Northern English dialects in the Old English period
"Northern
English
dialects
in
the
Old
English
period"
Ntrodiction
languages consist of dialects.
Therefore, everyone speaks at least one dialect. Dialect differences are
usually minor and dialects of a language are usually mutually
intelligible.dialect is one of those words that almost everyone thinks they
understand, but which is in fact a bit more problematic than at first seems to
be the case.“ the dialect” has been learning since the Old English period till
now. Every language has its own history of appearance and the dialect is a
staple of every language. Therefore, it is important to know and to learn
dialects.our course paper, we consider the Northern English dialects of the Old
English and compare it with the Northern English dialects in the Modern English
period. To achieve this goal, first of all, we have to give a definition of a
dialect, give an explanation about its history of appearance and how invasions
have an impact on its changes, mark the main territories of a dialects. Then,
we have to make an analysis of dialectal words of Northern English and to analyze
differences between Northern English dialects and Standard English.
Object of analysis are 276 language units and
dialectal words. And the subject of our analytic investigation is learning the
changes of dialectal words during periods. Also by using these 276 language
units, we want to find out a differences between dialectal words according to
their pronunciation, spelling and grammar.
To open theoretical questions, we used treatises
of scientists, such as “ Theoretical phonetics” of M.A Sokolov, K.P. Gintov,
I.S. Tihonova, “History of English language” of T.A Rastorguev and “Lexicology
of English Language” of Antrushina. Method
of our analytic investigation is comparative. We compare Old English and Modern
English dialects.course paper consist of two parts:
Theoretical part. Practical
partpart includes a definition of a dialect, peculiarities of the Northern
English dialects in the Old and in the Modern English periods. Also includes
features of Northern English dialects.part includes comparing dialects and
analytic investigation of differences between their grammar, pronunciation and
spelling. Diversities of a dialects in the Old English period. Also includes
differences between Yorkshire, Northumbrian dialects and Standard language
which are very different from each other, their differences between their
pronunciation and spelling.
1.Definition of a dialect
dialect language pronunciation
There are many definitions of
dialects:
A dialect is a form of a language
that is spoken in a particular area and has its own words, grammar and
pronunciation.dialect is a language such as there is at least one other
language with which it has a high degree of similarity. There is no language
which is regionally included within it as proper part, and neither is writing system
nor its pronunciation nor its lexicon nor its syntax is officially normalized.
A dialect is a variety of a language
which has different pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary than the standard
language of the culture.form or variety of a spoken language, including the
standard form, peculiar to a region, community, social group, occupational
group. In this sense, dialects are regarded as being, to some degree, mutually
intelligible while languages are not mutually intelligible.are used in two
distinct ways: the first - more common among linguists - refers to a variety of
a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of a language’s
speakers. The second usage refers to a language that is socially subordinated
to a regional or national standard language, often historically cognate to the
standard, but not delivered from it. In this sense the standard language is not
itself considered a dialect.dialect is the form of language spoken by people in
a particular region or group. Its pattern, pronunciation, or word use can vary
from those of the main language.are divided into two:
1. Regional dialect
2. Social dialectdialect is
reflected in the differences in pronunciation, in the choice and forms of
words, and in syntax. Various pressures are political, social, cultural and
educational - serve to harden current national boundaries to make the
linguistic differences among states.dialect. Factors such as occupation, place
of residence, education, income, racial or ethnic origin, cultural background,
caste, religion related to the way people speak.dialect originate from social
groups and depended on variety of factors.dialectology has helped to integrate
language, perhaps the most characteristic feature of humanity, into the
over-all pattern of human culture; and it has contributed to a growing
understanding of the diversity of culture. By establishing that dialects are
language system in their own right - rather than degenerate forms of a literate
standard, to be eradicated by schooling or even by fiat - it has given them
dignity and importance.to Rostarguev a dialect is a local or regional variation
of a language, usually with different vocabulary and grammar features from
other dialects. Different dialects, unlike different languages, are mutually
comprehensible, but with a certain amount of difficulty. A dialect differs from
an accent in that the actual words, not just a pronunciation of them, differs
from other dialect.is usual to distinguish between dialect and accent. Both of
them are used to identify different varieties of a particular language, but the
word “accent” is used for varieties which differ from each other only in
matters of pronunciation while “dialect” also covers differences in such things
as vocabulary and grammar.to Skolov, dialectology is inseparably connected with
sociolinguistics, the latter deals with language variation caused by social
difference and differing social needs; it studies the ways language interacts
with social reality.than fifteen years sociolinguistics has come of age and is
a fast expanding and increasingly popular subject it should be fair to mention
here that language has always been viewed as a social phenomenon, the most
important means of human intercourse.we have mentioned above is evidence, that
the dialect has different types of description. And we also agree with these
descriptions., we have learned that the dialect has its particular grammar, and
a standard form which is peculiar to a particular region. As well dialect is closely
connected with the social standing and with way of living of human in a
particular region. Also, the dialect is not a language but form of language
which has its own words, grammar and pronunciation.most attractive in these
definitions, we think, it is classification of Sokolova. Because we think that
changes and appearances of a dialects depends on social phenomenon.
2.
Dialect areas and dialects in the old English period
Germanic tribes who settled in
Britain in the 5th and 6th century spoke closely related tribal dialects
belonging to the West Germanic subgroup. Their common origin and their
separation from other related tongues as well as their joint evolution in
Britain transformed them eventually into a single tongue, English. Yet, at the
early stages of their development in Britain the dialects remained disunited.
