The ArticlesAccidence: The ArticlesA. The Indefinite Article. Very few dialects follow the rule of the literary language according to whichanis used before a vowel orhmute.əis used before vowels and consonants, asə apl, an apple. Whennis used it is generally attached to the noun, asə napl. In all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.the indefinite article is used redundantly before numerals and nouns of multitude and quantity, as: more than a twenty of them; a many; a plenty;cp.lit. Eng.a few. This construction occurs in our older literature,cp.‘A many fools,’Mer. of Venice,III.v. 73.B. The Definite Article. The dialect forms of the definite article have been given above under the consonantþ. In those dialects where the form ist, should the following word begin with a dental, the only trace of the article is the suspension of the dental. A clear distinction is made betweenteəbl, table, andt’eəbl, the table,dlium, gloom, andd’lium, the gloom. These same dialects, owing to liturgical influence, use the full formðəbeforeloəd, Lord, when applied to the Deity, save in off-hand speech and in the phraseloəd nǭz, the Lord knows, where the article is omitted altogether. The ending of theO.E.neuter form of the definite article survives intōn, the one (O.E.ðæt ān), andtuðə(r,tɒðə(r, the other (O.E.ðæt ōðer). These words are in general use in the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.; their origin being forgotten,the ordinary form of the definite article is often used redundantly before them.The definite article is used in many dialects in cases where it would be omitted in thelit.language:(a) In the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.before the names of all diseases, as: he has got the fever, the rheumatics.(b) In theSc.Midl.andsw.Cy.dialects before the names of trades and occupations, generally with a frequentative force implying the practising or learning of the trade, e.g. We’ve a-boun un purntice to the shoemakerin’ (Som.), Apprentices and improvers wanted to the Dressmaking.(c) InSc.before the names of sciences and commodities, as: he studies the botany; the sugar is cheap.(d) In theSc.andMidl.dialects before the names of days, months, seasons, especially when speaking of any particular circumstance connected therewith, as: he died in the Christmas.(e) In the dialects ofSc.andn.Cy.before certain words, as church, school, bed, when these are used absolutely or indefinitely, as: it’s wearisome lying in the bed.(f) In theSc.n.Cy.andMidl.dialects before ordinals used adverbially, as: Tom came in the second and Jack the third.(g) InIrel.and most parts ofEng.beforeboth, as: I will have the both of them.(h) Inw.Yks.before proper names, and in the sw. dialects whenever a proper name or title is preceded by anadj., as: T’Skipton, T’Hawes; the young squire Jones.(i) InI.Ma.before anadj.when special stress is required, generally with inversion of verb andadj., as: the sick I am.NounsAccidence: NounsThe formation of the plural of nouns is practically the same as in the standard language, but a few points of deviation are worth notice. Nouns ending inþwhich in thelit.language changeþtoðand takezin the plural, aspāþ,pāðz, generally retain theþand takesin the plural in the dialects;similarly inSc.and sw. dialects nouns ending inlfretain thefin the plural and takes. Nouns ending instform their plural inəz,izin theMidl.s. and sw.dialects, asbīst, beast,bīstəz,pōst, post,pōstəz. Very frequently, however, such nouns take a double plural, asbīstəzəz,postəzəz. A triple pluralnestsəzəz, nests, is found inSus.The only plurals in-nin thelit.language areoxenand the archaic formhosen.Brethren,children, andkineare double plurals. The list is much longer in the dialects and comprises: (a) Words which belonged to the weak declension inO.E.:æʃn, ashes,s.w.Cy.;bīn, bees,Irel.Chs.;īn, eyes, in general use inSc.Irel.andEng.;flīn, fleas,Midl.;pīzn, peas,Wxf.Eng.gen.;tōn,toes,Wxf.s.Chs.(b) Words which originally belonged to the strong or irregular declensions:brùðrən, brothers,Lei.;tʃīzn, cheeses,e.An.Dor.;klūtn, clouts,e.Yks.;vəzn, furze,Dor.;h)ɒuzn, houses,gen.inEng.exceptn.Cy.;kīn, keys,Wil.;mɒuzn, mice,Glo.e.Dev.;nīzn, nests,s.Chs.Midl.e.An.;ōkn, oaks,Hrf.;pōzn, posts,Nhp.Shr.Glo.Hnt.;riksn, rushes,sw.Cy.;ʃūn, shoes,gen.inSc.Irel.andEng.;sistrən, sisters,Cai.;trīn, trees, Fif.Wxf.;tɒrvn, turfs,Sc.;wopsn, wasps,Hmp.;wenʃn, wenches,Glo.(c) Romance words to which the weak ending has been added:botln, bottles,sw.Dev.;klōzn, fields,Lei.Nhp.e.An.;feərin, fairies,e.Lan.;plēzn, places,Midl.sw.Cy.;primrōzn, primroses,Glo.Dev.The plural formtʃildə(r, children, in general use inIrel.andEng.is the regular form from theO.E.pluralcildru. In thelit.language therhas ceased to be felt as a sign of the plural and the weak-nhas been added. Certain nouns form their plural by change of vowel as in the literary language; these are: foot feet, goose geese, louse lice, man men, mouse mice, tooth teeth, woman women;breðə(r,bruðə(r, brother makesbreðə(rin parts ofSc.,n.Yks.Lan.;kau, cow, makeskai,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.sw.Cy.On the other handfut, foot, makesfutse.Suf.,lɒus, louse,lɒusəz,Abd.e.Sus.n.Dev.,mɒus, mouse,mɒusəz,m.Bck.e.Sus.Certain nouns have the singular and plural alike, as:as,ash, ashes,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.;tʃik, chicken, chickens,e.Sus.;tʃikn, ibid.,Glo.Oxf.Ken.m.Sus.Som.;fɒul, fowl, fowls,Sc.Shr.;hors, horse, horses; and a few others;bīst, an animal of the ox tribe, has a collective pluralbīs(biəs)inSc.Yks.Lan.Midl.andsw.Cy.On the other hand, corn has a pluralkornz, oats, inSc.;ʃip, sheep, makesʃipsinWar.Shr.Glo.Nouns expressing time, space, weight, measure, and number, when immediately preceded by a cardinal number, generally remain unchanged in the dialects ofSc.andEng.Double plurals are common in the dialects, for example: (a)əz,izis added to the ordinary plural endings,z, in:beləsəz, bellows,n. and nm.Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.sw.Cy.;buədzəz, boards,Sus.;galəsəz, braces,n.Cy.;æmzəz, hames,sw.Cy.;keksəz, a plant,Midl.Ken.Sur.Dor.;ʃūzəz, shoes,Nrf.Dev.;sǭtsəz, sorts,Brks.;stepsəz, steps,w. and sw.Yks.w.Som.;þrīzəz, threes,tūzəz, twos,Brks.e.An.;toŋziz, tongs,w.Wil.w.Som.(b)zis added to the plural-n:brīknz, breeches,&c.;oksnz, oxen,w.Som.;plēzns, places,Not.;riksnz, rushes,Dev.;ʃūnz, shoes,Sc.;slōnz, sloes,Midl.e.Cy.sw.Cy.(c)s,əzis added to umlaut plurals:fīts, feet,Sc.se. Yks.Glo.;gīzəz, geese,Nhb.;mīzəz, mice,Ess.(d)tʃildə̄z, children, occurs inw.Yks.(e) The weak ending-nis sometimes added to the ordinarys,z:ǭzn, haws,Glo.;ipsn, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.;ɒksn, hocks,Ken.Dev.Cor.;nīzn, knees,s.Chs.(f) The weak plural ending is sometimes added to the umlaut plural:fītn, feet,e.An.;gīzn, geese,Suf.;kain, kine, Ayr. Gall.Wxf.n.Cy.Ken.Dev.;mīzn, mice,Cmb.Suf.Triple plurals occur in:ǭznz, haws,Glo.;ipsnz, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.In some nouns the plural form is used for the singular, as:ǭz, a haw,Oxf.Suf.Ess.Ken.;inz, an inn,Sc.n.Irel.;slōn, a sloe,Midl.s. andsw.Cy.;&c.In certain words thesof the stem has been taken as the sign of the plural, and a new singular formed without it, as:karitʃ, catechism,Fr.catéchèse,Sc.n.Yks.;ʃē, chaise,Yks.Lan.m.Bck.e.Sus.;hō, a single stocking,Sc.piz, a single pea, inBch.Abd.is a survival ofO.E.pise; in thelit.language a new singular has been formed, butcp.pease-pudding. Other examples of the formation of a new singular withoutsin thelit.language are:burial,O.E.byrgels;riddle,O.E.rǣdels;cherry,Fr.cerise;sherry, formerlysherris, Span.Xeres;skate, Du.schaats,Fr.échasse.The following nouns, though remaining singular in form, take the plural form of the verb and pronoun and are used after few,&c., as:brōz, a kind of porridge,Sc.;broþ, broth,Sc.n.Ir.n.Cy.Midl.e.An.sw.Cy.;brouis, a kind of gruel,s.Chs.Shr.;grǖəl, gruel,e.An.;poridȝ, porridge,n.Cy.,n.Midl.;sūp, soup,w.Yks.Shr.The sign of the genitive, both singular and plural, is generally omitted when one noun qualifies another in all then.Cy.dialects, and occasionally in then.Midlands, as: the Queen cousin; my father boots; the lad father stick. A Lancashire magistrate is reported to have asked a witness, ‘Was it your brother dog?’ This characteristic ofn.Cy.dialects is found already in theM.E.period. TheM.E.practice of placing the genitivalsat the end of an attributive clause survives in most dialects ofSc.andEng., as: I’ve just seen Jim Dutton him as went to America’s wife; that’s the woman what was left behind’s child. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to express the genitive plural by means of an additional syllable suffixed to the nominative plural, as: the farmerses cows. This is especially the case with the wordfolk,nom. pl.fōks,gen. pl.fōksəz.The gender of nouns grammatically speaking can only be ascertained by means of the pronouns referring to them. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to personify inanimate objects. InSc.Irel.and the dialects of the northern counties the feminine pronoun is used, while in the Midlands, thee. s. and sw.counties, the use is variable. In thesw.dialects inanimate objects are divided into two classes. The first or personal class consists of formed, individual objects, as: a tool, a tree; for these masculine or feminine pronouns are employed. The neuterpronoun is used when referring to nouns contained in the second or impersonal class of unformed objects, as: water, dust.AdjectivesAccidence: Adjectives and NumeralsIn the dialects the practice of forming adjectives denoting material from the substantive by means of the suffix-enis carried out to a much greater extent than in the literary language, as:tinnen pots,glassen bottles,hornen spoons. This is especially the case in the southern and south-western dialects. The comparison of adjectives is formed in the dialects by adding the comparative suffix-erand the superlative-estto practically all adjectives, polysyllabic as well as monosyllabic.Moreandmostare as a rule only used to supplement or intensify the regular comparison, as:more beautifuller,most worst. The following adjectives, irregular in thelit.language, are compared regularly in some dialects:badder,baddest,n.Cy.Midl.;farer,farest,Sc.n.Cy.and the Midlands;gooder,goodest,Cum.m.Yks.Dev.;iller,w.Yks.e.An.,illest, Fif.n.Cy.;liker,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.sw.Cy.;littler,littlest, in general use inn. and ne.Sc.andEng.The old comparativenear, treated as a positive in the literary language, retains its force inn.Yks.andnw.Der.; similarly,far, further, is retained inYks.Lan.and the Midlands.Mae, theM.E.comparative ofmany, is used inSc.Nhb.e.Yks.Stf.Double comparatives occur inbetterer,Cum.Yks.Dev.Cor.;morer,Shr.;worser, in general use inSc.andEng.A triple form,worserer, is heard ine.An.Double superlatives occur inbestest,sw.Cy.;leastest,Lan.e.An.sw.Cy.;mostest,Shr.Ken.Som.Cor.NumeralsIn the dialects of the western and south-western counties it is usual to place the lower digit before the higher, as:five and fifty. InShr.this rule is invariable when speaking of sums of money under£2, as: six and thirty shillings for a pig. In the dialects, especially ofSc.Irel.n.Cy.Lei.Wor.Shr., the ordinals afterthirdtake the suffixtinstead ofliterary Englishth. The old ordinalerst, first in order, survives inSc.andn.Yks.PronounsAccidence: PronounsIn all the dialects ofSc.andEng.there is a tendency to introduce a redundant personal pronoun after a noun when emphasis is required; this is especially frequent after a proper name, as: Mr. Smith, he came to my house. InSc.and the northern dialects a pronoun is often used to introduce a statement, the specific subject being added later, as: it runs very well, does that horse. In all the dialects ofSc.andEng.the objective form of the personal pronoun is used for the nominative: (1) After the substantive verb, as: it was her that did it. (2) When standing alone, as: Who did that? Her. (3) When the verb refers to different persons, as: him and me did it; Jack and us went together. (4) When antecedent to a relative pronoun, and therefore separated from its verb by a subordinate sentence, as: him that did that ought to be hanged. The objective forms are often used for the nominative when the pronouns are unemphatic, especially in the south-midland, eastern, southern, and south-western counties. Conversely in all the dialects of these same counties the nominative of the personal pronoun is used as the emphatic form of the objective case, as: her did it; her saw she. InIrel.the impersonal phraseit isoften occurs redundantly at the beginning of a sentence, as: it’s sorry you will be; it’s sleepy I am.The various dialect forms of the personal pronouns are of special interest to the philologist in that they supply living examples to prove the truth of the theory necessary to explain the original forms of the pronouns in the separate branches of the Indo-Germanic family of languages. Most of the pronouns, especially the personal and demonstrative, must have had accented and unaccented forms existing side by side in the parent language itself, and then one or other of the forms became generalized already in the prehistoric period of the individual branches of the parent language.At a later period, but still in prehistoric times, there arose new accented and unaccented forms side by side in the individual branches, as e.g. inprim.Germanicek,mekbesideik,mik. The separate Germanic languages generalized one or other of these forms before the beginning of the oldest literary monuments, and then new accented beside unaccented forms came into existence again. And similarly during the historic periods of the different languages. Thus, e.g., theO.E.forIisic; this became inM.E.ichaccented form besideiunaccented form;ichthen disappeared in standardM.E.(but it is still preserved in one of the modern dialects of Somersetshire), andicame to be used as the accented and unaccented form. At a later period it becameīwhen accented and remainediwhen unaccented. The former has becomelit. Eng.I, and the latter has disappeared from thelit.language, but it is still preserved in many northernEng.dialects asi. In these dialectsiis regularly used in interrogative and subordinate sentences; theM.E.accented formīhas becomeaiand is only used in the dialects to express special emphasis, and from it a new unaccented formahas been developed, which can only be used in making direct assertions. Thus in one and the same dialect (Windhill,Yks.) we arrive at three forms:ai,a,i, which are never mixed up syntactically by genuine native dialect speakers. Something similar to what has happened and is still happening in the modern dialects must also have taken place in the prehistoric and historic periods of all the Indo-Germanic languages.I. (a) The nominative of the first person singular. The stressed form is generally the same as the normal development of oldī(v.p. 132), but in some of then.Midl.dialectsǭis used. The unstressed forms are generallyaorə, but in then.Midl.dialectsois the general form. The formsitʃ(ich),ɒtʃ(utch),ɒtʃi(utchy), and the contracted formtʃ(ch), as:tʃam= I am, were formerly used inWxf.Dor.Som.andDev.These forms are still used by old people in a small district ofSom.close to Yeovil on the border of Dorset,cp.‘Chill pick your teeth, zir,’Lear,IV.vi. 250. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallymī, rarelymei. The unstressed form ismə.II. (a) The nominative of the second person singular. The stressed form generally contains the normal development of oldū(p. 132), but in then.andn.Midl.counties theðhas generally becometin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyðī, rarelyðei. The unstressed form isðə. The pronoun of the second person singular is in use in almost all the dialects ofEng.to express familiarity or contempt, and also in times of strong emotion; it cannot be used to a superior without conveying the idea of impertinence. Ins.Sc.this pronoun has entirely disappeared from the spoken language, and is only very occasionally heard in other parts ofSc.InGlo., owing probably to Quaker influence, it can be used without rudeness to a superior. InNrf.it is only used in a few stereotyped salutations, as:fare-thee-well. Ine.Dor.it is only used to children or in recriminatory language.III. (a) The nominative of the third person singularmasc.The stressed form is generallyh)ī, rarelyh)ei. The unstressed form is generallyiorə. In then.and somen.Midl.dialects theiis used in affirmative sentences and theəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. The unstressed formə, writtena, occurs often in Shakespeare’s Plays,cp.‘Hostess.Nay, that a did not.Boy.Yes, that a did,’Hen. V,II.iv. 32, 33. (b) The objective case. The stressed form ish)imand the unstressed formim, but in thes.Midl.s. and sw.Cy.dialectsən, generally writtenen,un(O.E.hine), is the regular unstressed form forim. It is also used of inanimate objects and inw.Som.of feminine animals, though never of a woman.IV. (a) The nominative of the third person singularfem.The stressed form is generallyʃī, rarelyʃei, but in some of then.Midl.dialects it isʃū. The unstressed form is generallyʃə, butʃuis also used in those dialects which haveʃūas the stressed form.O.E.hēo, she, survives asū,ugenerallywrittenhoo, in parts ofw.Yks.Lan.Chs.Flt.Dnb.Stf.Der.Not.Wor.(b) The objective case is generallyh)ē(r, h)ə(r.V. The nominative of the third person singularneut.The stressed form is generallyit, but inSc.andNhb.hit. The unstressed form is generallyitorət. InOxf.Dor.andSom.itis frequently used instead of the plural pronoun when animals or objects are referred to collectively.VI. (a) The nominative of the first person plural. The stressed form iswī, rarelywei. The unstressed forms arewi,wə. In manyn.Cy.andn.Midl.dialectswiis used in affirmative sentences andwəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyɒs, but in some of then.Cy.andn.Midl.dialects it isuz, inSc., parts ofIrel.andNhb.hɒz. The unstressed forms areəs,əz.VII. The second person plural. Few dialects discriminate betweenyouandye; on the whole the use ofyefor thenom. and obj.cases singular and plural is the more general. Ins.Chs.youis always singular in meaning though it takes the verb in the plural, as: you thinken;yeis always plural. InIrel.andNrf.the curious formyous, inIrel.alsoyees, is used when more than one person is addressed.VIII. (a) The nominative of the third person plural. The stressed form of the nominative is generallyðēorðeə, but in somemidl.ands.dialects it isðaiorðei, and inSh. and Or.I.n.Ken.Sus.dē, rarelydei. The unstressed form is generallyðeorðə, rarelyði. InLin.War.Shr.ə(O.E.hīe) is used for the unstressed form ofthey. (b) The objective case. The stressed form isðem, rarelyðēm. In all the dialects ofIrel.andEng.the unstressed form isəm(O.E.heom), generally writtenem, or’em. InSc.the unstressed form isðemorðəm.The conjunctive possessive pronoun is in many dialects formed by adding the genitivalsto the personal pronouns both nominative and objective, as:we’s,Oxf.Ess.;us’s,m.Yks.Glo.Oxf.;you’s,Sur.;him’s, w.Sc.Hrf.;she’s,Sur.Wil.;them’s,Dev.; ine.An.that’sis used forhis,her,its. The use of the personal pronoun, nominative or objective, instead of the possessive is common in manyMidl.andsw.Cy.dialects, especially when unemphatic or in addressing children, as: we held we breaths; let’s be off tul us dinners,In certainn.Cy.andMidl.dialects the old uninflecteditis still used instead of the modernits,cp.