burning. (Collective.) (Nfld.) ["Obs." in Murray.]
blinders : used for the whole bridle.
378 DIALECT NOTES,
Bluenose. a person bom in N. S. ; used also with reference to New Brunswick, but not so common. [Cent. Diet, and Bartlett, " N. S. only."]
breast plate, breast strap, breast collar : names used in different localities for the part of a harness to which the traces are attached when collar and hames are not used.
breastner : a stick of wood for fuel. Cf . burn, turn, billet.
brow : logs piled on the steep bank of a stream ready to he rolled in when the spring freshet comes.
buck (v. trans.) : to saw (wood for fuel).
bully : a sail-boat with two masts, used for ^hing and carrying small cargoes. (Nfld.)
burn : a stick of wood for fuel. Cf. turn, breastner, billet.
cagged : of a man who has taken the pledge and has sworn against the cag (Nfld. pron. of keg).
callibogus : a beverage.
car: to carry. [" Prov. Eng. Kent." — Cent. Diet.]
chastise : to speak seriouslj'^ to, to remonstrate with. Cf . Lat. castigare. ["To reprove, rebuke, censure. 06s." — Murray.]
chessy cat : in phrase, " to grin like a chessy cat^ [In Bartlett, but no locality given. Certainly not widely known.]
clotten house. See tilt, p. 381.
clout: a blow. [Cf. p. 396.]
colcannon night: almost universal in St. Johns, Nfld., for Hallowe'en. [The name is used by those who eat colcannon on that night. Others speak of it as " snap-apple night." The term Hallowe'en is not generally used.]
conkerbill: icicle, hanging from the eaves of a house or from a horse's nose. ["Conkabell" (dial.). — Murray.]
copying: jumping from piece to piece (Nfld. pan to pan) of floating ice that is not large enough to bear, until you reach one that is. (Nfld.)
covel : " Obs. form of cowl, a tub." — Murray.
cracky : a small hybrid dog.
crunnocks: dry wood; e.g.: "To spell [gather] a yafful [armful] of crunnocks [kindlings]."
dagon : a single ox yoked to a cart. Common in negro settlements along the south shore of N. S. Sometimes used metaphorically; "my old woman is a faithful old dagon.''''
dancing-pumps : light shoes, not necessarily to dance in. (O.)
dirt : snowy, stormy weather.
doty, doted : of wood, partly decayed and brittle ; especially of fire- wood.
dribble: in marbles, to roll the marble along the ground from "taw line " ; opposed to " plumping " i.e. hitting the marble on the top by knuck- ling the taw.
drug : pret. of drag.
druiig : a narrow lane leading to a pasture. (Nfld.)
duckish: dark, gloomy. ["A dial, transposition of dusk. Prov. Eng.'* — Cent. Diet.]
dunch : bread not properly baked. (Nfld.)
^
WORD-LISTS. ' 379
dwy : a sudden squall of wind, with rain or snow. (Nfld.)
fairity: fairness. [Analogy of rar%(?).]
flacket: a girl whose clothes hang loosely about her. [«Prov. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
floption: in "To catch one all of a floption^^ ; = to take one una- wares.
fog, fog-grass : last year's grass standing in the fields in the spring. ["English" Cent. Diet.]
frore: froze. (Nfld.) (Cf. Milton's use.)
gaflFer : a small boy : also a " boss " in a machine shop. (In latter sense common in North of England.)
gly : a squint or sidelong glance. [Pro v. Eng. "= Scotch grZey." — Cent. Diet.]
gulch : to fall heavily. [" Pro v. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
hackle : = haggle. [Cent. Diet. Cf. cross-hackle in Murray.]
handsignment : signature.
head-stall : halter, sometimes even bridle.
heft (n. and v.) : weight ; to estimate weight by lifting (as elsewhere).
hefty (adj.) : weighty, important ; e.g. : " It was not a very hefty speech."
hubbies : rough places on a road, especially when a road is frozen after being cut into ruts. ["U. S. Commoner form hubs, adj. hubby.'''' — Cent. Diet.]
. huggerum buff: mixture of fish and potatoes ready to fry into fish- cakes.
hunkersliding : acting unfairly (especially with negative, " no hunker- sliding here ").
jig, play jig : to play truant from school.
jigger marandy : like thingumbob, etc. ; name for something when the correct word is forgotten.
juniper : the hackmatack tree.
Liabrador tea : a shrub, the leaves of which are used by the country peo- ple instead of tea.
larrigan : a kind of moccasin made of prepared oiled leather ; used chiefly by lumbermen in the woods.
leaf: brim of a hat. (Nfld.)
leary : faint, weak. (Nfld.) " It was such a long way that I got leary.''^
Under: an undershirt. [Cf. Icelandic lindi, a girdle.]
lifted : stolen. [See the dictionaries.] Also in slang use, ejected, put out. '
livier: merchant, trader. ~~ lolly : ice and snow in the water along the shore. (Nfld. and N. B.) Often heard in connection with the crossing of the ice boats to P. E. I. It is the hardest kind of thing to get the boat through. [Cf. Cent. Diet. s. v.]
longer : a stout picket, above the average length.
madeira : second best class of fish.
mourn : want, need. " The land is mourning for manure."
naked, starknaked : of tea without milk or sugar, — pure, undiluted.
nip and frizzle : like nip and tuck, an even chance, a narrow escape, etc.
nippent : flighty, merry. (Cape Breton.)
380 DIALECT NOTES.
nor : for than in comparison. " He is taller nor me."
nunche: lunch. ["Nunch. Prov. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
nunny bag : lunch bag ; usually made of a piece of sealskin, and used by sealers when they go off for a day.
oris : fodder left in crib. [Cf. etymology of odds in odds and ends.]
pelt : an animal's skin and fat together.
pernickity : "cantankerous," whimsical. [See p. 62, where pernickelif is a misprint for -ty (see p. 217)].
piddle : to carry on a small business. Variant of peddle. [Cent. Diet, records metaphorical use.]
plantation : ground with buildings and improvements for fishing pur- poses. [Cf. Del. use: "a cultivated area of oyster-bottom." — Cent. Diet.]
planter : a man who settled in Newfoundland contrary to law. [" In Nfld., a person engaged in the fishery." — Bartlett.]
practice : in the phrase, "to pay one's practice," — to pay the customary fee to the parson or the doctor.
press-pile: compass. ["A pile or kench of fish. Canada." — Cent. Diet.]
prOg, prog : food.
puck : a blow.
pat: term of contempt; e.g. "a hard old pw«." (Used by Addison in the I^e Coverley Papers.) ["Old Put" was the familiar name given to the Revolutionary hero Israel Putnam of Connecticut. I always supposed that the use of the term, which is familiar enough to me as a sohriqnet, was a localism connected with this character, but it looks as if the term were older than the character, and had been punningly applied to him. — E. H. B.]
rainpole, rampike, ranpike: trunk of a dead tree standing after the top has fallen.
ramshorn : a square box for washing fish in. ["Prov. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
randy (v.) : to coast, slide down hill ; (n.) to raise randy : to create a disturbance.
raw : to establish a raw, to gain a foothold, make a beginning.
rote : noise of waves on the shore. [See the Dictionaries.]
savannah : stretch of bog or moorland. (South coast of N. S.) [See etymology in International.]
scoff (v.) : to eat hastily, devour. ["Naut. slang." — Cent. Diet.] (n.) slang word for food, formerly used here among students.
scrammed (with the cold) : e.g. " Are you very cold ? " " Yes, I am just scrammed.'''' (Nfld.)
scran: in phrase "bad scran to you" = bad luck to you, "bad cess to you."
scuff (of the neck) : back of the neck. [Worcester gives this as " North of England." I have heard it in Mass. ; my own word is scruff. — C. H. G.]
scunner against: an aversion towards. [Known elsewhere; De Vera suggests a "corruption of scorner'''' (?) as a possible etymology. Perhaps a northern or Scandinavian word akin to shun. — E. S. S.]
WORD-LISTS. 381
sheave (v. ) : to hold water with the oar to stop the boat or turn more quickly. (Nfld.)
shive, sheave, sheaf: a thin large slice, especially of bread. "R."
silver thaw : a sleet storm leaving trees coated with ice.
skiver : used for skewer.
slip one's gallows : to break off a suspender button.
slob : soft snow or ice. (Nfld.)
sloven : a low truck wagon.
slunk school : to play truant.
snake out logs: to draw them out of the brush with a team, by a chain.
spancel: to fasten an animal's legs with a spancel, or fetter. [" Prov. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
spell : to gather.
starigan: a small green fir or spruce tree, cut for firewood ; common in the phrase " a load of starigans."
strouter : strutter. [" Obs. or prov. var." — Cent. Diet.]
swoils, soils : seals. Also, " to go swoiling."
old sojer : quid of tobacco.
spuds : potatoes.
stud : a stallion,
swatch (n.) : hole in the ice through which seals come up ; (v.) to watch for seals at the holes in order to shoot them. (Nfld.)
taifils : little pieces of thread scattered about where things are otherwise in order. " R."
tilt: a poor one-story house, built of small hewn sticks, set vertically. Also called a clotten house. (Nfld.)
talqual (of fish when sold) : without sorting, just as they come ; (as noun, with variant, all quails) fish bought without culling. (Nfld.)
tote up : to add figures.
trader : a stranger who comes to barter.
turn : a stick of wood for fuel. Cf. burn, breastner, billet.
twinly : tender, delicate.
up-a-day, up-a-daisy : said to a child when lifting it.
vexed : sorry, disappointed. " I'm terribly vexed about the boy."
water-horse : in Nfld., after the fish has been salted long enough it is washed to remove superfluous salt and dirt. This is the water-horse, and fish so washed and spread on the flakes to dry is called water-horse fish. [Cent. Diet, horse-pile.]
wax : a game of hand-ball. (From verb wax, collo^. for heat (in a game).)
yafful (yaffle) : armful. ["Prov. Eng." — Cent. Diet.]
yap : to scold.
yarry : smart, quick. " He'll have to be pretty yari-y to catch up with him." (Nfld.)
youngster: novice ; of a new hand, old or young. [Cf. Cent. Diet: "a junior officer in a company. Fam. and col."]
382 DIALECT NOTES.
Jerseyisms. — Additions and Corrections.
This list contains a few more items from Mr. Lee, which have been sent since his list (Part VII, p. 327) went to press, some words collected by Rev. W. J. Skillman of Philadelphia, who is a native of New Jersey, and a few from miscellaneous sources.
age : to take one's age = to come to a birthday.
anxious seat (327): dele "Methodist and." (The Methodists use the term " mourner's bench.")
bay truck : used " along shore " for food from the bays which indent the coast; in distinction from "garden truck,"
blickey (328) : the variety is distinguished by an adjective, as " wooden " or " tin " blickey. In Vincentown and vicinity this word is used for a coat or "jumper," such as workmen wear with overalls — a Garibaldi jacket of jean.
bounder : to scrub or wash thoroughly (the person).
braes (328) : the definition given should have stood, " imperfectly burned," etc., and applies to the word brands^ which was omitted. Braes is to be defined as "bark partially charred that slips from the wood in a charcoal pit."
cooster: to "potter around," fuss. "What you been coosterin' at all day ? " Also to caress, coddle.
dike (cf. dicked, 330): "on a dike" = showing one's finery in public. [See p. 387.]
dip : pudding-sauce.
do-ups : preserves.
down country: New York City and vicinity (Sussex Co.).
dubersome (330): also in form juftersome. (372,390.)
Dutch cuss : term of contempt. Metuchen.
footlin' : an adjective with meaning similar lofooty (330).
gooseberry fool: an old-time dish of gooseberries and eggs; eaten with cream.
gravel (331): also grabble: definition should read, "to steal potatoes without disturbing the hill."
Halifax. Mr. Skillman thinks that the common enough expression, " Go to Halifax ! " is a survival from Revolutionary times, and meant originally "You are a Tory; go where you belong ! " This, because he has heard " Go to Nova Scotia ! " in the same way (and also, " Go to Haverty-grass (Havre- de-grace), which he cannot explain historically. Can any one account for this, or for " go to grass," which suggests a connection ?)
hetchel : to tease, to call to account. Metaphor from the days of the domestic flax industry.
homebringen : first coming of newly married to the house of the groom's parents, where a feast was prepared and guests were invited. " Volun-
WORD-LISTS. 383
teers " (uninvited but not always unwelcome guests) often came. There was music and dancing and rather free hospitality, but no drunkenness. (See infare, below.)
huU: to gad about, wander, roam. "He went 2,-hullen all over the country." [v. Cent. Diet. MIP, II.]
infare: bridegroom's party (see homebringen, above). A somewhat later word than homebringen for the same festivity.
jagger-wagon : light, open farm-wagon used on the roads for light work, such as carting small truck and going for the mails. Central Bur- lington Co.
kink (382) ; also in sense oipain, " a kink in the back" = lumbago.
kip : young chicken. (Used also as call — " kip, kip.")
lay-overs for meddlers : answer to prying, curious children. " What's that, ma? Do tell, won't you?" " Why, didn't I say it's lay-overs for meddlers ?" [v. Cent. Diet, layer-over.^
lobscouse : an awkward, hulking fellow.
leper : a worthless, intrusive fellow.
noggin : a wooden dipper.
noodeljees (nudltfiz) : " noodles," — thin strips of dough like macaroni, used in soup. [Bartlett.]
passel (for parcel): number, quantity in general. "They acted like a passel o' hogs."
perfect love : an old-fashioned intoxicating drink.
perianger (332) : should read "periauger" (pirogue).
pick (pique?): a spite, grudge "He's had a pick at him for months."
pinxter : Whitsuntide.
pinxter-blossoms : azalea (Albany Co.)
riz bread : yeast bread (not raised with soda).
rollejees (rolitfiz): chopped meat, stuffed in "sausage-skins" to be sliced and cooked. [See De Vere, p. 64.]
side up : to clean up, put in order (a room). (Cf. aside, 328.) [Also N. B.— W. M. T.]
slank: low place at side of river, bay, or cove, filled with water at freshet.
slummock : a dirty, untidy woman.
souse : slangy for ears. "Bounder your souse well " = wash your ears well.
spack: pork.
springers : cows about to calve. (C. J. )
stirrup (n. and v.), stirrup oil (n.) : shoemaker's term for a whipping, or punishment administered with the stirrup, or knee-strap.
struU : female tramp. Strulling is used of women, not in the worst, but generally in no favorable sense. "She's gone strulling to town to-day." Sometimes used of children, without regard to sex.
winklehawk: triangular tear in cloth. [Cent. Diet, and Bartlett.] Barn- door is reported from Massachusetts in the same sense. [Cf. trappatch, 20, 211.]
384 DIALECT NOTES.
General List A.
This is the result of the work of entering our miscellaneous material as provided for by vote of the Society at the last annual meeting (see Keport of Meeting). It has been subjected to a pretty rigid process of elimination (see introduction) and the line in the matter of slang has been drawn higher up, perhaps, than is always advisable (the Cornell society's list, for instance, contains words which are on our cards, but were not printed this time).
The abbreviations used in the list (as also in the others in this number) are those of Professor Hempl's circular : the usual abbre- viations for states with n. = northern, c. = central, s. w. = south- western, etc., and "0," "I," "N," "E," meaning "Old," " Illiterate," " Negro," and " Kare," as indicated in the circular.
addition : part of village or city laid out in addition to original plot ; e.g.
Knox's addition to the city of . Used in legal papers, etc. North
Mississippi Valley. [Used in N. E. generally to denote new part of house added to original building.]
afflicted : mentally deficient, or deformed. Worcester Co., Md.
alamagoozlum : maple syrup made by melting down the sugar. Sullivan and Orange Cos., N. Y.
apple-peru : garden rhubarb, or pie-plant. Cumberland Co., Me.
baolt: to address (a letter). West Fla. [Bartlett gives this as " Western." I have heard it in Maine, from a servant girl who came, I think, from the Provinces. — E. S. S.]
Bad Lands : alkali lands with bare mud buttes. West.
bake pancakes : to prepare the well-known American article of food on a griddle. (See discussion under ;9awca^e, below.)
balm of Gilead : slangy for money. Tenn., " N " and " I".
barn ball: a schoolboy's game. Otsego Co., N. Y.
base: (with pron. generally best) in schoolboy game "prisoner's base." Cincinnati, O.
baum (bom) : failure. "He made a baum of it." Patchogue, L. I.
beal: to suppurate (vb. to noun 6oi7), Springdale, Pa.
begretch : for begrudge. Otsego Co., N. Y. [begrutch is known in W. Conn. — E. H. B.]
biggity: proud. S. C. [In "Uncle Remus." — C. H. G.]
blink : sour milk. So blinky, adj. (of milk), sour. Montgomery Co., Va. [See p. 370.]
blue pony : mouse-colored pony. West.
bonas (6onas) : in phrase "I bonasit" = "I claim it," or " I take possession of it." Mass. e.
Boston : a game at marbles. Mo.
brash : sickly, in poor health. O. e.
WORD-LISTS. 385
breaker: ridge of earth in hilly part of country road, to throw surface water into side ditches. Springdale, Pa. (Other names for same thing : " thank-you-ma'am,''^ cradle {in-the-road) .) [In Conn. " water-butt " is the usual word; *'thank-you-ma'am^^ is known. — E. H. B. Other names are known ; reports are solicited.] '
breed: half or quarter breed Indian. (Not used of any other race.) West.
brigetty : smart and forward. Winchester, Ky.
buckskin pony : cream-colored pony. West.
Bud, Buddy (i.e. brother) : title given to the eldest son of a family. Terre Haute, Ind. [Information wanted on the exact use of the word throughout the South. It is reported from West Fla. in the exact use given above.]
burn : a sarcastic remark. Student phrase in Mo. Military Academy.
burying : funeral. Terre Haute, Ind. ; West Fla.
butter: fruit preserved by stewing down to a butter-like consistency. (Used in compounds such as apple-, peach-, tomato-, pumpkin-, quince-, and plum-butter.) Springdale, Pa.
butternuts: popular name for overalls of the common "butternut brown " denims. Kansas City, Mo.
by (of a house) : into or to. " Come bij my house and stay all night"" = not pass by, but stop at the house. West Fla. [" (ro &?/," De Vere.]
cache : to " make a cache " = to hide. West.
cack (cf. tacker, 334) : like shaver, etc., used playfully of a child. Conn. [Cent. Diet, gives the word as a shoemaker's term for an infant's shoe. Perhaps the use reported is a metaphorical use of the shoemaker's word ; or is it vice versa, and is the N. J. "little tacker" a little cacker, and the shoe- maker's word from that ? Fuller reports may settle this question.]
calico pony : piebald or spotted pony. West.
candlelightin' : nightfall. " Evenin' meetin' took up at early candle- lightin\'' Terre Haute, Ind.; Otsego Co., N. Y.
canker lettuce : the plant Pyrola rotundifolia ; said to be a cure for "canker." Mass. w.
can't see 'em : Indian name for midges. Me.
cascade (v.): to vomit. Lexington, Va. [See De Vere, s.v. dog.']
catabiassed : out of line, irregularly arranged. Ky. w.
cat fit : = conniption fit. (341. ) Albany, N. Y.
cautch : underdone (food). Marblehead, Mass.
chank : to chew noisily. Conn.
chankings : parings of apples and other fruits, or the core and other rejected parts of an apple. Me., Vt., Mass., Conn.
cheesit (n.) : slang for policeman. Boston, Mass.
chinaman : cup of tea. Kansas City, Mo.
Chinees : white clay marbles, covered with geometrical figures in colors. Boston, Mass.
choose: in phrase "Thank you, I would not choose any " — to decline a dish at table. Ind.
chouse : to put forcibly into. Ohio.
386 DIALECT NOTES.
Christmas : (a) a Christmas gift, (6) anything used in celebrating Christmas ; e.g. fireworks or potables. West Fla.
chuck : (a) food. Western. (6) money. Boston, Mass.
church (v.): to try or investigate before the church on the charge of some offence unbefitting a church member. Terre Haute, Ind.
church house: church, "meetin' -house," building used for religious services. West Fla.
claggy : heavy (of bread, etc). South.
died {i.e. cloyed) : surfeited, unwilling to eat more. Appears to have become an adjective in some localities, the verb having become obsolete, and then to have been taken up in this form and used as a verb. (77.) So reported from Goodwin's Mills, Me. [In W. Conn, the use of the verb and of the participle as adjective presents nothing remarkable ; even the current pron. klai is quite in line with other words in the dialect. — E. H. B.]
coarsen (v. intran.) : to become coarse. Gardner, Mass.
coker-saclt : a sack of heavy stuff for corn, bran, etc. West Fla.
colly over = haily over (341) ; "colly up," same or similar game in which the ball is thrown against the side of the building, or on the sloping roof, and caught on return, Needham, Mass.
come-by-chance : illegitimate child. Cape Cod.
come in (of cows): to calve. Conn.
comeny : = haw; turn to the left (in driving oxen). Winchester, Ky.
comprompo : a Frenchman. (Suggested derivation from "(ne) com- prends pas.") Moosehead Lake, Me. [Derivation pretty certainly correct. — E. S. S.]
contra'ry : stubborn. Eastern O.
coof : local term for all " off-islanders." Nantucket, Mass. [Cf . kiif, p. 8.]
cooter : land turtle. Warren Co., Miss.
cotton tail : rabbit. Ottawa, Kan. (Cf. 65.)
coulee: ravine. West. [See Bartlett's definition.]
cradle-in-the-road : see breaker. [Cf. also cradle-hole in Cent. Diet.] Springdale, Pa.
crang : a scrawny animal. Otsego Co., N. Y.
crapping it on the sheers : farming on rented land. Terre Haute, Ind.
crlmmy : chilly ; out of sorts, " under the weather." Marblehead, Mass.
crump (for dandelions) : to dig. New Bedford, Mass. " O." and " R."
cuckle-button (kvklbvtn) : burr of the burdock, from which children make baskets. Salem, Mass.
cuppin*: milking yard. Winchester Co., Ky.
dander: euphemism for devil. "What the dander are you doing? Locality ?
daur : a small village. Brunswick, Me.
day-down : sunset. Va. coast.
dead wood : in phrase " to have the dead wood on anything" = to have control, or a firm hold, of it. West.
deed and double : an affirmation heard among children and illiterate women in Ky. and O.
WORD-LISTS. 387
diked out : dressed up. [Cf. dicked, 330.] S. C. dike : to prepare oneself to go out. Tex. [See De Vere, s.v.] ding-bat. Mr. Philip Hale, of the Boston Journal, has been collecting information through that paper concerning this word. The following defini- tions appear : —
(1) Balls of dung on buttocks of sheep or cattle. Vt.
(2) Blow or slap on the buttocks. Me., N. H., Vt., Conn. (Also in form dingbatlers.)
(3) Flying missile. Penobscot river (noted as common among boys and river drivers) .
(4) Squabble of words or pushing. Me.
(5) Money. Me. (Saco, 1855), Philadelphia, 111.
(6) In some of the N. E. schools, the word is student slang for various kinds of muffins or biscuit. Perhaps from (1) or (3). Phillips Academy (Mass.), Wilbraham Academy (Mass.), Suffield Literary Institute (Conn.).
(7) Affectionate embrace of mothers hugging and kissing their children. Ga. " Ma just can't help it, she has got to put the ding-bats right on."
(8) Term of admiration. "They are regular ding-bats ^^ (speaking of girls).
dingle : a storm-door, built by standing spruce or fir poles close together in front of the camp-door. Me. lumbermen. [Cf. Cent. Diet., s.v.]
dodunk: a stupid, simple person. Vt.
doggies : the commonest kind of marbles, generally colored brown.
dog-fall : a fall in wrestling in which neither party has the advantage.
doncy: indisposed, " under the weather."
do one proud: to honor one. Pa. w., O., Mich., Kan.
doughnut : general name for various kinds of cake fried in a deep vessel of hot fat. There are several varieties.
(1) Raised with yeast, sweetened and spiced; generally cut in cubes and forming a roundish lump after puffing out in frying.
(2) Raised with yeast, unseasoned ; merely dough from the regular batch of bread, fried instead of baked ; eaten hot, with molasses.
(3) Raised with baking soda or saleratus; sweetened; cut in rings or twisted.
These have various names in different localities : (1) is the only thing known as doughnuts to the secretary in W. Conn.; (2) was called simply fried hread; (3) was biled-cakes if in twisted form, and jumbles if in rings. (Jumbles also sometimes meant a sort of sweet cookies, baked in the same form.) On Cape Cod, and generally in Eastern Mass. (3) (in rings) are doughnuts, and (2) are known as '' seventy-fours^'' — iov what reason is unknown, unless, as a young friend once suggested, it is "because you have to eat seventy-four of them to get a breakfast." In the Dutch-settled districts the word olykoeks, which Washington Irving has made classic, is used for some of the varieties. Crullers is also common for (3). A full account of the naming of the various kinds in various sections would be interesting.
draw (n.) : a broad ravine. Mo., Neb.
drug : pret. of draio. N. Y. watermen.
388 DIALECT NOTES.
druthers: choice, preference. "To have one's druthers'''' = io have what one "had rather" have. "Bein's I caint have my druthers an' set still, I cal'late I'd better pearten up an' go 'long." South.
ducks : marbles in the ring. Ky.
fair off:, clear off (weather). Gardner, Mass. [Bartlett gives it as " Southwestern."]
famtail : stern paddle-wheel. Western rivers.
far : in the phrase " That's all the far I got " = As far as I got. Mass., Pa., O., Ind.
farth, furth: positive from analogy to farther^ farthest. N. E.
fartherest, furtherest : for farthest. N. E.
fardest, f urdest : for farthest. O.
favor : to resemble (especially referring to family resemblance). Spring- dale, Pa. [Common elsewhere in this sense. See Tennessee collection, s.v. for example of other use.]
feller (for fellow) : a young woman's feller is the particular one who is " sparkiii' " her — paying her attention with possible matrimonial intention. Her "siiddy company" has the same meaning in some places and among some classes. New Bedford, Mass.; Otsego Co., N. Y. [Is not this pretty general ?]
first along : at first. New Bedford, Mass.
flanneii : for flannel. Common in N. C. and Ky. [and elsewhere in the South]. Flannen cakes ; see under pancake.
fleet : shallow (of dishes). Deerfield, Mass. "O."
flugins : in phrase "cold as blue liugins." [Etymology?] Winchester,
Ky.
fluken : " A new slang word that has been spreading in certain portions of Western N. C. since the fall of 1884. It is used in this sense : To put the fluken on one = to * do him up ' ; to get the advantage of him, etc. It origi- nated, as a phrase, in this manner : — A very dramatic murder trial was held in Lenoir, Caldwell County, in 1884, of two men who blockaded a half- dozen mica miners in a mine shaft and killed three of them. Several of the witnesses described the bodies as having had ' the fluken put on them.' Flu- ken is the local name for the scaly, whitish soil dug from mica mines. Since then the phrase, meaning what I above state, has been in common use in the region." (W. W. Scott.)
fobble : a game at marbles. Windsor, Ont.
foller (n.) : a fallow field. Otsego Co., N. Y.
foolish : weak-minded, idiotic. Mass., Conn, w., N. Y. w.
foot-loose : free, not tied to business. Ga.
fresh (n.): butcher's meat, in distinction from salted or other meat. N. Y. w.. Conn. w.
fried-cake: kind of cake fried in lard. Hingham, Mass. [Cf. hiled- cake, etc., s.v. doughnut, above.]
frog's hair: the plant Eleocharis acicularis, and other allied species. Mass. w.
f rouch : botch. Marblehead, Mass.
fyke, fuyk : a fish-net. S. Yarmouth, Mass.; Catskill, N. Y.
WORD-LISTS, 389
gaggle : flock {e.g. of geese).
galleyied : confused. New Bedford, Mass.
galloptious : splendid, excellent. Staten Island, N. Y.
geerus : policeman. Boston, Mass.
gees (gis) : for Foi'tuguese. New Bedford, Mass.
gig : to spear, generally fisli or frogs, though anything run through with a sharp instrument is said to be gigged. The instrument used in spearing fish is called a gig. West Fla.
glass (abbreviation for isinglass) : mica. N. C. w.
go like : imitate. *' He can go like a pig" = imitate the grunt of a pig. Me., Ind.
goober : peanut. So goober grubber = peanut digger. Tenn.
grass (abbreviations for sparrowgrass): Asparagus. Common among grocers in N. Y. City. Also heard in Philadelphia, and Cambridge, Mass.
grabble : in digging potatoes, to remove the large ones without disturb- ing the small. South. Little Rock, Ark.
great hand for : fond of. Me., Mass., Conn., Pa., O.
grouty : surly or sulky. Marblehead, Mass. [Can we make more defi- nite Bartlett's " Northern " for this word ?]
grummet : crumb, bit of food. Marblehead, Mass.
hark back : recur to some prior words. Essex Co., N. Y.
hate: in phrase "didn't get a hate'''' = didn't get a thing (meaning any- thing). Johnstown, Pa.; Winchester, Ky.; Eastern O. [See Bartlett.]
head : "A man has six or eight head of children." Worcester Co., Md.
heady : persistent. Va. s. w.
hear to : give heed to. Mass., Conn.
high-horse, to be on a : to be prosperous. Va. s. w.
hips : in phrase "to have the hips''^ = to be restless at night and unable to sleep. Otsego Co., N. Y. [See Cent. Diet, for etymology and allied meaning. ]
hitch up: to harness. New Bedford, Mass. [Me. — E. S. S. Conn.— E. H. B.]
hobo: tramp. Western (but well-nigh universal now).
hogas : = bonas q.v.
hogo (i.e. haul gout?): a strong scent of any kind. N. H. [But of. fogo (21,215).]
hop-up : poison for rats. Otsego Co., N. Y.
huckster : (v.) to peddle. Philadelphia, Pa.
hurt : in phrase " I don't hurt for it,'^ or " I ain't z,-hurtin^ for it" = '* I don't care much for it." Winona, Miss.
hussif (housewife) : a flannel book for needles. N. Y. City.
Indian-giver : one who rues his bargain. O. e.
Jake : a rough, uncouth country fellow. N. C, Tcnn., Mo., Kan.
jiggery, jiggered, jigger-head: not sound minded; having a "screw loose." Cape Cod.
Jim-dandy: term of approbation. West.
Jim-slinger : a hard blow. (Parts of) South.
Jim-swinger ; long-tailed coat, especially a " Prince Albert." O.
390 DIALECT NOTES.
Joe-darter : = jiin-slinger, q.v.
Jolinny-juiup-ups: violets. Springdale, Pa.
Juberous : dubious, doubtful. O. (372, 382.)
jucket: "In East Freetown, Mass., there have been for years a class of inhabitants who have intermarried indefinitely ; they think little of educa- tion ; the land is poor, the people poorer. The typical name there was and is Jacques (pron. djekwiz), and this half a century ago and more was about the only name there. Everybody in the olden time derided and despised them, and so anything inferior became a jucket, as the word has come to be pronounced. The people there use the word unconsciously, as a term of opprobrium or derogation, applied chiefly to persons." [Appears in the N. Y. World, Aug. 25, 1895, with a similar explanation of origin, and the interesting compound jiicket-house, used for a small, "poor-white" house of one room, without the possibilities of decency. The compound may survive after the original word is lost. The form of the original French name given by the World reporter is Jacquet.]
jump the blind : to steal a ride on platform of baggage-car. West.
kennebunker : valise in which clothes are put by lumbermen when they go into camp for a " winter operation." Me. woods.
kerbase : in phrase "off his kerbase''^ = slightly crazy. West.
kilfliggin : lazy. Ky. mountains.
ky-pee : a game at marbles. Chatham, Ont.
laddie buck : a fop. Albany, N. Y.
lag : (in marbles) " lag for goes " = to roll up from taw to see who could come nearest to the middleman, and so win the first play. Winchester, Ky.
large : much. " He has large money." Cincinnati, O.
larrup : molasses. West.
laverick : slightly contemptuous term for a man, usually a stranger. West.
lift, to be on the : to be too weak to rise from bed. (Suggestion : needing to be lifted about.) Terre Haute, Ind.
light bread: wheat bread, in distinction from "ftread," which means corn bread. West Fla. [Bartlett " South and West."]
like : in phrases " I don't like much being through" = am not likely to finish soon (N. C.) ; and "I don't like it for anything," to express strong disapproval (Snow Hill, Md.).
limpsy : in weak condition. O. [Bartlett "New England."]
linger (n. and adj.) ; lingen, lingin (adj.) pron. liqd{r), liqin: used to denote unusual size or quality. "Jim caught a lingin big pickerel yester- day." "Was it a big one?" "O yes, 'twas a linger.''^ Mass. e.. Me., Vt., Conn. e.
logy : slow-moving, "dead and alive." Term used by fishermen. Moger in same sense. Steuben, Me. (Form loggy) Boston, Mass.
lorry (Jori) : public lorry = a dray. Toronto, Ont.
lumper : common unskilled laborer. Boston, Mass.
macademy: for academy. "N." near Augusta, Ga.
manavelins : small scraps of choice portions of meat accidentally de- tached in carving ; and hence, more generally, toothsome bits of any dish at table. Staten Island. [See Cent. Diet, s.v.]
WORD-LISTS, 391
matrosses : sailors. Gloucester, Mass. (1777.)
mean : disreputable, low (no sense of stingy, penurious) . Ky,
meat : bacon. West Fla.
meecking: guilty appearance of one caught pilfering. Otsego Co., N. y. [Cf. meech, meechin (19, 78, 217).] â–
mind : " Near Asheville, N. C, I heard a mountaineer say, ' I didn't mind it a bit,' meaning he was terrified at looking over a precipice. The same phrase in Ohio would mean that he was wholly indifferent to it."
minges : for midges. Me.
metheglin (pron. md/)icjliii) : drink made from honey (see Webster). It is an incidental product in preparing beeswax from the comb after the old wasteful process of "taking up" bees. Conn., N. Y., O. and elsewhere. [How widely is it known ?]
mominixed : mixed up, in confusion. Winchester, Ky. Muxe.d up in same sense. Otsego Co., N. Y. [Cent. Diet, mammock, mommick.]
nappy : round, shallow crockery dish used for baking pies. Gloucester, Mass. [A square vegetable dish was billed as a " nappie " from R. H. Macy & Co., New York, in July, 1895.]
niassy : "A niassy person is one who is eccentric and is continually doing and saying the oddest and most unexpected things. I believe that every one born and bred in this section knows the meaning of ' niassy.' I wish to particularly call your attention to this word, because it is possible that, in time, it may have a wide range." (While shopping in Tacoma, Washington, the correspondent heard it used without comment.) "The word originated in this way : In a branch of the numerous Smith family hereabout, it was the custom, for at least two generations back, to name some male member Ananias, which fact is in itself ' niassy,' because it is not every fond parent who would be willing to liave his offspring so named. This particular family, including all the 'Niases in it, were in many matters quite different from other people ; and so marked was this in the 'Nias Smiths, so it is said, that it became characteristic — and if other persons developed what in this day we would call ' crankisms,' they were at once dubbed ' niassy ' — and are to-day. The family of Smiths refeiTed to live here, and are prosperous, quiet people. It is not my intention in thus exploiting them to cause them any annoyance or notoriety, and I trust this contribution will not do so." [In view of our correspondent's expressed wish, we will leave the locality unprinted for the present, and Smith may be taken in the generic sense of "John Doe " ; but the item is too good to remain in the archives.]
nicklehawk : triangular tear in cloth. (Milliners.) Staten Island. [Of course a variant of winklehawk, p. 383.]
noink : pron. for nothing. Patchogue, L. I.
nose broke. The youngest child of a family is said to have its nose broke if another is born and it is therefore no longer "the baby." Cape Cod.
notice : in phrase " They notice it on me that I am not a Pennsylvanian. " Springdale, Pa.
office : small house of one or two rooms, built to accommodate overflow of large family. N. C. (and South generally ?).
old : in phrase " How's your old,"" meaning old woman, i.e. wife. Negro.
392 DIALECT NOTES.
oodlins: abundance, a large quantity; "dead oodlins " = a very great quantity. Winchester, Ky. [Cf. Cent. ])ict., s.v.]
outlandishers : foreigners. New Bedford, Mass.
ox vomit : popular etymology for nux vomica. West Fla.
pail (v.) : to milk. *' Pail the cow." Ottawa, Kan.
pancake : perhaps the commonest and most inclusive name for the various kinds of hot cakes prepared on a griddle. They may be made of almost any kind of flour, raised over night with yeast, or on the spot with soda. There are names varying with the locality for all the varieties : buckwheat cakes, griddle cakes, flannen cakes, flap-jacks, etc. The manner of preparation is also differently designated as baking, frying, or simply cooking. Exact reports are solicited.
pawlcy : in poor health. O.
peckish; easily offended. Va. s. w.
pen-point : pen (v. penstaff, below).
pen-staff: penholder. " I have a pen-point and now I must have 3, pen- staff to go with it. ' ' West Fla.
pick eggs : to rap one egg against another till one cracks. The owner of the egg cracked loses it. (Boys.) Georgetown, D. C.
pinxter : Easter. Negroes in N. Y.
pixilated : dazed, bewildered in the dark. Marblehead, Mass.
planchment : ceiling. Marblehead, Mass.
pluck : the heart, liver, lungs, etc., of a slaughtered animal. [See Cent. Diet.] The " head and pluck " are sometimes the perquisite of the butcher. Conn.
plug: (1) an old worthless horse. Mass., Conn., N. Y. (2) a local accommodation train. Kan. , la.
plug hat : tall hat. Boston, Mass.
pluinming: to go plmnining = to go huckleberrying. Essex Co., Mass.
pokerish : somewhat dangerous, alarming. N. E.
poke : a slow person. O. [Cf. 210.]
preachin' : church service. Ky.
preachin' raeetin* : same. Terre Haute, Ind.
pretty (n.) : a picture or similar article ; a toy. West Fla. [" Western " Bartlett.]
proper: handsome. N. C.
pucker: "All in a pucker" = in a hurry. "O." New Bedford, Mass.
puddin' an' tame: schoolboy expression in answer to question, " What's your name?" Winchester, Ky. [Boys in W. Conn, used to have it, "What's your name?" "Pudd'n tame." "What's your nater ? " " Pudd'n tater." " What's your will ? " " Pudd'n swill." — E. H. B.]
pullen: hens. Washington Co., Me. [v. Cent. Diet.]
putchiky : sullen. Terre Haute, Ind.
pykle : small enclosed field or yard. Patchogue, L. I.
rambunctious : impudent, forward. Otsego Co., N. Y.
rattled : (of horses) sick from eating rattleweed. Cal.
rein : " carry on," play tricks. Goodwin's Mills, Me.