On distinguished them from continental Germanic tongues; on the other hand,
they displayed growing regional divergence. The feudal system was setting in
and the dialects were entering a new phase; tribal dialectal division was
superseded by geographical division, in other words, tribal dialects were
transformed into local or regional dialects.Germanic settlers, who according to
the Venerable Bede arrived in 449, brought with them dialects of West Germanic
which developed further in England into varieties which were later written down
as dialects of Old English. However, it is known that before that date there
were incursions made by Germanic tribes along southern of England known as the Saxon
Shore. In detail, the invaders of Britain came from the western subdivision of
the Germanic tribes. To quite Bede “the newcomers were of the three strongest
races in Germany, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes” Modern archeological
and linguistic research has shown that the linguistic affiliation of the Jutes
appears uncertain: some historians define them as Frankish tribe, others doubt
the participation and the very existence of the Jutes and name the Frisians as
the third main party in the invasion. It is also uncertain whether the early
settlers really belonged to separate tribes, Saxons and Angles, or, perhaps,
constituted two mixed waves of invaders. differing merely in the place and time
of arrival. They were called Anlgles and Saxons by the Romans and by the
Celts.first wave of the invaders, The Jutes or the Frisians, occupied the
extreme south-east: Kent and Isle of Wight.second wave of immigrants was
largely made up of the Saxons, who had been expanding westwards across Frisia
to the Rhine and to what is known as Normandy. The final stage of the drift
brought them to Britain by way of the Thames and the south coast. They set up
their settlements along the south coast and on both banks of the Thames and,
depending on location, where called South Saxons, West Saxons and East Saxons.
The Saxons consolidated into a number of petty kingdoms, the largest and the
most powerful of them being Wessex, the kingdom of West Saxons.were last who
came from the lower valley of the Elbe and southern Denmark; they made their
landing on the east coast and moved up the rivers to the central part of the
island, to occupy the districts between the Wash and the Humber, and the north
of the Humber. They founded large kingdoms which had absorbed their weaker
neighbors: East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria.English arose from the set of
varieties of West Germanic which the early settlers spoke. The three main
groups of settlers were Angels, Saxons and Jutes. The Angles settled in the
middle and north of England, the Saxon in the south and the Jutes in the area
of present day Kent. In detail, The Jutes came from Jutland and settled in
Kent. The Saxons came from the area Saxony and settled largely south of the
River Thames. The Angles came from the lower part of the Jutland peninsula
which is now Schleswig Holstein in Germany and settled in central and northern
England.the Anglo - Saxon invasion there was a little awareness of England let
alone of English. With the establishment of the West Saxon Kingdom in later
centuries and with the court which formed the pivot point of this kingdom a
first inkling of the idea of English developed. With the invasion of England by
the Danes it became more clearer that the Germanic tribes in England were
separate from their fellows on the continent and in Scandinavia.the different
groupings in England in the Old English period different dialects are
recognizable: Northumbrian in the north, Anglian in the middle and West - Saxon
in the south. Due to a political significance of West - Saxon in the late Old
English period - it was this region which under King Alfred (c.849 - 899)
successfully resisted Viking expansion to the south - which the written form of
this dialect developed into something like standard.this time it was Winchester
and not London which was the political centre of the country. The term used for
the West Saxon “standard” is koine which derives from Greek and means a common
dialect, that is a variety which was used in monasteries in parts of England
outside of West Saxony for the purpose of writing.principal Old English
dialects are commonly distinguished:, a dialect spoken in the area known now as
Kent and Surrey and in the Isle of Wight. It had developed from the tongue of
the Jutes and Frisians.Saxon dialect or Wessex, the main dialect of the Saxon
group, spoken in the rest of England south of the Thames and the Bristol
Channel, expect Wales and Cornwall, where Celtic tongues were preserved. Other
Saxon dialects in England have not survived in written form and are not known
to modern scholar., a dialect derived from the speech of southern Angles and
spoken chiefly in the kingdom of Mercia, that is, in the central region, from
the Thames to the Humber., another Anglian dialect, spoken from the Humber
north to river Forth.distinction between Mercian and Northumbrian as local Old
English dialects testifies to the new foundations of the dialectal division:
regional in place of tribal, since according to the tribal division they
represent one dialect, Anglian.Angles, Saxons and Jutes fought with one another
for supreme power; they nevertheless became one nation in the course of a few
countries. The first king to rule over all of them was Egbert, king of Wessex.
He was made king at the beginning of the 9th century. Most of the works and documents
in Old English that are in existence today are written in the Wessex dialect of
Anglo-Saxon.boundaries between the dialects were uncertain and probably
movable. The dialects passed into one another imperceptibly and dialectal forms
were freely borrowed from one dialect into another; however, information is
scare and mainly pertains to the later part of the Old English period.
Throughout this period the dialects enjoyed relative equality; none of them was
the dominant form of speech, each being the main type used over limited
area.the 8th century the center of English culture had shifted to Northumbria,
which must have brought the Northumbrian dialect to the fore; yet, most of the
writing at that time was done in Latin or, perhaps, many Old English texts have
perished. In the 9th century the political and cultural center moved to Wessex.
