Northern English dialects in the Old English period
Казахский
гуманитарно-юридический университет
Высшая
школа общеобразовательных дисциплин и языковой подготовки
Кафедра
переводческого дела
Курсовая
работаEnglish
dialects in the Old English period
Выполнила: студентка группы
ПД 202 Зайнулла А.H.
Руководитель: м.ф.ст. преп.
Байжанова А.Х.
Астана
2015
Contents
Introduction
.
Diversity of dialects of the Old English period
.1
Definition of a dialect
.2
Dialect areas and dialects in The Old English period
.3
Northern English dialects in the Old English period
2.
Analysis of dialectal words of Northern English in the modern English language
2.1
Diversities of dialects in the Old English period
2.2
Differences between Northern English dialects and Standard English language
ConclusionABCDE
Introduction
A dialect is one of words that
almost everyone thinks they understand, but which is in fact a bit more
problematic than at first seems to be the case."the dialect" has been
learning since the Old English period till now. Every language has its own
history of appearance and the dialect is a staple of every language. Therefore,
it is important to know and to learn dialects.main goal of our course paper is
to study the Northern English dialects of the Old English and to compare it
with the Northern English dialects in the Modern English period. To achieve
this goal we have to fulfill the following objectives: to give a definition of
a dialect, to study its history and how invasions have an impact on its
changes, mark the main territories of a dialects. Then, we have to make an
analysis of dialectal words of Northern English, and to analyze differences
between Northern English dialects and Standard English.object of analysis is
the Northern English dialects of the Old English. And the subject of our
analytic investigation is learning the changes of dialectal words during
periods. As the material of our research we have taken 276 language units and
dialectal words. Also by using these 276 language units, we want to find out
differences between dialectal words according to their pronunciation, spelling
and grammar.methodological basis are works of various prominent scientists,
such as " Theoretical phonetics" of M.A Sokolov, K.P. Gintov, I.S.
Tihonova, "History of English language" of T.A Rastorguev and
"Lexicology of English Language" of Antrushina.practical relevance is
that the materials and results of this course paper may be used at the course
of The History of English and other special courses on The Theory of the English
Language.of our analytic investigation is comparative. We compare Old English
and Modern English dialects.course paper consists of Introduction, two parts,
conclusion and references. Theoretical part includes a definition of a dialect,
peculiarities of the Northern English dialects in the Old and in the Modern
English periods. Also includes features of Northern English dialects.part
includes comparing dialects and analytic investigation of differences between
their grammar, pronunciation and spelling. Diversities of a dialects in the Old
English period. Also includes differences between Yorkshire, Northumbrian
dialects and Standard language which are very different from each other, their
differences between their pronunciation and spelling.
1. Diversity of dialects of the Old
English period
.1 Definition of a dialect
are many definitions of dialects:
A dialect is a form of a language
that is spoken in a particular area and has its own words, grammar and
pronunciation.dialect is a language such as there is at least one other
language with which it has a high degree of similarity. There is no language
which is regionally included within it as proper part, and neither is writing
system nor its pronunciation nor its lexicon nor its syntax is officially
normalized.