WOED-LISTS. 393
red brush : the part of Kentucky between the mountains and the Ohio river ; an inhabitant of this region.
red, rid: to arrange, prepare, put in order. "Red the ground (for planting)," Springdale, Pa., looks like rid (of stumps, etc.), as does perhaps still more "to rid guts," i.e. to remove the "gut lard," but in other examples received the meaning given is prominent ; e.g. to red up a room," "to red out one's hair" (reddin' comb, from Ohio, as a coarse comb ; if the word were rid^ it would probably be a fine comb). [See De Vere.]
roast'n ear : green corn, whether on the cob or not ; may be in tin cans. West Fla.
rock (v. t.) : to throw stones at. Ottawa, Kan.
roundabout: boy's jacket reaching only to the waist. Terre Haute, Ind.
roundhead : a Swede. Northwest.
roundup: to collect, bring together (ranchmen's term). Used of children in an Indian agency school.
rubber neck : word of teasing repeated several times by one child to another whom he has duped (as on April Fool's Day). Windsor, Ont.
rue: throw. (Locality not given.) " Rue me that ball."
runagate : woman • who neglects her household affairs to go gossiping about the neighborhood. Terre Haute, Ind.
rusticrat: summer visitor of the richer class. Mt. Desert, Me. ; Del.
rustle (a): to be active = hustle ; (&) to steal. Bustler, (n.) to both meanings. West.
sammy: soft. Leather soaked till soft enough to make into soles is sammy. Essex Co., N. Y. [v. Cent. Diet.]
scads : a large quantity. " He has scads of money." Mo.
scaly: shabby. " A scaly trick. " West.
scandalous : for terrible, awful. Quoted as remark of some one at sight of a large building destroyed by the wind. Southport, N. C.
scoom : pret. of skim. S. Yarmouth, Mass.
scrope : pret. of scrape. N. Y. City.
seep : to soak, trickle through, percolate. Locality ?
sense (v. ) : to understand. Patchogue, L. I.
session: a great quantity. "A session o' fish in that river." "N." Ga. coast.
shack (n.) : house occupied by a number of negro laborers, each of whom cooks for himself ; a negro " bachelor's hall " ; (v.) to live in a shack or keep bachelor's hall in general. "They sent away their wives and s/iac^•ec^ for a time." West Fla.
shats : dry pine leaves or needles. Worcester Co., Md.
shim : small, flat, wedge-shaped stones used in levelling up a sill on a wall. Petersham, Mass.
shimmy {i.e. chemise). How widely is this N. E. word known ?
shoetickle: in phrase "I don't care a shoetickle " = I don't care at all. Ky.
sight: amount; large amount. "Done him a sight o' good." Me., Mass., Conn., N. Y.
394 DIALECT NOTES.
sightly : a place is sightly which affords a fine view (from the place, not of the place from elsewhere). Mass., Conn.
simball: one of the varieties of doughnut (q.v. above). Mass. s. e.
shakes: (a) split timbers for roofing. West. (&) chills and fever. Ottawa, Kan.
slack-twisted : mentally weak, shiftless. Ky., W. Va., Ind.
slarty : very sticky. Conn.
slicker : mackintosh, waterproof overcoat. Col.
slip pin' : sleighing. "The sZippm's pretty good." Gardner, Mass.
smit: to crock, rub off (of dye-stuff). N. E.
smitch : very small quantity. Otsego Co., N. Y.
sniptious : smart, "perky," forward (cf. G. schnippisch). N. Y. w. [" Western " De Vere.]
so it is : phrase employed for emphasis. " It is good weather for corn, 80 it IS." Springdale, Fa.
sot upon himself : conceited. West.
souse : the following meanings are reported : (1) Pigs' feet pickled or soused in brine [Cent. Diet.]. (2) Pigs' ears and other parts as well as feet (in Conn, it includes feet, ears, snout, and tail) either pickled or eaten fresh. Hence, (3) slang for ears in general (p. 383). (4) The parts of the pig included in (2) and perhaps others, chopped or ground and potted; other- wise known as "head cheese." [Full reports solicited.]
spignet: for spikenard. Otsego Co., N. Y.
sposh : slush ; soft snow mixed with water in thawing weather. Mo.
squail (v. t.) to throw stones at. Marblehead, Mass. [v. Cent. Diet., s.v.]
squaw-man : white man married to a squaw. West.
steps : in phrase " to go up steps " = up stairs. Worcester Co., Md.
stepping : stair carpeting. Worcester Co., Md.
stiff : proud. Springdale, Pa.
stodge : to muss or mix up. Ind.
stock-male : a bull. S. C.
strand (of thread) : needleful. Worcester Co., Md.
sty-baked : having the habit of staying at home. Monmouth Co., N. J.
suink : pron. for something. Patchogue, L. I.
swag : depression in the ground. Mo.
tabby-cat : (a) female cat. (6) cat of yellow or yellow-striped color, (c) general word like pussy-cat, with no special significance. All heard in Conn, and N. Y. [v. Cent. Diet.]
tacky : sticky (e.g. glue or paste). N. Y.
taddy : tip-cat (game). Georgetown, D. C.
tan toaster : severe storm. N. H.
tarve : to turn (trans, and intrans.) to the right or left. " My road tarves off to the eastward." Staten Island.
thank-you-ma'am : see under breaker (p. 385).
the year : for this year. Springdale, Pa.
toinato : plur. tomattusses. Springdale, Pa. ; mai'tisses, Winchester, Ky.
tote : (in arithmetic) " tote one to the next column." Ottawa, Kan.
tote-team : team used in hauling. Me. woods. [There seems to be a
WORD-LISTS 395
general use of the word tote among the Maine lumbermen, in the sense of haul (with team). This was unknown to the editing committee when the 1894 circular was printed (318), but has been sent in since by several cor- respondents.]
town ball . boys' game. Terre Haute, Ind.
tow-tail (to tel): a coarse kind of cloth. Chicopee, Mass.
trash-basket : waste-paper basket. N. Y. City.
trick : a small object or chattel. " Give me a sack to tote my tricks in." West Fla. [Cent. Diet., trick, 9.]
trunimel . round tin box used for cake or bread. (From the Dutch.) Staten Island.
tuckered out: very tired. Mass., Conn., Ind.
turkle: for turtle. Conn, w., N. Y. w., Tenn. ["N. Y. and N. E/' Bartlett. ]
turn in -. in phrase '^turn in to do a thing " = set about doing it. Terre Haute, Ind.
tyke : a term of reproach applied to an ugly or noisy child. Me.
unhitch : unharness. New Bedford, Mass.
unthoughtedly : thoughtlessly. South.
wear out. to chastise. A father says of his son, "If he doesn't come home soon I'll wear him out with a strap when he does come." West Fla.
weeny: of boards or timbers, not of full width throughout because the saw in cutting ran out into the bark. Conn.
weewary : " When calico is torn, the torn edge is called weewaryy New Bedford, Mass.
woods colt : foundling. Winchester, Ky.
work : knead (in making bread). Worcester Co., Md.
wudge, wudget : a little bunch. New Bedford, Mass.
wung out : for wing-and-wing, of a schooner before the wind. N. Y. watermen. [Winged out in same sense in Me. — E. S. S.]
yearling : the young of a cow. Applied indiscriminately whether the ani- mal be two days old or three years. " His cow gave birth to a fine yearling last week." West Fla.
General List B.
This list is the result of the work of the branch circle at Cornell University, under the supervision of Professor Emerson, who writes : " The copy was prepared under my direction by Mr. B. S. Monroe, after the model of similar lists in previous issues of the Notes. All these words are additions to any pre- vious list in the Notes. The New England usages are given on the authority of Prof. B. I. Wheeler."
adopt : for adapt.
anty-over {centi) : sometimes anty-anty-over, and antny-over: the game described as "haily-over" (341). Cf. anthony-over in Eggleston, Hoosier
S96 DIALECT NOTES.
School Boy, pp. 41, 49. 111. n., n. w. ; la. ; Mich. ; Ottawa, Kan. ; Minn, s. e. ; N. Y. c, s. w. ; N. J. [In De Vere.]
bach (baetf) : a bachelor. " He's an old hack.'''' Also as verb, to hack it = to live as a bachelor. N. Y. c, la.
bachelor-girl : a maiden lady. N. Y. c, la.
back (v.): to address; used of an envelope. 111. n. e., la. [" Western," Bartlett ; but reported from West Fla. [See p. 384.]
ballyhack (bcelihcBk) : to knock anything to ballyhack is utterly to ruin it. " He knocked the plate all to ballyhack.''^ [See Bartlett, s.v.] N. Y. c.
banter : to haggle at a price. [Locality ?]
barsdovvn : the same as sic-a-nine-ten, q.v.
bell weather : leader. A recent advertisement in a Seneca Co., N. Y., paper reads: "Each department is A No. 1 in size and quality, and a bell weather in price."
belly-flop, belly-flopper : an attempt at diving which results in striking the water on the stomach. 111. n. w., N. Y. c, s.
best bib and tucker : one's very best ; used of clothing. " She was dressed in her best bib and tucker.'''' 111. n., n. w., la., Minn. s. e., N. E,, N. Y. c, s. w.
bift : to hit, strike ; evidently the same as bif, pp. 72, 214. N. Y. s. e.
bub: a boy ; corresponding masc. of "sis"; not restricted to vocative case as reported (340). [I know it only as a vocative in Me. — E. S. S. In Conn, it is sometimes used as a sort of title for the boy of the family, some- times clinging to an only son after he is grown up ; in this sense it may appear in other cases, but never as a mere common noun. — E. H. B.] 111. n., n. w., Mich. s. e., Minn. s. e., N. E., N. Y. c, s. w.
bull plow : large wooden plough used with oxen. N, Y. c.
bull rake : very heavy hand rake. N. Y. c. [Buck rake, Mass. e.]
bush (buf) : commonly in participial form bushed = whipped, tired out, said of one who gives up work from fatigue. "She was completely bushed.''^ N. Y. c, la.
catchy (ketfi) : impatient, irritable. N. Y. c.
change off: to move household goods. N. Y. c.
chip in : to stand one's share of expense when several have united to buy something. "We chipped in and bought some grapes." N. Y. c, la. [Me., Mass., Conn.]
clout (klaut) : to strike. N. Y. c. [Cf. p. 378.]
coal hod, coal scuttle. In the stove and hardware trade coal hod is universal, and this form is more common in cities ; in the usage of country families in central N. Y. coal scuttle seems to predominate.
conjure up (kDndjer) : to contrive. N. Y. c.
count out : to determine before commencing a game, with the aid of a counting-out rhyme, who is to be " it." Me., N. Y. c, la.
crawly root : folk-etymology for coral root. N. Y. c.
dingswlzzled {diqswizdld) : expression of surprise, consternation, etc. A person who is at a loss how to act says, " I'll be dingswizzledy N. Y. s. e.
fifth calf: same as Jifth wheel. N. E.
WOBD-LISTS. 397
first off: adverbial expression = at first. "I was there first o#." N. Y. s. e.
flowerist: iorflonst by folk-etymology. N. Y. c.
fore-handed: energetic. N. Y. c. [Common in N. E., but in different sense = having money laid by. See Bartlett s.v.]
gin: for gave. " He gin me four dollars." Mass., Conn., N. Y. c.
go large : to live extravagantly. N. Y. c.
grand daddy long legs: the "daddy long legs" of Webster; more common than this shorter form. 111. n., n. w., la., Minn. s. e., N. Y. c. [Cf. Cent. Diet.]
granary : often pron. grenari ; esp. common among farmers. Mass. , Conn., N. Y. c, la.
granther {groenpdr) : frequently used by old people for grandfather. K Y. c.
gulf: a small gorge or ravine, usually narrow and having steep sides. N. Y. c, e., n.
half acre : when the score of one side in a game is half that of the other, a common remark of encouragement is " a half acre raises good corn if it's hoed well"; often merely the phrase half acre is used alone. N. Y. c.
hard tack : silver money, especially dollars. N. Y. c.
hike (haik) : (v.) 1. of balls, to chase. [Cf. shag, below.]
2. of balls, to throw up in the air. " Hike it up."
3. to hitch ; as reported (61, 331).
4. to hasten. Pa.
hinny Qiini) : the game of leap-frog. N. Y. c.
hoax : often pron. ho-seks. N. Y. c.
home free : in hi-spy and similar games a player is said to be home free when he "touches the gool " before it is touched by the person who is "it" ; if the one who is "it" finds a player and calls him by another player's name, both those players are home free. N. Y. c, s. e.
horn swaggled (swagdld) or swuggled {sicogdld) : equivalent to ding- swizzled, q.v.
huffy {hvfi) : angiy. " Don't get huffy:'' Also as a noun. " He was aW in a huffy."
in free : same as home free, q.v.
I swan (sw^n) : exclamation of surprise. N. Y. c, n., s. w. " I'll be swanned.'' 111., la., Ind. [Cf. I swanny in Ernest Ingersoll, " Ice Queen," p. 245.]
I tebar (prob. debar, though the t sound is unmistakable) : in children's games when one wishes to withdraw temporarily, in order to avoid being caught, he says, " /«e6ar." N. Y. c. [Cf. King's ex. (66, 236).] " jell: jelly; not familiar as a verb. 111. n. w., Minn. s. e., N. Y. c, s. w. [Cf. pp. 22, 59, 78, 236.] As verb also, la.
Jeswax: (djizwceks) : an oath. "Jesw^aa;," " By Jestcax," "Holy Jeswax,"" etc. Sometimes " Jeswax Christmas." N. Y. c.
jour-work (djer-) : work done by a journeyman. N. Y. c.
kahang (kcBhcet)), kachunk (-tfvnk), kaflap {-flcEp), kaflop {-flap), kaslam (ce), kaslap (ce), kasmash {(£), kawhack (hwizk) ; first syllable
398 DIALECT NOTES.
very short, almost = ka ; first syllable sometimes ker : severely, violently, vehemently. " He shut the door kahang.'''' " He was struck kaiohack in the face." " The glass was broken kasmash.'''' N. Y. c, s. e., la.
king. A common game among boys is known variously as king and king calico (N. Y. c), pom-pom-pealaway (111., N. Y.), pom-pom-pull-away (Iowa, Minn., N. Y.), dixie (N. Y. e.), blackman (111., Iowa, Penn.), dare bast (der best) (N. Y. s. e.), king kangalo {kcerjgelo) (N. Y. n. e.).
kitron-ways (kitran) : kitty-cornered. Cayuga Co., N. Y,
licklty-switch : very rapidly, at full speed ; same as lickity-split, p. 236. N. Y. c.
lock-eye : the game of hide-and-seek. N. Y. c.
lop-lolly (laplali) : careless, slouchy ; used of one's gait and dress. " Mrs. W. is a lop-lolly creature." N. Y. c. [Cf. Cent. Diet, lob-lolly.]
louse-cage : common among schoolboys for hat. 111. n. w., la,, N. E., N. Y. c.
lumber-heels ; a lout, a lazy, ungainly fellow. N. Y. c, s. e.
mad : persons when very angry are said to be " madder than hops." N. Y. c, s. e. Also " madder'' n a rope." N. Y. c. [Hoppin^ mad., N. E.]
mib : a marble ; the game is called " playing mibs,'' or more often simply mibs ; no other term is used in Itliaca. Mich. s. e., N. Y. c.
migs : marbles. King's Co., N. Y.
mog {mag) : to walk. " We mogged along slowly." N. Y. c, s. e. [Cf. Cent. Diet.]
mourners to the front : this phrase is used when one who has been de- feated in a game of any kind is given the first play or chance in the next game.
mumblety peg {mumblti) and mummelty peg (mumlti): a game played with knives. [Cf. mumble the peg in Bartlett.] 111. n., n. w., la., Minn, s. e., N. Y. c, s. w. [mubblety-peg. Conn.]
mummick (mumik) : to soil, as one's clothing. Pa.
mummock (mumvk) : a lummox. N. Y. c.
nigger : for niggard. By folk-etymology. Ithaca.
no fair : an expression used 6t an act committed by a player contrary to the rules of a game. [Cf. King, p. 61.] Mass., N. Y. c, la.
our beauties : folk-etymology for arbutus. Tompkins Co., N. Y.
oust : pron. oust, is reported from Clinton Co., N. Y.
over the bay : drunk. " He was a little over the bay last night." Minn. s. e., N. Y. c.
peth (pe/f) : for pith. N. Y. c. Romulus, in the centre of Seneca Co., is sometimes called by schoolboys the " city of peth.^'
polly-boo (palibu) : when small boys in the streets attach their hand- sleds to cutters or other sleighs drawn by horses, it is called polly-boo. N. Y. n.
pooster about (pUstdr) : one who gets up in the night and walks around the house is said to pooster about.
prison goal, prison gool, prison base, prisoner's base : all these names of the game are more or less common in central N. Y. Warren's '' Class-word Speller," p. 06, ha,s prison base.
WOED-LISTS. 399
Putnam : pron. putndm and pvtndm.
raise Cain: to "carry on" to have a "high old time." 111. n., n. w., la., Minn. s. e., N. Y. c, s. e., s. w. Also in same sense raise Ned. 111. n., n. w., Minn. s. e., N. E., N. Y, c, s. e., s. w. Raise the Old Hairy. Minn, s. e., N. E., N. Y. c, s. w. Baise the Old Nick. 111. n., n. w., Minn. s. e., N. E., N. Y. c, s. w. [Cf. sand, p. 281.] [See randy, p. 380.]
red caps, black caps : red raspberries, black. N. Y. c. IBaspberries means in Mass. only the red ; the black are thimhleherries.']
riffs : people of the slums, the riff-raff. N. Y. c.
rip tail snorter : one who attracts much attention, who creates a sensa- tion. " He's an old rip tail snorter.'''^ N. Y. c, la.
road-beat : part of the highway under the control of a single path-mas- ter. N. Y. e., s. e., Canada.
rumble (rumhl) : to count out. N. Y. e.
scamuljugated {skam : vldjiig • etdd) : said of two persons who are very fond of each other, who are "struck on" each other; not used of a single person. "John and Jane seem quite scamuljugated.'''' N. Y. n. w.
scythe stick : for scythe snath. N. Y. c.
seeiu' as {sian dz), also "seein' as how." " Seeiii' as how it's you, I'll do so-and-so." 111. n. w., Minn. s. e., N. Y. c.
shag {foeg) : of balls, to chase. Ithaca. [Cf. hike above.] Also in the general sense of carry. '* He shagged a gun during drill." N. Y. c, w. [In form shack common in N. E. and N. Y. City. Students at Harvard gomg out to play tennis used to be followed by the street Arabs ("muckers" in the Harvard slang) crying " Want a shack, mister ? " Also used humorously in other ways, as of hunting up a person. ]
shake : to jilt. " She shook him." Also in phrase "She gave him the shake.''"' Mass., N. Y. c, s. e.
sheep pen, sheep yard : same as sic-a-nine-ten, q.v.
she quoit {fi kwet) : a quoit that is pitched with the concave side up, the object being to lift or remove the opponent's quoit from its position at or near the ' ' hub " ; used especially to remove an opponent's " ringer. " N. Y. c.
shillalah (fileli) : a whip of any kind, a "gad" ; in Century. N. Y. c.
shilling : still frequently heard in central N. Y. for twelve and one-half cents ; a quarter eagle is almost invariably spoken of as a " twenty shilling gold piece." (342.)
shock (fak) : one's hat and coat, one's wraps or " things." " I hung my shock here." Ithaca.
sic-a-nine-ten : an outdoor game very similar to hi-spy, but somewhat more complicated. A stick is used as a "gool" ; if a player not previously "caught" throws the stick, all who have been "caught" are said to be "home free" and may hide again. The one who is "it" then returns the stick to its place and proceeds again to " catch " those hiding. The game is also known as sheep pen, sheep yard, and bars down. N. Y. c.
slap-dab (sleep dceb) : violently or awkwardly. " He rushed in slapdab and broke things." N. Y. c, s. w.
slip : in phrase " to give one the sZip," i.e. to^jilt one. N. Y. c, s. e.
snag (snoeg) : to steal. N. Y. c.
400 DIALECT NOTES.
snag (snceg) : a great quantity, common in sing, and plur. " A snag of hooks," ''^ snags of fun." N. Y. c.
snips : shears ; tinners and hardware dealers generally say " tin snips.''* 111. n. w., N. Y. c.
snot-rag; a handkerchief ; common among schoolboys. 111. n. w., la., N. E., N. Y. c, s. w.
snucks (snvks) ; for the snacks of Webster. "They went snucks and bought candy." N. E., N. Y. c.
souse (sauz) : noun and verb ; a bath, to bathe. " I'll go and souse,''* or, " take a souse.'''' 111. n. w., Minn. s. e., N. Y. c.
stunt (stvnt) : one of those convenient words which may be used in almost any connection and the exact meaning of which must be determined largely by the context ; in general it is synonymous with "thing" and may be used as variously. " It would be a great stunt to go to a dance without a girl" (i.e. an unpleasant thing to do). "He performed vari(ius stunts for the prof." (i.e. did things that would win him the professor's favor, give him a "pull"). "To do a, stunt ^'' (=to do something) is very common. The word properly belongs with student slang. Ithaca. [Doing stunts is used in N. Y. City by boys in the sense of performing some feat in rivalry, — a long jump for instance, — one boy " stumping" or challenging another.]
sweat : in phrase " to be in a great sweat ''^ = to be in a hurry. N. Y. c, s. e., la.
toad stabber : boy's terra for jack-knife. [Cf. frog sticker, p. 230.] 111. n., n. w., la., N. E., N. Y. c, s. w.
train : to be a little wild. " He trains in a fast set." N. E., N. Y. c, s. w.
trun (trmi) : to pass anything at table. " Trun over the butter." [This is a new word, but becoming very common apparently in N. E. s. and N. Y. City. It seems to be a mongrel formation from trudge and run ; is heard generally as intrans. (" Trun along "), but also trans. (" trun out the baby "), etc. There are certainly reports enough to warrant a more general definition than the above.]
vengeance : " to do a thing with a vengeance " is to leave it entirely un- done, la., 111. n., Minn. s. e., N. E., N. Y. c. [Known to both of us in N. E. in the sense of " with a will," or "with a vim." The sense reported is evi- dently an ironical use, which we have also heard. — E. S. S., E. H. B.]
walk turkey : same as walk Spanish in N. E. [Cf . p. 63 s.v. wheelbar- row.] N. Y. c, s. w., la.
yang (yceq) : in phrase "to be in a great yang** = to be in a hurry. N. Y. s. e.
THE ANNUAL MEETING, 401
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY.
The annual meeting for 1894 was held at the University of Pennsylvania, December 29, at 9 a.m. Owing to the early hour, there was a very small attendance, and the proceedings were con- fined to the routine business of the Society. The usual commit- tees were appointed: to audit the Treasurer's accounts. Prof. 0. F. Emerson, Mr. C. H. Grandgent; to nominate officers for 1895, Professors A. M. Elliott, J. W. Bright, H. A. Todd.
The Secretary, after reading the report printed below, which was approved, reported that the large amount of manuscript material on hand could be made available for publication by entering it on some system of cards, and that there was money enough in the treasury to pay for some clerical work for the purpose. After some discussion, it was moved by Professor Bright that the Secretary and Treasurer be authorized to act as a committee with power to spend for clerical work any money in the treasury above the regular publication expenses. The motion was carried.
A proposed amendment to the constitution, providing for life memberships, was discussed, and the following notice to the Secretary (in pursuance of Article VII. of the constitution) was drawn up by the President, and signed by the members present : —
"The undersigned propose an amendment to the following effect, to be added to the constitution of the American Dialect Society: ^Any person may become a life member by paying to the Treasurer at one time the sum of twenty-five dollars. Such members shall have during life the same privileges as annual members.' "
The committee to audit the Treasurer's accounts reported the accounts correct, and on motion the report was accepted. The committee to nominate officers reported the following list of offi- cers for 1895, and, after their election, the meeting adjourned : —
President, Edward S. Sheldon, Cambridge, Mass. ; Vice-Presi- dent, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass. ; Secretary, Eugene H. Babbitt, New York City ; Treasurer, Lewis F. Mott, New York City; Editing Committee, the Secretary, George Hempl, Ann
402 DIALECT NOTES.
Arbor, Mich., and Oliver F. Emerson, Ithaca, N. Y. ; Executive Committee, the above officers and M. D. Learned, Baltimore, Md., J. P. Fruit, Russellville, Ky., and Charles W. Kent, Charlottes- ville Va.
Secretary's Report for 1894.
The active work of the Society for this year began with the publication of Part VII. of Dialect Notes. It was intended to have this out early in the summer, but on account of delay in the receipt of some of the manuscript, it did not appear till October. The members have received this number, and are familiar with its contents, and with the idea of the circular of information issued, and the method proposed for distributing it. It is hoped that the Society is now entering upon a second period of its work, in which emphasis must be laid upon the collection of material from as many and as diverse sources as possible. To this end every effort seems desirable to increase our membership and bring our work to the notice of those who can and will cooperate. We have accordingly made various efforts to get into print ; we have sent Part VII. for review to periodicals, and taken every opportunity to use the newspapers. The results have been very satisfactory. The Secretary has answered over 200 com- munications arising from newspaper notices. The membership, which was 148 last year (the number printed includes a large class of Professor HempPs students, who joined for one year to get the publications, and did not continue) has been increased to 197 by accessions since November 1. Some of the new members are taking a very active interest in the work, contributing valu- able material, and inducing others to join. Material has also been sent in to the Secretary by non-members, and the news- papers have often published collections sent in to them in conse- quence of their articles relating to the Society. From the matter in hand it would be easy to select 200 new titles, not published so far in the Notes, which would be of interest and value at once for further investigation.
One result of our newspaper work has been to bring an in- creased call for copies of the Notes. Attention is called to the large item from that source in the Treasurer's receipts. It has seemed best to set the uniform price of one dollar a number to non-members, and forty cents to members, for all issues so far, including Part VII. j, jj babbitt, Secretary.
I
f
THE ANNUAL MEETING, 403
Treasurer's Eeport for 1894. From December 29, 1893, to December 29, 1894.
Receipts.
Cash on hand, Dec. 29, 1893 $108 41
Dues for 1893 44 00
Dues for 1894 171 00
Dues for 1895 6 00
Dues for 1896-98 3 00
Voluntary contribution 50
Sale of publications 52 20
Total ^385 11
Expenditures.
Printing Dialect Notes, Part VI (1893) ^132 76
Printing bills and notices 6 00
Postage 18 17
Expressage 3 75
Printing Dialect Notes, Part VII (1894) 135 40
Cash on hand, Dec. 29, 1894 89 04
Total . $385 11
Lewis F. Mott, Treasurer.
404 DIALECT NOTES.
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MEMBERS, OCTOBER, 1895.
E. V. Abbot, 22 West 34th St., New York City.
F. D. Allen, 45 Brewster St., Cambridge, Mass. llobert Arrowsmith, 806 Broadway, New York City. Astor Library, New York City.
Lawrence Atterbury, 141 West 86th St., New York City. E. H. Babbitt, Columbia College, New York City.
G. C. Baker, Attorney General's Office, Albany, N. Y. O. M. Baker, 499 Main St., Springfield, Mass.
C. S. Baldwin, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. H. A. Bancroft, Albion, Mich.
A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., N. W., Washington, I). C. George Bendelari, 467a McDonoiigh St., Brooklyn, N. Y. C. E. Bennett, 7 South Ave., Ithaca, N. Y. Mrs. G. A. Bennett, 1121 Herkimer St., Brooklyn, N. Y. Birmingham Free Libraries, Birmingham, England. K. E. Blackwell, Kandolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va. C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.. H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y. W. T. Brewster, Columbia College, New York City. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. Bright, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
, Broughton, Jr., 2 East 15th St., New York City.
Brown, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
. Brown, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, O. G. H. Brown, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass. J. D. Bruner, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111. R. L. Brydges, Islip, L. I. Bryn Mawr College Library, Biyn Mawr, Pa. Miss E. M. Buckingham, 264 Ryerson St., Brooklyn, N. Y. Buffalo Library, Buffalo, N. Y. Mrs. H. T. Bulkely, Southport, Conn. W. E. Byerly, 39 Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. VV. Campbell, 63 Jay St., Albany, N. Y.
G. R. Carpenter, Columbia College, New York City. W. H. Carruth, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
F. R. Chalmers, 44 Broadway, New York City.
A. F. Chamberlain, Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
Miss E. Chase, Cumberland, Me.
F. J. Child, 67 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass.
T. M. Coan, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City.
Miss K. Coggeshall, 102 East 57th St., New York City.
Adolphe Cohn, Columbia College, New York City.
Herman Collitz, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
A. S. Cook, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Miss L. G. Cook, Hotel Aberdeen, New York City.
Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N. Y.
C. L. Crow, 65 Boush St., Norfolk, Va.
Alexander Cuniming, Grove City, Pa.
A. N. van Daell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.
M. G. Daniell, Chauncy Hall School, Boston, Mass.
A. M. Davis, 10 Appleton St., Cambridge, Mass.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 405
H. Davis, 1800 Broadway, San Francisco, Cal.
Miss J. L. Delafield, 475 Fiftii Ave., New York City.
Mrs. C. S. De Motte, 77 North Franklin St., Valparaiso, Ind.
F. B. Denio, 1()8 Hammond St., Bangor, Me. Mrs. F. A. Denison, Deep Kiver, Conn. Detroit' Public Library, Detroit, Mich.
W. S. Douglas, 20 Clinton St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
M. J. Drennan, 42 West 17th St., New York City.
Patterson Dubois, 1031 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.
W. A. Dunning, Columbia College, New York City.
M. L. Earle, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
M. W. Easton, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
W. A. Eckels, Ripon, Wis.
H. A. Edson, Scottsville, N. Y.
H. W. Egner, Jr., 1015 Broad St., Newark, N. J.
A. M. Elliott, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
G. M. Elwood, P. O. Box 124, Rochester, N. Y. O. F. Emerson, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Ephraim Emerton, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass. W. T. Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. A. Fay, National Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green, D. C.
W. P. Few, 24 Read's Block, Cambridge, Mass.
J. D. Fitz-Gerald, 57 Liberty St., Newark, N. J.
Thomas Flint, 241 Cumberland St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
R. C. Ford, Albion, Mich.
Alc6e Fortier, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
A. R. Frey, 499 Vernon Ave., Long Island City, N. Y.
J. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
J. M. Garnett, P. 0. Box 17, Charlottesville, Va.
J. Geddes, Jr., Boston University, Boston, Mass.
S. B. Gilhuly, Flemington, N. J.
N. Gordon, Exeter, N. H.
C. H. Grandgent, 7 Walker St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. A. Greene, 70 West St., New York City.
H. E. Greene, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Mrs. T. E Greene, 201 West 88th St., New York City.
J. B. Greenough, 13 Brewster St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. S. Griffing, University Club, Chicago, 111. N. Guilford, 102 Park Ave., Yonkers, N. Y.
F. B. Gummere, Haverford College, Haverford, Pa. Philip Hale, Boston Journal, Boston, Mass.
W. G. Hale, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
E. W. Hall, Colby University, Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England. William Hallock, Columbia College, New York City. Alexander Hamilton, 57 Harbord St., Toronto, Canada. W. H. Harper, 5657 Washington Ave., Chicago, 111. Charles Harris, Adelbert College, Cleveland, 0.
J. B. Harrison, Franklin Falls, N. H.
A. B. Hart, 15 Appian Way, Cambridge, Mass.
C. E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J. J. M. Hart, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Silvanus Hayward, Globe Village, Mass.
D. C. Heath, 110 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Mrs. L. R. Heller, 115 East 32d St., New York City. George Hempl, Ann Arbor, Mich.
J. B. Henneman, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. W. A. Hervey, Rossville, Richmond Co., N. Y.
E. W. Hooper, 50 State St., Boston, Mass.
406 DIALECT NOTES.
Mrs. J. C. Houghton, 1228 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. Miss E. M. Hussey, 1 Irving Court, New Bedford, Mass. O. B. Ireland, Springfield, Mass.
A. V. W. Jackson, 10 Highland PL, Yonkers, N. Y.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 9 Walker St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Johnson, Brunswick, Me.
Kossiter Johnson, 1 Bond St., New York City.
H. P. Johnston, College of the City of New York, New York City.
Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kan.
Miss S. W. Keeler, 67 West 48th St., New York City.
C. W. Kent, Charlottesville, Va.
P. O. Keow, 5827 Kimbark Ave., Chicago, 111.
C. G. Kidder, 34 Nassau St., New York City.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. M. Lambertson, St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H.
W. J. Lampton, 1415 G St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
C. R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. M. Lea, 306 Vine St., Nashville, Tenn.
M. D. Learned, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
F. B. Lee, P. 0. Box 499, Trenton, N. J.
C. McK. Leoser, Larchmont Manor, N. Y.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston University, Boston, Mass. Miss K. P. Loring, 22 Congress St., Boston, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. N. G. McCrea, Columbia College. New York City. J. McDuflie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass.
G. E. MacLean, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
J. J. McNulty, College of the City of New York, New York City. J. M. Manly, Brown University, Providence, R. I. Miss Helen Mansfield, 6 Franklin Sq., Gloucester, Mass.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.
P. B. Marcou, 42 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
G. M. Marshall, 41 East 8th St., Portsmouth, O.
I). S. Martin, Rutgers Female College, New York City.
J. W. Mason, College of the City of New York, New York City.
W. T. Mason, 37 West 48th St., New York City.
Mrs. C. Massick, Cotton Exchange, New York City.
Albert Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
Brander Matthews, Columbia College, New York City.
J. E. Matzke, Leland Stanford University, Palo Alto, Cal.
R. E. Mayne, Hotel Netherland, New York City.
W. E. Mead, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
Mercantile Library, Philadelpliia, Pa.
William Milwitzky, Columbia College, New York City.
T. C. Mitchill, 133 West 48th St., New York City.
S. P. Molenaer, Stamford, Conn.
J. B. Moore, Columbia College, New York City.
P. J. Mosenthal, 44-48 Cedar St., New York City.
L. F. Mott, 367 West 19th St., New York City.
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. F. P. Nash, Geneva, N. Y.
J. G. Neeser, 2 West 33d St., New York City.
W. W. Newell, 175 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
New York Historical Society, 170 Second Ave., New York City.
New York State Library, Albany, N. Y.
F. W. Nicolson, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
G. C. D. Odell, Newburgh, N. Y. F. L. Palmer. Walla Walla, Wash.
LIST OF MEMBEES. 407
James Parker & Co., 27 Broad St., Oxford, England.
W. W. Pasko, Caldwell, N. J.
J. M. Paton, 2 Riedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass.
Mrs. R. G. Patrick, Maysville, Ky.
J. "W. Pearce, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
H. T. Peck, Columbia College, New York City.
J. H. Penniman, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
J. W. Perkins, 12th and Washington Sts., St. Louis, Mo.
M. L. Perrin, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
T. S. Perry, 312 Marlboro' St., Boston, Mass.
Philological Association, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
Mrs. Nevin Ponieroy, 308 East Market St , Chambersburg. Pa.
S. Porter, National Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green, D. C.
Mrs. G. R. Preston, 180 West 59th St., New York City.
T. R. Price, Columbia College, New York City.
Sylvester Primer, University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
H. A. Rademacher, East Walpole, Mass.
A. Rambeau, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. C. F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.
G. M. Richardson, University of California, Berkeley, Cal.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
Miss Isabelle Rutty, 40 Clinton PI., New York City.
St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.
H. Schmidt- Wartenburg, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
Mrs. C. C. Scott, Arkadelphia, Ark.
C. P. G. Scott, Radnor, Pa.
T. D. Seymour, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
H. A. Shands, Georgetown, Tex.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 North Common St., Lynn, Mass.
E. S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. R. Sim, College of the City of New York, New York City.
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
W. S. Slocum, 144 Essex St., Boston, Mass.
Mrs. A. T. Slosson, 38 East 23d St., New York City.
H. H. M. Smee, Fort Rice, N. D.
C. F. Smith, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenu.
C. L. Smith, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass.
Mrs. E. L. Smith, Phenix, R. I.
J. H. Smith, Ginn & Co., Tremont PI., Boston, Mass.
H. W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr University, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, Ames Building, Boston, Mass.
J. E. Souers, Hotel Netherland, New York City.
F. S. Southwick, Carnegie Music Hall, New York City.
E. Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H. W. O. Sproull, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, O.
J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Canada.
Miss K. J. Stagg, 30 West 61st St., New York City.
B. J. Stevens, 4 Trafalgar Sq., London, England.
F. H. Stoddard, University of the City of New York, New York City. Strassburg Kaiserl. Universitats- u. Landesbibliothek, Strassburg 1. E.,
Germany. Henry Sweet, 38 Norham Road, Oxford, England. Mrs. J. O. Tansley, 28 West 43d St., New York City. J. H. Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. Calvin Thomas, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. E. G. Thurber, 96 Fifth Ave., New York City. R. G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis. H. A. Todd, Columbia College, New York City. Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Canada.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass.
408 DIALECT NOTES.
E. E. Trcffrey, 310 West 128th St., New York City. T. C. Trueblood, 88 Hill St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
G. M. Tucker, P. O. Box 74, Albany, N. Y.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H.
W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N. B.
University of Missouri Library, Columbia, Mo.
University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, Pa.
G. K. Van de Water, 7 West 122d St., New York City.
Addison Van Name, Library of Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Mrs. J. K. Van Rensselaer, 40 East 29th St., New York City.
F. O. Virgin, 16 East 125th St., New York City.
E. L. Walter, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Adelbert College, Cleveland, Ohio. R. L. Weeks, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Mrs. J. G. Weld, 127 Madison Ave., New York City. E. E. Wentworth, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Adolph Werner, College of the City of New York, New York City.
B. I. Wheeler, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
A. C. White, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Mrs. C. A. Whitney, 120 East 34th St. , New York City. Talcott Williams, 331 South 10th St., Philadelphia, Pa. R. W. Wilson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
G. E. Woodberry, Columbia College, New York Cit>.
C. B. Woodruff, Columbus, Ga.
B. D. Woodward, Columbia College, New York City. Worcester Public Library, Worcester, Mass.
J. H. Wright, 20 Holworthy, Cambridge, Mass. Joseph Wright, 6 Norham Road, Oxford, England. G. H. Yeamans, 44 Wall St., New York City.
[Total, 258.]
DIALECT I^OTES.
PART IX.
IN GENERAL.
Our hoped-for increase in numbers is apparently waiting for the end of the " hard times." We are gaining, but very slowly. This is disappointing, for the three hundred dollars or so which we have each year on the present basis will not pay for all the printing and clerical work which we need in order to make the most of our present advantages. If we had a thousand members, the work could go on much more swimmingly. It ought to be an ever-present fact to every one of our active members that it is part of his duty to influence others to join whenever he has opportunity. Our life memberships offer also an excellent oppor- tunity for any one who can be convinced that our work is worthy of support to contribute a reasonable amount to that end.
We close Vol. I. with this part. The first part of Vol. II. we intend to devote to the collection of college slang which is now being made. There is some hope that this will be complete enough to warrant publication as a dictionary, and sell largely enough to bring us some of the money which we need. If we can publish such a dictionary, it will do much to bring and keep us before the public, and especially before the educated public, who must give us our active members and intelligent support.
We are "'twixt hay and grass" this year in the matter of collections. In Part VIII. we published everything which it seemed advisable to publish then, and also gave directions for more thorough revision of collections before they are sent to us. In consequence, many of our best collectors are waiting to com- plete and revise their material before sending it in. We are satisfied that much more and better work is being done, for three reasons : we hear of members and others who have never tried to collect at all before, who have now started note-books; others
409
410 DIALECT NOTES,
send lists "checked" as to usage in their district (several now return regularly their copies of Dialect Notes with remarks on each word. The Secretary will gladly supply duplicates to any who are willing to do this) ; and the few collections which have come in since the issue of Part VIII. are on an average in much better form than previous ones.
Some of our members who find opportunity to examine old documents or records from early times in the East are getting some valuable material from them. We would emphasize the advantage of noting at once, with full details, any instances of the kind. They may give the explanation of some later usage which would otherwise be inexplicable. The changes in form of proper names on the old records are extremely valuable material from the point of view of the phonetician as well as the historian.
The local circles are doing good work. All of them so far established are at universities, and their members go out to teach or otherwise take part in the intellectual life of the community, and so impart their enthusiasm to others. This is really the healthiest and most desirable line of growth possible. It gives us members with some experience in real scientific observation, who can help others in collecting and arranging their facts. It would be well if we had more local organizations, not only at the colleges, but wherever there is a small number of interested persons, with one or two who can take the lead in the work. It is in this direction that we advise effort for the next few years.
E. H. Babbitt, Secretary.
^i
WOBD-LIST. 411
WORD-LIST.
The majority of the words in this list were collected by the branch at Cornell University. Their material was prepared, under the supervision of Professor Emerson, by Mr. C. S. Northrup. With their list, which was revised by the Secretary with the aid of Bartlett, De Vere, and Farmer, as well as the larger dictionaries, was incorporated the new material from other sources which seemed worth publishing this time. Several good collections have been received which appear in part in the list ; among others from
Prof. C. L. Crow, Weatherford, Texas, and Kev. H. E. Zimmerman, Tannersville, Pa.