Culture and education made great progress there; it is no wonder that the West
Saxon dialect has been preserved in a greater number of texts than all the
other Old English dialects put together. Towards the 11th century the written
form of the West Saxon dialect developed into a bookish type of language,
which, probably, served as the language of writing for all English-speaking
people.of English dialects is one of the biggest parts of “History of the
English language”. It shows an importance of dialects in a social life. It also
shows how language can be changed under some circumstances connected with
invasion and nomadism and other circumstances.we can see, that the main reason
of appearance of English dialects was Germanic tribes who settled in England in
the 5th and 6th century. First of all it was a tribal speech, tribal dialect
and it has its own phrases, grammar, different type of pronunciation and
different system. As Germanic tribes settled in England, and affected to a
social life, tribal speech transformed into a dialect of Old English and
reacted on all History of the English language.have mentioned above that there
were three strongest races in Germany, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes.
These three strongest races occupied a large amount of territory in the Old
English period. Different kind of dialects appeared according on territories
such as Northumbrian, Wessex, Anglian.
3.
Northern English dialects in the old English period
were several types of dialects as we
have noticed above. The Old English was never a single, monolithic language, it
too had dialects. There were four main dialects spoken: Kentish, Mercian,
Northumbrian and West Saxon. Northumbrian was the dialect in which the large
bulk of Old English literature was originally written.was a dialect of the Old
English language spoken in the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with
Mercian, Kentish and West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old
English devised and employed by modern scholars.dialect was spoken from the
Humber, now within England, to the Firth of Forth, now within Scotland. During
the Viking invasions of the 9th century, Northumbrian came under the influence
of the languages of the Viking invaders.Viking invasion forced the dialect to
split in two, the southern Northumbrian dialect was heavily influenced by Norse
and the northern Northumbrian dialect not only retained a lot of the Old
English words but was also a strong influence on the development of the English
language in northern England, especially the dialects of modern North East
England and Scotland. The north-south split was around the Tees river.547, the
Anglian chieftain Ida is traditionally credited with the establishment of the
kingdom of Boernica at Bamburgh in Northumbreland. within fifty years, Beornica
had united with other Anglian kingdom, Deira, based at York, to form the joint
kingdom of Norhumbria. Over the next two hundred years, Northumbria grew up in
size until it occupied all of Britain north of a line from the Humber to the
Mersey, and south of a line from the Forth to the Clyde. The Vikings raids of
the 8th and 9th centuries destroyed Northumbria’s political power, but this led
to its period of greatest influence on art, education, religion and
literature.growth of the unified kingdom of Nirthumbria spread the dominant
Anglian language throughout what is now northern England and southern Scotland.
This is the period of the greatest Northumbrians such as Oswald, Aidan,
Cuthbert and Bede, whose influence took the language all over Britain and
further afield into Europe. These years have been referred to as “
Northumbria’s Golden Age”, and it is significant that, as Northumbria’s
political power declined, its cultural influence grew steadily., Northumbrian
dialect introduced by a tribe of Angles and found along the east coast of the
British Isles north from the River Humber. The dialect was found in the area
represented today by the English countries of Yorkshire, country Durham,
Northumberland, and parts of Lancashire and Cumbria, and in Scotland by the
Regions of Borders, Lothian, and parts of Dumfries and Galloway. The area is
much larger than the modern region of Northumbria. The dialect was that of a
tribe of Angles or English, and has a distinction of being the dialect in which
the earliest texts in English were written. This is the dialect of one of the
greatest cultures of the early middle ages, the dialect in which the Venerable
Bede wrote, and the dialect in which the first the firs English parliaments
were held.Viking invasion forced the dialect to be split in two. The Southern
Northumbrian dialect was mainly influenced by the Norse. The Northern
Northumbrian dialect not only kept several Old English words, which were
replaced in the south by Norse words, but was also a strong influence on the
creation of the English language in northern England, especially those of
modern Northeast England and Scotland. The north and south split around the river
Tees.dialect has been spoken continuously throughout the area for more than
1400 years, but like more language dialects, it has undergone significant
changes in that time. The firs happened during the Viking invasions which began
in 793 with the raid on Lindisfarne. Within a century, Northumbria as an
unified kingdom had ceased to exist. The Danes settled mainly in the south of
the kingdom, in what is now Yorkshire, and their dominance led to the
absorption of many Scandinavian words into the language, which effectively took
it in a different direction until it lost its uniqueness and became the
Yorkshire dialect of today.political collapse of the kingdom, and the emergence
of a Scottish kingdom in the north led to the gradual loss of the Lothians.
Over the years, this has resulted in the language there also taking a separate
route into Lowland Scots, which, like the Northumbrian of Yorkshire, is part of
the Northumbrian family of languages, but with its own distinct dialect and
vocabulary.the comprehensibility test mentioned earlier to Lowland Scots
however, makes it possible to state that Scots is now as distinct a language as
Northumbrian.Northumbrian speakers brought into regular contact with other
forms of English, particularly standard English; and the advent of compulsory
schooling for the masses accelerated this into an almost unstoppable force for
conformity of speech.has hundreds, perhaps thousands of words which are
different from the Standard English equivalent. For example: Northumbrian word
gan is Standard English word go. So, wairsh = weak, tab = cigarette, gadgy =
man and other words.Yorkshire dialect refers to the Northern English language
varieties spoken in England’s historic country of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is
generally not as stigmatized as other dialects, and has been used in classic
works of literature such as “Wuthering Heights”, “The Secret Garden” and so on.