A dialect is a variety of a language
which has different pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary than the standard
language of the culture.form or variety of a spoken language, including the
standard form, peculiar to a region, community, social group, occupational
group. In this sense, dialects are regarded as being, to some degree, mutually
intelligible while languages are not mutually intelligible.are used in two
distinct ways: the first - more common among linguists - refers to a variety of
a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of a language’s
speakers. The second usage refers to a language that is socially subordinated
to a regional or national standard language, often historically cognate to the
standard, but not delivered from it. In this sense the standard language is not
itself considered a dialect.dialect is the form of language spoken by people in
a particular region or group. Its pattern, pronunciation, or word use can vary
from those of the main language.are divided into two: regional dialect, social
dialectdialect is reflected in the differences in pronunciation, in the choice
and forms of words, and in syntax. Various pressures are political, social,
cultural and educational - serve to harden current national boundaries to make
the linguistic differences among states.dialect. Factors such as occupation,
place of residence, education, income, racial or ethnic origin, cultural
background, caste, religion related to the way people speak.dialect originate
from social groups and depended on variety of factors.dialectology has helped
to integrate language, perhaps the most characteristic feature of humanity,
into the over-all pattern of human culture; and it has contributed to a growing
understanding of the diversity of culture. By establishing that dialects are
language system in their own right - rather than degenerate forms of a literate
standard, to be eradicated by schooling or even by fiat - it has given them
dignity and importance.to Rostarguev a dialect is a local or regional variation
of a language, usually with different vocabulary and grammar features from
other dialects. Different dialects, unlike different languages, are mutually
comprehensible, but with a certain amount of difficulty. A dialect differs from
an accent in that the actual words, not just a pronunciation of them, differs
from other dialect.is usual to distinguish between dialect and accent. Both of
them are used to identify different varieties of a particular language, but the
word "accent" is used for varieties which differ from each other only
in matters of pronunciation while "dialect" also covers differences
in such things as vocabulary and grammar.to Skolov, dialectology is inseparably
connected with sociolinguistics, the latter deals with language variation
caused by social difference and differing social needs; it studies the ways
language interacts with social reality.than fifteen years sociolinguistics has
come of age and is a fast expanding and increasingly popular subject it should
be fair to mention here that language has always been viewed as a social
phenomenon, the most important means of human intercourse.we have mentioned
above is evidence, that the dialect has different types of description. And we
also agree with these descriptions., we have learned that the dialect has its
particular grammar, and a standard form which is peculiar to a particular
region. As well dialect is closely connected with the social standing and with
way of living of human in a particular region. Also, the dialect is not a
language but form of language which has its own words, grammar and
pronunciation.most attractive in these definitions, we think, it is
classification of Sokolova. Because we think that changes and appearances of a
dialects depends on social phenomenon.
.2 Dialect areas and dialects in The
Old English period
The Germanic tribes who settled in
Britain in the 5th and 6th century spoke closely related tribal dialects
belonging to the West Germanic subgroup. Their common origin and their separation
from other related tongues as well as their joint evolution in Britain
transformed them eventually into a single tongue, English. Yet, at the early
stages of their development in Britain the dialects remained disunited. On
distinguished them from continental Germanic tongues; on the other hand, they
displayed growing regional divergence. The feudal system was setting in and the
dialects were entering a new phase; tribal dialectal division was superseded by
geographical division, in other words, tribal dialects were transformed into
local or regional dialects.Germanic settlers, who according to the Venerable
Bede arrived in 449, brought with them dialects of West Germanic which
developed further in England into varieties which were later written down as
dialects of Old English. However, it is known that before that date there were
incursions made by Germanic tribes along southern of England known as the Saxon
Shore. In detail, the invaders of Britain came from the western subdivision of
the Germanic tribes. To quite Bede "the newcomers were of the three
strongest races in Germany, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes" Modern
archeological and linguistic research has shown that the linguistic affiliation
of the Jutes appears uncertain: some historians define them as Frankish tribe,
others doubt the participation and the very existence of the Jutes and name the
Frisians as the third main party in the invasion. It is also uncertain whether
the early settlers really belonged to separate tribes, Saxons and Angles, or,
perhaps, constituted two mixed waves of invaders. differing merely in the place
and time of arrival. They were called Anlgles and Saxons by the Romans and by
the Celts.first wave of the invaders, The Jutes or the Frisians, occupied the
extreme south-east: Kent and Isle of Wight.second wave of immigrants was
largely made up of the Saxons, who had been expanding westwards across Frisia
to the Rhine and to what is known as Normandy. The final stage of the drift
brought them to Britain by way of the Thames and the south coast. They set up
their settlements along the south coast and on both banks of the Thames and,
depending on location, where called South Saxons, West Saxons and East Saxons.