The same reservations have been made as last year (p. 368) in the selection of material for publication, except that a little more latitude has been given to the admission of words which must be regarded as slang pure and simple. This is an experiment, and it is hoped that the members will express their opinions freely as to its advisability.
Adirondack: often pron. edri-ondak. Lewis Co., Broome Co., Ontario Co., N. Y.
Aleck : " A smart Aleck,''^ one who thinks a great deal of himself. N. Y. c.
all : " You all " often means one person in N. C, Del., 111. " What you all doin' ? "
all evening : for all the evening. N. Y. s. e., 0. n. Likewise, all morn- ing^ for all the morning.
ally-ally : a term in marbles, equivalent to agate-agate. N. Y. c.
ally waiter : pop. etyra. for elevator. Myersville, Md.
angler-worm {ceygldic'^rm) : for angle-worm [Dialect Notes, p. 339]. N. Y. c.
apple-cabbage (= apple-peru, 384) : rhubarb, pie-plant. Me.
apple-grunt : a kind of apple dumpling. N. Y., c, n., Possibly of Ger- man origin.
arbutus (arb'iutus) (v.) : "To go arhutusing.'*^ Rochester, N. Y.
at : In " Where at you goin' ? " N. Y. c.
baby-buggy: same as BTitish perambulator. Wash, (state).
baby-carriage : same as British perambulator. N. Y.
baby-coach : same as baby-carriage. N. J.
baby-in-the-hole : the game of roly-poly, q.v. Tompkins Co., N. Y.
baft: number, quantity. "There was a great baft of people." Parker Co., Tex.
412 DIALECT NOTES,
baggages : plu. common in Orange, S. C.
bail-strap : in a working harness, the strap which attaches the collar to the neck-yoke. It is permanently fastened on one side of the collar, and being passed through a ring in the neck-yoke, is then snapped into a ring on the other side. A folk-etymology from Otsego Co., N. Y., connected it with the bail of a pail, supposing that wire was originally used. N. Y. c.
bait: specifically, the grass eaten by a horse when he is "baited." [Cf. Cent. Diet.] N. Y. n.
bakery : a travelling baker's cart. Elmira, N. Y.
balte-wagon : a travelling baker's cart. N. Y. c.
ball off: to treat. " He balled off his customers." N. Y. s. e.
band-wagon : a large wagon for transporting a musical band. N. Y. , O.
band-wagon: "Come off the hand-wag on^'^'' stop being fresh. N. Y. c, w. Also, "Get off the band-ivagon.''^ N. Y. n. e. "Don't monkey with the hand-wagon^'''' don't be too inquisitive (may have other meanings). N. Y. c, s. e,, w.
barker: " Poor Barkers," poor whites. Southern.
barvel: large leather apron worn by fishermen. ["Prov. Eng." Cent. Diet.] Marblehead, Mass.
beat done: to finish before (another person). "He beat me done.'''' Parker Co., Tex.
beatin's {hitinz) plu. : the advantage. " I got the beatin''s of him then."
beaut (&?/M«) : for beauty. " He'sa fteawf." Sometimes ironical. Mass. e., N. Y., 0. n., Mich. s. e.
befuddled : confused. " I get so befuddled I can't do a thing." Myers- ville, Md.
belling : a serenade, chivaree. N. Y. n., O. n.
belly-bunk (a.) : used by boys for coasting on sleds face downwards. N. Y. c, s. w. beUy-whack, Ontario Co., N. Y. belly-flop, 111. [Cf. Dialect Notes, pp. 60, 235, 340, 377.]
belt-line: a street car line which passes round a city. N. Y. w., s. e. [Century Magazine, Dec, 1894, p. 290.]
bend-a-bow : thin ice that bends when skated upon. N. H. bendy, Conn. [Cf, rubber-ice, below.]
ben nuggins {nmljinz) : a term in marbles. Ontario Co., N. Y.
binnacle : the flume of a mill stream, a mill race. N. Y. c.
bird*8-egging : "That's none of my hird's-egging,''^ that's none of my affair. "Go on with your bird's-egging,''^ go on with your story. N. Y. c, s. e.
bird's-nest : a fruit pudding, in which any kind of pudding fruit may be used. Also called apfel-kuchen. [Cf. croio'' s-nest, below.] N. Y. s. e., O. n.
biscuit: "That takes the biscuit,^'' that's very good. N. Y. c, O. n.
bislings (= beestings) : first milk after a cow has calved. Me. s.
black long-berries : blackberries (to distinguish them from black rasp- berries). N. Y. c. In N. Y. n. long blackberries is heard.
blasks : for blasts. Orangeburg, S. C.
Bloomfield, Ontario Co., N. Y., locally pron. brUm-.
blow (v.i.) : " To blow oneself," to spend money freely. N. Y. c, w., 0. n.
WORD-LIST. 413
boat-ride (v.) : for row. "Let's go boat-ridin\'" N. Y. c, n., s. e., s. w., O. n.
bobs : large double sleds with a box for the transportation of anything. N. Y. c, n., w., s. w., O. n. [Cf. Cent. Diet. s.v. bob-sled.^
bob-sled: a short, heavy sled for hauling logs. N. Y. c, n., w. In N. Y. w. also bob-sleigh. [Cf. Cent. Diet, and Dialect Notes, pp. 72, 214.]
bodaciously : bodily. " Picked her up bodaciously, and carried her off." N, C. s. w., Ky. e.
boke : the shape or curve of the breast of a coat (tailors). Ohio.
bone : " He boned me for a V." [Cp. Cent. Diet.] N. Y. s. e.
bone in: for bone, Otsego Co., N. Y.
bones: "Cold bones,"" dollars. N. Y. s. e.
boof (bvf) : scare, fright. " He got a boo/:' Parker Co., Tex. [600/ is given in Cent. Diet, as a Penn. German word for peach-brandy.]
booger (v. i.) : to shy, be frightened. "That horse boogers a little at pigs." [See etymologies of bug, bogy, etc., in dictionaries.] N. C. s. w.
boolis : school, school-time. " Is it books ? " " Has books taken up ? " = " Has school taken up {i.e. begun) ? " Parker Co., Tex.
borrow : to lend. " I'll borrovj the book to you." Batavia, N. Y.
box : "Christmas &ox," any Christmas gift. Can., and occasionally in N. Y. w. [Cf. Cent. Diet. s.v. 60a; 5.]
brealc : a rough, irregular piece of ground. Neb.
breeehman {britfmdn) : breech-band of harness. Frederick Co., Md.
brolce : terminated. " Church is broke " = service is over. N. C. s. w.
bucliboard: Place — Monroe Co., Pa. This word means a light, four- wheeled vehicle that has, in place of a body, a number of narrow elastic wooden slats on which a seat is placed with or without springs under it. If it has a top it is called a " covered buckboard." In Frederick Co. , Md., this word means the front running part of a vehicle with a broad, stout, elastic board fastened into it in such a way that the rear end of the board is some- what elevated. On this the driver sits and rests his feet on the axle, enabling him easily to mount or dismount. It is used almost entirely for breaking horses. The description of "buckboard" given above applies to a vehicle in Frederick Co., Md., called a "buck-wagon," and is used largely by butchers in hauling meat, calves, sheep, etc., around tlie country.
buckles (bvkiz) : buckboard herring. R. I.
buddy : intimate companion. " We were always great buddies together." Tannersville, Pa.
buffaloo: to confuse, "rattle." Parker Co., Tex.
bug out (v. t. and i.) : " His eyes hugged out, he bugged out his eyes," showing astonishment. N. Y. c, O. n.
build up to : court. Parker Co., Tex.
bull's foot: " He don't know a &MZrs/oo« from a broomstick," he doesn't know anything. N. Y. c. "He don't know a bee from a bulVs foot.''^ N. Y. w.
bumberell (bvmbdr'el) : for umbrella. N. Y. c, w.
bumbershoot {bmnbdrshUt) : for umbrella. " Put up your bumhershoot.^^ N. Y. c, n., s. e., w., 0. n.
414 DIALECT NOTES,
bun: "That takes the ftun," that's very good. N. Y. c. Also yanks the hun. [Of course a variant of "takes the cake " (Farmer).]
bung out : same as hug out, above. N. Y. c, n., w.
burn : to strike with a ball so as to put out, " patch." N. Y. c.
butler: " Poor butlers,'''' poor whites. Southern.
buzz: to flatter. Mass. e., N. Y. c, w., s. e.
calico : woman, lady. " Look at the calico comin ! " Parker Co., Tex. (At Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., the students use calic. "Are you going to take calic ? " = "Are you going with a young lady?")
call over the coals : for haul over the coals. N . Y. c. , s. e.
can (v. i.): to become candied, as of honey. Conn, w., N. Y. s. w.
carriage : for buggy. N. Y. c, w.
carriage-harness: a light harness for a roadster. N. Y. c, s. w.
cart wheel: " to turn a cart ivheel,'''' to turn a handspring on one hand, sidewise. Mass. e., N. Y. c, w., O. n.
cart wheel: silver dollar. 111. n. w., N. Y. c, w.
Castana nuts: for Brazil nuts. N. H., Mass. Cf. Latin name for chestnut, castanea vesca.
caster : a sled which has cast-iron shoes. Ithaca, N. Y.
cat : same as pussy, q.v. N. Y. s. e.
cat-a-cornered : for eater-cornered. N. Y. c. [Cf . pp. 6, 8, 78, 217, 236.]
catch: caught, pret., sometimes pron. kat. N. Y. c, s. e.
catch up with: discover, find guilty. "They caught up with him for burning the house." Fla. w.
chase : to frighten. " I happened to chase a rabbit from the brush heap as I came along." Pa. e., N. Y. s. w.
checker-berries : little red pepper candies. N. Y. c.
cheese: "That don't cut any cheese,''"' that has no weight. Ithaca, N. Y.
chippy : a young woman who is somewhat free or of questionable char- acter. Mass. e., Ithaca, New York City, N. Y., Hanover, N. H.
chiselly : unpleasant, disagreeable. N. Y. c, w., O. n., Mich. s. e.
chunk (v. t.): to throw, as a stone. I chunked a rock at him." N. C. Cf. chuck, V.
chunks : "To feed one chunks,'''' to flatter, guy. N. Y. c, Mich. s. e.
clarty (a.): sticky: said of soil that sticks to the plough. Otsego Co., N. Y. In Cent. Diet, marked Scotch.
clove : a narrow gap or valley, = notch in N. E. This word is used in the Catskills. De Vere is mistaken in giving the form cove for the Catskills. Cove is used in some varieties of English (given in the Standard Diet, with- out comment), but is not the same as the Catskill word, which is clearly the Dutch kloof.
coal oil : for kerosene. 111., O.
coda(k) {kvd-ek): for " Come, Dick " ? A call for cattle or sheep. Com- mon in Cayuga Co., St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. For sheep only, Otsego Co., N. Y. Also, conan (A:»n-osn), for " Come, Nan" ?
come again : for call again. N. Y. c, w. , O. n.
A
WORD-LIST. 415
come back again, right soon : for call again. Neb.
come down, come down on : to applaud with the feet. " They came down on him." Ithaca, N. Y.
connip (Jcon-ip): to laugh violently. N. Y. c.
conniption : also conniption fit : a violent fit of laughter. N. Y. n., O. n. [Cf. Dialect Notes, p. 341. See Farmer, s.v.]
copse : a small wood, not shrubbery. Pa. e.
cough up: to produce, as of money. "I coughed up a V." N. Y. c, s. e., Mich. s. e.
cracltajack : 1. A person of remarkable ability. Mich. s. e. In Ithaca, N. Y., applied especially to bicyclists. 2. Pressed pop-corn. N. Y. s. e.
cracky-wagon : a democrat wagon.
crawl: to take back a declaration. "I made him crawV Mass. e., N. Y. c, s. e., w., Mich. s. e.
crow's-nest : apple pudding. N. Y. c, n.
crumby (krvmi): same as tacky, q.v. N. Y. c.
cushion: usually pron, kwifan. Conn., N. Y. c. [Cf. pp. 17, 58, 77.]
cut up: to act mischievously, play antics. Mass. e., N. Y. c, n., s. e., w., s. w., 0. n. Also as n,, " He's a great cut up/^ O. n.
deader: an exhausted person. Ithaca, N. Y., O. n., Mich. s. e.
dead-head : a log so soaked with water that it will not float. (Opposite term, " live log.") " He raised seven dead-heads and held them up with live logs." Pla. w.
dingy : a negro.
dinkiness : the quality possessed by dinky magazines, q.v.
dinky: 1. ''^ Dinky magazines," certain modern publications character- ized (satirically) by "smallness of size, fewness of pages, breadth of margin, and an occasional use of red ink" ; also by "a fondness for the strange, the old-world, the esoteric, and the fanciful" (Cornell Era, April 18, 1890). 2. "A dinky time," a nice time, N. Y. s. e.
dippy : fried meat grease or gravy, Myersville, Md.
ditch : specifically, an irrigating ditch. Neb.
do, does, pron. duz, heard in Mass. w.. Conn, w., Brooklyn, N. Y., N. J.'
doby: sticky (of mud). "The Ft. Worth streets are doby.^^ Parker Co., Tex.
dog-running: the chasing of deer by dogs in the Adirondacks, N. Y.
dogy: a motherless calf, a poor worthless one. "A dogy is a sorry yearling." Texas n. w.
double-seater : a road cart seating two on the one seat. N. Y. c. In N. Y. s. w. , same as two-seater below.
dough : money. N. Y. c, w., Mich. s. e.
down the country : to give down the country = to upbraid, call to account, "rake over the coals." N. C, Eufaula, Ala., ParkefCo., Tex.
doxy : awkward, slatternly woman. Portsmouth, N. H.
dry so: in S. C. in answer to a question. "Why did you do that?" " Oh, I don't know ; dry so.''''
duck-fit = cat-fit (385) and conniption-fit (341). New Orleans, La.
duU: to make a mistake. "That's where you dulled.'" Probably
416 DIALECT NOTES.
extended from a mower's use of the word, meaning to blunt the edge of a scythe. N. Y, c.
Dutch cuss : the following letter seems worth printing in full : —
45 Lake Place, New Haven, Conn., Dec. 30, 1895. Mr. E. H. Babbitt:
My Dear Sir, — In Dialect Notes, VIII. p. 382, I find : " Dutch cuss : a term of contempt. Metuchen." i
I have a long acquaintance with the part of New Jersey which lies between Elizabeth and Bound Brook, and I fancy your correspondent has been tempted to make a hasty report concerning this curious expression. I have always heard it used, among farming people, as the specitic name of the common, or ox-eyed, daisy; and I think it would only by a rare meta- phor be transferred to general use as a "term of contempt." I do not remember ever to have heard it so myself.
Some years ago Mrs. Gideon Ross, an aged and cultivated lady, who is now dead, gave me an account of the origin of this use.
She had lived from her girlhood in what is now the town of Westfield, and remembered the coming one spring of many Dutch Reformed ministers to attend some general convention held there. Many had travelled long distances. Their teams were hitched to the fences along the land at the lower end of the old Ross estate, and there remained for a number of days. In this place, later in the season, sprang up the daisies, which were before unknown, and which were soon recognized as the worst foe the farmers had to fight. The daisies thrive so surprisingly in the hard, red clay, that fields they have once pre-empted can only with much labor be reclaimed.
If Mrs. Ross's account may be depended upon, as I have every reason to think it may, "Dutch cuss" was certainly definite in its early application. I shall be interested to learn if the report of its metaphoric use about Metuchen can indeed be verified.
Yours very truly,
M. Anstice Harris.
easy: easily hoodwinked or defeated. "You are easy.'''' Also easy fruit, dead easy. N. Y. c, O. n., Mich. s. e.
eat : ppl. et-n sometimes heard. N. Y. c.
eel-virorm : for angle-worm. Conn.
ees-wonn (is-werm) : for angle-worm. R. I.
Ellenyard : Orion.
face hurt : his face hurt him = he blushed. Hagerstown, Md.
factory: muslin. "Bleached factory.'''' N. Y. c, w., s. e., 111. n.
fair play : for king''s excuse. N. Y. c, s. e.
fan out : to strike out, in baseball.
father: in'Ontario Co., N. Y., sometimes pron. feSer.
fault (v.) : blame. " I didn't fault him for that." N. C. s. w.
fiddle : " To be drunk as a^dcZZe," to be very drunk. O. n.
fiddle (v.) : " You hejiddled,^^ you be hanged. N. Y. s. e.
fiend: 1. One who gets high marks. 2. One who rides a hobby, e.g., a camera fiend. Mass. e., Ithaca, N. Y., O. n.
WORD-LIST. 417
file (v.): to scrub with a file (hand-mop). Cf. Bartlett. Albany Co., St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Tannersville, Pa.
fire : a child's apron. R, I., Can.
fishing- worm : iov angle-worm. Hamilton Co., Ind.
fit (n.) : a fight. Also v. pret. of fight. N. Y. c.
footless: fruitless, unavailing. Mass., Ithaca, N. Y.
fore-day (forde) : the period of time immediately before sunrise.
frail (v.) : to whip, as a child. [Cf. frail as pron. for flail, 376.] New Orleans, La.
frailling : beating with one or two small sticks or straws that part of the fiddle between where the fingering is done and the bridge, while the fiddler is playing. Ga. s., Fla.
franzy: delirious. "The medicine made her franzy."" N. C. s. w. ["Prov. Eng.," Cent. Diet.]
freak: L A very odd person. N. Y. c, s. e., w. 2. A student who gets high marks. N. Y. City, Mich. s. e.
freaky: queer, improper. "He does freaky things." N. Y. c, w.
front seat : "To get on thefi'ont seat,''^ to have a very good time. 0. n.
frying size : half grown (of girls). " A young lady, fry in' size.'' Parker Co., Tex. [Cf. Ger. Backfisch.^
fudges: chocolate bonbons, home-made. Poughkeepsie, Ithaca, N. Y., Ann Arbor, Mich.
fudgiu's (fvdjinz): ''^o fudgin's,'" a term in marbles. Ontario Co., N. Y. [Cf. hunchin's.]
Gallagher: "Let her go, Gallagher,'" all ready. N. Y., 0. n., Mich., Mo. Said to have originated in St. Louis.
gallopin, gallopin-fenee : fence made of rails stuck in the ground criss- cross. N, C. s. w.
gallows (v.) : "He gallowsed (gcelost) up his breeches." N. Y. c, w.
get in behind: follow up closely; question closely; punish. "The judge got in behind him and he acknowledged stealing." "If he does that again, I'll get in behind him." Fla. w.
glad: "To welcome with the glad hand." Kan., Mich. s. e., 0. n. [Cf. Cent. Diet., glad 5.]
globe : the glass fixture of a lamp, generally known as a chimney. Fla. w. [The globe means to the editors the additional, larger, and more nearly globular glass outside the chimney. Reports are desired as to the meaning of globe, chimney, cylinder, and glass as lamp fixtures.]
go : ppl. go7ie sometimes pron. gan. N. Y. c, w. [Irish in N. Y. City."]
go dead : " Go7ie dead lately," recently deceased.
go much on (only with neg.). "I don't go much on that," I don't care much for that. N. Y. c.
go out: to be washed away. "The bridges went out." N. Y. c, s. w., N. H.
go out on the carpet : to call on ladies in the evening (used only of the male sex) . Gettysburg, Pa.
gonesome: hungry. "A gonesome feeling." Ithaca, N. Y., Mich. s. e.
goober : a person who can enchant. Southern.
418 DIALECT NOTES.
gool : for goal. Otsego Co., Seneca Co., Chautauqua Co., N. Y.
gooney : foolish fellow, simpleton. "Don't be such a gooney^ Me.
gravy : pudding sauce. N. H.
Groton, N. Y. : locally pron. graut-n.
groucb : "To go on a grouch,^^ to become a little out of sorts. Also, "To get on (or have) a grouch.'*'' N. Y. c, Mich. s. e. [Cf. grouchy^ 61.]
grout house : a house built of coarse plaster containing small stones. 111., la.
guard the sheep : the game of sic-a-nine-ten (Dialect Notes, p. 399).
Guinea: an Italian. N. Y. c, s. e.
gust : storm, shower. " It's so hot I believe we'll get a gust.'''' Myers- ville, Md.
haily: wild, reckless. "A haily crowd." Ky., N. H. [Cf. hail f]
hair apple : haw. (" R.") Parker Co. , Tex.
hair tobacco : fine-cut tobacco. Brazos Co. , Tex.
half the bay over : half seas over. Westchester Co., N. Y.
half-way strainer : one who tries to live above one's true station. Southern (thought to be from N. C).
haud-out : clothes such as a tramp asks for. N. Y. w., O. n.
harp : mouth organ. Fla. w.
harricane : thicket where trees have been blown down. Ky. s.
Harry Dick : pop. etym. for heretic. Everglades, Fla.
hash : for harsh. [Given in Cent. Diet, as Eng. dial.] Conn., N. Y.
hat: "To talk through one's ^a^" to talk nonsense. Mass. e., N. Y. c, n., s. e., Mich. s. e.
hawbuck (n.) : a tomboy, (v.) To act boisterously. ("0," 1865.) N. J.
head halter : a halter which fastens over the head. N. Y. c.
heigh th (haitp): still used for height. Mass. e., Conn., Otsego Co., Seneca Co., N. Y. [Cf. Cent. Diet.]
heller : a remarkable person. " He's a heller to win." N. Y. c. , Mich. s. e.
herding : taking care of children. N. Y. c.
high-bred : pop. etym. for hybrid. N. Y. w.
highway: a country road. Q. "How far was the house from the street ? " A. " There wa'n't no street there. It's a highway." N. Y. w.
hit : to ask for, borrow. " Can I hit you for a V ? " N. Y. c, s. e.
hitch-rope : a halter. N. Y. c.
hock : " In Aoc^•," in pawn. Mass. e., N. Y. c, s. e.
hookey : for polo. Heard in Ithaca, N. Y.
hookies : boiled pigs' feet and legs. N. Y. n.
hogmouths: toad-flax, butter and eggs (linaria vulgaris). Palenville, N.Y.
hommy: a calf. Myersville, Md. (The word homily {\) is used about Tannersville, Pa.) [Cf. p. 74.]
honey : pudding sauce. Conn.
horse : " That's a horse on him," the laugh is on him. N. Y. c, w.
hucks : for huckleberries. N. Y. c.
human (saddle): without "horns" (humane? The words human and
WORD-LIST, 419
humane are pronounced alike, and the " human " saddle is much lighter than the "cowboy " or " Mexican " saddle). Tex. n. w.
huuchin's : "No hunchin's," same as no fudgins, q.v. Ithaca, N. Y.
hunkers: calves of the legs. "I had to sit on my hunkers.'" [Cent. Diet, gives it as Scotch and meaning the hams.] Myersville, Md,, and Tan- nersville, Pa.
ice : " That don't cut any zee," that has no weight. Ithaca, N. Y.
ice-house : " Come off the ice-house,'" stop being " fresh." 0. n.
ice-wagon : " To be an ice-wagon,"" to be very slow. N. Y. c, Mich. s. e.
Ike (aik) : an uncouth fellow. " He's an awful Ike." Ithaca, N. Y.
in under: for under. Conn, w., N. Y. c, n., s. e., w., 0. n.
iron-glass : mica. N. C. s. w.
it : a worthless fellow. " An awful it." Ithaca, N. Y., 0. n.
it: occasionally for possessive its. Otsego Co., N. Y. A curious Eliza- bethan survival.
Italian : variously pron. it-celidn, ait-celidu, ait-aUdn, rait-cehjn, rcet-aihjn.
jack lantern : for jack-o^ -lantern. N. Y. c, w., O. n.
jack lantern: 1. A large lantern used in hunting deer in the Adiron- dacks, N. Y. 2. A dull, stupid fellow. N. Y. w.
jack light : same as jack lantern above, used in hunting. N. Y. e.
Job's Coffin : for Pleiades. O. n.
jockey : to barter without idea of deception. N. Y. c.
jocks : "By jocks !" N. Y. c.
jolly: "By jolly!" Cf. "By jocks!" above. N. Y. c, w. Also "Jolly!" O. n.
jolly : 1. To tease, poke fun at. N. Y. c, s. e. 2. To flatter. N. Y. s. e., O. n. 3. To do a favor with the idea of a possible return, or in order to get on good terms ; e.g'. a wholesale dealer who entertains his country customers, or a theatre manager who gives dead-head tickets. N. Y. City.
josh: 1. To surprise. Ithaca, N. Y., Mich. s. e. 2. Same sls jolly (v.) 1 and 2 above. N. Y. c, s. e., 0. n., Mich. s. e.
journey cake: for johnny cake. N. Y.
juke: 1 (v. i.). To hide quickly. 0. n. 2 (v. t.). To dodge, as in tag. Can. In Cent. Diet, marked Scotch. [Cf. jook, 74.]
jump on (over): to rebuke. ^^I jumped all over him." Mass. e., N. Y. c, n., s. e., O. n., Mich. s. e.
killick (killock, kellock) : a stone enclosed in a wooden crate or frame, used as an anchor. Gloucester, Mass. [The Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. VII., p. 35, says: "Worcester's definition is very unsatis- factory, and though he marks it ' rare,' it is of very ancient and common use on our N. E. sea-board."]
killing (a.): 1. Wonderful, fascinating, interesting. "That child is just too killing for anything." 2. Ridiculous. "Her dress was perfectly kill- ing." Mass. e.. Conn., N. Y. c, n., s. e., w., O. n., Mich. s. e.
king come out: same as king (Dialect Notes, p. 398).
kitter-, kittern-cornered : for eater-cornered. N. Y. c.
kitterin' : for caterin' (Dialect Notes, p. 340). Essex Co., Otsego Co., N. Y.
420 DIALECT NOTES,
kitty-kitty-cornep : same SiS puss-in-the-corner. N. Y. c, n. [Cf. Cent. Diet.]
knock the socks (or spots) off: to whip thoroughly. 111., N. Y. c, s. e.
land: when a field is ploughed in strips or sections to avoid " dead fur- rows," each strip is called a land. Such strips at the end of the field, on which the team is turned in ploughing the other sections, are called head- lands. Somerset Co., N. J. [Quotations in Cent. Diet, are very poor illus- trations of the definition given,]
large : "A large evening," a fine evening. N. Y. c, s. e., O. n.
lay out: "cut" recitation. "He laid out of Latin." (School boys.) Parker Co. , Tex.
learn Hebrew: "I sent my watch to learn Hebrew,''^ I pawned my watch. N. Y. c.
ledge: a stone quarry. Otsego Co., N. Y.
lessen : unless. " I'll send, lessen you want to go yourself." N, C. s. w.
licking (adv.): very. ^'•Licking good," of pie, candy, etc. N. Y. c, n.
lickity blinder, lickity brindle : same as lickitrj split. N. Y. c, w., s. w.
lief: sometimes pron. liv. N. Y. s. e.
lief: have as lives (livz) for have as lief. " I'd just as lives go as not." N. Y. c, n., w.
linkister (n): interpreter; (v.) to interpret. " He's going to preach to the Injuns to-day, but who's going to linkister for him ? " N, C. s. w. [See Cent. Diet, and Farmer, s.v. In Bartlett as a seaman's term ; De Vere gives it as a talker., without mentioning the above meaning.]
livery : a turn-out from a livery stable. Tompkins Co., Ontario Co., N. Y,
loaded for bear : 1. Used of shot-shells which are so heavily loaded that the gun kicks when fired. 2. Very drunk. 3. Said of one who has a big supply of anything. N. Y. c., w. 4. Full of indignation which is likely to be vented upon its object. Mass., N. Y.
look : " Look lively .' " be quick. N. Y. c.
lottest: "The lottest of people," a large number. Ithaca, N. Y.
lounge : pron. Ivndj, sometimes heard. N. Y. c.
lulu {lulu): an agreeable or remarkable person. N. Y. c, n., s. e., Mich. s. e. In O. n. and Mich. s. e. a term of disrespect.
Maltese: often pron. nidlt-i. Conn, w., N. Y. c, n.
mash : iron slightly. " Why don't you mash the clothes ? " Parker Co., Tex.
masterest : most powerful. " He was makin' the masterest noise ever I hearn." N. C. s. w.
mayflower (v.): "To go mayfloioering.'*^ N. H,, and occasionally in N. Y. w.
me : an old ethical dative, probably survives in such expressions as " My head aches wie," " My eyes hurt «ie." N. Y. City, Pa. w., N. C.
mealing : in " They're all gone a-mealing,^^ = gone to dinner. Nantucket. [Mealer for table boarder, like roomer for lodger, is familiar to the boarding- house language in Boston. So mealery in Boston for a cheap boarding-house where meals are provided at a fixed price, generally with a reduction on a ticket for a week's meals.]
'I
WOBD-LIST. 421
measure : specifically, a four-quart measure. Otsego Co., Dutchess Co., N. Y.
Mick : an Irishman. N. Y. c.
middle-of-the-roader: a straight out-and-out Populist (1896).
Miss: "The Miss Smiths," two of different families; "The Misses Smith," two of the same family. N. H.
Fnochalie : a Chinaman.
mogue : to deceive, get the laugh on (tailors' slang).
moke : a negro. N. Y. c.
money-catcher : a dandelion blossom gone to seed. N. Y.
morphodite {morfddait) : for hermaphrodite. Conn, w., s., N. Y. c, w.
mosey: same 2^.^ pom-pom-pull-away (Dialect Notes, p. 398). Brook- lyn, N. Y.
mother- wants (n. plu): same as money-catchers. N. Y.
muggins : a term in marbles, used to disconcert one's opponent. N. Y. s. e.
mumblejy peg (mom-ld^i) : same as mummelty peg. Otsego Co., St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. In O. n. mumble {mvmhdl) peg. [Cf. Dialect Notes, p. 398.]
nan ! nan ! : a call for sheep. Cayuga Co., Otsego Co., N. Y.
neighbor (v. t.) : to be on friendly terms with. " I don't neighbor her, she's too proud." Va.
nibs: for mihs. N. Y. w., Ont. w.
nice : " To be nice to a girl," to pay her especial attentions. N. Y. c, n., w., O. n.
nickey-toed : pigeon-toed, having the toes turned inward. Tanners- ville, Pa.
nigger-head : a kind of heavy navy-blue cloth. N. Y. s. e.
nigger-heads: 1. Nuts resembling small chestnuts, found in S. C. 2. Sun- flowers. N. Y.
nigger toes : for Brazil 7iu^s. N. Y. c, n., w., 0. n.. Pa. s. e.
nit : a decided negative, much stronger than no. Also added to positive assertions to give a negative meaning (equivalent to "I don't think"). Mass., N. Y., Mich. In 0. n. also aber nit.
Norwich : pron. norwitf in N. Y. ; noridj in Vt. ; noritf in Conn.
of: for loith. " What's the matter of him? " N. Y. c, n., s. e.
on : " Wait on me," for " Wait /or me." Montreal, Can.
once: to oncet (tdw-mist). For at once. N. Y. c, n., w.
over: for towards. " He lives over Meriden way." Conn., N. Y. w.
packing : "It's good packing, ^^ said of snow that can be easily made into snowballs. Conn., Ithaca, N. Y., Detroit, Mich.
patch : to strike with a ball so as to put out. [Cf. burn.] N. Y. c.
peculiar ointment: Tpo^p. etym. for mercurial ointment. ("N.") New Orleans, La.
perch : " Come off your jpercA," stop being fresh. N. Y. c, n., w., O. n.
perdure: endure, continue. "May you perdure faithful to the end." (Methodist ministers.) Parker Co., Tex.
pick : " To pick stone," to gather them from the field. Conn, w., N. Y. w.
422 DIALECT NOTES.
pick a crow: have a controversy, "pick a bone." N. C, Eufaula, Ala.
pin (v.) : a coaster pins another when he passes, overlaps, or touches his sled at the end of the coast. (Boys.) Mass. w.
planlc in the roclt : a special kind of stone wall. N. Y.
plug ugly : a term of reproach for a nag. N. Y. c.
plunk : a dollar. N. Y. c, Mich.
polly: for polly boo (Dialect Notes, p. 398). N. Y. n.
pom-pom-pull-away: pron. pvm. la. See Dialect Notes, p. 398, under king.
pon-hoss : the word is in De Vere, but we print our correspondent's note in full as an interesting sample of good observation : Place, Myers- ville, Md., and Gettysburg, Pa. ; means scrapple (see dictionary). Never saw this word in print, and hence am not sure the above is the correct spelling. It seems to be of German origin, and if I mistake not, is Pa. Dutch. Used to hear college students jocosely call it "pan rabbit," — why, I do not know; though the German for "pan" is "pfanne," and for "hare" " base." The pronunciation of these two words together would sound much like " Pon-hoss." Strange to say that in this community (Tannersville, Pa.) where Pa. Dutch abounds, " scrapple " is the word used ; while in the two places above, where Pa. Dutch is unknown, "pon-hoss" is the word used.
pops : Populists. Kan.
popocrat: in the campaign of 1896, an adherent of the Chicago, or free silver, wing of the Democratic party.
pretty (n.) : " Well, my pretty, how are you ? " N. Y.
pretty day : a nice day. 111., Va.
primed : " To be primed," to be ready. Ithaca, N. Y., O. n., Mich. s. e. "Cocked and primed" N. Y. w.
punish : hurt or annoy. " My corns punished me all day." Also used in the sense of suffering for lack of something; e.g. "I couldn't get any water, and my ! how I did pwwis^." Tannersville and Scott Run, Pa. [See p. 231.]
push : the best society. "He's in depws/i." Ithaca, N. Y.
pushincy : emergency. Parker Co., Tex.
pussy : a game played with a small bat (usually part of a broomstick)
and a small block 1" by 4" ^ \^, which is also termed a pussy. Ithaca,
N. Y. [Known as a k ^ "cat"inN. E.]
pussy cat : same as pussy above. N. Y. s. e.
pussy-wants-a-corner: same SiS puss-in-the-corner. [Cf. Cent. Diet.] N. Y. w., O. n.
put back : " How much did it ptit you hack,'''' how much did it cost ? Pa.
putty: "He don't know putty,''"' he doesn't know anything. N. Y. c, n., w., 0. n.
quarter : specifically, a quarter of a mile. " I walked a quarter.''''
quarter-horse : a horse that runs the first quarter better than the rest of the race ; hence, a person that begins well, but has little staying power. Parker Co., Tex.
quite some: a considerable amount, "quite a good deal ; " or adverbi- ally = to a considerable extent. "You'll have quite some potatoes on that
WORD-LIST, 423
patch." "He was sick quite some.'" Westchester Co., N. Y., and occa- sionally in N. Y. City.
rag: dance, ball. "We can go to rags.''' (From an English exercise handed in by a freshman in Weatherford College.) General in n. w. Tex.
raggy : same as crumby, q.v. Ithaca, N. Y. [Cf. Cent. Diet.]
rantum scoot : pleasure drive, [random ?] Nantucket, Mass.
realer : for real agate. A term in marbles. N. Y. s. e.
reap: pret. rep common in N. Y. c. <ME. rep.
red-heater : pop. etym. for radiator. Ithaca, N. Y.
reduct: subtract. "iJedwc^ my time from what I owe." Fla. w.
registrar (v. t.) : to make a voter. Conn,
reservoir : specifically, a water-tank attached to a stove. Pron. rezdr- voi(r), N. H., Westchester Co., Ontario Co., N. Y. Sometimes rezdrvor is heard.
riffle : an attempt. " I will at least make a riffle at it." South.
right-hand-running : for hand-running (continuously : Dialect Notes, p. 65). 111., la.
rinctum : a wrinkle, contrivance, design. Mass., Otsego Co., N. Y.
ring off: stop talking. Probably from the telephone office.
robin :. a flannel undershirt. R. I. s.
Rochester: often pron. ratfdst-r (almost dissyllabic) and even ratft-r. N. Y. c, w.
rock fence : a stone wall. N. Y. c.
rode, rood {rod)^ alight line attached to a killick. Marblehead, Mass. ["Bay of Fundy," Cent. Diet.]
rogue (n.) : a horse that has the habit of getting out of his pasture, and cannot be restrained by ordinary fences. Conn. w. (v.) To thieve. "The cat is roguing it some." N. C. s. w.
roly-poly : a game played with a rubber ball and small holes dug in the ground. Tompkins Co., N. Y., la. [Cf. Cent. Diet., where apparently a different game is referred to.]
Roman : an inhabitant of Rome, N. Y.
round : of fish not split or cleaned. Marblehead, Mass.
round square : to send a boy after a round square is to send him on a fruitless errand (as a joke). N. Y. w., la.
rubber ice: thin ice that bends when skated upon. N. Y. c, n., w., Detroit, Mich.
rubber neck : a person looking in vain for some one or something may be saluted, humorously, with ''Rubber neck / " N. Y. c, O. n. [See p. 393.]
runt : worthless fellow. (Cowboys.) Parker Co., Tex.
sap : gravy.
sass : small talk, empty talk. N. Y. c, Mich. s. e.
scaly : tricky, dishonest. N. Y. c.
scaly ice : ice through which the skate cuts. N. Y. c, w,
scenery: picturesque spot. "This here's quite a scenery.'*'' N. C. s. w.
scoot-horn : a leather cup with a long handle, for throwing water from the sea to the mast-head. Marblehead, Mass. ("O.")
scope : <telescope, for gnp. " Look at our scopes.'''' Ithaca, N. Y.
424 DIALECT NOTES,
scorch : in bicycle parlance, to ride very rapidly.
scorcher : a bicyclist who rides very rapidly.
scrappy: quarrelsome. Ithaca, N. Y., O. n.
scrub : a game of baseball among schoolboys, in which the players rotate positions. Mass. e., Conn, s., N. Y. c, w. [Cf. p. 214.]
scullions : small onions. N. Y. c, w., s. w. [Cf. p. 59].
set (v.) : to court. " He's settin' her." Palo Pinto Co., Tex.
set open : open and leave open (of a door). Westchester Co., N. Y.
shack: a slow trot. Also v., to go at a slow trot. "The old horse shacked along." N. Y. c, w.
shad-belly coat : dress coat, swallowtail. Myersville, Md. [See Farmer s.v. for some fanciful derivations. Cent. Diet, and Bartlett give this as a cutaway. ]
shelly ice : same as scaly ice, q.v. Ithaca, N. Y.
shinny over : to climb over. N. Y. c.
shool : to saunter. Nantucket, Mass. ["Prov. Eng.," Cent. Diet.]
shooting-match : any kind of meeting, from a church service to a dance. N. Y. c, w., O. n.
shop : a manufacturing establishment of any size. Conn., N. Y. s. e.
shore: "The shore,'''' specifically, the coast of Long Island Sound. Conn.
shovin's (fovinz). " No s/iovi;i's," a term in marbles. N. Y. w., s. e.
siebegofllin : deformed, crooked, one-sided. N. C. s. w.
sit up with: to receive courtship from. "Sarah Ann is sitting up with a young man." Mass. w.
skads : money. " They kept the skads.''^ Ithaca, N. Y.
skate: "To go on a s^•aie," to go skating. Sometimes heard. Ithaca, N. Y.
skew-gee: correct. "Not quite skew-gee,^'' not quite right. N. Y. c. In Ontario Co., N. Y., equivalent to askew (cf. following words).
skew-geed {skiuds'id), skwee-geed {skwidj-id), for askew. [Cf. Cent. Diet.] N. Y. c.
skewing : for askew. N. Y. c.
skew-raw : for askew. O. n.
skin the cat : a feat performed on the horizontal bar. N. Y. c, w., 0. n.
skirrup (skirap) : a good time. Also as v. skirrup, skirrup around, to frisk, frolic. N. Y. c, n. Also skiurap, N. Y. w.
skite : ^^Skite out ! " get out, run away quickly. [Cf. Scotch use of the word noted in the Cent. Diet. ] N. Y. c.
slam: an uncomplimentary remark. Va., la., N. Y. c.
slethery (a.) : used of short, fine hay that will not pitch easily. Otsego Co., N. Y. [In Cent. Diet, marked Scotch.]
slight: knack. " She had a good slight at hoein'." N. C. s. w.
smidgen: bit. "Not a smidgen of an umbrella." Eufaula, Ala. [Cf. smitch, p. 394. In Cent. Diet, as "East Tenn.," on authority of Am. Phil. Assn.]
snap the whip : a boys' game in which a line of boys with hands joined run sharply and one end of the line suddenly stops, the other going round it in a circle. Mass., Conn, w., N. Y. c, s. e., w., s. w., 0. n.