‘It lifted up it head,’Ham.I.ii. 216. InHmp.the still older use ofhisfor the neuter possessive is preserved,cp.‘To every seed his own body,’A.V.1 Cor.xv. 38. Inne. Lan.her(O.E.hiera) is used fortheir. Throughout England the use ofour,yourbefore a proper noun to denote that the person spoken of belongs respectively to the family of the speaker or the person spoken to is very common, as: our Sal; your Tom.wə(ris in general dialect use inSc.Irel.andEng.for the unstressed form ofour.In theMidl.e. s. and sw.counties the disjunctive possessive pronouns, exceptmine,thine, are generally formed from the conjunctive by addingnorən, thushisn,hern,ourn,yourn,theirn. A double form is used inmine’s,Sc.n.Yks.This double ending is added to thenom.inweez’n,Glo.;shizn,War.Glo.Brks.Hmp.Wil.The conjunctive form is used disjunctively inLakel.Suf.Ess., as: that is my. Inw.Yks.that’sis used as the disjunctive possessive of the third person. Apart from these deviations, the dialects generally express the disjunctive possessive pronouns in the same manner as thelit.language.The reflexive pronouns are generally formed by addingself,sel,sen, orselnfor the singular, andselves,sels,sens(rarelysen) for the plural, to the conjunctive possessive pronouns, usually the unstressed forms:mi,ði,wə(r,jə(r,&c.The endingssen,seln,sensare chiefly confined to then.Midl.dialects. The endingsself,selvesare hardly ever used inSc.Irel.n.Cy.andn.Midlands. Frequently the objective case of the simple personal pronoun is used with a reflexive meaning, especially inSc.n.Cy.andn.Midl., as: get thee dressed while I wash me. InSc.theirselis used when the idea is collective,theirselswhen it is segregate.The demonstrative pronounthisis expressed by: (1)This, generally used in the same manner as inlit.English. (2)This here, in general dialect use inEng.(3)That, inSc.andn.Irel.as: that is a fine day. (4)Thease,Hrf.Glo.andsw.Cy., used of objects having a definite shape;cp.Lat.hic; inw.Som.when the noun, whatever its quantity or number, has already been mentioned in the same sentence, it is referred to asthat,this, not asthick,thease. (5)Thease yerimy,Glo.(6)Thick here,sw.Cy.In disjunctive use are: (7)Thisn,thisna,n.Cy.Midl.Suf.Sur.(8)Thease here,w.Som.(9)Thissum,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.Thatis expressed by: (1)That, generally used in the same manner as inlit. Eng.(2)That there, in general dialect use inEng.; a secondthereis often added, as is also a secondheretothis here. (3)Thack,thacky,Glo.sw.Cy.(4)Thick there,Glo.I.W.sw.Cy.(5)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur., used to identify an object remote from both speakers. (6)Thonder,Chs.Hrf.(7)Yon,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.Hrf.e.An.Dev., used especially of a person or thing a little way off, but within sight. (8)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(9)Yonder, Ayr.I.Ma.s.Chs.Nhp.w.Wor.Nrf.In disjunctive use are: (10)Thatn,Lakel.Der.Not.Wor.Hrf.Sur.(11)Thickumy,Som.(12)Thilk,Glo.InSc.n.Midl.Lon.Suf.Ken.thatis used in emphatic reiteration of an assertion, as: I suppose you are in a hurry. I am that. In all the dialectsthatis used adverbially with the meaning to such a degree, as: I was that bad. It is also used before a substantive with the meaningsuch, as: in that fear that I couldn’t move. Inn.Hmp.thickis always used forthis, andthuckforthat; inDor.thickis only used for the personal class of formed individual objects.Theseis expressed by: (1)These, as inlit. Eng.(2)Thes here,w.Yks.Midl.Brks.Nrf.Ken.Som.n.Dev.(3)These yerimy,Glo.(4)Theasum,theasamy,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.(5)This,ne.Sc.n.Cy.parts ofYks.andLan., andsw.Cy.It is used especially with plural nouns denoting time, as: this three weeks. In disjunctive use are: (6)These ’ans(= ones),theseun,Cum.Hrf.Brks.Wil.(7)Thism,Glo.Thoseis seldom or never heard in genuine dialect speech. Its place is supplied by: (1)Them, in all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.InSc.it is especially used as the antecedentof the relative, as: them at did it. (2)Them there,n.Midl.Midl.e.An.Dor.Som.(3)Themmin,Glo.Wil.(4)Themmy,sw.Cy.(5)They,Midl.Suf.s. and sw.Cy., used especially as the antecedent of the relative. (6)They there,Ken.w.Som.Dev.(7)That,ne.Sc.(8)These,Sc.Cum.Yks.(9)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur.(10)Yon,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.e.An.Dev.(11)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(12)Them ’ans,Cum.(13)Yon ’ans,Cum.Theseandthoseare both expressed by: (1)Thae,Sc.Uls.n.Cy.(2)Thick,thuck,Wor.Dev.(3)Thir,Sc.(s.of the Grampians)Uls.n.Cy.In disjunctive use: (4)Thirs,thors,Sc.Nhb.(5)Thir ’ans,Cum.There are no special dialect words for the interrogative pronoun, but the following deviations from thelit.use are worth notice:Whomis hardly ever used in any dialect; its place is taken bywho. InSc.and n. andne.Yks.whoseis seldom used as an interrogative pronoun, a periphrasis being used instead, as:who is aught the bairn?whose is the child?who belongs this house?whose house is this? InCum.whichis used of persons as well as of animals and things.The relative pronoun is generally expressed byas,at,thatorwhatfor all genders and numbers, when the antecedent is expressed. In other caseswhois used for themasc. and fem. nom. and obj., andwhatfor the neuter.Whomis never used in the dialects.Asis rarely used inn.Cy., but in the other parts of England it is in general use.Atis in general use inSc.Irel.n.Cy.and a small portion of then.Midl.counties.Whatcan be used when it refers to persons as well as to inanimate objects in some of then.Midl.counties, and in nearly all the counties south of then.Midlands. Inw.Som.it is only used when special emphasis is required. In s.Not.Hrf.Glo.andNrf.the relativewhichis used redundantly in a conjunctive sense, as: ghosts, which I can’t bear talking about. InBrks.whosenis used forwhose, but as a rule the possessive relative cannot be expressed by a single word in the dialects; instead a periphrasis or parenthetical sentenceis substituted. Especially frequent is the use ofasorwhatcoupled with a possessive pronoun, as: that’s the chap as his uncle was hanged. InSc.atis similarly used, as: the man at his coat’s torn.
The ArticlesAccidence: The ArticlesA. The Indefinite Article. Very few dialects follow the rule of the literary language according to whichanis used before a vowel orhmute.əis used before vowels and consonants, asə apl, an apple. Whennis used it is generally attached to the noun, asə napl. In all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.the indefinite article is used redundantly before numerals and nouns of multitude and quantity, as: more than a twenty of them; a many; a plenty;cp.lit. Eng.a few. This construction occurs in our older literature,cp.‘A many fools,’Mer. of Venice,III.v. 73.B. The Definite Article. The dialect forms of the definite article have been given above under the consonantþ. In those dialects where the form ist, should the following word begin with a dental, the only trace of the article is the suspension of the dental. A clear distinction is made betweenteəbl, table, andt’eəbl, the table,dlium, gloom, andd’lium, the gloom. These same dialects, owing to liturgical influence, use the full formðəbeforeloəd, Lord, when applied to the Deity, save in off-hand speech and in the phraseloəd nǭz, the Lord knows, where the article is omitted altogether. The ending of theO.E.neuter form of the definite article survives intōn, the one (O.E.ðæt ān), andtuðə(r,tɒðə(r, the other (O.E.ðæt ōðer). These words are in general use in the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.; their origin being forgotten,the ordinary form of the definite article is often used redundantly before them.The definite article is used in many dialects in cases where it would be omitted in thelit.language:(a) In the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.before the names of all diseases, as: he has got the fever, the rheumatics.(b) In theSc.Midl.andsw.Cy.dialects before the names of trades and occupations, generally with a frequentative force implying the practising or learning of the trade, e.g. We’ve a-boun un purntice to the shoemakerin’ (Som.), Apprentices and improvers wanted to the Dressmaking.(c) InSc.before the names of sciences and commodities, as: he studies the botany; the sugar is cheap.(d) In theSc.andMidl.dialects before the names of days, months, seasons, especially when speaking of any particular circumstance connected therewith, as: he died in the Christmas.(e) In the dialects ofSc.andn.Cy.before certain words, as church, school, bed, when these are used absolutely or indefinitely, as: it’s wearisome lying in the bed.(f) In theSc.n.Cy.andMidl.dialects before ordinals used adverbially, as: Tom came in the second and Jack the third.(g) InIrel.and most parts ofEng.beforeboth, as: I will have the both of them.(h) Inw.Yks.before proper names, and in the sw. dialects whenever a proper name or title is preceded by anadj., as: T’Skipton, T’Hawes; the young squire Jones.(i) InI.Ma.before anadj.when special stress is required, generally with inversion of verb andadj., as: the sick I am.
Accidence: The Articles
A. The Indefinite Article. Very few dialects follow the rule of the literary language according to whichanis used before a vowel orhmute.əis used before vowels and consonants, asə apl, an apple. Whennis used it is generally attached to the noun, asə napl. In all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.the indefinite article is used redundantly before numerals and nouns of multitude and quantity, as: more than a twenty of them; a many; a plenty;cp.lit. Eng.a few. This construction occurs in our older literature,cp.‘A many fools,’Mer. of Venice,III.v. 73.