The Saxons consolidated into a number of petty kingdoms, the largest and the
most powerful of them being Wessex, the kingdom of West Saxons.were last who
came from the lower valley of the Elbe and southern Denmark; they made their
landing on the east coast and moved up the rivers to the central part of the
island, to occupy the districts between the Wash and the Humber, and the north
of the Humber. They founded large kingdoms which had absorbed their weaker
neighbors: East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria.English arose from the set of
varieties of West Germanic which the early settlers spoke. The three main
groups of settlers were Angels, Saxons and Jutes. The Angles settled in the
middle and north of England, the Saxon in the south and the Jutes in the area
of present day Kent. In detail, The Jutes came from Jutland and settled in
Kent. The Saxons came from the area Saxony and settled largely south of the
River Thames. The Angles came from the lower part of the Jutland peninsula
which is now Schleswig Holstein in Germany and settled in central and northern
England.the Anglo - Saxon invasion there was a little awareness of England let
alone of English. With the establishment of the West Saxon Kingdom in later
centuries and with the court which formed the pivot point of this kingdom a
first inkling of the idea of English developed. With the invasion of England by
the Danes it became more clearer that the Germanic tribes in England were
separate from their fellows on the continent and in Scandinavia.the different
groupings in England in the Old English period different dialects are
recognizable: Northumbrian in the north, Anglian in the middle and West - Saxon
in the south. Due to a political significance of West - Saxon in the late Old
English period - it was this region which under King Alfred (c.849 - 899)
successfully resisted Viking expansion to the south - which the written form of
this dialect developed into something like standard.this time it was Winchester
and not London which was the political centre of the country. The term used for
the West Saxon "standard" is koine which derives from Greek and means
a common dialect, that is a variety which was used in monasteries in parts of
England outside of West Saxony for the purpose of writing.principal Old English
dialects are commonly distinguished:, a dialect spoken in the area known now as
Kent and Surrey and in the Isle of Wight. It had developed from the tongue of
the Jutes and Frisians.Saxon dialect or Wessex, the main dialect of the Saxon
group, spoken in the rest of England south of the Thames and the Bristol Channel,
expect Wales and Cornwall, where Celtic tongues were preserved. Other Saxon
dialects in England have not survived in written form and are not known to
modern scholar., a dialect derived from the speech of southern Angles and
spoken chiefly in the kingdom of Mercia, that is, in the central region, from
the Thames to the Humber., another Anglian dialect, spoken from the Humber
north to river Forth.distinction between Mercian and Northumbrian as local Old
English dialects testifies to the new foundations of the dialectal division:
regional in place of tribal, since according to the tribal division they
represent one dialect, Anglian.Angles, Saxons and Jutes fought with one another
for supreme power; they nevertheless became one nation in the course of a few countries.
The first king to rule over all of them was Egbert, king of Wessex. He was made
king at the beginning of the 9th century. Most of the works and documents in
Old English that are in existence today are written in the Wessex dialect of
Anglo-Saxon.boundaries between the dialects were uncertain and probably
movable. The dialects passed into one another imperceptibly and dialectal forms
were freely borrowed from one dialect into another; however, information is
scare and mainly pertains to the later part of the Old English period.
Throughout this period the dialects enjoyed relative equality; none of them was
the dominant form of speech, each being the main type used over limited
area.the 8th century the center of English culture had shifted to Northumbria,
which must have brought the Northumbrian dialect to the fore; yet, most of the
writing at that time was done in Latin or, perhaps, many Old English texts have
perished. In the 9th century the political and cultural center moved to Wessex.
Culture and education made great progress there; it is no wonder that the West
Saxon dialect has been preserved in a greater number of texts than all the
other Old English dialects put together. Towards the 11th century the written
form of the West Saxon dialect developed into a bookish type of language,
which, probably, served as the language of writing for all English-speaking
people.of English dialects is one of the biggest parts of "History of the
English language". It shows an importance of dialects in a social life. It
also shows how language can be changed under some circumstances connected with
invasion and nomadism and other circumstances.we can see, that the main reason
of appearance of English dialects was Germanic tribes who settled in England in
the 5th and 6th century. First of all it was a tribal speech, tribal dialect
and it has its own phrases, grammar, different type of pronunciation and
different system. As Germanic tribes settled in England, and affected to a
social life, tribal speech transformed into a dialect of Old English and
reacted on all History of the English language.have mentioned above that there
were three strongest races in Germany, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes.
These three strongest races occupied a large amount of territory in the Old
English period. Different kind of dialects appeared according on territories
such as Northumbrian, Wessex, Anglian.
