The Phonology of a South Durham Dialect : Descriptive, Historical, and Comparative 9781317421948, 9781138917934

Citation preview

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Volume 22

THE PHONOLOGY OF A SOUTH DURHAM DIALECT

Page Intentionally Left Blank

THE PHONOLOGY OF A SOUTH DURHAM DIALECT Descriptive, Historical, and Comparative

HAROLD ORTON

First published in 1933 This edition first published in 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1933 Harold Orton All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: ISBN: ISBN: ISBN:

978-1-138-92111-5 978-1-315-68654-7 978-1-138-91793-4 978-1-315-68870-1

(Set) (Set) (ebk) (Volume 22) (hbk) (Volume 22) (ebk)

Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

The Phonology of a South Durham Dialect DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL, AND COMPARATIVE

By

HAROLD ORTON, B.Litt., M.A. FoRMERLY oF MERTON CoLLEGE, OxFoRD LECTURER IN ENGLISH AT ARMSTRONG COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM

LoNDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD. BROADWAY HousE: 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C. 1933

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS, LIMITED, HERTFORD

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

CHAP.

Vll

PREFACE

X

ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS USED IN THIS BOOK

Xlll

INTRODUCTION PART

I.

DESCRIPTIVE

AccouNT

I

OF THE

SouNDS

OF THE

PRESENT-DAY DIALECT

II.

LIVING

DIALECT-VowELS

oF

STRESSED

SYLLABLES THE DEVELOPMENT oF MIDDLE ENGLISH SouNDs IN THE LIVING DIALECT-VOWELS OF UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES IV.

CoNSONANTAL SoUNDS-CHANGES FROM THE OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIODS DOWN TO THE PRESENT DAY

V.

8

92 124:

TABULAR SuMMARY oF THE OLD ENGLISH, MIDDLE SCANDINAVIAN, AND OLD FRENCH ENGLISH, EQUIVALENTS oF THE STRESSED VowELS IN THE LIVING DIALECT APPENDIX:

THE

OF

SPECIMENS

PRESENT-DAY

DIALECT . PART VI.

1

THE DEVELOPMENT oF MIDDLE ENGLISH SouNDS IN THE

III.

Xl

166

177

II

THE HisTORY oF THE STRESSED VowEL-SOUNDS IN THE NoRTHERN ENGLISH DIALECTS DURING THE MoDERN PERIOD

193

WoRD-LisT

272

BIBLIOGRAPHY

303

INDEX OF SuBJECTs

307 v

Page Intentionally Left Blank

PREFACE woRK upon the theme of this book was begun just over eleven years ago at the suggestion of Professor H. C. Wyld, who not only outlined the method of treatment, but also, during the first three years, supervised my studies. In 1923 part of the material was submitted as a thesis for the Oxford degree of B.Litt. Since 1924 the work has continued though subject to so many interruptions that the original scheme has perforce been modified by the omission of a projected chapter on Accidence. It is important to know how far any description of a living dialect is accurate. My claim to know the dialect of Byers Green is that it has been familiar to me since childhood. I was born in the village in 1898 and lived there continuously until I was seventeen. Except for a break due to military service (19171919), I spent the greater part of each year there until the age of twenty-five. Thereafter until two years ago, I visited Byers Green regularly every year. In bringing the raw material together I have been greatly assisted by my parents, who are both natives of the district. More often than not the appearance in these pages of a pronunciation marked " rare " or "obsolete" is a testimony to the aid they have so freely given. I thank them most gratefully. The modern material has been worked out on a Middle English basis. I have departed from the arrangement of Cowling and Reaney in not treating the native, Scandinavian, and French elements in different chapters. A considerable gain in compactness clearly results from presenting all the information about a given Middle English sound in one section, instead of three. For the etymologies of the vernacular words chief reliance has been placed upon the Oxford DictioMry. As a rule they have only been given when of special interest. One of the original aims of this investigation was to throw light upon the "Dialect Groups" of Northern Middle English. However, the historical phonology of the current Northern vii

Vlll

PREFACE

varieties of the mother-tongue proved too strong an attraction for me, and Chapter VI is the result. In this part of the book, where an attempt has been made to trace the prevailing sounds back to their Middle English counterparts by means of the " occasional spellings " in local documents and the earlier forms of Northern place-names, I have worked upon lines laid down by Professor Wyld in the early summer of 1921-hence before the publication of Vikar's Contributions to the History of the Durham Dialects (1922), in which the same method is employed. For the linguistic conditions of the Twentieth Century, I have preferred to depend almost entirely upon the publications of those specialists who have studied particular areas at first hand. Indirect investigation, carried out through the medium of helpers unschooled in Phonetics, can hardly produce results of real scientific value. Accordingly I have not felt obliged to take into account much of what has previously been written upon the history of Northern vernacular English from medieval times onwards. In conclusion it is a pleasant duty to thank those who have helped me in various ways. To my former teacher, Professor Wyld, my obligation is very great. Not only did he direct my researches in their early stages, but he has never ceased to display the liveliest interest in my work and give me his encouragement. It was also due to him that my manuscript eventually found its way to the printing-press. I offer him my most grateful thanks. I am also deeply indebted to Professor R. E. Zachrisson, who in 1924 was kind enough to criticize the earliest draft of my monograph and to make many important corrections and suggestions. During the four years that I subsequently spent as Lektor in his Department at Uppsala University, he was always ready to give me his stimulating advice. I thank him most cordially. I also offer my thanks to Dr. 0. Gjerdman, Docent in Phonetics at Uppsala University, who, greatly to my advantage, criticized my earliest description of the sounds of the dialect ; to Professor W. L. Renwick, for much valuable advice ; to my colleague, Mr. R. S. Elmes, M.A., who kindly read through a considerable part of the manuscript and made countless helpful suggestions ; to an anonymous reader of the whole manuscript,

PREFACE

lX

for criticism of which I did not hesitate to avail myself; and to Professor J. Hoops, for permission to reprint a number of occasional spellings from my articles published in Englische

Studien.

I acknowledge with gratitude the valuable assistance of my wife in typing a difficult manuscript, checking hundreds of references, and in the preparation of the Indexes. My thanks are also due to the former pupils of the English Department of Armstrong College who have contributed information about the living dialects of Northumberland and Durham; to Miss I. Bayliffe (for Allenheads, Nhb.), Mr. E. N. Bowman (for the Capheaton-Kirkwhelpington district, Nhb.), Miss D. Graham (for Glanton, Nhb.), Mr. J. Spoor (for Newburn, Nhb.), Mr. W. H. Hoult (for Cullercoats, Nhb.), and to Mr. R. 0. L. Curry (for Coxhoe, Du.). Lastly, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Governing Bodies of Merton College and Armstrong College, whose generous grants have made the publication of this work possible. HAROLD ORTON. ARMSTRONG COLLEGE,

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.

January, 1933.

ABBREVIATIONS The following are noteworthy :a. AB. abstr. AFr. Angl. AN. anm. B.Gn. b. Bck. cons. Cumb. dial. dim. Du. E. el. Ess. E.St. ex. f. fl. Fr. Fris. G(erm). Gl. h. imit. infl. Inv. Ken. l. Lanes. Lat. LG. Lines. lit. m. MDutch ME. med. Mere. Mod. neg. Nhb. NME. North. Norw. Notts. nr. Nrf.

adoption of (from) Beiblatt zur Anglia abstract Anglo-French Anglian Anglo-Norman anmerkung Byers Green back Buckingham consonant( s) Cumberland dialect( al) diminutive Durham Early (with languages) element Essex Englische Studien example(s) front flat French Frisian German(ic) Glossary high imitative inflected. Inventory Kent low Lancashire Latin Low German Lincolnshire literally mid Middle Dutch Middle English medieval Mere ian Modern negative Northumberland Northern Middle English Northern Norwegian N ottinghamshire near Norfolk

N orthumbrian Old (with languages) obsolete obs. obsolescent obsol. Old Danish ODan. Old English OE. Old East Scandinavian OESc. Old French OFr. Old High German OHG. Old Low German OLG. Old Norse ON. Old Northern French ONF. Old Swedish OSwed. Old West Scandinavian OWSc. p(ers). n. personal name place-name pl.n. past participle p(.)p. Primitive Pr. present pres. present participle pres.p. preterite pret. probably prob. pronoun, pronunciation pron. past tense p.t. river R.,r. reference(s) ref. Received Standard RS. English rhymes with r.w. slack s. Scotch, Scotland Sc. Scandinavian Scand. substantive sb. subject, subjunctive subj. Suffolk Sufi. Sussex Sus. tense t. ultimately ult. verb v. variant var. Will w. W(est)m. Westmorland West Germanic WG. West Saxon ws. Yorkshire Yks. Yorkshire North Riding YNR. becomes, etc. < derived from > in addition to ; standing before hypothetical form * Nthbn.

0.

+

X

LIST OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS USED IN THIS BOOK The following are some of the phonetic symbols used. Others will be found, with explanations, in §§ 1-39.

=bin barb, [bob]. [d] (voiced point teeth-ridge stop)= din did, [did]. [dz] = the sound of ge in George, [dz5dz]. =fin fife, [faif]. [f] (voiceless lip-teeth open) [g] (voiced back stop) =gin gag, [greg]. [3] (voiced back open) = g in Germ. sagen, [zo3an]. = h in hat, [hmt]. [h] (the " aspirate ") [x] (voiceless back open) = ch in Scotch loch, [lox]. =yin you, [ju]. [j] (front open voiced) = ch in Germ. ich, [ij]. [j] (front open voiceless) [k] (voiceless back stop) = k and ck in kick, [kik]. = l in loll, [lJolu]. On B.Gn. [l] (voiced point divided) [1], see § 38. [m] (voiced lip nasal) = m in maim, [meim]. [n] (voiced point nasal) = n in noon, [nun]. [U] (voiced back nasal) = 'flfJ in ri'flf}, [riu]. [p] (voiceless lip stop) = p in poop, [pup]. = r in raw, [r5]. [r] (voiced point open) = c and s in cease, [sis]. [s] (voiceless blade open) (s] (voiceless blade-point open) =sin sure, [85(9)], etc. =tin tart, [tat]. (t] (voiceless point stop) [ts] = the sound of ch in church, (ts Angl.

m, a (WGerm. a). [ak(a)mn] + [akrum], acorn (OE. mcern, with metathesis) ; [ansa(r)], answer; [ant], ant; [apl], apple; [bad], bad, ill; [bag], bag (possibly of Scand. origin, Bjorkman 228); [bak] sb. and adj., back; [bakaua], backwards (lit. back over); [bak md], autumn; [bakli] adj., backward; [bak(w)at(s)], backward(s); [bat] sb., blow; [blak], black; [brand], brand; [brant], steep; [brazn(t)], brazen, impudent; [dam], dam; [fa5a(r}], father; [flaka(r}], flutter (cf. OE. flacor, flying) ; [galasaz] (double plur.), braces; [gat] pret., got; [glad], glad; [(h)ama(r}], hammer; [(h)an(d)], plur. [hanz], hand; [(h)anfl] + [-ful], handful; [(h)ansam], handsome; [(h)aukatSa(r)] + [(h)aukutsa(r)], handkerchief (ME. hand, +ME. curcher, kercher, 1.

8

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF ME. a

9

> earlier *cover-, keverchir a.

OFr. couvre-, cuevrechier, erroneous forms of couvrechief, etc., NED.); [jat] + [giat] (§ 89 (3)), gate; [kam] +[kern] pret., came; [kan] sb., can; [kanl], candle; [kap], (i) sb. cap, (ii) v. cap, surpass; [klam] + [klum], climbed; [klap] v., clap (cf. Bjorkman 246); [klatg(r)], clatter; [lam], lamb; [land], land; [lat], lath (cf. lattes, 1626, StG Mem., 181); [man], (i) man, (ii) husband (e.g. [ow:~ man], my husband, lit. our man); [mat], mat; [padik], frog; [pan], pan; [raks], stretch (cf. rax, NED.); [ram] sb., ram; [ram], rank, pungent (see rammish in NED.; but cf. ON. rammr, strong, sharp, bitter, and Brilioth, p. 155) ; [sad], sad, heavy (of bread); [sak] v., dismiss from service; [saklas], foolish; [salg], sallow; [sap], sap; [sapi], foolish; [satl], settle (cf. satteling, 1798, StGMem., 116); [smak], taste, flavour; [slak], slack ; [slaps], sink-refuse, and [slapstn], sink (probably representing an OE. *sloppe, see slop sb. 2 , NED.); [saki], shackle; [sap] sb., shape; [skab], scab (cf. Bjorkman 120); [spak] + [spak] pret., spoke; [stapl] sb., staple; [stand], stand, but [stan!(], standing; [trap], trap, snare; [pak], thatch.

Note.-OE. ce, a, appears as [e] in the following: [Eks] + [eks], axe (OE. cex); [gd5g(r)] v., gather (OE. gcefkrian Scand.

a.

[adl] v., earn (ON. bola) ; [batn], thrive, grow fat (OWSc. batna, Bjorkman 202); [brakn], bracken (Bjorkman 231); [flagz], pavement (of flat stones) (see NED. s.v. flag sb. 2) ; [flat], flat; ( 1) [(h)ansl], handsel, first occurrence, the first use

10

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

of anything (but see Bjorkman 242) ; [klag] v., stick, bedaub, and [klagi], sticky (cf. Dan. klagge, sticky mud, Bjorkman 215); [rag], rag (ME. ragge possibly represents an OE. *ragg, ad. ON. rogg "tuft or strip of fur", NED. ; and see Bjorkman 35, footnote 2); [nag] v., scold (see nag v., NED.); [ransak], ransack (OWSc. rannsaka, Bjorkman 172) ; [skragi], thin ; [slak] in pl. n., dell, ravine (Bjorkman 254); ( 1) [snag] v., cut the leaves off turnips, and [snagg(r)], knife used in cutting off the leaves of turnips (probably of Scand. origin; cf. Norw. dial. snag, sharp point; see NED. s.v. snag v. 2) ; (stak], heap, stack (a. ON. stakki, NED.); [stab(r)] v., stagger (a. ON. stackra, NED.). 3. > OFr. a in closed syllables and in syllables originally unaccented. [aprgn], apron (cf. apperin(g), 1582, Wills II, Inv. of Isabell Rood of Plawsworth (Du. ), 66) ; [bagis], baggage ; [drab], drab; [dzakgt], jacket; [galgp], gallop; [gran(d)], grand; [kabisgz], cabbages; [kats], catch; [lamp], lamp; [maws], malice; [manis], manage; [mang(r)], manure; [matg(r)] + [marg], matter; [matlgs], immaterial; [matrgs], mattress; [radis], radish; [rat(n)], rat; [sami], chamois, in the word [sami IE(5g(r)] ; [skanti], scanty; (tali], label for a box (see tally sb. 7 , NED.); [tali] v., agree, correspond; [tap] v., tap, hit; [tsapl], chapel; [vali], value, and [valibl], valuable. But [e] occurs in: Lb 1rektg(r)], character (ME. caracter(e) > OFr. caractere) ; [pleg] sb. and v., plague (ME. plag > OFr. plage, plague); [stensn], stanchion (a. OFr. estanchon, estancon).

§ 42. The following words, all of which contain [a], cannot for etymological reasons be included under any of the above heads. Most of them are of obscure origin. [blab], blab ; [brat], brat, slut; [bratis], brattice, partition of boards in a mine or a room ; [fadz], round loaf of bread ; [:f:lanv-], flannel ; [fratS] sb. and v., quarrel (see fratch, NED.) ; [gaml], gamble ; [(h)ap], cover up, conceal; [kani], (i) adj., kindly, gentle, attractive, {ii) adv., carefully, gently ; [katgdzug], hip, fruit of wild rose (first el. > OE., ONF. cat "cat", see cat, NED.); [klamp], tread heavily in walking (onomatopoeic origin, see clamp v. 3 , NED.); [kadz], cadge, beg; [krabt] + [krekgt], stool; [krabi],

ME. a REMAINS SHORT BEFORE 8,

j,

AND

th

11

irritable ; [krak], talk, conversation, chat (imitative origin, see crruJk sb., NED.); [krak up], praise (unduly) (cf. EDD. s.v. crruJk v., sense 20); [(s)krans], crunch the teeth (cf. craunch in NED.); [krap;mz], part of the entrails of a pig (see croppin sb., NED.); [lad], lad; [lap], wrap (probably from lap, fold, piece of garment (> OE. lappa), NED.); [maul], mangle, wringing machine ; [nantl], move slowly (cf. nantle v., sense 4, EDD.); [pag], dragging weight, and [pagd], exhausted with fatigue (cf. pag, carry a heavy cumbersome parcel, EDD.); [pampl], pamper, indulge (the occurrence of the word in B.Gn. is particularly interesting in view of Wright's statement (cf. pample v. 2, EDD.) that the verb was unknown to any of his informants); [skrab-apl], crab-apple (probably of Scand. origin, see scrab sb. 1 in NED.) ; [skrat] v., scratch; [skrati], small, insignificant; [smak] smack (probably imitative, cf. NED. s.v. smruJk v. 2) ; [snak], (i) bite offood, (ii) v. bite; (tSap], chap, fellow (abbreviation of chapman(> OE. ceapman), NED.).

§ 43. ME. a before [s, f, p] usually appears as [a]. These examples are found :1. > Angl. m, a. [bap ], bath; [bras], brass (but cf. bresse, 1570, Wills I, Inv. of Bertram Anderson of Newcastle, 336) ; [daft], [daftlaik], foolish; [fasn], fasten (but cf. festened, c. 1400, Arundel MS., 113); [glas], glass; [gras], grass; [(h)aft], handle (but cf. hefted, hafted (of a dagger), 1570, Wills I, W. of John Havelock of Newcastle, 325) ; [kaf], chaff ; [kraft], craft ; [last], sb. and adj., last; [pap], path; [plasta(r)] + [plesta(r)] (cf. § 137 (2)), plaster. We find [a] also in the following words which, presumably, must have had a in ME. [blast] v., blast (cf. OE. bltestan); [aks] (with metathesis), ask (OE. ascian), and [asknz], banns; [ask], newt (OE. apexe). But [E] appears in: [(h)Esp], hasp (OE. hmpse (*hmspe), NED.) ; [Es], ash-tree (OE. ;;esc) ; [wEs] v., wash (OE. wascan ; but cf. wessched, pret. s., N. Pass., 350; L. Cuthb., wesche, inf., 2262, wescht, pret. pl., 2265, unweschyn, p.p., 2266). Doubtless [Es] and [wEs] are to be derived from ME. by-forms with e (see Zachrisson, English Vowels, p. 60).

12

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

2. > Scand. a. [as], ash (ME. aske > ON. aska = OE. msce; see also§ 286); [asl-ti~p], molar-tooth (see Bjorkman 200); [blaoa(r)] v., prate (a. ON. blaora, talk stupidly, NED.). But [e] occurs in [kest] v., cast (ME. kesten, casten >ON. kasta; and cf. Luick, REG., § 382, anm. 2). 3. > OFr. a. [baskat], basket; [fas], get vexed; [fasn], fashion; [kasl], castle; [pas], pass, and [pasidz], passage; [pasta(r)], pasture; [rask(a)l], rascal; [sas], window-frame.

Note.- The vowel [a] is found in the following words, the derivations of which are obscure:[bas], bash, beat (perhaps of Scand. origin; but possibly onomatopoetic; see NED.); [bias], nonsense (a modern word, or series of words, of onomatopoeic formation, see NED. s.v. blash); [das] v., dash (ME. daschen, dassen, perhaps of Norse origin; it may be a comparatively recent onomatopoetic word; see NED. s.v. dash v. 1) ; [las], lass; [mas] (cf. § 286) + [mas], mash; [mafwd], exhausted (cf. maft v. 2, EDD.); [nasti], nasty; [soft], pit-hole; [slaoari], slippery (see slather v. in NED.). § 44. ME. a after w, wh, qu, squ, remains as [a]. The following examples occur :1. > Angl. m, a. [swala] sb., swallow; [swan], swan; [swap] v., exchange; [swap] sb., row of mown grass (cf. OE. swmp footprint, track) ; [woks] sb., wax; [wasp], wasp; [wat], what; [wats], sb. and v., watch; [wata(r)], water (cf. watter, 1558, Wills I, Inv. of Rev. Robt. Hyndmer of Sedgefield (Du.), 162); [waz] + [waz], was. 2. > Scand. a. [want] v., want, lack (OWSc. vanta, Bjorkman 225). 3. > OFr. a. [kwaliti], quality; [skwa8], squash; [walap], beat. But quarry is [kwmri] (cf. § 53 (2)).

Note.-The history of the following words is obscure :

TREATMENT OF ME. a BEFORE ng

13

[skwandg(r)] v., squander; [swad] pod (of a pea) (see NED. s.v. swad sb.3) ; [swali], (i) throat (cf. NED. s.v. swallow sb. 2, sense 4), (ii) bottom of a slight depression in the ground, hollow (cf. swally sb., EDD.); [swamp], swamp; [twat], pud. fern.