B. The Definite Article. The dialect forms of the definite article have been given above under the consonantþ. In those dialects where the form ist, should the following word begin with a dental, the only trace of the article is the suspension of the dental. A clear distinction is made betweenteəbl, table, andt’eəbl, the table,dlium, gloom, andd’lium, the gloom. These same dialects, owing to liturgical influence, use the full formðəbeforeloəd, Lord, when applied to the Deity, save in off-hand speech and in the phraseloəd nǭz, the Lord knows, where the article is omitted altogether. The ending of theO.E.neuter form of the definite article survives intōn, the one (O.E.ðæt ān), andtuðə(r,tɒðə(r, the other (O.E.ðæt ōðer). These words are in general use in the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.; their origin being forgotten,the ordinary form of the definite article is often used redundantly before them.
The definite article is used in many dialects in cases where it would be omitted in thelit.language:
(a) In the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.before the names of all diseases, as: he has got the fever, the rheumatics.
(b) In theSc.Midl.andsw.Cy.dialects before the names of trades and occupations, generally with a frequentative force implying the practising or learning of the trade, e.g. We’ve a-boun un purntice to the shoemakerin’ (Som.), Apprentices and improvers wanted to the Dressmaking.
(c) InSc.before the names of sciences and commodities, as: he studies the botany; the sugar is cheap.
(d) In theSc.andMidl.dialects before the names of days, months, seasons, especially when speaking of any particular circumstance connected therewith, as: he died in the Christmas.
(e) In the dialects ofSc.andn.Cy.before certain words, as church, school, bed, when these are used absolutely or indefinitely, as: it’s wearisome lying in the bed.
(f) In theSc.n.Cy.andMidl.dialects before ordinals used adverbially, as: Tom came in the second and Jack the third.
(g) InIrel.and most parts ofEng.beforeboth, as: I will have the both of them.
(h) Inw.Yks.before proper names, and in the sw. dialects whenever a proper name or title is preceded by anadj., as: T’Skipton, T’Hawes; the young squire Jones.
(i) InI.Ma.before anadj.when special stress is required, generally with inversion of verb andadj., as: the sick I am.
NounsAccidence: NounsThe formation of the plural of nouns is practically the same as in the standard language, but a few points of deviation are worth notice. Nouns ending inþwhich in thelit.language changeþtoðand takezin the plural, aspāþ,pāðz, generally retain theþand takesin the plural in the dialects;similarly inSc.and sw. dialects nouns ending inlfretain thefin the plural and takes. Nouns ending instform their plural inəz,izin theMidl.s. and sw.dialects, asbīst, beast,bīstəz,pōst, post,pōstəz. Very frequently, however, such nouns take a double plural, asbīstəzəz,postəzəz. A triple pluralnestsəzəz, nests, is found inSus.The only plurals in-nin thelit.language areoxenand the archaic formhosen.Brethren,children, andkineare double plurals. The list is much longer in the dialects and comprises: (a) Words which belonged to the weak declension inO.E.:æʃn, ashes,s.w.Cy.;bīn, bees,Irel.Chs.;īn, eyes, in general use inSc.Irel.andEng.;flīn, fleas,Midl.;pīzn, peas,Wxf.Eng.gen.;tōn,toes,Wxf.s.Chs.(b) Words which originally belonged to the strong or irregular declensions:brùðrən, brothers,Lei.;tʃīzn, cheeses,e.An.Dor.;klūtn, clouts,e.Yks.;vəzn, furze,Dor.;h)ɒuzn, houses,gen.inEng.exceptn.Cy.;kīn, keys,Wil.;mɒuzn, mice,Glo.e.Dev.;nīzn, nests,s.Chs.Midl.e.An.;ōkn, oaks,Hrf.;pōzn, posts,Nhp.Shr.Glo.Hnt.;riksn, rushes,sw.Cy.;ʃūn, shoes,gen.inSc.Irel.andEng.;sistrən, sisters,Cai.;trīn, trees, Fif.Wxf.;tɒrvn, turfs,Sc.;wopsn, wasps,Hmp.;wenʃn, wenches,Glo.(c) Romance words to which the weak ending has been added:botln, bottles,sw.Dev.;klōzn, fields,Lei.Nhp.e.An.;feərin, fairies,e.Lan.;plēzn, places,Midl.sw.Cy.;primrōzn, primroses,Glo.Dev.The plural formtʃildə(r, children, in general use inIrel.andEng.is the regular form from theO.E.pluralcildru. In thelit.language therhas ceased to be felt as a sign of the plural and the weak-nhas been added. Certain nouns form their plural by change of vowel as in the literary language; these are: foot feet, goose geese, louse lice, man men, mouse mice, tooth teeth, woman women;breðə(r,bruðə(r, brother makesbreðə(rin parts ofSc.,n.Yks.Lan.;kau, cow, makeskai,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.sw.Cy.On the other handfut, foot, makesfutse.Suf.,lɒus, louse,lɒusəz,Abd.e.Sus.n.Dev.,mɒus, mouse,mɒusəz,m.Bck.e.Sus.Certain nouns have the singular and plural alike, as:as,ash, ashes,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.;tʃik, chicken, chickens,e.Sus.;tʃikn, ibid.,Glo.Oxf.Ken.m.Sus.Som.;fɒul, fowl, fowls,Sc.Shr.;hors, horse, horses; and a few others;bīst, an animal of the ox tribe, has a collective pluralbīs(biəs)inSc.Yks.Lan.Midl.andsw.Cy.On the other hand, corn has a pluralkornz, oats, inSc.;ʃip, sheep, makesʃipsinWar.Shr.Glo.Nouns expressing time, space, weight, measure, and number, when immediately preceded by a cardinal number, generally remain unchanged in the dialects ofSc.andEng.Double plurals are common in the dialects, for example: (a)əz,izis added to the ordinary plural endings,z, in:beləsəz, bellows,n. and nm.Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.sw.Cy.;buədzəz, boards,Sus.;galəsəz, braces,n.Cy.;æmzəz, hames,sw.Cy.;keksəz, a plant,Midl.Ken.Sur.Dor.;ʃūzəz, shoes,Nrf.Dev.;sǭtsəz, sorts,Brks.;stepsəz, steps,w. and sw.Yks.w.Som.;þrīzəz, threes,tūzəz, twos,Brks.e.An.;toŋziz, tongs,w.Wil.w.Som.(b)zis added to the plural-n:brīknz, breeches,&c.;oksnz, oxen,w.Som.;plēzns, places,Not.;riksnz, rushes,Dev.;ʃūnz, shoes,Sc.;slōnz, sloes,Midl.e.Cy.sw.Cy.(c)s,əzis added to umlaut plurals:fīts, feet,Sc.se. Yks.Glo.;gīzəz, geese,Nhb.;mīzəz, mice,Ess.(d)tʃildə̄z, children, occurs inw.Yks.(e) The weak ending-nis sometimes added to the ordinarys,z:ǭzn, haws,Glo.;ipsn, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.;ɒksn, hocks,Ken.Dev.Cor.;nīzn, knees,s.Chs.(f) The weak plural ending is sometimes added to the umlaut plural:fītn, feet,e.An.;gīzn, geese,Suf.;kain, kine, Ayr. Gall.Wxf.n.Cy.Ken.Dev.;mīzn, mice,Cmb.Suf.Triple plurals occur in:ǭznz, haws,Glo.;ipsnz, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.In some nouns the plural form is used for the singular, as:ǭz, a haw,Oxf.Suf.Ess.Ken.;inz, an inn,Sc.n.Irel.;slōn, a sloe,Midl.s. andsw.Cy.;&c.In certain words thesof the stem has been taken as the sign of the plural, and a new singular formed without it, as:karitʃ, catechism,Fr.catéchèse,Sc.n.Yks.;ʃē, chaise,Yks.Lan.m.Bck.e.Sus.;hō, a single stocking,Sc.piz, a single pea, inBch.Abd.is a survival ofO.E.pise; in thelit.language a new singular has been formed, butcp.pease-pudding. Other examples of the formation of a new singular withoutsin thelit.language are:burial,O.E.byrgels;riddle,O.E.rǣdels;cherry,Fr.cerise;sherry, formerlysherris, Span.Xeres;skate, Du.schaats,Fr.échasse.The following nouns, though remaining singular in form, take the plural form of the verb and pronoun and are used after few,&c., as:brōz, a kind of porridge,Sc.;broþ, broth,Sc.n.Ir.n.Cy.Midl.e.An.sw.Cy.;brouis, a kind of gruel,s.Chs.Shr.;grǖəl, gruel,e.An.;poridȝ, porridge,n.Cy.,n.Midl.;sūp, soup,w.Yks.Shr.The sign of the genitive, both singular and plural, is generally omitted when one noun qualifies another in all then.Cy.dialects, and occasionally in then.Midlands, as: the Queen cousin; my father boots; the lad father stick. A Lancashire magistrate is reported to have asked a witness, ‘Was it your brother dog?’ This characteristic ofn.Cy.dialects is found already in theM.E.period. TheM.E.practice of placing the genitivalsat the end of an attributive clause survives in most dialects ofSc.andEng., as: I’ve just seen Jim Dutton him as went to America’s wife; that’s the woman what was left behind’s child. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to express the genitive plural by means of an additional syllable suffixed to the nominative plural, as: the farmerses cows. This is especially the case with the wordfolk,nom. pl.fōks,gen. pl.fōksəz.The gender of nouns grammatically speaking can only be ascertained by means of the pronouns referring to them. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to personify inanimate objects. InSc.Irel.and the dialects of the northern counties the feminine pronoun is used, while in the Midlands, thee. s. and sw.counties, the use is variable. In thesw.dialects inanimate objects are divided into two classes. The first or personal class consists of formed, individual objects, as: a tool, a tree; for these masculine or feminine pronouns are employed. The neuterpronoun is used when referring to nouns contained in the second or impersonal class of unformed objects, as: water, dust.
