yCrNRLF ^^^^ ^^^^-"^i^li^^ PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY IV THE DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST IV HAMPSHIRE (AS SPOKEN IN THE VILLAGE OF BURLEY) BY SIR JAMES WILSON, K.C.S.L rice 2s. 6d. net OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON AMEk Cobneb EC • EDINBURGH . NEW YORK TORONTO . MELBOURNE . BOMBAY \0\ e* I leal Ur| ^aaei^ 0' IaI 1 [A'\ lorl ' ' liAaKoou> u PUBLICATIONS OF THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY IV THE DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST IN HAMPSHIRE (AS SPOKEN IN THE VILLAGE OF BUllLEY) BY SIR JAMES WILSON, K.C.S.L OXFORD UNIVERSITY TRESS LONDON Amen Corner EC • EDINBURGH • NEW YORK TORONTO • MELBOURNE . BOMBAY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY HUMPHREY MILFORD M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY INTRODUCTION During two short visits to Burley, a quiet country village in the New Forest in Hampshire, I made some notes of the dialect, as spoken by the older residents, who had spent all their lives in the village. I have now put them together, in order to give some idea of the differences between that dialect and standard spoken English, in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and idiom. They are by no means exhaustive, but, so far as they go, I have tried to make them accurately represent the actual language still used by the present generation, the words and phrases having been noted down from the mouths of the people, not taken from books. In giving illustrative sentences (printed in bold type) I have written every word of the sentence as I understand an old resident of Burley would pronounce it, if he were speaking unthinkingly in his own mother-tongue. I presume that the dialect of Burley may be taken as fairly typical of the speech of the New Forest, and as representing what remains of the language of the West Saxons. It has been interesting to me to compare it with my own native dialect, that of Perthshire, on the farthest-north boundary of English speech, where it has for centuries bordered on the Gaelic- speaking country north-west of the Grampians. That is a pure English dialect, descended no doubt from the language of our Angle ancestors. I hope soon to publish a more com- plete account of the Perthshire dialect, which will show that, where it differs from standard spoken English, the differences are often in an opposite direction from those noticeable in the dialect of the New Forest. J. WILSON. 59 Cadogan Square, London. 20 November, 1913. 426307 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/dialectofnewforeOOwilsrich CONTENTS SPELLING Consonants Vowels PRONUNCIATION .... Consonants : Change of consonantal sounds Dropping of consonantal sounds Addition of consonantal sounds Transposition of consonants . Vowels : Change of vowel sounds GEAMMAR .... Nouns ..... Numerals . . . • . Pronouns : Personal Demonstrative Interrogative Relative Reflexive Verbs : Present Indicative Past Indicative Present Participle . Past Participle Auxiliary Verbs Adverbs .... Prepositions Conjunctions Interjections Calls to Animals Children's Rhyme Omission of Words and Slurring op^ Some Idioms .... VOCABULARY Pronunciation ABBREVIATIONS a. adjective. adv. adverb. aux. auxiliary. conj. conjunction. dem. demonstrative. E. Standard English. i. intransitive. interj. interjection. n. noun. N.F. New Forest. num. numeral. P- past. p.p. past participle. Pl plural. prep. preposition. pres. present. pron. pronoun. sing. singular. t transitive. v. verb. DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST SPELLING The system of spelling the sounds which I have adopted is based on two principles : (1) that the same sound should always be represented by the same letter or letters, and (2) that the letters employed should be those which will most readily suggest the different sounds to the reader of ordinary English. CONSONANTS The consonants have all the same sound as they most commonly have in English, but I have distinguished the two sounds which are both written tli in English, l:)y using th for the voiceless sound, as in thin, thick, month, breath, and dh for the voiced sound, as in this, they, breathe, father (dhis, dhay, breedh, faadhur). As in English, a doubled consonant has the same sound as a single consonant. VOWELS In representing vowel-sounds, I have thought it, on the whole, less confusing to the ordinary English reader to adopt the some- what clumsy expedient of using combinations of vowels to repre- sent different vowel-sounds, instead of using diacritical marks. In such cases it must be remembered that, as in English, two or more letters often represent a single simple vowel-sound. The spelling employed is as follows : Spelling Sound as in the E. ivord a man, hat aa far (faar), last (laast), father (faadhur) ae A lengthened sound of e below. ai or ay maid, sail, day, may au or aw haul, awe (aw), paw e hen, pet, best DIALECT OF THE NEW FOEEST , >' ' ; ; , : ' ' 'c Sound as in the E. word ee feet, deed, see, me (mee) ei Not found in English : like the Dutch ei o ij. Common in the pronunciation l)y a Scotchman of such English words as mine, night, tile (mein, neit, tell). i pin, mist, mill ii I (ii), eye (ii), my (mil), die (dii), mine (miin) o hot, fond, lost oa road, go (goa), roll (roal) oi or oy oil, boy, moist oo food, cool, would (wood) ou or ow our, house, how, cow u sun, but, must ui Not found in English : similar to the French eu, or German 6. Note. In order to show more clearly the sounds indicated by the spelling, and the difference between the New Forest dialect and standard English as spoken, I have in many cases given, along with the written word, the standard pronunciation spelled in italics according to the system I have adopted. PKONUNCIATION Note. For convenience sake, I sometimes use such expi'essions as that the English vowel is ' changed into ' some other, or that a consonant is ' added to ' or ^ dropped from ' an English word. I do not, of course, mean to imply that the New Forest dialect is derived from standard English, but merely that it differs from it in these respects. CONSONANTS Change of Consonantal Sounds, As compared with standard English, one of the most marked characteristics of the New Forest dialect is its tendency to substi- tute voiced consonants for voiceless ones, especially at the beginning of a word, as z for s, zh for sh, v for f, dh for th, b for p, g for k, d for t. PRONUNCIATION Examples — z for s : Eng lish New Forest English New Forest Written Spoken Written Spoken sea see zay salt sault zault say say zay seU sell zell see see zee same saim zaaeem so soa zoo side siid zoid sun sun zun slow sloa zloo sit sit zit scythe siith zoiv set set zet seek seek zaik sow, n. soiu zow sold soald zooud sow, V. soa zoa certain serfin zertin six six zix silver silver zilvur seven sevn zevn saucer sauser zaasur south south zouth cider siider zoidur sing sing zing see-saw see-saiv zee-zaw saic sed zed summer summer zummur such sucJi zich scissors sizurs zizurz sight siit zeit spider spiider zbeidur some sum zum Sunday Sunday Zunday something siinifJiijifj zumnait Saturday Saturday Zaturday buskin husJcin buzgin (gaiter) V for f E. N.F. E N.F. Written Spoken Written Spoken fire fiir veier fat fat vat four foar vouer fly flii viol five fiiv veiv fall faul vaul furze furz vuz fell fell veil fern fern vuirn find find veind few flioo vyoo found found vound fine fiin vein feast feest vaist far faar ver frog frog vrog field feeld veeld full fool vool foal foal voal fox fox vox fir fir vur Friday Friiday Vreiday foot foot voot fourteen fourteen voarteen feet feet veet forty fOiii vaartay from frmn vrom fifteen fifteen vifteen first furst vust fifty fifii viftay for for vur faggot faggot vaagit fork fork vaark father faadher vaidhur folk foak voag fortnight fotiniit vaartneit fish fish veesh farthing faardhing vaardin fog foy vog sofa soafi [ zoavur 10 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST dh for th E. Written Spoken N. F. think thivik dhink thatch fliacli dhetzh thing tiling dhing thumb tJmm dhum thick thik dhik thin tliin dheen thought fJiaut dhaut E. N. F. Written Spoken thousand thousand dhouzun thirteen thirteen dhirteen Thursday Thurzday Dhurzday thirty thirti dhirtay ,^ thimble thimhid