Studies have shown that dialect of Yorkshire is generally popular in the speech
of North and associated with common sense, loyalty and reliability.any
language, Yorkshire dialect is changing, but perhaps too quickly for its own
good. Since the late 19th century, Yorkshire dialect has been continually
diluted to a point where, today , it is in danger of dying out and to be
remembered only in books.to information above, we can say that Northumbrian
dialect has strong, unbroken history stretching back more than fourteen hundred
years. Although its use has declined in recent years, it nevertheless has a
long and vigorous literary tradition, both oral and written, which preserves
its essential features. It forms the basis of its regional culture and
heritage. Northumbrian dialect have changed and suffered but it does not cease
to exist. It persists as the Northern Yorkshire dialect at the present time.
4.Diversities
of dialects in the old English period
this practical part, we analyzed
differences between Old English and Modern English dialects.chose some written
records to analyze and work with them. Here, we considered diversities of dialects
and made an analytical investigation of structure of word order, changes and
grammatical structure.all of literature has been lost in its Northumbrian form
for various reasons., King Alfred the Great set about having much of surviving
Northumbrian literature written into his own dialect, that of West Saxon. From
the time of Alfred and on, nearly all Old English texts are written in the West
Saxon dialect.the first written record we chose the oldest record “ETHELRED THE
UNREADY AND THE DANES”. This text from “THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLES” which was
written in 994 A.D., we are going to analyze some sentences.panon ferdon and
worhton paet maeste yfel pe aefre aenig here don mihte on baernette and
hergunge and on mannsliehtum, aegther be thaem Saeriman on Eastseaxum and on
Centlande and on Suthseaxum and on Hamtunscire.we will translate this part of
written record literally, it will not have any meaning, and it will look like a
set of words. Translation of this sentence is:, they were on ship and had to
work against the evil which had an army and might do a burn and slay a man. If
they had not fought against evil, they would lost Essex seashore, Kent, Sussex
and Hampshire.to this text, we knew that Old English texts and Old English
languages are different from Modern English. They has different grammar and
pronunciation because of Scandinavians. They simplified the English language
and English nouns lost their gender and case.all of the words are changed., in
this sentence, “hie” means “they”, “worhton” means “work” ( in this context it
means “fight”, “struggle”) , “paet” means “that” , “maeste” means “much”, “don”
means “do”, “aenig” means “any” and so on.grammar, that we see in this text is
a bit different from Standard English. They use preposition “on” as Standard
English “the” which we use it before names of places (in this context). For
example: “on Suthseaxum”, but by translating it into Standard English, it can
not be translated anymore.pronunciation of this text seems to easy because of
spelling it as we see, without any rules, but it is not. For example: In
Standard English we usually pronouncing [a] as [әi],
but in this text, not only in this but in all Old English records “a”
pronouncing strongly [a:].words are common and we are using these words in our
everyday life. But, as we see, the root form of that words, structure and
pronunciation are absolutely different from the Modern English. It shows, that
under influence of invasions, English language simplified and changed.to this
text (full text you can see in the appendix) we have analyzed that only about
3% of words of the Old English language are steady in the Modern English
language.next not text but poetry is from Old English. A riddle of the late
10th century and the name of poetry is “BEDE’S DEATH SONG” in Northumbrian
dialect.died on Thursday, 26 May 735 A.D and was buried at Jarrow. Cuthberd
described Bede’s death as follows:
Fore thaem neidfaerae naenig
uuiurthit,, than him tharf sieymbhycggannae aer his hiniongaehis gastae godaes
aethatha yflaedeothdaege deomid uueortha
translation of this poetry means:
“Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man
who considers - before his soul departs hence - what good or evil he has done,
and what judgment his soul will receive after its passing”is absolutely
different from the Standard English language. It is impossible to guess the
meaning of the hole text, if you know Standard English. Words are pronouncing
with German and Swedish accent.of a sentences in this poetry are mostly
compound sentences.we can see some common words in Northumbrian and Standard
English. They are: “than”, “him”, “his”, “aefter”. Meanings of every words are
clear, but in the original text word “him”, we can understand it in the sense
that we know, but means not “him” but just “he”. And the word “aefter” is
Standard English “after”. Their meanings are the same. They are only differing
with their spellings.the stress or the accent falls on the first syllable. For
example: naenig . Structure of word order also differing.next poetry of
Northumbrian dialect in the Old English period is “THE LORD’S PRAYER” also
called “Our Father” . There are numerous different versions of the prayer. The
traditional “THE LORD’S PRAYER” is based on Authorised Version of the scriptures
in 1611. But we are going to analyze Northumbrian version of this poetry. “THE
LORD’S PRAYER” is the oldest written record too. It has only five sentences.
The Old English version of this poem is in the Old English gloss of the
Lindisfarne Gospels, in the Northumbrian dialect.:
urer thu arth thu
bistheofnumgehalgad noma thin;ric thin.
is the first sentence of poem and
its translation is:
father which artheavenbe thy
name;kingdom come.
, in this poem, we can see that this
poem is religious and literary style. In this part of poem, “Fader” means
“father”, “urer” means “our”, “ arth” means “art”, “heofum” means “ heaven”, “
noma” means “name” and “ cymeth” means “kingdom” and so on.to this poem, we can
see differences between Modern and Old English word orders.example: literally
translation of original “ Fader urer thu arth thu bist in heofum, sie gehalgad
noma thin” is like “ Father our art which in heaven, be hallowed name thy”. It
is difficult to understand, translating it in this way. So, structure of the
word order of Northumbrian in the Old English period is different from Modern
English.is differing but not much.example: Northumbrian word “ forgef ” is
“forgive” in Standard English. Forgef is pronouncing as [forgef] and forgive
pronouncing as [ fә'giv], and the word “ father” in Northumbrian dialect
pronouncing “fader” and other words.Old English verbal endings and the
weakening of unaccented vowels and confusion of stem classes:
Table
Present indicative
|
Northumbrian
|
West Saxon
|
1st singular
|
-u
|
-e
|
2nd singular
|
-es, -aes, -as
|
-s(t)
|
3rd singular
|
-eth,-es,-ath,-as,-aes
|
-th
|
1st, 2nd,3rd, plural
|
-eth,-es,-ath,-as,-aes
|
-ath
|
, -s endings occur also in the
indicative plural. The plural ending -s is the most probably an early
analogical creation on the model of the 3rd singular form.from fragmentary
experts, Old Northumbrian documents have been tagged or parsed, so occurrences
of verbal forms with -s, -th and vocalic reduced endings were retrieved manually.pronunciation
of Northumbrian dialect and pronunciation of German language are
alike.conclusion, we want to add, that the literature developed in the Old
English period, and most of the written records, poems and stories were written
in Northumbrian dialect. So Northumbrian dialect influenced on further
development of literature of English language. That is why, Northumbrian
dialect has some common words with the Standard English.making analytic
investigation of written record from Old English, we have learned that a
dialects of Old English and Standard English are absolutely different from each
other. There are some common words which, now is using in the colloquial style
of speech. Also, we have learned that pronunciation of Northumbrian dialect in
the Old English period, has German, Latin accent and stress falls mostly on the
first syllable.
5.Differences between northern
English and standard English languages
The most obvious difference is that,
where the Late West Saxon copy adopts the runic letter [ p ] for the [w] sound,
the Northumbrian text carries over the Latin practice of using [ u]. The
Northumbrian text also lacks the runic letter [ p], instead employing the
digraph [th]. Another spelling difference concerns the Northumbrian use of [b]
to represent [v] sound in heben “heaven”. Despite this practice appearing in
other Northumbrian dialect texts, which include spelling like ob instead of of,
it is only inconsistently employed here; just two words later the word “
hrofe”, an inflected from the Modern English noun “roof”, pronounced with a [v]
sound is spelled with [f]. Where the Late West Saxon version uses [h] to
reflect the velar fricative sound [x], as in meahte and aelmihtig , the
Northumbrian version spells this sound with [c]: meacti, allmectig. In its use
of the spelling sceop , the West Saxon text shows the development of the
practice of using a silent [e] to indicate where the preceding consonant was
palatalized, in this case distinguishing the [sh] pronunciation of this word
from [sk]. The Northumbrian text makes no such disambiguation, simply spelling
this word scop. Other spelling difference are of a different kind in that they
seem to reflect variant pronunciations. The presence of diphthongs in the Late
West Saxon Weard, bearnum, heofen, where the Northumbrian text has Uard,
barnum, heben, reflects a difference in northern and southern accents at this
time which is due to much earlier sound changes. Other spelling difference
testify to changes affecting the inflexible system of Old English, which
underwent a process of decay and loss that was more advanced in the northern
dialects.of all, we want to explain differences between Northumbrian and
Standard English.
1. Grammar of Northumbrian is
very different from Standard English.
For example: the Standard English
verb “to be able” persists in Northumbrian in its older form “te can” (from Old
English cunan, “to know”), we can say: - Ye’ll he c’n speak French if ye gan te
France (You will have to be able to speak French if you go to France).’ll not
c’n cum the morre ( I will not be able to come tomorrow)used te cud sing ( I
used to be able to sing)in the present and past tenses ( can and could)
standard English has to use “to be able” to form the other tenses and the
infinitive.forms the present participle by adding in or just n to the root of
the verb (cummin an gannin) never ing.
2. Sounds in Northumbrian are
differing from Standard English too. For example: Northumbrian uses vowels
which do not occur in Standard English.
In late Northumbrian texts, the
spellings ea and eo appear almost interchangeably for both diphthongs. In
general these spellings are ambiguous and the most recent view has been that
the confusion was merely graphic.history of long diphthongs ea and eo in
Northumbrian dialect of Old English presents a peculiarity tantalizing problem,
which seems in the past to have eluded a definitive answer. In origin these
diphthongal honemes represented primarily the inherited Germanic diphthongs au
and eu respectively. Germanic au is Old English [әe:a], normally spelled
ea; it developed thru the stage әeo, attested for Northumbrian in the
proper names AEostoruini, AEodbaldo. With these reflexes of Germanic au and eu
there coincided certain diphthongs of secondary origin which resulted from
contraction of Old English әe and e respectively with back
vowels.(caep/cap), aa (waalk/walk), ai (bait/bait), oe (toe/ toe), u (
uncle/uncle).