Accidence: Nouns
The formation of the plural of nouns is practically the same as in the standard language, but a few points of deviation are worth notice. Nouns ending inþwhich in thelit.language changeþtoðand takezin the plural, aspāþ,pāðz, generally retain theþand takesin the plural in the dialects;similarly inSc.and sw. dialects nouns ending inlfretain thefin the plural and takes. Nouns ending instform their plural inəz,izin theMidl.s. and sw.dialects, asbīst, beast,bīstəz,pōst, post,pōstəz. Very frequently, however, such nouns take a double plural, asbīstəzəz,postəzəz. A triple pluralnestsəzəz, nests, is found inSus.The only plurals in-nin thelit.language areoxenand the archaic formhosen.Brethren,children, andkineare double plurals. The list is much longer in the dialects and comprises: (a) Words which belonged to the weak declension inO.E.:æʃn, ashes,s.w.Cy.;bīn, bees,Irel.Chs.;īn, eyes, in general use inSc.Irel.andEng.;flīn, fleas,Midl.;pīzn, peas,Wxf.Eng.gen.;tōn,toes,Wxf.s.Chs.(b) Words which originally belonged to the strong or irregular declensions:brùðrən, brothers,Lei.;tʃīzn, cheeses,e.An.Dor.;klūtn, clouts,e.Yks.;vəzn, furze,Dor.;h)ɒuzn, houses,gen.inEng.exceptn.Cy.;kīn, keys,Wil.;mɒuzn, mice,Glo.e.Dev.;nīzn, nests,s.Chs.Midl.e.An.;ōkn, oaks,Hrf.;pōzn, posts,Nhp.Shr.Glo.Hnt.;riksn, rushes,sw.Cy.;ʃūn, shoes,gen.inSc.Irel.andEng.;sistrən, sisters,Cai.;trīn, trees, Fif.Wxf.;tɒrvn, turfs,Sc.;wopsn, wasps,Hmp.;wenʃn, wenches,Glo.(c) Romance words to which the weak ending has been added:botln, bottles,sw.Dev.;klōzn, fields,Lei.Nhp.e.An.;feərin, fairies,e.Lan.;plēzn, places,Midl.sw.Cy.;primrōzn, primroses,Glo.Dev.
The plural formtʃildə(r, children, in general use inIrel.andEng.is the regular form from theO.E.pluralcildru. In thelit.language therhas ceased to be felt as a sign of the plural and the weak-nhas been added. Certain nouns form their plural by change of vowel as in the literary language; these are: foot feet, goose geese, louse lice, man men, mouse mice, tooth teeth, woman women;breðə(r,bruðə(r, brother makesbreðə(rin parts ofSc.,n.Yks.Lan.;kau, cow, makeskai,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.sw.Cy.On the other handfut, foot, makesfutse.Suf.,lɒus, louse,lɒusəz,Abd.e.Sus.n.Dev.,mɒus, mouse,mɒusəz,m.Bck.e.Sus.
Certain nouns have the singular and plural alike, as:as,ash, ashes,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.;tʃik, chicken, chickens,e.Sus.;tʃikn, ibid.,Glo.Oxf.Ken.m.Sus.Som.;fɒul, fowl, fowls,Sc.Shr.;hors, horse, horses; and a few others;bīst, an animal of the ox tribe, has a collective pluralbīs(biəs)inSc.Yks.Lan.Midl.andsw.Cy.On the other hand, corn has a pluralkornz, oats, inSc.;ʃip, sheep, makesʃipsinWar.Shr.Glo.Nouns expressing time, space, weight, measure, and number, when immediately preceded by a cardinal number, generally remain unchanged in the dialects ofSc.andEng.
Double plurals are common in the dialects, for example: (a)əz,izis added to the ordinary plural endings,z, in:beləsəz, bellows,n. and nm.Sc.Irel.n.Cy.Midl.sw.Cy.;buədzəz, boards,Sus.;galəsəz, braces,n.Cy.;æmzəz, hames,sw.Cy.;keksəz, a plant,Midl.Ken.Sur.Dor.;ʃūzəz, shoes,Nrf.Dev.;sǭtsəz, sorts,Brks.;stepsəz, steps,w. and sw.Yks.w.Som.;þrīzəz, threes,tūzəz, twos,Brks.e.An.;toŋziz, tongs,w.Wil.w.Som.(b)zis added to the plural-n:brīknz, breeches,&c.;oksnz, oxen,w.Som.;plēzns, places,Not.;riksnz, rushes,Dev.;ʃūnz, shoes,Sc.;slōnz, sloes,Midl.e.Cy.sw.Cy.(c)s,əzis added to umlaut plurals:fīts, feet,Sc.se. Yks.Glo.;gīzəz, geese,Nhb.;mīzəz, mice,Ess.(d)tʃildə̄z, children, occurs inw.Yks.(e) The weak ending-nis sometimes added to the ordinarys,z:ǭzn, haws,Glo.;ipsn, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.;ɒksn, hocks,Ken.Dev.Cor.;nīzn, knees,s.Chs.(f) The weak plural ending is sometimes added to the umlaut plural:fītn, feet,e.An.;gīzn, geese,Suf.;kain, kine, Ayr. Gall.Wxf.n.Cy.Ken.Dev.;mīzn, mice,Cmb.Suf.Triple plurals occur in:ǭznz, haws,Glo.;ipsnz, hips,Oxf.n.Wil.In some nouns the plural form is used for the singular, as:ǭz, a haw,Oxf.Suf.Ess.Ken.;inz, an inn,Sc.n.Irel.;slōn, a sloe,Midl.s. andsw.Cy.;&c.In certain words thesof the stem has been taken as the sign of the plural, and a new singular formed without it, as:karitʃ, catechism,Fr.catéchèse,Sc.n.Yks.;ʃē, chaise,Yks.Lan.m.Bck.e.Sus.;hō, a single stocking,Sc.piz, a single pea, inBch.Abd.is a survival ofO.E.pise; in thelit.language a new singular has been formed, butcp.pease-pudding. Other examples of the formation of a new singular withoutsin thelit.language are:burial,O.E.byrgels;riddle,O.E.rǣdels;cherry,Fr.cerise;sherry, formerlysherris, Span.Xeres;skate, Du.schaats,Fr.échasse.
The following nouns, though remaining singular in form, take the plural form of the verb and pronoun and are used after few,&c., as:brōz, a kind of porridge,Sc.;broþ, broth,Sc.n.Ir.n.Cy.Midl.e.An.sw.Cy.;brouis, a kind of gruel,s.Chs.Shr.;grǖəl, gruel,e.An.;poridȝ, porridge,n.Cy.,n.Midl.;sūp, soup,w.Yks.Shr.
The sign of the genitive, both singular and plural, is generally omitted when one noun qualifies another in all then.Cy.dialects, and occasionally in then.Midlands, as: the Queen cousin; my father boots; the lad father stick. A Lancashire magistrate is reported to have asked a witness, ‘Was it your brother dog?’ This characteristic ofn.Cy.dialects is found already in theM.E.period. TheM.E.practice of placing the genitivalsat the end of an attributive clause survives in most dialects ofSc.andEng., as: I’ve just seen Jim Dutton him as went to America’s wife; that’s the woman what was left behind’s child. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to express the genitive plural by means of an additional syllable suffixed to the nominative plural, as: the farmerses cows. This is especially the case with the wordfolk,nom. pl.fōks,gen. pl.fōksəz.
The gender of nouns grammatically speaking can only be ascertained by means of the pronouns referring to them. There is a general tendency in all dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.to personify inanimate objects. InSc.Irel.and the dialects of the northern counties the feminine pronoun is used, while in the Midlands, thee. s. and sw.counties, the use is variable. In thesw.dialects inanimate objects are divided into two classes. The first or personal class consists of formed, individual objects, as: a tool, a tree; for these masculine or feminine pronouns are employed. The neuterpronoun is used when referring to nouns contained in the second or impersonal class of unformed objects, as: water, dust.
AdjectivesAccidence: Adjectives and NumeralsIn the dialects the practice of forming adjectives denoting material from the substantive by means of the suffix-enis carried out to a much greater extent than in the literary language, as:tinnen pots,glassen bottles,hornen spoons. This is especially the case in the southern and south-western dialects. The comparison of adjectives is formed in the dialects by adding the comparative suffix-erand the superlative-estto practically all adjectives, polysyllabic as well as monosyllabic.Moreandmostare as a rule only used to supplement or intensify the regular comparison, as:more beautifuller,most worst. The following adjectives, irregular in thelit.language, are compared regularly in some dialects:badder,baddest,n.Cy.Midl.;farer,farest,Sc.n.Cy.and the Midlands;gooder,goodest,Cum.m.Yks.Dev.;iller,w.Yks.e.An.,illest, Fif.n.Cy.;liker,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.sw.Cy.;littler,littlest, in general use inn. and ne.Sc.andEng.The old comparativenear, treated as a positive in the literary language, retains its force inn.Yks.andnw.Der.; similarly,far, further, is retained inYks.Lan.and the Midlands.Mae, theM.E.comparative ofmany, is used inSc.Nhb.e.Yks.Stf.Double comparatives occur inbetterer,Cum.Yks.Dev.Cor.;morer,Shr.;worser, in general use inSc.andEng.A triple form,worserer, is heard ine.An.Double superlatives occur inbestest,sw.Cy.;leastest,Lan.e.An.sw.Cy.;mostest,Shr.Ken.Som.Cor.
Accidence: Adjectives and Numerals
In the dialects the practice of forming adjectives denoting material from the substantive by means of the suffix-enis carried out to a much greater extent than in the literary language, as:tinnen pots,glassen bottles,hornen spoons. This is especially the case in the southern and south-western dialects. The comparison of adjectives is formed in the dialects by adding the comparative suffix-erand the superlative-estto practically all adjectives, polysyllabic as well as monosyllabic.Moreandmostare as a rule only used to supplement or intensify the regular comparison, as:more beautifuller,most worst. The following adjectives, irregular in thelit.language, are compared regularly in some dialects:badder,baddest,n.Cy.Midl.;farer,farest,Sc.n.Cy.and the Midlands;gooder,goodest,Cum.m.Yks.Dev.;iller,w.Yks.e.An.,illest, Fif.n.Cy.;liker,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.sw.Cy.;littler,littlest, in general use inn. and ne.Sc.andEng.The old comparativenear, treated as a positive in the literary language, retains its force inn.Yks.andnw.Der.; similarly,far, further, is retained inYks.Lan.and the Midlands.Mae, theM.E.comparative ofmany, is used inSc.Nhb.e.Yks.Stf.Double comparatives occur inbetterer,Cum.Yks.Dev.Cor.;morer,Shr.;worser, in general use inSc.andEng.A triple form,worserer, is heard ine.An.Double superlatives occur inbestest,sw.Cy.;leastest,Lan.e.An.sw.Cy.;mostest,Shr.Ken.Som.Cor.