§ 45. ME. a in the combination a+ [U] remains as [a]. The sole exceptions are [teuz], tongs (but see § 94), and [Jnuk], thank. 1. > OE. a. [bilau], belong; [gau], gang; [lau], long; [lau sf:tl], long settle; [krauk], crank; [rau] pret., rang; [rauk], rank, foul smelling; [sou], song; [sauk], shank; [stau] pret., stung; [strau], strong; [prau], crowded; [9lau], along; [gmau], among. 2. > Scand. a. [bau] sb. and v., bang (cf. lcel. banga, Holthausen); [bauk] hill, slope (see Bjorkman 230); [rau], sb. and adj., wrong (cf. Bjorkman 225). 3. > OFr. a. [blauk], blank; [blaubt], blanket; [lauwiS], language (see also § 165) ; [ploiJk], plank. § 46. The ME. group ar followed by a consonant regularly becomes [m] in B.Gn. As may be expected, ME. er under like circumstances has also undergone the same change (cf. § 63). This development of ar- and er- to a front vowel seems to be rather unusual. In the other districts that have been explored in detail the normal representative of the groups is, so far as the vowel element is concerned, [u]; and in some of them the consonant has survived to the present, whereas in others it has disappeared. A table showing the conditions in the different areas will be of interest. Lorton. Penrith Bowness (Kendal) Byers Green

ME. ar-

ME. er-

[ar] §§ 95, 210 [a] §§ 111, 106, 224, 255 [aa] § 103 ([ar] § 60) [m] § 49

[ar] §§ 214, 113 [a] §§ 128, 231, 259 [aa] § 106 ([ii(r)] § 68, 62) [m] § 63

14

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

Stokesley Hackness

(i) (ii) (i) (ii)

l\IE. ar[aa] § 156 [ee~] §§ 156, 142 [a] §§ 97, 197 [E"9] § 97

(i) (ii) (i) (ii)

l\IE. er[aa] § 154: [ee@] §§ 154:, 142 [u] §§ 104, 203 [e·9] § 254

Note.-In all the dialects, with the exception of B.Gn., the groups are normally represented by a vowel which is identical with, or similar to, the [u] in RS. father. The B.Gn. sound is the low-front-slack raised. Hackness [E • 9] is the lowjront-tense half-long + [9], while Stokesley [ee~] is the midjront-slacklong + [9]. The Kendal material concerned here scarcely permits of the formulation of any safe rule.

§ 47. It will be noticed that in the Yorkshire dialects of Stokesley and Hackness, ar- and er- have undergone a double development. As a rule they have become [u], but alternatively, in a small number of words, they have produced a diphthong whose first el. is a front vowel of the e-type followed by [9]. The existence of these diphthongal forms certainly tends to obscure the problem of the later history of ME. ar and er ; but the B.Gn. change to [m] seems to provide an additional complication. The first question to be settled is whether B.Gn. [ m] is correlative with Stokesley [ee"] and Hackness [E · 9] on the one hand, or with the monophthong [u] on the other. Theoretically, the B.Gn. vowel may, of course, be the descendant of an earlier [u]. If so, one might expect the [u] which as early as the sixteenth century developed out of ME. -al- and -au(cf. §§ 394, 399), to have similarly produced [m] in our dialect. However, since this [u] has not been affected in this way (cf. §§ 51, 144), one is confronted with the following hypotheses. Firstly, that in early B.Gn. ME. ar and er became ar, the a of which was fronted before the establishment in pronunciation of the new [u] from l\IE. al and au; secondly, that ar and er became ar, which later was fronted to [mr] through the influence of the [r]; thirdly, that ar and er were levelled first of all not under ar (as is authoritatively believed, cf. Luick, HEG., § 430; Jordan, § 67), but under [mr], which, through loss of the [r] and the consequent compensatory lengthening of the vowel, graduated later into B.Gn. [m] ; and, fourthly, that all the

EARLY MODERN a~r AND

ayr

FOR ME.

ar

15

present-day B.Gn. forms are derived from early RS., in which, from the seventeenth century until some period as yet undetermined, words of this type were pronounced with [m] (cf. Wyld, Short Hist., § 222). Maybe there are other possibilities, but the topic need not be laboured further. I may conclude by appending firstly a fairly numerous group of occasional spellings containing air and ayr for ME. -ar-, and secondly a shorter list containing ear, eair, and eir for ME. -er-. The former type begins to appear about 1470, the latter a hundred years later. These spellings may have originated owing to the contemporary resemblance between the further development of ME. ar and er, on the one hand, and that of ME. air (eir) on the other. Since ME. ai had in all likelihood been fronted several centuries before this period (cf. § 370), the spellings seem to point to the existence of sounds like [e( a), £(a)] or [m( a)] in these old ar- and er- words. The majority of the forms have been found in Durham documents. Accordingly these conjectured early pronunciations with [e(a)], etc., may be closely connected with the forms current in B.Gn. to-day.

§ 48. The following spellings exhibit air and ayr for ME. -ar- :chayrgores, chargers, large dishes (ME. chargeour}, 1472, DAR., 247; chairger, 1568, Wills I, W. of Barberye Collingwood, 291; chairgers, 1569, ibid., Inv. of Margerye Trollope of Thornley (Du.), 303; chairgers, 1587, Wills II, Inv. of Wm. Jeneson of Newcastle, 157. pairt, part, 1482, Mun. Rec. York, 132 ; pairt (2 x }, 1546, Wills I, W. of Lionel Wall of Stanhope (Du.}, 128; pairte, 1561, ibid., W of B. Lilburne of Shildon (Du.), 193; pairte, 1565, ibid., Inv. of Rd. Rothewell, 233; pairtts, 1569, Merch. Advent. Rec., 94; depairte, 1483, Mun. Rec. York, 157. Bearpark, Du. :-OE. beau-repaire, beautiful retreat; Mawer 14; Beaurpairk(e) (8 X}, 1505-6, DAR., 102-3; the original second element has been replaced by ME. park(e) > OFr. pare. zaird and barne, yard (enclosure), etc. (OE. geard), 1540, Wills I, W. of Sir Roger Gray of Horton (Nhb.), 115; in the yaird and in the Barne, 1570, ibid., Inv. of Wm. Heron of Crawley (Nhb.), 335; the church yayrd, 1596, DPB., 271.

16

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

gairth, garth, enclosure (ON. gar'Or), 1556, Wills I, W. of Rbt. Collingwood of Eslington, 148. rewayrde, reward, 1557-8, DAR., 715. saircenet, sarsenet (AFr. sarzinett), 1558, Wills I, lnv. of Sir Thos. Hilton of Hilton Castle (Du.), 182; saircenett, 1570, ibid., W. of George Smith of Durham, 330. wairedrope, wardrobe (OFr. warderobe), 1558, Wills I, Inv. of Sir Thos. Hilton of Hilton Castle, 182. dischairge, discharge, 1565, Wills I, W. of Rev. Thos. Wrangham of Auckland, 245; dischairged, 1565, ibid., W. of Rbt. Tempest of Thornley (Du.), 242; chairginge, 1570, ibid., W. of John Widdrington, 322; chairgs and costs, 1571, ibid., W. of John Heworth of Gateshead, 353, and chairgs (2 x ), 1571, ibid., Inv. of same, 356 ; chairges, 1586, DPB., 22 ; chairges, 1586, DPB., 23. gairded, guarded, 1566, Wills I, lnv. of Stephen Teisdel, 262 ; kirtle gairded w1h velvet, 1568, ibid., Inv. of Katherine, Lady Hedworth, of Chester-le-Street, 281 ; saufgayrde, safeguard, 1579, StGMem., 9. Wardley, Du. :- = Wearda's (OE. Wearda, pers. n.) clearing; Mawer, 207. Cf. wairdley, 1565, Wills I, lnv. of Robt. Tempest of Thornley (Du. ), 242. a payre of wolle cayrds, . . . cards (> Fr. carte), 1566, Wills I, Inv. of Wm. Claxton of Barnehall (Du.), 253; thre payre of ould cayrds, 1585, Wills III, lnv. of John Smith of Sherburn (Du.), 100. lairge, large (OFr. large), 1569, Wills I, lnv. of Margerye Trollope of Thornley (Du.), 302; lairge, 1570, ibid., W. of George Smith of Durham, 330 ; lairge (2 X), 1587, Wills II, Inv. of Wm. Jeneson of Newcastle, 158. a quairt pott, a quart pot (Fr. quarte), 1569, Wills I, lnv. of John Tedcastle of Gateshead, 302; iij quairt potts, 1571, ibid., lnv. of John Heworth of Gateshead, 354. Fairnley, Nhb. :-Fairnelaw, 1671, Arch ; OE. fearnig, ferny, +ley or law; pron. [fanli]; Mawer 79. The following spellings contain -ear-, -eair-, and -eir- for ME. -er- :swearde, sword (ME. swerd), 1572, Wills I, W. of Anthony

TREATMENT OF ME.

-ar-

BEFORE CONSONANTS

17

Mitford of Ponteland, 373 ; idem, 1587, Wills III, Inv. of Margaret Middleton of Connyscliffe (Du.), 122. xiij yeirds of white cearsey; yeirds (2 X) ; yeards (2 X), yards (Angl. gerd, WS. gierd), 1582, Wills II, lnv. of John Thompsone of Newton Bewley (Du.), 78. feare, far (OE. feorr), 1585-6, Wills III, W. of Wm. Preston of Houghton (Du.), 117; feaire, 1585-6, ibid., W. of John Allison of Denton (Du.). 116. wearr, war (ME. werre), 1590, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 20. cleirk, clerk, 1604, DPB., 140.

§ 49. The change of ME. ar

+ cons.

to [m] is exemplified by the undermentioned B.Gn. pronunciations.

>

Angl. ear, ar. [ OWSc. varpa, throw, cast, cf. Bjorkman 257). But the normal [m] has been shortened in [(h)wsk] (also [(h)ask]), harsh, sore (cf. Dan. harsk, rancid, Bjorkman 138). 2.

>

OFr. ar. [mgi], argue, and [mgim9nt], argument ; [mmi], army ; [bmb;:J(r)], barber; [bm(r)], bar; [dzm(r)], jar; [gmd], guard; [gmdn], garden, and [gmdn;:J(r)], gardener; [gmw(r)], garter; [kw(r)], car ; [kmd(baid}], card( -board) ; [kwmt], quart ; [kwmp~(r)] + [kwmt;:J(r)], quarter; [Ired], lard; [pwk], park; 3.

0

18

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

[pmlim OE. wrecca; cf. wriched, § 416 (a)); [pift] (obsolescent, usually [peft]), theft (OE. peofpe; cf. thift, § 416 (e)); [twilv] (very rare, usually [twdv]), twelve (OE. twelj; cf. twilve, 1769, § 416 (b)); [tigioa(r)], together (OE. togedere). Note also forgit, forget (OE. forgetan), Teesd. Gloss. 2. > Scand. e. [kitlan], kitten (perhaps> ON. ketlingr, Brilioth 148; but cf. kitling in NED.); [lisk], groin (cf. ME. les(s)ke, Dan. lyske, Bjorkman 138). 3. > OFr. e. [banivalans], benevolence (cf. benivelence, 1482, § 416 {e)); [dris] v., dress (OFr. dresser; cf. drissing, 1592, § 416 (c)) ; [dzili], jelly (OFr. gelee); [plinti] (rare, usually [plmti]), plenty, and [plintifl], plentiful; [priz(a)ns], presence; [priz(a)nt], present; [ridzimant], regiment; [rikalekt] (rare), recollect; [rist], rest, remainder (OFr. reste) ; [trisl] + [tresl], trestle (OFr. trestel; cf. trystelez, 1459, § 416 (c)); [tSiri] (rare, usually [tSeri], cherry; cf. chirres, 1598, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 46); [arist], arrest (OFr. arrester; cf. a risteng of, 1637, § 416 {c)). Note also siddel, schedule (OFr. cedule), and iddication ( + B.Gn. [edikesn], § 243 {2)), education, both from Teesd. Gloss.

§ 61. ME. e followed by r +a vowel has been lowered to [m]. The examples are :1. > OE. sources{e, Angl. e(= WS. re1 ) and Angl. re (= WS. re2)). [mran(d)] + [eiran(d)] + [eirant], errand (Angl. rerende, WS. re2 ; and cf. § 103 (1)); [bmri], berry (OE. berie); [(h)mr(a)n], herring (Angl. hering, WS. re 2) ; [mmra], marrow(> the inflected fOrms of Angl. merg ( = WS. mearh)).

26

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

Short [w] occurs also in [bwri] v., bury (OE. byr(i)gan) and [mwri], merry (OE. myr(i)ge). Apparently OE. y was here unrounded to i and subsequently lowered to e, the changes taking place early enough to enable the e to undergo the same development as that in the words above.

> Scand. e. [fwri] sb., ferry (probably from OWSc. ferja, but possibly from an OE. *ferie, cf. Bjorkman, 184). 2.

3.

>

OFr. e, i. [mwrikl] + [mcrikl], miracle (OFr. miracle; apparently the i was first lowered to e, which then < [w]) ; [pwris], perish (ult. > OFr. perir) ; [pwrism:mt] in [pwrismant a kad], starvation by cold (lit. "perishment of cold ") ; [pwr(a)l], peril (OFr. peril; cf. parell, 1441, cited Vikar 156); [twria(r)], terrier (the dog), (Fr. terrier) ; [vwri], very (OFr. verai). Compare in this connexion the spelling parry " perry, a drink made from pears" (OFr. pere'), 1490, DAR., 100, cited Vikar 156. The form seems to indicate that the stem was no longer pronounced with the vowel [e]. The new sound may have been [w]. Note 1.-It is admissible to include here, as examples of the change -er- to [-wr-], the local pronunciations of Ferryhill and Merrington, places situated within five miles of Byers Green. These names appear in our dialect as [fmrijil] and [mmr(a)ntn]. Both pronunciations point back to ME. -er-. According to Mawer {pp. 85, 129), the first element of Ferryhill is the somewhat rare OE. firgen, fergen "wooded hill or mountain" (cf. Feregenne, 1256 ; Ferie, c. 1125, FPD. ; Ferye on the Hill, 1316, Pat., all cited by Mawer ; note also fearie hill, 1615, StGMem., 45), while Merrington = " the farm of MiEra or his sons" (Mwrintun, Meringtonas, c. 1125, FPD.). Note 2.-The sound [w] appears also in [wwris], withers of a horse (cf. EDD. s.v. warridge sb.), and [mmra] mate, fellowworker (cf. NED. s.v. marrow sb. 2).

§ 62. Apparently the quality of ME. e before the group r + vowel was considerably modified at an early period. If we may rely upon the testimony of the spellings cited by Vikar (pp. 155,

ILLUSTRATIVE SPELLINGS

27

156) and enumerated below, we may reasonably assume that some change took place at least as early as 1400. The precise nature of the new sound cannot be determined on the evidence of the undermentioned spellings alone, although the a-forms perhaps warrant the conclusion that it was a vowel of the [a]-type. Yet a form like fearie hill seems to indicate a sound not unlike [e] or [E]. It is not at all impossible that the new quality was [m]. The following material is probably relevant here :Garret Shiels, Nhb. :-Garareschell, 1378, Ipm. ; Garrett Sheiles, 1590, Bord; =Gerard's shiels; Mawer 92. Garretlee, Nhb. :--Garartlee, 1443, Ipm.; =Gerard's clearing; Mawer 92. parell, peril (0 Fr. peril), 1441. Quarrington, Du. :-Wharyngdon, 1457.34, Acct.; "probably OE. cweorn-dun = quern-hill, i.e. one where stones for querns were found or prepared"; Mawer 161. Pronounced [kwmrntn] by B.Gn. people. parry, perry (OFr. pere'), 1490. Berrington, Nhb. :-Barrington, 1610, Speed ; = hill of BiEre (Angl. Bere) or of his sons ; Mawer 18. Herrington, Du. :-Harrington, seventeenth century passim, Bp. Wearm. ; possibly = Hering's farm ; Mawer 112. The base may, however, be OE. Hmrra, Heara, Herra ing. The above material is adduced by Vikar (155, 156). Note also the spellingfearie hill = Ferryhill, Du., 1615, StGMem., 45, cited § 61, Note 1.

+

§ 63. ME. er followed by a consonant regularly appears as [~] and is thus levelled with ME. ar under similar circumstances (cf. § 49 above). The change is illustrated by the undermentioned words.

>

OE. er, eor. [brek] v., bark; [brem], harm, yeast; [biEn], barn; [drek], dark; [drekn], (i) darken, (ii) lurk; [d~l(01)n], darling; [fre(r)], far; [freo01(r)], farther; [freo01n], farthing; [(h)reb Scand. er. [krel(9)n], earling (kind of brown pea; perhaps> OWSc. kerling, cf. Bjorkman, p. 141, footnote 3; see, however, earling NED.); [kreln sund9], Carling Sunday (i.e. the Sunday before Palm Sunday); [wred9z], weekdays (ON. hver-r, every+ dag-r, day, see warday in NED.). Note also [skmri] + [skei9ri], timid (cf. ME. skerre, ON. skirra, see scary in NED.). 3.

> OFr. er. [dizwv], deserve; [fmm], farm; [frell9(r)], farmer; [dzrem9n] German ; [klrek], clerk ; [konswn], concern ; [mwsi], mercy ; [nrev], nerve ; [predn], pardon ; [presli], parsley ; [presn], parson; [srem9nt] (with excrescent [t], see § 299), sermon; [srep9nt], serpent ; [sretn], certain ; [srets], search ; [srev], serve; [srev9nt], servant; [srev9s], service; [vredz], verge; [vrell9nt] (with inorganic [t ], cf. § 299), vermin ; [vres], verse ; [ww(r)], war. But [a] is found in [ganzi], guernsey, jersey (>Guernsey, NED.), which seems to be derived, by shortening, from [ga.nzi]. The latter was common in Early RS. (cf. Wyld, Mod. Coli. Engl., p. 221). Presumably the B.Gn. form was originally borrowed from the Standard Language. 4.

§ 64. The sound [re] is also found in the following words : [sret] (OE. sq;rta), shirt (cf. shart(tes) below; note also short (perhaps reflecting some such pronunciation as [sort], or [soat], or [s5t], which are recorded by Wright, EDG., for Nhb. and n.Du. ), 1593, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 32); [wres] + [w~s], worse; and [wrest] +

OE. -~r- OCCASIONALLY BECOMES

er

IN ME.

29

[w~st], worst. In the OE. period the Angl. forms of worse and worst were respectively wyrs and wyrst. The[~] in the above forms

has doubtless arisen from ME. -ir- (> OE. -yr-) +cons. (cf. § 71 below). In connexion with the [a}]-forms, it may be noted that Gabrielson (§ 267) points out that already in the ME. period there are wers(e) and werst forms of worse and worst respectively regularly occurring in the North and Midlands. He rejects the probability of a development OE. wyr- to ME. wer- and prefers the explanation that NME. werst is the representative of OScand. verst(r), and further, that wers(e) " has its vowel from werst and from the comparative form werre, which is also of Scand. origin ". He goes on to say that these forms can hardly be satisfactorily explained in any other way. Nevertheless, in view of the orthographical material that follows, it appears to be just possible that these ME. wer-forms might be derived from OE. wyrs and wyrst. This evidence seems to show fairly conclusively that OE. -yr- +cons. actually did become -er- in ME., presumably through the stage -ir-. It also testifies to the change OE. -ir(ir) +cons. to ME. -er-. This sporadic development of OE. -yr-, -ir- to ME. -er- must have been completed early enough for the new -er- to be levelled in pronunciation with ME. -ar- and to undergo all subsequent changes in common with this -ar-. Thus the suggestion is that the [m] in B.Gn. [smt] (and perhaps also in [wms] and [wrest]) originates from ME. -er- from OE. -yr-. § 65. The following spellings seem to evidence the development of OE. ir (ir) and yr +cons. to ME. er. Kirkeby, Lanes. :-Karkebi, 1176, LPR. ; from ON. kirkiu-byr = the church village ; Ekwall 116. Parlick, Lanes. :-First el. is probably OE. pynge, pear ; Perktk, 1228, WhO.; Ekwall 140. Jarrow, Du. :-Jarwe, 1228, FPD.; Jarou, 1345, RPD.; Jarrow, 1396, DST.; =(Among the) Gyruii (a tribal name); Mawer 124. Birkland Barrow, Lanes. :-First el. =ON. birkilundr; Berchlundberghe, Berkelondberh, 1200-1250, CC. ; Ekwall 187. Harnham, Nhb. :-Harnaham, c. 1250, TN.; OE. hyrne-hiim = the homestead in the corner of land; Mawer 102. Kershaw, Yks. :- = Church copse ; Kerkeshagh, 1326, Kerkeschaglt, 1343, Wakefield Court Rolls ; Goodall 189.

30

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

Birkdale, Lanes. :- =ON. birki + dalr; Berkdale, 1311, IPM. ; Ekwall 125. Dearne, Yks. :-Etymol. undetermined; Dirna, 1155, PC.; Dirna, 1230, Ch. ; Dirne, 1316, CR.; Dyrne, 1413, CR. ; Dern, 1495, YF.; Goodall189. Farnham, Nhb. :-Tharnam, 1542, Bord. Surv.; Farneham, 1628, Freeh. ; OE. pyrne-ham = homestead by the thornbushes ; Mawer 81. Tarset, Nhb. :-Tarsett, 1542, Bord. Surv.; OE. T~ra(n)-smte = Tir's farm, Tir(a) being short for such a name as OE. T~rweald or -wulf; Mawer 193. sherte, shirt (OE. scyrta), 1561, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 11; sharte, 1595, ibid., 40; shartes, 1558, Wills I, W. of Rev. Wm. Bell of Middleton in Teesdale, 172 ; sharttes, 1564, ibid., W. of Rev. John Bynley of Durham, 218; shert, 1564, ibid., W. of Rd. Seymour of Auckland, 217 ; sharts, 1565, ibid., W. of Rev. Edw. Athey, 241 ; shart, 1565, ibid., W. of M. Robinson of Auckland, 229; shartes, 1566, ibid., Inv. of Rev. R. Bayles of Barnard Castle, 260; shert, 1568, ibid., W. of Rbt. Harrison of Wolsingham (Du.), 285; shart, 1570, ibid., Inv. of Wm. Dagg of Gateshead, 334; shartes, sharte, Wills II, Inv. of Rev. Wm. Massie of Stranton (Du.), 312; shart, 1588, ibid., Inv. of John Eden of Windlestone (Du.), 330. Maybe the forms Karkebi, Jarwe, and Harnaham are not too reliable, since they may be explained as Anglo-French spellings with a for e (cf. on this point Zachrisson "Notes on Early English Personal Names" in Studier i Modern Sprakvetenskap, Upsala, 1917, p. 285). On the other hand, it is to be noted that the a has survived to the present day in Jarrow and Harnham.