dhimbul thief theef dhaiuf without 'Without idhout with thee tvith dhee widhee When followed by r, th becomes d : E. N. F. E . N.F. Written Spoken Written Spoken three three dree throw throa droa throat throat droat thresh thrash draash through throo droo thrush thrush drush Other instances of a voiced consonant taking the place of a voiceless one. . Examples : E. N. F. Change of Consonant Written Spoken kettle kettul kiddil d for t might miit mid dfort spider spiider zbeidur b for p buskin buskin buzgin (gaiter) gfork scythe siith zoiv V for th athwart athivort j adhurt (across) (avert (across) dh for th V for th cuckoo cookoo gookoo g for k Other instances of change of consonantal sounds : One of the commonest changes is that the nasalized guttural sound at the end of words, represented in English by the spelling ng, is, except in the case of monosyllables, changed in the New Forest into a simple n. A similar change takes place in Lowland Scotch and in most English dialects. Thus all present participles, which in English end in ing, end in in both in the New Forest and in most Scotch dialects. Examples : PEONUNCIATION 11 N. F. Scotch Written Spoken thinking tlunVmcf dhinkin thinkin saying- blessing living hiding saying hlessing living hiiding zajTin blessin li-vin heidin sayin blessin livin heidin Examples of non -participles : Written E. Spoken N. F. Scotch shilling gelding shilling gelding shillin geldin shullin geldin morning starling pudding stocking nothing morning staarling pooding stocking nuthing maarnin staarlin poodin stock in nudhin moarnin sturlin puddin stoakin naithing Other changes of consonantal sounds : N. F. Change of Consonant Written Spoken chimney cliimnay tremendous tremendus \ ehimlay 1 chimblay tremenjus 1 for n 1 for n j for d Dropping of Consonantal Sounds. H. In Perthshire Scotch the pronunciation or non-pronuncia- tion of an aspirate h at the beginning of a word is, with hardly a single exception, the same as in standard English. Words spelled with wh are pronounced with a distinct aspirate before the w sound, and should be written hw. In the New Forest dialect the h sound in such words is omitted. Examples : E. N. F. Perthshire Scotch Vritten Spoken when iven wen hwaan what ivot ■wrot hwaat where loair wair hwaur The New Forest does not, like the Cockney dialect, put an h before a word which begins with a vowel-sound in English, and does not drop the h of English nearly so often as in the Cockney 12 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOKEST dialect, though there is some tendency in that direction. I have noticed the following instances : E. Written have had home half hope house hear heard holly Examples : N. F. Ee'z not at oam. Wee zez ' a dhetzhd ous ' N. F. E. N. F. Spoken Written Spoken Jiav av head lied id had ad horse Jiors OSS lioam oam he hec ee liaaf aaf hardly haardli aardlay hoap oap hound hound oun lious ous health helth elth heer ear higher Jiiier eier herd eerd perhaps perhaxis praps holU oUay E. He 's not at home. We say ' a thatched house ' . In some of these words, however, the h is often heard. Examples : Oi'm az hungri 'z a haas. I'm as hungry as a horse. Oi'm az hungri 'z a houn. I'm as hungry as a hound. T. There is a tendency to drop t where it comes after another con- sonant at the end of a word. Examples : E. N. F. Written Spoken kept kept kep must art (thou) insect and all auxiliary verbs in the second person singular followed by not : must muss aart s (forist) insekt insek E. N. F. Written Sxooken wast not wost not woz'n canst not canst not caas'n wouldst not woodst not woos'n dost not dust not dus'n couldst not coodst not coos'n hast not haast not haas'n art not aart not bis'n (for bist not) shalt not shaalt not shaat'n didst not didst not dis'n Also when the word not follows other persons of the auxiliary verb. Examples : PRONUNCIATION 13 E. N. F. E. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken isn't i£!nt id'n mightn't miitnt mid'n hadn't hadnt ad'n wouldn't woodnt wood'n mustn't mtisnt muss'n shouldn't shoodnt shood'n d is sometimes dropped, especially when it follows an n at the end of a word. Exami)les : E. N .F. E. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken and and an wouldst woodst woots hound hound oun Wednesday Wednzdiuj Wenzday ground ground groun thousand tJioumnd dhouzun husband huzhund huzbun r is often dropped, especially before s or z. Examples : E N.F. E. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken burst hurst bust horse hers haas first furst vust furze furz vuz purse purs puss worth wurth wuth worse tours wuss girl girl gel worst ivurst wust February Fehroouri Feboouray nurse nurs nuss w. There is a tendency to drop an initial w, especially when fol- lowed by oo. Examples : E. N. F. Written Sp)oken wood wood ood wool wool ool : compare Sc oo. woollen woolen oolen woman imomun oomun one mm un without widhout idhout iher consonants are sometimes dropped. Examples : E. N.F. E. N.F. Vritten Spoken Written Spoken L L cold coald cooud old oald wooud told toald tooud shalt Shalt shaat sold soald zooud wilt wilt wit 14 E. Written Spoken K ask aasic Dh them dhem with iviclh DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST N. F. em wi Written Spoken N of give haven't aicorn V ov giv Jiavnt N.F. yaeker oa gi haant Addition of Consonantal Sounds. w is sometimes prefixed to a word beginning in English with I, and y to a word beginning with ai or ee. Examples : E. Written Spoken oak oak old oald oats oats April Aipril N.F. woak fwoald [ wooud wuts Yaipril E. N. F. Written Spoken apron aiprim yaiprun acorn aicorn yaeker ear ecr yeer here licer yeer r is generally added at the end of a word ending in the vowel- sound a, oa, or u ; and sometimes inside a word. Examples : E. N. F. Written Spoken sofa soafa zoavur umbrella umbrella umbrellur value valyoo vaalur awkward awkwurd aarkurd daughter daiitur daartur fellow felloa vellur yellow yelloa yaalur window windoa windur E. N.F. Written Spoken pillow pilloa pillur hollow holloa haalur furrow furroa vurrur barrow haaroa baarur meadow meddoa meddur bellow helloa bellur to-morrow toomorroa toomorrur Examples of other consonants added are : E. N. F. Spoken qwid (quid) Written cud notch Consonant added cud noch snoch PEONUNCIATION 15 Transposition of Consonants, In a few words the consonants are transposed. Examples : E. N, F, Spoken grait girt wops ^ childern Written great wasp children hundred children hundred chillern hunderd VOWELS Change of Vowel Sounds, A short. The short a sound, so common in standard English, is generally lengthened into a sound like that of the a in far, father, fast (not quite so long as the long aa in Scotch), Examples : E, Written Spoken N. F. man man maan back bak baak hand hand haand rabbit rabhit raabit English short a sometimes becomes short e. Examples E, N, F. WriUen Spoken thatch thach dhetzh thank thank dhenk sat sat zet Sometimes it becomes ai . Examples : E. N.F, Written Spoken bad had bald glad glad glaid bladder bladder blaidur extra extra extray contrary contrary contrairay 16 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST Aa long. Long aa in stand ard English Dften becomes e. Examples : I N.F. E N.F. Written SpoUn Written Spoken half haaf hef hard liaard herd can't caant ken't far faar ver ass aas ess hearth haarth herth glass glaas gless larch laarch lerch grass graas gress martin maartin mertin ask aask aess smart smaart smert basket haasMt beskit Charlie cliaarlij eherlay nasty naasty nestay harvest liaarvist hervist arm aarm erm Sometimes long aa becomes ai. Examples : E. N. F. Written SpoTten maaster maistur faadher vaidhur master father Ai. ai in English generally becomes a long diphthong, like*a drawled ii (as in eye), })est represented by aa-ee. It resembles the Cockney ii in similar words, but is longer and more of a diphthong. Examples : N.F. Written Spoken Written Spoken may may maaee cake caik caaeek hay hay haaee s^me saim zaaeem maid maid maaeed hail liail haaeel make maik maaeek snail snail snaaeel eight ait aaeet lady laidy laaeedee rain rain raaeen away away awaaee train train traaeen ale ail aaeel rake raik raaeek take talk taaeek air air aaeer gate gait gaaeet pair pair paaeer weight ivait waaeet way xcay waaee tail tail taaeel drain drain draaeen afraid afraid afraaeed paint paint paaeent nation naislmn naaeeshun play play plaaee station staishun staaeeshun N.F. PEONUNCIATION 17 Sometimes the English ai becomes e, short or long, or a sound between the English e and ii, which I spell ae. Examples : E. N. F. E. N. F. Writtei Spoken Written Spoken place gape paper face plais gaip paiper fais plaes gaep paepur vaes or table bacon shade lane taibtd haicun sliaid lain taebul baecun shaed laeun vaaees acorn aicorn yaeker Note. Plague {plaig) is pronounced plag. /e^/ E. For the short e in English a number of words have i. Examples : E. N. F. E. N.F. Wntten Spoken Written Spoken hen hen bin hemp hemp himp head hed hid kettle kettul kiddil then dhen dhin bellows helloaz billis hedge hej hij cellar sellur sillir get get git engine enjin injin lead led lid memory memory mimray went ivent wint Other words have a or aa for English short e. Examples N. F. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken ^E^ eg agg web iveb wab beg beg bagg twelve tivelv twaalv beggar begur baggur well ivell waal peg peg pag yes yes yaas vetch vech vaach yellow yelloa yaalur stretch strech straach terrible terribil taarbul Sometimes it becomes ai. Ex amples : E N. F. E. N. F. Vritten Spoken Written Spoken bed bed baid bread bred braid dead ded daid leg leg laig edge ej aij chestnut chesnut chaisnut nest nest naist Note. Very is pronounced vurray. 1466'4 B 18 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST Ee. In a large number of common becomes ai. Examples : words, ee of standard English E N.F. E. N.F. Written Spoken Written Spoken tea tee tay cheek cheek chaik eat eet ait feast feest vaist east eest aist beast heest baist seat seet salt key kee kay meat meet mait beard heerd baird wheat tveet wait teach teech taich pea pee pai cream creem eraim sea see zay swede sweed swaid 5tl<: se^k seek zaik leaf leef laif reap reep raip sweet sweet swait beer heer bair speak speeh spaik beat heet bait bean been bain her beef heef baif seem seem zaim leave leec laiv beetle beetul baitul \jx\ I- believe heleev belaiv queer queer quair please pleez plaiz creature creetyur craitur I^eat pcet pait ^heet sheet shait I>eech beech baich piece pees pais kneel neel nail "^ i^L-S Note. A similar change of vowel from ee to ai is common in Scotch, but not always in the same words as in the New Forest dialect. In a few words ee becomes e or i. Examples : E. N. F. Written Spoken heath heeth heth heat heet het been been bin week loeek wik In a few words some other vowel takes the place of short i in standard English. Examples : Vowel substituted for i E. Vritten Spioken N.F. hitch hich haach if if eef iish fish feesh kiss kiss kees birch birch burch ditch clich deieh ee ee ee u ei PRONUNCIATION 19 11. The ii sound, common in standard English, and still more common in Cockney English, is, in many words in the New Forest (as well as in Scotch), pronounced more like the Dutch ei or ij. Examples : N. F. E. N. F. Written Spoken Written SpoJccn I n Ei time tiim teim five fiiv veiv right riit rait fire fiir veier wire iviir weir try trii trei iron iinia airun dry dr'ii drei squire sqiciir sqeiur tight tut teit spire s2')iir spaiur nine niln nein quiet quiiet queiut knife niif naif alive aliiv aleiv mile miil mail Friday Friiday Vraiday high hii hai sight siit zeit There is a tendency for this sound to become oi. Examples : E. N. F. • E. N. F. Written Spohen Written Spoken I Ii Oi kite kiit koit fly flii vloi shine shiin zhoin cider siitliir zoidur scythe siith zoiv ay (yes) ii oi side siid zoid Note. The preposition l)y [hii] becomes bee, climb {diim) becomes dim. O (short) or au (long). One of the commonest changes of vowel-sounds is the substitu- tion of a long aa for the English o or au, especially when followed by an r. In Perthshire Scotch the corresponding vowel-sound before an r is generally a long oa. Examples : E. N.F. E. N.F. Written Spoken Written Spoken dog dog daag sauce satis zaas off off- aaf yonder yonder yaandur lot lot laat saucer sausur zaasur talk tank taak hollow holloa haalur walk wauk waak drop drop draap across across acraas awkward aukwurd aarkurd pocket pokit paakit watch ivoch waach Scotch Scoch Scaach long long laang caught cant caat daughter dautur daartur clock clok claak corn corn eaarn 20 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST E. N. F. E. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken north north naarth born horn baarn thorn thorn dhaarn George Jorj Jaaij short short shaart fork fork vaark sort sort saart order order aardur SkCcovding according accaardin storm storm staarm orchard orchard aarchurd horn horn haarn ordinary ordinuray aardinuray forest forest vaarist horse hors haars, haas torment torment taarmint morning morning maarnin forty forty vaartay cork cork caark war waur waar Dorset Dorset Daarset fortnight /o>-^m/^ vaartneit In a few words a different vowel is substituted. Examples : E. N. F Vowel substituted for Written Spoken o or au. straw straiv stray ay donkey donkay dunkee u Oa. The English oa is sometimes changed into oo. Examples Written Spoken N. F. go toe goa toa goo too so soa zoo ago slow agoa sloa agoo zloo The English oa is often lengthened into a double vowel-sound, which is more like oou than oau. Examples : N. F. E. N.F. Written Spoken Written SjJoken door doar doour sold soald zooud more moar moour cold coald cooud both hoath boouth home hoam hooum load load looud coat coat coout toad toad tooud stone stoan stooun most moast mooust Ijoard hoard boourd old oald wooud Note. Four [foar] is pronounced vouer, and oats, wuts. PRONUNCIATION 21 Oi. Boy {loi) is lengthened into boa-ay, and noise (noiz) is pronounced naaeez. Oo. In some words the English oo undergoes a change. Examples : E. N. F. Vowel substituted for oo. Written Spolcen ewe yoo yoa 0£ boot hoot but U put poot put U roof roof ruflf U could coed cud u u. In some words the English u is changed. Examples : E. N. F. Vowel substituted for u. Written Spolen just just jist i such such zich i cover cuvver kivvur i cousin cuzn cozn o undo undoo ondoo o once ivuns woons oo Note. Before an r, followed by another consonant, a short vowel is often given a long sound like a modified oo, api^roaching the sound of eu in French. I write it ui. Examples : E. N. F. Written SpoTien word tvurd wuird work ^vurk wuirk earth crth uirth bu-d bird buird fern fern vuirn 22 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST NOUNS The following plurals are peculiar E. N. F. Singular Plural house hous houzin or houzinz furze vuz vuzin deer deer deerz chUd cheild childern or chillern foot veet veet or veets After a numeral nouns of time do not take the s or z of the plural. Examples : E. N. F. six months zix munth twenty years twenty yeer NUMERALS The numerals are as follows E. N. F. N. F. Written Spoken Written Spoken one wun wun sixteen sixteen zixteen two too too seventeen sevnteen zevnteen three three dree eighteen aiteen aaeeteen four foar vouer nineteen niinteen neinteen five fiiv veiv twenty twenti twentay six six zix thirty thirti dhirtay seven sevn zevn forty forfi vaartay eight ait aaeet fifty Mi viftay nine niin nein sixty sixti zixtay ten ten ten seventy sevnti zevntay eleven elevn levn eighty aiti aaeetay twelve tivelv twalv ninety niinti neintay thirteen thirteen dhirteen hundred hundred hunderd fourteen fourteen voarteen thousand thouzand dhouzun fifteen fifteen vifteen Note. Reckoning by scores is more common than in English ; e.g. 65 is dree scoar veiv. Wun (one) is slurred into in or un ; e. g. good in, yung in, little in, for good one, &c. GEAMMAR 23 PRONOUNS Personal Pronouns. First Person Singular Plural Nom. Ei, Oi wee Poss. mei, me our Obj. mee us Second Person Sinr/ular Plural dhee, ee yoo, yee, dhee, ee yoor dhee, ee yoo, yee, Tliird Person Singular Plural Masc. Fern. Neut. All genders. Nom. hee shee it, 't dhay Poss. hiz hur its dhur Obj. him, un, en, in, 'n hur, ur it, 't dhem, dhum, 'em, 'um Note. The pronunciation Ei for I is more common than Oi. Mei {my) is slurred into me ; e. g. EiV hurt mezelf (I've hurt myself). Us, slurred into 's or 'z, is often used in short phrases for mee. Examples : Gi'ss wun. Gi'z (or gee uz) dree on em. Let's av mei speks. Laiv us aloan. Bist gwein wee uz ? Give me one. Give me three of them. Let me have my spectach Leave me alone. Are you going with me ? In the second person singular dhee is used in all cases (dhou and dhy are not used), and is often slurred into ee. Examples : Ei tell ee. Bist dhee cooud ? Bist dhee gwein too see un ? How'z dhee mudhur ? Doant dhee goo, Dhee mus'n goo. Caas'n dhee goo ? Dhee woald zow. Ei tell dhee. Good maarnin too ee. Ei'U gi dhee a clout 'n dhe yeer. "Wen shaal Ei zee dhee agen ? I tell you (thee). Are you cold ? Are you going to see him ? How's your mother ? Don't go. You mustn't go. Can't you go ? Your old sow. I tell you. Good morning to you (thee). I'll give you a cuff on the ear. When shall I see you again ? 