WORD-LIST. 425
snucks : pron. snuks sometimes heard. N. Y. n.
snucks: "To go in snucks''^ is common in Otsego Co., N. Y. [Cf. Dialect Notes, p. 400.]
soak : used like sock. ''Soak it to him." N. Y. c, s. e., w., O. n.
soak (v. t. and i.). To roast. " Let it soak."" [Cf. soak, to bake.]
socker: something of great size. "That fish was an old socker."" Conn, w., N. Y. c, w.
socking (a.) : very. "That was a socking big fish." N. Y. w.
some place: somewhere. " Let's go some place.'' ^ N. Y. e,, c, w., O. n.
song-valet : words of a song. N. C. s. w.
son of a gun : now commonly a playful epithet. Mass., N. Y. c, w.
soot : pron. sM, common in Ontario, Seneca, Chenango, Otsego, and Albany Cos., N. Y. [Cf. pp. G, 17, 67.]
soppy (n.) : specifically of bread and milk (tea), etc. N. Y. s.
spin one's dumpling: to act so as to give one's opponent the advantage ; e.g. near the end of a game of cards, if one leads so that the opposite party is sure of the trick, he is said to have " spun his dumpling.''^ N. Y. c.
spoon : pron. spun, common in N. E, and N. Y. c, s. w. [Cf. pp. 6, 17.]
spud : a spade in cards. Sometimes heard. Ithaca, N. Y.
squiogling : askew, oblique. Nantucket, Mass.
squirrel : " Hunt the gray squirrel.'' Same as hunt the gray wolf, q.v. N. Y. n.
stab: 1. A try. "I made a stab at the exam." N. Y. c, O. n. 2. A stake. Ithaca, N. Y.
stair-steps : for stairs. N. Y. c.
steak-dish : a platter, N. Y.
step-child : used by pop. etym. for a child found on the door-step.
straight up: "Eggs straight up or turned down," eggs fried on one or both sides. Ind. Ter.
strand : a pile of fixed dimensions of strand wood.
strand wood : pine wood cut into lengths of about 32 inches for burning in locomotives. Fla.
strap railroad : a railroad in which the tracks are made by fastening a strap of iron to a board ; e.g. the old Ithaca and Oswego Railroad, N. Y.
street: a country road. [Cf. OE. use of the word.] Wyoming Co., N.Y.
string : specifically, a shoe string. O.
string cord : a loose string. O.
stroobly (strubli) : dishevelled. " You got your hair all stroobly now." Myersville, Md.
suck it out of one's own claws : to make up out of whole cloth. N. Y. c.
sweeting : " Long sweeting, short sweeting,'''' molasses. N. C.
swing: pret. swang (swcey), heard in Buffalo, N. Y.
swingle {swindjdl) : the swinging part of a poke. N. Y. c.
tacky : in Ind. Kan. used of a girl who is inclined to be coarse. [Cf. Cent. Diet, and Dialect Notes, p. 66.]
ta ta : good bye. N. Y., Mich.
426 DIALECT NOTES,
tank: pond. '' Drivei your horse into the tank.'''' ["Prov. Eng. and U. S." Cent. Diet.]
team : a single liorse attached to a carriage. Conn.
tease : to flatter. 111.
teem : " It ^eems," it rains hard. Conn.
tell on : 1. To give away, reveal a secret which concerns some one. " He told on me." N. Y. c, s. e., w. 2. For tell {of). " They're tellin'' on that John's cow's dead." N. Y. c.
tern (v.) : to pour. " Tern your tea," pour your tea. Otsego Co., N. Y.
tempest: specifically, a thunder storm. Plymouth, Mass. [Cf. p. 211.]
tester (a canopy) : pron. tistdv. St. Louis, Mo.
time: a good time. " We're going to have a time to-night." 0. n.
time when (taim-hwen) : "Left over from the time when,'''' left over for an indefinite period. N. Y. c.
tomatoes: plu. tomatoeses (tam-etasiz) sometimes heard. N. Y. c.
tomediately : by contamination for immediately. N. Y. c.
toro : a bull. St. Lawrence Co., N. Y.
trade-last, -lassie, -me-lass : a complimentary remark reported by one person to another. " I've got a trade-last for you " (the speaker then reports the complimentary remark made by a third person). Sometimes also a somewhat uncomplimentary remark. Ithaca, N. Y., Mich. s. e. In O. n. also simply t7'ade.
trapesy (trepsi) : same as trapes. N. Y. c. [Cf. traipse, 334.]
Trojan : an inhabitant of Troy, N. Y.
trolley: an electric street car. Conn., N. Y. c, s. w., N. J. s., O. n.
trun, also trim down, give one the trun : to get a person out of one's way. Often equivalent to "sit down upon." "She trim him," said of a girl who threw a fellow over ; trun down also means " squelched." Ithaca, N. Y. [Cf. Dialect Notes, p. 400. This trtm appears to be of different origin, being simply a vulgar pron. of thrown.]
trunlcs : for (dancing) pumps. May ville, Wis.
tub-sugar : coarse-grained sugar. N. Y. c.
tumble: to comprehend. N. Y. c, w., s. w., O. n., Mich. s. e.
turned down : see straight up. Ind. Ter.
turned down: 1. Snubbed. 2. Ousted from office. N. Y. c, w.
two-seater : a tWo-seated carriage. N. Y. c, s. w.
uppin'-bloek : horse-block. N. C. s. w.
vamoose: for ramose. Mass. e., N. Y. c.
veil: " He was born with a veil over his head," said of one who was a fortune teller. O. n.
violin (v.) : to play the violin. Ithaca, N. Y.
want: "What's wanting''^ for "What do you want?" Conn, w., N. Y. s. w.
wapple-jawed : same as wapper-jawed (^Dialect Notes, p. 63). Otsego Co., N. Y.
wapsed up : tangled, tumbled, in disorder. Me.
watcii-coat : overcoat. O., Staten Island.
watch out : for watch. Ithaca, N. Y. [Cf . p. 65.]
'•■i
WORD-LIST. 427
water hook : the hook on the saddle of a harness which holds the check- rein. N. Y.
wave (pret.) : wove sometimes heard. "He wove the flag." N. Y. c.
weather (n.): inclement, stormy weather. Va., Tex; (v.) to rain. Tex.
weed (pret.) : wed. "He wed the garden." N. Y. c, w., s. w.
wheels : " To have wheels in one's head," said of one who is peculiar or even slightly insane. N. Y. c, s. e., w., O. n. In N. Y. s. w., it may mean, to be confused. In Mich. s. e., also, to have a wheel in one's head.
whiskers : "To talk through one's whiskers,'''' to talk nonsense. N. Y. c, s. e.
wife's: pron. waivz common. [Cf. p. 76.]
willies: " To have the tutVZies," to be nervous. Ithaca, N. Y.
Willie boy : an effeminate young man. 111., N. Y., N. H., O. n.
w^ipe the floor w^ith : to defeat. Mass. e., N. Y. s. e.
wipe up the earth with : to defeat. Kan. wipe the earth with. N. Y. c, s. w.
with: "Mad with one," mad (angry) at one. N. Y. c, w.
w^oddy {wadi): queer. Perhaps < ME. wod. Elmira, N. Y.
wolf, hunt the gray wolf : a game resembling I-spy, but played over a larger extent of ground. 0. n.
work-haruess : a heavy harness for draft horses. N. Y. c, s. w.
wuzzy (wr>zi): 1. Confused. 2. Mean, contrary. N. Y. c.
yammer : to whine, complain. Otsego Co., N. Y. [In Cent. Diet, marked Prov. Eng. and Scotch.]
yap: 1. A low or ill-bred person. 2. A person unworthy of his posi- tion. N. Y. c, O. n., Mich. s. e.
yawp: foolish talk. [Cf. Cent. Diet.] Otsego Co., N. Y.
yellow : the game of hunt the gray wolf. 0. n.
428 DIALECT NOTES,
BRITISH vs. AMERICAN ENGLISH.
The present paper may perhaps be regarded as somewhat over- stepping the proper province of Dialect Notes, except on the assumption that the languages spoken by the inhabitants of Eng- land and America respectively, which I propose to compare as a whole, are but the two principal dialects of our common tongue. And at the outset I would say that the first thing which strikes any one who seriously sets himself to examine the differences in these two main branches of the most important language in the world is less the diversity than the similarity, not merely of its literary form, but of the colloquial and vulgar speech of the unlettered population. It certainly is a most remarkable cir- cumstance, after the so complete severance of the American and British peoples for one or two centuries, and the diversity of the various influences by which they have been affected, that the farmer on your western plains, and even the very negroes on southern plantations, should so largely perpetuate the same old- fashioned or perhaps otherwise obsolete words, the identical idioms and quaint turns of expression used by smock-f rocked Hodge in his quaint Devonshire village, or by the grimy collier amid the smoke and jangle of a Yorkshire manufacturing district.
As for the "Americanisms,'* of which so much is made by superficial critics, and which it is the fashion to ridicule not only in British drawing-rooms, but also, unhappily, by the Anglo- maniac snobs of New York and Boston, it has long been recog- nized by careful observers that a very large proportion of these are but perpetuations of ancient idioms in use before the sepa- ration, and in many cases still current in one or another dis- trict of Britain ; while others are happy expressions devised by an eminently practical and ingenious people for giving their meaning in the most concise and appropriate form. Thus the word guess may be found, used in precisely the American sense, in nearly every page of Chaucer, and is not quite obsolete in England even now, but may occasionally be heard, in remote rural districts, employed in the Chaucerian sense. Moreover, it is certainly more correct than the usual British substitutes, faficy,
BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH. 429
imagine, suspect, to say nothing of the commonest of all, ea^ect, which is positively ungrammatical unless referring to future events. Yet I notice that American speakers, rightly reluctant to employ, for instance, such a word as suspect where there is no question of crime, or suppose when they have no grounds for their hypothesis, will say / judge, I presume, or / surmise, anything, rather than incur the derision of Englishmen and their imitators by using the good old Saxon guess. Thus, also, icrath, heft, lief, etc., are in common use in the United States, though extinct in " polite," or rather, cockney, language in the old country.
In perusing the dialect quips and stories which form such a favorite item in American literature, one cannot but be impressed also with the wonderful similarity between their pronunciation and that of one or other English province. Even the diction of a French-Canadian, in its misplacing of the aspirate, strongly reminds one of the brogue of our south-eastern counties ; and, if English dialect stories were as common or as well written, this similarity would be evident to Americans also. Unfortunately, our dialects are usually so badly rendered that it is difficult even for a reader familiar with them to make sure what sounds are intended ; otherwise, owing to the much greater variety and local or historical peculiarity of the words, they would be naturally far more interesting than American literature of the kind. Indeed, in many cases the writer simply concocts a ridiculous jargon by mixing the spelling of Biglow Papers with a sprinkling of vulgar words he may happen to have himself heard ; so that it is next to impossible for an American to get an idea of what genuine English dialect really is, unless he personally visits the locality where it is spoken.
Another surprising fact is that dialect is dying out in England much faster than in America. The small extent and compactness of the country, its honeycombing with railways, running cheap, excursions at less than a farthing a mile in every direction, the constant intermixture and presence of fashionable people, — all affecting as well as they can the London simper, — and the universal school board, are making the English people more homogeneous than ever, in speech as in every other respect; whereas in America, where large sections of the population live and die on farms remote from any town, and even separated by thousands of miles from the crowded centres, differences of dialect are rather extended than lessened.
430 DIALECT NOTES.
Yet the same levelling influences are at work in America also. Thus, in both countries it is becoming the fashion to sound the t in often, pestle, and the word lieutenant as spelled; to say clerk, stern, instead of dark, starn ; to pronounce envelope, restaurant, bas-relief, promenade, baccarat, naive, tomato, vase, as if they were French words, regardless of spelling and analogy ; to cause needless confusion in the simple rule of the article, by saying an one, an union; and even to introduce new complications into the use of the aspirate (as if we had not trouble enough with it already), saying, for instance, 'umble, ^erb, 'otel, 'eroic, Hstoric, 'abitual, himorous, ^armonious, etc. Yet there is absolutely no reason why the h should not be sounded in every word in the language except hour, heir, honor, honest, and their derivatives (where at present it might seem somewhat ridiculous) ; but even in these cases consistency would suggest that the aspirate should be restored, and it would be a welcome reform if this were done. French words should also never be used where the sense can be given in English ; thus, there is no necessity to adopt such unpro- nounceable barbarisms as employ^, renaissance ; and I am glad to think that the vigorous vitality of American speech is gradually leading to the substitution for them of the good English employee, fiancee, attOAihee, habituee, renascence, plebiscite, seance, prestige, mirage, massage, espionage, accouchment, invalid, etc. Of course, in the case of words like d^j^dt, pi^ce de rhistance, par excellence, en route, an revoir, where no native expression gives the exact meaning, the use of foreign ones is excusable, though not in a perverted sense. The proper meaning of depdt is depositoi-y, and it is, therefore, far more correctly applied to the freight sheds of a railroad company than to the passenger offices. Fortunately, the confusion caused by its numerous pronunciations (and spell- ings) in the States is leading to its gradual disuse, and it would be a good thing to rid the language altogether of such a trouble- some exotic. The same may be said of bouquet, for which we have the two good words nosegay and posy, of papier mdch4 for paper mash, toilette for toilet, salon for saloon, pyrites for pyrites, distingu^ and rechercM (which I believe is sometimes pronounced rekerky) ; while route and blouse, if they must be retained at all, may just as well be pronounced correctly, and not rowt and blowse. Beau id^al seems universally to be sounded half English and half French ; indeed, the mistakes folks fall into when using a language they do not understand are most ludicrous. Thus we often see
BRITISH vs. AMERICAN ENGLISH. 431
in American novels such misspellings as naivette, dScollette ; and in both countries it has lately become the fashion to write " It goes without saying " for " It needs no saying," and " On the carpet " for " On the (table) cloth " (the same word, tapis, in French, stand- ing for both). Even as highly educated a writer as Auberon Herbert fell into the error of writing in petto in the same sense as the French en petit, the real meaning being secretly; lit. "in the breast," from Latin pectus, " the breast." Then some of the Spanish words now so common near your Mexican border seem quite uncalled for. Why say burro when we already have in English the words donkey and ass; or caTion, when so many words such as gully, gulch, gorge, ravine, dale, give the meaning? It passes comprehension why, at Philadelphia and Chicago, the proper word Exhibition was made to give place to the bastard Exposition. That this word is not and cannot be, in such a sense, correct, needs no further proof than the fact that we never speak of exposits, but exhibits. Exposition has its own legitimate mean- ing, the substantive of expound, and to wantonly introduce such confusions as this, elect for choose (as "he elected to go"), and assurance for insurance, is to deliberately mar the richness and harmony of the language.
It is somewhat difficult to say what expressions are used exclu- sively either in England or America, if we except mere local pecul- iarities. Most newly coined words from your side quickly get taken up here. Many of your most concisQ and handy expressions, however, the English obstinately refuse to adopt, such as freight train, which in England men call goods and women luggage train; east- or westbound, instead of the English ambiguous uj^ and down train; track, sidewalk, the meanings of which can only be ex- pressed in England by a circumlocution ; though in this respect we are no more stupid than Americans, who in spite of the efforts of John Stephenson & Co. and others to introduce it, persist in rejecting the excellent word tramway, and adhering to the awk- " ward street railway, although the former has been transferred bodily into the language of nearly every European country. It is surprising that, when such a simple and telling expression is at hand, by which a distinction may at once be made between the two kinds of railway, Americans should be unwilling to use it. If this distinction were made by calling the one railway and the other railroad, it would be better than the present jumble, but as the real railroads are beginning to be called railways, such a dif-
432 DIALECT NOTES.
ferentiation is out of the question. Even that appears to be a concession to Anglomania, and yet, though it is true that in Eng- land railway is the word generally (though not always) used, this is neither the more correct nor the more complete expression. For a main line of rail connecting two cities is more than a mere iL'ay. It is a road, the road par excellence, and by far the most important road between them ; consequently, railroad is obviously the proper term. Each of the sidings in a freight-yard, or a branch track into a warehouse, is a railway, but not a railroad, which word can only be properly applied to that which takes the functions of a road. When great corporations like the Union Pacific go out of their way formally to change their designations from railroad to railway companies, it is therefore a wilful belit- tling of themselves, precisely analogous to the action of, say, the " Cunard Steamship Company," if they were to alter their title to " Cunard Steamboat Company." Indeed, the climax of absurd- ity has been attained by one corporation which, seemingly to avoid offending either party, now styles itself the ''Southern Pacific Company," as if their business was that of whaling in the South Seas ! On all accounts, then, the best words to use are railroad for the line carrying trains, and tramway for that on which single cars at slower speeds are run.
Similarly, our word goloshes is preferable to your rubber over- shoes (or rubbers!), treacle to molasses syrup, peri-y to pear cider, and lift to elevator, since, whereas a person may be lifted down, he cannot be elevated down. In America both trousers and pants are used indiscriminately with the same meaning, whereas with us the former is exclusively employed in that par- ticular sense, thus liberating the latter to be substituted for the barbaric word drawers, which however still continues to be used for the female garment, instead of the pretty Americanism panta- lets. Cab is superior to hack, which should properly signify, as in England, a road horse, and is in its present sense an evident abbreviation of our Hackney coach, now obsolete in England ex- cept in formal language ; as is also buggy, though current as late as 1829. Our mercer again is much more concise than your dry- goods merchant, and, indeed, dry goods should more properly be styled sojl goods, the former term being rather applicable to dried fruits, etc., and ironmonger is shorter than hardware salesman. Shunt is also a good Avord, meaning the actual shifting of the train onto another track, to switch signifying in strictness the
BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH. 433
mere manipulation of the "switch" or lever which causes the diversion. Stoker is preferable to fireman, which is the proper designation for the attendant of a fire-engine; pail is properly a utensil with one handle at the side, and is erroneous if used as synonymous with bucket; and casket should not be substituted for coffin, since this leaves no word to supply its true meaning. The same may be said of strap for strop, billion for milliard, biscuit iov^iot roll, cracker for biscuit, alarm for alarum. On the other hand, your words mush, stoop, lope, p)esky, spook, shanty, boss, boom, are exceedingly useful in their respective senses, the last four at least being largely adopted in England — boss having almost totally supplanted our gaffer — though of course words like ranch, corral, tvigwam, hominy, choivder, etc. can only be used in reference to these American institutions. Masher and dude have become common speech in England, though toff is the more usual word, among the lower classes, for the latter. Although Dickens has satirized the American fastidiousness, which changes titbits and petty larceny into tidbits and petit larceny, and insists on the use of such words as rooster (though hens also go to roost) and slut (which with us means an untidy woman), the English are just as absurd in excluding from genteel language the useful word belly, substituting for it the misnomer stomach, as also bug and dad, saying for instance lady " bird " and '' Harry " Longlegs, although dad is one of the very few original British words still surviving in our language, and therefore worthy of special honor among patriotic Britons.
Such archaisms, corruptions, or peculiar pronunciations as / seen, I seed, I done, it war, he drawed, he catched, he don't, I HI learn you, sartin, darter, dooty, gownd, drowned, ainH, knoived, off of, like I do, equally as good as, don't know as, to lay in bed, yawn, housen, Roossian, artisses, wunst, gal, greatest of jyleasure, seem pretty common in both countries, although it must be remarked that they are spoken by men of a much higher position and edu- cation in America than England. Cute, cunning (in the sense of natty), glimpsed, bunglesome, gotten, splitten, illy, creek (small river, in England the word means inlet), yard (for garden), skeer, pshaw, faucet, to hum (at home), hull (whole), barber shop, rarely ever, anywheres, a long ways,^ state's prison, get a holt, freak (for freak
1 Since writing the above, I find a long ways, a quarter of three, are still current in Devonshire.
434 DIALECT NOTES.
of nature) y fall (for fall of the year), ^most (almost), ivownd (Eng. woond), maybe, a quaHer of three (o'clock), mad (for angry), wrathy, bath-tub (for bath), misses (for young ladies), any (as adverb), rare {underdone), out-doors, evenings, though many of them are excellent and idiomatic, are, I believe, peculiar to America, or nearly so, while yow {you), thou (colloquial), nowt, fat, took, singging, vjairk, feither, buzzum, womenful, genelman, doom {dome), ciipolo {cupola), marjarine (for margai-me), bowl (to rhyme with " owl "), yon, one on 'em, arter, ahl {all), colume, telegraft, sparrer- grass, summat, theer, cheer {chair), heverythink, idear of, drorin\ coom on, be 'er bout, bloke, noke {donkey), could hardly be heard out of England, any more than such a phrase as " 'er ain't a-callin' we, us don't belong to she." And I will just say here that the aspirate is never wrongly sounded in England in an unaccented syllable, so it is utterly erroneous to represent an Englishman as talking of Hamerica, though he may say / ham. Such words as tune, duty, are always pronounced by English people of even fair education as tewn, dewty ; in the eastern counties, indeed, even the vulgar pronunciation of rule, true, is rewl, trew. The broad, a is much more common in England than America, many people saying cahsl, grahsp, disahster, even stahmp and ahnt {ant), although the usage greatly varies in different parts of the country. Thus while the Warwickshire people say bahdhs, scarves, in Derby- shire adjoining it is bathes, scarfs. In Australia, strangely enough, the universal pronunciation of ant is ahnt, while lolly is the compre- hensive title for sweetmeats of all kinds, in America erroneously styled candy, and tomahawk is often corrupted to tommy-ax.
It is curious to note that many expressions tabooed in polite circles are really more correct than those that are admitted. Thus if we may say a great many why not a many, if into why not oiito? The American usage is decidedly the more correct in around for round (adverb), canH for cahyit, editorial for leader, ride (in a carriage) for drive, unless spoken of the driver, quotation marks for inverted commas, beet and marrow for beet ^'root" and " vegetable " marrow, reeligible for eligible for reelection, postal card for post card, schedule, pron. as scheme (not shedule), also in the distinction between by and bye, as preposition and substantive respectively, and the accentuation of words like dddress, dccord, cdntent, control, dlly, recess, report. There is also no more need to mention the forename after the title Sir or Rev. than after Mr. and Lord. Why always say " Sir Charles Dilke " ?
BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH. 435
In America complaints are often heard as to the self-conscious- ness apparent in your speech as compared with the naturalness and abandon of English people. This must inevitably be the effect of high schooling, and I do not see that it is any more apparent there than with us, where mannerisms and affectations abound. Thus many will say e-vil, iyispy-ration, fore-head, ex-haust, ag-ain, seuperior, ficjeiire, forteune, ex-change, brand-new, circum- stann-ces, prog-ress, pro-duce, rkjht-eeous, Christeean, mediataw, vendaw, registrah, medi-cine, regi-ment (though we do not like you say testi-m6-ny, terri-to-ry), not to mention such nauseating pedan- tries as charwoman for chareicoman, tart (pron. taht) for p?e, awfully and tremendously for exceedhgly, nigh-ther for neither, trai for trait, ivrawth for wrath. Both peoples are in error in speaking of dimmer as lunch, and supper as dinner, in calling young women girls and even young girls, and saying camel leopard for camelo- pard, demecm for bernean, than ivhom for than who, to a degree for to a high degree, quite so for just so, intents and purposes for ends, or aims, and pwposes, he ignored the question, which is only cor- rect if he could not answer it, the italics are mine for the emphasis is mine, and / should have liked to have been there, which in strict- ness means should have liked (then) to have (jireviously) been there (but am noKj glad I was not), instead of should like to have been there, or should have liked to be there. Homely should mean com- fortable, domesticated, not as in America ugly. To call a young lady homely should rather be a compliment than the reverse. Two or three o'clock at night should not be called morning any more than nine or ten o'clock be spoken of as evening. Morn- ing begins with dawn. Noon is correctly spoken of as 12 m., and midnight as 12 n. It is unnecessary to add of one in one half (of one) per cent. Hanged should be used rather than hung, when spoken of an execution. The latter would suggest that the process was so common in England as to have given rise to a strong verb. Waked is the transitive, woke the intransitive, form.
As regards orthography the Americans are much more consist- ent than the English (and consistency is the great desiderandum) ; . thus, there is no more reason for writing favour, saviour, than terrour, governour ; travelled than happenned; meagre than eagre; though combatted is right if the verb is accented, as is the more correct, on the second syllable. The Latin and French digraphs should be abolished in esthetic, maneuver, medieval, as much as in era, economy, though hetcerism may be retained to avoid confusion
436 DIALECT NOTES.
with Jieteris^rij if there is such a word; cerated for aerated being, of course, a gross error. Chiromancy, cenozoic, are the regular forms of the barbarous spellings, cheiromancy, kainozoic, affected by British writers. Naught is properly spelled to correspond with aught, mama with papa, and skeptic, though in strictness it ought to be spelled and pronounced after the analogy of sceptre; yet, so long as the pronunciation is, like that of skeleton, irregular, the spelling may also be irregular, to correspond.
But Americans, with all their acuteness and good sense, seem just as much afraid as the English to correct such time-honored but inexcusable errors as volcanic for vulcanic, egotism for egoism, glucose for glycose, diocese for diecese, harpy for haipyy, kaleidoscope for caUdoscope, acoustic for acustic, eureka for heureca, kinetic and kleptomania for cinetic and cleptomania, hectogram for hecatogram, kilogram for chiliogram, curagoa for curagHo, Antilles for Antilias, Havannah for Habana, polygamy for polygyny (when used as cor- rellative to polyandry), dodecahedron for dodecaedron, pleasaunce or plaisance for pleasance, one's self for oneself, mamma for mama, to correspond with papa, fakir for faker {fakir is a Hindustani word meaning, simply, beggar), Sistine for Sixtine (Chapel), Athenian for Athenean (which is as bad as the American mis- pronunciation, European for European), and to pronounce cathdlic, heretic, etc., as fanatic, schism as scheme, and infinitesimal as spelled, instead of as rhyming with decimal. Egoism is the only legitimate form, not egotism.
If speakers and writers would take the trouble to consider a little, in the light of common sense, whether or not the words or phrases they use are correct, instead of merely following vulgar usage, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the most fla- grant inconsistencies and solecisms in our language would soon disappear.
EVACUSTES A. PHIPSON.
Selly Oak, Birmingham, England.
NOTES.
It is very welcome to us to have an article which can be regarded as authoritative as to English usage. Mr. Phipson's ideas of American usage are in the main in accordance with mine ; but in some few cases there is an apparent difference, which I have noted below. I have referred all the cases to several educated Americans, all of whom agree with me. It is
BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH. 437
impossible for any man who has not lived in a country to be an authority on usage there. (See Farmer s.v. Bourbon (2), buck-board, cunner, hard wood, jag (very amusing), jay, knife, maybe, nick, peamit politics, Pennsylvania Dutch, pine needles, rag carpet, red adder. Republicans, scup, shoo fly, and various other words.) I have therefore taken the liberty of noting the fol- lowing words : —
P. 430, 1. 10. I have never heard in America ^otel, 'eroic, ^abitual, harmo- nious. Have heard yumorous.
P. 430, 1. 21. I question the growth of Anglicized pron. in the French words given except invalid, which I have never heard pronounced except as an English word.
P. 430, 1. 34. Posy means a single flower in all American usage familiar to me.
P. 430, 1. 35. Saloon in the States is never used to mean anything but a place where alcoholic drinks are sold.
P. 431, 1. 10. A biirro is a "critter" with a distinct individuality, which neither donkey nor ass will quite cover ; likewise the canons (often thoroughly Anglicized in spelling into canyons) of our South-west are something quite special, beyond the meaning of any of Mr. Phipson's words.
P. 431, 1. 20. Insurance is the universal American word.
P. 432, 1. 24. Molasses, not molasses sy^-up, is the word in use.
P. 432, 1. 31. Pantalets is or was the word for a special variety, now obsolete, of the garment in question. Drawers is the general word in America, so far as I know.
P. 433, 1. 22. Belly is no more used in polite society in America than in England.
P. 433, 1. 31. artisses is unknown to me.
P. 434, 1. 8. cupolo is regular in my dialect ; so is one on ''em, sparrer- grass, and colume ; while I have heard in America buzzum, doom, yon^ arter, cheer, idear of, droring, and bloke.
P. 434, 1. 18. I say myself 'Hewn, dewty'^ (tiun, diuti).
P. 434, 1. 35. I don't know what marrow means in the sense implied.
P. 434, 1. 39. I never heard accord, cdntrol, or report, and dddress and recess are much less common than address and recess.
P. 435, 1. 10. We do not say testimdny, territdry, with primary accent on the penult, though we do put a very evident secondary accent there.
* E. H. B.
438 DIALECT NOTES,
GEE AS E AND GREASY.
In this my first report on the distribution of American dialects I would from the start emphasize two things : First, the report is in part based upon insufficient data, and is therefore tentative. Where the number of replies is very small, the percents based upon them will be given in fainter type. Secondly, the attempt to define the limits of diversity of usage in this country is a larger and more^ difficult task than I thought when I began it. And this means that my personal eifort at collecting answers to the test questions is quite insufficient ; I must have all the assist- ance that those interested in such things can give me.
I now have some 1600 sets of answers to my list of questions, but these are quite unevenly distributed, there being a much larger proportion from the North than from other parts, for example, as many from Michigan as from the whole South. A preliminary examination of the replies to several of the questions makes it certain that the following general division of the coun- try into four sections can be but little out of the way.
North : New England, New York State, and the country west that was settled from them (Mich., Wis., Minn., the settled por- tions of the Dakotas ; together with the adjoining northern part of Iowa, 111., Ind., Ohio, and Penn.).
South: the states below the Mason and Dixon line (except Del.) and the country settled from them (including southern Ind., southern 111., most of Mo., Texas, and all the country to the south-east).
Midland: a belt separating the North from the South and extending from the Atlantic to the Mississippi (including Long Island, New York City and the adjoining counties, New Jersey, Del., all but the northern strip of Penn., the upper prong of West Virginia, southern Ohio, middle Ind., middle 111., and St. Louis county. Mo.).
West : the territory west of the North, the Midland, and the South. It begins with southern Iowa and northern Missouri as an extension of the Midland, but soon flanges to the north-west and the south-west.
i
GREASE AND GREASY. 439
The District of Columbia is peculiarly national ; for this report I have taken the liberty of incorporating it, like Delaware, with the Midland.
In some matters Canada (especially Lower Canada) goes with the North, in others with the Midland and the South. It will probably turn out that in the majority of original differences it affiliates with the Midland and the South, but with the North in more recent matters — due to mutual contact and to similarity of climate and social conditions ; this theory, however, presents some difficulties. In parts of Canada the influence of Irish English, in others of London English, is marked.
In this report the attempt is made to apply this division of the country (as determined by the replies to several other questions) to the answers so far received as to the pronunciation of Ho grease' and ^greasy.' , It will be seen from the accompanying table that the general justice of the division is abundantly veri- fied. The numbers indicate the percent favoring voiceless s (as in ' sin ') ; the first number in each case is the percent for the verb ^ to grease,' the second for the adjective ' greasy.'
The dictionaries until recently recognized the voiceless s in the noun only, and prescribed the sound of z in the verb and the adjective. But in the seventies s began to gain recognition in the two latter also. In 1874 Donald's edition of Chamber's Dictionary gave the adjective as having z or s, and of the verb said, " sometimes 2." The Imperial (I have access only to the edition of 1883) assigns the adjective z, and the verb z or s. The Webster of 1884 admitted s by the side of z for the verb and adjective. The Century even prefers s to 2 for both verb and adjective, as does also the so-called Standard in the case of the verb, while for the adjective and for ' greaser,' it gives only s. None of the dictionaries suggest the use of z in the noun.
We have numerous singular nouns that end in a voiceless frica- tive like s gr fi, while the plural, a related verb, or a derivative, has the corresponding voiced fricative: Hhe house,' but 'houzez,' and ^ to houze ' ; ' louse,' but ' louzy,' etc. As is well known, this is due to the fact that in the singular of the noun the fricative was from the start a final consonant; while in the plural, in the verb, and in the derivative, it is or once was followed by a vowel or other voiced sound, and hence was itself voiced. It may be that the word grease (ME. gres{s)ef riming with the infinitive encrese in ' The Phisiciens Tale,' OF. gresse, graisse) at an early
440
DIALECT NOTES.
Or-, *^
o
P5o6
CO
5®
Si
. I
•^ CO
Is
cc 00
73 O
fit*
5^
goo
|
J. N. 41 Del. 33-33 |
|
/-<s |
|
.^5>^ |
|
s. 47 (& N. W. 30-27 |
|
d |
|
aj |
|
•^ 1 |
|
as |
|
h^ CO |
|
.2 |
2'?
n
c3
«3
02
""2
6^S|
^6
.H
•a I- ^3
S.2
.2
•s 'a,
.s ^
J a
GREASE AND GREASY. 441
day quite conformed to this category; that is, it is possible that at one time all English-speaking persons gave the noun s and the verb and adjective z. If so, the present frequent use of s in the verb and adjective would be due to later influence of the noun. It is much more likely, however, that in the larger part of the English-speaking territory the group never thoroughly conformed to the category : " s in noun ; z in verb and adjective," and that the use of s in the verb and adjective is original, arising out of the older ss, and being retained just as it has in other such words: ' release ' (ME. relas(s)en, OF. relesser, relaisser), lease, ' increase,' ^ cease,' etc.^ But Walker, probably guided by local usage, re- garded ' grease ' as belonging to the category, in fact, gave it as the first word in the list. In this he was slavishly followed by his successors and their various worshippers, who taught, or still teach, that s in the verb and adjective is "wrong." This is of importance, for it introduces a disturbing element in the natural development of usage. For example, while Massachusetts, like New England and the North generally, strongly favors s in the adjective and the verb, the influence of the school-teacher and the dictionary in and about Boston has materially reduced the percentage of the s-sound. Outside of Suffolk County, 94 % of Massachusetts people favor s in the verb, and 81 % of them favor it in the adjective ; but in Suffolk County the figures are respec- tively 80 and 74. Similarly, in England, exclusive of London, it would seem that 84% and 74%, respectively, favor the s-sound in ' to grease ' and ' greasy ' ; while in London, only 25 % and 33 % do so, if the reports received are fairly representative. But this great difference between London usage and that of England generally is doubtless in part due to other causes than teaching.
Aside from this, the diversity of usage will be found to be largely geographical. In this country the North and the South present the two extremes : 88 % ^ and 83 % on the one hand, and 12 % and 12 % on the other. In the Midland Belt the figures- are 42 % and 34 % ; in the West, 56 % and 45 %. In each dis- trict the usage is fairly uniform. Of course, that part of the North that was most exposed to immigration from the Midland shows a somewhat lower percent than the states north of it;
1 Words like 'ease,' 'please,' 'tease,' go back to single s.
2 These percents are obtained directly from the replies, not by averaging the percents of the states.
442 DIALECT NOTES,
this is most pronounced in northern Indiana, where the two cur- rents of migration got badly mixed. While the percents from the South are often based upon insufficient material, little incon- sistency is betrayed except in the cases of Tennessee and North Carolina ; in the case of the latter, I believe an element of inac- curacy was introduced by the fact that several of the reports were by Northerners who reside there, and kindly offered to observe and report the local usage, but may possibly have been misguided in a case like this.
In the AVest the usage is naturally not so uniform. Utah stauds out as remarkably Northern. The West is a compromise between tlie North and the South, and so in many things resem- bles the Midland, which, too, has contributed largely toward it. But there is a difference that I shall be able to make plain in my reports on other questions : the earlier usage of the West was largely that of the South and the Midland; to a very large extent this later yielded to, or compromised with, that of the North, hut to a different extent in different j)arts of the language complex. Of course, in time, the West will break up into sections, and it may be that more replies would reveal such a state of things now ; at present I can only speak of certain counties and towns as more Northern or Southern.
From the following table, it will be seen that in the matter of the pronunciation of ' grease ' and its kin there is practically no difference between New England and the North as a whole, and that Connecticut is the average New England as well as Northern State. For the Middle North (that is excluding New England and the British. Possessions), northern Iowa occupies a similar position, as does southern Iowa for the West, and middle Illinois for the Midland belt. The territory covered by Arkansas and most of Missouri is in a similar way representative of the South.
North 88-82. ^ ., __ _„
^^ ^ , , on oo ^ Conn 88-82.
New England . . . 89-82. j
Middle North . . . 87-84. N. Iowa .... 88-85.
West 56-47. S. Iowa .... 57-51.
Midland 42-34. M. Ill 37-37.
South 12-12. Ark. and S. Mo. . 11-11.
Although my replies for the Old Country are all too meagre, they are so interesting that they must not be omitted. If their inaccuracy should lead our friends across the water to send me more reports, they will serve a good purpose.
GBEASE AND GREASY. 443
England, exclusive of London 84-74.
Ireland 75-75.
London 25-33.
Scotland 14-14.
This, like many of the other questions, shows the interesting fact that our North harmonizes fairly with the larger part of England, while our Midland and even more our South show distinct traces of the Scotch and Scotch-Irish ancestry of a large part of their population.
Aside from the geographical question, the replies have brought to light various interesting matters. In those parts where z pre- vails, it occasionally appears in the noun, too, and this in the Old Country as well as over here. There are various reasons why we might expect the s-sound to be favored in the adjective more than in the verb. In the first place, most adjectives in -sy have the 2;-sound, while many verbs end in the s-sound. Where the analogy of ^ the grease ' is felt as affecting the verb and the ad- jective, it is evident that the verb 'grease' would be more likely to accord in pronunciation with the noun than the adjective 'greasy' would. Verb and noun are both monosyllables, and the verb as well as the noun is now often followed by voiceless sounds beginning the next word, whereas the s of ' greasy ' is always in voiced neighborhood. This is substantiated by the fact that some speakers give the verb the s-sound, except in the form ' greasing,' in which they use z. Moreover, where natural usage is influenced by the school and the dictionary (until recently advocating z in verb and adjective), this influence is the more apt to prevail the oftener the word occurs in general conversation where it may be "corrected." Now, 'greasy' may be heard often enough at school and in general intercourse, but ' to grease ' is rarely heard except in the barnyard — of greasing wagon wheels — and in the kitchen — of greasing pans. These things naturally reduce the percent of s in 'greasy,' cf. the table of states. On the other hand, where the tendency is to yield to the category : " noun s, verb and adjective 0," this will prevail the more in the case of the verb, because there are more verbs with z corresponding to nouns with s (for example, 'advise,' 'use,' 'house,' 'mouse,' 'es- pouse,' etc.) than there are adjectives with z corresponding to such nouns (I know of none but 'lousy'); and thus in a few districts the percent of s in the adjective is higher. An interest- ing psychological problem is presented by the fact that some
444 DIALECT NOTES.
people who normally say ^greasy' with s, pronounce the word with z when speaking of a disagreeable greasiness.
I shall close this report as I began it by saying that I am well aware of its imperfectness, and that I appeal to all who have the matter at heart to aid me in securing sufficient material to make future reports better. Strange to say, I have thus far received very little assistance from my colleagues in the various philo- logical societies. I should have at least one set of replies from every county; in States with large counties even this would be far too few. I shall always send copies of the questions^ to those who ask for them ; but I would especially urge teachers of English in colleges, normal schools, and young ladies' seminaries to use the questions as an exercise in English, requiring each student in the class to write out answers to the dictated ques- tions and to hand in the paper in lieu of an impromptu essay. Wherever the experiment has been tried it has not only been found very profitable to the students as well as to " the cause," but it has also in a healthy way aroused an unusual interest in English work.
GEORGE HEMPL.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1 Cf. also Dialect Notes, p. 316.
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YOBK STATE, 445
THE PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
The following article is an abridgment of a thesis on 'The Pronunciation of English in the State of New York,' presented at Cornell University for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1896. Only the more essential portions, those which deal with the results and the method used in obtaining them, are here presented.
Method.
The study here made is one of the actual pronunciation used in reading by students at Cornell University. This method of obtaining data could not secure such strict accuracy as to the actual living usage as would a study of unconscious conversational pronunciation ; but it was of necessity resorted to, since it was manifestly impossible, in the limited time that could be given to each individual, to bring any conversation to include such widely dissociated words as those used for tests. In testing vowel sounds, the words made use of are those similarly employed by the Cornell Dialect Society. To these was added a number of others for the determination of certain consonant sounds. All the words are of native origin, and most of them in very common use.
These test-words, once chosen, were brought together as well as possible into a piece of connected prose in order that reading, rather than mere pronunciation, might form the basis of the investigation. This same method, or one very similar to it, was used by A. J. Ellis in his study of the dialects of England. See the specimens themselves and his own remarks on their use and value in Ellis, Early English Pronunciation, Part V, pp. 7 * seq., 1 seqq. Of the reading test employed in the present work, a copy is here given. The words whose pronunciation was sought are indicated by numbers in parentheses placed before, these numbers corresponding to those used in the tables below.
This all happened on the southern (1) tier. In the (2) rear of many farms (3) there are marshy places, and farmers often have their pig-stys arranged on (4) rafts kept at the edges of these
446 DIALECT NOTES.
(5) swamps. One (6) afternoon the (7) door of a certain sty- was left open, and the wanton swine, disgusted with the (8) idea of squandering a life shut up in a pen, wandered off and wal- lowed in a (9) swath of (10) grass on dry land and among the (11) squashes in the gardens. There was a (12) fog at the time, so that the (13) hog's escape was (14) long unnoticed. As (15) soon as it was found out, however, a (16) dog was put on the scent, but seemed utterly unable to follow it. (17) Undaunted by his failure to keep to the (18) path, he yet did not give up the hunt. Darting through a (19) pass between two large (20) roots, with a Avag of his tail and a bark full of (21) wrath, he ran swiftly over the (22) clean (10) grass into the marsh, and there, leaping from (23) bog to bog, from (24) land to land, he (15) soon sighted the (13) hog he was pursuing. Now this (5) swamp was believed by the country (25) folk to be (26) haunted by a hog streaked with (27) soot and (28) yolk of ^gg and carrying a (29) spoon in its mouth, and a man might have hesitated before setting (30) foot on the place until sure that what he saw was real. But the (16) dog, quickly leaping over a (31) log, (32) passed in the direc- tion of the supposed animal, and with a noise like a (33) laugh of triumph sprang at the swine's (34) hoof. His (35) terrible jaws came together with a snap ; (36) clearly he had bitten at the (34) hoof of the haunting (13) hog. The poor (16) dog sat down (37) ingloriously on the turf, (38) burying his head in his paws.
At the (39) border of the marsh stood the Gay (40) Coffin, a sort of (41) coffee-house, (42) where, among other (43) boarders, were a (44) butcher's son named (45) Clark and his (46) aunt. These two had seen (47) half of the chase from the (48) roof of the (49) office, and when the dog dropped rather suddenly, the boy (50) very quickly ran to him, carried him into the (51) room, and placed him near an iron (52) urn in which was (53) burning a (54) fern-wood fire. (15) Soon the owner of the (16) dog came to the (51) room and threatened to have the {p^) law on the boy unless the animal were instantly given up. Having no (8) idea of keeping it, the boy gave up the dog, (56) stamped his feet as the man left, and turned to (57) quaff his beer. After some (58) grog, the farmer (59) jogged home, and at four (60) o'clock found the lost pig in the sty. He then turned to the house, humming
" Ye that in your hearts to-day Feel the (61) gladness of the May." .:,.
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YORK STATE. 447
His wife (62) asked about the dog, and the dog returning, after a swim in the (63) creek, ever after fought shy of swine.
. . . The (64) dancing girl (65) whom the doctor with (66) fostering care had just cured of the (67) whooping-cough came in with a (68) lamp in her hand and sang (69) " Ba ba Black Sheep " for the children. Then being (70) hot and dirty from rolling her (71) hoop she hung her (72) hood upon a (73) hook and went to (74) wash her hands, humming a (75) gospel hymn. A (76) wasp flew into the (51) room, which she struck with her wand and knocked into a (63) creek, where it perished in the swash of the waves. The children meanwhile played leap- (77) frog and were rather tired when the girl returned, but would (78) not admit it.
This selection was read by the different persons interviewed, and as the reading proceeded, the pronunciation in each case was indicated phonetically in tables arranged for the purpose. From summaries of the material thus gathered, the results given below have been derived. Before the reading commenced a brief ex- planation was made of the object in view and assurance was given that no criticism of the reader's own vernacular was in- tended. In no case was a refusal to read met with, and the fear which seemed sometimes to lurk in the reader's mind that he was to be made a living example of provincialisms speedily vanished when the subject had been properly explained.
Whatever importance may be attached to the fact in itself, it is at least interesting to note that the majority of persons fur- nished in the first part of their reading some excellent specimens of "dictionary English," in the belief, doubtless, that so-called ' correctness ' would be regarded as a chief merit in their contri- butions to this thesis. Such affectation of ' correct ' speech could not of course escape observation. Usually, however, it was not continued after the first half-dozen sentences. As soon as it was noticed, the reader was intentionally interrupted for the pur- pose of getting his mind as far .from the reading as possible, even for a moment, with the result that, when he resumed, the affected articulation had vanished, giving way to a more easy and natural one. On the other hand, many students who entered more into the spirit of the work and who had been more or less close observers of the language of their own localities were especially careful to give the pronunciation prevalent there, mentioning incidentally that this pronunciation was not ' correct.'
448 DIALECT NOTES.
The total number of persons consulted was 141, of whom 125 were natives of the State of New York. Of the sixteen born else- where, five moved into the State before reaching the fifth year, some before the second, and the remainder at ages varying from seven to sixteen. In this number is included at least one person from every county in the State, with the exception of Fulton, Hamilton, Lewis, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, and Sullivan.
Results.
Before taking up the results in detail, a word should be said on the variations noticed in the pronunciation of the same person. The test in this respect was merely incidental and was limited to those words which occur more than once in the selection given above. Even here, however, individual uniformity and consist- ency have generally been found. But thirteen cases of variation (and those in only nine words) have been noticed, all of them comparatively unimportant and of such a character that no definite inferences can be drawn. Thus, for example, variation between a long vowel and its corresponding short {u, u; i, i) is probably due to sentence stress ; cf. e.g., ^ soon ' (w/m) lines 9, 16 in the selection above ; ' creek ' (i/i) lines 46, 54 ; ' room ' (u/u) lines 33, 53. In 'hog' (ci/j) and 'dog' (s/a) the case is different, and here we have an instance of the struggle, per- haps unconscious, of an acquired form against a gradually yielding natural usage. This is true likewise of 'grass' («/«), 'haunt' (o/a).
In the tables below the words are given in their simplest form, the nominative singular of nouns and adjectives, and the infini- tive of verbs. The numbers correspond to those preceding the words in the text above, thus furnishing easy means of reference to the form actually used in the test. As a matter of convenience the pronunciation followed by the International Webster is given in parenthesis after each word. The system of phonetic spelling in which pronunciations are indicated is a slight modification of that recommended by the American Dialect Society. In the scheme of Sweet it may be shown thus : —
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YORK STATE. 449
Vowels.
Narrow.
Wide.
high mid low
|
back |
mixed |
front |
back |
mixed |
front |
|
i, bit 1, see |
|||||
|
e, her |
•B, but |
3, better |
e, men |
||
|
a, not a, father |
[^1] |
se, man se, fast |
|||
|
u, full u, fool |
|||||
|
0, obey 0, note |
|||||
|
0, law |
high
mid
low
Consonants.
open
side
stop
|
back |
gum |
teeth |
blade |
point |
|
\>, thin «, then |
z, zone |
|||
|
1, long |
||||
|
k, king g, go |
t, to d, do |
Table A
4
10 18 19 21 24 82 33
raft (a)
grass (a)
path (a)
pass, noun (a)
wrath (a)
land . (s)
pass, verb (a)
laugh (a)
134 135 133 133 132 138 137 127
aunt
half
stamp
quaff
ask
dance
lamp
(a) (a) (se)
(k)
|
ae |
a |
it |
|
117 |
8 |
10 |
|
132 |
1 |
8 |
|
130 |
4 |
- |
|
77 |
58 |
6 |
|
138 |
_ |
3 |
|
137 |
_ |
4 |
|
137 |
1 |
3 |
- 1
1 Between low-front and low-back wide; the so-called 'open-throat wide'
(a) of Webster.
450
DIALECT NOTES.
This first table, perhaps the most important one of all, is a test of a in closed syllables before voiceless /, th, s, and before n, or m H- consonant. The majorities in favor of ce as opposed to either a or d clearly prove that, for the State of New York, at least, the pronunciation authorized by the dictionaries has an extremely slight basis in actual usage. This, of course, does not apply to ' land,' ^ stamp,' ^ lamp,' in which the results agree with the lexi- cons. ^ Quaff ' forms an apparent exception, but the figures for this word alone would indicate nothing definite, since it was admittedly a book-word to many who read. Attention may be called to the slight difference in the results for ' pass ' as a noun and as a verb, but the variation points to nothing important. There can be little doubt that in ^ stamp,' when pronounced uncon- sciously, a is more common than these figures imply; but the question is whether or not such sentences as 'He stamped his feet ' Qii stampt iz fit) are much used by educated people. ' Ask ' was used in the preterit tense, and requires, therefore, to be further noticed as follows : —
71
aest 67
askt 1
ast
2
Sweet {Primer of Spoken English, 1890, p. 22) gives dst as the standard form in London, showing the suppression of k as in the second and fourth forms given here.
Table B
|
a |
o |
a |
o |
||||||
|
12 |
fog |
(a) |
137 |
4 |
31 |
log |
(a) |
28 |
113 |
|
13 |
hog |
(a) |
137 |
4 |
58 |
grog |
(a) |
132 |
9 |
|
16 |
dog |
(a) |
7 |
134 |
59 |
jog |
(a) |
138 |
3 |
|
23 |
hog |
(a) |
135 |
6 |
77 |
frog |
(a) |
136 |
5 |
A test of words having so-called short o. Although the analogy of the other words in the list favors a, and although the schools consistently teach this sound in all, Mog,' and more especially 'dog,' persistently maintain o. Many of the persons consulted, familiar though they were with dag as a learned pronunciation, declared that they seldom or never heard it outside of the school- room.
^/
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YORK STATE. 451
Table C.
|
a |
0 |
£e |
a |
o |
SB |
||||||
|
5 |
swamp |
(a) |
127 |
14 |
_ |
49 |
office |
(a) |
16 |
125 |
|
|
9 |
swath |
(0) |
105 |
35 |
1 |
66 |
foster |
(a) |
13 |
128 |
_ |
|
17 |
daunt |
(a) |
12 |
129 |
- |
74 |
wash |
(a) |
113 |
28 |
_ |
|
26 |
haunt |
(a) |
13 |
128 |
- |
75 |
gospel |
(a) |
93 |
48 |
_ |
|
40 |
coffin |
(a) |
9 |
132 |
- |
76 |
wasp |
(a) |
120 |
21 |
_ |
|
41 |
coffee |
(a) |
8 |
133 |
- |
Swath' is to be further noted as follows: —
&>
16
29
off
6
1
The words here were placed together, not because of any common characteristics in the written form, as in the tables already shown, but because the vowels varied in each case between a and o. The figures for ' swath ' are unreliable, since to many it was a mere book- word : a fact which probably accounts for the wide variations shown in the supplementary table.
Table D.
|
o |
o |
a |
o |
||||
|
39 |
border (o) |
118 |
23 |
43 |
boarder (o) |
17 |
124 |
These first figures give merely general results. The fact to be especially noted in connection with these words is the distinction, sometimes lost, but generally preserved, between the vowels in the first syllables. A more detailed summary shows that, of 141 persons, 100 make a distinction, using o in * border,' 6 in boarder : and. of the 41 who pronounce both alike, 25 use o, and 16 o.
|
Table E. |
|||||||||
|
e |
e |
e |
e |
||||||
|
35 38 |
terrible bury |
(e) (e) |
114 119 |
27 22 |
50 |
very |
(e) |
G6 |
75 |
452
DIALECT NOTES.
Comment is hardly called for here. The two pronunciations of very ' are doubtless due to different syllable-division.
Table F.
|
a |
u |
« |
u |
a |
V |
||||||
|
6 |
noon |
(Q) |
133 |
8 |
48 |
roof |
(u) |
50 |
91 |
||
|
15 |
soon |
(u) |
95 |
40 |
- |
51 |
room |
(ii) |
96 |
45 |
- |
|
20 |
root |
(a) |
66 |
75 |
- |
65 |
whom |
(u) |
137 |
4 |
- |
|
27 |
soot |
(u, u) |
27 |
107 |
7 |
67 |
whoop |
(Q) |
51 |
90 |
- |
|
29 |
spoon |
(Q) |
124 |
17 |
- |
71 |
hoop |
(u, u) |
34 |
107 |
- |
|
30 |
foot |
(u) |
— |
141 |
- |
72 |
hood |
(u) |
1 |
140 |
- |
|
34 |
hoof |
(.) |
22 |
119 |
- |
73 |
hook |
(u) |
1 |
140 |
- |
Passing over 'noon,' ' spoon/ 'whom/ ' hood/ 'hook/ as requiring no comment, the results clearly show that for the remaining words two forms side by side, and equally correct, must be set up as standard in the pronunciation of New York. This has already been done by the dictionaries in the case of 'soot' and 'hoop,' and if justifiable here it certainly is in the other words. A com- parison of 'whoop' and 'hoop' shows that 110 persons make no distinction in the pronunciation of the two words, 83 saying hup for both, and 27 saying hup. Of those who distinguish, 24 give u in ' hoop,' and u in ' whoop,' and 7 u in' hoop,' and u in ' whoop.'
Table G.
|
fok |
folk |
yOk |
yolk |
yolk |
yelk |
yalk |
||
|
25 28 |
folk (fSk) yolk (yolk, yok) |
109 |
32 |
41 |
50 |
10 |
29 |
6 |
The singular ' folk ' is largely a book-word, and the 32 people who sound the I here, would probably never think of sounding it in the plural. The variations of 'yolk' are interesting, but scarcely call for comment.
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YORK STATE. 453
Table H.
|
kl |
tl |
gl |
dl |
||||
|
22 |
clean |
24 |
107 |
37 |
inglorious |
35 |
97 |
|
36 |
clear |
33 |
98 |
61 |
gladness |
93 |
38 |
|
45 |
Clark |
3 |
130 |
||||
|
60 |
clock |
1 |
131 |
[The totals here fall below 141 because these words were added after the work was commenced, and it was impossible to see a second time some who had already been consulted. This is true also of the words in Table J.]
The pronunciation of initial gl- as dl-, and more especially of initial cl- as tl- is much more widespread, even among educated people, than is generally supposed. The prevalence of the latter sounds seems to have been properly recognized at an earlier stage in the history of American English, and the 1828 edition of Webster lays it down as an absolute rule that cl when equivalent to kl is pronounced tl, as ' tlean,' ' tlear/ and gl is pronounced dl, as in ' dlory ' (Webster, ed. 1828, ' Directions for the pronuncia- tion of words,' § xxiij). Written tl and dl do not occur initially in English. Cf. in this connection an article in Modern Lan- guage Notes, Vol. II, p. 222.
Table I.
|
iar |
ia |
ir |
ear |
er |
ea |
oar |
oa |
aa |
||
|
1 |
tier |
128 |
12 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
2 |
rear |
128 |
12 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
3 |
there |
_ |
_ |
- |
2 |
128 |
11 |
- |
- |
- |
|
42 |
where |
_ |
_ |
- |
1 |
128 |
12 |
- |
- |
- |
|
7 |
door |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
129 |
6 |
7 |
This is a table for the test of r, and here locality is of special importance. It has, accordingly, been ascertained that the twelve persons who in these five words consistently drop their r's are
454 DIALECT NOTES,
residents, and with one exception natives, of the counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Westchester, and Kensselaer. The single exception is a person born in Connecticut who lost (or rather never had) the r before coming into this State. Although further detailed statistics are wanting, such pronunciations as bocld ('border'), roe^d ('rather'), tlak ('Clark'), jnid ('poor'), noted several times and confined to the counties already men- tioned, go to confirm the results given in the table. Loss of r has not been met with in any other part of the State. The sound of the letter has, however, been retained by many of those con- sulted who live in these counties. Thus of five from New York, two retain ; of nine from Kings, five retain ; of two from Queens, one retains ; of four from Westchester, two retain ; of six from Kensselaer, five retain. It has been impossible to trace in all cases the influences which may have led to this retention, but in some it is due to the fact that those who still have the r were born# in other parts of the State and had their pronunciation fixed before becoming residents of these counties.
It is here that tlie insufficiency of data and the limited extent of this study are most felt. Whatever may be one's private be- liefs, these results must be taken as merely showing tendencies : and while no definite general statement as to the loss and reten- tion of r should be attempted until it is justified by further in- vestigation, a provisional ?'-line may, nevertheless, be drawn, which will remain fixed or shift according as the additional evi- dence does or does not corroborate these figures — very probably the latter. Within this line, then, would be included New York, Long Island, Westchester County, and Rensselaer County. The isolation of the last from territory otherwise contiguous is to be explained by the fact that this county, through its chief city Troy, is in close commercial and social contact with New York and Brooklyn on the one hand, and with New England on the other, and is, therefore, linguistically subject to the united influ- ence of these localities.
The use of r as hiatus-stop was tested in the two expressions 8) idea of and 55) law on, and was found to prevail in these same counties with the addition of Schenectady. In greater detail there were 16 cases of ai(J(i9r'DV occurring in New York, Kings. Queens, Suffolk, Westchester, Eensselaer, and Schenectady ; and 11 cases of bran occurring in New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Westchester.
PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH IN NEW YORE STATE. 455
Table J.
|
sing. )> |
sing > j sing. & |
sing. J» |
sing. > |
sing. fS |
|||
|
plur. )> |
plur. tS plur, 9 |
plur. > |
plur. fS |
plur. tS |
|||
|
path |
14 |
113 |
1 |
oath |
30 |
98 |
- |
|
wreath |
16 |
HI |
1 |
booth |
36 |
85 |
7 |
|
swath 1 |
21 |
91 |
15 |
mouth |
32 |
96 |
- |
|
moth |
31 |
97 |
- |
truth |
48 |
80 |
- |
|
lath |
64 |
64 |
- |
youth |
6o |
63 |
- |
These ten words in -tJi, plurals in -ths, were not embodied as were the others in the selections that were read, but were pro- nounced singly and without context. This method is undoubtedly- faulty, and the results are correspondingly unsatisfactory ; but while they are not wholly to be relied upon, neither are they entirely useless. With the exception of 'swath,' and possibly also of 'lath,' the words are common enough in both numbers, a fact which makes the varying use of /> and 9" in the plurals especially curious. Does this variation actually exist in the generality of educated speech in the Empire State, or do these results merely reflect a vague uncertainty in those who pro- nounced the words ? According to the dictionaries ' booth ' should have 9" in both numbers and ' truth ' and ' youth ' A in both, while the rest should have > in the singular and 3" in the plural. Assuming that our figures substantially represent what people really say, the only way apparently of accounting for these divergences is this : that it is vowel rather than consonant to which the schools have given their attention, thus leaving the pronunciation of the latter to natural tendencies or individual
caprice.
Table K.
We have here to deal with a few single words which do not fit any of the categories previously considered. Scarcely any
comment will be required.
14
long
(a)
139
Cf. 'log,' 'dog,' Table B above, p. 450.
1 One pronunciation suaA, Pl^^ s^j^az. On this word, see also above Table C, p. 451.
456
DIALECT NOTES.
|
a |
u |
|||
|
44 |
butcher |
W |
9 i |
132 i |
|
63 |
creek |
0) |
46 SB |
95 a |
|
69 |
Baba |
(a) |
24 |
117 |
• The prevalence of a here is doubtless due to the writing, as no sheep with its vocal organs in a normal state ever cried bd bd. Perhaps had the spelling ' baa baa ' been used, the result would have been different.
Words for which data were taken, but in which no variations whatever were found, have not been tabulated, nor does it seem necessary to mention them all here. One or two, however, de- serve notice. 11) squash was always pronounced with a and never with o. The test on 70) hot and 78) not failed to reveal any genuine rounded o. This accords with the accepted fact that the vowel here is always a. The close juxtaposition of 52) urn, 53) burn, 54) fern, gave good opportunity for observing the vowel sounds, and in every case they were found to be exactly identical, thus proving the distinction set up by Webster to be wholly arbi- trary and without basis in actual usage. This is a good instance of what really is and what orthoepists say ought to be. Of. Webster, Guide to Pronunciation, § 87.
This is the end of the investigation proper. The remainder of the original thesis attempts to compare the English of America with the English of England (the so-called standard dialect of London) as far as such a comparison is justified by the results given above and as far as published phonetic texts of English speech render it possible. For this purpose Sweet's Primer of Spoken English (1890) was used. To be of any material value and importance, however, such a comparison must be based on far more extensive investigations than those here made, — more extensive both in the words or classes of words studied, and in the territory covered, — and above all the conversational language must be made the groundwork of research. It seems, therefore, hardly worth the while to include the remaining part of the thesis in this abstract, and in view of the amount of space already taken up, it is as well to end here.
B. S. MONROE.
RoMirurs, N. Y., 15th August, 1S96.
ENGLISH OF LOWER CLASSES IN NEW YORK CITY. 457
THE ENGLISH OF THE LOWER CLASSES IN NEW YOEK CITY AND VICINITY.
About half of tlie six million inhabitants of New York State are massed within the limits of the <' Greater New York " — on Manhattan Island, and in the " commutation district " close by. Only a historical accident connects this region politically with the rest of the State, and separates it from the part of New Jersey across the river which looks to Manhattan Island for its business interests. New York " up the State " is an integral part of the American commonwealth ; it shared in the general west- ward movement of population, and is in race, institutions, and language, with some exceptions (chiefly on the great water-ways), just what it is geographically, — the middle ground between New England and Ohio. Its traditions have been rural all through its history down to the present age of rapid transit. All language traditions are, therefore, likely to have been conservative, and Mr. Monroe's article shows that in the matter of pronunciation they have been so. He has, as he says, very little material from the metropolitan district, and that little shows great variance from the usage of the rest of the State. The fact is that New York City and vicinity is, and always has been, something dis- tinct, not only from the rest of the State, but from the whole current of Anglo-Saxon traditions which has dominated the foundation and continuance of the American commonwealth. Theodore Roosevelt, in his book on Gouverneur Morris, gives the relative numbers of the different elements of the population at Morri^s time as follows: 1. Dutch; 2. French; 3. Irish and Scotch ; 4. English ; 5. German and Scandinavian (nearly equal in numbers to the English). A state of things quite similar has prevailed down to the present day. The current saying is that New York was settled by the Dutch, is owned by the Jews, and governed by the Irish. By the census of 1890, forty percent of the inhabitants are of non-American birth, and as many more of non- American parentage. A few years ago New York contained more Irish-born persons than any other city in the world, and more German-born than any other except Berlin and Vienna. A
458 DIALECT NOTES.
New Yorker who has four American-born grandparents is a rarity, and, as the above figures show, a great majority have not one. The whole atmosphere and traditions of the region are, and have been from the first, commercial. The almighty dollar is by far the foremost object of all activity ; whatever will bring the dol- lar, by fair means or foul, is regarded as legitimate enterprise. There are some very rich people who are spared from sordid cares, but the vast majority (and this extends to people whose income in dollars would make them care-free anywhere else in the world) are engaged in a fierce daily struggle to make both ends meet and keep up appearances. As in all such trade-centres, the Jew is very much in evidence; and all the conditions con- spire to the end that he and the Yankee and the Dutchman turn toward one another and the community the worst sides of their commercial morality.
The average New Yorker is the outcome of all these condi- tions. People of wealth and culture form a class by them- selves, which is relatively smaller than in most cities. People of culture without wealth do not live in New York if they can help it ; people of wealth without culture, though very disagreeably in evidence at times, are, after all, not very nu- merous, and get culture in a generation or two. The vast majority who have neither, look up to wealth with a curious admiration and to culture with a superstitious reverence, ac- knowledging frankly their want of both as compared with the recognized upper class, but very self-assertive as regards the sufficiency of what they have. New York is such a colossus that its inhabitants find full occupation for their observing powers without looking at the rest of the world, and it is rare to find one who has any but the most general ideas of what life is elsewhere in America. In spite of diverse origins, the population of New York is singularly homogeneous socially and intellectually, as soon as you get below the distinct upper classes. The New Yorker meets his fellow-men more in a day than the farmer up the State does in a month; he reads little but the newspapers, has little time for reflection, and takes his opinions wherever he can get them ready-made. Every family which does not own a house moves, on an average, oftener than once in two years.
The large foreign accessions come prepared to fall in with life as they find it, and they find it in many ways more like European life than anything else on this continent. They therefore fall in
ENGLISH OF LOWER CLASSES IN NEW TORE CITY. 459
very easily, and after a generation, or even sooner, are fully amal- gamated, without exerting any sensible influence to change in their direction the general current.
I have pictured the social conditions at such length in order to treat clearly the language conditions which correspond. The upper classes live a life of their own, travel a great deal, and educate their children in private schools, in which most of the teachers are not New Yorkers. Their language is therefore inde- pendent of the environment to a large extent, though there are individuals who have all the local peculiarities, and very few escape some of them. The foreigners who learn English here, of course learn the kind of English current here. The Americans and Britishers who come here with other kinds are relatively not numerous, and soon modify their pronunciation to conform to the current usage. (The Irish form one important exception, and their influence is to be traced in a few cases.) If they come as children they conform completely very soon. I think that no child under ten retains any trace of any other pronunciation after two years in the New York school and street life. The influence of the parents is almost infinitesimal, — quite otherwise than in rural districts. The children in most cases see very little of their fathers, and often hardly more of their mothers. The teachers in the New York public schools are generally natives, or, in a few cases, Irish. From these and the older children the local speech goes down to the younger ones. Adults or youths in the teens are slower to change their habits, yet I have met plenty of cases in which there was practically complete and surprisingly rapid adoption of the New York pronunciation by such persons.
On the whole, then, there is a distinct New York variety of English pronunciation, used by a large majority of the inhab- itants, and extending over a considerable district. It is most marked in the lower classes, who do not travel nor come under outside influences ; but it is rare to find any person who learned to speak in New York who cannot be recognized before he has spoken two sentences. The extent of the majority can be only roughly determined, but my estimate is as follows : Ten percent is a liberal allowance for the upper classes who are educated out of great local peculiarities. Perhaps ten percent more is liberal for foreigners who from home influences speak a different variety of English (fifteen percent is the total, and surely a third of these must be young enough to have conformed). Other foreign-
460 DIALECT NOTES,
ers either speak no English at all, or, so far as they do not speak "broken," speak the New York variety. Probably, therefore, three-fourths of the whole population of New York and the immediate vicinity is a fair estimate. As to local limits, the pro- nunciation (which I shall indicate as VNY) is pretty closely con- fined to the territory spoken of at the beginning of this article. It shades off very rapidly in New Jersey and up the Hudson as the " commutation district " is passed, but to the eastward some of the peculiarities are heard beyond that district; the New Haven pronunciation, for instance, has almost all the features of the VNY.
I have been quietly taking notes on this pronunciation during the six years of my residence in New York. The guards on the elevated roads, the tradespeople, some of my students, the servants in my kitchen and those of my friends, the newsboys, hawkers, and "barkers," the school-children in school and out, have all contributed material. Last summer I endeavored to make final observations and put the matter in shape. I am conscious that it is incomplete, but I hope that others will give their criticism and aid in some future publication to establish the facts on a surer basis.
The general peculiarity of the VNY pronunciation which cov- ers most of the special cases, is a change from the usual tongue- habit of the English language in the direction of a less vigorous use of the front part of the tongue, especially in the pronuncia- tion of vowels. We know that in English the tip of the tongue is used with great vigor and accuracy in consonant pronunciation, giving the much-remarked sharp s, the interdentals ^ and 3", and the tendency to substitute dl and tl for gl and M ; while the back of the tongue and the soft palate are comparatively untrained and remain passive, so that we have no guttural spirants, cannot pro- nounce the uvular r, and are liable to nasality. Our vowels are all indefinite enough, but the back vowels are very much so, and the higher back vowels all tend to progress forwards, while the front ones are relatively much better. The VNY makes the front vowels worse than the back ones, without any special gain in the latter over the usage of the rest of the country ; the interdentals are beginning to go, and I observed no case of dl and tl for gl and kl. In vociferous pronunciation, such as that of the street Arabs shouting at play, or crying wares, this tendency to retract the tongue is very noticeable. I give the sounds in detail.
^â– i
ENGLISH OF LOWER CLASSES IN NEW YORK CITY. 461
Front Voivels.
i is generally pronounced better than some of the other front vowels. It is not very high, though generally much clearer than the i. It does not glide as in Sweet's LE (ij), but sometimes glides from a high- or mid-mixed vowel to the i position.
i is in the typical speech a high-mixed or mid-mixed vowel, — pretty nearly the e of our alphabet, as heard in the New England (and English) pronunciation of her, bird, etc., though generally a little higher. When unaccented, the vowel, however written, is always pronounced 9 rather than i where there is a choice. This is especially noticeable in pronouns and such common words : i03tdm or wdddm with him, fdVBm for him, givdudm giving him (there is no distinction between him and them; both are dm), tjikdn chicken, lieit-n curtain, sekstdsekst sixty-sixth (but seksti sixty). Ids -less, jids -ness, 9z -es (plurals and 3d sing, of verbs).
A noteworthy exception is -tion, which is often pronounced/m.
e when full long (final, under strong accent, or in monosyllables) is a glide, beginning rather low in most cases (even written oi by the newspaper humorists, e.g. loid>/ for lady) and ending in about the usual place (e to i). When half long there is no glide, and the vowel is near the short e (for oe) as to quality, but tends strongly toward a mixed vowel when in weak syllables.
e is a mid-mixed vowel, nearly identical with that used for i, though a little lower in most cases. This is specially noticeable in the calls of the newsboys, conductors in the public conveyances, etc. (ekstra or -tri extra, s:evdntas-eknd seventy-second, Vesn lesson).
In tvjelve and twenty the preceding lo appears as a somewhat closer round- ing, giving almost exactly the (close) o of the German {tolv, tonti). If then, as often happens, the n of tweiity is carelessly pronounced, and appears as a nasalization of the vowel, and the t is strongly aspirated, a Bostonian will understand thirty when the New York conductor calls what he means for twenty ; and this often really happens.
iae is very high, pretty close to e of the normal scale, and never mixed, — being thereby clearly distinguished from the New York e (> 9). Among the older New Yorkers this very high vowel is used in all the set of words pro- nounced in New England with the broad vowel (ask, half, pass, etc.), and is really higher in these words than in 7nan, cab, etc. But this distinction is now lost and the general vowel has quite overtaken the special one {he7id hand, keb cab, dens dance, hefpest (half past). In can the weak form is kin, which is often kept even under accent, — a striking fact in view of what was said under i.
Back Vowels.
These present no special features. Ci is less rounded than in New England, but more than in the West and South. The Western and Southern sound (for which we sadly need an added character in our alphabet), viz. a high- mixed, unrounded vowel, with a glide toward the normal w, is not common ; a variation in that direction from the normal is often heard.
462 DIALECT NOTES.
u is absolutely normal.
6 is about the usual American variety ; some glide, though less than in England, when full long and under accent ; no glide when half long.
0 is really a, — the exact short of h in father, — as almost everywhere else in the States.
a and o are about the standard sounds heard elsewhere in America.
Diplitliongs.
ai ("longi") is subject to the usual variations in the first component, from a to » or e. There is no tendency to omit the glide, as in the South and in the Cockney English.
iu ("long m") is the usual American iu (not jw), with stress on the first component. It tends to be replaced by u after dentals: tiizdi Tuesday, never t/uzdi; nu new, rid rule, etc. In ni-ok New York, the w falls out between the two front vowels, which then shorten to one.
01 tends somewhat towards ai in many cases (possibly Irish influence). au has much variation in the first component, but in no case shows
"fronting" of the vowel (to cb or a mixed vowel near tc) as in the South. What is heard is generally a regular a or something approaching ».
Vowels ivith r.
The treatment of the various vowels when followed by r is undoubtedly the most important matter in local variations of pronunciation in the United States, if not elsewhere where English is spoken. New York presents some very striking peculiarities in this field. In general, »• after vowels is com- pletely silent, or represented by a glide (a), as in the LE of Sweet's studies. It is silent after a, o (however written), and a. It becomes d after ?, e, ce, and ^. Special cases are e and » (e). When a vowel follows, the r re- appears or replaces 9, as in LE. The insertion of r as hiatus-stop {idea(r) of it, vanilla(r) ice-cream, India(r) ink, etc.) is not unusual, but less frequent than in New England. It is specially common after o (ratc(r) oysters, I saw(r) it, etc.)
ar. father = farther (faSd), ctt art, d, r (letter of alphabet), atfd are there.
Where the stress is not great, so that there is tendency to shorten, the sounds written ar and o (short) are the same, hominy = harmony (hamdni), lodge = large, God damn = guard them (gaddem), etc.
or and 6r are identical, both being pronounced o. The quality of the vowel tends, however, to be higher in many individuals than the o when not followed by r. When final the r often entirely disappears, so that war or four rhymes with law.
er. This combination, however written (er, ir, ur, or (word), ear, etc.), has the same pronunciation. (I do not believe that any difference is made in any variety of English pronunciation, whatever the dictionaries may say.) The sound given to this combination is the one distinctive peculiarity of the New York pronunciation. It is, according to my observations, only sporadic, and very rare at that, outside the region now under consideration. Professor
ENGLISH OF LOWER CLASSES IN NEW YORK CITY, 463
Grandgent maintains that it is also common in Philadelphia. I can only say that I spent some time in Philadelphia in phonetic investigation ; I examined carefully about a hundred students of the University of Pennsylvania, who I made sure were born and brought up in the city or suburbs, and not one of them had this pronunciation. I have heard it only a single time during several visits to Philadelphia, and that was from a street-car conductor who may have been a New Yorker. The only person, among several hundred from other parts of the country whom I have examined, who had this pro- nunciation, was a lady from Lexington, Ky., whose sister, born and brought up under the same conditions, had the usual pronunciation (e'") of her region. Contrast with this these facts: In a school-room in Brooklyn, with thirty- seven pupils, thirty-five had this pronunciation without doubt, and of the other two, one proved to have been born in Scotland and the other in Bristol, Conn. Out of a hundred cases of guards on the elevated road at Eighty-first Street, eighty-one announced *â– 'â– etifdist,'''' and in seven of the other cases the guard was clearly an Irishman or a German. The sound is difficult to imi- tate consciously, and outsiders, unless they come to New York very young, rarely adopt it ; but the genuine born-and-bred New Yorker rarely escapes it. Its territorial limits to the north and west do not extend beyond " commuta- tion " distance. I hear it sometimes in the Hudson River towns, but the natives of Tarry town, for instance, use e(r) or e'". To the east and north- east, however, it extends farther, over the whole of Long Island, and through all the Sound cities of Connecticut, and up the valley as far as Hartford.
In this combination, the r has become a vowel, and forms with the pre- ceding vowel a diphthong which is very close to the French sounds heard in feuille. (I used to get some New York boy to pronounce fir to illustrate the French sound in my classes.)
The quality of the first vowel varies a good deal. In the pronunciation of the better classes it is a real high-mixed vowel, higher than the usual unac- cented d. It runs the gamut down through d and » until it reaches the point which leads the comic papers to print "goil," "woild," etc., in attempting to give the "Bowery dialect." Of course the sound of the diphthong, in some cases, comes very close to the " long i" (aO» ^s is shown by such inci- dents as the sending in of Stein for Stern on a list of students' names at Columbia College, and the appearance of incontrovitahle for incontrovertible in the usually faultlessly proof-read columns of the Evening Post.
It may be worth noting here that the use of i for r does not occur after any other vowel, whatever Mr. Howells may say. The solitary instance of anything of the kind that I have heard was an order for a " poik tenderloin " in a restaurant from a person who, as I afterwards noticed, could not pro- nounce r at all. He might possibly have adopted some other substitute if he were not familiar with the i after e.
er. The pronunciation of this combination as er, in such words as very, terrible, American, is well-nigh universal. It is, of course, quite in keeping with the general tendency ; moreover, it is not liable to confusion with the sound heard elsewhere for er, and is out of the way of confusion with cer in words like barrel, in which the vowel is pronounced very high (e) as usual.
464 DIALECT NOTES.
Consonants.
Only a few consonants need discussion j most of them are perfectly regular.
The surd stops (p, k, t) are strongly aspirated. In the case of t the aspi- ration sometimes suggests an s. I have had this s appear appended to the final t of my name on the address of goods delivered from stores, when I had written the address myself in giving the order.
A substitution of the glottal catch (', Sweet) for t in words like letter, but- ter, written, etc., is common, though by no means regular, among the school- children. I heard it much more frequently than in schools in other regions. matin mountain, with the n-position held throughout after the vowel, is another pronunciation which I heard several times.
The most striking and important peculiarity in consonants is the substi- tution of t and d for /> and 3. This does not take place in all words, nor in the speech of all persons, even of the lower classes ; but the tendency exists beyond doubt. It may perhaps fairly be ascribed to the influence of the large number of foreigners who have not the interdental in their own lan- guages, and cannot pronounce it. I observed very few cases of natives who could not, and did not in some words, pronounce the interdentals correctly ; and the substitution of d and t for them, unlike some of the other peculiari- ties of the VNY, is not heard in the speech of the better classes. (More than half of my Columbia College students pronounce di for er, but none of them t and d for /? and 5. )
I can establish no rule as to phonetic combinations in which this tendency prevails. I am rather inclined to believe that it is merely a question of fre- quency of usage. The definite article, the pronouns this and that, the ordinal numerals in th, and such every-day words, are almost uniformly pronounced with the d or t, while anything in the nature of a " book-word" keeps the orthodox interdental. di'e(i)t, always printed in the newspapers "De Ate," i.e. The Eighth (Assembly district), ndtam-drdkd North America, saut fdt South Fourth, tr'on thrown, rdtmdtik arithmetic ; but mepdd method "A.wApdr-enfedSds parenthesis by the same boy.
wh is not infrequently voiced, though the rule is for the voiceless sound, as in most parts of America. I have been told that voicing is nearly universal in Richmond County (Staten Island), though I have not been able to verify this by observation.
Note. — The phenomena above described represent tendencies, most but not all of which have become facts in the pronunciation of most but not all New Yorkers. It therefore must not be supposed that every New Yorker, still less every American, exhibits all of them, even as tendencies.
E. H. BABBITT.
COLtTMBIA COLLKGE, N. T.
Nov. 28, 1896.
THE ANNUAL MEETING. 466
EEPOET OF 1895 MEETING.
The annual meeting of the Society for 1895 was held at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., December 28, at 9 a.m. President Sheldon was in the chair. Committees were apjjointed as follows : to audit the Treasurer's accounts, Mr. Grandgent: to nominate officers for 1896, Professor Hempl, Professor Geddes, Professor Eambeau.
The Secretary read the report printed below, and continued with a more detailed verbal report of some of the work in hand, and recommended the appointment of two committees, one to supervise the work of readers for the English Dialect Dictionary, and the other to issue question circulars regarding American usage. The report was accepted, and motions for the appointment of such committees were made and carried, and the following appointments were made by the chair : to supervise the work of readers for the English society. Prof. 0. F. Emerson, Prof. B. I. Wheeler, Mr. E, H. Babbitt; to issue circulars with questions regarding individual and local usage, with power to spend for printing and clerical work any money in the treasury which in the judgment of the Executive Committee is not needed for regu- lar expenses. Prof. George Hempl, Prof. E. L. Weeks, Prof. G. W. Kent.
The amendment to the constitution providing for life member- ships, as printed on page 401, was adopted. There was some discussion as to action on the Secretary's recommendation to reserve life-membership fees for a publishing fund, but the matter was finally left with the Executive Committee.
On motion of the Treasurer, the following additions to the by-laws were adopted : —
" Instead of the Dialect Notes, the Secretary shall send to all members of the American Dialect Society whose dues remain unpaid, a statement that, upon receipt of such dues, a copy of the Dialect Notes will be forwarded.
"All members of the American Dialect Society whose dues have not been paid for three successive years shall be dropped from the rollsj after receiving due notice from the Treasurer."
466 DIALECT NOTES.
The committee to audit the Treasurer's accounts reported them correct, and the report was accepted. The committee to nominate officers reported the following list of officers for 1896, and after their election, the meeting adjourned : —
President, Charles H. Grandgent, Cambridge, Mass. ; Vice- President, George L. Kittredge, Cambridge, Mass. ; Secretary, Eugene H. Babbitt, Columbia College, New York City ; Treasurer, Lewis F. Mott, 17 Lexington Ave., New York City ; Editing Com- mittee, the Secretary, ex officio, Oliver F. Emerson, Cleveland, Ohio, George Hench, Ann Arbor, Mich. ; Executive Committee, the officers named above, and M. D. Learned, Philadelphia, Pa., Alcee Fortier, New Orleans, La., J. B. Henneman, Knoxville, Tenn.
Secretary's Keport for 1895.
The general report in Part VIII is presumably familiar to all the members.
The first matter of note for the year is that our plan for entering new material is in thorough working order. The form for this was adopted after a good deal of thought and discussion. We use sheets of such a size that they will fold into the standard library size. On the back of each is an outline map of the United States as far west as the Rocky Mountains, and most of Canada. What is west of our map contains fewer inhabitants than the State of New York, and is not to be compared with Can- ada as a field for investigation. A dot is made on this map for every report of the word entered with definition on the other side. Some of our maps begin to show the habitat of words with great distinctness. So far there are few negative reports; but when we get more local branches in working order, these can be supplied very readily. A plan suggested for publication is as follows : When the Editors have reason to think that sufficiently full reports for any word are in, let a list of such words be sent to all the local branch circles, and everything sent to the central committee, who will put it in shape for Dialect Notes. The exact form for this will depend on the organization of the work of sending out question circulars.
The work of getting out Part VIII was very slow. It was begun early in the summer, but owing to the fact that the Secre- tary was the only member of the editing committee who was able
THE ANNUAL MEETING. 467
to give any time to it, it was November before the copies could be finally sent out. As no two of the officers of the Society were within reach of each other during the summer, the plan had to be adopted of keeping the whole matter on the galleys till the proof could be read thoroughly and additions and corrections made. As there were a large number of these, the work was made more expensive than was expected ; but the expense is, in the opinion of the Secretary, justifiable in view of the more satisfactory results obtained. Notwithstanding the larger amount of the entire bill, the edition, on account of the larger number printed, cost a fraction less per copy than usual, and the price to mem- bers for the year remains at 40 cents. Enough material was promised to make another Part, and it is hoped that Part IX will be out earlier in the year than Part VIII. It is proposed in Part IX to publish a complete index and close the first volume. Among the material promised is a complete record of college phraseology, as a result of a thorough investigation by means of a circular letter sent to all the colleges and large schools in the country, an article on railroad English, some com- parative notes by an Englishman, a phonetic study of the New York vulgar speech, a further treatment of animal calls, and an article on Quaker English.
The question of readers for the English Dialect Society is treated in Part VIII, so far as it can be without action by the Society. It is hoped that some definite action can be taken at this meeting. The Secretary suggests that if the constitutional amendment concerning life members is adopted, the principal of the fees paid in by them be set aside as a permanent publication fund, to be used when our material is completely in shape and ready to appear in a dictionary or other final form. This will enable us to treat with publishers on a much more independent basis than the English society, which has now a troublesome financial question to meet in publishing its dictionary.
E. H. Babbitt, Secretary.
468 DIALECT NOTES,
Treasurer's Eeport for 1895.
From December 29, 1894, to December 27, 1895.
Receipts.
Cash on hand, December 29, 1894 $89 04
Dues for 1893 1 00
Dues for 1894 12 00
Dues for 1895 188 00
Dues for 1896 8 00
Dues for 1897 . 3 00
Dues for 1898 2 00
Dues for 1899 1 00
Sale of publications 81 90
Total §385 94
Expenditures.
Printing Bills and Notices $6 75
Printing Circulars 31 72
Printing Notes, Part VIII (1895) 200 45
Postage 18 20
Envelopes for Notes 2 00
Expressage 2 10
Advertising 1 25
Typewriting 1 25
Electrotype 11 50
Clerical work, entering matter on cards 104 65
Cash on hand, December 27, 1895 . . : 6 07
Total $385 94
Lewis F. Mott, Treasurer.
LIST OF MEMBERS, 469
LIST OF MEMBEKS, NOVEMBEK, 1896.
Life-Members.
Miss K. P. Loring, Pride's Crossing, Mass. A. Matthews, 145 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
Members.
E. V. Abbot, 22 West 34th St., New York City.
F. I). Allen, 45 Brewster St., Cambridge, Mass. Miss E. F. Andrews, Wesleyan College, Macon, Ga. Robert Arrowsmith, 806 Broadway, New York City. Astor Library, New York City.
E. H. Babbitt, Columbia University, New York City.
G. C. Baker, Attorney-General's Office, Albany, N. Y. O. M. Baker, 499 Main St., Springfield, Mass.
C. S. Baldwin, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Miss H. A. Bancroft, Albion, Mich.
A. M. Bell, 1525 35th St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
Mrs. G. A. Bennett, 1121 Herkomer St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Birmingham Free Libraries, Ratcliff Place, Birmingham, England.
R. E. Blackwell, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va.
C. P. Bowditch, 28 State St., Boston, Mass.
Miss E. M. Boyce, 973 Park Ave., New York City.
H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y.
W. T. Brewster, Columbia University, New York City.
L. B. R. Briggs, 140 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. W. Bright, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
G. H. Broughton, Jr., 2 East 15th St., New York City.
C. S. Brown, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. ,
E. M. Brown, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 0.
G. H. Browne, 16 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. D. Bruner, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
R. L. Brydges, Islip, N. Y.
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Miss E. M. Buckingham, 264 Ryerson St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Buffalo Library, Buffalo, N. Y.
Mrs. H. T. Bulkeley, Southport, Conn.
Mrs. C. Burns, 254 West 85th St., New York City.
W. E. Byerly, 39 Hammond St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. W. Campbell, 63 Jay St., Albany, N. Y.
G. R. Carpenter, Columbia University, New York City. W. H. Carruth, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. Rashleigh Chalmers, 44 Broadway, New York City. Miss E. Chase, Heath Hill, Brookline, Mass.
F. H. Chase, 51 Trumbull St., New Haven, Conn. T. M. Coan, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City.
Miss L. K. Cog£?eshall, 102 East 57th St., New York City. Adolphe Cohn, Columbia University, New York City. H. Collitz, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa. A. S. Cook, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
470 DIALECT NOTES.
Miss L. G. Cook, Hotel Aberdeen, New York City.
Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N. Y.
Miss Agnes Crawford, 111 West 75th St., New York City.
C. L. Crow, Weatherford College, Weatherford, Tex.
Alexander Gumming, Grove City, Pa.
S. W. Cutting, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
A. N. van Daell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.
M. G. Daniell, 11 Schuyler St., Roxbury, Mass.
A. McF. Davis, 10 Appleton St., Cambridge, Mass.
Horace Davis, 131 California St., San Francisco, Cal.
Miss J. L. Delafield, 475 Fifth Ave., New York City.
Mrs. Clara S. De Motte, 77 N. Franklin St., Valparaiso, Ind.
F. B. Denio, 149 Hammond St., Bangor, Me. Mrs. F. A. Denison, Deep River, Conn. Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Mich.
Wm. S. Douglass, 20 Clinton St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
M. J. Drennan, 42 West 17th St., New York City.
Patterson Du Bois, 1031 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Wm. A. Dunning, Columbia University, New York City.
M. L. Earle, 462 West 22d St., New York City.
M. W. Easton, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
W. A. Eckels, 210 McMechen St., Baltimore, Md.
H. A. Edson, 442 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, Ind.
J. C. Egbert, Jr., Columbia University, New York City.
H. W. Egner, Jr., 1015 Broad St., Newark, N. J.
A. M. Elliott, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
G. M. Elwood, Box 124, Rochester, N. Y.
O. F. Emerson, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, O.
E. Emerton, 19 Chauncy St., Cambridge, Mass.
W. T. Eustis, 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass.
W. G. Farlow, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. A. Fay, Kendall Green, D. C.
J. D. Fitz-Gerald, 57 Liberty St., Newark, N. J.
Thomas Flint, 241 Cumberland St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
R. C. Ford, Albion College, Albion, Mich.
A. Fortier, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
W. E. Foster, Providence Public Library, Providence, R. I.
F. W. Freeborn, Public Latin School, Warren Ave., Boston, Mass. A. R. Frey, 1757 Bathgate Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.
J. P. Fruit, Bethel College, Russellville, Ky.
J. M. Garnett, University Station, Charlottesville, Va.
J. Geddes, Jr., Boston University, Boston, Mass.
S. B. Gilhuly, Flemington, N. J.
C. H. Grandgent, 107 Walker St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. A. Greene, 71 West St., New York City.
H. E. Greene, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Mrs. T. E. Greene, 201 West 88th St., New York City.
E. S. Griffing, University Club, Chicago, III. N. Guilford, 102 Park Ave., Yonkers, N. Y.
F. B. Gummere, Haverford College, Haverford, Pa. E. E. Hale, Jr., Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. W. G. Hale, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111. Philip Hale, The Boston Journal, Boston, Mass.
E. W. Hall, Colby University, Waterville, Me.
F. Hall, Marlesford, Wickham Market, England. William Hallock, Columbia University, New York City. A. Hamilton, 57 Harbord St., Toronto, Canada. Elizabeth D. Hanscomb, Smith College, Northampton, Mass. W. R. Harper, 5657 Washington Ave., Chicago, 111.
J. B. Harrison, Franklin Falls, N. H.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 471
A. B. Hart, 15 Appian Way, Cambridge, Mass. C. E. Hart, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J. J. M. Hart, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
C. H. Hayes, Madison, N. J.
S. Hayward, Globe Village, Mass.
D. C. Heath, 110 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Miss Louie Heller, 115 East 82d St., New York City.
G. Hempl, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
W. A. Hervey, 607 West 138th St., New York City.
J. B. Henneman, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
E. W. Hooper, 50 State St., Boston, Mass. A. F. Howes, West Hartford, Conn.
Miss E. M. Hussey, 1 Irving Court, New Bedford, Mass.
Andrew Ingraham, New Bedford, Mass.
O. B. Ireland, Springfield, Mass.
A. V. W. Jackson, 16 Highland Place, Yonkers, N. Y.
H. C. G. von Jagemann, 113 Walker St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. Johnson, Brunswick, Me.
Rossiter Johnson, 72 Fifth Ave., New York City.
H. M. Johnstone, 33 West 97th St., New York City.
Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kan.
C. W. Kent, 8 East Lawn, University Station, Charlottesville, Va.
P. O. Keow, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
C. G. Kidder, 34 Nassau St., New York City.
G. L. Kittredge, 9 Hilliard St., Cambridge, Mass.
C. Kyle, 346 Broadway, New York City.
J. M. Lamberton, Box 245, Concord, N. H.
W. C. Lane, 19 Oxford St., Cambridge, Mass.
H. R. Lang, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
C. R. Lanman, 9 Farrar St., Cambridge, Mass. Wilfred Lay, 71 Willow Drive, New Ilochelle, N. Y.
M. D. LearYied, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
F. B. Lee, Box 499, Trenton, N. J.
T. B. Lindsay, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
D. G. Lyon, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. N. G. McCrea, Columbia University, New York City. J. McDufiie, 182 Central St., Springfield, Mass.
John J. McNulty, College of the City of New York, New York City.
G. E. McLean, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. J. M. Manly, 9 Arlington St., Providence, R. I.
Miss Helen Mansfield, 6 Franklin St., Gloucester, Mass.
F. A. March, Lafayette College, P^aston, Pa.
G. M. Marshall, 41 East 8th St., Portsmouth, O. D. C. Martin, 54 West 55th St., New York City.
J. W. Mason, College of the City of New York, New York City.
Mrs. C. Massick, Cotton Exchange, New York City.
Brander Matthews, Columbia University, New York City.
J. E. Matzke, Leland Stanford, Jr., University, Palo Alto, Cal.
R. E. Mayne, Hotel Netherland, New York City.
W. E. Mead, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
Mercantile Library. Philadelphia, Pa.
William Milwitzky^ Columbia University, New York City.
T. C. Mitchill, 133 West 48th St., New York City.
W. A. Montgomery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
J. B. Moore, Columbia University, New York City.
P. J. Mosenthal, 44 Cedar St., New York City.
L. F. Mott, College of the City of New York, New York City.
B. H. Nash, 252 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
F. P. Nash, Geneva, Ontario Co., New York.
J. G. Neeser, Jr., 2 West 33d St., New York City.
472 DIALECT NOTES.
W. W. Newell, 175 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass. New York Historical Society, 170 Second Ave., New York City. New York State Library, Albany, N. Y. G. C. D. Odell, Newburgh, N. Y. O. N. Olcott, Ridgefield, Conn. F. L. Palmer, Walla Walla, Wash. F. N. Parke, Westminster, Md. , James Parker & Co., 27 Broad St., Oxford, England.
R. L. Parkinson, 125 School Lane, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa.
W. W. Pasko, Caldwell, N. J.
J. M. Paton, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
H. T. Peck, Columbia University, New York City.
J. H. Peniiiman, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
M. L. Perrin, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
E. D. Perry, Columbia University, New York City. T. S. Perry, 312 Marlborough St., Boston, Mass. Philological Association, Boston University, Boston, Mass. Mrs. Neven Pomeroy, 308 East Market St., Chambersburg, Pa. Mrs. G. K. Preston, 180 West 59th St., New York City.
T. R. Price, 263 West 45th St., New York City. S. Primer, University of Texas, Austin, Tex. H. A. Rademacher, 7 Lee St., Lawrence, Mass.
A. Rambeau, 1201 Bolton St., Baltimore, Md. J. C. Reeve, Jr., Dayton, O.
C. F. Richardson, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.
F. E. Rockwood, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
H. W. Roth, N. Hayne Ave. and Le Moyne St. , Chicago, 111.
Miss Isabelle Rutty, 40 Clinton Place, New York City.
St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.
O. B. Schlutter, Public High School, Hartford, Conn.
H. Schmidt- Wartenberg, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
Mrs. C. C. Scott, Arkadelphia, Ark.
C. P. G. Scott, Radnor, Pa.
T. D. Seymour, 34 Hillhouse Ave. , New Haven, Conn.
H. A. Shands, Georgetown, Texas.
C. C. Sheldon, 49 N. Common St., Lynn, Mass.
E. S. Sheldon, 27 Hurlbut St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. R. Sim, College of the City of New York, New York City.
W. E. Simonds, Knox College, Galesburg, 111.
W. J. Skillman, 4216 Pechin St., Roxborough, Pa.
W. S. Slocum, 144 Essex St., Boston, Mass.
Mrs. A. T. Slosson, 38 East 23d St., New York City.
H. H. M. Smee, Fort Rice, North Dakota.
C. F. Smith, 431 Lake St., Madison, Wis.
C. L. Smith, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass.
J. H. Smith, 7-13 Tremont Place, Boston, Mass.
H. W. Smyth, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
C. A. Snow, Ames Building, Boston, Mass.
F. Townsend Southwick, Carnegie Music Hall, New York City.
E. Spanhoofd, St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H.
C. E. Sprague, Union Dime Savings Institution, New York City. W. O. SprouU, 29 Mason St., Cincinnati, O. J. Squair, 61 Major St., Toronto, Canada.
B. F. Stevens, 4 Trafalgar Sq., London, England.
F. H. Stoddard, University of the City of New York, New York City. Kaiserliche Universitats- und Landesbibliothek, Strassburg, Germany. Henry Sweet, 38 Norham Road, Oxford, England.
Mrs. J. O. Tansley, 28 West 43d St., New York City. J. H. Thayer, 67 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass. Calvin Thomas, Columbia University, New York City.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 473
â– R. G. Thwaites, State Historical Rooms, Madison, Wis.
H. A. Todd, Columbia University, New York City.
A. H. Tolman, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Can.
C. H. Toy, 7 Lowell St., Cambridge, Mass.
E. E. Treffrey, 310 West 128th St., New York City.
O. L. Triggs, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.
G. M. Tucker, Box 74, Albany, N. Y.
J. A. Tufts, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H.
W. M. Tweedie, Mt. Allison College, Sackville, N. B.
University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, Pa.
University of Missouri Library, Columbia, Mo.
G. R. Van De Water, 7 West 122d St., New York City.
A. Van Name, 121 High St., New Haven, Conn.
E. L. Walker, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
F. M. Warren, Adelbert College, Cleveland, O.
R. L. Weeks, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. E. E. Wentworth, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Adolph Werner, College of the City of New York, N. Y.
B. I. Wheeler, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
J. R. Wheeler, Columbia University, New York City.
A. C. White, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Mrs. C. A. Whitney, 120 East 34th St., New York City. L. Wiener, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. R. W. Willson, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
G. E. Woodberry, Columbia University, New York City.
B, D. Woodward, Columbia University, New York City. Worcester Public Library, Worcester, Mass.
J. H. Wright, 6 Kiedesel Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Joseph Wright, 6 Norham Road, Oxford, England. G. H. Yeaman, 44 Wall St., New York City. H. E. Zimmerman, Tannersville, Munroe Co., Pa.
[Total, 257.]
INDEX.
abito, 377.
aboideau, cf. ahito, 377.
abra, 243. Cf. mesa, 191.
ac^ite, 243.
ac^mila, 243.
ac^quia, 187, 243. Cf.
acequiad6i\ 243. acequiad6r, 243. Cf . ace-
quia, 243. across (akrost), 237. addition, 384. adept (edep), s.v. crept,
238. adios, 243. Adirondack (edri-on-
dak), 411. admiral, 377. ad6be, 18', 243. Cf.
(Toby. 415. ac jpt, 'a^h. ai jard, af eared, 69, 214,
:<J34, 327, 375. afficted, 384. a;cre, 327. a't'^r (sefta), 67. ag^in (9gin), 67. against (aginst), 67. agate, 76. Cf. aqatey,
219 ; realer, 428. agatey, 219. Cf. agate,
76. age, 382. agg on, 72, 2-34. agostad^ro, 243. agrfto, 243. Cf . algireta,
ibid, aguardiente, 187. ague, 327. agu^ro, 243. ahijar, 243. aim, 370. ain't, 67 ; 370 s.v. heat-
enest; 374, s.v. quench
the spirit. ajol6te, cf. axoldtl, 244. alacran, 243. alamagoozlum, 384. alara^da, 187.
alamo, 187.
alb^rca, 187, 243.
albur, 243.
alcalde, 187.
Aleck, 411.
alfarga, -s, alforja, -s,
187. alfilaria, 187, 243. alger^ta, algireta, 243.
Cf. agrito, ibid.; cha-
parrdl, 189, 246. aljibar, 244. Cf. ahijdr,
243. all, 411. Cf. tjou alls,
375. all aboard, 335. allerickstix, 60, 234. all evening, 411. alleys, allies, 76, 219.
Cf . ally-ally, and blood- alleys. alligator, 339. all morning, 411. all quails, s.v. talqual,
381. alius (olas, obz), 327. ally-ally, 411. Cf. alleys. ally waiter, 411. almiid, 244, 253. Cf.
fanega, 190. alter, 70, s.v. stag. alto, 244.
amarg(3so, 187, 244. ambuscades, 370. amparo, 244. anacahufta, 244. Cf.
andqua, ibid, anan, anen, anend, 327. anaqua, 244. Cf. ana-
cahuita, ibid. anc6n, 244. afi^ja, 244. anent, 370. angler-worm, 411. Cf.
angle-ioorm. angle-worm, 339. Cf . eel- worm, ees-worm, 416 ;
fishing -worm, 417. 475
anthony-over, cf. antny-
over, 395. antic, 370. antny-over, anty-over,
anty-anty-over, 395.
Cf. haihj-over, 341 ;
colly over {vp), 386. anxious bench, 327. Cf.
mourner'^s bench, 382. anxious seat, 327, 382.
Cf. mourners, 65. apar^jo, 187. apast, 370. appearanced, 370. apple-cabbage, 411. Cf.
apple-peru, 384. apple-grunt, 411. apple-palsy, 327. apple-peru, 384. Cf.
apple-cabbage, 411. arado, 244. arbutus, v. 411. Cf. our
beauties, 398. arctic (atik), adj., arctics
(atiks, antiks), n.,
237. ardflla, 244. are (aa, sea, ea), 67, 71,
234. arri^ro, 187. arrdba, 187. arrow, 71, 234. arroyito, arroyulo, 244.
Cf. arrdyo, 187, 244. arrdyo, 187, 244. Cf.
arroyito, 244. ary, 376. Cf. nary, 332. ary other, 376. as, for than, 376. aside, 328. Cf. side up,
383 ask, asked, 6, 37, 67, 226.
237. Cf. ax. asparagus (spaeragraa),
328. Cf. grass, 389. asphalt (aesfelt), 237. at, for are, 411. atdjo, 187, 244.
476
INDEX.
ate, 237. Cf. eat, 211,
371, 416. at61e, 187. Auburn (or- burn, -bun),
60, 234. aught, 237. aunt (8Bnt, ant), 239. auntsary, 377. aura, 244, 324. avenue, 48. ax, axe, axed, 71, 234,
328. Cf. ask. axle, 6, 67, 73. Cf. eks
(X), ibid, 'axoldtl, 244. ayudante, 244. az6te, 244.
baby-buggy, 411. babv-carriage, -coach,
4il. baby-in-the^hole, 411.
Cf. roly-poly, 423. bach, n., bach it, v., 396. bachelor girl, 390. back, v., 384, 396. back-a-licks, 219. back-load, 328. Bad Lands, 384. baft, 411. bag, v., 216. baggages, 412. bag o' guts, 328. baile, 324. bail-strap, 412. bait, 412. bake pancakes, 384. Cf.
pancake, 392. Bakervl (=Bakerville),
374, 375. bakery, 412. bake-wagon, 412. balk, 340. ball off, 412. ballyhack, 396. balm of Gilead, 384. band-wagon, 209, 412. bange, 21. banjer, 375. banter, 235, 396. banty, 76, 214, 234. baptist (babdist, bab-
tist), 238, 375. barber, 377. barge, cf. hand-vmgon,
209. Barker, 412. barley, barley's out, 60.
Cf. king, king's crew,
king''s cruse, king''s
ex., king''s excuse, no fair, -s, Itebdr.
barnacle, 328.
barn ball, 381.
barn-door, s.v. winkle- hawk, 383. Cf. trap- patch, 20 ; trap-door, 211 ; nickle hawk, 391.
barranca, 187.
barrow (bgeri, bad), 6, 50, 67.
barsdown, 396. Cf. sic- a-nine-ten, 399.
barvel, 412.
bass, s.v. lin, 240.
base (best), 384.
bat, 235.
batch, 335.
bateau, 328.
battle, 370.
battling- stick, 370.
baum, 384.
bayou, 187, 195.
bay truck, 382.
be, been (ben), bcant, 38, 77, 212, 238, 328, 340. Cf. im'uH, 69, 234, 340; haint, 210, 376; imiz,Ti, 234.
beach, 328.
beacon, 21.
beal, 384.
bear, 276.
beard (bseard), 6, 67, 328.
beast, 69.
beast-back, 63. Cf. crit- ter-back, 64.
beat, v., 207, 267, 377.
beat done, 412.
beatenest, 229, 370.
beater, 18.
beat hoop, 18, 214.
beatin's (bitinz), 412.
beaut (byut), 412.
bed-kivers, 375.
bed-fast, 69, 234.
befuddled, 412.
begin, 276.
begretch, begrutch, 384.
bein' as, 229.
beldiique, 188, 224. Cf. verdugo, 195 ; machete, 191, 249.
belling, 412.
bell-snickle, 72.
bell weather, 396.
belly-bump, -bumper, -bunk, -bunt, -buster, -flop, -flounder, -grind-
er, -gut,- gutter, -whack, -whopper ; to coast (q.v.), 60, 211, 235, 340, 377, 412. Cf. lady-fashion, sled, sled ride, sleigh-ride, set- ters, steerers.
belly-bumper, -buster, -flop, -flopper, -whack- er, -s ; to fall on the water in diving, 4i», 60, 212, 214, 396. Cf. qids-dive.
belly-wax, 328.
belly-whistle, 328. Cf. switchel, 343.
belt, 235.
belt line, 412.
bench stones, 335.
bend-a-bow, 412. Cf. bender.
bender, 328. Cf. bend-a- bow, and tittly bender.
bendy, cf. bend-a-bow, 412.
bend the fists, 18.
ben nuggins, 412.
bent, 229.
berrendo, -a, 244.
best bib and tucker, 396.
beyond (beyend), 6, 67.
bezugo, '.^45.
bid, -276.
biddable, 69.
bif, biff, bift, 72, 214, 234, 396. Cf. clip.
big, 48.
big Dick, s.v. dice, 61.
biggity, 384.
bile (bail), 6, 71. Cf. biled cakes, bilin'' and boil.
biled-cakes. Cf. s.v. doughnut, (3), 387.
bilin', 63. Cf. cahoot, compoodle, kit and boodle, kit and ca- boodle, koboodle.
bilious (bily^s), 63.
bill, 340.
billet, 377. Ci.brcastner.
bind, 27(5.
binding-pole, s.v. broom- pole, 328.
binnacle, 412.
bird's-egging, 412.
bird's-nest, ^ 412. Cf. crow's-nest, 415.
bisagre, 188.
biscuit, 412. Cf.6Hn,414.
INDEX.
477
bislings, 412.
bit, n., 285.
bit, v., 229.
bito, cf. abito, 377.
biznaga, cL vizndga, 253.
black caps, 399.
black frost, 69, 214.
black long-berries, 412.
blackmail, s.v. king, 398.
black walnut, s.v. wal- nut, 76.
blasks, 412.
blast, 335.
blatherskite, 328.
bleat (blet), bleating (blaitiq), 72, 234,238.
blickey, blickie, blicky, 328, 382.
blinders, 377.
blink, blinky, 370, 384.
blister, 328.
blocks, 328. Cf. streets, squares.
blood-alleys, 76. Cf. al- ley.
blood-sucker, 49, 56, 212.
bloomaries, 328.
Bloomfiekl (brum-), 412.
blow, 276, 412.
blower, 335.
blowhard, 328.
blowover, 335.
Bluenose, 378.
blue pony, 384.
board-bank, 328. Cf. floats and platform.
boat (bot), 17.
boat-ride, 413.
bob, -s (bob), 238, 413. Cf. bob-sled and bob- sleigh.
bobbed, 63.
bobbee, 229.
bob-cat, 72.
bob-sled, 72, 214, 413. Cf. bob.
bob-sleigh, 413 ; s.v. bob- sled.
bodaciously, 413.
body, 370,
bog (bog, bog), 72, 234, 238. Cf. loft.
boggy (hvgi), 238.
boil, 67. Cf. bile.
boke, 413.
bold, 370.
bolero, 324.
bolt, 336.
bonas (bongs), 384. Cf. hogas, 389.
bone, -s (b6n), 17, 413.
Cf. bone in. bone-fire, s.v. pope-night,
217. bone in, 413. bonfto, 188, 195. bony fish, s.v. menhaden,
33'-* boof,''413. booger, 413. booger, boogher, boogie,
n., 18, 77, 214, 235,
340. Cf. poker. book, ^ (bok), 24, 413.
Cf. go, 59. boom, 48. boom-pole, 328. hoover, 76. Cf. bowler,
76. horned, 233.
borrow (bori), 50, 4'13. boss cow, 340. hossii, le gros, 44. Boston, 384. bot6n, 245. Cf. reata,
194. boughten, 328. bounder (bunda), 382. bounty jumper, 335. bout, s.v. lot roios, 342. bowler, 76. Cf. boover. box, 413.
boyze, boyzee, 77, 328. brackwater, 328. braes, 328, 382. I bragudro, 245. Cf.
chicha, 189. brake, 340.
brands, s.v. braes, 382. bras^ro, 188, 245. brash, 229, 384. brassfcur, le, 44. bravo, 188. bread and butter, come
to supper, 229. break, 7, 276, 413. Cf.
broke, 413. break down, 336. breaker, 385. Cf . cradle
(in-the-road), thank-
you-md'am, water-butt. breast-collar, plate and
strap, 378. breastner, 378. Cf . burn,
billet, turn. breast stones, 335. breechman, 413. breed, 385.
hreetlierin,bretheren,67. briago, 245, 253.
brickie, brickly, 70. brief (brif), 209. briggetty, 385. bring, 276. britheren, cf. breetherin,
67. broke, 413. Cf. break. br6nco, 188. brought on, 370. brow, 378. brutherin, cf. breetherin,
67. bub, 340, 343, 396. buck, V. 378. Cf. buck- saw, 48. buck, buck-a-dandy, 328.
Cf. laddie buck, 390. buck a fellow, 63. buck-board, 413. buck-darting, 328. buckies, 413. buckle, 18. buck rake, s.v. bull rake,
396. buck-saw, 48. Cf. buck,
378 ; saw-buck, 48. buckskin pony, 385. buck-wagon, s.v. biick-
board, 413. buckwheat cake, s.v. ;9a«-
cake, 392. Bud, Buddy, 385, 413. budge, budges, 18, 77,
214. biiey, 245. bulYaloo, 413.* bug, 48.
hug-a-boo (biig-a-bu) , 67. buguer, 214 ; s.v. boogie,
413. bugger, s.v. booger, 340.
Cf. tacker. buggy, s.v. carriage, 340. bug out, 413. Cf. bung
out, 414. build up to, 413. Cf.
bulge (buldO, 233. . bulk (bulk, bulk), 233,
bulkhead, 9, 18.
bull, 76, 329, 335. Cf.
bull's rim/, 76. bulldoze, 329. bull-frog, 72, 213. bull nose, 329. bull-pad, -paddock,
-paddv, s.v. bull-frog,
72, 213. bull plow, 396.
478
INDEX.
bullrag, 329. Cf. bully- rag, ibid.
bull rake, 396.
bull's foot, 413.
bull's ring, 76. Cf. bull, 76.
bull-tucker, 72, 213. Cf. bull- frog, 72, 213.
bully, i378.
bullyrag, 329. Cf. bull- rag, ibid.
bumberell (b^mbarel), buiubershoot (b^ni- barjut), 413.
bun, 414. Cf. biscuit A12. -bung out, 414. Cf. bug out, 418.
bunker, 220.
bunty, 49.
burden, 73.
burn, 378. Cf. billet, brea.stner, turn.
burn, 276, 385, 414. Cf. patch, 421.
burro, 188.
bury, 17.
burying, 385,
bush (bu/), v., 396.
bussy, 370.
bust, 276.
butcher, 206.
Butler, 414.
butter, 385.
buttertingered, 329.
butternut, s.v. xcalnut, 76.
butternuts, 235, 385.
butting, 336.
buzz, 414.
by, 385. Cf. come by, 371.
by-and-by (bairn bai), 329.
cabalUda, 188. caballerfa, 188. caball^ro, 188. caballo, 188. cab^stro, 188, 245. cache, 385. cachupin, 188. cack, 385. Cf. tacker. cacomfte, 188. cagged, 378. Cf. keg,
239. cahoot, 63, 235. Cf. bilin\ cake, 60, 234. calabacilla, 188. calab6zo, 188. calk (kork), 329.
callibogus, 378.
calico, calico, 414.
calico pony, 385.
call over the coals, 414.
calm (ksem), 238.
calves (ka^vs), s.v. shafts, 241.
camdte, 188.
can, 414.
Canada (ksenadi?, Ken- nedy?), 50.
Canadian (ksen-edian, kgen-ed;an), 50.
canaigre, 324, 326.
canard brancliu, le, 44.
candelfa, 246.
candlelight, -ing, 385.
canker lettuce, 385.
can6n, 189.
cailoncfto, 245. Cf. cahdn, 189.
cantfna, 245.
can't see 'em, 385.
cap, 335.
caporal, 245. Cf. major- domo, 249.
cappin', 370.
capiil, -es, 245.
car', carry, 378.
caracara, 245, 324. Cf. zopilote, 195, 326.
careful (karfl), 329.
c^rga, 189, 245. Cf. fanega, 190.
cargad6r, 245. Cf. pat- ron, 250.
carne, 189.
carr^ta, 245.
carriage, 340, 414.
carriage- harness, 414.
carrier in, 335.
carri'n (kaerin), 73.
carry, 70, 214.
cartridge (ksetridj), 6, 67, 238.
cart wheel, 414.
cascade, 385.
cascara, 245.
case, 60.
cassy (ksesi), causeway ^ 73.
cast, 340.
Castana nuts, 414.
caster, 414.
cat, *'lettheoldcfl!idie," 77, 212, 214. Cf. s.v. 25.
cat, 63, 214, 414. Cf. pussy and pussy cat, 422; scrub, 214,424.
catabiassed, 385.
cat-a-cornered, 414. Cf. catercornered, 8 ; cat- ter-cornered, 6; catty- corner, 236 ; kitter- cornered, 419.
catan, 245.
catch, catched, 7 ; catch (ketj),catched(ket;t), 6, 67, 238, 276 ; cauyht (kat),414. CLketchtd.
catch up with, 414.
catchy (ketji), 396. Cf. ketchy, 331.
caterin' , 340. Cf . kitter- ing, 419.
catercornered, 8. Cf. cat- a-cornered.
cat fit, 385. Cf. connip- tion fit and duck-fit.
catish, 60.
catouse, 20 ; s.v. touse, 79.
catter-cornered, 6. Cf. cat-a-cornered.
catty-corner, s.v. kitty- corner, 236. Cf. cat- a-cornered.
caught, of milk, 18, 77, 214.
cautch, 385.
cavalli, 189.
cellar-case, -door, -way, 18, 215, 235.
cebdlla, 189.
c^ja, 245. Cf . chaparr&l, 189, 246.
c61va, 245. Cf . selva, 252.
cement (sim-ent), 238.
cenc^rro, 245.
cenfzo, 246.
cenz6ntle, cenz6ntil, 246.
c^rda, 246.
cerOla, cerrfllo, 246.
cerr^ro, -a, 246.
chacate, 189.
chair (tJsBo, tje), 67. Cf. cheer, chur, 6, 17, 71, 234.
champ (t/omp), 67.
chance (tjens), 8.
change off, 396.
chank, 385.
chankings, 384.
chdpa, 246. Cf. chapa- rdjo, 189, 246.
chapar&jo, -s, 189, 246.
chaparrdl, 189, 246.
chapdte, 246. Cf. zapdte, 253.
INDEX.
479
chaps, 324. Cf. chapa- rdjo, 189, 246.
chaqu^ta, 246.
charco, 189, 246.
charivari (Jivar-i), 235.
chase, 414.
chastise, 378.
chat sauvage, 44.
chaw, 329, 370.
checker-berries, 414.
cheer (tjiar), 6, 17, 71, 234. Cf, chair.
chee, cheese, 340, 376.
cheese, 414. Cf. ice, 419.
cheesit, n., 385.
chessy cat, 378.
chestnut ! 48.
chicharra, 246.
chicharrdn, 246.
chic6te, 246.
chilaquil^s, 189.
chilch6te, 189.
childern, 7.
chfle, 189. Cf. carne, ibid.
chiltapin, 246.
chimbly, chimley, chim- ly (tjimli), 67, 375.
chinaman, 385.
chinche, -es, 189, 229.
Chinees, chineys, 220, 385.
chinkin's, 329.
chip in, 396.
chipmuck, chipmunk, 73, 340.
chipper, 210, s.v. perky.
chippy, 414.
chirk up, 236.
chiselly, 414.
chivarro, -s, 189, 246.
choke, 266.
choose, 276, 385.
chouse, 385.
Christmas, 386.
chuck, chug, 60, 234, 386.
chunk, chunks, chunky, 209, 414.
chunker, 329.
chur, 71, 234. Cf. chair.
church, V. 386.
church house, 386.
cfbolo, 189.
cicatrfz, 246.
cider brandy, 331, s.v. jack (apple). Cf. wink- urn and Jersey light- ning.
ci^nga, 189.
cimarrdn, 246.
cinch, cincha, 60, 189,
236, 246. Cf . braguero,
245. cions (saians), 329. claggy, 386. clamber, 370. clarty, 414. Cf. slarty,
394. clatterments, 371. claw off, out, 18, 215. clearn through (klian),
209. clevel, 210. Cf. devil,
ibid, cleverly, 210. clevil, 210. Cf. clevel,
ibid, died (klaid), 77, 886. dim, climb, 71, 234, 238,
276. Cf. ride up. dink, 329. clinkers, 371. clip, 220, and s.v. bif,
234. Cf. bif, T2, 214.
234. close (kloust), closter,
(klousta), 238. clotten house, 378. Cf.
tilt, 381. clout (klaut), 378, 396. dove, 414.
clucker, 329. Cf. rat- tlers, 383. cluttert, 329. coal, 329. coal hod, 396. Cf. coal
scuttle, ibid, coal oil, 48, 414. coal scuttle, 396. Cf.
coal hod. ibid, coarsen, 38(5. coast, 21, 58, 77, 213,
215. Cf. belly-bump,
etc. coast, n., 371. coat (k6t), 17. coax play, 18. cocked and primed, s.v.
primed, 422. cock-eyed, 282. coda(k), 414. coker-sack, 386. colcannon night, 378. coHma, 189. college, 210. collier, 329. colly over, colly up, 386.
Cf. antny-over. colorddo, 189.
comdl, 189, 246. come, 60, 276, 376. come again ; come back
again, right soon, 414,
415. come by, 371. Cf. by,
385. come-by-chance, 386. come down ; come down
on, 415. come in, 386. comeny, 386. Cf. haic. come on, 371. come through, 371. Cf.
git through, 05. comfno, 189, 247. commony, commy, 60.
Cf. doggies, 387 ; drats,
64. compadre, 324. compan^ro, 324. complected, 73, 284. compoodle (konip-udl),
64. Cf. bilin\ comprompo, 386. conan (kL'n-sen), 414, s.v.
coda(k). Cf. nan, 421. concha, -s, 824. con^jo, 247. conetdn, 247. confab, 229. confidential, 371 congregation (korjgrige-
;9n),238. conjure up (k'Bnd3er) ,
396. conkerbill, 378. connip, conniption, con- niption fit, 841, 343,
415. Cf. cat-Jit. conostogas (koiiastdgiz),
229. Cf. stogies, s.v.
229 ; and 237. contra'ry, 375, 386. coof (kuf), 8, 386. coon, 64. coon oyster, 329. cooster, 382. coot, 341, 343. cooter, 386. c6pa, 247. Cf. capita,
ibid, copfta, 247. Cf. c6pa,
ibid, copper, 73, 234. copse, 415. copying, 378. Cora (kOra, kor-a), 24. cordy glass, 335. corn (kon), 64, 216.