§ 66. The B.Gn. verb [kav], cut (OE. ce(o)rfan), clearly presupposes a ME. stem cirv- rather than cerv- (ME. -ir- +cons. regularly becomes [a] in B.Gn., cf. § 71). The word occurs in the mining phrase [nikn ~n kawn], lit. nicking and carving (nick= make slight incissions, and [kav] =undermine a section of coal, see kerve EDD.). The DAR. spellings le kyrvynge, 1450, 276 (cited Vikar 152), and kyrvo', carver, 1536-7, 703, similarly

SPORADIC CHANGE OF OE.

-er-

31

point to the existence of ME. forms in cirv-. We accordingly appear to have here an indication of a sporadic change of OE. -e(o)r- +cons. to ME. ir. Additional illustration of the same process is provided by a small number of early spellings, mostly place-name forms, adduced below. Obviously the development must have occurred before ME. -er- +cons. became levelled, in the normal course of events, under ME. -ar-.

Examples of the raising of OE. (and EME.) -er- +cons. to ir in ME. Harbottle, Nhb. :-Hirbotle, 1220, Sc. ; Hyrbotle, 124:4, Ipm. ; Hirbotel, 1283, Ipm. ; Hirbotil, 1324, Ipm. ; Hirbotle, 1479, BBH. ; > OE. here-botl, army-building ; Mawer 101. Barley Hill, Du. :-Birlawe, 1225, Coram ; > OE. bere-hliiw, barley-hill ; Mawer 11. Harlow Hill, Nhb. :-Hyrlawe, 124:4, Ipm. ; Hirlawe, 1278, Ass. ; > OE. here-hlaw, army-hill ; Mawer 102. Chirdon, Nhb. :-Ohirden, 1255, Ch. ; idem, 1279, Iter ; Ohirdene, 1325, Ipm. ; > OE. Oeorra(n)-denu, Ceorra's valley; Mawer 45. Chirton, Nhb. :-Ohirton, 1255, Ass.; idem, 1428, FA.; > OE. Oeorra(-n)-tun, Ceorra's farm; Mawer 45. Skerton, Lanes. :-Skirton, 1310, LF. ; Skyrton, 1557, LF. ; the first el. is ON. sker, skerry; Ekwall 177. (? ) kirsettez (twice), cressets (ME. cresset from OFr. craicet, craisset, cresset), 1459-60, DAR., 88; lez kyrsettes, DAR., 1448, 276 (cited Vikar, 152); le kyrsettes, 1451-2, DAR., 277. ME. i

§ 67. The normal isolative development of ME. i (> OE., Scand., and OFr. i) in B.Gn. is [i] (§ 68). Occasionally, however, it has been lowered to [E]. Mter an initial (consonant +) w, old i has sometimes undergone rounding and retraction to [u] (§ 68 {1, Note 1)). These [wu]-forms may be the sole surviving instances of a process that affected all the words formerly containing wi- in the ME. period and their present-day rarity in our dialect may be due to the influence of RS. How else can they be

32

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

explained 1 Before -nd and -mb, ME. i regularly remains as [i] (§ 70), whilst the group ir +cons. has become [a] (§ 71), and is thus levelled under ME. ur +cons. (cf. § 86). The B.Gn. development of the ME. combination -iht is [eit] (§§ 72, 73).

§ 68. ME. i normally occurs as [i], as, for example :1. > OE. i. [bin], bin; [bis OE. crincan) v., wrinkle; [krisp], crisp ; [lid], lid ; [lim], limb ; [lip], lip ; [midi], middle ; [midbn], middling, moderate; [miks], mix; [mist], mist; [nit], nit, louse's egg; [pik-fwk], pitch-fork (NME. pykke(n), pikke > OE. *picc(e)an, NED.); [ridl], sieve; [sin], sing; [sink], sink ; [sift] v., (i) shift, (ii) remove furniture or domiciliary; [spinl], spindle (but cf. spendill, 1553, DAR., 728); [stik] v., stick (OE. stician ; note, however, stekyngknyff, 1516-17, DAR., 106, which probably indicates that the OE. word also gave rise to a form with [e] in ME.); [sti:ok], stink; [swil], (i) swill, throw water on, (ii) rinse; [tik], tick (insect); [pi:ok], think; [pik], thick, friendly (OE. piece); [twinkl OE. fj through shortening. [filp{i)], filth(y); [litl], + [likl] (childish mispronunciation), little; [tsik(a)n], chicken; [piml], thimble; [wis], wish. § 69. Short [i] occurs in the following words which, with the exception of those whose etymologies are given below, are of obscure origin. [bisl] (rare), bushel (> OFr. buissiel; cf. bishel, 1684, Diaries, Jacob Bee of Durham, 48) ; [dikisgz ], feats difficult to accomplish in games (cf. dichises, EDD.); [di59(r)] sb. and v., tremble (of imitative origin, cf. didder, NED.); [fit], ready; [glif], glimpse, glance (see gliff sb., NED.); [(h)int] adj., hind, rear; [kit], small tub (a. MDutch kitte); [kitl] v., bring forth (of animals) (see kittle v. 2, NED.); [kiznt], burnt to cinders (cf. kizzen v., EDD.); [klez-swil], clothes-basket (for [klez] see § 91 (1)) ; [kliv9(r)], clever; [kr£kat], cracket, stool (cf. cricket sb. 3, NED.); [lim9(r)], limber, shaft of cart (cf. Zimmer sb., NED.); [list], enlist (>Dutch inlijsten, Weekley, Diet.); [midzi], an open lamp for use in coal mines (see midgy sb., NED.); [minj9m], minimum (ad. L. minimum); [mizl], rain in slight drops (see mizzle v.l, NED.) and [mizl], drizzling rain; [mizl], disappear quickly (cf. mizzle v. 2, NED.); [mizl], mystify (cf. mizzle v. 3, NED.); [nik], catch (e.g. [59 palJs nikt Jm], the policeman caught him; cf. nick v. 2, NED.); [nik] in [ple oa nik] v., play truant (cf. nick sb. 8 , EDD.); [riiJkl], tip, hint (cf. wrinkle sb.l, sense 2, EDD.); [sind] v., rinse, wash out; [si59(r)] sb. and v., shiver; [swi5J(r)] v., tremble (cf. swither v., NED.) ; [titl], tickle; [sin], trump (at cards); [trig in] v. cheat by getting in front of the starting point (e.g. at marbles, in a footrace) (cf. trig sb. and v., sense 4, EDD.); [trist] (rare) v., trust (cf. trist v., NED. ; cf. also trist 1573, Wills III, W. of Wm. Carter of Denton (Du.), 69); [t8inl] v., separate (cf. EDD. s.v. channel sb. and v., sense 5) ; [tsip up] v., trip ; [twik-bd] (rare) + [twits-bd], earwig; [wig], small cake (cf. wig, sb. sense 2, EDD.); [win(d)z] v., whine, cry in a peevish manner (cf. whinge, EDD.); [winz] + [winiz], gorse bushes; [twisti], petulant (cf. twisty, EDD.).

36

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 70. ME. i

>

OE. i before -nd and -mb usually remains as [i]. There are the following examples :[bijint] (with unvoicing of original d), behind; [bind], bind; [bindnz], hirings; [blind], blind; [blindgz], blinkers; [fin(d)], find; [klim], climb; [rind], rind; [wind] sb., wind; [wind] v., wind; [9hint], behind. But [ai] is found in [graind] v., grind.

§ 71. The normal development of ME. -ir- before a consonant is [a], which sound is also the present-day representative of the ME. group -ur- in a similar position (cf. § 86). This [a] has occasionally been shortened to [a]. The following words are examples.

> OE. ir. [bad], bird; [bats] + [bak] (rare; >ON. bjQrk, cf. § 273 (b)), birch, and [bak-r:Jd], birchrod; [stak], young heifer; [tsats] + [kak] (in place-names only; > ON. kirkia, and cf. § 273 (a)), church ; [pad], third ; [)>ati] + [pati], thirty. But [a] appears in [stawp], stirrup (OE. stigrap).

1.

> OE. yr. [badn], burden ; [hap], birth, but [hap-de] + [bapde], birthday; [fast] +[fast], first; [gadl], girdle; [(h)adl], hurdle; [kanl], kernel; [tSan] + [kan] (rare; > ON. kirna, see§ 273 (a) below), churn; [sta(r)], stir; [past] +[past], thirst; [wak] v., work; [warn], worm; [was] +[was] + [was9(r)] (a double comparative) + [wres] (cf. § 64), worse, and [wast] +[wast] + [wrest] (cf. § 64), worst. Long [a] is also found in [glU], girl (OE. *gyrel-, Skeat). But [a] occurs in [wari] v., worry. Note 1.-We also find [a] in [gan] v., grin (OE. grennian). Apparently OE. -e- was here first raised to i before the n (the change -e- to i before dentals is a characteristic feature of the dialect, cf. §§ 59, 60, above). Through metathesis the new stem grin- would then become girn. This stage was evidently reached early enough to allow the -ir- to be levelled with, and share the subsequent development of, ME. -ir- from other sources. Note 2.-The forms [gat]+ [gat] (+[grit], cf. § 105 A), great (OE. great), seem to belong here. The base of these two 2.

THE ME. GROUP

-iht

37

[a)-pronunciations seems to be *girt, which may be explained either as a further development (with raising of e to [i]) of a recorded fourteenth century form gert (for which see NED. s.v. great), or as a metathesized form of *grit. The vowel of this hypothetical *grit might originate in two ways, either as the shortening of the [i] that arose from ME. [t] (> OE. ea; cf. § 105 A (1)) or from the raising of -e- (from the shortening of ME. [£]) to i before t (cf. similar instances in the B.Gn. dialect, § 60 above). Note 3.-I have heard short [\:i] in [g\:ip], girth (ME. gerth > ON. *gerou, gjoro). The normal dialectal development of ME. gerth would be *[gwp] (ME. -er- + cons. < [w], cf. § 63). Probably [g\:ip] is originally a loan-form. RS. girth would appear as [gap] in the dialect. If shortened, the [a] would become [\:i].

§ 72. The ME. group -iht, which arose from various OE. sounds, has normally become [eit] in B.Gn. The same diphthong also represents ME. e1 and e2 in our dialect (cf. §§ 98, 103). The [eit] seems to have developed out of -iht as a result of the lengthening

of the original short i to i consequent upon the weakening and eventual disappearance of the h ( = [j]), thus Brilioth, § 114 ; Sixtus, § 108; Klein,§ 141. Since the new long vowel has obviously not coalesced in B.Gn. with the continuation of ME. i, which has produced [ai] + [ai] (cf. § 107), we must assume that iht did not become it until after ME. i had become diphthongized.

§ 73. The undermentioned words illustrate the change of ME. -iht to [eit]. Alternative forms with [ait], probably all of them

non-traditional, also occur. 1.

>

OE. iht. [seit], sight.

LOE. iht > Angl. eht (e =the smoothing of earlier eo). [breit] + [brit], bright, and [breitn], brighten ; [reit], right. But [ai] alone is found in [fait], fight, presumably a loan from RS. 2.

>

>

Angl. iht, earlier eht (cf. Jordan, § 96). [leit] sb., light, and [leitn(G~)n], lightning; [leit] adj., light, and [leits], lights, lungs of sheep, etc.

3.

38

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

4.

> OE. iht, earlier iht. [leit], (i) v. alight, (ii) v. light, illuminate. But tight (ME. pight, OE. *piht, Holthausen) is always [tait].

Note.-The p.t. of [leit], alight, is [let], which may have been formed on the analogy of [met], met, in:fin. [meit].

> OE. yht. [fleit], flight; [freit], fright, and [freitn], frighten; [reit], wright (e.g. [indzan-reit], engine-wright).

5.

6. > Angl. lht ( = ws. ieht, ieht). [(h)eit], height; [neit], night, and [f:>tneit], fortnight. But might, sb. and p.t., is [mait] always. This is probably a loan from RS.

Note 1.-The adj. slight (MDutch slicht) is [sleit]. Note 2.-The explanation of the [ai] in the following is difficult :

[ait], eight, [aitp ], eighth, and [aitein], eighteen; [strait], straight (cf. stryght, 1420, York Corp. Reg., 17) ; [wait], weight (NME. weht >ON. *veht, etc., Jordan,§ 96). These [ait]-pronunciations cannot be derived from the regularly developed NME. forms, viz. a3te, stra3te (on which see Wright, EMEG., § llO, 5), and weht. Yet they may be descended from ME. (Non-Angl.) ei-stems, viz. ME. eighte, streight (for which see Wright, EMEG., § 107, 4), and weight (cf. Jordan, ibid.), the assumption being that the ei of these supposed early loan-forms was levelled in the early B.Gn. dialect under the further development of ME. i ( < [ai] + [ai]). Note 3.-Note also [sei] (rare) sb., sigh. According to NED., this noun is from the verb sigh, which in ME. appears as sihen, si3en, sighen, and is probably a back-formation on ME. sihte, si3te, p.t. of siche (> OE. sican). ME. o

§ 74. The independent development of ME. o in B.Gn. is [:>] (§ 75). The combination ol followed by a consonant, as well as when :final, has normally become [au](§§ 77, 78), while or+ cons.

is nowadays represented, though probably irregularly, by the long vowel [w] (§§ 79, 80). Before r +vowel, old o appears as [m] (§ 81).

THE ISOLATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF ME. 0

39

§ 75. ME. isolated o regularly appears as [a]. Typical examples are:1.

>

OE. o. [badi], body (OE. bodig

4.

>

Scand. o. [loft], loft, upper chamber (LOE., a. ON. loft); [lap], flea (prob. a. ON. *hloppa, cf. lop sb. 2, NED.); [rotljl], rotten.

OFr. o. [bobn], bobbin; [bani], (i) adj. pretty, fine, (ii) adv. considerable in amount or size (ME. bony, prob. > OFr. bon, etc., good, NED.) and [bonili], exceedingly; [botl], bottle; [frok], frock; [kontini], continue; [kotidz], cottage; [modr(9)n],

4:0

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

modern; [btad], tangled, matted (of hair); [pram9s], promise; [prapa(r)], proper; [prapati], property; [anast], honest; [arandz], orange; [padis] + [patis], porridge (ult. > Fr. potage); [pJlas], policeman; [pas(t)man], postman; [rJb], rob; [mb(a)n], robin; [mk], rock; [stJmik], stomach(> Fr. estomac).

§ 76. Short [J] occurs in the following words, whose etymologies, unless given below, are undetermined. [bJs], master (ad. Dutch baas, cf. NED. s.v. boss sb. 6 ); [dJga(r)] v., beggar (cf. EDD. s.v. doggered); [dJlap], lump, heap (cf. dollop, EDD.); [dJl] v., strike a person; [dzJgl] v., shake (origin unascertained, app. onomatopoeic, cf. NED.) and [dzJgli], unsteady; [fJg], (i) mist, (ii) the after-crop of grass (cf. NED. s.v. fog sb.l, and fog sb. 2, respectively); [fagi], :first in order (in boys' games; cf. fog, EDD.); [gJb] sb., (i) mouth, (ii) impudence (see NED. s.v. gob sb. 2); [kbk], beetle (cf. NED. s.v. clock sb. 3 ); [bdl] v., coddle; [kagli], shaky, easily upset (cf. NED. s.v. coggly, adj.); [bk], cock, heap of hay (cf. NED. s.v. cock sb. 2 ); [bkl], spatch of saliva or phlegm (cf. cockle sb. 5 , EDD.); [kali], piece of meat (cf. colley sb. 3, EDD.); [pJs] v., beat clothes in water in process of washing (of imitative origin, cf. NED. s.v. poss v.); [nJdl], head (cf. noddle sb.l, NED.); [nJkl], knuckle (ME. knokel); [prag] v., prod, pierce (see NED. s.v. prog v. 2) ; [pmgl], thorn, sharp point; [rJdni], tramp, vagabond (cf. rodney, EDD.) ; [rnl], resin (var. of rosin, which is itself an alteration of resin (a. OFr. resine), NED.); [skans], trick, deception (cf. EDD. s.v. sconce sb.l, sense 8); [sJda], soda (> Med. Lat. soda); [stJpl], stem of pipe (var. of stapple (> MDutch stapel, stem, stalk), cf. pipe-stapple, NED.); [stJt] sb. and v., bounce (cf. stot v., NED.); [t1\Jlaz], (i) wattles of hen, (ii) double chin; [l:~rJpl], throat, gullet, windpipe. § 77. The regular B.Gn. development of ME. -ol- +cons. and when final is [au]. This sound is also the normal representative of ME. -ou- (as e.g. in [glau], glow, cf. § 147). In the majority of the words recorded below the l has been reintroduced, in all probability owing to the influence of RS. In addition to the forms containing [au], we find pronunciations with [al] (occasionally), and with [ol] (frequently). These pronunciations can scarcely be indigenous. Possibly the former are

TREATMENT OF ME.

-ol(-)

41

spelling pronunciations, but the latter almost certainly originate from RS. On the other hand, ME. -ol when final almost consistently appears as [aul], the sole exception I am able to quote being [pau ], head, from ME. polle ( = obs. Dutch polle). In this word, etymological l, which became final through the loss of the -e in the ME. period, has ceased to be pronounced. If, as is assumed below (§ 402), ME. final -ol regularly developed into [au] (or the like) in the North, [pau] may be held to illustrate this change, while the present-day [I] in the other words of this type (e.g. bowl, toll, roll, etc.) may be derived from some external source, presumably from RS. To judge from the occasional spellings, and also on theoretical grounds, we may assume that the group -ol- developed into ou, at which stage it was levelled under ME. ou. The change -alto ou in the Northern dialects seems to be very old, at least as early as 1400, if not earlier (see § 404 below). The date of the establishment of the present-day sound [au] in the early Byers Green dialect is, however, not easy to determine. Apparently the diphthong was fully developed in S.Du. by the middle of the last century, if the following citation from the Teesd. Gloss. is interpreted correctly: "the pronunciation (of bout, bolt, see p. 14) is perhaps better conveyed by bowt." Presumably at the time of writing the author had in mind the RS. diphthong which is represented in the spelling by ow, as in cow, how, and now, viz. [au]. The inference is, accordingly, that bout, bowt denote [bout]. We may therefore draw the further conclusion that the ou which had arisen from ME. -ol- +cons., as well as the continuation of ME. ou, was pronounced [au] in 1849, the date of the compilation of the Teesd. Gloss. § 78. The undermentioned words contained -ol(-) in ME. 1. > OE. -ol(-). [haul] + [hoi], bowl; [baulsta{r)] + [bJlsta(r)] + [bolsta(r)], bolster ; [bault] + [b:)lt] + [bolt], bolt (but note bout, bowt, Teesd. Gloss., p. 14) ; [fauk(s)] + [fok{s)], people in general; [gaud] (rare) + [gould] + [gold], gold (ME. gold +gold (with [o]) > OE. gold, Horn, Gramm.,§ 103, anm. 1); [jauk] + [jok], yolk; [kaut] + [kault] + [kolt] + [kolt], colt; [maudiwmp],

42

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

mole, moldwarp (OE. moldweorp) ; [taul] + [tol], toll (a bell), (OE. *tollian); [swaul;m] + [swobn], swollen. The rare participle [staun] (usually [stauwn]) also belongs here. It is derived, not from ME. stol(e)n (> OE. stolen, the vowel of which was lengthened in an open syllable), but from a by-form with a short o, viz. ME. stoln, earlier stolen. (See further Wright, EMEG., §§ 102, 394.) The diphthong [au] from the past participle has been levelled out into the past tense. Consequently stole in the dialect occurs as [staul] + the regularly developed form [stiaJ] (cf. § 89 (3)). 2. > OFr. -ol(-). [kmtraul] + [kontrol], control; [raul] + [rol] sb. and v., roll ; [raul9(r)] + [rob(r)], roller ; [rauli-pauli], roly-poly (the pudding); [sauldz9(r)] + [soldz9(r)], soldier. Note 1.-[au] is also found in: [(h)auk] v., hollow out by digging, dig out, extract by force (NME. holk, cogn. with MLG. holken, NED.); [rigm.graul], rigmarole. § 79. The ME. combination or + cons. in words of OE., Scand., and OFr. origin is nowadays represented by [m]. This sound is, however, obsolescent, RS. pronunciations with [5] often being used, particularly so by the younger generation. In the rare form [fmtn9p], fortnight, we apparently have an example of the shortening of [til] to [m]. It may be mentioned here that short [m] is also found in certain words in which o formerly stood before r +vowel in the ME. period (see§ 81). In Byers Green, therefore, a precise distinction is normally made to-day between the sounds corresponding to ME. or + cons. on the one hand and ME. ir and ur in a like position on the other (ME. ir and ur +cons.

Scand. or. [fms], waterfall, in High Force, the Tees waterfall, (a. ON. fors, NED.). 3. > OFr. or in syllables originally (i) accented, (ii) unaccented. (i) [divals], divorce ; [dzaldz], George, and [dzaldi], Georgie (the d-form seems to be pretty old, cf. Jordye Lamme ( = ( 1) George Lamb), 1587, Wills II, W. of Thos. Forster of Adderstone (Nhb.), 303); [faldz], forge; [falm], form; [fals], force; [kmd], cord; [kmn;;~(r)], corner; [kmt] v., court; [palk], pork; [paltS] + [p~tS], porch; [palt;;~(r)], porter; [ripmt], report ; [skaln], scorn ; [skmts], scorch ; [spmt] + [sp~t], sport; [sals], source; [salt], sort; [s;;~palt], support; [akmdn], according, and [akmdnlai], accordingly; [alda(r)], order; [regan], organ. (ii) [fmtn] + [faltSn], fortune, and [fmwnatli], fortunately. But [a] only is heard in [k~tn], curtain (> OFr. cortine). Note.-The following also contain [al]: [braid] + [brod] (§ 92), broad. (The NME. form brad (OE. brad) would regularly < *[briad] in B.Gn.; Wright, EDG. Index, records [bried] in s.Du. The pron. [braid] is probably ultimately derived from RS. [br5d]. The [o]-form points back to ME. brad with slack [o] (cf. § 92), and is therefore a borrowing from a dialect in which OE. a was rounded to 5 2 in ME.) ; [jalk], York (ME. York, Yerk, Everwick > OE. Eoforwic, NED. ; cf. also Zachrisson, AN. 2.