24 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOEEST The second personal pronoun dhee is often omitted when the termination of the verb shows that the second person singular is meant. Examples : N. F. E. How bist ? How are you (art thou) ? Caas'n goo ? Can't you go ? (Canst thou not go ?) Dust meind ? Do you (dost thou) remember ? 'Snoa ? Do you (dost thou) know ? Dist eer oi ? Did you (didst thou) hear me ? See other examples under the verbs. Sometimes other pronouns are omitted. Examples : Doan dhink much oa dhay, I don't think much of any of nun oa um. them. Baint much good, not wair He isn't much good, where he is. hee iz. In the third person singular the slurred forms, un, en, in or 'n for him, ur for hur, and em or um for dhem are very common. Examples : Ei aess un hiz naaeem. I asked him his name. Ei zin in yesterday. I saw him yesterday. Ei het 'n on dhe laig. I hit him on the leg. Get hoald on un. Get hold of him. Ei doant dhink much oa un. I don't think much of him. Hee'z got too on um (or oa um). He has two of them. Hee laivz dhum yeer. He leaves them here. Yoo cood heer em a-draashin. You could hear them thrash- ing. Nun oa um (or on em). None of them. Wee em. With them. The neuter third personal pronoun it is often slurred into 't before a vowel or w. Examples : 'Tiz — 'twoz— 'tiddin. It is — it was — it isn't. Ei spoaz 'tiz. I suppose it is. Ei dhaut 'twoz. I thought it was. 'Tiddin fair. It isn't fair. It is much more common than in ordinary English to personify an inanimate object and, when speaking of such an object, to use the masculine or feminine personal pronoun instead of the neuter. 1 have noticed the masculine hee, hiz, un used of the sun, the GKAMMAR 25 moon, a tree, house, waggon, spade, knife, cigar, book, and poem ; and the feminine shee, hur, ur of a ship, train, motor-car, bicycle, kite, and ditch. Examples : Hee nivvur feilz. Haast zin un yet ? Hee' 11 wair yoo out, spaid wuU. Ei jumpt oavur ur. Teim shee woz claind out. He (the moon) never fails. Have you seen him (the moon) yet? He'll wear you out, the spade will. I jumped over her (a ditch). It's time she (a ditch) was cleaned out. The nominative form of a pronoun is often used for the objective. and (except at the beginning of a sentence) the objective form is used for the nominative. Examples : Hee het oi. Dist eer oi ? Avoar hee — on shee. Hee swairz at shee, un shee swairz at hee. Ei woz gwein too lend hee wun. Wee woz dher, woz'n us ? Wee'll goo, shaant us ? Wee doo, doant us ? Wair did ur cum vrom ? Dhay'U goo too, woant um ? Wair wood um doo it now ? Diddin um ? He hit me. Did you hear me ? Before him — on her. He swears at her, and she swears at him. I was going to lend him one. We were there, weren't we ? We'll go, shan't we ? We do, don't we ? Where did she come from ? They'll go too, won't they ? Where would they do it now ? Didn't they? Still more curious mixtures of pronouns are sometimes heard. Examples : Yoo'll aul bee yeer too-mor- rur, woant dhee ? Hee zung verray well, diddin ur? You'll all be here to-morrow, won't you ? He sang very well, didn't he ? Demonstrative Pronouns. The demonstrative pronoun is in the singular dhik, which stands for either tJtis [dhis) or that (dhat), and in the plural dhay or dhem, which stand for either these (dJieez) or those [dhoas). If it is necessary to distinguish between a near and a distant object, DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST this is done by inserting the adverb year [here] or dhair {there), generally slurred into air. Examples : N. F. Dhik un. Dhik air haas. Look at dhik dhing dhair. Ei doant noa dhik fellur. Dhik wooud baich. Dhik's hard wuirk. Dhik air mair can goo. Singular This one. That horse. Look at that thing. I don't know that fellow. That old beech. This is hard work. That mare can go. Plural N. F. Dhay books. Ei doant want nun oa dhay. Wee doant yooz dhay. Look at dhay daagz out dhair. Yeer'z moar oa dhay cowz. Ei cood'n ait dhay. In dhem baugz. Dher woz a big veier oa dhem ricks. Dhem air drei zummurz dreiz up dhe daid hoalz. Dhem'z stroyd. E. These books. I don't want any of those. We don't use those. Look at those dogs. Here are more of those cows. I couldn't eat those. In those bogs. There was a big fire of those stacks. Those dry summers dry up the pools. Those are killed off (destroyed). Interrogative Pronouns. As in English, the interrogative pronoun is in the masculine and feminine hoc [ivJio] and in the neuter wot [what). Examples : Hoo'z caul hee ? Who dost thou call him? What do you call him? Hoo'z caul dhair vellur gooin Who dost thou call (what do long ? you call) that fellow going Relative Pronoun. The relative pronoun, both singular and plural, masculine and feminine, is wot, which stands for ivho, vhkh, or that. Examples : A man wot wuirks in vaarist. Voag wot caamps in vaarist. A buird wot bildz in dhe treez. Dhe haas wot yoost too wuirk. A man who works in the forest. People who camp in the forest. A bird that builds in the trees. The horse that used to work. GRAMMAR 27 Reflexive Pronouns. In the reflexive pronoun the possessive form of the pronoun is used throughout. Examples : N. F. E. mezelf myself (miiself) dheezelf thyself [dhiiself) hizzelf himself hurzelf herself ourzelvz ourselves yoorzelvz yourselves dhurzelvz themselves VERBS As in standard English, the imperative consists simply of the root of the verb, and the infinitive is expressed by the root preceded by the preposition to (too) ; most other verbal meanings are expressed by means of auxiliary verbs followed either by the root of the verb or by its present or past participle. The only exceptions are the indefinite present and past of the indicative. Present Indicative. The present indicative adds s or z, or (after a sibilant) iz, to the root of the verb in both numbers and in all persons except the second person singular, in which the termination is st. Examples : Singular Per.,. N. F. E. Flnral N. F. E. 1. Ei caulz I call {caul) We caulz We call 2. Dhee caulst Thou callest Yoo caulz You call o. Hee caulz He calls {caulz) Dhay caulz They call N. F. E. Ei leiks too eer em. Ei vorgits. — Ei trots out. Ei nivvur eerz dhat. Ei yooziz dhem now. Ei zaimz a bit leeray. Oa how leeray Ei feelz. I like to hear them. I forget. — I trot out. I never hear that. I use them now. I seem a little empty (hungry). Oh how empty I feel ! Caanst goo ? Canst thou go '? Wee moastly caulz it ' Maaee '. Wee caulz im ' haarts '. We usually call it 'May'. We call them ' hearts '. Yoo cuts dhis turf. Dhe vust doour yoo cumz too. You cut this turf. The first door you come to. 28 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST N. F. Zum caulz dhem — Wot dhay caulz ' turfin '. Dhay treiz haard. Dhay maaeeks wein. Dhay gits about aul reit. Dhay lets dhem out. Dhay tellz mee. Dhay noaz too well. Vyoo peepul burnz it nou. A vyoo dhingz cumz acraas mee. Dhay keeps dhem too. Ei dunnoa wair dhay gooz too. Some call them. What they call * turfing '. They try hard. They make wine. They get about all right. They let them out. They tell me. They know too well. Few people burn it now. A few things come across me (occur to me). They keep them too. I don't know where they go to. Past Indicative. As in English, the past tense is generally formed by adding ed, d, or t to the root, and the only inflection it takes is the addition of St or ist in the second person singular. Some peculiar pasts are : N. F. Sipolie E. Written Root Past Boot Past Boot Past ear eerd Jieer herd hear heard noa noad noa nyoo know knew goo wint goa went go went cum cum cum cairn come came keep kep Jceep kept keep kept gi gev giv gaiv give gave bee woz bee tC02 be was heid haad Mid hid hide hid aess aess