NumeralsIn the dialects of the western and south-western counties it is usual to place the lower digit before the higher, as:five and fifty. InShr.this rule is invariable when speaking of sums of money under£2, as: six and thirty shillings for a pig. In the dialects, especially ofSc.Irel.n.Cy.Lei.Wor.Shr., the ordinals afterthirdtake the suffixtinstead ofliterary Englishth. The old ordinalerst, first in order, survives inSc.andn.Yks.
In the dialects of the western and south-western counties it is usual to place the lower digit before the higher, as:five and fifty. InShr.this rule is invariable when speaking of sums of money under£2, as: six and thirty shillings for a pig. In the dialects, especially ofSc.Irel.n.Cy.Lei.Wor.Shr., the ordinals afterthirdtake the suffixtinstead ofliterary Englishth. The old ordinalerst, first in order, survives inSc.andn.Yks.
PronounsAccidence: PronounsIn all the dialects ofSc.andEng.there is a tendency to introduce a redundant personal pronoun after a noun when emphasis is required; this is especially frequent after a proper name, as: Mr. Smith, he came to my house. InSc.and the northern dialects a pronoun is often used to introduce a statement, the specific subject being added later, as: it runs very well, does that horse. In all the dialects ofSc.andEng.the objective form of the personal pronoun is used for the nominative: (1) After the substantive verb, as: it was her that did it. (2) When standing alone, as: Who did that? Her. (3) When the verb refers to different persons, as: him and me did it; Jack and us went together. (4) When antecedent to a relative pronoun, and therefore separated from its verb by a subordinate sentence, as: him that did that ought to be hanged. The objective forms are often used for the nominative when the pronouns are unemphatic, especially in the south-midland, eastern, southern, and south-western counties. Conversely in all the dialects of these same counties the nominative of the personal pronoun is used as the emphatic form of the objective case, as: her did it; her saw she. InIrel.the impersonal phraseit isoften occurs redundantly at the beginning of a sentence, as: it’s sorry you will be; it’s sleepy I am.The various dialect forms of the personal pronouns are of special interest to the philologist in that they supply living examples to prove the truth of the theory necessary to explain the original forms of the pronouns in the separate branches of the Indo-Germanic family of languages. Most of the pronouns, especially the personal and demonstrative, must have had accented and unaccented forms existing side by side in the parent language itself, and then one or other of the forms became generalized already in the prehistoric period of the individual branches of the parent language.At a later period, but still in prehistoric times, there arose new accented and unaccented forms side by side in the individual branches, as e.g. inprim.Germanicek,mekbesideik,mik. The separate Germanic languages generalized one or other of these forms before the beginning of the oldest literary monuments, and then new accented beside unaccented forms came into existence again. And similarly during the historic periods of the different languages. Thus, e.g., theO.E.forIisic; this became inM.E.ichaccented form besideiunaccented form;ichthen disappeared in standardM.E.(but it is still preserved in one of the modern dialects of Somersetshire), andicame to be used as the accented and unaccented form. At a later period it becameīwhen accented and remainediwhen unaccented. The former has becomelit. Eng.I, and the latter has disappeared from thelit.language, but it is still preserved in many northernEng.dialects asi. In these dialectsiis regularly used in interrogative and subordinate sentences; theM.E.accented formīhas becomeaiand is only used in the dialects to express special emphasis, and from it a new unaccented formahas been developed, which can only be used in making direct assertions. Thus in one and the same dialect (Windhill,Yks.) we arrive at three forms:ai,a,i, which are never mixed up syntactically by genuine native dialect speakers. Something similar to what has happened and is still happening in the modern dialects must also have taken place in the prehistoric and historic periods of all the Indo-Germanic languages.I. (a) The nominative of the first person singular. The stressed form is generally the same as the normal development of oldī(v.p. 132), but in some of then.Midl.dialectsǭis used. The unstressed forms are generallyaorə, but in then.Midl.dialectsois the general form. The formsitʃ(ich),ɒtʃ(utch),ɒtʃi(utchy), and the contracted formtʃ(ch), as:tʃam= I am, were formerly used inWxf.Dor.Som.andDev.These forms are still used by old people in a small district ofSom.close to Yeovil on the border of Dorset,cp.‘Chill pick your teeth, zir,’Lear,IV.vi. 250. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallymī, rarelymei. The unstressed form ismə.II. (a) The nominative of the second person singular. The stressed form generally contains the normal development of oldū(p. 132), but in then.andn.Midl.counties theðhas generally becometin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyðī, rarelyðei. The unstressed form isðə. The pronoun of the second person singular is in use in almost all the dialects ofEng.to express familiarity or contempt, and also in times of strong emotion; it cannot be used to a superior without conveying the idea of impertinence. Ins.Sc.this pronoun has entirely disappeared from the spoken language, and is only very occasionally heard in other parts ofSc.InGlo., owing probably to Quaker influence, it can be used without rudeness to a superior. InNrf.it is only used in a few stereotyped salutations, as:fare-thee-well. Ine.Dor.it is only used to children or in recriminatory language.III. (a) The nominative of the third person singularmasc.The stressed form is generallyh)ī, rarelyh)ei. The unstressed form is generallyiorə. In then.and somen.Midl.dialects theiis used in affirmative sentences and theəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. The unstressed formə, writtena, occurs often in Shakespeare’s Plays,cp.‘Hostess.Nay, that a did not.Boy.Yes, that a did,’Hen. V,II.iv. 32, 33. (b) The objective case. The stressed form ish)imand the unstressed formim, but in thes.Midl.s. and sw.Cy.dialectsən, generally writtenen,un(O.E.hine), is the regular unstressed form forim. It is also used of inanimate objects and inw.Som.of feminine animals, though never of a woman.IV. (a) The nominative of the third person singularfem.The stressed form is generallyʃī, rarelyʃei, but in some of then.Midl.dialects it isʃū. The unstressed form is generallyʃə, butʃuis also used in those dialects which haveʃūas the stressed form.O.E.hēo, she, survives asū,ugenerallywrittenhoo, in parts ofw.Yks.Lan.Chs.Flt.Dnb.Stf.Der.Not.Wor.(b) The objective case is generallyh)ē(r, h)ə(r.V. The nominative of the third person singularneut.The stressed form is generallyit, but inSc.andNhb.hit. The unstressed form is generallyitorət. InOxf.Dor.andSom.itis frequently used instead of the plural pronoun when animals or objects are referred to collectively.VI. (a) The nominative of the first person plural. The stressed form iswī, rarelywei. The unstressed forms arewi,wə. In manyn.Cy.andn.Midl.dialectswiis used in affirmative sentences andwəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyɒs, but in some of then.Cy.andn.Midl.dialects it isuz, inSc., parts ofIrel.andNhb.hɒz. The unstressed forms areəs,əz.VII. The second person plural. Few dialects discriminate betweenyouandye; on the whole the use ofyefor thenom. and obj.cases singular and plural is the more general. Ins.Chs.youis always singular in meaning though it takes the verb in the plural, as: you thinken;yeis always plural. InIrel.andNrf.the curious formyous, inIrel.alsoyees, is used when more than one person is addressed.VIII. (a) The nominative of the third person plural. The stressed form of the nominative is generallyðēorðeə, but in somemidl.ands.dialects it isðaiorðei, and inSh. and Or.I.n.Ken.Sus.dē, rarelydei. The unstressed form is generallyðeorðə, rarelyði. InLin.War.Shr.ə(O.E.hīe) is used for the unstressed form ofthey. (b) The objective case. The stressed form isðem, rarelyðēm. In all the dialects ofIrel.andEng.the unstressed form isəm(O.E.heom), generally writtenem, or’em. InSc.the unstressed form isðemorðəm.The conjunctive possessive pronoun is in many dialects formed by adding the genitivalsto the personal pronouns both nominative and objective, as:we’s,Oxf.Ess.;us’s,m.Yks.Glo.Oxf.;you’s,Sur.;him’s, w.Sc.Hrf.;she’s,Sur.Wil.;them’s,Dev.; ine.An.that’sis used forhis,her,its. The use of the personal pronoun, nominative or objective, instead of the possessive is common in manyMidl.andsw.Cy.dialects, especially when unemphatic or in addressing children, as: we held we breaths; let’s be off tul us dinners,In certainn.Cy.andMidl.dialects the old uninflecteditis still used instead of the modernits,cp.‘It lifted up it head,’Ham.I.ii. 216. InHmp.the still older use ofhisfor the neuter possessive is preserved,cp.‘To every seed his own body,’A.V.1 Cor.xv. 38. Inne. Lan.her(O.E.hiera) is used fortheir. Throughout England the use ofour,yourbefore a proper noun to denote that the person spoken of belongs respectively to the family of the speaker or the person spoken to is very common, as: our Sal; your Tom.wə(ris in general dialect use inSc.Irel.andEng.for the unstressed form ofour.In theMidl.e. s. and sw.counties the disjunctive possessive pronouns, exceptmine,thine, are generally formed from the conjunctive by addingnorən, thushisn,hern,ourn,yourn,theirn. A double form is used inmine’s,Sc.n.Yks.This double ending is added to thenom.inweez’n,Glo.;shizn,War.Glo.Brks.Hmp.Wil.The conjunctive form is used disjunctively inLakel.Suf.Ess., as: that is my. Inw.Yks.that’sis used as the disjunctive possessive of the third person. Apart from these deviations, the dialects generally express the disjunctive possessive pronouns in the same manner as thelit.language.The reflexive pronouns are generally formed by addingself,sel,sen, orselnfor the singular, andselves,sels,sens(rarelysen) for the plural, to the conjunctive possessive pronouns, usually the unstressed forms:mi,ði,wə(r,jə(r,&c.The endingssen,seln,sensare chiefly confined to then.Midl.dialects. The endingsself,selvesare hardly ever used inSc.Irel.n.Cy.andn.Midlands. Frequently the objective case of the simple personal pronoun is used with a reflexive meaning, especially inSc.n.Cy.andn.Midl., as: get thee dressed while I wash me. InSc.theirselis used when the idea is collective,theirselswhen it is segregate.The demonstrative pronounthisis expressed by: (1)This, generally used in the same manner as inlit.English. (2)This here, in general dialect use inEng.