45

ME. U

Influence, p. 63, Note), and [jmks RS.), shoulder (the existence of the regular form without l is also evidenced by Teesd. Gloss. shouther). Teesd. Gloss. includes foomart, polecat (note fowrn,eartt, 1545, § 410 below; >ME. fulmart, etc.), and pool (OE. pullian), pull (but [pul] in B.Gn. ). Presumably the spelling oo indicates [ii]. But [ul] is found in [ful], full, and [wul], wool. 2. > Scand. sources. [staup] (Teesd. Gloss. stoop) in [giat-stoup], a gate-post (ME. stulpe, stolpe > ON. stolpe, NED. Note that the Hackness dialect (§ 212) is alone amongst the Northern dialects that have been separately treated in using a pronunciation derived from the ME. form stolp-. Elsewhere in the North the ME. base of the current forms is stulp- (cf. Lorton, p. 163, Penrith, § 240, Bowness, § 114, Kendal, § 110)). Note also Teesd. Gloss. book, apparently denoting [biik], bulk, size (presumably from ME. bulk, heap; cf. ON. bulke, E

50

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

heap, cargo; cf. also Ekwall's suggested etymology of the Lanes. pl. n. Bulk, PNLa., p. 175). But [ul] occurs in [skul], skull (cf. Bjorkman, 133). 3. > OFr. oul. [pout] (Teesd. Gloss. poots) [pulat], poult (ME. pulte > OFr. poulet, Skeat). Teesd. Gloss. also records mooter, multure, the toll of a mill, and mooter v., take multure (> OFr. molture, moulture). According to Wright, EDG., multure is pronounced [muta(r)] in Du., Nhb., Cumb., etc. But [ul] is found in [pultri] (ME. pult(e)rie > OFr. pouleterie), poultry, and [pultas], poultice (earlier pultesse, cf. Jespersen,

+

§ 10.43).

2. LONG VOWELS

ME. ii § 88. When unaffected by neighbouring sounds, ME. medial ii has developed into [ia] in B.Gn. (§ 89). Mter [1], however,

the first element of this diphthong is usually omitted, though one may still hear double forms with [ia] beside [a], the former type being nowadays very rare (§ 91). In connexion with this loss after [I] is to be noted the absorption by a preceding [l] of [i] in the diphthong [ia] from ME. o1 (§ 114). The same loss of [i] in [ia] has also occurred after [r, 8] (one example of each), and after [w] in two words (§ 91 ). At the beginning of a word and also in the ME. combination hii-, in which the h has since been dropped, ii has undergone the same change as medial ii and thus appears as [ia] (§ 89). As for those words whose traditional forms are not now used, we find either [ o] or [e], according as the corresponding RS. forms contain [ou] and [ei] respectively (§ 92). When final, old ii has normally resulted in [ei] (§ 95), whilst before r it has given [m] (§ 96). An account of the Northern isolative development of ME. ii initially, medially, and finally will be found in§§ 355-66, to which the reader may refer. § 89. The normal independent development of ME. ii medially is [ia]; but initially and also in the combination hii-, in which

ME.

a IN

INDEPENDENT POSITIONS

51

the his no longer pronounced, the long vowel regularly appears as [ja]. The undermentioned words are relevant here. 1.

> OE. a.

[bian], bone; [gian] (rare), gone; [jal], whole; [jak], oak; [jam], home; [jan], one; [jans(t)], once (cf. § 299); [jats], (rare, usually [ots]), oats; [liaf], loaf; [nian] + [nein] (cf. § 95 (1)), none; [siap], soap; [stian], stone; [tiad], toad; [tiadsti~l], toadstool ; [;Jlian] + [alan] (see § 91 (1 )), alone.

>

Scand. a. [biap ], both (app. a. ON. baoar, etc., NED.); [kial-p::~t], vegetable container (the first element seems to be the survival of NME. cal, cale ; the words cal, cale, point back to an OE. cal contracted from ciiwel, cawl, or to the ON. kiil; cf. NED.); [skialz], scales (of a balance) (> ON. skiil); [agian], again (NME. agan > OESc. gagn, cf. Flasdieck, AB., xxiv, p. 121 ff.).

2.

3. OE. a lengthened in open syllables. [biak], bake; [fasiak], forsake; [giap], gape; [giat], gate (cf. Bjorkman 150, Jordan, § 189); [giav] + [g::~v] pret., gave; [jaka(r}], acre; [jal], ale; [liadn], laden; [liam], but more usually [lam], see § 91 (2), (i) v. lame, (ii) sb. injury (as in [kani lam] (lit. canny lame), slight injury) ; [liat] (rare), late; [miad] pret., made; [niam], name; [siak], sake; [sial], sale; [spiad], spade; [stiak], stake; [stial] (rare) + [staul] (§ 78 (1)) pret., stole; [tial], tale; [tian] (cf. tane, Metr. Hom., 54) + [ti~n] (see § 115 (1) below) + [talm] (a new formation on the infin. [tak], § 94), taken; [amiaz], amaze. 4. > Scand. a lengthened in open syllables. [diazd], dazed (ME. dasen a. ON. *dasa, NED.; see further Bjorkman 233); [giat] (ON. gata), {i) way, road (as e.g. in [out ad giat], out of the way), (ii) pasturage (cf. EDD. gate sb. 2, sense 12); [kiak], cake (prob. a. ON. kaka, NED.); [siam], same (a. ON. same, sama, NED.). But [e] is found in [wel], choose, select (ult. > ON. val, cf. wale, NED.). This cannot be the genuine native form. We should expect [wal], cf. [waskat], waistcoat(§ 91 (2)). 5. > OFr. a lengthened in open syllables and before st. [bialm], bacon ; [biasn], basin ; [fiam], fame ; [fias], face ;

52

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

[giabl], gable ; [jabl], able ; [kias], case ; [kliam] (rare ; > OFr. cwmer) + [klam] (cf. § 91 (3)) and [klem] (> OFr. cwimer), claim; [lias]+ [las] (cf. § 91 (3)), lace; [mial], male; [miasn], mason; [piap OFr. espanir or MDutch and MLG. spanen, or adopted independently from MDutch and MLG. spenen, cf. NED. s.v. spane and spean; cf. also spaned calves, 1563, Wills I, Inv. of Ralfe Huton of Walworthe, 210, and speende, § 364: (2)) ; [stiabl], stable; [tiabl], table; [tiast], taste; [ OE. wfian +Fr. wver, see NED. s.v. wving vbl. sb.); [piat], pate (origin unknown, NED.); [spiak], spoke of a wheel (OE. spiica; but MDutch or MLG. speke was adopted in ME., cf. NED. s.v. spoke, speke) ; [tiat], small piece of hemp or similar material twisted into the form of a washer (for boiler plates) (see tate sb.l, NED.). § 91. The following words appear with [a] owing to the absorption of the [i] by the preceding consonant, or consonant combination. Mter simple l, we find double forms in [ia] and [a].

1.

OE. a. [klaz], (+the (unexplained) form [klez], cf. EDD. s.v. claes),

>

LOAN-FORMS FROM RECEIVED STANDARD

53

clothes (OE. cliioes; apparently the '0 was lost in pronunciation very early, cf. the rhyme clathes : : tase takes, L. Cuthb., 365-6); [grap] v., grope; [alan]+ [alian], alone.

>

OE. a lengthened in open syllables. [lam] + [liam] v., lame; [sam], shame; [waskat], waistcoat (OE. *wmst, NED.).

2.

>

OFr. a lengthened (i) in open syllables, and (ii) before -st. [blam] v., blame; [flam], flame; [las] +[lias], lace; [klam], claim; [plas], place; [wast] v., waste. 3.

§ 92. The following words which had a in NME., and which, therefore, if regularly developed, would occur with the diphthong [ia] in B.Gn. to-day, are always pronounced with the vowel [6]: boat, broad, foam, goat, load, moan, road, stroke v., oath, holy. Further, besides appearing in their traditional forms (see§ 89 (1)), the following are often pronounced with [6] : alone, bone, both, home, loaf, most, oak, oats, soap, spoke, stone, toad, and whole. The sound [6] is the usual present-day representative of ME. o2 ( = [o]), (see§ 123). Obviously, therefore, these [6]-pronunciations must be considered as borrowings from a dialect in which OE. and Scand. a was rounded to [o] in ME. Most probably we have to deal with loan-forms from RS. The words in§ 89 (3), (4), and (5), all of which formerly contained ME. a (> OE., Scand., and OFr. short a), also occur with [e]. These pronunciations were evidently originally borrowed with the vowel [e] (or possibly with [e], which subsequently passed into [e]) from early RS., in which ME. a developed to [ei] through the intermediate stages [f:] and [e] (see Wyld, Mod. Coli. Engl., 195). There is also a possibility that they may be more recent absorptions from the same source with the substitution of dialectal [e] for RS. [ei]. Long [e) also appears in [reoa(r)], rather, and [teti], potato. The former seems to be based on early RS. [re'Oar] ([reioa]), which is evidenced about 1800 (cf. Horn, Gramm.,§ 48). Note.-Besides [jal] and [{h)61], I have also heard [w6l] for whole. Very likely the [w] has arisen as a consonantal glide sound before the variant [61]. If so, it is the only instance of a" prothetic w " in the B.Gn. dialect.

54

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 93. OE.

ahas been shortened in our dialect to [a] and also,

possibly, to [c]. In [(h)ulid()], holiday (cf. hallyday, 1562, Dep., 69), the shortening process took place before the fronting of the old long vowel, whereas in [(h)Et], hot, it may have been first fronted, and then shortened. On the other hand, [(h)Et] may, as Brilioth suggests(§ 161), be due to the shortening of a Scand. loan-form heitr. § 94:. The following words, which in OE. had short m, a, in open syllables, occur with [a] at the present time: [gum], game (sport); [muk], make; [suk], shake; [sup], shape, and [tuk], take (Scand. loan in OE.). No doubt these pronunciations are derived from ancestral forms with short a found in the North already in the ME. period (cf. Brilioth, § 105; for the short vowel in make, take, see Wright, EMEG., § 79, note 1 ; see also Strandberg, § 120, who suggests that the ME. lengthening of OE. m, a, in open syllables before k was facultative). Short [c] also appears in [tcuz], tongs (OE. tang; and cf. tengs, 1563, Wills I, W. of Ralfe Huton of Walworth, 210). Although in the NME. literary monuments there appears to be no trace of the lengthening in OE. of a before ng (cf. Eilers, p. 184:, Strandberg, § 144:, Kalen, lvii), the facts seem to warrant the assumption that, at any rate in the spoken dialects of the North, lengthened forms of these words really did exist in the ME. period. In thong (OE. ]?wang) and tongs (OE. tang), we nowadays find the diphthong [ia] in the regional dialects of s.Sc., n.Yks., and s.Sc., me., sw., and s.Nhb. (see Wright, EDG., § 32). This diphthong presupposes ME. a (for the development ofOE. aand ME. ain these dialects, see Wright, EDG., §§ 121, 4:3). Accordingly if lengthening did take place here, the vowel in B.Gn. [tcuz] may be reasonably explained as the result of the shortening of ME. a after it had been fronted to [t] (cf. [(h)Et] above; Vikar (pp. 19, 20) offers a similar explanation). On the other hand, Horn considers that present-day Northern vernacular [E] for ME. a before ng is due to the " umlautende wirkung des ng" (see AB., xxvi, 334:). But this appears improbable. § 95. When final ME. a normally appears as [ei] in B.Gn., and is thus levelled with ME. final i;, e2 , and (\ (cf. §§ 97, 102, 120}. In the Teesd. Gloss. (184:9), the words that formerly

DEVELOPMENT OF ME. FINAL ii

55

contained this ii are consistently spelt with -eah; thus seah, so ; sleah, sloe ; teah, toe ; atweah, to two ; weah, woe ; weakworth, woe betide ye, and wheah, who. Presumably these spellings are intended to suggest a diphthong of the [i~ ]-type. Further, according to Wright, EDG. Index, [w] is found in s.Du. in toe, two, woe, and who, although [i)-forms of so, two, woe, and who are also extant, in addition to [si] (unstressed), so. In view of these facts, we may assume that the present-day B.Gn. sound [ei] is the further development of[i~] (or the like). This diphthong seems first of all to have become [i], through loss of the second element and compensatory lengthening of the first. The new [i] would then develop into [ei] along with the [i] that arose from ME. e1 and e2• The explanation of the (supposed) reduction of [w] to [i], later [ei], is possibly to be found in the relative paucity of the words containing this diphthong compared with those ending in [i] ( < [ei]), viz. words that had -e). and e2, and also ebefore final h ( = [j]) in the ME. period. The undermentioned are relevant here. 1.

>

2.

>

OE. ii. [nei] + [n5] (negative particle), no; [nei] ( + [ni] + [m], unstressed forms) adj., no; [sei] ( + [si], [s~J, unstressed forms), so (cf. the streets ... were see clad with people, 1700, Diaries, Jacob Bee of Durham, 60); [wei], who, and by analogy [weiz], whose (cf. wheis, whose, 1570, Wills I, W. of Unfray Brigham of Newcastle, 328). On the analogy of [nei], no, we have [neibodi], nobody, beside [niabod-i], and [nein], none, beside the regularly developed [nian] (cf. § 89 (1) above). The form [ta] (+[to]), toe, is unexplained. We should expect, of course, *[tei]. The numeral two is always [tau], an RS. loan-form. Scand. ii. [bleibceri], blaeberry, on the analogy of *[blei], blue (NME. blii, blue, black, livid> OWSc. bliir, Bjorkman 204). But ME. frii > OWSc. frii (Bjorkman 100) has given [fre] [frs] + [f~] + [f~v], from.

+

§ 96. ME. -iir from OE. -iir and OE. -ar, which became -iir

56

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

in ME. owing to the usual lengthening of a in open syllables, regularly appears as [w(r)]. Compare :1. > OE. iir. [mm(r)], more; [sm(r)], sore.

>

OE. ar. [bm(r)], bare; [km(r)], care; [spw(r)], spare; [stw(r)], stare; [(h)m(r)], hare ; [sm(r)], share. But we find [m] in the verb [rm(r)], roar (OE. riirian), as for example in [stop oat beil(9)n (9)n rrer9n], stop that bellowing and roaring (an order frequently given to a weeping child). The pronunciation [rm(r)] points back to a ME. root ror- (cf. § 131 (1) below). Note also [blw(r)] + [blei9(r)] v., cry (presumably an imitative word, see blare v., NED.).

2.

ME.~(=

[e])

§ 97. The Byers Green representative of ME. ~ ( = [e]), when uninfluenced by neighbouring sounds, is [ei] (§ 98). This diphthong is also the normal equivalent of ME. e2 (cf. § 102). No doubt both vowels have developed into their modern forms through the stage [i]. The levelling of ME. ~ and e2 under a common sound may date from the beginning of the sixteenth century, by which time both vowels had very likely been raised to the high-front position. See further§§ 344-50 below, where it is suggested that ~ became [i] about 1300, and that e2 passed into [i] about 1500. ME. e1 was sometimes shortened before raising, in which case the result to-day is dialectal [c]. But e1 also appears in our dialect as [i]. These short [i]-forms may be explained in two ways. Firstly, [i] may be the shortening of old e1 after the change e1 to [i] had been completed. Secondly, it may have arisen through the early shortening of ~ to [e] and the subsequent raising of this e to [i] under the influence of the surrounding consonants (see § 99 A). The ME. combinations -eh ( = [ej]) and -e3(-) ( = [ej]) have both normally become [ei] (§ 101 ), whilst -er- is represented by [eig(r)], which is also the present-day counterpart of ME. -e2r-.

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF ME.

€1

57

§ 98. The normal isolative development of ME. ~ ( = [e]) is [ei]. Typical examples are:1. > Angl. e (= ws. ce1). [bleiz] v., blaze ; [breip] + [brip ], breath ; [brew], breathe ; [deid], deed; [eil], eel; [eivnan], evening; [meil], meal; [neidl], needle; [reid] v., read; [seid], seed; [sleip], sleep; [speitS], speech; [streit], street; [sweil] v., gutter (of a lighted candle); [preid], thread (but cf. thrid, thread, 1548, Wills III, Inv. of Thos. Stanton of Newcastle, 6, a spelling that reflects a pronunciation [prid], which is actually recorded by Wright, EDG., Index s.v. thread, for se.Nhb., n.Du., and n.Cumb.). 2. > Angl. {£ ( = the i-mut. of o). [beiti'i], beech ; [bleid], bleed ; [breid], breed ; [feid], feed ; [feil], feel ; [feit], feet ; [grein], green ; [greit], greet ; [(h)eil], heel ; [kein], keen ; [keip], keep ; [kwein], queen ; [meit], meet, and [meitn], meeting; [seik], seek; [speid], speed; [sweit], sweet ; [teip ], teeth. > Angl. fu, eo. [bei], bee ; [bei], be ; [breist] + [brist], breast ; [deip], deep; [frei], free; [freiz], freeze; [leif] adv., lief, gladly; [nei], knee ; [reil], reel ; [sei], see ; [trei], tree ; [peif], thief; [prei], three ; [weid], weed ; [weil], wheel ; [Jtwein], between. 4. > OE. e in stressed monosyllables. [(h)ei], he; [mei] +(unstressed) [mJ], me; [wei], we; [weil] adv., well. The pronouns he, me, and we have also unaccented forms with [-i]. Note, however, that you, sing. and pl., is [ji], in which the [j] seems to have prevented the [i] from passing on to the normal [ei]. 5. > Angl. e (= WS. ie, the i-mut. of fu > au). [bileiv], believe; [dreip] v., drip; [neid], need; [reik], reek, smoke ; [sleiv], sleeve ; [seit ], sheet ; [steipl], steeple. 3.

> OE. e + ld. [feil(d)], field, and [feilz] pl., fields; [jeild], yield (but note [ji] above) ; [seild], shield. 7. > Scand. io. [skeil], pail, bucket (> OWSc. skj6la (>Germ. eu), cf. Bjorkman, pp. 123 and 300). 6.

58

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 99. ME. e, when shortened before the raising of appears as [e], as for example in:-

e to

[i],

> Angl. e (= ws. m1). [slEp], slept (Angl. slepte; but the [E] may be due to the analogy of [mEt] p.t. of [meit], meet); [blE

+

2.

+

>

Angl. Qj (the i-mut. of o). [brit89z], breeches, trousers (cf. britches, 1578, Wills II, W. of John Lawson of Chester-le-Street (Du.), 19; britshes, 1590, ibid., Inv. of Rev. Thos. Blakiston (Du.), 202); (?) [diz] pres. sing., does (but see § 120).

Angl. eo, ea. [bid] v., (i) offer a price, (ii) invite to a funeral (note also [bid9(r)], person empowered to invite others to a funeral) ; [brist], breast; [divl], devil (cf. divell, 1561-77, Dep., 167); [frind], friend, and pl. [frinz], (cf. frinde, 1557, Wills I, W. of Jane Lawson of Nesham (Du.), 157; idem, 1570, ibid., W. of John Hauelocke of Newcastle, 325) ; ( 1 ) [sik], sick. (According to Wright, EDG., sick is pronounced [sik] in Nhb., m. and w.Cumb., and Westm., a pronunciation that is presumably reflected in the local records by the following spellings: seke, 1533, Wills I, W. of John Hedworth of Chester-le-Street, 112; seik, 1548, ibid., W. of Rev. John Sadlere of Newcastle,

3.

>

SHORTENING OF ME.

e1

59

128; seeke, 1570, ibid., W. of Unfray Brigham of Newcastle, 328 ; seake, 1590, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 20. B.Gn. [sik] may, consequently, be a genuine shortening of [i] from ME. e. On the other hand, it may be a loan-form from RS., or, again, it may have resulted from the raising of e to i before k (thus Jordan, § 84, anm. 3), the e arising through early shortening from the e in ME. sek.) 4. > Angl. e ( = WS. 'ie, the i- mutation of ea > au). [stilj~dz ], steelyards. § 100. The later history of the NME. groups [-ej] finally as in heh, high, [-ej] finally as in the prets. fle3, flew, oand le3, lied, [eje] finally as in e3e, eye, and [-ej-] medially before a syllable that was retained, as, for example, e3ene, eyes, and de3and, dying, presents a series of difficult problems. According to Jordan (§ 101), the developments of these combinations were as follows:1. NME. -eh and -e3, finally. Both groups became e, owing to the loss of the consonants in the course of the fourteenth century. Words of these types regularly occur with [ei] in B.Gn., thus showing that the new final ewas levelled with ME. ~ from other sources. The following forms are to the point here :[nei] + [nai], nigh, (Angl. neh) and [nei-(h)and] + [nai(h)and] (lit. nigh-hand), near (note also [naib~(r)], neighbour, and cf. nyghtbur (sic), 1519, York Corp. Reg., 32; nighbors and neghbors, 1614, DPB., 67; nighbours, 1637, StGMem., 64); [slei], sly (ME. sleh, sle3 > OWSc. swgr, Bjorkman 219); [stei], ladder (ME. stegh, stee >ON. stigi, Jordan, § 100 anm.); [pei], thigh (Angl. peh = WS. peoh). But [ai] is found in [(h)ai], high (Angl. heh; see also (3) below). 2. NME. final -e3e. After the disappearance of the terminal e in the thirteenth century, the new group -e3 was apparently levelled with original final -e3, and thus became e as above. Northern infinitives like jle3e, fly, and de3e, die, belong here, since the final n:of Northumbrian infinitives disappeared in the OE. period (Wright, EMEG.,_§}93).