aask aaskt ask asked hit het hit hit hit hit beid bid stay stayed zit zet sit sat sit sat bust bust hurst hurst burst burst Some verbs use a past participle form for the past indicative : doo dun doo did do did zee zeen, zin see saiv see saw But zee has also in the past indicative zeed or zid, or simply zee. Examples : GRAMMAR 29 N. R Ei zeen in. — Ei zid en. Dhik's dhe zaaeem poanay Ei zeed laast yeer. Ei aess in hiz naaeem. Ei zeen wun oa yoor winshiz. Dhik man cum th' our plaes. Hee kep on taakin. I saw him. That 's the same pony I saw last year. I asked him his name. I saw one of your girls. That man came to our house. He kept on talking. Note. In narration the present of the verb zay {say) is used for the past. Examples : Ei zez- N. F. -hee zez. E. Said I — said he. Present Participle. The present participle is formed by adding in to the root, as zay (say), zayin ; dii {die), dii-in ; taak {talJc), taakin. The present participle of goo, English go'{goa), is gwein, English going {goaing). Example : N. F. E. Wair bist gwein ? Where art thou going ? Note. The syllable a is often prefixed to the present participle. Examples : N. F. Ei woz jist a-zayin. Win French woz a-cumin. Dhay keeps a-shiftin. Bist a-gwein too shoa ? Hee woz a-waakin awaaee. Yog cood heer em a-draashin. E. I was just saying. When the French were coming. They keep changing. Are you going to the show ? He was walking away. You could hear them thrashing. Past Participle, The past participle is generally formed, as in English, by adding ed, d, or t to the root. There are many exceptions to this rule. Some verbs, which in English have an irregular past participle, form it regularly in the New Forest dialect, and there is a tendency to use the past as a past participle where in English the latter has a form of its own. Examples : 30 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOJJEST N. F. SpoJcen Written Boot Past Participle Boot P.p. Boot P.p. noa noad noa noan know known zee zeed see seen see seen gi gev giv givn give given held haad Jiiicl Jiiddn hide hidden reit ritt riit rittn write written droa droad tliroa tliroan throw thrown taaeek took, tuk taik taikn take taken braaeek broak hraik hroaJcn break broken wair woar wair woarn wear worn keep kep Jceep kept keep kept goo gon goa gon go gone bee bin, ben bee been be been aess aess aash aaskt ask asked N. F. Ei'v nivvur noad un. Ei'v noad dhee vor yeerz. Haant a-zeed dhee vor dhis yeer. I've never known him. I've known you for years. I haven't seen you for a year. Singular Pcrs. N. F. 1. Ei bee 2. Dhee bist, best, 's, 'z 3. Hee iz, 'z, 's Shee'z Tiz AuxiLiAKY Verbs. Bee. Present E. I am Thou art He is (iz) She's It's Plural N. F. Wee bee Yoo bee E. We are You are Dhay bee They are Singular Present Negative Pers. N. F. E. 1. Ei baint I'm not 2. Dhee bis'n Thou'rt not 3. Hee idd'n He isn't Shee idd'n She isn't Tidd'n It isn't Plural N. F. E. Wee baint We aren't Yoo baint You aren't Dhay baint They aren't GKAMMAR 31 N. F. Ei bee cooud. Ei bee plaizd. Ei bee reit shramd wee dhe cooud. How bist or best ? Bist dhee cooud ? Bist dhee gwein too ? Yaas, tiz, Hou'z gettin on, yoo ? Wair bist gwein ? Hoo bist taakin too ? Wee bee gwein too. Wot bist aitin ? Bee yoo gwein ? Bee yoo cooud ? Bee ee cumin ooum ? Wot haas bee yee gwein too reid? Dhay bee gon. Bee dhay good poanayz ? Dher bee laats moar braan- shiz. Ei baint gwein. Tidd'n wuth it. Ei noa tidd'n. Shee idd'n at ooum. E. I'm cold. I'm glad (pleased). I'm quite l>enumbed with the cold. How are you (art thou) ? Are you (art thou) cold '? Are you going too ? Yes, it is. How are you (art thou) getting on? Where are you (art thou) going? Who are you (art thou) talking to? We are going too. What are you eating ? Are you going ? Are you cold ? Are you coming home ? What horse are you going to ride? They've gone. Are these good ponies ? There are plenty more branches. I'm not going. It isn't worth it. I know it isn't. She's not at home. Note. Sometimes the iz of the third person singular is used the third person plural. Examples : N.F. Mei veet iz cooud Dher'z renz about eer. Dhat's zum fein poanayz dher. E. My feet are cold. There are wrens about here. Those are fine ponies. Past Both woz and wer are used indiscriminately for both numbers and all persons except the second person singular, which is wost. The negative form is woz'n {icasn'f). Examples : 32 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOKEST N. F. Ei wer dher. Ee wer. Dhik vuz wer aul burnt. Wee woz at Ringood. Yoo woz reit. Hiz iiz woz baid. Dhay woz ill. Dhay woz dhair, woz'n dhum? Dhee wost dher, woz'n ? Yoo boyz woz dher, woz'n dhee? Dher woz a good mennay. Boouth yeerz woz cut off. E. I was there. He was. That furze was all burnt. We were at Ringwood. You were right. His eyes were bad. They were ill. They were there, weren't they ? You were (thou wast) there, weren't you ? You boys were there, weren't you? There were a good many. Both ears were cut off. Future The future present is formed by the use of shaal and will (sometimes slurred into '11) in much the same way as in English. The negative form is shaant and woant, as in English. The second person singular is as follows : N.F. E. ffirmative Negative Affirmative Negative Shaat Shaat'n Shalt Shan't Wit Wit'n Wilt Won't Examples : N. F. Wit dhee goo laang oa mee ? Oi, Ei'll goo. Noa, Ei shaant goo. Shaal Ei goo widhee ? Shaat dhee bee at ooum too- morrur ? Ei, Ei shaal. E. Will you go along with me ? Yes, I'll go. No, I shan't go. Shall I go with you ? Shall you be at home to-mor- row ? Yes, I shall. GKAMMAR 33 Other Auxiliary Verbs. N. F. ] ii. Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative Person shood shood'n should (shood) shouldn't (shoodnf) wood, 'd wood'n would {wood) wouldn't {woodnt) 2nd sing. woots woos'n wouldst wouldst not caan caint can can't 2nd sing. caanst caas'n canst canst not cood, cud cood'n could (eood) couldn't 2nd sing. coodst coos'n couldst couldst not mid mid'n might {miit) mightn't muss muss'n must must not hev, aav, i-rr n haant, aant have {Jiar) haven't 2nd sing. V, a haast, 'St, 's haas'n hast hast not haad, 'd haad'n had hadn't doc doant, doan do (doo) don't {doant) 2nd sing. dust, 's, 'z dus'n dost {dust) dost not 3rd sing. dooz does (dus) did did'n did didn't 2nd sing. dist dis'n didst didst not Examples N. F. Hoo'd a dhaut it ? Wee'd better. Hev yee found ur ? Caanst cum wee us ? Caas'n goo too-morrur ? Dhee'z mid goo. Ei dunnoa. — Ei doan noa. Ei doan noa wot it doo meen. Dhay doan doo zich a dhing nou. Dist eer oi ? Doaimt dhee goo. Doaunt dhee maaeek a naaeez . Hoo'z caul hee ? Wot's dhink on it ? Wair'st bin too ? Dust meind ? 'Snoa ? E. Who would have thought it ? We had better. Have you found her ? Canst thou come with me ? Canst thou not go to-morrow ? Thou mightest go. I don't know. I don't know what it means. They don't do such a thing now. Didst thou hear me ? Don't go. Don't make a noise. What do you call him ? What do you think of it ? Where have you (hast thou) been? Do you remember ? Do you (dost thou) know ? 34 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST N. F. Haast got a neif ? Wot's caat dhair ? Woots goo eef dhee coodst ? Haas'n dhee got it ? Woos'n goo ? Haas'n dhee sin mei woald cow bout ? E. Have you (hast thou) a knife ? What have you (hast thou) caught there ? Would you go if you could ? Haven't you got it ? Wouldn't you go ? Haven't you seen my old cow about ? Note. The auxiliary verb hev (have) is sometimes omitted. Examples : N. F. Ei bin too staaeeshn. Ei got cleen up dhaat air deich. Hee bin taarbul baid. Dhay got doo it. E. I've been to the station. I've got to clean up that ditch. He has been very ill. They've got to do it. Note. With an intransitive verb bee is sometimes used instead of have in English. Examples : N. F. E. Aul dhe squirrlz bee gon. All the squirrels have gone. Gookooz bee got taarbul Cuckoos have become very scairs. scarce. Ee'z bin gon awaaee. He has gone away. ADVERBS N. F. E. N. F. E. yeer, eer here to-morrur to-morrow reit very, quite, wun day'z formerly (one thoroughly teim day's time) ver far a bit a little mooust quite, very vurray very jist just neer haand near zaaeem just zooner rather teit all right a-baid abed zumwair zumwayz somewhere bee hef by half on fire a veier ennay wair anywhere yaandur