.3 Northern English dialects in the
Old English period
There were several types of dialects
as we have noticed above. The Old English was never a single, monolithic
language, it too had dialects. There were four main dialects spoken: Kentish,
Mercian, Northumbrian and West Saxon. Northumbrian was the dialect in which the
large bulk of Old English literature was originally written.was a dialect of
the Old English language spoken in the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria. Together
with Mercian, Kentish and West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old
English devised and employed by modern scholars.dialect was spoken from the
Humber, now within England, to the Firth of Forth, now within Scotland. During
the Viking invasions of the 9th century, Northumbrian came under the influence
of the languages of the Viking invaders.Viking invasion forced the dialect to
split in two, the southern Northumbrian dialect was heavily influenced by Norse
and the northern Northumbrian dialect not only retained a lot of the Old
English words but was also a strong influence on the development of the English
language in northern England, especially the dialects of modern North East
England and Scotland. The north-south split was around the Tees river.547, the
Anglian chieftain Ida is traditionally credited with the establishment of the
kingdom of Boernica at Bamburgh in Northumbreland. within fifty years, Beornica
had united with other Anglian kingdom, Deira, based at York, to form the joint
kingdom of Norhumbria. Over the next two hundred years, Northumbria grew up in
size until it occupied all of Britain north of a line from the Humber to the
Mersey, and south of a line from the Forth to the Clyde. The Vikings raids of
the 8th and 9th centuries destroyed Northumbria’s political power, but this led
to its period of greatest influence on art, education, religion and
literature.growth of the unified kingdom of Nirthumbria spread the dominant
Anglian language throughout what is now northern England and southern Scotland.
This is the period of the greatest Northumbrians such as Oswald, Aidan,
Cuthbert and Bede, whose influence took the language all over Britain and
further afield into Europe. These years have been referred to as "
Northumbria’s Golden Age", and it is significant that, as Northumbria’s
political power declined, its cultural influence grew steadily., Northumbrian
dialect introduced by a tribe of Angles and found along the east coast of the
British Isles north from the River Humber. The dialect was found in the area
represented today by the English countries of Yorkshire, country Durham,
Northumberland, and parts of Lancashire and Cumbria, and in Scotland by the
Regions of Borders, Lothian, and parts of Dumfries and Galloway. The area is
much larger than the modern region of Northumbria. The dialect was that of a
tribe of Angles or English, and has a distinction of being the dialect in which
the earliest texts in English were written. This is the dialect of one of the
greatest cultures of the early middle ages, the dialect in which the Venerable
Bede wrote, and the dialect in which the first the firs English parliaments
were held.Viking invasion forced the dialect to be split in two. The Southern
Northumbrian dialect was mainly influenced by the Norse. The Northern
Northumbrian dialect not only kept several Old English words, which were
replaced in the south by Norse words, but was also a strong influence on the
creation of the English language in northern England, especially those of
modern Northeast England and Scotland. The north and south split around the
river Tees.dialect has been spoken continuously throughout the area for more
than 1400 years, but like more language dialects, it has undergone significant
changes in that time. The firs happened during the Viking invasions which began
in 793 with the raid on Lindisfarne. Within a century, Northumbria as an
unified kingdom had ceased to exist. The Danes settled mainly in the south of
the kingdom, in what is now Yorkshire, and their dominance led to the
absorption of many Scandinavian words into the language, which effectively took
it in a different direction until it lost its uniqueness and became the Yorkshire
dialect of today.political collapse of the kingdom, and the emergence of a
Scottish kingdom in the north led to the gradual loss of the Lothians. Over the
years, this has resulted in the language there also taking a separate route
into Lowland Scots, which, like the Northumbrian of Yorkshire, is part of the
Northumbrian family of languages, but with its own distinct dialect and
vocabulary.the comprehensibility test mentioned earlier to Lowland Scots
however, makes it possible to state that Scots is now as distinct a language as
Northumbrian.Northumbrian speakers brought into regular contact with other
forms of English, particularly standard English; and the advent of compulsory
schooling for the masses accelerated this into an almost unstoppable force for
conformity of speech.has hundreds, perhaps thousands of words which are
different from the Standard English equivalent. For example: Northumbrian word
gan is Standard English word go. So, wairsh = weak, tab = cigarette, gadgy =
man and other words.Yorkshire dialect refers to the Northern English language
varieties spoken in England’s historic country of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is
generally not as stigmatized as other dialects, and has been used in classic
works of literature such as "Wuthering Heights", "The Secret
Garden" and so on. Studies have shown that dialect of Yorkshire is
generally popular in the speech of North and associated with common sense,
loyalty and reliability.any language, Yorkshire dialect is changing, but
perhaps too quickly for its own good. Since the late 19th century, Yorkshire
dialect has been continually diluted to a point where, today , it is in danger
of dying out and to be remembered only in books.to information above, we can
say that Northumbrian dialect has strong, unbroken history stretching back more
than fourteen hundred years. Although its use has declined in recent years, it
nevertheless has a long and vigorous literary tradition, both oral and written,
which preserves its essential features. It forms the basis of its regional
culture and heritage. Northumbrian dialect have changed and suffered but it
does not cease to exist. It persists as the Northern Yorkshire dialect at the
present time.