(3)That, inSc.andn.Irel.as: that is a fine day. (4)Thease,Hrf.Glo.andsw.Cy., used of objects having a definite shape;cp.Lat.hic; inw.Som.when the noun, whatever its quantity or number, has already been mentioned in the same sentence, it is referred to asthat,this, not asthick,thease. (5)Thease yerimy,Glo.(6)Thick here,sw.Cy.In disjunctive use are: (7)Thisn,thisna,n.Cy.Midl.Suf.Sur.(8)Thease here,w.Som.(9)Thissum,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.Thatis expressed by: (1)That, generally used in the same manner as inlit. Eng.(2)That there, in general dialect use inEng.; a secondthereis often added, as is also a secondheretothis here. (3)Thack,thacky,Glo.sw.Cy.(4)Thick there,Glo.I.W.sw.Cy.(5)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur., used to identify an object remote from both speakers. (6)Thonder,Chs.Hrf.(7)Yon,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.Hrf.e.An.Dev., used especially of a person or thing a little way off, but within sight. (8)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(9)Yonder, Ayr.I.Ma.s.Chs.Nhp.w.Wor.Nrf.In disjunctive use are: (10)Thatn,Lakel.Der.Not.Wor.Hrf.Sur.(11)Thickumy,Som.(12)Thilk,Glo.InSc.n.Midl.Lon.Suf.Ken.thatis used in emphatic reiteration of an assertion, as: I suppose you are in a hurry. I am that. In all the dialectsthatis used adverbially with the meaning to such a degree, as: I was that bad. It is also used before a substantive with the meaningsuch, as: in that fear that I couldn’t move. Inn.Hmp.thickis always used forthis, andthuckforthat; inDor.thickis only used for the personal class of formed individual objects.Theseis expressed by: (1)These, as inlit. Eng.(2)Thes here,w.Yks.Midl.Brks.Nrf.Ken.Som.n.Dev.(3)These yerimy,Glo.(4)Theasum,theasamy,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.(5)This,ne.Sc.n.Cy.parts ofYks.andLan., andsw.Cy.It is used especially with plural nouns denoting time, as: this three weeks. In disjunctive use are: (6)These ’ans(= ones),theseun,Cum.Hrf.Brks.Wil.(7)Thism,Glo.Thoseis seldom or never heard in genuine dialect speech. Its place is supplied by: (1)Them, in all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.InSc.it is especially used as the antecedentof the relative, as: them at did it. (2)Them there,n.Midl.Midl.e.An.Dor.Som.(3)Themmin,Glo.Wil.(4)Themmy,sw.Cy.(5)They,Midl.Suf.s. and sw.Cy., used especially as the antecedent of the relative. (6)They there,Ken.w.Som.Dev.(7)That,ne.Sc.(8)These,Sc.Cum.Yks.(9)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur.(10)Yon,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.e.An.Dev.(11)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(12)Them ’ans,Cum.(13)Yon ’ans,Cum.Theseandthoseare both expressed by: (1)Thae,Sc.Uls.n.Cy.(2)Thick,thuck,Wor.Dev.(3)Thir,Sc.(s.of the Grampians)Uls.n.Cy.In disjunctive use: (4)Thirs,thors,Sc.Nhb.(5)Thir ’ans,Cum.There are no special dialect words for the interrogative pronoun, but the following deviations from thelit.use are worth notice:Whomis hardly ever used in any dialect; its place is taken bywho. InSc.and n. andne.Yks.whoseis seldom used as an interrogative pronoun, a periphrasis being used instead, as:who is aught the bairn?whose is the child?who belongs this house?whose house is this? InCum.whichis used of persons as well as of animals and things.The relative pronoun is generally expressed byas,at,thatorwhatfor all genders and numbers, when the antecedent is expressed. In other caseswhois used for themasc. and fem. nom. and obj., andwhatfor the neuter.Whomis never used in the dialects.Asis rarely used inn.Cy., but in the other parts of England it is in general use.Atis in general use inSc.Irel.n.Cy.and a small portion of then.Midl.counties.Whatcan be used when it refers to persons as well as to inanimate objects in some of then.Midl.counties, and in nearly all the counties south of then.Midlands. Inw.Som.it is only used when special emphasis is required. In s.Not.Hrf.Glo.andNrf.the relativewhichis used redundantly in a conjunctive sense, as: ghosts, which I can’t bear talking about. InBrks.whosenis used forwhose, but as a rule the possessive relative cannot be expressed by a single word in the dialects; instead a periphrasis or parenthetical sentenceis substituted. Especially frequent is the use ofasorwhatcoupled with a possessive pronoun, as: that’s the chap as his uncle was hanged. InSc.atis similarly used, as: the man at his coat’s torn.
Accidence: Pronouns
In all the dialects ofSc.andEng.there is a tendency to introduce a redundant personal pronoun after a noun when emphasis is required; this is especially frequent after a proper name, as: Mr. Smith, he came to my house. InSc.and the northern dialects a pronoun is often used to introduce a statement, the specific subject being added later, as: it runs very well, does that horse. In all the dialects ofSc.andEng.the objective form of the personal pronoun is used for the nominative: (1) After the substantive verb, as: it was her that did it. (2) When standing alone, as: Who did that? Her. (3) When the verb refers to different persons, as: him and me did it; Jack and us went together. (4) When antecedent to a relative pronoun, and therefore separated from its verb by a subordinate sentence, as: him that did that ought to be hanged. The objective forms are often used for the nominative when the pronouns are unemphatic, especially in the south-midland, eastern, southern, and south-western counties. Conversely in all the dialects of these same counties the nominative of the personal pronoun is used as the emphatic form of the objective case, as: her did it; her saw she. InIrel.the impersonal phraseit isoften occurs redundantly at the beginning of a sentence, as: it’s sorry you will be; it’s sleepy I am.
The various dialect forms of the personal pronouns are of special interest to the philologist in that they supply living examples to prove the truth of the theory necessary to explain the original forms of the pronouns in the separate branches of the Indo-Germanic family of languages. Most of the pronouns, especially the personal and demonstrative, must have had accented and unaccented forms existing side by side in the parent language itself, and then one or other of the forms became generalized already in the prehistoric period of the individual branches of the parent language.At a later period, but still in prehistoric times, there arose new accented and unaccented forms side by side in the individual branches, as e.g. inprim.Germanicek,mekbesideik,mik. The separate Germanic languages generalized one or other of these forms before the beginning of the oldest literary monuments, and then new accented beside unaccented forms came into existence again. And similarly during the historic periods of the different languages. Thus, e.g., theO.E.forIisic; this became inM.E.ichaccented form besideiunaccented form;ichthen disappeared in standardM.E.(but it is still preserved in one of the modern dialects of Somersetshire), andicame to be used as the accented and unaccented form. At a later period it becameīwhen accented and remainediwhen unaccented. The former has becomelit. Eng.I, and the latter has disappeared from thelit.language, but it is still preserved in many northernEng.dialects asi. In these dialectsiis regularly used in interrogative and subordinate sentences; theM.E.accented formīhas becomeaiand is only used in the dialects to express special emphasis, and from it a new unaccented formahas been developed, which can only be used in making direct assertions. Thus in one and the same dialect (Windhill,Yks.) we arrive at three forms:ai,a,i, which are never mixed up syntactically by genuine native dialect speakers. Something similar to what has happened and is still happening in the modern dialects must also have taken place in the prehistoric and historic periods of all the Indo-Germanic languages.
I. (a) The nominative of the first person singular. The stressed form is generally the same as the normal development of oldī(v.p. 132), but in some of then.Midl.dialectsǭis used. The unstressed forms are generallyaorə, but in then.Midl.dialectsois the general form. The formsitʃ(ich),ɒtʃ(utch),ɒtʃi(utchy), and the contracted formtʃ(ch), as:tʃam= I am, were formerly used inWxf.Dor.Som.andDev.These forms are still used by old people in a small district ofSom.close to Yeovil on the border of Dorset,cp.‘Chill pick your teeth, zir,’Lear,IV.vi. 250. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallymī, rarelymei. The unstressed form ismə.
II. (a) The nominative of the second person singular. The stressed form generally contains the normal development of oldū(p. 132), but in then.andn.Midl.counties theðhas generally becometin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyðī, rarelyðei. The unstressed form isðə. The pronoun of the second person singular is in use in almost all the dialects ofEng.to express familiarity or contempt, and also in times of strong emotion; it cannot be used to a superior without conveying the idea of impertinence. Ins.Sc.this pronoun has entirely disappeared from the spoken language, and is only very occasionally heard in other parts ofSc.InGlo., owing probably to Quaker influence, it can be used without rudeness to a superior. InNrf.it is only used in a few stereotyped salutations, as:fare-thee-well. Ine.Dor.it is only used to children or in recriminatory language.