* similarly with diphthongs, we have
ey (meyl/ mile), iy ( siy/ see), uw ( cuw/ cow)
*and among consonants, you can still
hear the magnificent Northumbrian burr in words like rruff (rough) and roond
(round).
Pronunciation
*where Northumbrian and the Standard
English words are the same, we usually say them differently:cum ti the Toon an
bowt a new short ( he came to Newcastle and bought a new shirt)telt ye te dee
yon? ( who told you to do that?)
Vocabulary
*Northumbrian has hundreds and more
words which are different from the Standard English equivalent.example: gan=go,
clarts=mud, hacky=dirty, fema=fragile, bonny=attractive, wairsh= weak, pollis=
police officer, gadgy=man, mell=hammer, tab= cigarette and so on.
It has some words which just cannot
be properly translated into Standard English. For example, what word can
express all the meanings of their favorite word canny, as in:
What fettle the day hinny? Wey,
canny, noo.far ist? It’s a canny waalk.’s a canny lass.’s a canny crack.
Tone. Their system
of tones are different.
*Asking a question - Can ye lend is
a pund kiddah? (Can you lend me a pound old chap?)
*Giving a dismissive reply - Hadaway
ye hippy worky-ticket! ( Be off with you, you lazy good-for-nothing!), we have
analyzed differences between Northumbrian and Standard English language. And it
is time to explain another variant of Northern dialect - “Yorkshire”.remains in
current Yorkshire dialect and the pronunciation of early dialect words are
still recognizable in some present dialect words. Old English plural endings
such as “childer” “een” and “shoon” still exist in Yorkshire dialects when they
have been replaced in the standard tongue by “children”, “ eyes” and “shoes”.
The Northumbrian word “hus” for house, is still used in east and north
Yorkshire dialects, and in some areas “mother and father” are still pronounced
in a similar way to their Anglian pronunciation of “moder” and “fader”.all of
Yorkshire dialect words and terms come from the speech of the first Germanic
invaders of the 5th and 6th centuries.of Yorkshire dialect.Yorkshire dialect is
known for its sing - song quality, a little like Swedish.
· [oe] > [u], as
in luck ([luk]).
· the is reduced to
t’.
· initial h is
dropped.
· was>were
· still use thou
(pronounced [tha]) and three.
· aught and naught (
pronounced [aut] and [nout]) are used foe anything and nothing.
A North Yorkshire accent is
scattered with the sounds commonly associated to Northumbrian. For instance,
“owt” sounds more like “oot”. When “thou” is used as “you”, which is not at all
unusual in Yorkshire dialect, it is pronounced more like “thoo” in North
Yorkshire, whereas in other parts it sounds like “thow”.of the words more
likely to be used in North Yorkshire than in other parts of the country include
“thrang” meaning “busy”, a “thunner pash” refers to a downpour of rain and
there are some typical North Yorkshire sayings which almost sound like they
have a Scottish influence.example: Yano’ them lasses is reet bonny ( One of
those girls is very pretty).Yorkshire dialect has many of the identifiers of “
Northern English”, particularly the vowel sounds in words, for example: a is
pronounced as a short “a” as opposed to the southern longer “aa” or “ah” (bath,
grass, glass) and “u” “OO” are pronounced “uh”. The pronunciation of consonants
can also sound different to other regions in England. “Ds” are pronounced as
“ts” and “bs” can sound like “ps” (apsolutely).dialect as is the use of the
“were” instead of “was” when describing an event in the past.
For example: “I were minding my own
business”, “She were real bonnie” rather than “ I was…” or “she was…”. Two more
distinctly Yorkshire words “owt” and “nowt” are still commonly used and are
believed to have their roots in Anglo - influenced Old English, and of course
“aye” can still be heard often, though perhaps less so with younger
generations. “ Nay” is even used when a Yorkshire man or woman really wants to
make his point.negatives though not exclusive to Yorkshire are regularly used
by people of all ages (“I were never scared of nobody”) and “while” is often
used in place of “until” (“ I work Monday while Friday, 9 while 5”). The
Yorkshire dialect also often uses verbs in a different context to Standard
English: “ to borrow” is uses as “to lend”.of Yorkshire dialect.words of
Yorkshire dialect took their origin from the Angles and even from the Celts.are
some Yorkshire words: aboon=above or over, agait= start, aht=out, baht=
without, clem= to starve, cobby= active, conny=darling, dawks= hands, doff=
take off, dwine= waste and so on.forward, we want to present our analysis,
which includes comparison between Northumbrian and Yorkshire dialects. We did
two comparison between dialects, and for it we chose one text from Northumbrian
and one from Yorkshire.text “A DAY OOT WI ME MARRAS” and Yorkshire text
“DOOAN’T FURGET” (these texts you can see in the appendix).the analysis, we can
present results of this analysis.the texts, we fount that texts has not
sufficiently similar words. Words are different from each other with their
spelling and pronunciation. But there were some similar words which they use in
their colloquial speech:“forgit” is Yorkshire “furget”, Standard English
“forget”and Yorkshire “tha or thi” Standard English “your”“ti” is Yorkshire
“t’” and Standard English “the”“mi” is Yorkshire and Standard English “me”to
these texts we analyzed that Northumbrian and Yorkshire dialects different from
each other, notwithstanding the fact, that beginning of Yorkshire dialect is
Northumbrian dialect. It vindicates that Northumbrian dialect changed under
influence of invasions until now, and became a little bit cognate with Standard
English. Pronunciation of these two dialects are alike but in Northumbrian it
is impossible to guess what is the text about, in Yorkshire it is
possible.there are some alike words which are pronouncing and spelling
differently, but a roots are the same.example: Standard English “above” is
Northumbrian “abeum” and Yorkshire “aboon”. Here, we can see, that “ab” is the
root and “-eum”,
“-oon” are endings of a dialects.