60

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

This ME. group has regularly become [ei] in B.Gn., as for example:[dei], die (LOE. de3an); [:flei], pl. [fleiz], fly (Angl. jle3e); [flei] v., fly (Angl. jle3an) ; [lei], pl. [leiz] sb., lie (Angl. le3e), but [leia(r)], liar (Angl. le3ere would normally < NME. li-er (cf. (3) below) < B.Gn. [laia(r)]. [leia(r)] is probably> [lei] v.); [lei] v., tell a lie (Angl. le3an). Also in [glei] in [glei-aid], squint-eyed (ME. gle3en, cf. glee v., NED.). But [ai] appears in [tai], tie (Angl. te3an = WS. tie3an), as also in [wai] weigh (OE. wegan).

3. NME. -e3- + a retained syllable. In this case the -e3-, i.e. [ej], < [eij] < [ij] > [i] in ME., as for example in, eyes, and diand, dying. This new i would give [ai] in Byers Green, but it is very doubtful whether the diphthong in the undermentioned forms is traditional. It is quite possible that the words are simply loans from RS. (1) [(h)ai], high (if not a loan, it may be the representative of ME. hi, a new positive with the vowel of the comparative and superlative hier, and hiest respectively ; see Jordan, § 101); [ai], pl. [aiz], eye (Angl. e3e, pl. e3anan; in the sing. we should expect [ei], and in the pl. [ain] >ME. in or [ein] from en> the ME. syncopated form e3ne, see Jordan, ibid.; Teesd. Gloss. records ee, eye, and een, eyes, both of which clearly indicate pronunciations with [i] or the like).

§ 101. ME. ~ in an open syllable before -r- has regularly become [eia] presumably through the stage [ia], and consequently is identical in pronunciation with the present-day equivalent of ME. e2 ( = [e]) in a similar position (cf. § 106). The following words are examples of this change :1.

> OE. e. [(h)eia(r)], here; [weiari], weary.

> Angl. e (= WS. ie, the i-mutation of au). [(h)eia(r)], hear. The pret. and p.p. [(h)eiad] of this verb are new formations on the inf. [(h)eia(r)].

2.

TREATMENT OF ME.

3.

> Angl. e (= ws. w1).

e

1

BEFORE r

61

+

fear; [jei;;~(r)] [ja(r)], year; [weia(r)] (rare, usually [ww(r}]}, where (cf. whear, 1563, Wills II, W. of Henry Nevill Earl of Westmorland, 5, and wheer, 1589, ibid., W. of Thos. Gray of Chillingham (Nhb.), 172). [fei;;~(r)],

OE. eo. [beia(r)], beer (cf. beayer, 1596, Wills II, Inv. of Robt. Atkynson of Newcastle, 261); [dei;;~(r)], dear; [dei;;~(r)], deer; [dreiari], dreary; [steia(r)], steer. Note.-The triphthong [eia] also occurs in the following words whose histories are obscure: [blei;;~ri], windy (cf. bleary adj., EDD.); [kwei;;~(r)], queer; [skei;;~(r)], pret. [skeiJd], v., scare. 4.

>

ME. e2 ( = [eJ) § 102. ME. e2 , which originated from various sources, has ordinarily become [ei] in B.Gn., and is thus now levelled with the further development of ME. e)_ (cf. § 97). The prevailing diphthong no doubt arose from [£] through the stages [e], [i], and [ii]. The [i)-position may have been reached by about 1500 (see further§§ 348-50). In some words e2 has been shortened to [E] (§ 105), whilst in others it appears as [i] (§ 105 A). Before r, e2 has become [eia] (§ 106). § 103. ME. e2 ( = [t]) has normally become [ei]. There are the following examples :-

>

Angl. IE ( = WS. w2 , the i-mut. of a). [bleits], bleach; [deil] v., deal; [eir;;~n(d)] + [eir;;~nt] (+ [arr;JU(d)], cf. § 61 (1)), errand; [eitS], each; [(h)eit], heat; [(h)eil], heal; [(h)ew(;;~)n], heathen; [klein], clean; [leid] v., lead; [lein], lean; [mein] v., mean; [reits], reach; [reits], retch (OE. hrwcan); [reip], wreath; [sei], sea; [spreid], spread; [teiz], tease, pester; [teits], teach; [weit], wheat. 1.

> OE. ea. [bein], bean; [breid], bread (but cf. brid, bread, 1660, DPB., 217, a spelling that presumably reflects a pronunciation [brid], in which the [i] may be either the shortening of [i] from ME. e,

2.

62

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

or the result of the combinative change of short e (>ME. e) to i before d. According to Wright, EDG. s.v. bread, [brid] occurs in n.Du.); [deid], dead (note did, c. 1400, CM., 2301); [deif], deaf; [deip ], death ; [eist], east, and [eistr(9)n], eastern ; [flei], flea ; [(h)eid], head ; [(h)eidst-9-], headstone ; [kleit], cleat, metal plate on boot (OE. *cleat> WGerm. klaut, NED.); [leid], lead (metal); [leif], leaf; [leik], leek; [reid], red; [seim], seam; [steim], steam; [steip], steep; [teim], team; [tseip], cheap. 3. > OE. e lengthened in open syllables. [(h)eik], stack of hay, etc. (lit. the rack made with parallel spars to hold the stack ; > OE. hec in fodder-hec (WGerm. *hakja) NED.); [freit] + [frEt] v., fret, worry; [meit], meat; [speik], speak; [steil], steal; [treid], tread; [9steid], instead. 4. > (a) Scand. e lengthened in open syllables, and (b) Scand. mand w. (a) > e lengthened in open syllables; [leik] v., leak (OWSc. leka); [neif], fist (OWSc. hneji); ( ~ ) [peik] v., thatch (NED. s.v. theek suggests derivation from a base pee-, the stem of the imper. and the 2nd and 3rd sing. pres. of the OE. verb peccan. Compare, however, 01. pekja (see Cowling, § 233). Note also theakte, 1592, Wills II, W. of Henry Robinson of Newcastle, 251, and thieking, pres. part., 1612, StGMem., 42). (b) > Scand. m and w: [seit], seat (ON. smti); [skreik] v., screech (OWSc. skrmkia, cf. Bjorkman, 131) ; [teim] v., empty, pour out (ON. twma, cf. teem v. 2, NED.). 5. > OFr. e (> ai), e, ie. (a) > e through the monophthonging of OFr. ai before dentals (cf. Jordan,§ 233): [dizeiz], disease; [eiz], ease; [greis], grease (but cf. griss, 1545, DAR., 726) ; [peis], peace; [pleid], plead ; [pleiz], please ; [reizn], reason ; [seizn], season ; [treit], treat. (b) > OFr. e ([E] and [e]) in open syllables, before a final cons., and before [s, st, ts] (cf. Jordan, § 225): [beik], beak; [beis(t)], beast, pl. [beis] (cf. beese, 1666, StGMem., 74, and bees, 1667, ibid., 81); [feibl], feeble; [feist], feast; [peil], peal (Fr. (ap)peler); [preits], preach; [reil], real, and [reilai], really; [tseit], cheat ; [veil], veal ; [(9)grei], agree.

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF ME.

e

2

63

(c) > OFr. ie ( OFr. and Fr. guise ; cf. NED. s.v. geezer); [hei] interj., hallo there! (cf. [ou], hallo!, § 134); [keika(r)], overseer, foreman at the pit-head; [krei], pen for fowls, pigsty (cf. cree sb., EDD.); [peiweip] peewit (of imitative origin, NED.); [reisti], rancid (see reest, NED.); [teista(r)], teaster, canopy over a bed (see tester, NED.); [wei], wee, little, and [weini], very small.

§ 105. ME. e2 ( = [e]), of various origins, appears in some words as [E], in others as [i]. The vowel [E] presumably arose through

shortening before e2 began upon its development to [i] (which later < [ei]), while the [i] may originate from the shortening of this [i]. On the other hand, these [i]-forms rna y owe their vowel to the raising of e (the early shortening of ME. e2) to [i] under the influence of the following consonant (see the discussion of the ME. combinative change e to i, §§ 414-16). The short vowel [E] occurs in the following words :-

OE. ea. [bEt] p.p., beaten (the form may, however, be a new weak p.p. formed on the analogy of [mEt] p.p. of meet); [(h)Efa(r)], heifer.

1.

>

2.

> Angl.

~

( = OE.

~2 ).

[lEn(d)], lend (but the [E] may be due to the influence of the pret. and p.p., in which the stem vowel was regularly shortened, cf. Brilioth, § 452) ; [ld5a(r)], ladder (but ledder, ladder, 1592, Wills II, Inv. of Henry Robinson of Newcastle, 252, probably indicates [lEda(r)]); [mEnt], meant.

64

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 105 A. The following words have [i] :1. > OE. ea. [grit] ( + [g~t] +[gat]), great (see, however, § 71, Note 2). 2. > Angl. ii3 ( = ws. ii32). [(h)ilp], health ; [ivri], every; [iv3(r)], ever ; [klik], seize, snatch (OE. *cliEcan) ; [ridi], ready; [sip] (rare), sheath. 3. > OE. e (eo) in open syllables. [brik] v., break; [sivn], seven; [siv(3)nti], seventy; [(9)livn], eleven. 4. OFr. e in open syllables. [miz3(r)], measure ; [pliz9nt] + [p1Ez9nt], pleasant ; [pliz3(r)], pleasure; [triz3(r)], treasure. Note.-On the other hand, [a] appears in [saf], sheaf (OE. sceaf). Apparently already in OE. times the stress was shifted from the first to the second element of the diphthong (Jordan, § 81, anm. 1), with later loss of the e. Subsequently a was shortened to a (cf. scaues, OM., 6307; and shaffes, 1309-10, DAR., 7, and shaffe, 1386-7, ibid., 134 (cited Vikar, 62)). § 106. ME. e2 ( = [f:]) in an open syllable before -r( -) is now represented by [ei9] and is therefore levelled with the equivalent of ME. ~ ( = [e]) + r (cf. § 101). The following words are examples:1. > OE. e. [bei9(r)] v., bear; [mei9(r)], mare (cf. myer, 1575, Wills I, Inv. of Wm. Fenwick of Mitford (Nhb.), 406; note also mayer, 1530, ibid., Inv. of John Sayer of Worsall, 109) ; [pei9(r)], pear; [sei3(r)], shear; [smei9(r)], smear; [swei9(r)], swear; [tei3(r)] v., tear; [wei9(r)], wear. 2.

> Scand. e.

[gei9(r)], gear, clothing, horse's harness, tools (ON. gervi).

>

OE. ea. [ei3(r)] sb., ear; [nei3(r)], near, and [nei9rand], near, lit. near-hand. 4. > OFr. e in open accented syllables. [klei3(r)], clear ; [pe'i9(r)] sb., peer ; [tsei9], in [ wat t8ei9], 3.

TREATMENT OF :M:E.

e2

BEFORE

r

65

what cheer, how do you feel, how do you do? ; [tseiJ(r)] v., cheer ; [9peiJ(r)], appear. ME. i

§ 107. The regular B.Gn. development of ME. i is [ai] + [ai]. The former diphthong occurs before voiceless consonants (§ 108), the latter before voiced consonants and finally(§ 100). However, [ai] is often heard, especially among the younger generation, in forms in which [ai] would be normal. Three words that formerly contained OE. y + the lengthening group -nd now exhibit [ai], which presupposes ME. i; but the prevailing pronunciations may be descended from earlier incursions from RS. (see further § ll1). In two words, old i before -ld appears as [ai] (§ l12). On the later history of NME. i, see §§ 351-4 below. Before r, ME. i appears as [ai(J)] (§ l13 A). § 108. Before voiceless consonants, ME. i has regularly become [ai]. Variants with [ai], however, occur with some frequency. The following words illustrate the change.

1.

>

2.

>

OE. i. [ais], ice; [bait], bite; [daik] sb., hedge; [laif], life; [laik] adj. and v., like; [naif], knife; [paik], large haycock with a point or peak; [paip], pipe; [raif], rife; [raip], ripe; [rait], write; [saip], ooze, (OE. sipian); [straik], strike; [twais(t)], twice; [waif], wife ; [waip ], wipe ; [wait], white. OE. g. [lais ], lice ; [mais], mice.

3. > Scand. i. [skraik] v., shriek (see scrike, NED.). 4. > OFr. i. [dzais] + [duis], joist (OFr. giste); [nais], nice; [p:Jint-vais], exact, perfect (>Fr. devis, arranged; cf. Weekley, Diet.); [prais], price; [rais], rice; [slais], slice; [spais], fruit cake (lit. spice; > OFr. espice); [tais], entice (cf. § 253). § 109. The diphthong [ai] also occurs in the following etymologically obscure words :[graip], dung-fork (cf. gripe sb., EDD., and graip, NED.); F

66

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

[(h)aip] v., butt, push with horns (cf. EDD. s.v. hipe v., sense 1); [(h)aist], hoist; [kait], belly (cf. kyte, NED.); [staip] sb., reek (cf. stythe, styth, NED.).

§ 110. Before voiced consonants and finally, ME. i appears as [ai], as for example :1.

>

4.

> Scand. g.

OE. i. [aidl], idle ; [aivi], ivy ; [baid], bide, wait, endure ; [braidl], bridle ; [draiv], drive ; [dwain], dwindle ; [fail], file ; [faiv], five; [(h)aid] v., hide; [(h)aind], hind, farmservant; [laim], lime; [lain], line, rope; [lainanz], linings, drawers (ult. > OE. lin); [mail], mile; [main] pron., mine; [pail], pile; [pain], pine (tree); [raid], ride; [raind], hoar frost (probably an alteration of rime (> OE. hrim), see rind sb., NED.); [raiz], rise; [said], side; [sai], scythe (> OE. sioe. Note the absence of the etymological [o]. In all probability [sai] is a back-formation from the plur. [saiz] > *[saioz], cf. Brilioth, § 327, note iii. Such a heavy cons. group as [oz] would no doubt soon be simplified to [z].); [sain], shine; [slaid] v., slide; [slaim], slime; [straid], stride; [taim], time; [twain] sb., twine, string; [oai], + [oi] (unstressed form), thy, your; [oain], thine, yours ; [waid], wide ; [wail], while ; [wain], whine ; [waiz], wise; [wi(t)s(J)ntaid], Whitsuntide; [ OE. g. [daiv], dive; [drai], dry; [(h)aid], hide, skin, and [(h)aidn], hiding, thrashing; [(h)aiv], hive; [bail], boil, small tumour; [kai] (very rare), cows; [praid], pride. 3. > Scand. i. [gra·im], grime (see Bjorkman 211); [raiv] v., tear (>ON. rifa, NED.); [sail], filter, strain milk (cf. NED. s.v. sile v. 2) ; [saiv], slice sb. ; [praiv], thrive ; [wai], heifer (> ON. kviga, NED. ; cf. also § 262). [skai], sky (OWSc. sky).

5. > OFr. i in open syllables, and before n + dental. [fain] adj., fine; [frai], fry; [gaid], guide; [gaiz:1(r)], mummer, masquerader (>guise sb. > OFr. guise, NED.) ;

ISOLATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF ME. ~

67

[main], mine, pit, and [main:1(r)], miner; [poi], pie; [paint], pint; [riplai], reply; [sain], sign; [trai], try; [tSain] + [tSen], chain (OFr. chine; cf. chyne, 1485-6, DAR., 416; chyne, 1530, Wills I, Inv. of John Sayer of Worsall, 109; chyme, 1558, ibid., W. of Thos. Trollope of Thornley (Du.), 176; cf. also§ 141 (C) below); [tSain], chine. Note.-The diphthong [ai] also appears in: [kraibl] v., curry favour (cf. crible v., EDD.); [twain] v., twine, wind, twist, turn (>ME. twinen; see NED. s.v. twine v. 1 ); [vain], lead pencil (cf. vine sb. 2, EDD.).

§ 111. OE. y before -nd is now represented by [ai]. Most probably, however, these [ai]-pronunciations are loan-forms from RS., since in the NME. poems OE. y before the group -nd regularly rhymes with OE. i in a similar position (cf. Strandberg, § 339, and Kalen, lxxxvii). This latter vowel was almost certainly short in ME. (see Eilers, 192; and cf. § 70 above). The examples are [kaind] adj., kind; [maind], recollect (> OE. gemynd adj., NED.); [maind] sb., mind. § 112. ME. i before ld appears as [ai] in:[maild], mild; [waild], wild. But [i] occurs in [gild], guild (OE. gylde). § 113. The diphthong [ai] is employed in the following: [nain],

nine (OE. ni3on); [stail], stile (OE. sti3el); [tail], tile (OE. ti3ele). These words may possibly be borrowed from Standard English. On the other hand, they may be explained as regular native forms, with some such development as the following (cf. Vikar, 148): EME. ni3ene (inflected form) < [nijen]

OE. ir. [aiar;m] + [air(a)n], iron; [spaia(r)], spire; [waia(r)], wire.

> OE.

fjr.

[baia(r)], byre; [baiaz grein], Byers Green (the first el. of which is OE. bfjre, byre, cowshed, cf. Mawer, p. 36) ; [faia(r)], fire; [(h)aia(r)] sb. and v., hire, and [(h)ai(a)ranz], hirings; [ taia(r)] v., tire. 3.

>Fr. ir. [ taia(r)], (rubber) tire ; [umpaia(r)], umpire. ME. o1 (tense)

§ 114. ME. o1 (tense), when unaffected by any combinative influences, has normally become (i~] (initially [ja]) in B.Gn. (§ 115). Our dialect therefore clearly differentiates at the present time between old o1 and Fr. 11, which is ordinarily represented by the diphthong [iu] (§ 155). In addition to the [i~]-forms, variants containing [au] and [u] often occur. Both these alternative types seem to originate from RS. (see §§ 117, 118). As a result of the disappearance of the first element of the normal [i~] after l, ME. o1 has given [a] in [bladi] and [plaf] (§ 115 ; cf. also the similar loss ofthe [i] in [ia] > ME. a,§ 91). In one word the correspondent of 6 1 appears to be [i] (but see § 119). When final o1 has become [ei], but [i] (+[a]) when weakly stressed (§ 120). Before final r it is nowadays represented by both [oua] and [m]; but in all probability neither sound is traditional (see §§ 121, 122). The regular development of ME. o1 is [ii}] (initially [j a]). The undermentioned words illustrate this change. 1. > OE. o1 • [bi~k], book, and [bi~ki], bookmaker; [bli~d], blood, but [bladi] (with absorption of the [i] after Z) + [bludi] (intensive) bloody; [di~n], done; [fi~t], foot ; [gi~s], goose ; [j af], hoof; [jak] sb. and v., hook; [ki~k], cook; [li~k], look; [mi~n], moon; [ni~n], noon, and [~:ftanii}n], afternoon; [si~n], soon; [si~t], soot; [skiM], school; [spi~n], spoon; [sti~l], stool; § 115.

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF ME. 0 1

69

took, and by analogy [ti~n] p.p., taken (the regular form is [tian], cf. § 89 (3) ) ; [ti~m] + [tsam] (with change of [ti] to [ts]), empty (OE. tom); [ti~p], tooth, and [ti~p-wc¥k], toothache. [ti~k],

2.

3. 4.

> OFr.

o. [bi9t], boot; [figl], fool.

> OE.

u lengthened in open syllables. [kigd], cud; [abign], above (cf. Luick, Unters., § 537).

> OE. o1 before the back-open

[x], which appears as [f]. [jaf], heugh (pl. n. el.); [ini~f], enough; [plaf] (with loss of [i] after l) + [plou] sb. and v., plough; [ti9f], tough. But [D] is found in [(h)Df], hough (OE. hoh).

§ 116. The following words, whose etymologies are obscure, also contain [i~] ([ja]): [jak], hip-bone of an animal; [ni~k], nook; [tigp], tup, ram.

§ 117. Of the words recorded above with genuine native forms, the following also occur with [ou]: book(maker), goose, hoof, hook, cook, moon, noon, soon, school, soot, spoon, stool, tooth ; boot, fool. And, similarly, cool, Doomsday, food, gloomy, smooth, tool, prove, and move. These [ou]-forms are no doubt derived from RS. They may have originally been borrowed with [ii], which then became [ou] along with the continuation of ME. u (§ 132), or else they may be more recent importations into our district with dialectal [ou] substituted for RS. [u]. § 118. The following words, besides appearing in their traditional forms as noted above, have variants with short [u]: blood, cud, done, enough, foot, cook, look, soot, took, tough, above. The following seem never to be pronounced with any other stem vowel than [u] : broom, brother, crook, flood, glove, good, gum(boil), hood, Monday, month, mother, other, root, stood. How far the [u] in these words is the result of internal changes it is difficult to say. According to one view, it may be due in some cases to the shortening (with subsequent retraction) of old o1 after fronting had taken place (cf. Luick, HEG., § 406, anm. 3). On the other hand, we may reasonably regard one and all of these words as loans from RS. (cf. Vikar, p. 99).

70

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 119. The word honey (OE. huneg) when used as a term of endearment is [(h)ini] + [(h)uni]; but when applied to the product of bees, the latter form only is employed. According to Luick, Studien, p. 117, the [i] has developed from OE. u through the stages [o] (lengthened in an open syllable) < [u] (fronting process) < [i.i] (shortening) < [i] as a result of unrounding. An undoubted instance in s.Du. of the development of an [i] out of ME. 81 is the [i)-pronunciation of root recorded by Ellis (p. 636) for D. 31, vi, and by Wright, EDG., § 163. A pronunciation with [i] (or the like) is also implied by the 1547 spelling gid, good, Wills I, W. of Thos. Schaffto of Morpeth (Nhb.), 129. Nevertheless, Mutschmann (§58) has (rightly, I believe) called in question the correctness of Luick's explanation of the [i]-form of honey, and prefers to consider it the result of a combinative change of old u before n. Hence, if the B.Gn. [i]-form is not to be explained as an indigenous word in the way suggested by Luick, it may very well be regarded as a loan that has filtered in through Nhb., where to-day it is extremely popular, from some Scots dialect. It is noteworthy that Watson records the word hinny in the border county of Roxburghshire. § 120. When final, ME. 81 has become [ei] in [dei] infin., do (e.g. [i wina deid], he won't do it), and in [tei], (i) too (e.g. [ats tei bad ::m am], It's too bad of him), (ii) to (but only under emphasis, e.g. [wats 5a gun a dei teid], What are you going to do to it?). But in unstressed positions do (infin.) is [di], e.g. [5a kana di 5at], You may not do that; and similarly to is [ti] or [ta], e.g. [a dina want ti ( + ta)], I don't want to. As the present tense forms of do are of especial interest, a full list of them may be given here. Affirmative Positive Sing. 1. [dei, diz, di] 2, Plur. 1. 2. 3.