III. (a) The nominative of the third person singularmasc.The stressed form is generallyh)ī, rarelyh)ei. The unstressed form is generallyiorə. In then.and somen.Midl.dialects theiis used in affirmative sentences and theəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. The unstressed formə, writtena, occurs often in Shakespeare’s Plays,cp.‘Hostess.Nay, that a did not.Boy.Yes, that a did,’Hen. V,II.iv. 32, 33. (b) The objective case. The stressed form ish)imand the unstressed formim, but in thes.Midl.s. and sw.Cy.dialectsən, generally writtenen,un(O.E.hine), is the regular unstressed form forim. It is also used of inanimate objects and inw.Som.of feminine animals, though never of a woman.
IV. (a) The nominative of the third person singularfem.The stressed form is generallyʃī, rarelyʃei, but in some of then.Midl.dialects it isʃū. The unstressed form is generallyʃə, butʃuis also used in those dialects which haveʃūas the stressed form.O.E.hēo, she, survives asū,ugenerallywrittenhoo, in parts ofw.Yks.Lan.Chs.Flt.Dnb.Stf.Der.Not.Wor.(b) The objective case is generallyh)ē(r, h)ə(r.
V. The nominative of the third person singularneut.The stressed form is generallyit, but inSc.andNhb.hit. The unstressed form is generallyitorət. InOxf.Dor.andSom.itis frequently used instead of the plural pronoun when animals or objects are referred to collectively.
VI. (a) The nominative of the first person plural. The stressed form iswī, rarelywei. The unstressed forms arewi,wə. In manyn.Cy.andn.Midl.dialectswiis used in affirmative sentences andwəin interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generallyɒs, but in some of then.Cy.andn.Midl.dialects it isuz, inSc., parts ofIrel.andNhb.hɒz. The unstressed forms areəs,əz.
VII. The second person plural. Few dialects discriminate betweenyouandye; on the whole the use ofyefor thenom. and obj.cases singular and plural is the more general. Ins.Chs.youis always singular in meaning though it takes the verb in the plural, as: you thinken;yeis always plural. InIrel.andNrf.the curious formyous, inIrel.alsoyees, is used when more than one person is addressed.
VIII. (a) The nominative of the third person plural. The stressed form of the nominative is generallyðēorðeə, but in somemidl.ands.dialects it isðaiorðei, and inSh. and Or.I.n.Ken.Sus.dē, rarelydei. The unstressed form is generallyðeorðə, rarelyði. InLin.War.Shr.ə(O.E.hīe) is used for the unstressed form ofthey. (b) The objective case. The stressed form isðem, rarelyðēm. In all the dialects ofIrel.andEng.the unstressed form isəm(O.E.heom), generally writtenem, or’em. InSc.the unstressed form isðemorðəm.
The conjunctive possessive pronoun is in many dialects formed by adding the genitivalsto the personal pronouns both nominative and objective, as:we’s,Oxf.Ess.;us’s,m.Yks.Glo.Oxf.;you’s,Sur.;him’s, w.Sc.Hrf.;she’s,Sur.Wil.;them’s,Dev.; ine.An.that’sis used forhis,her,its. The use of the personal pronoun, nominative or objective, instead of the possessive is common in manyMidl.andsw.Cy.dialects, especially when unemphatic or in addressing children, as: we held we breaths; let’s be off tul us dinners,In certainn.Cy.andMidl.dialects the old uninflecteditis still used instead of the modernits,cp.‘It lifted up it head,’Ham.I.ii. 216. InHmp.the still older use ofhisfor the neuter possessive is preserved,cp.‘To every seed his own body,’A.V.1 Cor.xv. 38. Inne. Lan.her(O.E.hiera) is used fortheir. Throughout England the use ofour,yourbefore a proper noun to denote that the person spoken of belongs respectively to the family of the speaker or the person spoken to is very common, as: our Sal; your Tom.wə(ris in general dialect use inSc.Irel.andEng.for the unstressed form ofour.
In theMidl.e. s. and sw.counties the disjunctive possessive pronouns, exceptmine,thine, are generally formed from the conjunctive by addingnorən, thushisn,hern,ourn,yourn,theirn. A double form is used inmine’s,Sc.n.Yks.This double ending is added to thenom.inweez’n,Glo.;shizn,War.Glo.Brks.Hmp.Wil.The conjunctive form is used disjunctively inLakel.Suf.Ess., as: that is my. Inw.Yks.that’sis used as the disjunctive possessive of the third person. Apart from these deviations, the dialects generally express the disjunctive possessive pronouns in the same manner as thelit.language.
The reflexive pronouns are generally formed by addingself,sel,sen, orselnfor the singular, andselves,sels,sens(rarelysen) for the plural, to the conjunctive possessive pronouns, usually the unstressed forms:mi,ði,wə(r,jə(r,&c.The endingssen,seln,sensare chiefly confined to then.Midl.dialects. The endingsself,selvesare hardly ever used inSc.Irel.n.Cy.andn.Midlands. Frequently the objective case of the simple personal pronoun is used with a reflexive meaning, especially inSc.n.Cy.andn.Midl., as: get thee dressed while I wash me. InSc.theirselis used when the idea is collective,theirselswhen it is segregate.
The demonstrative pronounthisis expressed by: (1)This, generally used in the same manner as inlit.English. (2)This here, in general dialect use inEng.(3)That, inSc.andn.Irel.as: that is a fine day. (4)Thease,Hrf.Glo.andsw.Cy., used of objects having a definite shape;cp.Lat.hic; inw.Som.when the noun, whatever its quantity or number, has already been mentioned in the same sentence, it is referred to asthat,this, not asthick,thease. (5)Thease yerimy,Glo.(6)Thick here,sw.Cy.In disjunctive use are: (7)Thisn,thisna,n.Cy.Midl.Suf.Sur.(8)Thease here,w.Som.(9)Thissum,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.
Thatis expressed by: (1)That, generally used in the same manner as inlit. Eng.(2)That there, in general dialect use inEng.; a secondthereis often added, as is also a secondheretothis here. (3)Thack,thacky,Glo.sw.Cy.(4)Thick there,Glo.I.W.sw.Cy.(5)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur., used to identify an object remote from both speakers. (6)Thonder,Chs.Hrf.(7)Yon,Sc.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.Hrf.e.An.Dev., used especially of a person or thing a little way off, but within sight. (8)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(9)Yonder, Ayr.I.Ma.s.Chs.Nhp.w.Wor.Nrf.In disjunctive use are: (10)Thatn,Lakel.Der.Not.Wor.Hrf.Sur.(11)Thickumy,Som.(12)Thilk,Glo.InSc.n.Midl.Lon.Suf.Ken.thatis used in emphatic reiteration of an assertion, as: I suppose you are in a hurry. I am that. In all the dialectsthatis used adverbially with the meaning to such a degree, as: I was that bad. It is also used before a substantive with the meaningsuch, as: in that fear that I couldn’t move. Inn.Hmp.thickis always used forthis, andthuckforthat; inDor.thickis only used for the personal class of formed individual objects.
Theseis expressed by: (1)These, as inlit. Eng.(2)Thes here,w.Yks.Midl.Brks.Nrf.Ken.Som.n.Dev.(3)These yerimy,Glo.(4)Theasum,theasamy,Glo.Hmp.sw.Cy.(5)This,ne.Sc.n.Cy.parts ofYks.andLan., andsw.Cy.It is used especially with plural nouns denoting time, as: this three weeks. In disjunctive use are: (6)These ’ans(= ones),theseun,Cum.Hrf.Brks.Wil.(7)Thism,Glo.
Thoseis seldom or never heard in genuine dialect speech. Its place is supplied by: (1)Them, in all the dialects ofSc.Irel.andEng.InSc.it is especially used as the antecedentof the relative, as: them at did it. (2)Them there,n.Midl.Midl.e.An.Dor.Som.(3)Themmin,Glo.Wil.(4)Themmy,sw.Cy.(5)They,Midl.Suf.s. and sw.Cy., used especially as the antecedent of the relative. (6)They there,Ken.w.Som.Dev.(7)That,ne.Sc.(8)These,Sc.Cum.Yks.(9)Thon,Sc.Irel.Nhb.Dur.(10)Yon,Sc.n.Irel.n.Cy.n.Midl.e.An.Dev.(11)Yond,Edb.Yks.Lan.Dev.(12)Them ’ans,Cum.(13)Yon ’ans,Cum.Theseandthoseare both expressed by: (1)Thae,Sc.Uls.n.Cy.(2)Thick,thuck,Wor.Dev.(3)Thir,Sc.(s.of the Grampians)Uls.n.Cy.In disjunctive use: (4)Thirs,thors,Sc.Nhb.(5)Thir ’ans,Cum.
There are no special dialect words for the interrogative pronoun, but the following deviations from thelit.use are worth notice:Whomis hardly ever used in any dialect; its place is taken bywho. InSc.and n. andne.Yks.whoseis seldom used as an interrogative pronoun, a periphrasis being used instead, as:who is aught the bairn?whose is the child?who belongs this house?whose house is this? InCum.whichis used of persons as well as of animals and things.
The relative pronoun is generally expressed byas,at,thatorwhatfor all genders and numbers, when the antecedent is expressed. In other caseswhois used for themasc. and fem. nom. and obj., andwhatfor the neuter.Whomis never used in the dialects.Asis rarely used inn.Cy., but in the other parts of England it is in general use.Atis in general use inSc.Irel.n.Cy.and a small portion of then.Midl.counties.Whatcan be used when it refers to persons as well as to inanimate objects in some of then.Midl.counties, and in nearly all the counties south of then.Midlands. Inw.Som.it is only used when special emphasis is required. In s.Not.Hrf.Glo.andNrf.the relativewhichis used redundantly in a conjunctive sense, as: ghosts, which I can’t bear talking about. InBrks.whosenis used forwhose, but as a rule the possessive relative cannot be expressed by a single word in the dialects; instead a periphrasis or parenthetical sentenceis substituted. Especially frequent is the use ofasorwhatcoupled with a possessive pronoun, as: that’s the chap as his uncle was hanged. InSc.atis similarly used, as: the man at his coat’s torn.