yonder enny wen at any time agen again praps perhaps un dhaat and so on long, laang along, past out-oa-doour out of doors at ooum at home zoo so GRAMMAR N. R E. N. F. E. agoo ago {agoa) nivvur never woons once [wuns) er ever awaaee away ner never dhin then coors of course avoarhaand before the oflQn teimz often event teimz un agen often neer nearly 35 mooustly adv. generally Examples N. F. Ei bee reit shramd. | Ei bee mooust shramd. I Zaaeem az dhay doo now. Ei zaimz a bit leeray. Dhay'd zoonur bee up in vaarist. Ei got wun teit. Our chimblay got a-veier. Dhe kiddil'z on dhe veief- plaes un dhe pot out-oa- doour. Hoo'z hee gwein long ? Ei tooud ee zoo. Ei cud wair out neer ennay maan aitin un drinkin. Cum eer — look eer — look yeer, Ee beidz zumwayz up eer. I am quite benumbed. Just as they do now. I feel a little hungry. They'd rather l)e up in the forest. I have one all right. Our chimney caught on fire. The kettle's on the fire-place and the pot out-of-doors. Who's that going past ? I told you so. I could wear out neialy any man in eating and drinking. Come here — look here. He lives somewhere up here. An adjective is often used as an adverb without the termination li/ usually added in English. Taarbul (terribly) is often heard where ' awfully ' would he used in English. Examples : N. F. Ei bee taarbul teird. Taak proper. It burnz byootiful. Mei veet swellz tremenjus. Hee bin taarbul baid. E. I'm awfully tired. Speak properly. It burns beautifully. My feet swell prodigiously. He has been dreadfully ill (bad). Er (slurred for ivvur), and ner (slurred for nivvur; are used with the article a in the sense of 'any at all', 'none at all'. Examples : c2 36 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST N. F. Haast got er a neif bout dhee? Hassin got ner a neif bout dhee? E. Have you got any knife at all on you (any sort of a knife) ? Haven't you got any knife at all on you? (Have you no sort of a knife ?) Perhaps in the following sentences ar stands for er a and nar for ner a. N. F. Haast got ar looud oa dung too sell mee ? Haas'n dhee got nar littul woald mair ? E. Do you happen to have a load of dung to sell me ? Haven't you got any little old mare ? Note. A double negative is common. Examph N. F. Ei nivvur aits noa braid. Tidd'n herdly fair. Yoo doant eer nun oa dhe yung unz zay zoo. Ei doant dhink ivvur ee ad'n enny moar. Ei doant taik noa noatis on't. Dhay doant waant a platform oanly for the auctioneer. Ei wood'n gee naut vur un. Ei nivvur killd noa voxiz. I never eat bread. It 's hardly fair. You don't hear any of the young people say so. I don't think he ever had any more. I take no notice of it. They want a platform only for the auctioneer. I wouldn't give anything for him. I never killed any foxes. Note. To the New Forester, as well as to most educated English- men, the adverbs ' seldom ', ' only ', and ' hardly ' are negatives. To the Scotchman, educated or uneducated, they are affirmatives. If you say a sentence containing one of those three adverbs, an Englishman, meaning to agree with you, will begin his answer with ' No '— a Scotchman will begin his with ' Yes '. PREPOSITIONS a slurred for at, on bee by oa on of acraass across avert, adhirt (athwart) agin against across bout about afoar, avoar before GRAMMAR 37 addur after vrom from long oa along with vur too to, in order too till to toordz towards wee, wi with droo through weeout without vur for in into Examples : N. F. Keep dhe daag a heel. A cuppul oa bob. A bit oa mait. A good lot oa appulz. Too on um. Git hoald on um. Ei bee glad on it. Zum on em laarnz too much. Yoo may stop too Maarch. Wee un — wee um. Bist gwein wee uz. Dhat iddin vur dhee. Zummit vur too maik wingz. Ei bee gwein in zillur. T'woz maaeed a purpus. Ei lookt a un. Out oa Ingland. Wot's dhink on it ? E. Keep the dog at heel. A couple of shillings. A bit of meat. A good lot of apples. Two of them. Get hold of them. I am glad of it. Some of them learn too much. You may stay till March. With him — with them. Are you going with me ? That 's not for you. Something to make wings. I'm going into the cellar. It was made for the purpose (on purpose). I looked at him (i. e, a spade). Out of England. What dost thou think of it ? CONJUNCTIONS N. F. E. N. F. E. an, un and leik such as ur or widhout unless 'n coz than because eef 's bee if (if so be) Examples : N. F. Him an Ei woz dhair. Shee zung better 'n t'odher wun did. Moar'n zevntay. Widhout yoo meet. Eef s bee yoo woz gwein. E. He and I were there. She sang better than the other one did. More than seventy. Unless you meet. If you were going DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST INTERJECTIONS N. F. Oi, yaas, ees. Noo. See, see yee. Loo see. Look yeer. Cum eer. Cum on yeer. Ei sez. Ei tell ee. Bload mee, Ei zay. Mee deer. Mum. Yaas'm. Waal. Dee noa ? E. Yes. No {noa). D'ye see. Look ye. Look here. Come here. Come on here. Said I. I tell you. Blow me, I say. My dear. Maam. Yes, maam. Well. Do you know? N. F. Dus noa ? 'snoa ? Beid still. Haih? Thankee. Good maarnin. Good eevnin. I 'low. Oa maaee ! Ei tell ee wot tiz. Ei dunnoa. E. Dost thou know ? Stand still — be quiet. Eh ?— what ? Thank you. Good morning. Good evening. I allow — I dare say. my! I'll tell you what it is. 1 don't know. Luk (used as an expletive at the end of a sentence). Example : 'Snoa wair day? Ei woz yester- Dost thou know where I was yesterday ? Yoo is often used as a vocative, even to a single person, who is addressed in the singular of the verb. Examples : N. F. Well, yoo, how bist ? How bist, you ? How'z getting on, yoo ? Yoo ! noa. — Noa, yoo. How'z dhee faivur, yoo ? Wii, yoo ? Well, yoo ? 'Snoa, yoo? I'll goo vur dhee, yoo. I dunnoa, yoo. Got dhee taitayz up eet, yoo ? Lissin, yoo. E. Well, you, how art (thou) ? (How are you ?) How are you (art thou) ? How are you (art thou) getting on? No. How 's your fever ? Why? Well? (Dost thou know ?) Do you know ? I'll go for you. I don't know. Have you got your potatoes up .yet? Listen. 89 CALLS TO ANIMALS Pigs are summoned by the call, choog, choog ; cows, woaee, woaee ; ponies by kip, kip. Commands to a horse : Cry. Kum idhur. Woag, woag ee, woag aaf. Steddee now. Git baak sti, Jee, jee-up. Way, way dher. Mcamng, Go to the left. Go to the right. Steady. Go back. Go faster. Stop. CHILDREN'S EHYME Henray oaray itturay aan, Stoar dhe vinegar in dhe paan ; Oarum stoarum poopshee loarnm, O-u-t spellz ' out '. OMISSION OF WOEDS AND SLURRING OF PRONUNCIATION There is a stronger tendency than in standard spoken English to omit short words and to slur their pronunciation. The definite article dhe is often omitted. Examples : N.F. In winter teim. Dhay wot wuirks in vaarist. Out in groun. Tell in haat. Bist gwein too staaeeshn ? In neit. Hee'll wair you out, spaid will. Win French woz a-cumin. In French waar. In the winter time. Those who work in the forest. Out in the fields. Count into the hat. Are you going to the station ? In the night. The spade will wear you out. When the French were coming. In the French war. 40 DIALECT OP THE NEW FOKEST The preposition too is sometimes omitted before an infinitive. Examples : N. F. E. Hee yoGZd cum offin teimz. He used to come often. Ei yoozd kill taarbul lot oa I used to kill a great many deer. deerz, Hee'z got help kich dhe He's got to help to catch the udherz. others. Slurred Words. N. F. E. N.F. E. bout voar t'day on't haant about afore to-day on it haven't spek stroy praps spoaz expect destroy perhaps suppose SOME IDIOMS N.F. A neis girt maaeed. A aaf a duzn. Eer'z taakin. Ei'v aird taak. Ei nivvur woz laarnd dhat. Dhay'd keep sukkin doun. Oi, Ei gottun wun, 'z wantin? In dhe vurdher paart oa Burlay. Dhik's woald-faashn taak. Dhe weif. Dhis twintay yeer. Dhay did'n yoos too goo. Ei got a job too doo it. Dhay bee keind oa leik ovenz. Ei doan noa dhat ivvur Ei heerd on un. Bist gwein on too baid ? E. A fine big girl. Half a dozen. Here 's talking. I've heard say. I was never taught that. They'd go on being sucked down. Yes, I've got one, art wanting it? At the other side of Burley. That 's old-world speech. My wife. These twenty years. They used not to go. I had some difficulty in doing it. They're something like ovens. I don't know that I ever heard of him. Are you going to bed ? VOCABULARY a, slurred for at before a gerund. a, slurred for on. aaeel, n. ale {ail). aaeer, n. air. aaeet, )iu»i. eight {ait). aaeetay, num. eighty, aaeeteen, num. eighteen, aaf, prep. off. aan't, r. aux. haven't, aarchurd, n. orchard, aardinury, adj. ordinary. aardlay, adv. hardly, aardur, h. order. aarkurd, adj. awkward. abaid, adv. abed. accaardin, 2)rep. according, acraass, j^rep. across. ad, r. had. addiir, adv. and^re^. after. a,6h\ixt, prep, across. ad'n, V. had not. aess, v.t. ask ; p. aess, asked. aXoax, prep, before ; seldom avoar. afraaeed, a. afraid, agen, adv. again. agg, n. egg. agin, prep, against. agoo, adv. ago {agoa). aij, n. edge {ej). aist, n. east {eest). ait, v.t. eat {eet). aleiv, a. alive {aliiv). an, conj. and. aul, a. all. av, V. have (}iav). avert, prep, (athwart) across. avoarhaand, adv. before the event. adv. away. baak, n. and adv. back. taaakay, n. tobacco. baam, v.p.p. born. baarur, n. barrow. baavin, n. bundle of small boughs, larger than a faggot. baeeiin, n. bacon {baicon). bagg, v.i. beg. baggur, n. beggar. baieh, n. beech. baid, adj. bad. baid, n. bed. baif, n. beef. bain, n. bean [been). baint, v. be not, am not, aren't, isn't. bair, n. beer. baird, n. beard (beerd). baist, n. beast (beest). bait, v.t. beat {beef). baitul, n. beetle. barrow-pig, n. castigated pig. baug, n. bog. bebee, bibee, n. baby {baiby). bee, V. am, are, be. \)ee,prep. by. beid, v.t. stay ; p. bid. belaiv, v.t. believe [beleev). bellur, v.i. bellow. beskit, n. basket. bettermost, a. best. bid, v., p. of beid, stayed, billis, n. bellows. bin, V. p.p. been. bisn, or bissint, v. aux. be-est not, art not. bist, V. 2nd per s. sing, art, art thou. blaakay, n. blackbird. blaid, n. shaft of a cart. blaidur, n. bladder. blair, v.i. bellow. blakdhaarn, ». sloe bush. blessin, p.2). blessing, bload me, interj. blow me. bob, n. shilling. bobljeen, robin. bond, n. band. booay, n. boy. boourd, n. board. boouth, a. both. bottom, n. hollow, low-lying land, bout, prei). about. braaeek, v. break, braid, n. bread {bred). brichin, n. strap round horse's quarters. broak, p.2). of braaeek, broken. buird, n. bird. burch, 71. birch. 42 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOKEST bust, v.i. and t. burst ; |j. and ^J-i?. bust, but, «. boot. buttur, n. butter. butturvloi, n. butterfly. buzgin, n. buskin, gaiter. caaeek, n. cake. caan, v. can. caanst, v. canst. caark, n. cork. caarn, n. corn, wheat. caarner, n. corner. caas'n, or caasint, v. canst not ? caat, i\, 2^- of kech, caught (caitt). caint, V. can't. chaik, 71. cheek. chaisnut, n. chestnut. Cherlay, ti. Charley. chififay, n. chaffinch. childaag, n. chilblain. chimblay, chimlay, n. chimney. chinkay, n. chaffinch. chock, 71. block of wood. chaikkul, v.i. cluck (of a hen). claak, 71. clock. clain, v.t. clean {cleen). clim, v.i. climb {cliim). clot, w. a turf. clout, 71. a cuff, a bang. clum, v.t. handle clumsily. contrairay, a. contrary. cooud, a. cold [coalcl). eoors, adv. of course. coos'n, or coosint, v. couldst not. coout, 71. coat. corral, 7i. to hang a kettle on. cowshed, ) , cowpen, t"-^^'"- coz, C071J. because. eozn, n. cousin {cuzn). craim, n. cream {cree7n). craip, V. creep. craitur, n. creature (creetyoor). cud, V. could (cood). euna, v., pres. and p. of come. cuttay, 71. wren. daag, n. dog. Daarset, 7i. Dorset. daartur, n. daughter {dauter). daid, a. dead [ded). deerz, 7i. pi. of deei*. deich, n. ditch. dhaarn, n. thorn. dhaier, adv. there [dhair). dhaiuf, 71. thief {theef). dhaut, v.i., p. of dhink, thought (thaut). dhay, 2»'oii. they, those, these. dh.ee,2)ron. thou, thy, thee {dhee). dheen, a. thin, dheezelf, j^^'Ofi. thyself. dhem, ^:>row. them, those, dhenk, v.i. think, dhetzh, n. thatch. dhik, a. thick. dhik, de^n. this, that. dhill-haars, n. the horse in the shafts. dhimbul, n. thimble. dhin, adv. then, dhing, n. thing, dhink, v.i. think ; p. dhaut. dhinkin, p.jy. thinking. dhirteen, iiuiu. thirteen, dhirtay, ))U)iL thirty. dhouzun, num. thousand, dhum, 71. thumb {thum). Dhurzday, n. Thursday. dhurzelvz, jMvn. themselves. diddee. I diddeecay,[«-g^P^y- did'n, V. didn't, dishwosher, 7i. wagtail, dis'n, V. didst not. dist, V. aux. didst. doaant, doaan, v. don't (doant). doour, 71. door(fZortr). draeen, 7i. drain, draap, 7i. drop. draash, v. thrash, thresh. draashul, n. flail. dree, 7m)H. three. drei, a. dry. driin, v. drain. droa, v.t. throw ; p. dread, droat, 71. throat. droo, prep, through (throo). dr ov, 2y-P- driven. drush, or trush, 71. thrush. dunkee, 7i. donkey. dunnoa, v. don't know. dus'n or dussint, v. dost not {dust7it). ee,p>ron. (1) he (hee), (2) slurred for dhee, thee, eef, C071J. if. eef s bee, co7ij. (if so be) if. VOCABULARY 43 eer, v. hear (heer); p. eerd, also heerd. eerd, r. heard {herd), also heerd. ees, interj. yes. eet, adv. yet. eevnin, n. evening. 'EUproiu I. eier, «. higher (hiier). eirun, >i. iron, elth, n. health (helfh). em, pron. them. emmet, n. ant. en, proii. him. enny wen, adv. (any when) at any time. er, adv. ever. erm, n. arm. ess, n. ass. extray, «. extra. faarist, h. forest. faivur, n. fever {feeviir). Febooozray. n. February. feesh, n. fish. fell, v.i. fail. foar, jjrejj. before. foar-haars, n. leading horse in a team. foaray, n. pinafore, fousty, a. fusty. fust, a. first. gaaeet, n. gate. gaalay-baagur, n. scarecrov?. gaep, v.i. gape, look. gaffer, u. grandfather. gaun, ;^ frock, gown (gotin). gee, gi, v.t. give ; p. and p.^K gev. gel, n. girl. geldin, «. gelding. gerdin, n. garden. gev, p.p. given. gi, v.t. give (giv). girt, rt. great, big, large. git, v.t. get. glaid, a. glad. gless, n. glass. goo, r./. go (goa). gookoo, n. cuckoo. grammer, n. grandmother. granfer, «. grandfather, gress, >i. grass. groun, )t. the fields. grudeirn, n. gridiron. grunt, v.i. grumble. guvnur, n. husband, gwein, pres. part, going {goaing). haach, v.t. hitch. haaee, n. hay. haaeel, n. hail. haalur, n. hollow. haand, n. hand. haankee, n. handkerchief. haant, v. haven't. haarn, n. horn. haars, haas, n. hoi'se, pony. haas'n, or haassint, v. anx. hast not, haast, v.a. hast. haat, n. hat. haih ! eh ! what ! baud, v., p. of heid, hid. heer, v.t. hear (heer) ; p. heerd. heerd, »., jj.^j. of heer, heard {herd). hef, a. half [haaf). hei, a. high {hii). heid, v.t. hide {hiid) ; p. haad,hid. heidee-hoop, n. hide-and-seek (hide-and-whooi>). heidin, n. hiding, thrashing. heidin, p.p. hiding. heil, n. shock of wheat. herd, a. hard [hoard). herdly, adv. hardly. berth, n. hearth (haarth). hervist, 7k harvest. bet, n. heat {heet}. bet, v.t., p. hit. beth, «. heath {heeth). hid, n. head (hed). hij, 71. hedge (hej). himp, n. hemp. bin, n. hen. hizzelf, 2}f'on. himself. hob, n. potato-pit. hooum, /(.home. boss, haas, n. horse, hous, )i. house. houzinz, 2>^- houses {houziz). hunderd, 7iti»i. hundred, buzbun, II. husband. id, n. head. idhout, ^j>-e;j. without. idhur, adv. hither (hidherj. id'n, V. isn't. in, pron. him. in, slurred for one. injin, n. engine. insek, n. insect. Jaarj, n. George. jigger, interj. 44 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOREST jillay staak, n. gilly flower, jist, adv. just. joaay, n. a threepenny-bit. job, n. difficulty. kay, n. key. kees, H. kiss. kent, V. can't (caant). kep, v.2).p- kept. kich, v.t. catch ; p. caat. kid, n. child [chlild). kiddil, n. kettle. kit candulstiks, ». will o' the wisp. kivvur, v.t. cover {cuver). koit, n. kite {kiit). kwaaits, n. quoits (koits). laaeedee, n. lady. laaf, V. and ;;. laugh. laang, <(. long. laarn, v. teach, learn, laat, n. lot. laeun, n. lane (lain). laif, ^'. and n. laugh. laif, n. leaf. laig, n. leg. laiv, v.t. leave. leeray, «. empty, leik, cotij. such as. lerch-vur, n. larch, levn, int)H. eleven, lid, n. lead (led). livin, n. living, livin, p.p. living, long, adv. along. long, pre}}, along with. loo see, interj. look ye. looud, n. load. low, v.t. allow, think, dare say. lug, n. pole or perch {measure of area). Maaee, //. May. maaeed, n. girl. maaeek, v. make. maan, ti. man. maarnin, ?k morning. maast, n. beech-nuts and acorns. maistur, n. master. mait, n. meat (meet). mauz, n. heap of corn in the straw. me, slur red for my. meddur, n. meadow. meedlinish, a. middling. Tiiei,pron. my [mii). meil, n. mile {miil.) meind, v. remember. mertin, n. martin. mezelf, pron. myself. mid, V. might. mid'n, v. might not. mimray, «. memory. moak, n. donkey. moast, adv. very. moour, a. more. mooust, a. most. mooustly, adv. generally. mum, n. ma'am. mump, v.i. stroll, wander, muss, V. aux. must. muss'n, V. must