Negative [dint, dina, div(a)nt] 3. [diz, di] [diz(a)nt] [dei, diz, di] [dint, dina, } div(a)nt, [dei, di] [ dei, diz, di] divna]

Interrogative Positive [dei, di, div] [diz]

Negative [dint, div(f.l)nt] [diz(a)nt]

} [dei, di]

[dint, } div(a)nt]

ME. FINAL 0 1

;

DO

71

Of the above forms, [dei] is found only in stressed, and [di] in unstressed positions. [diz] seems to be formed direct from the unaccented infin. [di]. The [v] occurring in certain of the negative and interrogative forms may very easily have originated as a consonantal glide-sound before a vowel. Parallel instances in our dialect are [fr~v] (> [fr~] > [fre] > ME. frii), from ; [iv] (> [i] >[in]), in; [wiv] (> [wi] > [wip]), with. And similarly [tiv] (> [ti] > ME. to) + [wv] (> [t~]), to. Incidentally [n] may develop in the same way, e.g. B.Gn. [fran], from; [win], with; and [tin] prep., to.

§ 121. The ME. group o1r is now represented in B.Gn. by both [otw(r)] and [a(r)]; but very likely both sounds are aliens. As we shall see below, it is highly probable that everywhere in the North ME. 61 when followed by r regularly underwent the same changes as it usually did when medial, viz. fronting first, then diphthongization (cf. § 391). Had the hereditary regional forms survived in our dialect, they would, I believe, now appear as [-ei~(r)] (> earlier [i~r]). This assumption is corroborated by the recorded existence of the s.Du. pronunciation [flw(r)], floor (see Wright, EDG., Index), and by the Teesd. Gloss. spelling fleer (p. 47), which points to the same type. The [-ou~(r)]-forms now extant presuppose older [fir] ; according to the view taken below, they are early borrowings from RS. (cf. § 391). The origin of the alternative [a)-type now prevalent is problematical, but here again RS. influence is likely (see further § 79). It is noteworthy that this same (historically obscure) [a] is also used to-day in words that previously contained the ME. groups -or + cons. and 62 (slack) +final or intervocalic r. § 122. The B.Gn. pronunciations relevant here are the following. 1. [(h)ou~(r)], whore (LOE. hare, presumably> ON. hOra) ; [miiu~(r)], moor (OE. mar); [pou~(r)], poor (ME. pare< OFr. povre) and [piiu~li], poorly. 2. [da(r)], door (ME. dare> OE. duru. Of., however, Teesd. Gloss. s.v. door (p. 36), which the author states is "pronounced as do-er, the noun ". Presumably the pronunciation intended is [du~(r)]) ; [fla(r)], floor (OE. flar).

72

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

ME. medial

o2 (slack)

§ 123. This old long vowel in medial positions is nowadays represented in B.Gn. by [o]. The same sound also occurs in dialectal borrowings that presuppose ME. bases containing o2 from OE. ii (e.g. [bot], boat, cf. § 92; note that OE. ii normally < [ia] in our dialect, cf. § 89). However, as we shall see later (§§ 379-82), o2 seems regularly to have developed in the North of England into Early Modern [u9]. Consequently, the authenticity of the existing B.Gn. forms falls under suspicion. Again, the material which has been collected by Ellis and Wright, and which is tabulated below, proves, if it proves anything at all, that o2 is certainly not normally represented by the long vowel [o] in s.Du. The table also includes the s.Du. pronunciations-as given by the same authorities-of certain words derived from ME. stems containing short o followed by r + cons. In the living Northern dialects that have been separately studied, ME. o in this position seems ordinarily to be levelled with o2 (cf. § 375). Pronunciations recorded by Ellis and Wright forD 31, vi, and s.Du. respectively 1. ME.

o2-stems.

coal coach coat float foal hole hope nose

2. ME.

o2 ( >

boat ghost oath road

Ellis (see EEP., v, pp. 634-7)

~'B

+ WUl'B

W~'B

' WU1'B ~'B ~'B ~uu Ul'B

+ WUl'B + WUl'B

OE. ii) in loan-forms. WO'B 0'

' 01 o'B

Wright (see EDG., Index)

wua wua wua 0

wua ua 0

wua

+ ua + ua + ua

w6a 6 6 oa + o

EARLIER AUTHORITIES ON SOUTH DURHAM

+

3. ME. or cons. afford corn ford hoard hom mommg storm word worth world

Ellis (see EEP., v, pp. 634-7)

u1r or Er u1 r or u1 r u1r u1 r

73

Wright (see EDG., Index)

6a U o.

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF ME. 0 2

75

The pronunciations containing [o], [oa], etc., noted by Ellis and Wright, no doubt correspond to the [o]-forms prevalent in B.Gn. to-day. All of them are probably derived from early RS. ME. 82, it will be remembered, graduated into RS. [ou] through [o], which stage seems to have been reached by the late sixteenth century (cf. Wyld, Short Hist., § 240). This [6] may reasonably be regarded as the ancestor of B.Gn. [o].

§ 127. Finally, if ME. o2 normally becomes *[iiuiJ] in B.Gn., we seem fully entitled to draw the further conclusion-notwithstanding the forms recorded by Ellis-that ME. short o, when followed by r + cons. similarly developed, in the ordinary course of events, into [Oua], because it is generally levelled under ME. o2 in the living dialects of the North (cf. § 375). The conclusion is of importance in view of the fact that the current B.Gn. representative of short o in this position is the long vowel [ill]. This sound is, I believe, simply a local modification of early RS. [5] (see further§ 79). Some additional support for the above assumption may be wrested out of the s.Du. pronunciations recorded by Wright and included in the table above-unless, of course, they are derived direct from Ellis. I refer to the forms containing [ua ]. The quantity of the first element of this diphthong, although not so indicated, might easily be long. (N.B.-One can never be sure of the precise length of the first elements of the diphthongs in EDG.: according to the author (p. 12), their length varies in the different dialects.) The B.Gn. correspondent of Wright's [ua], assuming it stood for [iia], would be [oua]. § 128. ME. 82 ( = [ o]) regularly appears as [6], as for example :> OE. o lengthened in open syllables. [fol], foal; [flot], float; [(h)ol], hole ; [(h)op] v., hope ; [jok], yoke ; [kol], coal ; [noz], nose ; [roz] sb., rose ; [smok], smoke ; [sok] v., soak; [sol], sole (of foot); [stov], stove; [prot], throat. But [~] occurs in: [bnan], lane (OE. lone +the suffix -ing, NED.); [bs] v., lose (which seems to be a new infin. formed on the analogy of the pret. [bstJ> OE. losade > losian). 1.

2.

> OFr. o. [brots] + [brouts], brooch; [glob], globe; [groza(r)], gooseberry

76

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

(OFr. grosaille, with substitution of r for fi.nall, NED.); [klok], cloak; [klos] adj. and adv., close; [klos], enclosed place (OFr. clos); [kat], coat; [kots], coach; [mos(a)n], motion; [nos(a)n], notion; [not], note; [notis] + [notas] sb., notice; [pok], poke, bag (OFr. poke, Holthausen); [potsa(r)] (Fr. pocher) + [piiutSa(r)], poacher; [rob], robe; [rost], roast; [sapoz], suppose; [tOst], toast; [tronz], steel yards, weighing machines (OFr. trone, NED.). 3.

> various origins. [dzok], joke (probably> Lat. jocus) ; [los(a)n], lotion (> Lat. lotio); [plot], pluck a bird (a. Fl. and Dutch ploten, NED.) ; [pok] + [pauk] v., poke (ME. poken = LG., MLG., Dutch poken, NED.); [stoka(r)], stoker, and [stok] + [stouk], stoke (a. Dutch stoker, NED.).

§ 129. The sound [6] is also heard in the undermentioned words whose histories are obscure:['bo'man], boman, an imaginary kidnapper, whose probable visits are referred to in order to frighten naughty children; [dozi], sleepy, dull, stupid, silly (see dozy adj., NED.); [fozi], unsound, bad, spongy ; [gof], goaf, place in a mine where the coal has been worked out (cf. goaf, NED.); [gok], yolk of egg (cf. gowk sb. 2, sense 3, EDD.); [rag], rogue; [snok] v., snuffie (probably ofScand. origin, cf. snoke v., NED.); [tsok] + [tsauk], choke (ME. chOken, OE. *ceocian, aceocian, NED.). § 130. ME. 82 when followed by final and intervocal r is represented by the long vowel [m] in Byers Green. Yet one may reasonably suspect the antiquity of the existing pronunciations ; most probably they are not the lineal descendants of Northern ME. stems. It seems quite clear that in those dialects of the North that have been separately examined, with the exception of Bowness, 82 in these positions usually underwent some such development as the following : 82 < [ 8a] < [oa] < [iia]. However, in one of these dialects, namely that of Lorton, the first element of the new diphthong was apparently shortened before reaching the high-back-round position. Again, ME. o2r is at present levelled with ME. ur in Penrith, Bowness, Hackness, and perhaps Kendal (for the discussion of the Northern treatment of ME. o2r,

TREATMENT OF ME. 0 2 BEFORE r

77

see §§ 383-6). Further, in the Teesd. Gloss. (p. 120), we find the form smoor smother (> OE. smoran), which appears to denote [smii OFr. [dout], (i) sb. doubt, (ii) v. doubt, fear; [fountn], fountain; [faundes(a)n], foundation; [kounsl], council, and [kounsla(r)], councillor ; [kaunt], count ; [koutS], couch ; [kroun], crown ; [maunt] v., mount; [mauntn], mountain; [ouns], ounce; [skrou], screw (AFr. escroue); [sound] (with excrescent [d]), sound, noise (> AFr. soun); [saup], soup; [stout], stout; [akount], account; [(a)lOu], allow; [amount], amount.

u, au.

§ 134. The diphthong [ou ], presupposing ME. u, also occurs in the following historically obscure words : [ou] interj. calling attention or expressing anger or surprise, halloo!; [rou], row, disturbance; [snout], snout (ME. snute, NED.); [stouk], stook, shock of sheaves (cf. MLG. stuke, see stook, NED.). § 135. The ME. final group ur normally appears as B.Gn. [oua(r)], the course of development probably having been ur < [iiar] < [uua(r)] < [aua(r)]. The undermentioned words are relevant here. 1. > OE. ur. [oua(r)], our; [soua(r)], shower; [soua(r)], sour; [taua(r)], tower.

ME.

ai (ei)

79

> OFr. ou. [floua(r)], (i) flour, (ii) flower; [ oua(r)], hour; [piiua(r)], power; [stiiua(r)], dust, dust in motion (AFr. estur). 2.

Also [gloua(r)] v., glower (> LG. glUren, Holthausen) ; + [jeuar], udder (>ON. iugr, cf. Brilioth, p. 146); [piiu OFr. ai. [fel], fail ; [fer], faith; [me] sb., May; [pe], (i) sb. and v. pay, (ii) beat, chastise; [plesta(r)], plaster, + [plasta(r)] (> ME. plastre); [sem], lard (OFr. saim, see seam sb. 3, NED.); [ste] v., stay ; [tela(r)], tailor ; [wet] v., wait.

2.

80

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

+

But the verb trail (OFr. trailler) is [treil] (rare) [trel]. The former is developed from ME. tritlen, which arose through the monophthongization of the OFr. diphthong before l (cf. Zachrisson, English Vowels, p. 67; note also the B.Gn. development of OFr. ai (ei) before n(t), § 140). The [e]-form is derived from ME. trailen. Similar explanations apply to [entre1Jz] (rare) + [entrelz] (OFr. entraille), entrails.

LME. ai before [ndz] > older ii > au > Fr. a (cf. Luick, HEG., § 436). [dendza(r)] [dendza(r)] (rare), danger; [endzl], angel; [grendz], grange; [strendz], strange; [strendza(r)] + [strendza( r) ], stranger ; [tsendz], change.

3.

+

§ 138. 1.

>

3.

>

B.

ME. ai

>

EME. ei

OE. eg. [bred], retch (OE. bregdan, cf. NED. s.v. abraid, sense 4); [el], ail; [led] p.t., laid; [ple], play; [ren], rain; [sel], sail; [we], way ; [awe], away. 2. > Angl. eg ( = ws. lEg). [gre], grey ; [(h)e], hay; [kle], clay ; [ne], neigh. But [ei] occurs in [kei], key. This is probably derived from [ki], a loan-form from RS. The regular developed form *[ke] seems to be evidenced by kay, 1609, DPB., 61.

4.

Scand. eg. [gen] + [agen], near (OWSc. gegn, cf. Bjorkman 151).

>

Scand. ei. [bet], bait, food (OWSc. beit, food, pasture, Bjorkman 41); [(h)el], hale (Bjorkman 41); [rek], wander (OWSc. reika, Bjorkman 44); [rez], raise; [slep], slippery (ON. sleipr, cf. Brilioth 161); [M] ( [oa], unstressed), they; [wek], weak (OWSc. veikr, Bjorkman 52).

+

>

Scand. ey. [fie], frighten (ON. jleyja, Brilioth, 142; but cf. NED. s.v. }ley) ; [fled], afraid (cf. jlaide, L. Cuthb., 1628) ; [fle-kro], scarecrow. 5.

TREATMENT OF OFR. a~ AND e~ BEFORE

6.

n( t)

81

>

OFr. ei. [bre] v., beat, thrash; [pre], pray; [prez], praise; [rei], rail, bar; [rezn], raisin; [spied], splayed (> OFr. despleier). But [E] is found in [plEt] sb. and v., plait (> OFr. pleit, plet, Skeat).

§ 139. The sound [e] also appears in: [eks] + [Eks] + [aks] (OE. mx), ax; [(h)mriJwe(iJ)] + [(h)ar-], be off with you!; [(h)auwe(iJ)] + [(h}m-twe] + [-wiJ], come on ! ; [kef] (spelling pronunciation), cafe; [lebk], lilac (cf. laylock, NED.); [rendz], rinse, clean out (cf. range v. 2, EDD.); [slestg(r)], trail one's feet when walking (see slaister, NED. and EDD.); [trek] v., trail, stroll (cf. traik, NED.); [trekl], treacle. § 140. An interesting group of dialectal pronunciations is formed by certain words which presuppose a threefold development of OFr. ai and ei before n and nt. The words concerned now contain [ei] + [e] and [E] + [e] before n and nt respectively. As is well known, OFr. ai and ei in stressed syllables were monophthongized at different times before different consonants, including n. " Hence spellings with e, ai, ei occur side by side(a circumstance which) is reflected in the phonology of the English loan-words " (Zachrisson, English Vowels, p. 67). This being so, the [ei]-forms in question may be derived from stems containing ME. e2 from AN. e, which arose through the monophthonging of OFr. ai and ei before n, whereas the [E]-forms may be due to the early shortening of this ME. e2• Nevertheless, it is also possible that the shortening took place before the words penetrated into the early B.Gn. dialect, hence already in AN. It is noteworthy that similar forms with short [E] before [nt] are to be found in other living Northern vernaculars (cf. Sixtus, § 145, anm. 3, Brilioth, § 238, Note, and Wright, EDG., § 205). To account for the [e)-pronunciations, three possible explanations may be suggested. Firstly they may be descended direct from the ME. diphthongs ai and ei (> OFr. ai, ei). If so they would constitute an earlier stratum of loan-words than the [ei]-forms. It is tempting to assume, however, that the [ei]type are the more archaic in our dialect. Secondly, they may be loan-forms from Early RS. borrowed after the RS. diphthongs ai and ei had become levelled with ME. a under the sound [t:], G

82

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

which later became [e] (on which change, see Wyld, Mod. Coli. Engl., p. 105). Note in this connexion that certain words, which in the ME. period contained a from OE. and Scand. short a lengthened in open syllables (not, however, ME. a from OE. and Scand. a), exhibit in B.Gn. not only regularly developed forms with [ia], but also variants with [e]. The latter may similarly originate from Early RS. (cf. § 92). Lastly, they may be still later incursions from RS., with dialectal [e] substituted for RS. [ei]. A parallel change of OFr. ai to ME. e2 before lis evidenced by the two words quoted above (§ 137 (2)). The fact that OFr. ai and ei might appear as e2 ( = [E]) in ME., would, seemingly, account satisfactorily for the diphthong [ii~] ( = h.f.s. long + m.fl.s.) in nine words of these types recorded for Stokesley by Klein under ME. ai (§ 188). In this dialect, ME. ai and ei appear to be regularly represented by [ee~] ( = m.f.s. long + m.fl.s.), for at least fourteen of Klein's eighteen exceptions to this rule, including the nine in question, probably ought not to be traced back to ME. stems with ai and ei. § 141. OFr. ai and ei have produced [ei], [c], and [e] in B.Gn. The undermentioned examples occur.

A. [ei]-forms, with alternative [e], before [n] 1.

>

OFr. ai. [gein] (rare) + [gen], gain; [lwmplein] + [lwmplen], complain; [plein] (rare) + [plen] adj., plain; [trein] + [tren], (i) v., train (horses, etc.), (ii) sb., train, part of skirt. 2. > OFr. ei and eg. [rein] (rare) + [ren], reign; [rein] + [ren], rein; [wdeind] + [wdend], ordained; [sprein] + [spren], spram; [strein] + [stren] v., strain; [vein]+ [ven], vein. B. [c)-forms, with alternative [e], before [nt] 1.

>

OFr. ai. [komplcnt] + [lwmplent], complaint.

COMBINATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF OFR.

ai

AND

ei

83

>

OFr. ei. [fEnt] (rare) + [fent] sb. and v., faint; [pmt] +[pent], paint; [akwmt] (rare) + [akwent], acquaint; [akwmtns] + [akwentns], acquaintance.

2.

C. [e]-forms,

>

OFr. ai + n

[Eksplen], explain ; [pen], pain ; [ren], rain ; [rimen], remain ; [rimenda(r)], remainder; [tren], (railway-)train; [tSen] + [tSain] (cf. § llO (5)), chain (cf., however, chened, chained, 1666, DPB., 221, which seems to indicate [tSin]. This form would appear in present-day B.Gn. as [tsein]. But I have not observed this type); [ven], vain. § 142. Before -r(-), ME. ai (ei) has developed into B.Gn. [m]. The following words exemplify this change.

A. ME. ai

1. OE. mg.

[fm(r)], fair. 2. OFr. ai, aie. [m(r)], air ; [pm(r)], pair ; [tsm(r)], chair (but note chyeres, 1565, Wills I, Inv. of John Selbye of Berwick, 236, and chyre, 1592-3, Wills II, W. of K. Muschance of Gatherick (Nhb.), 304, both of which apparently indicate [ia] (or [ia]). According to Wright, EDG. Index, s.v. chair, this type of pronunciation occurs in se.Nhb.); [(h)m(r)], hair; [afm(r)], affair. 1.

>

OE.

mg.

B.

ME. ai

>

EME. ei

[stre(r)], stair.

2.

>

OFr. ei, eie. [m(r)], heir ; [dispm(r)], despair ; [prm(r)], prayer. ME. au

§ 143. ME. au, which arose from the sources mentioned below, has normally become [a] in B.Gn., and is accordingly levelled

84

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

with the Late ME. or Early Modern au that developed from the ME. combination -al- +cons. (see § 50). In some words, we now find [a], which is presumably the shortening of the regular [a.]. The Northern treatment of this diphthong has been dealt with in §§ 393-4 below, to which the reader may be referred. Here it may be stated that according to the theory elaborated there, ME. au had lost its second element, and thus become a monophthong of the [u]-type, by 1500 at latest. § 144. The regular development of the ME. diphthong au is [u], which has sometimes been shortened to [a]. These changes are illustrated by the undermentioned words.

1.

>

2.

>

OE. ag. [dra.] v., draw ; [(h)a.z], haws, in [kata.z], hawthorn berries ; [lu], law; [na.], gnaw; [sa.] sb., saw, and [su-mil], saw-mill.

OE. iig. [u] v., owe, possess (as e.g. [we~z a. oat], who is the owner of that~ It may be remarked here that the normal form of who is [wei], cf. § 95 (1) above. [weiz], however, regularly appears in this particular question. It may have developed its [z] from [weiz] (=who has) in sentences like [weiz dian oat], who has done that?); [un] adj., own; [a.n] v., own.

>

OE. aw. [kla.], claw; [ta.] v., whip with cat o' nine tails (OE. tawian), and [ta.z], taws, cat o' nine tails ; [pu], thaw.

3.

>

OE. aw. [bla.] v., blow; [kra.], (i) sb. and v., crow (of a cock), (ii) crow, rook; [fl.e-kra.], scarecrow; [rna], mow; [nu(n)], know(n) ; [ra.] sb., row; [sa.] v., sow seed, and [sun], sown; [sla.], slow; [sna.], snow ; [pra.{n)], throw{n). But [au] occurs in [saul], soul (OE. sawol, sawel, sawl), which presupposes ME. soul. The word is apparently a ME. loan-form from Early RS.

4.

> OE. eaw. [stra.], straw; [stra.breri], strawberry; [ra.], raw; [sprul], sprawl (OE. spreawlian, NED.). 5.

DEVELOPMENT OF ME.

au

85

OE. eaw. [sii] + [so] v., show. 7. >Various OE. sources. [(h)ak], hawk (OE. hafoc); [sii] p.t., saw (Angl. smh).

6.