So, we understood that in this situation a spellings, pronunciations can be different,
but there exists some words which roots are same and differing only with its
endings. But it is still impossible to guess the meaning of the word, by
knowing only the root of the word.we have learned about distinguishing Standard
English and Northumbrian dialect, Yorkshire dialect.
Conclusion
making an analytical investigation
of Northumbrian dialect in the Old English period, and in the Modern English
period, we have learned what is dialect in general, history of appearance of a
dialects and specially learned about Northern English dialects in the Old and
in the Modern English periods. Also, we have learned about differences between
dialectal words, and differences of grammar, pronunciation and spelling. So, in
detail, we have learned:
The dialect has different types of
description. The dialect has its particular grammar, and a standard form which
is peculiar to a particular region. As well dialect is closely connected with
the social standing and with way of living of human in a particular region.
Also, the dialect is not a language but form of language which has its own
words, grammar and pronunciation.
According to history, we knew that
the main reason of appearance of English dialects was Germanic tribes who
settled in England in the 5th and 6th century. First of all it was a tribal
speech, tribal dialect and it has its own phrases, grammar, different type of
pronunciation and different system. As Germanic tribes settled in England, and
affected to a social life, tribal speech transformed into a dialect of Old
English and reacted on all History of the English language.were three strongest
races in Germany, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes. These three strongest
races occupied a large amount of territory in the Old English period. Different
kind of dialects appeared according on territories such as Northumbrian,
Wessex, Anglian.English dialect in the Old English period, Northumbrian
dialect, has strong, unbroken history stretching back more than fourteen
hundred years. Although its use has declined in recent years, it nevertheless
has a long and vigorous literary tradition, both oral and written, which
preserves its essential features. It forms the basis of its regional culture
and heritage. Northumbrian dialect have changed and suffered but it does not
cease to exist. It persists as the Northern Yorkshire dialect at the present
time.to our practical work, we have learned:making an analytic investigation of
written records from Old English, we have learned that a dialects of Old
English and Standard English are absolutely different from each other. There
are some common words which, now is using in the colloquial style of speech.
Also, we have learned that pronunciation of Northumbrian dialect in the Old
English period, has German, Latin accent and stress falls mostly on the first
syllable., we know that Northumbrian dialect is the beginning of Yorkshire
dialect, and it proves that Northumbrian dialect does not disappeared. But
notwithstanding that fact, they are very different from each other. It proves
that Northumbrian dialect has been changed during periods. They are differing
with their spellings and grammar, but rules of pronunciations are the same.
Reference list
2. Sokolov
M.A., Gintovt K.P., Tihonova I.S. “ Theoretical phonetics of English language”
2004
. Rastorguev
T.A. “ History of English language” 2003
. Ivanov
I.P., Chahoyan L.P., Belyaeva T.M. “ Practicum of the History of English
language”. 2005
. Ellis,
Alexandra J. “ The existing phonology of English dialects”. 1889
. Francis,
W. Nelson “Dialectology: an introduction” 1983
. Davis,
Lawrence “Dialectology” 1983
. Orton,
Harold and Nathalia Wright “Survey of English dialects, vol.1, The six northern
countries and the Isle” 1963
. Trudgill,
Peter. “Social and historical perspectives” Oxford: Blackwell 1983
. A.A
Reformatski “Introduction of Linguistics” 1996
. Labov,
William “The social stratification of English” 1996
. Winfried
“ Directions for historical linguistics” 1968
. Kirk,
John M. “ Studies in linguistic geography” 1985
. Trugill,
Peter “The dialects of England” Cambridge 1990
. Peter
Roach “English phonetics and phonology, Glossary” 2009
16. www.northumbria.org.uk
<#"884402.files/image001.gif">.
/ English dialects
ENGLISH
|
SOUTHERN
|
NORTHERN
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1. Southern 2. East Anglian 3.
South West dialect
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1. Northumbrian 2. Yorkshire 3.
North West 4. West Midland
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Appendix B
the unready and the Danes
on pissum geare com Anlaf and
Swegen* to Lundenbyrig* on nativates Sancte Marie* mid iiii(feower) and
hundnifotigum scripum, and hie tha on tha burh faestlice feohtende waeron, and
eac hie mid fyre ontendan woldon, ac hie ac paer geferdon maran hearm and yfel
ponne hie aefre wendon paet him aenig burhwaru gedon sceolde. ac seo halige
Goldes modor on paem daege hire mildheortnesse paere burhware gecythde and hie
ahredde with heora feondum.hie panon ferdon and worhton paet maeste yfel pe
aefre aenig here don mihte on baernette and hergunge and on mannsliehtum,
aegther be thaem saeriman on Eastseaxum and on Centlande and on
Hamtunscire*.aet niehstan namon him hors and ridon swa wide swa hie woldon, and
unasecgendlic yfel wyrcende waeron. Pa geraedde se cyning and his witan paet
him man to sende him gafol behete and metsunge, wip pon pe hie paere hergunge
geswicen… And hie pa paet underfengon, and com pa eall se here to Hantune*, and
paer wintersetle and hie man paer feddle geond eall Westseaxna rice and him man
geald siextiene pusend punda. Pa sende se cyning aefter Anlafe cyninge AElfeah
biscop and AEthelward ealdorman and man gislode pa hwile into paem scipum, and
hie pa laeddon Anlaff mid miclum weorscipe to paem cyninge to Andeferan. And
him pa Anlaf behet, swa he hit eac gelaeste, paet he naefre eft to Angelcynne
mid unfrithe cumin holde.of the Old English- here- this- year- they- with-
fight- also- they- will (would)- fast- much- evil- than (then)- should- but-
the- gold- mother- day- there- their- enemy- do- work- at- as- last- then
(when)- king- promise- provision- kingdom-pound
Appendix C
’s death song
Fore thaem neidfaerae naenig
uuiurthit, thoncsnottura, than him tharf sie to ymbhycggannae aer his
hiniongae huaet his gastae godaes aethatha yflae aefter deothdaege deomid
uueortha
|
Facing Death, that inescapable
journey, Who can be wiser than he Who reflects, while breath yet remains, On
weather his life brought others happiness or pains, Since his soul may yet
win delight’s way After his death - day.
|
Appendix D
’s prayer
Fader urer thu arth thu bist in
heofnum sie gehalgad noma thin; tocymeth ric thin. Sie willo thin Suae is in
heofne in eortho Hlaf userne in oferwistlic Sel us todaeyand forgef us
scyldgum usum And ne inlaend in costunge Ah gefrig usich from yfle.
|
Our father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name, Try kingdom come Try will be done. In earth as it is in
heaven, Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts And lead us
not into Temptation, But deliver us From evil.
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Appendix E
day oot wi me marras
’ll dandor an moach ayont yon
galloway , an tyek note o thi blee sky blent wit hi hills, see thi spuggies, an
thi neuks bedighted wi eglantine. Fornenst thi cree an abeun thi hemmel, wu’ll
hev wor bait, an batten worsels, time wu watch wor bollen bellies graa tiv I
muckle, yarkin size. Then wu’ll tyek wor pipe an blin heor time thi reek gaans
oot, an set wor dowps amaang thi pittleybeds an forgit aboot this bale world.
An gyep it thi cuddies, an thi gobby, donnart crass wi thor feckless cries an
thi lowpin yows an dunchin coneys I thi grass.bollen born hes corved I jud I
thi stenchin clarts an sleck, as it lowps, reels an blethours an cowps its
creels. Thi hoppin bords are aal agabbor, playin hitchi - dabbor, an skiddadin
doon thi swally I thi soft low. But thi larks are geeson.
. Glossary of Northumbrian dialect.
Aad - old Abeun - above Ayont -
beyond Bait - a meal Batten - feed well Bale - evil Blee - blue Blent -
blended Blin - to stop or to stay Chep - man Clarts - mud Coneys - rabbits
Dandor - saunter Dunchin - bumping Eglantine - roses Fornenst - opposite to
Galloway - horse Geeson - scare
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Jud - bend Kif - good, sweet,
attractive Lairks - larks Low - light Lowpin - leaping Marras - friends ,
mates Mooch - slouch Muckle - big Neet - night Neuks - nooks, crannies Off
the belt end - in succession Powkin - poking Pud - pudding Slorpin - drinking
Spuggies - sparrows Stingey - means Thi barri morts - smart lasses Tetties -
potatoes
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Appendix F
’t furget!
then, tha wants t’ empty t’ owd
watter aht o’kettle and fill ‘er up wi’ fresh water afoor tha puts it on
t’ob.taypod reet nicely warmed and dry insahd, and then get thi tay in ., as
soon as t’ kettle comes reet on t’ boil an’ not a second afoor ot aftah, get
watter pooared in t’ pot.’t furget! Allus tek t’ pot kettle and not t’ kettle
to t’ pot.mash a fair wahl an’ then girrit a stir afoor tha pooars it aht.,
thez summas puts milk in fust an’ summas put tay in fust. Too oor way o’
thinkin’ t’ important thing is to mek certain tha’s med plenty fooar seconf
‘elpin’s!
. Glossary of Yorkshire dialect
Againt - start, to go, to move Aht
- out Allus - always Anent - next to Bahn - going Baht - without Bray - beat
up Brussen - clever, smart Cake’ole - mouth Callin - gossiping Canty -
briskly Clarty - muddy Clemmed - hungry Clem - to starve Cloise - near, field
Conny - darling Daggle - Grow Moist Dawks - hands Dwine - waste Een - eyes
Feight - fight Frame - show promise Gaffer - boss, foreman Gal - gossip Gawby
- fool
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Gawpin - staring Gradely - nice
looking Guzzle - eat greedily Jaloused - suspected Ket - rubbish Kist - chest
Knackin’ - affected Lady - Cows - Ladybirds Lap - to drink Lawp - leap Lig -
lie down Luggin - carrying Mash - brew Mun - must Nark - annoy Nesh - cold
Sen - self Snickle - snare Summat - something Toom - empty Tig - touch Tow -
work hard Twang - speech Unkerd - strange Wahr - worse Wark - ache
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