480
INDEX.
cornder, 24, 64. corn-dodger. Cf . dodger,
64. corn-husking, s.v. corn-
shiickinrf, 371. corn-shucking, 371. cor6na, 247. corrdl, 190, 196, 247. cors6, s.v. course^ 324. cotton tail, 386. cough up, 415. could (kmi), 24. coulee, 386. count, 329. Cf. cow^
329, heifers, 331. count clams, 329. count out, 396. coureur, le, 44. course (ko,is), 17. course, courc6, 324. covel, 378.
cow, 329. Cf. count. cow (kaBu), cows, 6, 24,
48, 67. cowbuncle (kaub^qkl),
64. cowcumber, 64, 329. cow-pasture, 48, 56. coy6te, 190. coyotillo, 190, 247. crackajack, 415. crackling bread, s.v.
dodger, 64. cracky, 378. cracky-wagon, 60, 415. cradle-in-the-road, 386.
Cf. breaker, 385. crang, 386.
crap, craps, s.v. dice, 60. crapais, 44. crapping it on the sheers,
386. crawfish, 64. crawl, 415. crawly root, 396. crawm, 73. crave the benediction,
371. creek (krik), 238. creeter, s.v. critter, 341. creep (krep), 238, 276. crib, 329. Cf. fergen,
330. criinmy, 386. crfn, 247.
critter, 64, 341, 376. critter-back, 64, s.v. crit- ter. Cf. beast-back, 63. croaky, 18, 77, 215. croater, 76.
crock, 329. Cf. smit,
394. cross critter, 210. crow's-nest, 415. Cf.
bird'' s- nest, 412. cruller, s.v. doughnut
(3), 387. crumby, 415. Cf. raggy,
423, and tacky, 42i>. crump, 386. crunnocks, 378. cuarta, 247. Cf. quirt,
251. cuatez6n, 247. cubby, 329. cubby-hole, 329. cuckle-button (ktjkl-
b^tn), 386. cuckold, 371. cu^ro, 247. cuidado, 321. cull, 329. cullens, s.v. cuUinteens.
Cf. cullins, cuUinteens,
cullings, culls, 329. cullet, 335. cullings, s.v. cuUinteens,
329. cullins, s.v. cull, 329. cuUinteens, 329. culls, 329. cungeons! cungeon roots!
2i9. cunny-thumb, 219. cupola (kyupal'O, kyti-
pal-o, kyupal-ou, kiu-
palo), 2i33, 238. cuppin', 386. cure (kyour), 233. currantses, 375. curricle, 329. cushion (kwifn, kwujan,
kwijan), 17, 58, 77,
415. cuss, 277.
cut, 64. Cf. tap, 337. cut, cut behind, 212. cut and run, 77, 212,
215. Cf. s.v. and leg
it, 25. cut out, 229. cutter, 206. cut up, 415.
dad, etc., for God, 64, 376. Cf . dod, 64, 330. dagon, 378. damiana, 247. damnify, 329. dancing-pumps, 378.
I dander, 386. Daniel (dtenyel, daenl,
dsenel, dienil), 238.
Cf. Nathaniel, ibid, dare (daea), darsn't
(dasnt), 73, 229, 277.
Cf. dass, 210. dare bast (der best), s.v.
king, 398. Cf. barley. dass, da.sn't (dasout),
210. Cf. dare. daubin, 330. daur, 386. day-down, 386. dead, s.v. dead-line, 64. deader, 415. dead-head, 415. dead-line, 64. dead wood, 386. deaf (dif),50, 56, 215. deed and double, 386. deluge, 51.
denunciarm(i)6nto, 247 depth (deb», 238. deputation (deby-
at-ejan), 238. deputy (debudi), 238. derramad^ro, 247. deviling, 371. devisad^ro, 247. dice, 60. dicked, 330. Cf. diked
out, 387, and dike, 382,
387. difficulty, 375. digging tracks, 210. dight, 18, 215. dike, 210, 382, 387. Cf.
dicked, 330. diked out, 387. Cf.
dicked. dingbat, 387. dingbatler, 387. dingle, 387. dingswizzled, 396. Cf.
hoim sicaggled, 397. dingy, 415.
dinky, dinkiness, 415. dip, 382. dippy, 415. dirt, 378.
dish out, s.v. fanner, 58. d is re member, 58, 371. district (distrikt), 17. ditch, 415.
div, dive, 71, 234, 277. dixie, 398. Cf. king, 398. do, does, 67, 277, 415. doby, 415. Cf. addbe,
187, 243.
1
INDEX.
481
dod, etc., for (3^0^,64, 330.
Cf. dady ibid, dodge, 18. dodger, 64. dodunk, 387. dog(do9g,dog),6,67,72,
234, and s.v. hog, 238. dog fall, 387. doggies, 387. Cf. com-
mony, 60. dog gone, 67. dog-running, 415. dogy, 415. doin's, 229.
do-less, doo-less, Gl, 234. domad(3r,247. Cf.ginete,
248. dominies, 330. doncy, 387. donnock, 341. don't you (dontj-u,
dont/a), 67. doodle bugs, 229. do one proud, 387. Dora (dora, dor-a), 24. doty, 378. doubles, 24. Cf. dubs,
24, 220. double-seater, 415. Cf.
two-seater, 426. double up, 330. dough, 415. dough-nut, 387. Cf.
fried-cake, 388. do-ups, 382. downcome, 330. down (the) country, 382,
415. down felowyers, 330. doxy, 415. doze, dozy, 210. drag, 61,234. Cf. drug,
drugged, and di'aw, 7,
277. drap, 72, 234. drats, 64. Cf. doggies. draw, n., 387. draw, 7, 277, 387. Cf.
drag. draw pickle, 335. dream, 277. dreen, 72. dreg, 330. Cf. drudge,
210. dreggy, 371. Cf. druggy. dribble, 378. Cf . plump- ing, 24. drink, 7, 277. driv, drive, 48, 71, 234,
277.
drudge, 210. Cf. dreg, 330.
drag, drugged, 67, 234, 330, 378. Cf. drag.
druggy, 233. Cf. dreggy and drugs, 37 1 .
drugs, 371. Cf. druggy.
drung, 378.
druthers, 388.
dry grins, 230.
dry so, 415.
dubersome, 67, 330, 382. Cf. juberous, 372, 390.
dubs, 24, 220. Cf. doubles and thribs, thribbles, 24.
duck, 21, 77, 215. Cf. duck and drake, duck and (on) Davy, duck on a (the) rock, duck- stone, ibid., and 213.
duck and drake, duck and Davy, 21, 77. Cf. duck.
duck-fit, 415. Cf. cat- fit.
duckish, 378.
duck on Davy, duck on a (the) rock, 21, 77, 215. Cf. duck, ibid.
ducks, 388.
duck-stone, 213. Cf. duck.
dug ups, 337.
dulce, -s, 247.
dull, 415.
dumpy, 236.
dunch, 378.
durgen, 330.
Durham boat, 330.
Dutchman, 341.
Dutch cuss, 382, 416.
dwy, 379.
ea, 341, 343. Cf. yes,
242, 341, and foot-note,
p. 266. ear, 64, 215. earnest (eernast), 330. easy, 18, 78, 215. easy, easy fruit, 416, and
dead easy, eat, 277, 371, 416. Cf.
ate, 237. edge (edO, 6, 67. edge of the evening, s.v.
shank, 231. eel-worm, ees-worm, 416.
Cf. anqle-worm. ef, if, 375.
egg (eg, §g, eig), 6, 67,
238. Cf. leg and keg. eks (X), 6, 67, 73. Cf.
axle, ibid. Eliot (elut), 50. Ellenyard, 416. elm (el-m), 50. emp^ine, 247. empire, 210. emptins, 341. enchilada, -s, 324. Cf.
chile, 189. enjcllma, 324. Qt.jalma,
248. epitap, 375. errand (erant), 330. eslabdn, 247. Ct. peder-
ndl, 250. esquite, 190. estufa, 324. evers, everys, 24 ; s.v.
take evers, 220. exfdo, -s, 190, 247. Cf.
porcion, 193, 325, and
suerte, 194. expose, 371. extra meethis, 330. Cf.
ineetin\ 65. eye-opener, 330.
face hurt, 416.
factory, 416.
fade, s.v. dice, 61.
fag eend, 330.
fairity, 379.
fair off, 388.
fair play, 416.
fair to middlin', 210.
fall, 277.
fall, autumn, 341, 343.
fandan'AO, 190, 196. j fant^ga, 190.
fanner, 58.
fan out, 416.
fantail, 388.
far, 388.
fardest, 388. Cf. farth, farther, fartherest, fu r- 'dest,fu rth , fu rth e r,fur- therest, ibid, and 233.
farow (fero), 210.
farse, 341.
farth, farther, farther- est, 388. Cf. fardest, etc.. ibid.
fast (fsest, falsest, f^st), 6, ()7.
fast land. 330.
fat, 76,219.
father (feSar), 416.
482
INDEX.
faucet (faesit, fosit), 2']8.
fault, 416.
favor, 371, 388.
favorites, 371.
faze, 70, 330.
feller, 388.
fellies, 330.
fen, (31, 76, 215, 219.
Cf. ventis), 24, 220. fergen, 330. Cf. crib,
329. f(5ria, 247. Cf. fiesta,
190, 248. few, 61. Cf. good few,
rt, 371. fezinah (faz-aina), 73,
213. Cf. fortinah. fice (fals(t)"), tice-ty, 64.
Ci.f'ist/fistif, 371. fiddle, 335, 416. field, 330. fiend, 416. fi^rro, 247. fiesta, 190, 248. Cf.
feria, 247. fifth calf, 396. fight, 7, 277. Cf. fit. figure, 21. file, 417. find, 277. fire, 417. fire out, 335, fire over, 335. firing place, 330. firsterlong, 388. first off, 397. fish-fry, 70,^234. fishing-worm, 417. Cf.
anfjle-worm. fist, 330. fist, fisty, 371. Cf. ^ic^
fice-ty, (54. fistula (fistyul-o), 233. fit, 7, 417. Qi. fight. fitified, 371. fix, 48, 230. flacket, 379. flannen, 388. Cf. flan-
nen cakes, s.v. pan- cake, 392. flap-jacks, s.v. pancake,
392 flatforra, 233. fleet, 388.
flicker (flika), 64, 73. fling. 277. flint, 76. flip flop, 335. flip up, 335. flirch. 330.
floats, 330. Cf. hoard- hank, 328.
floption, 379.
flowerist, 397.
flugins, 388.
fluken, 388.
flummux, 64. Cf. ker- flummux.
fly, 277.
fobble, 388. Cf. ky-pe, 390.
fog (fog, fog), 6; 72, s.v. dog; 234.
fog, fog-grass, 379.
fogo, 21, 215. Cf. hogo, 389.
folded, 210.
folks, folkses, 330, 377.
toiler, 388.
follow (foli), 50.
foolish, 388.
foot bench, 335.
footless, 417.
foot-loose, 388.
footin, footlin', footy, 330, 382.
for (foa, fe), 67.
fore-day, 417.
fore-handed, 397.
forelay, 213.
forge, forgery, 238.
forget, 7.
forlay, 213. Cf. forelay, 213.
forrard, 371.
fortinah (foart-aina,) 73, 216.^ Cf. fezinah.
fdsforo, 248.
fotch, 67, 376.
fourbles, 24.
fox-fire, 64.
frail, 375,417.
training, 417.
franzy, 417.
frazzle, frazzled out, fraz- zles, 64,371.
freak, freaky, 417.
freeze, 277.
fresh, 388.
fresh, 19.
frettish, s.v. frettu, 78. Cf. fretty, 19,216.
fretty, 19, 78, 216.
fried bread, s.v. dough- nut (2), 387.
fried cake, 388, and cf. doughnut, 387.
frij61, -es, 190.
frijoHllo, 190.
frfo, 190.
froe. 337. frog's hair, 388. frog-sticker, 230. Cf.
toad-stabber, 400. frog-stools, 371. front seat, 417. from (fr^m), 238. frore, 379. frost-smoke, 51. frouch, 388.
fry-pan, s.v. skillet, 374. frying size, 417. fudge, 24, 65, 220. Cf.
fudgin' 8,^17; shovin's,
424. fudges, 417.
fudgin's,417. Cf. fudge. fugo (fiugo), s.v. fogo,
'Z15. Cf. fogo, 21. full as a tick, 210. full split, cf. lickity-spUt,
236. fun, 19, 78, 216. funcion, 248. funeral, 331. Cf. funer-
alize, 371. funeral -card, 49. funeralize, 371. Cf. fu- neral, 331. funeral-procession, s.v.
funeral-card, 49. funked, 230. funny, 19, 78, 216. f urdest, cf . fardest, 388. furnace, 335. furriners, 371. fur side, 239. Cf. furth. f urth, further, furtherest,
233,388. Cf. fardest,
388 ; fur side, 239. • fuss (fes), 233. fuyk, fyke, 388.
gad, 331, 341.
gaffer, 335, 379.
gaggle, 389.
gal, 6S. Cf. qirl, 67.
gall, 21, 78, 216.
Gallagher, 417.
galleyied, 389.
gall of a stalled ox, s.v.
gall, 78. gailopin'-fence, 417. galloptious, 389. gallows (gsebs, etc.),
230, 417. Cf. gallus,
73 ; slip one's gallows,
381. gallus (gselas), 73. Cf.
gallows.
INDEX.
483
gallynipper, galnipper,
49. ganan, 248.
gape (gaep, gap), 41, 239. garden (gyadeii, gaden),
67 ; 372, s.v. lasty. garvey, 331, gaz, 61, 216. gather (gye^a), 233. gatherer, 335. gaucho, 190, 248. gaufre, 59. gaum (gom,gom),gaumy,
70, 234. Cf. gawmed up,
371. gaunt (gsent), 6, 67. gavilan, 248. gawmed up, 371. Cf.
gaum, 70, 234. gear, gear up, 76, 233,
234. gee, 236. Cf. (dji. 266,
267), and gee up, (55. Gee buck ! 376. Cf . Gee
whizz ! Gee Whitta-
Tcer! 61, 234. geerus, 389. gees (gis), 389. gee up (d^i -ep), 65. Cf.
gee, 236. Gee whizz! Gee Whit- taker! 61, 234. Cf.
Gee buck ! 376. get, 7, 59, 73, 234, 239.
Cf. git, 68, 277, 375. get fat, 24. Cf . fat, 219. get in behind, 4i7. get it over, 210. get-up, 335. gig, 389. gilt, 70. gin, 397. gineral, 375. gin^te, 248, 253. Cf.
domador, 247. girl (gel, gyel), 67. Cf.
gal, 68. git, 68, 277, 375. Cf.
get. git 'liglon, 68. git through , 65. Cf . come
through, 371. give, 277. givey, 371. glad, 417. g'lang, 68. glass, 389. Cf. iron glass,
419. globe, 417. glommox, 33 1 . Cf . mum-
. mick, 398, mommixed,
391. glory hole, 335. glummicks, cf . glommox,
331. glut, 371. gly, 379. go, 7, 219, 277, 417. Cf.
gwine, 68, and went,
376. go, 59, 212. Cf. s.v.
212, and hooks, 413. goat, 335. gob, 341, 343. go by water, 331. God-drot it, s.v. dad, 64. go dead, 417. go large, 397. go like, 389. golly keeser, 331. go much on, 417. gonesome, 417. goober, goober grubber,
389, 417. good, 24 ; 220, to play for
good; 2S0. Ci. keeps. good few, a, 371. Cf.
few, 61. goodies, 331. goody, goody-goody, 65,
331. gool, 418. Cf. prison
goal, 398. gooney, 418. gooseberry fool, 382. • go out, 417.
go out on the carpet, 417. gormin' round, gormy,
210. gorramity, 331. gosh all hemlock, 73,213. gossamer (gosamar.etc),
239. goster, gosterer, 331. go to grass, 65. go to taw, 24. gourds, 65. grabble, 389. Cf. gravel,
331, 382. granary (grgnari), 397. grand daddy long legs,
397. granther (grsenbar), 397. grass, 331,389. Cf. foes,
gravel, 331. 382. Cf.
grabble, 389. gravy, 418. grease, greasy (gris-i,
griz-i), 239.
great, 48.
great band for, 389.
green head, 331.
green tails, s.v. men- haden, 332.
griddle cake, s.v. pan- cake, 392.
grind-rock, s.v. rocA:,374.
Groton (graut-n), 418.
grouch, grouchy, 61, 418. Cf. grouty, 389.
ground, groun'y (graund, ground, grauni), 68, 230.
ground oak, 331.
grout house, 418.
grouty, 389. Cf. grouch, grouchy.
grow, -ed, 277, 376.
growler, growlering, 61.
grubby, 210.
griillo, 190.
grummet, 389.
guage, 248. Cf. hudge, ibid.
guardeen (frard-in, gad -in), Ul, 213, 216.
guard the sheep, 418; s.v. sic-a-nine-ten, 399.
guayacan, 190, 248.
guess, cf. donH guess, 371.
Guinea, 418.
gulch, 37!).
gulf, 397.
gulf weather, 331.
gullop (gobp), 341, 343.
gum, 372.
gumbo, 236. Cf. hand- pan.
gump, gumpy, 236.
gurnet, 11.
gust, 418.
guts-dive : s.v. belly- bumper (q.v.), 212.
gwine, 68. Cf. go.
hacienda, 190, 196.
hackle, 379.
haily, 418.
haily over, 341. Cf. colly
over (up), antnv over. hain't, 210, 376. Cf. be,
etc. hair apple, 418. hair tobacco, 418. half acre, 397. half the bay over, 418. half-way strainer, 418. Halifax, 382.
484
INDEX.
halloo, 239. Cf. holler,
341, 343. hand-gallop, 230. hand going, hand gwine,
s.v. hand running, 65. hand-out, 418. hand running, do. Cf.
riqht-hand-running,
423. handsignment, 379. hang(hei]), 277. hang up, 372. hant, -s, hanted (liaint-),
65,68,372. Ct. haunt,
239. hardness, 372. hard-pan, s.v. gumbo,
23t>, 341, 343. hard-run, 230. hard tack, 397. hare, QS. hark back, 389. harp, 418.
harricane, 418. Cf. hur- ricane, 233. harrow, 6. 67, 71. harry , 2 10. Cf . raise the
Old Harry, 399. Harry Dick, 418. hash, 418. hat, 418. hate, 389. Cf . shoetickle,
393 have, 61. Cf. hev, 375. Haverty-grass, s.v. Hali- fax, 382. haunt (hont, hant), 239.
Cf. hant, 65, 68. haw (ho), 266, 267, 332.
Cf. hether, peddy whoa. hawbuck, 418. head, 372, 389. head-cheese, s.v. souse,
394. head-halter, 418. Cf.
head-stall, 379. head-stall, 379. Cf. head- halter, 418. heady, 389. heap o', 376. Cf. heap
sight, 372. heap sight, 372. Cf.
heap o\ 376. hear, hear to, 7, 277, 389. heat, 277. Cf. het, 71,
216, 234, 239. heave, 277. Cf. heft,
hefty, 379. heavy, lieavy-handed, 19,
78, 216.
hechi'zo, 248. heeled, 230. heel-tapped, 335. heft, hefty, 379. Cf.
heave, '2.11. heifers, 331. Cf. count. heighth, 418. heist (haist), 61. Cf.
hist, 76, 210, 341. heller, 418. hellion, 61, 234. help, 68, 339. belt, cf. hilt, 233. bender, hinder, 68, 71. hen-hussy, hennessy, 74,
216. hen nest (hen nest), 68.
Cf. wasp nest, 234. Henry, 335. herding, 418. Cf. round
up, 393. het, 71, 216, 234, 239.
Cf. heat, 211. hetcbel, 3s2. hether, 331. Cf. haw,
266. 267, and peddy
whoa, 332. hev, 375. Cf. have, 61. hickory, s.v. walnut, 16. hide, 277. hide and seek, hide and go
seek, bide and whoop,
s.v. hi- spy, 236. hiding the switch, 230. Kighantrabogus, 210. high-bred, 418. high-horse, 389. highway, 418. hike, 61, 331, 397. Cf.
shag. hilt, 233. Cf. hold. hinny, 397.
hindsights, 230. Cf . socks. hips, 389.
hi-spry, hi-spy, 236. hist (haist), 76, 210, 341-
343. CL heist, 6\,Sind
knuckle dovm. hist-a-boy, 23 ; s.v. stehoy. hit (het), 239, 372, 418. hit, 8, 68, 376. Cf. it, 419. hitch-rope, 418. hitch up, 389. hi there, s.v. stehoy, 237. hoarse (hOas), boas, 17,
35, 212. hoarsed up, 19. hoax (ho-aeks), 11, 397. hobo, 389. hock, 418.
hockey, 418. hockies, 418. hog (hog, hoag), 6, 24,
72, 234, 238. hogas fbogas), 389. Cf.
bonas, 384. hogmouths, 418. hogo, 389. Cf. /o^o, 21.
215. hog-proud, s.v. horsi-
X>roud, 331. hold, 50, 277. Cf. holt,
239 ; hilt, helt, 233. hold a stiff upper lip, 65. holdfast, 331. holler, 341, 343, 372. Cf.
halloo, 239. hulp (baip, h6p). GS,
376. Cf. hoYd, 71,
234. bolt (b61t, holt), 239.
Cf. hold. b6mbre, 324. home (bom, bourn), 17. bomebringen, 382. Cf.
infare, 383. home free, 397. Cf. in
free, ibid, homily, bommie.hommv,
74, 418. h(5ndo, hondoo, hondou,
190, 324, 326. Cf.
redta, 194. honey, 61, 234, 418. honey, 49. Cf . molasses,
56. honey-fuggle, fogle, 230,
331 hoof (hiif, huf), 6, 67,
239. hook, play hookey, hook
it, hook (-in') off, hook
jack, 22, 78, 210, 212,
216, 23(). Cf. .scheme,
49 ; slunk, 381 ; jig,
379. ho'p'd,71,234. Ci.holp. hop-up, 389. horn swaggled, horn
swuggled, 397. Cf.
dingswizzled, 396. horqu^ta, horqufta, 248.
Cf. ladino, 191. horse (bos, boas), 17, 35,
212 ; 373, s.v. ninfidel. horse, 337, 418. horse coursers, 331. horse-proud, 331. hot, s.v. dice, 60. h6tel, 375.
H
INDEX.
485
house, housen, housens,
213, 331, 341, 372. how (hseu), (5, 67. howdy, how d'y' do? 68,
372. huage, 248. Cf. gucige^
ibid, huajfllo, 190, 248. huajol6te, 190, 324. huaracho, -s, 190, 248. liuaya, cf. huella, 248. hubbies, 379. bucks, huckleberry, 74,
418. Cf. qiiile. huckster, 389. huella, 248. hufiy, 397. huggerum buff, 379. huisache, 190. hull, 383. human, -s, humane, 372,
418. hump one's self, 65. hunchin's, 419. hunderd, 7. hunk, 65, 341, 343. hunkers, 419. hunkersliding, 379. hurricane (hseriken),
233. Cf. harricane,
418. hurt, 277, 389. hussif, honsewife, 389. hyme (haim), 68. hyper, 331. h'y'r'y' (haiaya) ? 68.
ice, 419. Cf. cheese, 414.
ice-house, 419.
ice-wagon, 419.
idea (aidia), 24,216,239.
Ike, 419.
ill, 372.
incline (-enklain), 6, 67.
ind, in, 11.
indeedy, 22, 78, 216.
Indian bread, 331.
Indian giver, 389.
infare, 70, 383. Cf. home- bring en, 382.
in free, 397. Cf. home free, ibid.
in'gine (ind?ain),ingineer (induni9),68, 213.
instead (instid), (5, 67.
intrust, 68.
in under, 419.
inventario, 248.
iron-glass, 419. Cf. glass, 389.
I spy, s.v. hi-spy, 236. fstle, 190. Cf. iztJp, 191. I swan (swan), I'll be
swanned, 397. it, 419. Cf. hit, 8, 68,
376. Italian, 419. I tebar, 397. Cf. barley,
60. fxtle, 190. Cf. iztle, 191. Iztle, cf. istle, 190.
jabalf, 191.
jacal, 191.
jacana, 324.
jack (apple), 331. Cf.
imnkum. jack lantern, 419. Cf.
jack light, ibid, jack light, 419. Cf. jack
lantprn, ibid, jag, 76, 213, 216, 331,
341. jagger wngon, 383. Jake, 389. jalma, 248. jam6n, 191,248. jaquima, 324, 326. jaunt (d^Pent, d3ant), s.v.
hannt, 239. jell, 22, 59, 78, 236, 397. Jersey blue, 331. Jersey lightning, s.v.
jack (apple), 'lol. Cf.
cider brandy, 331. jes. jest, s.v. shank, 231 ;
375. Cf. jnst. Jes wax, etc., 397. jewlarky (d,uiaki), 230. jlcara, 248. Cf. guage,
ibid. jic6te, 248. Cf . jicotera,
ibid, jicot^ra, 248. Cf. jic6te,
ibid, jig, play jig, 379. Cf.
hookey. jigger, jigi?er marandy,
74, 234; 341, 379. Cf.
thing-em-a-dndgeon. jiggered, jigger-headed,
jiggery, 389. jiggle, 236. jildte, 248. ]imber-jawed, 74. Cf.
icapper-jawed. jim-dandy, 389. Jim dash, 208. CL shirt- tail dash, ibid. Jimmie John, 65.
Jimminy Christmas !
Jimminy crickets !
Jimminy Cripes ! 49,
331. Jim-slinger,389. Ci. Joe- darter, 390. Jim-swinger, 389. jiiie, jhiers (d;ain-),^*o»?,
68, 71. Cf. quile. jingsliang, jlnshang, s.v.
vewieanre, 219. Cf.
san(i, ibid. Job's "coflin, 419. jockv, 419. j<icks, 419.
JDCocjue, joc6qui, 248. Joe-darter, 390. Qi.Jim-
slinger, 389. joggle, cf . jiggle, 236. johnnies, Johnny-jump-
ups, 236, 390. joint (d^aint), 68. joist (d^aist, d3ais), 6,
67. jolly, 419. Cf. jos/i, ibid, joober, 65.
jook, 74. Ci. juke, 419. jorntida, 191. jorra, 248, 253. jo.sh,419. Qi. jolly, \hK\. journey cake, 419. jour-work, 397. jower, 230. jubernus, jubersome, 372.
390. Cf. dubersome,
67, 330, 382. jucket, 390.
juke, 419. Ct jook, 74. jumbles, s.v. doughnut
(3), 387. jump on (over), 419. jump the blind, 390. juiie-in', 230. juniper, 51, 379. just (d?is, d;ist, d;es,
d^est), 6, 59, 67, 68.
Cf. jes, jest.
kachunk, 397.
kaflap, kaflop, 397.
Kansas, 239.
kaslam, 397.
kaslap, 397.
kasmash, 397.
kawhack, 397.
keep, 277.
keeps, s.v. to play for
good, 220. Cf. good,
24, 230.
486
INDEX,
keg (kseg, kgg, keig), 239. Cf. cagged, '2.16 ; egg and leg:
kelleck, cf. killick, 332, 419.
kennebunker, 390.
kept (kep), 239; s.v. crept, 238.
kerbase, 390.
kerf, 331.
ker-fiummux, s.v. Jlum- mitx, 64, 215.
Kerliny, 375.
ketch, -ed, 41, 68. Cf. catch.
ketchy, 331. Qtcatchxj, 396.
kettereen, 331.
kid, 61, 234.
kiltliggin, 390.
kill, 76. Cf.A:i7«,68,217.
killcow, 22.
killick, killock, 332, 419.
killins;, 419.
kilt, 68, 217. Cf.MZ, 76.
king, king calico, 398. Cf . king come out, and wosei/, 421.
king, 61. Ct barley, Q^.
king come out, 419. Cf. king, 398.
king's crew, cruse, s.v. king's ex., excuse, 65, 217.
king's ex., king's excuse, 65,236. Ct. barley, 60.
king kangalo, s.v. king, 398.
king out, s.v. king, 61.
kink, 332, 383.
kinry, 70.
kip, 383.
kit and boodle, kit and caboodle, 74, and s.v. koboodle, 341. Cf. bilin\
kitin' (kaitin), 230.
kitron-ways, 398. Cf. kitty corner.
kitterlng, 419. Cf. ca- tering 340.
kitter-cornered, kittern- cornered, 419. Cf. kitty-corner.
kitty- catty-cornered, kitty -corner, -ed. 0, 8, 78, 217, 236. Cf. kit- ron-ways, 398 ; kitter- lng, ^19, cat-a-cornered, 414.
kitty-kitty-corner, 420. Cf. pussy wants a cor- ner, 422.
knack, 372.
knee high to a duck, grasshopper, 230.
knock, 24.
knock the socks off, 420. Cf. socks, 232, and hind sights, 230.
know, 277, and s.v. way yander, 375.
Knoxvl, Knoxville, 375.
knuckle down, 76. Cf. hist.
knucks (nuks, n-egz), 65, 217.
koboodle, 341. Cf. bilin\
ky-pe, 390. Cf. fobble, 388.
la (b), 74, 217.
lab(3r, 191,249, 325. Cf.
milpa, 325. Iabrad6r, 191. Labrador tea, 379. laddie buck, 390. Cf.
buck, 328. ladi'no, 191. Cf. hor-
queta, 248. lady fashion, s.v. belly -
buster, 235. lag, 390. lagarto, 249. lagiina, 191. lam, 236.
lamp workers, 335. land, 420. lap, 332. laqu^che, 44. large, 390, 420, lariata, 191. Cf. redta,
194. larfgo, 325. Cf. Idtigo,
ibid, larrigan, 379. larrup, 390. lashin(g)s, 332. last (Isest, Isesest, l^t),
67. lasty, 372. latigo, .325. Cf. cinch,
cincha, 60, 189, 236,
246. laugh (laef), 6, 67. laverick, 390. lay, 230. Cf . ' low, 'lowed,
65, 372. lay, layin', 230, 277, 372.
Cf. lie, 211.
lay off, 230.
lay out, 420.
lay-overs for meddlers,
383. lazybones, 335. leaf, 379. lean, 277. learn, 277. Cf. s.v. ?t*a.v
yander, 375; and «eac//,
278. learn Hebrew, 420. leary, 379. Cf. leery, 62. lechuga, 249. lechuza, 249. led, 74, 234. ledge, 420. leer, 335.
leerv, 62. Cf. leary, 379. leg(leg,leig),6, 67, 239,
373, s.v. misery. Cf.
egg and keg. legad^ro, -s, 325, 326. leg it, 212. Cf. s.v. and
cut and run, 25. 16gua, 191, 196. legumbre, 249. 1^'na, 249, 325. lenter (lentr, lintr, lintr),
332. len'th(lenb), 233. leon, 325, 326. lepiana, 249. lessen, 420. less go (les go) , 233. let go, 372. let's go, 212 ; s.v. go. letter-egg, 210. letter in the post-oflSce,
341. level, 230, lever, 372. license, 65. lickerish, 74, 234, 239.
Cf. likrisch. licking, 420. lickity-blinder, -brindle,
-cut, -split, -switch,
236, 398, 4-0. licks, 230. lie, 277. Cf. lav, 230,
372. li^bre, 249. lief, 239, 420. Cf. lives,
74. lift, 230, 390. Cf. on the
mending hand, 19, 78,
217. lifted, 370.
lift the c<illection, 332. light, 277.
'i
INDEX.
487
light, alight, s. v. poat-an-
railing, 373. light and shut, 19. light bread, 390. like, 236, 390. like Sam Hill, 48. likrisch, 74, 239. Cf.
lickerish. limonfllo, 249. Ifmpio, 191. limpsy, 390. lin, 240. Under, 379.
lingen, linger, lingin, 390. linkister, 420. little bit, 372. Cf. right
smart little hit, 374. little Joe, s.v. dice, 61. livery, 420.
lives (livz), 74. Cf. lief. livier, 379. llano, 191, 196. loaded for bear, 420. loam (lum), 240. 16bo, 191. lobscouse, 383. lock-eye, 398. locks, 49. 16co, 191, 249. loft (loft), 240. Cf. 6o^. log (log), 6, 72, 234. logy, loggy, 390. lolly, 379. 16ma, 191. long (loq), 68. long blackberries, 412,
s.v. black long-berries. longer, 379. long sweetning, 372. Cf .
sweetening, sweeting,
374, 425. look, 420. l3p, 62. loper, 383. lop-lolly, 398. lorry, 390. lot, 341. lot-rows, 341. Cf. short
rows, 342. lottest, 420. lounge (l-end:?), 420. louse cage, 398. love, 372. 'low, 'lowed (laud), 65,
372. Cf. lay, 230. lozenger, 74, 234. luck, 65. lug, 332. lugs, 65. lulu, 420.
lumber, 65. lumber-heels, 398. lummox, 62, lumper, 390. lunipin' bargain, a, 372. 'lunge, 49.
ma (mo, ma, mse), 8,
68, 240, 332. Cf. mam,
mama, and pa. macademy, 390. machete, 191, 249. mad, 398. madeira, 379. madre, 249. Cf. padre,
250. madr6na, 249, 253. madz, 278. maguey, 191. main, 372, majada, 249, majorano, 249. make (mek), 17. make a beginning, 372. make a pass, s.v, dice, 60, make-do, 372. make, -ing up, 209, 230, mallis, 342, malpais, 249. Maltese (molti), 420. mam, mama (maem,
msemi), 08, 332. Cf.
ma. man, men, 24, 240, manada, 191, 249, Cf.
remiido, -a, 251. manavelins, 390, manful, 372. mano, 249. Cf. metdte,
192, 250. manzanfta, 191. maracle (mser^kl), 71,
234. Cf . meracle, ibid, margot, 44, marsh (msej"), 332. masa, 249. Cf. metdte,
192, 250, and tortilla,
195, mash, 420. maskinonge, s,v. Hunge,
49. masterest, 420. matad(5r, 191. matrosses, 391. matter, 205. mauer, 335. mayflower, 420. raayorddmo, 249. Cf.
capordl, 245. mdza, 249.
me, 420.
meadow, 332, 342. mealing, mealer, meal-
ery, 420. mean, 391. measure, 6, 67, 421. meat, 391. Cf. meat- victuals, 342, meat-victuals, 342. Cf.
meat, 391. mecate, 191. m^cha, 249. Cf. esla-
b6n, 247, m^dano, 250. meech, 19, 78, 217. Cf.
meecking, 391. Cf.
michin. meecking, 391. Cf.
meech, 19, 78, 217. meetin', cf. hig-meetin\
basket-me('tin\ s.v. 65 ;
and extra meetins, 330,
protracts, 373. meet up with, 372. melada, 250.
melc6che, melc6cha, 250, mel6n, 250. melt, 335. Cf. batch,
ibid, menhaden, 332. meracle (merakl), 71,
234. Cf. maracle,
ibid, merlassers, merlasses,
s.v. 7nolasses, 332. mermette, 44. m^sa, 191. Cf. mesWa,
192 ; mogote, 250. mesflla, 192. Cf. mesa,
191. mesqulte, 192. metdte, 192, 250. Cf.
m6.no, 249. metheglin, 391. Methodist, 240. mezcal, 192, 250. Cf,
pulque, 194. mib, 398. Cf. miggles,
76, Wig's, 398, wife, 421. michin, s.v. meech (q.v.),
217. Mick, 421.
middle-of -the-roader,421 . middler, 24. miggles, migs, 76, 398.
Cf. mib, 398. might, mighnt (maint,
mai^t), 22, 59, Cf.
mought, 71, 332, 370. milchy, 332.
488
INDEX.
railed, 9, 210.
railk, 59. Cf. tliatchy, 20.
millasses, s.v. molasses,
332. mill hands, 335. milpa, 32;'), 32(). mind, 74. 234, 391. mind out, 05, 230. Cf.
tend out. minges, 391. minni, 49. miser (maiza), 210. misery, 373. mision, 192. Miss, Misses, 421. Missouri (miz-uri, miz--
ura, mis-ura), 240. mochalie, 421. mog, 398. Cf. mull, 210. mog6te, 250. Cf. mesa,
191. mogue, 421. moke, 02, 421. molasses, 5!;, 332, 373.
Cf. honey, 49. Mollie-Cotton-tail, 65. mollycoddle, 50. mollygascow, 65. mom, cf. mam, 332. iiiommixed, 391. Cf.
Olommox, 331. money-catcher, 42 1 , Cf .
mother-wants, ibid, monkey, 336. monte, 192, 250. Cf.
chaparral, 189, 246. niont^ar, 250. Cf. monte,
ibid, mdnte del rio, 192. Cf.
monte, 192, 250. mooley-cow, 342. Cf.
muley cow, 231. morphodite (morfadait),
421. mosey, 332, 421. Cf.
p 0 m-p 0 m-p ull-a w a y,
398. moss bunkers, mossy
bunkers, s.v. menha- den, 332. most an excellent, 17. mote, 74. mother-wants, 421. Cf.
money-catcher, ibid, mought (maut), 71, 332,
370 ; s.v. hussy. Cf.
might. mountain lamb, moun- tain mutton, 74. mounting, 375.
mourn, 379.
mourners, 65, 371 ; s.v.
get, come through. Cf.
anxious seat, bench,
327, 382. mourner's bench, 382,
s.v. anxious seat. Cf.
mourners, 65. mourners to the front,
31)8. mubblety-peg, s.v. mum-
hlety ppg, 398. much (uu-tj), 240. mud-scow, 48. Cf. scoiv,
ibid, mud shad, 332. mudwallop, 332. muggins, 421. mugwump, 22. mulada, 192. Cf. cabal-
Icida, 188. muley cow, 231. Cf.
mooley cow, 342. mull, 210. Cf.mo^r, 398. mumble, mumblejy,
mumblety, mum-
melty peg, 398, 421. mummick, 398. Cf.
mommixed, 391. mummock (mumuk),
398. mushmeloii, 74,217,234.
Cf. mush rat. mushrat, 74, 234. Cf.
mushmelon. muskalunge, s.v. Hunge,
49. must, 205, 376. muxed up, s.v. mom- mixed, 391. my (mi), 332.
nable (n^bl), 74.
naked (iiekid), 41, 240, 379.
name, 373.
nan, cf. anen. 327.
nan ! nan ! 421. Cf. co- nan, 414.
nape (n?ep), 240.
nappy, 391.
narrow, 50, 71, 234.
nary, 332, 376. Cf. ary, 376.
nash, 227.
Nathaniel, s.v. Daniel, 238.
national (nejunul), 50, 56.
navaja, 192.
near, nearness, 226, 227. nebber, 68. necessiated, 11. necktie, 336. Cf. yink
yank, ibid, neighbour, 421. niassy, 391.
nibs, 421. Cf. mib,S98. nice, 421. nicker, 62. nickle hawk, 391. Cf.
winklehawk and barn- door. nickey-toed, 421. nigger, 398. nigger-flea, 65. nigger-head, -s. nigger-toes, 421. nintldel, 373. nip and frizzle, 379. nippent, 380. nit, 421. nixtamal, nixtamal, 250.
Cf. metale, 192, 250. no fair, -s, 61 ; s.v.king,
398.' nogada, 250. nogal, 192. noggin, 70, 234, 383. noiiik, 391. Cf. nothing,
68, 332. noodeljees, 383. nopal, 192. nor, 380. norate, 373. n(5ria, 250. Norwich (norwitj, norid?,
noritj), 421. nose broke, 391. nothing (n-ebin, no.bin,
nohin), 68, 332. Cf.
noink, 391. notice, 391. Nova Scotia, s.v. Halifax,
382. nubbin, 332, 342. nunche, 380. Cf. nunny
bag, ibid, nunny bag, 380. Cf.
nunche, ibid, nut-crack, 236. nutmeg, 332.
oats, s.v. corn, 64. 0 be joyful, 332. obstreperous, 68. ocotnio, 192. of, 421. office, 391. offn. 213. "
INDEX.
489
Ohio (Haia, ahaia), 17,
240. djo, 192. old, 391. Cf. old woman
and old man. old Christmas, 373. old man, 373. Cf. old. old woman, 373, and s.v.
dagon, 378. Cf. old. (511a, 325. olykoek, s.v. doughmit,
387 on, 342, 343, 373, 421. on a jar, 19. once, onct, 375, 421. one, 373. onery (onari, ongri), 65,
236. Cf. ornenj, 217,
332. onliest, 70, 234. on the mend, on the
mending hand, 19, 78,
217. Cf. lift, 230, 390. oodlins, 392. oontz, s.v. dice, 60. open and shet, s.v. light
and shut, 19. opodi Idocs (dpad -il-) ,
210. ordinary, 332. orej6n, -es, 250. Cf.
pdsa, -s, 250. ornery, 217, 332. Cf.
onery, 65, 236. ortigia, 250. orts, 380.
ou, ouch, 74, 234, 236. our beauties, 398. Cf.
arbutus (arb-iutus),
411. oust (oust), 398. out (ieut), 6, 19, 217. outarde, 44. outdacious (autde/Bs),
68. outen, 373. outlandishers, 392. over, 19, 421. overhauls, 342. overly, 332. over the bay, 398. owing, 373.
ox vomit, 392. Cf. pecul- iar ointment, 421. oyster grass, 332. oyster knockers, 332.
pa (p3e, pS., po), 8, 68, 240. Cf. ?na, and paj9, pop, poppy.
pack, 23, 79, 373.
packing, 421.
padre, 250. Cf. mddre,
249. pail, 492. pair of bars, pair of stairs,
342. pdlo, 192.
pan, s.v. coptjing, 378. pancake, 392. pansaje, 325. pap, papa (psep, psepi),
68, s.v. pa ; 332. Cf .
lia. particular (petikb), 68,
217. partfda, 192. partridge (p8etrid3),6,67,
240. pasa, -s, 250. Cf. orejon,
250. pas^o, 250. passel, 68, 383. pass (pas, pges), 226. past (psest, paeaest, p^st),
67. past6r, 250. patch, 421. Cf. hum,
414. patent thread, 332. path (pseb), 6, 67. patien', 373. patio, 192. patr6n, 250. pawky, 392. 'pears, 65. peckish, 392. peculiar ointment, 421.
Cf. ox vomit, 392. peddy whoa, 332. Cf.
haw. pederndl, 250. Cf. esla-
bdn, 247. pee, pee (pi, pi), 74, 234,
268. peeties, s.v. dice, 60. pelado, -s, 192. pelt, 380. pelter, 210. p^na, 251. pen-point, 392. Cf. pen-
staff, ibid, pen-staff, 392. Cf. pen- point, ibid, pedn, 193, 251. perch, 421. perchaude, 44. perdure, 421. perfect love, 383. perky, 210.
periauger, 332, 383. pernickety, pernickity,
62, 217, 380. pert (pirt, piat), 240. perten^ncia, 251. pescado, 251. pesufia, cf. pezona, 251. peth (peb), 398. petty chapman, 332. pey6te, 193. pezdna, nezuna, 251. planer, 375. picaclio, 193. pick, 383, 421. pick a crow, 422. pick eggs, 392. piddle, 380. piedy, 373. piggin, 373. pike, pike-pole, 49. pile, piling, pile-driver,
332. pillow (pib), 233. pil6n, 193, 251. pilt6nte, 251. pimlico, s.v. primlico, 79,
217. pin, 422. piners, 332. pinfon, 193. pin(51e, 193. pinto, 193. pint o' cider, 342. pinxter, 383, 392. Cf.
pinxter-blossoms, 383. pinxter blossoms, 383.
Cf. pinxter, 383, 392. p'isan (paizn), 210. Cf.
pizin, 6, 69. pissabed, pissybed, 49,
56, 212. pit, 332. pita, 193. pitah^ya, pitdya, 103,
325, 326. pixilated, 392. pizin (paizn), 6, 69. Cf.
p'ison, 210. plagued (plegd), 69. planchment, 392. plank in the rock, 422. plantation, 380. planter, 380. platform, 332. Ct. board- bank, floats. play a, 193. pldza, 193. play-patch, 19. plea.sure, 6, 67. pluck, 392.
490
INDEX.
plug, 24, 392. Cf. plug
ugly, 422. plug hat, 392, plug ugly, 422. Ct plug,
392. plum, plumb, 237, 373. plumming, 392. plump, 24, s.v. dribble,
378. plunk, 24, 422. po', 231. Cf. pore, poke, 210, 373, 392. Cf.
slow-poke, 211 ; poke,
392. poker, s.v. boogie, 214.
Cf. booqer, etc., 18, 77,
235, 340. pokerish, 392. poky, 210. Ctpoke,m2. point (paint), 6, 67. polly,polly.boo, 398, 422. po'ly, 69. Cf. pore. p6mpano, 193. pom-pom -peal aw ay,
pom-pom-pull-away
(p^m), 398, 422. Cf.
king. pone, s.v. dodger,Q4:; 373. pon-hoss, 422. pontediiro, 251. Cf. pii-
lon, 193, 251. pool holes, 332, 337. pooseback, 342. pooster about, 398. pop, -s, 24, 422. pop, poppy, cf. pap, 332. Pope Night, 18, 217. Popocrat, 422. pop open, 59. popple, 342. popular, 373. porch, 210. porcidn, 193, 325. Cf.
exido, 190 ; vara, 195. pore, 71, 234, 375. Cf.
po^poHy. post-an-railin', 373. pot, 336. potrjlnca, 251. Cf. po-
trero, 193 ; potrillo,
251 ; potro, 193. potr^ro, 193. Cf. p6tro,
ibid, potrfllo, 251. Ci. potro,
193. p6tro, p6tra, 193. Cf.
potrdnca, 251. pot shells, 336. potterin, 211. powdering, 373.
powerful, 211.
pozo, pozu^lo, Cf. 6jo,
192. practical (prsektik8l),40,
217. practice, 380. pra'r (praa), 69. preach in', preaching
meeting, 392. Cf.
meeting 65. Prentiss (printis), 6,67. presidio, 193, 325. presser, 336. press-pile, 380. presto, 336. pretty, 333, 392. Cf.
purty, 375 ; pretty day,
422. pretty day, 422. Cf.
pretty. pretty middlin' smart,
333. Cf. smart, 48. primed, 422. primlico, primlicue, 19,
79, 217. prison base, prisoner's
base, prison goal (gfil),
398. Cf. gool, 418. prize, 376. prog, 380. progue, progueing iron,
333, 337. prong, 373. proper, 392. pr6pio, 194, 325. protracts, 373. Cf.
meetin\ proud, 373. psalm (saem), 240. puch^ro, 251. puck, 380. pucker, 392. puddin' an' tame, 392. pudge up, 211. pueblo, 194. pu^rco, 194. puke, pukes, s.v. throw
up, 343 ; 373. pullen, 392. pullikins, 231. pulque, 194. pumpkin (p^qkin), 240. punish, 231, 422. punk, s.v. spunk, 232,
343. punt, 48. puntey, 336. Cf. snap,
336. pup, 75. purgy, 220.
purslain, pursly (p^sli),
240. Cf . pursy, ibid, pursy (p^si), 240. Cf.
purslain, pursly, ibid. ;
QXid. pussy, 343. purty, 375. Cf. pretty,
333, 392, 422. push, 422. pushincy, 422. pussy, 422. Cf. cat,
pussy cat. Pussy, 343
and note. Cf. pursy. pussy cat, 422. Cf .pussy,
ibid, pussy- wan ts-a-corner,
422. Cf. kitty-kitty- corner, 420. put, 17, 24, 240, 277, 380. put back, 422. putchiky, 392. Putnam (putnam, p'ut-
nam), 399. putty, 422. put yourself level on a
chair, 373. puuig, 237. Cf. stike,
ibid, (and p'u-ig, p.
265). pykle, 392.
quarter, 422.
quarter horse, 422.
quate (kweit), 75, 234. Cf. quoit, 50, 56, 212, 240.
quawk, 75.
quebrada, 325. Cf. bar- ranca, and arrdyo, 187.
quemado, 251.
quench the spirit, 374.
quick-hatch, 51.
qui^n sabe, 325.
quile,quiled up (kwaild), 231,375. Ci.quirl,lb, 234, huckleberry, 74, 418, and jine, 68, 71.
quiler, 333.
quinine (kwainain, kwin-in, kan-in), 240.
Quinte (kitnt§, kwinti), 50.
quidte, 251 . Cf . maguey, 191, pita, 191.
quirl (kwel), 75, 234. Cf. quile.
quirt, 251. Cf. cudrta, 247.
quit, 277.
quite, 333. Cf. quite some.
INDEX.
491
quite some, 422. Cf.
some, quite. quoits (kwets, kweits),
60, 56, 212, 240. Cf.
quale and she quoit.
rack on, 336.
radish (redij), 6, 67.
rag, 423.
raggy, 423. Cf. crumby.
rain seeds, 231.
raise Cain (s.v. sand,
231), 399. raise Ned, 399, s.v. raise
Cain. raise randy, cf. randy,
380. raise the Old Harry, 399,
s.v. raise Cain. Cf.
harry, 210. raise the Old Nick, 399,
s.v. raise Cain. raise sand, s.v. sand, 231. rambunctious, 392. rampike, rampole, 380, ramshorn, 380. rancher fa, 194. ranch^ro, 194, 251. Cf.
rdncho, 194. rancho, 194. Cf. ranche-
ria, ibid, randy, 380. Cf. raise
Cain. ranpike. Cf. rampole,
380. rantum scoot, 423. rats! 48. rat terrier (tearia, terla) ,
233. rattled, 392. rattlers, 333. Cf. clnck-
ers, 329. raw, 380.
razor-boiler, s.v. reser- voir, 240. reach, 333. realer, 423. Cf. agate,
76. really (rili), 240. reap, 423. rear (rea, rsea), reared
(rfeard), 6, 67, 233. redta, 194. Cf. laridta,
191. reb6so, 194, 251. Cf.
tapadero, 195, 252. recess (rises), 75, 234. red, 231, 393. Cf. rid,
6, 67. • red brush, 393.
red caps, 399.
reddin' comb, s.v, red,
rid, 393. red-heater, 423. reduct, 423. registrar, 423. rein, 392. remiido, -a, 251. Cf.
mandda, 191, 249. reuse (rens), s.v. wrench,
63. Cf, rinse. reparaddro, 251. Cf.
atdjOy 187, 244. reservoir (rezavoi, rezor-
voi), 240, 423, rest your hat, 374, revent(5n, 251, Ci.chdrco,
189, 246. retama, 194,
rid (red), 6, 67. Cf, m?. ride, 7, 277. ride-out, 19, 79, 218. ride up, 19, 79, 218. Cf.
climb. ridic'lus, 23, 79. riffle, 423. riffs, 399. rig, 231.
right, s.v. pone, 373, right chance, s.v. snack
houses, 374. Cf. right
smart, 372. right-hand-running, 423.
Cf. hand running, 65. right smart, 372 ; s.v.
hardness. Cf. right
chance. right smart little bit, 374.
Cf. little bit. rile, 71. Cf. roil, 6, 67,
241. rinc6n, 194, rinctum, 423. ring hole, 336. Cf. ring
stone, ibid, ring off, 423. ring stone, 336. Cf. ring
hole, ibid, rinse, 241. Cf. vsrench,
63, 234 ; since, 241. rippit, 66.
rip tail snorter, 399. rise, 277. Cf.W^r, 71,234. risk (resk) , 6, 67. rive, 277, 337, river-driver, 48. riz,71,234. Cf.nse,277, riz bread, 383, road-beat, 399. roast'n ear, 393.
robin, 423. Rochester (ratj'st-r,
rat;t-r), 423. rock, 374, 393. rock fence, 423. road, 423, r(5deo, 194. rogue, 423. roil, roily (rail-), 6, 67,
241. Cf, rile, 71. rollejes, 383, roly-poly, 423. Cf , baby-
in-the-hole, 411. Roman, 423, rood, cf. rode, 423. roof (ruf, ruf), 6, 41, 07,
212. room (n^m, rum), 24, 41,
212, root (rut, rut), 41,212, rote, 380. Cf. n(«, 211, roughness, 374, round, 423. roundabout, 393. round-cat, s.v, cat, 214. round head, 393, round snow, 342. round square, 423. round' unce, QQ. round up, 393. Cf. herd- ing, 418. route (raut, rut), 241. rubber ice, 423. Cf . tittly-
benders. rubber-neck, 393, 423. rubbers, 19, 79, 218. rub the time close, 19. rucas, QQ. rue, 393. ruiseil6r, 251. Cf. cen-
zontil, 246. rumble, 399. run, 277. runagate, 393. run emptins, s.v. emptins,
341. runt, 342, 423. rusticrat, 393. â– rustle, rustler, 393. rut, 211. Cf. rote, 380.
sdbe, 325, Cf , quien sdbe,
ibid, sdca de dgua, 325. Cf.
acequia, 189, 243. sacate, 325. Cf. zacdte,
195, 325. saco, 261. Cf. seca,
scopet, 262. sad, 76, 234.
492
INDEX.
Sad'day, 69.
sacldie, 76.
saUdo, 194.
sal^a, 251.
salt holes, 333.
salt water, 336.
Sam Days, s.v. menhaden,
332. Sam MacCordens, 62. sammy, 393. sand, 231. Cf . raise Cain,
399. sandfa, 252. sandy glass, 336. sang, s.v. vengeance, 219.
Cf. jingshang, ibid, sap, 423. Cf. sop, 374. sap6te, 252. Cf. chapdte,
246. sarsaparilla (ssesprib,
sfes(8)prila), 241. sass, sassy, 231, 342,343,
423. Saiilt (su), 50. . savannah, 380. saw-buck, 48. Cf. sav}-
horse, saio-log, and
bnck-saio. saw-horse, 48. Cf. saiv-
buck, ibid, saw-log, 48. Cf. saw- buck, ibid, saxon, 211.
scads, 393. Cf . s/cmZs, 424. scaly, 393, 423. scaly ice, 423. Cf. shelhj
ice, 424. scamuljugated, 399. scandalous, 393. scary, scared (skiar-), 6,
67. scarripin, 66. Cf. scor-
ripin, ibid, scasely, 62, 234. scat! 66. scatteration, 6Q. scellion,59. Cf. scullions,
424. scenery, 423. scheme, 49. Cf . hookey,
etc. school-butter, QQ. scions, cf. dons, 329. scoat, cf. scoot, skeet,
333, 342, 374; skite,
75, 424 ; skoot, 231. scoff, 380. scoggins, 23, 79. scooch, scooeher, 19, 79,
218.
scoom, 393. scoop, 207. scoot, 333, 342,374. Cf.
scoat. scoot-horn, 423. scope, 374, 423. scop^t, 252. scorch, scorcher, 424. scorripin, 66. Ci. scarri- pin, ibid, scotch the preacher, to,
66. scouch (skaiitj), s.v.
scooch, 19. scow, 48. Cf . mud scow,
ibid, scrabble, 19. scrammed, 380. scran, 380. scrap, 59. scrappy, 424. scrapple, 75. screech-owl (skritj aul),
233. scribing, 374. scringe, 376. scrofula (skrofyul-o),
234. scrooch, s.v. scooch, 218. scrope, 393. scrouge (skrudj), 62, 234,
374. scrowdge (skraud3), cf.
scrouge, 62. scrub, 214, s.v. cat, 424. scrub oak, 333. scuff, 380. scullions, 424. Cf. scel-
lion, 59. scunner against, 380. scythe stick, 399. Cf.
sneathe, 399. s^ca, 252. Cf. sdco, 251. second, secont, 75, 234,
241. second-handed, 211. see, seed, seen, 277; 372,
s.v. main; 376. seein' as, seein' as how,
399. seep, 393. segashuate, 231. s^lva, 252. send^ra, 252. sense, 393. serape, 194, 196. service, 62. session, 393. sestiaddro, 252. set, 278, 424. Cf. set to,
374 ; sit up icith, 424 ;
build up to, 413. setfast, 231. set offs, 333. set open, 424. settei-s, 211. Cf. belly- bump, etc. settlement, 375. set to, 374. Cf. set. seventy -fours, s.v. dough- nut (2), 387. shack, 342, 393 ; 399, s.v.
shag, 424. shacklin', 333. shad-belly coat, 424. shafts (Jsevs), 241, shag, 399. Cf. shack,
424 ; hike, 397. shake, shakes, 66, 211,
399. shaller, 374. shank, 231. share (fiar), 6, 67. sharply, 231. shats, 393. shattered, 374. shave, 337. sheaf, cf. shive, 381. shear, 336. shearer, 336. Cf. melt,
335. shear hole, 336. shears, 336. sheave, 381. Cf. shive,
381. sheboy, 59, s.v. steboy. sheen, 336. sheep pen, cf . sic-a-nine-
ten, 399. sheep yard, cf . sic-a-nine-
ten, 399. shell bed, 333. shellers, 333. shelly ice, 424. Cf. scaly
ice, 423. shenanigan, 333. she quoit (fi kwgt), 399.
Cf. quoits. sherk, 333. shet, 19, s.v. light and
shut; 278, 374. Cf.
shut, 6, 67, 241. shillalah, 399. shilling, 342, 399, shim, 393. shimmy, 393. shindig, 231. shine, 277. shingling, 337. shinny over, 424.
INDEX.
493
shirt tail, 208. Cf,
shirt-tail dash, ibid, shirt-tail dash, 208. Cf.
Jim dash, ibid, shive, 381. shock, cf. shuck, 333 :
399. shoe (Jiu), 278. shoetickle, 393. Cf . hate,
389. sho nuf (JoriL'f), 69. Cf. shore, 71, 234, 424; sho7'e 7iuf, 374 ; sure, 241. shool, 423. shoot, 24, s.v. dice, 60 ;
and fen, 61, 76. shoots, 333. ,
shooting-match, 424. shop, 424. shore, 71, 234, 424. Cf.
sho nuf, 09. shore nuff, 374. Cf. sho
nuf, 69. short rows, 342. Cf. lot
roios, 341. short sweeting, s.v.
sweeting, 425. shovin's, 424. Ct fudge,
fudgin'^s. show, 278. shrill (srill), 218, s.v.
srink. shrine (srain), 218, s.v.
srink. shroud (sraud), 218, s.v.
srink. shrub (sreb), 218, s.v.
srink. shuck, 333. Cf. corn
shucking, 371. shut, 6, 67, 241. Cf. shet. sic-a-nine-ten, 399. Cf.
harsdown, 396. sick, 70. Cf. {sik, st, p.
207), stehoy, etc. side-strap, s.v. quiler,
333. side up, 383. Cf . aside,
328. siebegodlin, 424. siffleur, siffleux, 45. sight, 393. sightly, 394. sight unseen, 231, 342. silver thaw, 381. simball, 394. Cf. dough- nut, 387. since (sens), 241. Cf. rinse^ ibid.
sing, 7, 278.
singing sand, 333.
sink, 278.
sistern, sisterin, 67; s.v
hretheren ; 333. sitio, 194. Cf.v«rrt, 195 sit up with, 424. Cf. set skads, 424. Cf. scads.
393. skakes, see shakes (er- ror), 394. skate (skeit), 75, 424. skeet,231. Ct. scoot, 'S3S. skeezix, 62, 218. skeins, 333. skew-gee, skew-geed, skewing, skew-raw, 424. Cf. skwce-geed, ibid.; skwy, 21 i. skiff, skift, 237, 333. skillet, 374. skimp, skimpy, 211, skint, 234. skin the cat, 424. skirrup, skirrup around,
424. skite, 75, 424. Cf. scoat. skiver, 381. skoot, 231. Cf. scoat. skrieky, 231, skunk, 343 and note, skunked, 231. Cf. tail- ored, 233, skunk blackbird, 343. skunt, cf. skint, 234. skwee-geed, 424. Cf.
skew-gee. skwy, skwy wise, 211. Cf.
skew-gee, 424. sky scraper, 333. slack-twisted, 394. slaked (sleek-), 241. slam, 424.
slanchindicular, 232, slank, 383. slap-dab, 399. slarty, 394. Cf. clarty,
414. I
slash, 333. slatchy, 9. slay, 278. sleazy (sl^zi), 241. sled, sled-ride, 215; s.v.
coast. sleigh-ride, s.w. coast, 215. slep, slept, s.v. crept, 238;
376. slethery, 424. slew, 212, 241 ; s.v. slough. Cf. snag, 400.
slews, 333. Cf . thorough- fare, 334.
slick, 72, 234.
slick citizen, QiS.
slicker, 75, 234, 394.
slide, 49.
slight, 424.
slip, 399,
slipe, 06,
slipity-licksty, s.v. lick-
ity-spUt, 236. j slip one's gallows, 381. ; Cf. gallows. j slipphig, 394. I slob, 381.
slocker, 330. Cf. tap, \ 336. j slouch, 62, 234,
slough (sill, slcu, slau), 62, 72, 234, 241. Cf. slew.
sloven, 381.
slow fire, 336.
slow-poke, 211. Cf , poke, poky.
sing, 333.
slum, 75.
slunmiock, 383.
slunk school, 381. Cf.
hookey. smack, 237. smack dab, 232. small measure, 62. smart, 48; 374, s.v. rigid
smart little hit. smidgen, 424, Qi.smitch,
394. smike, 50.
smit, 394. Cf, crock, 329, smitcli, 394. Cf. smidgen,
424. smite, 278. smoke wagon, 374. smouch, 374. snack, 374. Cf. snack
houses, ibid, snack houses, 374. Cf.
snack, ibid, snag, 399, 400. Cf. slew. snag gag, 333. snaggle, 75. snake (snek), 17. snake-fence, 62. snake out logs, 381. snail bore, 333. snap, 336. Cf. puntey,
336. snapper up, 336. snap the whip, 424. sneakins-meakins', 211.
494
INDEX.
sueathe, 333. Cf. scythe
stick, 399. sriew, 383. snips, 400. sniptious, 394. snoop, 333. snoot, 75, 218. snot-raf?, 400. snub, 334. snubbin' post, 334. snuck, 62. snucker, 63. snucks, 400, 425. so (so), 265. (Cf. hwe, p.
265.) soak, soaker, 60, s.v.
soaky ; 425. Qi. sock. soaky, 66, 218. Cf.
soaker, 425. sock, sock it to him, 75,
237. Cf. soak. socker, socking, 425. socks, 232. Cf. knock the
socks off. soda (sodi), 241. so fasliion, 23, 79, 212,
218. soft shells, 334, soggy, 211. soils, cf. sivoils, 381. so it is, 394. sojer, 19, 79, 218, 343,
381. Cf. soldier. soldier, s.v. sojer, 19, 79,
218. so-long, 48. sombr(^ro, 194. some, 70, 234. Cf. some
pimkitis, quite some. some place, 425. some punkins, 70, s.v.
some; 211. some several, 374. song-valet, 425. son of a gun, 425. sont, 71, 234. soon, 41, 212, 232, 374.
Cf. sooner. sooner, 232, s.v. soon. soople, 72, 218, 234. Cf.
supple. soot (s^t, sut), 6, 17, 59,
67, 425. sop, 374. Cf. sap, 425. soppy, 425. s6tole, 194, 252. Cf.
tequila, 252. sot upon himself, 394. sound, 19, 218. souse, 232, 383, 394, 400.
south, 227.
spack, 383.
spade (speid), 211.
spancel, 381.
spandy, spandy-clean,
spandy-dandy, 19. sparkin', 232. speak, 278. spell, 381. sperits, sperrit, 72. spignet, 394. spile, 278, 332 ; s.v. pile. spill, 278.
spin one's dumpling, 425. spit, 232.
split the difference, 232. spludge, 75, 232, 234. spoil (spail), 6, 67. spool holes, 332, 337, s.v.
pool holes. spoom, 334.
spoon (spun), 6, 67, 425. sposh, 394. spraddle out, 374. sprawl, 19, 218, 381. sprightly, 211. springers, 383. spud, spuds, 381, 425. spudge, 211. spung, 334. Cf. spungy,
76. spungy, 76. Cf. spung. spunk, spunky, 232, 343
and note, squael, 394. squander, 374. squares, 334, 343. Cf.
blocks, 328. squat, 19, 79. Cf. squez,
376. squaw man, 394. squawmish (skwo-), 211. squeaky, 232. squez, 376. Cf. squat,
19, 79. squeeze, squeezy, 19. squench, 232. squinch, squinch up, 232. squinch-owl, 232. squmt, squint eyed, 282-
285. squiogling, 425. Cf.
skwee-gee. squirrel, 50, 218; 241,
s.v. stirrup; 425. Cf.
wolf. srink, 69, 218, 278. stab, 425. staddle, 8. stag, 70. Cf. stub, 343.
stair-steps, 425. Cf. pair
of stairs, 342. stake and rider, 237. stakes, QQ. stale, 342 ; rake-, fork-,
and pipe- stale. stamp (stomp, stomp),
72 ; 234, s.v. trompled
on. stand, 232.
stand in hand, 19, 218. starigan, 381. starknaked, cf. naked,
379. start-naked, 234. Cf.
starknaked, 379. stavin, 232. steak dish, 425. steboy, etc., 23, 59, 237,
265, 266. Cf. suke,
237 ; and sick, 70. steerers, 211. Cf. belly-
bump, etc. stepchild, 425. stepmother, 334. stepped back, 374, stepping, 394. steps, 394. Cf. stair-
stick me, QQ.
stickup, 334.
stiddiment, 23.
stiff, 394.
stirrup, stirrup oil, 241,
383. Cf. terrible, 242. stock-male, 394. stocky, 19, 79. stodge, 394. stogies, 229, s.v. cono-
stogas; 237. stone (st6n), 17, 336. stone horses, 334. stoop, 343.
stout, 343. Cf. pursy. straight rift, 337. straight up, 425. Cf.
turned down, 426. stram, 19.
strand, strand wood, 425. strand (of thread), 394. strap railroad, 425. streets, 48, cf. squares,
334, 425. Cf. blocks. stren'th (strenb), 233,
s.v. len'th. strike^ 66. string, 207, 425. string cord, 425. strive, 278. stroobly, 425.
INDEX.
495
strouter, 381.
strull, strulling, 383.
stub, 343. Cf. stag, 70.
stud, 381.
study, 374.
stuff, 205.
stuffy, 20, 334.
stump, 212. Cf . s.v. 25 ;
and stu7it, 400. stumps, 66.
stunt, -s, 400. Cf. stump. sty-baked, 394. such (set/), 6, 67 ; 240.
s.v. much. suck-egg, 232. suck it out of one's own
claws, 425. sudad^ro, 252. su^rte, 194. sugar-game, 66. sugar-tit, 232. Cf. teat,
242. sui, 237; s.y.stehoy. (Cf.
S'u-bol, fu, tsu, 266.) suink, 394. Cf. sunthin. Suisse, 45. suke (suk), 237, 263,
264. Cf . puuig. summons, 375. sun down, 334. sunrise water, 374. sunthin, 375. Cf. suink. sun up, 334. supple (sup-1), 50. Cf.
soople. sure (J6r), 241. Cf. sho
nvf, 69. swag, 394. swale, 334. swam, 241. Cf. swim,
278. sward (sord), 334. swat (swot), 343. swatch, 381. swear, 278. sweat, 400.
sweep, 278. Cf. swept. sweetening, 374. Cf . long
sweetning. sweeting, 425. Cf . sweet- ening. sweltersome, 374. swept (swep), s.v. crept,
238. Cf. sweep, 278. swim, 278. Cf. simm. swing, swang, 425. swinge, 376.
swingle (swind38l), 425. swing seat, 334. swipe, QQ, 218.
switchel, 343. Cf. helly
whistle, 328. swivet, 232. swoils, swoiling, 381. swole, 376. syrup (scrap), 241 ; s.v.
siirrup.
ta ta, 425. tabby-cat, 394. tacker, 76, 334. Cf. hug- ger, 340 ; each, 385. tacky, 66, 394, 425. Cf.
cru7nhy. taddy, 394. tads, 232. tajo, 252. take, taken, 70, s.v.
carry; 278, 376. take in, take out, 59. Cf.
go. take everys, take evers,
24. Cf. evers. takle (tek-1), 211. taifils, 381.
tailor, 233. Cf . skunked. talkenest, 374. talkin' to, 374. talqual, 381. tamal, -es, 194. Cf. me-
tdte, 192, 250. tan his jacket, 233. tank, 426. tantoaster, 394. tantrum, 211. tap, 3:56, 337. Ct.slocker.
336. tapad^ro, 195, 252. Cf.
rebdso, 194, 251. tapalo, 252. Cf. rebdso. tap6jo, tapujo, 252. target-practice, 49, 56. tar kiln, 334. tarve, 394. tassel (tosl, tosl, t-esl,
tosal, tosel, taesl), 72,
213, 219, 234, 241. taw, 24, 220. Cf. toy,
220. teach, 278. Cf. learn. team, 426. tear, 278. tease, 426.
teat, 242. Cf. sugar-tit. tech, 376. Cf. touch. tecoldte, 252, 325. teem, 426. Cf. tern. teeter, 343 and note, teethache, 211. tell on, 426.
tem, 426. Cf. teem, ibid, tempest, 211, 426. tempo, 336. tend out, tend out on, 22.
Cf . mind out. ten fingers, 334. Tennessee, 375. tepocate, 252. tequesqufte, 252. Cf.
esquUe, 190. tequila, 252. Cf. sdtole,
194, 252. tern^ra, 252. terrible (terabal), 242.
Cf. stirrup, 241. tertulia, 195, 252. tester (tistar), 426. tetchus, 60. Cf. touch. thank-you-m'am, s.v.
breaker, 385; o94. thar, 375. Cf. there, 69. that («et), 242. that- a- way, 287. Cf.
this he(r)-imy, 374. thatch, thatchy, 20. Cf.
inilk, 59. thawt,334. Ct thwart,2A. the year, 394. them, 376. there (-Se, -Saa), 69. Cf.
thar, 375. they (Se), 23, s.v. stiddi-
ment. thigamy, s.v. thing-um-
a-bob, (j(S. thill horse, 334. thimbleberries, s.v. red
caps, 399. thingamy, s.v. thing-um-
a-bob, m. thing-doodle, 06. Cf.
th ing-em-a-dudgeon,
thing-um-a-bob, etc.,
ibid.; and jigger, etc.,
74, 234, 379. thing-em-a-dudgeon, 66.
Cf. thing-doodle, ibid, thingemajig, s.v. thing- um-a-bob, QQ. thingembob, s.v. thing- um-a-bob, (SQ. thing-um-a-bob, 66, 219.
Cf. thing-doodle, 66. this he(r)-way, cf. that-
a-way. th'one (boun), 69. thoroughfare, 334. Cf.
sleics, 333. th'ow(hou),69. Cf.throw,
throwed, 278, 376.
496
INDEX.
thrash, thresh, 23, 59, 79,
219, 242. three-square, 334. thribs, thribbles, 24. Cf .
duhs, 24, 220. thrive, 278. through (l>i'u), 06. throughfare, cf. thor- oughfare; 334. throw, -ed, 278, 370. Cf.
th'ow, 69. throw up, 233, 343 and
note, thunderheads, 334. thwart (}>D9t), 24. Cf.
thawt, 334. tickely-, ticklish-, tickly-
bender(s), 334, and
s.v. tittlii-benderSy 75.
Cf. bender, 328. ticklish, s.v. tittly
benders, 75. ticky, 334. tilpah, 325. tilt, 381. Cf. clotten
house, 378. time, 426. time when, 420. tinaja, 195. Cf. tma-
jera, 252. tinajdra, 252, Cf. selva,
ibid.; tinaja, 195. tin snips, s.v. snips, 400. titman, 213. tittavating, 334. tittly-benders (titli ben-
daz, -bendoz), 75, 213.
Cf . tickely-bender, 334 ;
rubber ice, 423. tlac, tlaco, 252. toad, s.v. tads, 232. toad stabber, 400. Cf.
frog sticker, 230. tobookit, 233. toes, 233. Cf. grass, 331. together (tijgaiSa), 234. tolerable, tol'ble (tol'bl,
tobbl), 69, 375, toloache, 252. Tom (torn), 242. tomato, -es, 394, 426. tomediately, 426. to-morrow, 50. tom-troller, 63. tone, 3:>6. tongs, 334. too previous, 48. took and hit, 212, 219.
Cf. s.v. 25. tooser, s.v.cowmy, 60.
toot (tut), 75.
tooth-brush, 375.
tornlllo, 195. Cf. mes- quite, 192.
t(5ro, 195, 426.
tortience ('to Jans, tojanz) , 75. 213.
tortflla, 195. Cf, metdte, 192, 250.
tote, tote-team, 394. Cf, tote np, 381,
tote up, 381. Cf. tote.
tother, 343 and note.
touch (tetj"), s.v. much, 240. Cf. tech, 376; techus, 66.
tough, 211.
tough it out, 20, 79, 219.
tourte, 45.
touse, 20, 79,
town ball, 395.
tow-tail, 395.
toxicatious, 334,
toy, 76, 220. Cf. taw.
tract (trffik), 242,
trade, s.v, trade last, 426.
trader, 381,
trade-lassie, trade-last, trade-me-lass, 426.
train, 20, 400. Cf. train- ers, 211,
trainers, 211. Cf. train, 20, 400.
traipse, 334, Cf. trapesy.
tramp (tromp, tromp), 72, 234. Cf. trompled on, 234.
trap- door, 211. Cf, trap- patch and barn-door.
trappatch, 20. Cf. trap- door.
trapesy, 426. Cf. traipse, 334,
trash-basket, 395.
tread, 49, 56, 278,
tremendous (trimen- d^^s), 242.
tresillo, 195.
trestle (tnjsol, trusl), 242.
trick, 395.
trivet (tribit), 234.
Trojan, 426.
trolley, 426.
tromp, 234, s.v, trompled on.
tromplllo, 253,
trompled on, trompl'd on (tromp-eld, trompld, trompld), 234, Cf. tromp.
tronaddra, 253, Cf, cone- ton, 247.
truck, 334.
trummel, 395.
trun, trun down, 400, 426.
trunks, 426,
tube blower, 336.
tub-sugar, 420,
tuckered out, 395.
tuck stone, 336.
tiile, 195.
tumble, 426.
tiina, 195.
turkle, 375, 395.
turn, 70, 234, 381. Cf. burn, 378.
turned down, 426 ; s.v. straight up, ibid.
turn in, 395.
turning- row, 06.
twict, 375.
twinly, 381.
twisted, cf. straight rift.
two-handed, 227.
two-seater, 426. Cf. double-seater, 415.
twothree (tuKi, tubri), 76.
tyke, 395,
una de gato, 195.
unhitch, 395.
unsight unseen, s.v. sight
unseen, 231. unthoughtedly, 395. until (L'nt-el), 242. unto, 253.
up-a-daisy, up-a-day, 381 . up and did it, 212, 219.
Cf. s.v, 25. upheader, 334, uppin'-block, 426. uses, 375. used to, uster (yusta,
yuz ta), 69, 237. usually well, 17.
V, 334, vaca, 195. vaci6n\ 253. vallo, 253 and note, vamoose, vamos, vamdse,
325, 426. van, 11.
vaqu^ro, 253. Cf. vCica. vara, 195, 196. varmints, 375. veil, 42(5. vendue, 6, 67.
INDEX.
497
ven^ro, 253. Cf. suda- dero, 252.
vengeance, 400.
vengeance, blue ven- geance, 24. Cf. jing-
vent, vents, 24, 220. Cf.
/en, 61, 76, 215, 219. venta, 253. v^rde, 195. Cf . palo. verdugo, 195. Cf. bel-
duque, 188, 244. vexed, 381.
vineg(a)r6n, 253, 325. violin, 426. viznaga, 253.
wagon, 340, s.v. car- riage. Cf. buggy, 411;
ivain, 334. wake, 278.
wain, 334. Cf. wagon. walk Spanish, 63, s.v.
wheelbarroio. Cf . icalk
turkey, 400. walk turkey, 400. Cf.
wheelbarrow, 63. wallop, 211.
walnut, 76. Cf . warnut. want, 242, 426. wa'n't (wont), 69, 234,
340. Cf. be, etc. wapper-, wapple-jawed,
63, 234, 426. Cf.
jimber-jawed, 74. wapsed up, 426. warnut (wonut) , 69. Cf .
walnut, 76. was, 242. Cf. be, etc.,
38, 77, 212, 238, 328,
340. washin', 233. wasp nest (wos nes),
234. Cf. hen nest, 68. watch-coat, 426. watch out ; s.v. mind out,
65, 426. water-butt, s.v. breaker,
385. water hook, 427. water-horse, water-horse
fish, 381. wave, 427. wax, 381. way yander, 375. wear, 7, 278. wear out, 395. weather, 426. weave, 278, wedth, 6, 67.
weddiners, 375.
weed, 427.
weeny, 395.
weepuns (wipnz), 69.
wee wary, 395.
well (wsel), 6, 67, 242.
wench, 343.
went, 376. Cf. go.
wept (wep), 242.
were, 71, 234.
wet, 278.
whack, 63, 234.
whack up, 63.
whar, s.v. uses, 375. Cf.
where, 69. what do you know ? 66. what fer, what fer of
country, 70, 375. wheelbarrow, 63. Cf.
vmlk turkey, 400. wheels, 427. whelts, 375. where (hwea), 69. Cf.
whar, 375. where . . . at, 233. where 'bouts, 234. wherries, 334. whet, 278. whip (hwup), 69. whipstock, 211. whiskers, 427. white-weed, 50. whittlety-whet, 66. widow-man, 233. Cf.
icidow-woman, ibid, widow- woman, 233. Cf.
widow-man, ibid, width, 6, 67. wife's, 427. Cf. vnve''s. Willie boy, 427. willies, 427. wind breaker, 334. winders, 334. windfall, cf. breakdown,
336. wind shakes, 337. winged out, 395, s.v.
wung out. winklehawk, 383. Cf.
nickle hawk, 391. winkum, 343. Cf. jack
(apple). wipe the earth with, wipe
up the earth with, 427.
Cf . ivipe the floor with. wipe the floor' with, 427,
Cf . loipe the earth with. wished, 242. with, 427. wive's, 76. Cf. im/e's.
woddy, 427.
wolf, hunt the gray wolf, 427. Cf. squirrel, yel- low.
woods colt, 395.
word with the bark on it, 233.
work, 395.
work harness, 427.
worm-fence, cf. snake- fence, 62.
would, 24.
wrastle (rasl, rsesl), 70. Cf. wrestle, 50, 219, 242.
wreck, 375,
wrench (rentj), 63, 234, Cf. rinse.
wrestle (r?esl), 50, 219, 242. Cf. wrastle, 76,
write, 278.
wudge, wudget, 395.
wung out, 395.
wuz, 71, 234. Cf. &e, etc. {;
wuzzy, 427.
yafful (yaffle), 381.
yammer, 427.
yang, 400.
yap, 381, 427.
yarry% 381.
yawp, 427.
yearling, 395.
yeast (ist, yest), 234.
y^gua, 253.
yellow, 6, 67, 427. Cf.
wolf, 4-27. veller janders (yela d3aen-
dez), 233. y^rba del bu^y, 195. y^rba de v^mulo, 195. yes, 242 ; foot-note, 260.
Cf. ea, 341, 343. yet(yit),6,67. yink yank, 336. Cf.
necktie, ibid, yo, 71, 234. yolk, 242.
yonder (yenda), 6, 67. you alls, 375. Cf. all,
411. youngster, 381.
zacate, 195, 325. Cf.
sacdte, ibid, zandfa, s.v. sandia, 252. zap6te, 253. Cf . chapote,
240. zopildte, 195, 326. Cf.
cdracara, 246.
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