>

> OFr. au, au. [bikiiz] + [kas] + [koz] + [kos], because; [briin], brawn (OFr. braoun); [dub], daub (OFr. dauber); [dziindis], jaundice (OFr. jaunisse) ; [friid], fraud (OFr. fraude) ; [kiisn], caution ; [kiiz], cause; [piim], palm of hand; [pii], paw (ME. paue > OFr. poue, NED.); [sas], sauce; [sas~(r)], saucer (OFr. saussier; cf. sascer, 1550, Wills I, W. of Rev. Wm. Bee, 135, and similar spellings, § 394). Short [a], however, occurs in the following : [landri], laundry (OFr. lavandrie, NED. ; cf. landerie house, 1585, Wills II, W. of Ranolde Swynborne of Bothal (Du.), 108); [sanw(r)], saunter (OFr. sauntrer, Skeat) ; [falt] (the unetymological l is probably due to the RS. form), fault (OFr. faute, falte, Holthausen). Note.-[ a] has been noted in [adit], audit (>Lat. auditus; cf. adyt, 1562, Wills I, W. of Rbt. Lewen of Newcastle, 26). 9. >Various Scand. sources. [akw~d] + [akwad], awkward (ME. awkwart, awkward, Scand. *avukt-pwert, cf. Bjorkman, p. 20, footnote); ( 1 ) [bill] v., bawl (OWSc. baula, Bjorkman 75; but see bawl v., NED.); [bral], brawl (cf. Norw. dial. braula, scream, shout, and Swed. dial. bravla, talk noisily ; see Bjorkman 75) ; [fla], flaw (perhaps >ON. jlaga, NED.); [krill], crawl (ME. craulen, OWSc. krafla, cf. Bjorkman 76, 215); [Iii], low (ON. liigr), and [hila], below; [mak], maggot (a. ON. maOka, see mawk, NED.).

8.

§ 145. We find [a] in the following words, which had au +a(> OFr. nasalized a) in ME. (cf. Wyld, Short Hist., § 184). [ant], aunt (cf. ante, 1551, Wills I, W. of John Lynne, 137, and ant, 1665-73, Dep., 236); [bran(t)s], branch; [dans], dance; [dzam], jamb; [Egzampl], example; [grant], grant; [(h)ant] v., accustom to (cf. hantinge, pres. p., 1608, StGMem., 35); [plant], plant; [sampl], sample; [tSans], chance (cf. channce, 1551, Wills I, W. of John Lynne, 138).

86

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

The word chamber (ME. chaumbre, chambre, chambre (cf. Horn, Gramm., § 132), > OFr. chambre) has two forms in B.Gn., viz. [tsam:1(r)] (very rare) + [tsemb:1(r)]. The former points back to ME. chi'imbre, whereas the latter is probably derived from the Early RS. form with [e] (or [e]) from ME. a. Note also [tSEm-] in [tScmli], chamberlye, urine (second el. is OE. leag), and in [tsEmpat], chamberpot.

§ 146. The sound [a] also occurs in the following words, which

cannot for etymological reasons be classified under the above heads:[akl OFr. pan, pledge ; but the subsequent history of the word is obscure, NED.); [pap], strike, hit (cf. ME. pappen, make soft, Strat.); [pat], (i) wander aimlessly, (ii) stamp about; [skami], disagreeable, dirty (cf. scaumy, EDD.); [stap], stride about, stamp about (see staup v., NED.); [ta], a marble (for playing marbles); [was], tasteless, insipid (cf. wairsh adj., EDD.). Also in [aksn], auction (>Lat. auctionem), and [aksanei::J(r)], auctioneer; [skwak], squawk (of imitative origin, NED.). ME. ou

§ 147. ME. ou, of various origins enumerated below, has normally become [au]. The same diphthong has also developed out of ME. -ol- + consonant, as for example in folk, colt (cf. § 77). How early the first element of old ou was unrounded it is

difficult to say ; but there is perhaps a little evidence to show that the new [au] had been fully established in pronunciation by the middle of the last century (see further§ 77).

DEVELOPMENT OF ME. OU

87

§ 148. The following words are relevant examples of the change ME. ou to [au]:1. 2.

OE. ow. [glau] v., glow; [grau], grow, and [graun] p.p., grown.

>

>

OE. eow. [jau], ewe; [strau] v., strew.

> OE. eow. [fau(w)a(r)], four; [fau(w)ati] + [foti], forty; [fau(w)atein], fourteen; [sau], + [siu] (>ME. sewen), sew; [tSau] v. and sb., chew. 3.

4.

> OE. og, oh.

[bau], bow (weapon); [baut] p.t., bought; [dauta(r)], daughter; [flaun] p.p., flown (OE. geflogen); [renbau], rainbow; [trau], + [trof], trough. 5.

> OE. oh.

[aut] sb., aught; [au5a(r)] (rare), either (cf. outhir, L. Cuthb., 1169); [braut], brought; [nau5a(r)] (rare), neither; [naut], naught; [saut], sought; [pout] p.t., thought. Short [o] occurs in [nobat], naught but, nothing but (cf. nobot, CM., 22740). [u] appears in [nut], not. > Scand. au, QU. [dauli], gloomy, sad (cf. ON. doufligr; see Brilioth, p. 138); [gauk], (i) cuckoo, (ii) simpleton (OWSc. gaukr, Bjorkman 69) ; [jaul] v., howl (ME. goulen, 3oulen > OWSc. gaula, the 3 being probably due to the influence of ME. 3ellen, etc., cf. Bjorkman 69); [kaup] v., exchange (a. ON. kaupa, buy, barter, exchange, NED.); [laup], leap (a. ON. hlQupa, NED.); [laus] adj., loose (a. ON. lQus-s, lauss, NED.); [lauz] v., (i) loosen, (ii) cease work; [naut], cow, ox (a. ON. naut, NED.).

6.

7.

> Scand. og. [lau], flame, light (a. ON. loge, NED.).

>

OFr. ou. [haul] v., bowl, and [baula(r)], (i) bowler, trundler, (ii) (child's) hoop; [(h)au] sb. and v., hoe; [kaup] v., overturn.

8.

88

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 149. In the following words we also find [au] ; but its origin is here obscure. [dzaul], jowl, cheek of a pig; [dzaul], knock or strike against, hit a person on the jaw (see jowl v.l, NED.); [gauk], core of fruit (cf. goke, NED.); [kaul], gather or scrape together (see coul v., NED.); [kaul OFr. poulenet, NED.); [sauba(r)], sober; [tau], tow, material from flax; [taut] p.t., taught. [au] occurs, too, in [au(w)a(r)], over, > OE. ofer. The f ( = [v ]) first became w, which was then vocalized to [u]. Note our, over, in we won (=dwell) our farr fra pe wode, c. 1450, L. Cuthb., 454. ME. iu, eu (= [eu]), eu (=[En]) and

u (=AN. u)

§ 150. The usual present-day correspondent of the three ME. diphthongs iu, eu ( = [eu], which became iu by 1300, cf. Luick, REG.,§§ 399, 407), and eu (= [Eu]) is [ou] in B.Gn.; but after [j], alternative forms in [iiu] and [eu] are employed. However, in one or two rare instances, we still find [iu], a diphthong that is without doubt the traditional representative of the three ME. sounds in question. The [ou] of the forms now prevalent presupposes an earlier [ii] (ME. u < B.Gn. [ou], cf. § 132); and the collateral [eu] may be regarded as a modification of this [ ou] due to the fronting of the first element under the influence of the preceding [j]. Such being the case, one need not hesitate to explain both [ou]- and [eu]-forms as adaptations of borrowings from RS. containing [ii]. § 151. Opinions differ as to the probable quality of the NME. equivalent of AN. u. My reason for dealing with the sound under this heading is that its subsequent history in the early B.Gn. dialect has been apparently the same as that of the abovementioned diphthongs. Despite the scarcity of existing examples, we are entitled to believe that AN. u normally becomes [iu] in our dialect; compare [pasiu], pursue, and [siua(r)], sure, as well as the [iu] recorded by Wright, EDG. Index, in the s.Du. forms of fruit, gruel, suit, and sure. Hence it would seem

TREATMENT OF ME. ~U,

eu,

AND {i

89

reasonable to infer that AN. u was absorbed into the early B.Gn. dialect as iu (cf. in this connexion Wright, EMEG., § 202). As we have seen above, the [ou]- and [eu]-types of pronunciation now in use in all probability originate from RS. § 152. 1.

>

2.

>

A. ME. iu

OE. iw. [spjoo] + [spjeu], spew; [tjoozda] + [tjeuzda] + [tSoozda], Tuesday. But Wright, EDG. Index, records both spew and Tuesday with [iu] in s.Du. · AN. iu (OFr. ieu). [dzou], Jew; [roul], rule.

§ 153.

B. ME. eu (= [eu])

>

OE. eow (including Angl. iow, eow (WS. iew)). (a) [kliu] (rare) + [klou], clew, swelling, boil; [triup] + [troop], truth. (b) [broo], brew; [groo], grew; [njou] + [njeu], new (and note [njouraz] + [njeuraz] sb., New Year's Day); [njou] + [njeu], + [nad] (> infin. [na], § 144 (4)), knew; [rou], rue; [trou], true; [tsoo] + [tSau] (§ 148 {3)), chew; [}'roo], threw. Wright records [iu] in the s.Du. forms of brew, grew, new, knew, true, chew, and threw (cf. EDG. Index). 1.

2. >AN. ~u. [dzoo(a)l], jewel; [fjoual] + [fjeual], fuel. Note, however, [bliu] (rare) + [blou], blue.

C. ME. eu ( = [w]) § 154. 1. > OE. eaw. (a) [diu] (rare) + [djou] + [djeu] + [dzou], dew; [fiu] + [fjoo] + [fjeu], few; [tiu] + [tjou] + [tjeu], tire (out), weary (OE. teawian). (b) [jou] + [jeu], hew. Note, however, the [a.], presupposing ME. au, in [sa.] +[so] v., show. Note.-Before -r we find [oue] + [eua] in hewer.

90

THE VOWELS OF STRESSED SYLLABLES

>

OE. eow. (a) [siu], +[sou] (cf. § 148 (3)), sew. (b) [strau], strew ; [j au], + [jau] (cf. § 148 (2)), ewe. 3. > AN. eau (OFr. eau). [biuti] (rare) + [bjauti] + [bjeuti], beauty; [bjoutifl] + [bjeutifl], beautiful.

2.

§ 155. 1.

> AN. u (OFr.

D. ME.

u

il).

[bjaugl] + [bjeugl], bugle; [brout], brute; [dispjout] + [dispjeut], dispute; [djau] + [djeu] + [dzau], due; [djouk] + [djeuk], duke; [dzaus], juice; [djouran] + [djeuran], during; [tkskjous] + [tkskjeus] sb., excuse; [fjaun(d)ral] + [fjeun(d)ral] (with intrusive [d]), funeral; [fjoum] + [fjeum], fume; [graual], gruel ; [kj aurias] + [kjeurias], curious ; [krau(a)1], cruel ; [mjoul] + [mjeul], mule; [pjaus] + [pjeus], puce; [rifjauz] + [rifjeuz] v., refuse; [roud], rude; [stjaupad] +[stjeupad], stupid; [tjoub] + [tjeub] + [maub], tube; [jous] + [jeus], sb., use. Wright records [iu] in s.Du. gruel, cf. EDG. Index. Note 1.-[iu] has been noted in [tilin] + [tjoun] + [tjeun] + [tSaun], tune; but the history of the word is obscure (see tune, NED.). Note 2.-We find, correspondingly [oua] ( + [eua]) before -r in [kjoua(r)] + [kjeua(r)], cure, and [pjoua(r)] + [pjeua(r)], pure. However, I have noted the occurrence of [silia(r)] (rare) + [soua(r)], sure. But Teesd. Gloss. gives seer, sure, and asseer, assure, both of which suggest pronunciations of the [ia]-type. 2. AN. u (= OFr. iii). (a) [pasiu] (rare) + [pasjou] + [pasjeu], pursue. (b) [dzaun], June; [frout], fruit; [pjau] + [pjeu], pew; [sjaut] + [sjeut], suit. It is noteworthy that Wright (EDG.) records [iu] in fruit and suit in s.Du. ME. oi and ui § 156. These diphthongs, which occurred in words of French origin only (cf. Wright, EMEG., § 88), are both represented by [oi] in B.Gn. The undermentioned words are examples.

DEVELOPMENT OF ME. O't AND U~

91

1. ME. oi > AN. Qi (OFr. Qi). [dzoi], joy; [cmpbi], employ, and [cmpbim~mt], employment; [loial], loyal; [moist], moist, and [moista(r}], moisture; [noiz], noise; [roial], royal; [tsois], choice; [vois], voice. 2. ME. ui (usually written oi) > AN. ui (OFr. Qi, ui). [boil] v., boil; [dzoin(t)], join(t); [koil], coil; [koin], coin; [oil], oil; [ointmantJ, ointment; [point], point; [poiz(a)n], poison; [soil], soil; [spoil], spoil. Note.-[oi] is also found in [(h)oit] (term of contempt), worthless person, good-for-nothing, and [koit], quoit.

CHAPTER III THE DEVELOPMENT OF MIDDLE ENGLISH SouNDS IN THE LIVING DIALECT : VoWELS oF UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES

§ 157. In the Byers Green dialect the vowel most frequently employed in weakly accented syllables is [9]. The sound occurs even when, for historical reasons, one would expect the highfront vowel [i] (cf. the B.Gn. treatment of ME. i and e, §§ 198, 178). That the traditional [i] has been reduced to [9] seems improbable. It is much more likely that a process of sound substitution has taken place, a different type of pronunciation having been adopted by dialect speakers. Among the younger generation the vowel [9] is undoubtedly preferred in unstressed positions. For further information upon the development of the different ME. sounds in B.Gn., the reader may refer to the sections below where each sound has been discussed individually. Perhaps the following discussion will be considered unnecessarily long. My excuse for writing at length is that previous students of regional dialect appear to me to have treated this topic far too summarily. A comparative survey of the development of the old unaccented vowels seems out of the question unless one is prepared to rewrite in some cases the chapters dealing with the subject in the various monographs. Though my own account is incomplete, it may, perhaps, claim to present the facts clearly and systematically. I have also purposely included a fair number of examples in illustration of the sound changes, sufficiently many, I hope, to inspire confidence in the sceptical reader. It has also been possible here to demonstrate, by means of the deviations from the traditional spelling, the antiquity of many of the current dialectal pronunciations. The majority of these spellings are from local records, and belong to the period between c. 1350 and 1700. I have also adduced a small number of early place-name forms, mostly from the fifteenth century. No doubt 92

TREATMENT OF ME. a IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS

93

a thorough examination of the early forms of place-names would show that the reduction of ME. unstressed vowels took place much earlier than might be supposed. Presumably such an investigation would have to be confined to purely local documents. But so far as I am concerned, the task will have to be postponed for some time to come.

ME. a in Unstressed Syllables § 158. This vowel is, generally speaking, represented by [a]. Before [k], however, as in ME. ac and -acle, a seems regularly to have become [i]. In the pronunciation of the older generation, the same sound also corresponds to a in the terminal -age. The [i)-forms of this suffix appear to be as old as the beginning of the sixteenth century (cf. the spellings cited below). In one instance, namely -ary, the present equivalent of old a is occasionally [m], possibly owing to the influence of the written form.

§ 159. a, in prefixes, is normally represented by [a], as for example in: [(a)bi~n], above; [about], about; [adris] sb. and v., address ; [afm(r)], before ; [afmd], afford ; [agian], again ; [;:~k()unt], account ; [;:~krDs ], across ; [;:~kwcnt], acquainted ; [;:~l(i)an], alone; [;:~la:n], along; [alaiv], alive; [:;~ssml], assemble; [:;~we], away. But [a] is found in [adv:;~taizm:;~nt], advertisement. § 160. -a-. The vowel may appear as (i) [i], (ii) [:;~], or (iii) disappear altogether. (i) a< [i], e.g. [sxtravigant], extravagant; [tsstim:;~nt], Testament. The following spellings containing i for weakly stressed a most probably indicate pronunciations with [i] similar to the above. testyme't, 1556, Wills I, W. of A. Lilburne of Ayslabey (Yks.), 151. testiment (3 x), testimet, 1564, ibid., W. of Rev. John Binley of Durham, 217-18. testiment, 1565, ibid., W. of Rev. Edw. Athey, 241. testiment, 1565, ibid., W. of Margaret Burdon of Elton (Du. ), 239. imbassyturs, 1565, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 15. alminackes (2 x), 1633, HCtProc., 35 and 37.

94

THE VOWELS OF UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES

compinie, 1646, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 49. extriordianary, 1658-9, Merch. Advent. Rec., 196. Jerminie, 1665, DPB., 332. uttiny, 1666, DPB., 219. Legisies, legisie, legysy (2 X), legicy, legisy, 1666, DPB., 221. extravigant, 1745-6, Reprints VI, Letters of Wm. Scott, 33. In the undermentioned fifteenth and sixteenth century spellings, however, we find the letter e for etymological a. Nevertheless, these also may imply that the writers pronounced [i] for the unaccented vowel in question. accompenyd, 1481, Mun. Rec. York, 114. compeny, 1483, ibid., 153. idem, 1514, Merch. Advent. Rec., 60. idem, 1561-77, Dep., 96. Sacrement, 1565-73, Dep., 177. supremecye, 1565-73, Dep., 162. (ii) a < [~ ], e.g. [dzmm~ni] + [dza~ni], Germany (but note spellings with i above); [bntr~dikt], contradict. (iii) a has disappeared in [kumpni], company.

-able has become

as for example:[~dvaiz~bl], advisable; [et:t~bl], eatable; [fevrabl], favourable; [bnsidrabl], considerable ; [kumft~bl], comfortable ; [rimmkabl], remarkable; [rispckwbl], respectable. § 161.

[~bl],

§ 162. -ac appears as [ik] in: [aizik], Isaac; [stomik], stomach (although an [a ]-pronunciation seems to be evidenced by high stomoked, 1554, Merch. Advent. Rec., 6). § 163. -ace is represented by [as] in

[saf~s],

surface.

§ 164. -acle has given rise to [ikl], as in:[mmrikl], miracle; [obstikl], obstacle; [spcktiklz], spectacles. § 165. -age. In this suffix a is represented by two vowels, viz. [a] and [i], the latter sound being preferred by the older generation. The [i)-pronunciations, which are more likely, therefore, to be traditional, are as follows :[bagis] + [-idz], baggage; [damis] (infrequent) sb., damage; [imidz], image; [btis] + [-idz], cottage; [lalJwis] (rare),

EARLY REDUCTION OF

a

TO

i (e)

95

language ; [lugis], luggage ; [mcvridz], marriage ; [manis] + [-idz], manage; [pasidz], passage; [p::>tis] + [-d-], porridge; [sasid.Z], sausage; [vik(t~)rid.Z], vicarage; [vilidz], village. But [kabis], cabbage, may be derived direct from ME. caboche, -ache> OFr. caboche. Pronunciations with i for this a like the above are fairly frequently attested in the early written records. The undermentioned departures from the etymological spelling, viz. with i and e for a, have been noted. marige, 1549, Wills III, W. of H. Sanderson of Newcastle, 8. maryge, 1554, Merch. Advent. Rec., 68. quarterich, quarterage, 1562, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 13. vicaridg, 1565-73, Dep., 212. cotigers, 1584, DPB., 15. cotichers, 1590, DPB., 29. vickeredge, 1590, Wills II, W. of J. Saltonstall of Berwick, 171. carridge, 1593, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 27. charysh, carysh, craysh (sic), abstr. sb., carriage, 1602, DPB., 280. discurigement, 1649, Merch. Advent. Rec., 156. disparigment, 1651, ibid., 169. ktnguishes, ktnguish, language(s), 1663, Merch. Advent. Rec., 206-7.

§ 166. -ager (anger) is represented by [t~ndzt~(r)], as in the following:passenger; [past~ndzt~(r)], messenger; [mEsks 'p9zda.

oa

ELLIS'S COMPARATIVE SPECIMEN

179

I. Comparative Specimen (cf. Ellis, E.E.P., v, p. 7*) Why (lit. what for) John has no Doubts

1. Well, neighbour, you and he may both laugh at this news of mine. Who cares 1 That is neither here nor there. 2. Few (lit. naught-but few) men die because they are laughed at, we know (that), don't we 1 What should make them 1 It is not very likely, (now) is it? 3. However these are the facts of the case, so just hold your tongue, friend (lit. marrow, mate), and keep quiet till I have done. Listen now. 4. I am certain I heard them say-some of those folks (of them) that went through all of it (the whole thing) themselves right from the start (first)-that I did, sure (right) enough,5. that the youngest son himself, a great big boy (of) nine years old, knew his father's voice right away (at once), although it was so queer and squeaky, and I would trust him to speak the truth any day of the week, aye, I would. 6. And the old woman herself will tell any of you that laugh now, and tell you straight off, too, without much bother, if you will only ask her, oh ! won't she?7. leastways she told me it when I asked her, two or three times over, she did, and she oughtn't (she is not likely) to be wrong on such a point as this, what do you say (think)? 8. Why, as I was saying, she would tell you, how, where, and when she found the drunken beast (that) she calls her husband. 9. She swore she saw him with her own eyes, lying stretched out full length on the ground, in his good Sunday clothes (coat, jacket), near (lit. gain, cf. § 138 (3) ; nigh) the door of the house, down at the corner of yon lane (lit. lonning, cf. § 206). 10. He was whining (lit. whingeing on, cf. § 69), she says, for all the world like a sick bairn, or a little girl (lit. bit lass) in a fret. 11. And that happened, as she and her daughter-in-law came through the backyard from hanging out the wet clothes to dry on a washing-day, 12. while the kettle was boiling for (the) tea, one fine bright summer afternoon, only a week ago come next Thursday.

180

SPECIMENS OF THE DIALECT

13. an OE. eat5or), fence of dead sticks (cf. Hirst, § 137, Note). Lastly, assuming for the moment that the [j] is here prothetic, it would be necessary to account for the fact that the vowel which follows is to-day invariably short. For these reasons I find Dr. Kihlbom's hypothesis unacceptable. § 363. I may now pass on to outline a theory of change that seems to me to be feasible. At any rate, it would appear to p

210

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

account satisfactorily for the many and varied sounds that now represent old a in the dialects under consideration here. The immediate ancestor of all these sounds may have been the diphthong [es] (m.f.t. + m.f.s.), which may have developed from a via the following route :ME. a OFr. dauber), 1456-7, DAR., 241, and 153&-7, 702.