not. n, slurred for va., him. n, slurred for dhan. naaeel, n. nail. naaeem, n. name. naaeeshun, n. nation (naishun). naaeez, n. noise. naamit, n. snack of food, luncheon. naarth, n. north. nail, v.i. kneel. naist, n. nest. naut, n. nought, nothing. neerhaand, adv. near. neif, n. knife (niif). nein, num. nine {niin). ner, adv. never. nestay, adj. nasty. nivvur, adv. never. noad, p. and 2^-P- of noa, knew, known, nog, n. chunk of wood. noo, a. and interj. no. noobody, ptf'on. nobody. nudhin, n. nothing. numshon, n. luncheon, nus, n. nurse. oa, 2}i'ep- of. oam, n. home. oap, n. and v. hope. offin, adr. often. Oi, pron. I (//). oi, interj. yes. ollay, n. holly. ondoo, v.t. undo (undoo). ood, n. wood. ool, n. wool. oolln, a. woollen. VOCABULARY 45 oomun, n. woman. OSS, )i. hoi'se. ovm, n. hound. ourn, a. ours, ous, n. house. paaeent, n. and v. paint. paaeer, n. pear. paakit, n. pocket. paepur, n. paper {pa I per). pag, n. peg. paipul, n. people (peeptd). pais, n. piece (pees). pait, n. peat (2)eet). pay, )i. pea (j^ee). perch, n. pole, a measure of area. pillur, n. pillow. pinnee, n. pinafore. plaaee, n. and v. play. plaen, a. j^lain. plaes, n. place {plais). plaet, n. plate. plag, n. plague. plaiz, v.t. please [plecz). poodin, n. pudding. pook, n. heap of hay. praps, adv. perhaps. pus, n. purse. putt, v.t. put ipoot) ; p.p. putt, put down, cultivate. pyooit, n. lapwing. qwair, a. queer. qweiut, a. quiet, qwid, n. cud. raabit, n. rabbit. raaeek, n. rake (mik). raaeel. ». rail. raaeen, )i. rain. rail, a. real (raial). raip, v.t. reap (reej^). raiv, n. horizontal projection on side of waggon. reit, a. right (riit) ; adv. (right) thoroughly, quite. reit, v.t. write (riit) ; p.p. ritt. rick, n. stack, roaup, n. rope. rooster, ». cock. ruchtee, n. .saddle-chain for a cart. ruff, n. roof. run, v., 2)- of run, ran. a, slurred for ist, ai't. 8, slurred for UB, me. saart, n. sort. saas, n. sauce. saasur, n. saucer. sais, v.i. cease (sees). sait, n. seat (sect). saium, a. same. Scaach, n. Scotch. scraich, h. and r. screech. scuggee mugginz, n. squirrel. seed, v., p.p. seen. shaart, n. short. shaat, V. shalt. shaat'n, v. shalt not. shaed, n. shade (shaid). shalt, n. sheet. shillin, n. shilling. shood'n, r. should not. shramd, a. benumbed. sillir, n. cellar. smert, a. smart. smuvreenz, ii.pl. smithereens (smidhereetiz). snaaeel, n. snail. snag, n. sloe. 'snoa, slurred for dost know, do you know. snoch, n. notch. soavur, n. sofa. souf, n. south ; more often zoiith. spaid, n. spade. spaik, V. speak {speek). spay, v.t. castrate a sow-pig. speiur, n. spire, spek, r.i. expect, spoaz, v.i. suppose, spud, n. potato. squeiur, n. squire. staaeeshun, n. station (staishmi). staarlin, n. starling. staarm, n. storm, stag, n. entire animal, e.g. boar stag. stockin, n. stocking, stooun, 11. stone. straach, v. stretch. stray, n. straw. stroy, v.t. destroy, kill oif. swaid, n. swede (stveed). await, a. sweet. sucker, n. young colt. taablish, a. fairly well. 1 taaeek, v. take. 46 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOKEST taaeel, n. tail. taak, v.i. talk {tauk). taanur, ?;. a sixpence. taarbul, adv. terribly. taarmint, n. torment. taebul, n. table (taibul). taich, v.f. teach. taichur, n. teacher. taitay, n. potato. tay, n. tea. teim, n. time. teird, a. tired. teit, a. tight (tiit). tell, v.f. count. thaarn, ii. thorn. tiddee, n. potato. 'tiddin, 'tidda't, slwred for it isn't (it iznt). 'tiz, slurred for it is {it iz). toad, v.p. told (foald). t'odher,pro)i. the other. too, «. toe (toa). too, pj-ej). to (too), till. too-morrur, adv. to-morrow. toordz, 2yrep. towards {toanrdz). tooud, n. toad. tooud, v.p>. told (toald). traaeen, «. train, trait, n. treat (treet). trel, v.i. try (^/-/Z). tremenjus, a. tremendous. trevet, v. tripod of iron for holding cooking vessels by the fire. trush, n. thrush. tuffish, a. tough (tuff). tugz, n.2)l. hames, on collars. ttirmit, n. turnip, twaal, twaalv, num. twelve, t-winty, nnni. twenty, twoald, ^j.^j. of tell, told (toald). uirth, n. earth [etih). umbrellur, I , ,, uinbergmgum,r'-^^'^^-^"^- un, num. one (ivtin). un, pron. him. iir, pron. her, them. ur, conj. or. vaach, w. vetch. vaagit, n. faggot. vaalur, n. value. vaardin, n. farthing. vaarist, n. forest. vaark, n. fork. vaarm, a. warm. vaarmur, a. camp, warmer. vaartneit, n. fortnight. vaartay, num. forty. vaes, vaaees, n. face ifais). vaidhur, n. father. vaist, 11. feast. van, n. fan. vat, a. fat. vaul, v.i. fall ( faul) ; p. veil, fell, veeld, n. field. veeoo, a. few. veesh, a. fish. veetL,}"-^^-feet. veier, n. fire {fir). veilit, «. violet. vein, a, fine. veind, v. find [find) ; p. vound, found, veiv, num. five, vellur, n. fellow, ver, a. and adv. far (faar). verray, a. very. viftay, num. fifty, vifteen, num. fifteen, vinggur, n. finger. vloi, n. fly (fii). voag, n. folk (foaJc). voal, n. foal. voar, «(?«. afore, before, voarteen, 7ni?>t. fourteen, vog, ti. fog. vool, a. full (fool). voot, n. foot ; pi. veet. vorgit, «;. forget, vouer, n. four, voul, «. fowl, vound, v., p. found, vox, n. fox. Vreiday, n. Friday, vrog, /*. frog, vrom, p>rep. from, viiirn, n. fern, vur, p)^'^P- for. vur, n. fir. vurdher, a. farther off. vurdhist, a. farthest. vurray, adv. very, vurrur, n. furrow. vuBt, a. first. VOCABULAEY 47 vuz, iu furze ; pJ. vuzin. vyoo, a. few. waach, i\t. watch {woch). waaee, n. way. waaeet, ». weight {wait). waak, V. walk (waidc). waal, inter}, well. waar, n. war {ivaitr). waark, n. work {umrJc). waarm, n. worm {wunn). wab, ». web. wair, a. where. wait, II. wheat (ireet). wedher, )i. castrated ram. weeout, p)-e2). without. weid, a. wide. weir, n. wire {iviir). wen, a. when. Wenzday, n. Wednesday. wer, v., 2). was, were. wet, n. weight {wait). wi, w^ee, 2>>'ep- with. widhee, n. willow. wii, conj. why. w^ik, u. week. wikkur, r. neigh. windur, n. window. winker, n. the boy who seeks in heidee-hoop. winsh, n. wench, girl, wint, V. went. wippin, 11. swingle-tree of plough, wippul-tree, n. master-tree of plough, wit, r. wilt. wit'n, V. wilt not. woak, n. oak. woald, a. old {oald). woald-faashun, «. old-fashioned, woar, 2}.p. worn. wood'n, V. would not. woons, adv. once {tvuns). woos'n, or woosint, wouldst not. woots, f. wouldst {iroodst). wooud, a. old {oald). wops, n. wasp {wosp)). wot, rel. pron. who, which, what, that. woz'n, or wozzint, v. wast not. wuird, n. word {tvurd). wuirk, n. and v. work. wun, nam. cne {n-un). wus, a. worse {wurs). wuBt, a. worst {wurst). wuth, a. worth {wuHh). wuts, n.pl. oats. yaalur, a. yellow. yaandur, «rfy. yonder. yaaprun, n. apron. yaas, interj. yes, yaeker, n. acorn. Yaipril, n. {Aiiml). yeer, adv. here {heer). yeer, )i. ear (eer). yoa, n. ewe {j/oo). yoo, infeij. you {j/oo). yoorn, a. yours. yungin, n, young one, youngster. zaaeem, a. same. zaasur, n. saucer. zaik, r.t. seek. zaim, v.i. seem. Zaturday, n. Saturday. zault, 71. salt {.saalt). zay, n. sea {see). zay, t:t. say. zayin, p.p. saying. zbeiduT, 7i. spider. zed, v.t., 2)>'es. and />.^j. said. zee, v.t. see ; ^?. and 7;.^^. zeen, zin, zid, zeed, saw, seen. zee-zaw, n. see-saw. zeid, n. side {slid). zeit, )i. sight (s?/Y). zelf,2}i'on. self. zell, I'.f. sell. zertin, a. certain, zet, v.i. sat, jjj. of sit. zet, r.?. set. zevn, num. seven, zevnteen, num. seventeen. zeventy, num. seventy. zhoin, V. shine {shii}/). zich, a. such, zillur, n, cellar, zilvur, n. silver, zing, v.i. sing. zit, v.i. sit ; 2^. zet. zix, num. six. zixteen, num. sixteen, zixty, num. sixty, zizurz, n.2)l. scissoi's {sizziir.'i). zloo, a. slow {sloa). zoa, «;. sow (soa). zoavur, ;(. sofa. zoid, n. side (sm?). zoidur, n. cider {Kiidur). 48 DIALECT OF THE NEW FOEEST zoiv, n. scythe {siith). zoo, adv. so (soa). zooner, adv. rather. zooud, v.p. of zell, sold (soald). zouth, n. south. zow, n. sow (sou). ziiin, a. some (sum). zummit, n. something, zummur, «. summer. ^'^^^^y^'UrZ.. somewhere. zura'wair, ) zun, n. sun. Zunday, n. Sunday. zwaalur, n.Sindv. swallow {nwolloa). Oxford : Horace Hart M.A., Printer to the University 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subjea to immediate recall 23A|*f d2D0 ^'^CD LP JUW 31 96 2 23iUu'o. SvJl REC'D ^^ M^ B9-5P« LD 21A-50m-3,'62 (C70978l0)476B General Library University of California Berkeley 42^307 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY ^