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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,  '■^  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 
■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). 

■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. 

■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 
■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. 

■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.  ] 

■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.  ] 

■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. 

■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)  ► 

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. 

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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, 
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Barringer,  G.  a.  "  ^tude  sur  I' Anglais  parU  aux  ^tats  Unis  (la  Langue 
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edition.     Boston,  1877  ;  8vo  ;  pp.  814. 

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Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser.  Provincialisms.  Sept.  10  and  11, 
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Chambers*  Journal.     (Cf.  Littell's  Liv.  Age,  CXX,  240.)     American  nick- 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  81 

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Choate,  I.  B.     New  England  dialect.     New  Eng.  Mag.,  VI,  583. 

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Graham,  G.  F.  A  book  about  words.  London,  1869  (chap,  13,  Slang 
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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. 

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Kellogg,  T.  H.     English  phonology.     Pop.  Sci.  Monthly,  XXXII,  387. 

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Leisure  Hour,  XXVI,  110  (see  LitteWs  Liv.  Age,  CXXXII,  821). 

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article,  XXXI,  378.     Mugwump,  XLIV,  121. 

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Lowell,  James  Russell.  Biglow  papers,  1848,  1864.  Introductions  to 
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Marsh,  George  P.  Lectures  on  the  English  language.  Fourth  edition. 
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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)  ; 
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82  DIALECT  NOTES. 

XXVI,  243  (Review  of  Bartlett)  ;  XXXII,  184  (blizzard) ;  XXXII,  208  (do.); 
XXXII,  220  (do.)  ;  XXXII,  260  (do.). 

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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 
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102,  348,  475. 

Norton,  Charles  Ledyard.  Political  Americanisms.  Mag.  of  Amer. 
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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- 
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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. 

■^  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 

■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  ?) 

■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  ■<  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  ■<  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  ■<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  {'■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  ■{■  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. 

44 


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  ■< 
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. 

49 


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^  ■<  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  ■<  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  ■<  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  ■<  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  ■<  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.   ■ 


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,'*  '■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  '■'^  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  ■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).     '■'■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  '■'  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  :  '-'■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, 
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Other  dialectal  forms  in  Tennessee.     Publ.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  of 

America,  VI,  171-5  ;  see  also  Proc.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  for  1890,  pp.  xvii- 
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Campbell,  Douglas.  The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England,  and  America. 
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Carruth,  W.  H.  Foreign  settlements  in  Kansas.  Kansas  University 
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Dialect  word-list.     Kansas  University  Quarterly,  I,  95-100. 

Earle,  Alice  Morse.  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England.  New 
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Elliott,  A.  Marshall.  [Review  of  Sweet's]  Primer  of  phonetics.  Mod. 
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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. 

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Farmer,  John  S.  Slang  and  its  analogues,  past  and  present :  a  dictionary, 
historical  and  comparative,  of  the  heterodox  speech  of  all  classes  of  society 
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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. 
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Garner,  Samuel.  Bobbin  and  latch-string.  Nation,  LIV,  72  (Jan.  28, 1892). 

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Grandgent,  C.  H.  German  and  English  sounds.  Boston,  1892.  [In 
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The  Phonetic  Section  of  the  Modem  Language  Association.     Mod. 

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256  DIALECT  NOTES, 

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[Review  of]  Introduction  to  phonetics,  by  Laura  Soames.      Afod. 

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Hall,  Fitzedward.  Recent  exemplifications  of  false  philology.  New 
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''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- 
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Hill,  Adams  Sherman.     Our  English.     New  York,  1889. 

Hoke,  N.  C.  Folk-custom  and  folk-belief  in  North  Carolina.  Jour.  Amer. 
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Journal  or  American  Folk-Lore.  Waste-basket  of  words,  III,  311 ; 
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T.  W.  Higginson,  C.  G.  Leland,  J.  H.  Newell,  W.  W.  Newell,  and  others.) 
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Karsten,  Gustaf.  [Remarks  on  American  pronunciation  in  his  review 
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Lentzner,  Karl.  Worterbuch  der  englischen  volkssprache  Australiens 
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Matthews,  Brander.  Americanisms  and  Briticisms.  New  York,  1892. 
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MoFFATT,  Adeline.  The  mountaineers  of  middle  Tennessee.  Jour. 
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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 

■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  ■ 
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).]      ■ 

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. 


L. 

B. 

J. 

W. 

G. 

H. 

C. 

S. 

E. 

M 

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. 


^■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  *■'■  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 

■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.  ■ 
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. 


# 


0 


'4 


BINDING  SECT. 
MAR  2  9  1972 


PE  Dialect  notes 

2801 


!     D5 
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