THE NEW MONOPHTHONG FROM

-al

249

Cawsey Park, Nhb. :-The first el. is causey (derived from ME. cauce > ONF. caucie, NED.); Cakekyrke, 1496, Newm.; Mawer, 41-2. (2) Spellings Presumably Indicating the Completion of the Change al to [a]

Boscar, YNR. :-[b0ska] ; first el. is ME. balgh, rounded ; Baskaa, 1541, Dugd. ; Smith, 26. caffe, calf, 1555, Wills I, W. of Lanslet Claxton of Winyard and Old Park (B.Gn.), 124. webaks, weighing-balks, in a payre of webaks w1" the weyght & skalles, 1557, Wills I, Inv. of Jane Lawson of Nesham (Du.), 159. fas, false, 1564, Dep., 81. behafe (2 X), behalf, in Gods behafe, 1572, Wills I, W. of John Frankelyne of Cocken Hall (Du.), 391; for the behave of my wij, 1566, ibid., W. of Wm. Walton of Durham, 255. Ganthorpe, YNR. :-[g0nprap] ; = Galm's village ; Ganthorpe, 1577, Saxton, 1665, Visit; Smith, 34. Alnwick, Nhb. :- = the w'ic by the Alne ; Anwik, 1585, Tate ; Mawer, 5. The spelling may denote either a long or a short [a]. Cf. Awnewik, 1496, cited above. Dalton-le-Dale, Du. :-Datton, 1584, Houghton; first el. is perhaps OE. diil found in diil-mi£d, meadow-land held in common; see Mawer, 59. The spelling with the double consonant may indicate that the a represents short [a]. If so, this vowel would presumably be developed from [a] (from -au- > -al-). Abberwick, Nhb. :-Averwick, 1610, Speed ; Abberwick, 1689, Ingram ; = the w'ic of Alubeorht or Aloburh ; see Mawer, 1; Abberwycke, 1572, Wills I, W. of Thos. Swinburne, 371 ; Abberycke, 1584, Wills III, W. of G. Strother, 111. These spellings probably indicate short [a] (cf. preceding placename form). Compare also Awberwyke, etc., cited in the foregoing group, which presumably implies -au-. Shadforth, Du. :- = shallow (OE. sceald) ford ; Mawer, 175, Shadfourth, 1613, DPB., 65 ; Shadfourth, 1615, ibid., 69 ; cf. supra.

250

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

Probably the undermentioned early spellings of the Christian name Ralph merit inclusion here. They seem to evidence as early as the first half of the sixteenth century the pronunciation [ra.f], and this appears to be the usual form of the name in the North at the present time. The ultimate source is OE. Rmdwulf (cf. Weekley, Surnames, p. 42; apparently the d disappeared under French influence, ibid., p. 36, footnote). Raffe, 1544, Wills I, Inv. of Annes Horsley, 122 ; Raff, Raj, 1555, ibid., W. of Lanslet Claxton of Winyard and Old Park (B.Gn.); Raff, 1558, Wills III, W. of Ralph Surtees of Durham, 14; Raphe (2 X), 1581, Wills II, W. of Rd. Hodgson of Newcastle. The Northern Development of ME. -ol +cons. and when Final

§ 401. It would be well to preface the discussion of the later history of this ME. group with a tabular summary of its presentday equivalents in those Northern dialects that have been separately investigated, together with the modern representatives of ME. -ou-, whose history is, of course, intimately connected with that of the former combination.

ME. -ol + cons. ME. ou = [ou] Lorton . [au], § 134, etc. [au], §§ 184, 205, 132. Penrith [au],§ 148, etc. [au],§§ 196, 216, 251. Bowness [au], § 111. [au], § 152. Kendal . [au),§ 115. [au],§§ 116, 117, etc. Byers Green [au],§§ 77, 78. [au],§ 148. Stokesley [Dan. fyr, Holthausen), 1582, Wills II, Inv. of Wm. Lee of Brandon (Du.), 45; furdales, 1640, DPB., 303. chourch, church (OE. cirice), 1584, DPB., 15 ; chourchwardens, 1637, DPB., 298. gurrs, girds, hoops (> OE. gyrdan), 1629, DPB., 298. hurd, herd(sman ; Nthbn. hiorde), 1661, StGMem., 71. (2) Spellings containing e, ei, and ea for ME. -i-

+ r.

kertle, kirtle (OE. cyrtel), 1539, Wills I, W. of Isabel Ogle of

Bothal (Nhb.), 115. therd, third (OE. pridda, pirda), 1545, Wills I, W. of Thos. Manners of Cheswick (Nhb.), 123 ; therdes, 1583, Wills III, W. of A. Fenwick, 104. sterk, stirk, 1546, Wills I, W. of Lanslet Claxton of Winyard (Du.), 124; steirks, 1570, ibid., Inv. of John Widdrington, 322 ; sterkes, 1583, Wills III, W. of A. Fenwick, 104 ; sterk, 1587, Wills II, lnv. of Radulfe Suyrtees of Ovingham

264

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

(Nhb.), 161; sterkes, 1598, ibid., Inv. of Robt. Wodrington of Wearmouth, 288. cherche, church, 1555, Wills I, W. of Clement Reed of Elsdon (Nhb. ), 146. sherte, shirt (OE. scyrte), 1561, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, II; shert, 1564, Wills I, W. of Rd. Seymour of Bp. Auckland, 217; shert, 1568, ibid., W. of Robt. Harrison of Wolsingham, 285. These forms, however, are probably irrelevant here, cf. §§ 64, 65. chearnes, churns (OE. cyrin), 1570, Wills I, Inv. of Bertram Anderson of Newcastle, 341 ; chearne, 1588-9, Wills II, Inv. of Henrie Brickwell of Darlington, 168. gerdes, girds, 1622, DPB., 294. ferdale, fir-deal, 1630, DPB., 185. hert, hurt (app. from OFr. hurter; the phonology is not quite clear, but the word was adopted early enough for OFr. u to be treated as OE. y; see NED.), 1676, Diaries, of Christopher Sanderson of Barnard Castle (Du. ), 39. bearth of the P. of Wales, birth, etc. (ME. byrthe), King's bearthday, Bearth Duke of Gloster, all from DPB., 1688, 208. In this connexion the undermentioned personal names merit attention. Unfortunately I am unable to give their etymologies, but whether the first elements contained i or u in the ME. period or not, the forms appear to prove conclusively that -ir- +cons. had become identical in quality with -ur- +cons. not later than the beginning of the seventeenth century. All occur in DPB. James Scur.field, 1608, 151; James Skir.field, 1612, 160; idem, 1613, 163; idem, 1616-17, 172; Robert Scurfield, 1654, 194. Thomas Kearton, 1671, llO (cf. spellings containing ear for ME. -ir- above); Thomas Kirton, 1673, llO; idem, 1687, 112; idem, 1688, ll3; Tho. Kourton, 1697, ll6.

B. The ME. Group -ur- before a consonant serples, surplice (Fr. surplis), 1552, Ch. Invent., of Relington, 16; sirples, 1552, ibid., of Weverthorpe, 10. a hand kirshoo, hand-kerchief (OFr. couvrechef), a kyrtsho, kirtshowe, 2 kirtshawes, 1569, Wills I, Inv. of Margerye Trollope of Thornley (Du.), 303-4.

COMBINATIVE RAISING OF ME. e TO ~

265

to retern, return (ME. turnen, tournen, OE. tyrnen, turnian), 1580, Wills I, W. of Edw. Lawsone of Bywell (Nhb.), 434. iij tirkes, j cocke and ij henns, three turkeys, etc. (Fr. Turquie), 1587, Wills II, Inv. of Ralph Eurey of Edgnoll (Du.), 150. perse, purse (OE. purs), 1587, Wills II, W. of Thos. Forster of Adderstone (Nhb.), 302. sargint, surgeon (OFr. surgien), 1594, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 35. The Raising of ME. e to i

§ 4J4. That the factors which effected the raising of ME. e to i in the North operated at an early period seems to be evidenced by the spellings adduced below. It is to be noted that Jordan (§ 34) ascribes the beginning of this sound change to about the year 1200. § 415.

(1) Before Nasals

(a) Before n, n + cons., and m +cons. Keenleyside, Nhb. :-Kynley, 1343, Pat. ; Kinleyside, 1608, Hexh. Surv.; Kineleyside, 1610, Speed; =Hill by Gena's clearing ; Mawer, 125. It is possible that the i (y) may be either a genuine shortening of e after this sound had developed to i, or the original e may have been first shortened to e and subsequently raised to i before the following consonant group. The same explanations may account for the i (y) in Grindon, Bichfeld, Wylton, and Dipden below. It may also be pointed out here that the spellings with i and y in the early forms of Biddick and Redesdale (see below) appear too early to warrant the assumption of shortening of [i] from ME. e)_. Grindon, Nhb :-Grindon, 1403, Ipm.; =Green hill; Mawer, 96. Compare Keenleyside above. Rennington, Nhb. :-Rynington, 1538, Must. ; Rynnengton, 1579, Bord. ; the first el. is Rmgen or Rein, a shortened form of OE. Rmgenweald ; Mawer, 165. The immediate ancestor of the above forms is, presumably, Ren-. mynsoned, mentioned, 1551, Wills I, W. of John Lynne, 137.

266

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

appryntice, apprentice (OFr. aprentis), 1554, Merch. Advent. Rec., 7; apprintisse (2 X), 1581, Wills II, W. of John Barnes of Newcastle, 40. twyntie, twenty, 1597-8, Wills III, "\V. of Thos. Hilton, 169. strynth, strinth, strength, c. 1400, Arundel MS., 136; strynthid, strengthened, ibid., 134. Note B.Gn. [strinp], § 59 (1). trynchers, trenchers (OFr. trenchoir), 1592, Wills II, Inv. of James Tenand of Newcastle, 210; wood trynchers, 1593, ibid., Inv. of Thos. Philipsone of Newcastle, 230. Byngemen, Benjamen, 1565-73, Dep., 100. bynke, bench (OE. bene), c. 1400, N.Pass., 1090; bynkes, 1422, York Corp. Reg., 16. Trimdon, Du. :-Trimdon, 1400, DST.; first el. is the pers. n. Trem(a) ; Mawer, 200. Mymmorie, memory, 1565, Wills I, W. of John Ogle of Ogle Castle (Nhb.), 247. (b) Before ng. Stingley, Du. :-Slingelawe, 1155, FPD. ; = Sleng's Hill ; Mawer, 182 (cited Vikar, 149). Dringhouses, Yks. :-Drynghouses, Dringgenhus, 1285-1316, KI.; first el. is OE. (> ON.) dreng, bachelor, etc.; see Moorman, 62. Yngland, 1482, Mun. Rec. York., 137; inglish, 1566, Wills I, W. of Wm. Walton of Durham, 254. Sting Head, Nhb. :-The Stinge, 1536, Arch.; OE. steng, pole; Mawer, 189. Note also styngs for ye wayne, 1571, Wills I, Inv. of John Wilkenson of Newcastle, 361; waine stinges, 1583, Wills II, Inv. of John Thompsone of Newtone Bewlye (Du.), 79. hing, hang (> ON. hengja), 1636, DPB., 100.

Vikar (pp. 149 :ff.), in dealing with the raising of ME. e to i before nasals, adduces the following spellings from Durham records:le lnglys, 1306; kypstrinnges (OE. strenge), 1330; ling (ME. lenge, lienge, later ling(e)), 1340; linkis (Scand. *hlenkr), 1350; boustynges (OE. steng, pole), 1371 ; P. Dryng (pers. n. > OWSc. drengr, ME. dreng, dring), 1392; eynd, end, c. 1447; hyng lokis (Scand. hengja), 1512, and hygyngs ( = hyngyngs), hangings, 1465.

RAISING OF e BEFORE

t

AND

d

267

On the testimony of the above material and of spellings cited by Luick (Studien, p. 191) from the Cursor Mundi MSS., Vikar (p. 150) concludes " that about 1300 the change (i.e. of e to i before nasals) was not conspicuous enough to be expressed in spelling, and, further, that in the first half of the fourteenth century it was a recognized fact before [:U, :uk, nd, nt], and by the beginning of the fifteenth century before the additional groups [Dr < np ], [nds < n8]. Yet we need not, therefore, disregard the testimony of the early place-name spellings ". Later on he throws out the suggestion that the 1155 spelling Slingelawe above reflects a genuine [ -i:u-] pronunciation. The spellings Drynghouses, Dringgenhus, 1285-1316, quoted above, in some measure support Vikar's suggestion. (2) Before Various Consonants

§ 416. (a) Before t, t + cons., d, d + cons. to git, get (a. ON. geta), 1574, Reprints III, Extracts from the Municipal Accounts of Newcastle, 18; gyttyn, p.p., 1482, York Corp. Reg., 41; gittinge, 1597, cited Vikar, 151. Birkby Hall, Lanes. :-Britby, 1489, Pat. R.; from ON. Bretabyr

the settlement of the Britons ; Ekwall, 196. licheri, lechery (OFr. lecherie), c. 1400, Arundel MS., 145. Bitchfield, Nhb. :-Bichfeld, 1421, Ipm.; OE. becejeld =beechfield ; Mawer, 24. Cf. Keenleyside above. wriched, wretched (> OE. wrecca), c. 1450, L. Cuthb., 1490. kytles, kettles (OE. cetel), 1544, Wills III, Inv. of B. Page of Aislebie (Du.), 3; kytle, 1570, Wills I, W. of Marione Randall, 343. fitchinge, fetching (OE.Jeccan), 1570-1, Wills III, W. of Bertram Anderson of Newcastle, 61. pittycottes, petticoats (> Fr. petit), 1592, Wills II, Inv. of Henry Robinson of Newcastle, 252. Sledmere, Yks. :-Slidmare, DB. ; first el. perhaps > OE. sled ; Zachrisson, AN. Influence, 53. Sledwick, Du. :-Sliddeuesse, c. 1050, HSC.; idem, 1104-8, SD. ; = Sledda's meadow; Mawer, 181 (cited Vikar, =

151).

Biddick, Du. :-Bidich, 1190, Godr.;

Byddyke, 1268, FPD.;

268

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

Bidykwaterville, 1339-31 ; first el. may be OE. Beda; Mawer, 20. Redesdale, Nhb. :-Riddesdale, 1203, RC. ; idem, 1320, lpm., and 1446, DST.; Ryddesdayle, 1542, Bord. Surv.; =the valley of the Rede; Mawer, 163. Redmarshall, Du. :-Ridmershale, Ridmershill, 1372, Pat. ; first el. either OE. hreod, reed, or OE. read, red; Mawer, 164. togyder, together (OE. togedere), c. 1400, Arundel MS., 133 ; to gyder r.w. thider, c. 1540, L. Cuthb., 348 ; togither, 1560, Wills I, W. of John Hartburne of Stillington (Du.), 187. stythi (Scand. ste'Oi), 1338, and stithy, 1378, both forms cited Vikar, 152.

(b) Before 1. Helperby, YNR. :- = Hjalp's farm; (H)ilprebi, 1086, DB. ; Smith, 23. Belsay, Nhb. :-Bilesho, 1162, Pipe; Billesho, 1203, RC. ; first el. is Bell, strong form of Bella ; Mawer, 17. Twisdale, Du. :-Trillesdene, c. 1200, FPD.; idem, 1340, RPD.; =Thrall's valley (ME. thral, thrella > ON. prmll); Mawer, 202. (Cited Vikar, 151.) Wheelton, Lanes. :-Wylton, 1276, LAR.; Quilton, 1313, LF.; first el. is OE. hweol, wheel ; Ekwall, 132. Cf. Keenleyside above. Kildwick, Yks. :-Kildewike, 1272, RAG.; Kildewik, 1285-1316, KI. ; first el. is ON. kelda, spring; Moorman, 114. Elsdon, Nhb. :-Illesden, 1278, Ass. ; OE. Aelfes-denu = Aelf's valley ; Mawer, 74. Helsington, Westm. :-Hilsyngton, 1345, Cl R. ; first el. is an ON. pers. n. Helsingr.; Sedgefield, 154. Chillingham, Nhb. :-Ohillyngham, 1348, H.; idem, 1507, DST.; first el. is OE. Oeofel, a dimin. of Oeofa, though not found in OE. ; Mawer, 45. Shilford, Nhb. :-Shilforth, 1453, Pat.; ME. scheldejord = shallow-ford ; Mawer, 177. ylls, else (OE. elles), 1461, cited Vikar, 152. Note B.Gn. [ils], § 60 (1). le trillessyng (ME. trelis > Fr. treillis ), 1474-5, cited Vikar, 152 ; trillestwyndous, 1472, DAR., 94.

RAISING OF

e

BEFORE

l, s, [s]

269

vylvet, velvet, 1551, Wills I, W. of Rev. Wm. Bee, 135 ; vylvit, 1563, ibid., W. of Robert Lewin of Newcastle, 211.

uylbelowyd, well-beloved, 1551, Wills I, W. of Rev. Wm. Bee of Mountgrace (Cleveland), 135.

hylping, helping, 1602, DPB., 280. twilve, twelve (OE. twelf), 1769, StGMem., 120. [twilv], § 60 (1).

Note B.Gn.

(c) Before s and [s]. Greaseborough, Yks. :-Grissebrok, Grysebrok, 1285-1316, KI.; first el. is ME. gres ; Moorman, 81. Hisehope Burn, Du. :-Histeshope, 1153-95, FPD.; Hystlehopeburne, 1260, FPD. ; perhaps first el. is OWSc. hestr, horse; Mawer, 115. (Cited Vikar, 151.) Whittonstone, Nhb. :-le Whystan, 1292, Ass. ; OE. hwmt-stan = whetstone; Mawer, 214. Grislandes, c. 1357, and J. Grisby, pers. n., 1392 (> Scand. gres), cited Vikar, 151 ; the gryssinge of 3 oxinge, 1545, Wills III, W. of Nicholas Carr of Newcastle, 4. lez trystelez, trestles (OFr. trestel), 1464, DAR., 640; tristez, (OFr. treste), 1512, cited Vikar, 152 ; trisstles, 1582, Wills II, Inv. of J. Stowt of Durham, 55 ; tristrells, 1563, Wills I, Inv. of Ralfe Huton of Walworth (Du.), 209. Note B.Gn. [trisl], § 60 (3). dryssyngknyf (OFr. dresser), 1370-1, and drissour, 1480, cited Vikar, 152; drissingknyf, 1472-3, DAR., 94; drissinge, 1592, StGMem., 16. Note B.Gn. [dris], § 60 (3). crisset, cresset (OFr. cresset, craisset), 1566, Wills I, Inv. of Wm. Walton of Durham, 258. prisser, press, cupboard (> OFr. press-), 1567, Wills I, Inv. of Edwarde Parkinson, 271. ryste (2 X), ryst, support, rest (OE. rmstan), 1420, York Corp. Reg., 17. Note B.Gn. [rist], § 60 (1). ryste (2 X), rest, remainder (OFr. reste), 1570, Wills I, W. of Wm. Hawkesley of Newcastle, 327-8; ryst, 1583, Wills III, W. of John Hind of Stanhope (Du.), 104. Note B.Gn. [rist], § 60 (3). For a risteng of, arresting of (OFr. arrester), 1637, cited Vikar, 152. Note B.Gn. [arist], § 60 (3).

270

NORTHERN STRESSED VOWELS IN MODERN PERIOD

Chester-le-Street, Du. :-Chester> OE. ceaster, cf. Mawer, 43; Ohist'~' in the stret, 1563, Wills I, W. of Robert Lewin of Newcastle, 211. discricoune, discretion, 1546, Wills I, W. of Lanslet Claxton of Winyard (Du.), 124; dyschryscyon, 1565, ibid., W. of Mares Lawson, of Newcastle, 232; disscrission, 1572, ibid., W. of Eliz Claxtone of Gibside (Du. ), 368. espiciall, especial (OFr. especial), 1560, Wills I, W. of J. Hartburne of Stillington (Du.), 186; spyciall, 1572, ibid., W. of Eliz. Claxtone of Gibside (Du. ), 368. wishing, washing (> OE. wascan, which developed a by-form in -e- in ME., cf. Zachrisson, English Vowels, 60), 1602, DPB., 280.

(d) Before k. Beckermet, Cumb. :-Bikermet, 1194, Pipe R. ; first el. is bekkiar gen. sing. of OWSc. bekkr, stream; Lindkvist, 6. Sedgefield, p. 12, cites also Bikyrmet, 1188, PR., and Bikermet, 1190, P.R. Rycknyngs, reckonings (> OE. (ge)recenian), 1570, Wills I, W. of John Havelocke of Newcastle, 324. coryckshon, correction, 1619, DPB., 293. nixt, next (OE. nehst), 1626, DPB., 296. Note B.Gn. [niks(t)], § 60 (1). infickted pepell, infected, etc., 1636, StGMem.. 63, and cited Vikar, 152. (e) Before v, f. Chevet, Yks :-Oevet, Oeuet, DB. ; Ohevet, 1243, VI. ; Ohevet, 1316; Ohyvet, 1275, WCR.; etymol. doubtful; 1 >Welsh cefn, a ridge; Goodall, 100. Shevinton, Lanes. :-Scyvyngton, 1324, LI. ; etymol. doubtful ; see Ekwall, p. 128, who cites eleven e-forms and only one i-form. Levens, Westm. :-first el. is OE. Leofwine; Lyvenes, 1267, Ch.R. ; Sedgefield, 161. Dilston, Nhb. :-Diueleston, 1176, Pipe; Diveliston, c. 1250, TN.; Divileston, 1291, Ch. ; = Devil's farm ; Mawer, 63. benivelence, benevolence, 1482, Mun. Rec. York, 130. Note B.Gn. [b