2. Analysis of dialectal words of
Northern English in the modern English language
.1 Diversities of dialects in the
Old English period
this practical part, we analyzed
differences between Old English and Modern English dialects.chose some written
records to analyze and work with them. Here, we considered diversities of
dialects and made an analytical investigation of structure of word order,
changes and grammatical structure.all of literature has been lost in its
Northumbrian form for various reasons., King Alfred the Great set about having
much of surviving Northumbrian literature written into his own dialect, that of
West Saxon. From the time of Alfred and on, nearly all Old English texts are
written in the West Saxon dialect.the first written record we chose the oldest
record "ETHELRED THE UNREADY AND THE DANES". This text from "THE
ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLES" which was written in 994 A.D., we are going to
analyze some sentences.panon ferdon and worhton paet maeste yfel pe aefre aenig
here don mihte on baernette and hergunge and on mannsliehtum, aegther be thaem
Saeriman on Eastseaxum and on Centlande and on Suthseaxum and on Hamtunscire.we
will translate this part of written record literally, it will not have any
meaning, and it will look like a set of words. Translation of this sentence
is:, they were on ship and had to work against the evil which had an army and
might do a burn and slay a man. If they had not fought against evil, they would
lost Essex seashore, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire.to this text, we knew that Old
English texts and Old English languages are different from Modern English. They
has different grammar and pronunciation because of Scandinavians. They
simplified the English language and English nouns lost their gender and
case.all of the words are changed., in this sentence, "hie" means
"they", "worhton" means "work" ( in this context
it means "fight", "struggle") , "paet" means
"that" , "maeste" means "much", "don"
means "do", "aenig" means "any" and so
on.grammar, that we see in this text is a bit different from Standard English.
They use preposition "on" as Standard English "the" which
we use it before names of places (in this context). For example: "on
Suthseaxum", but by translating it into Standard English, it can not be
translated anymore.pronunciation of this text seems to easy because of spelling
it as we see, without any rules, but it is not. For example: In Standard
English we usually pronouncing [a] as [әi], but in this text, not only in
this but in all Old English records "a" pronouncing strongly
[a:].words are common and we are using these words in our everyday life. But,
as we see, the root form of that words, structure and pronunciation are
absolutely different from the Modern English. It shows, that under influence of
invasions, English language simplified and changed.to this text (full text you
can see in the appendix) we have analyzed that only about 3% of words of the
Old English language are steady in the Modern English language.next not text
but poetry is from Old English. A riddle of the late 10th century and the name
of poetry is "BEDE’S DEATH SONG" in Northumbrian dialect.died on
Thursday, 26 May 735 A.D and was buried at Jarrow. Cuthberd described Bede’s
death as follows:
thaem neidfaerae naenig uuiurthit,,
than him tharf sieymbhycggannae aer his hiniongaehis gastae godaes aethatha
yflaedeothdaege deomid uueortha
translation of this poetry means:
"Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the
man who considers - before his soul departs hence - what good or evil he has
done, and what judgment his soul will receive after its passing"is
absolutely different from the Standard English language. It is impossible to
guess the meaning of the hole text, if you know Standard English. Words are
pronouncing with German and Swedish accent.of a sentences in this poetry are
mostly compound sentences.we can see some common words in Northumbrian and
Standard English. They are: "than", "him", "his",
"aefter". Meanings of every words are clear, but in the original text
word "him", we can understand it in the sense that we know, but means
not "him" but just "he". And the word "aefter" is
Standard English "after". Their meanings are the same. They are only
differing with their spellings.the stress or the accent falls on the first
syllable. For example: naenig . Structure of word order also differing.next
poetry of Northumbrian dialect in the Old English period is "THE LORD’S
PRAYER" also called "Our Father" . There are numerous different
versions of the prayer. The traditional "THE LORD’S PRAYER" is based
on Authorised Version of the scriptures in 1611. But we are going to analyze
Northumbrian version of this poetry. "THE LORD’S PRAYER" is the
oldest written record too. It has only five sentences. The Old English version
of this poem is in the Old English gloss of the Lindisfarne Gospels, in the
Northumbrian dialect:
urer thu arth thu
bistheofnumgehalgad noma thin;ric thin.is the first sentence of poem and its
translation is:father which artheavenbe thy name;kingdom come.
, in this poem, we can see that this
poem is religious and literary style. In this part of poem, "Fader"
means "father", "urer" means "our", "
arth" means "art", "heofum" means " heaven",
" noma" means "name" and " cymeth" means
"kingdom" and so on.to this poem, we can see differences between
Modern and Old English word orders.example: literally translation of original
" Fader urer thu arth thu bist in heofum, sie gehalgad noma thin" is
like " Father our art which in heaven, be hallowed name thy". It is
difficult to understand, translating it in this way. So, structure of the word
order of Northumbrian in the Old English period is different from Modern
English.is differing but not much.example: Northumbrian word "forgef"
is "forgive" in Standard English. Forgef is pronouncing as [forgef]
and forgive pronouncing as [ fә'giv], and the word " father" in
Northumbrian dialect pronouncing "fader" and other words.Old English
verbal endings and the weakening of unaccented vowels and confusion of stem
classes., -s endings occur also in the indicative plural. The plural ending -s
is the most probably an early analogical creation on the model of the 3rd
singular form. Apart from fragmentary experts, Old Northumbrian documents have
been tagged or parsed, so occurrences of verbal forms with -s, -th and vocalic
reduced endings were retrieved manually.pronunciation of Northumbrian dialect
and pronunciation of German language are alike.conclusion, we want to add, that
the literature developed in the Old English period, and most of the written
records, poems and stories were written in Northumbrian dialect. So
Northumbrian dialect influenced on further development of literature of English
language. That is why, Northumbrian dialect has some common words with the
Standard English.making analytic investigation of written record from Old
English, we have learned that a dialects of Old English and Standard English
are absolutely different from each other. There are some common words which,
now is using in the colloquial style of speech. Also, we have learned that
pronunciation of Northumbrian dialect in the Old English period, has German,
Latin accent and stress falls mostly on the first syllable.
2.2 Differences between Northern
English dialects and Standard English language
The most obvious difference is that,
where the Late West Saxon copy adopts the runic letter [p] for the [w] sound,
the Northumbrian text carries over the Latin practice of using [ u]. The
Northumbrian text also lacks the runic letter [p], instead employing the
digraph [th]. Another spelling difference concerns the Northumbrian use of [b]
to represent [v] sound in heben "heaven". Despite this practice
appearing in other Northumbrian dialect texts, which include spelling like ob
instead of of, it is only inconsistently employed here; just two words later
the word " hrofe", an inflected from the Modern English noun
"roof", pronounced with a [v] sound is spelled with [f]. Where the
Late West Saxon version uses [h] to reflect the velar fricative sound [x], as
in meahte and aelmihtig , the Northumbrian version spells this sound with [c]:
meacti, allmectig. In its use of the spelling sceop , the West Saxon text shows
the development of the practice of using a silent [e] to indicate where the
preceding consonant was palatalized, in this case distinguishing the [sh]
pronunciation of this word from [sk]. The Northumbrian text makes no such
disambiguation, simply spelling this word scop. Other spelling difference are
of a different kind in that they seem to reflect variant pronunciations. The
presence of diphthongs in the Late West Saxon Weard, bearnum, heofen, where the
Northumbrian text has Uard, barnum, heben, reflects a difference in northern
and southern accents at this time which is due to much earlier sound changes.
Other spelling difference testify to changes affecting the inflexible system of
Old English, which underwent a process of decay and loss that was more advanced
in the northern dialects.of all, we want to explain differences between
Northumbrian and Standard English.
1. Grammar of Northumbrian is
very different from Standard English.
For example: the Standard English
verb "to be able" persists in Northumbrian in its older form "te
can" (from Old English cunan, "to know"), we can say: - Ye’ll he
c’n speak French if ye gan te France (You will have to be able to speak French
if you go to France).’ll not c’n cum the morre (I will not be able to come
tomorrow)used te cud sing (I used to be able to sing)in the present and past
tenses (can and could) standard English has to use "to be able" to
form the other tenses and the infinitive.forms the present participle by adding
in or just n to the root of the verb (cummin an gannin) never ing.
2. Sounds in Northumbrian are
differing from Standard English too. For example: Northumbrian uses vowels
which do not occur in Standard English.
In late Northumbrian texts, the
spellings ea and eo appear almost interchangeably for both diphthongs. In
general these spellings are ambiguous and the most recent view has been that
the confusion was merely graphic.history of long diphthongs ea and eo in
Northumbrian dialect of Old English presents a peculiarity tantalizing problem,
which seems in the past to have eluded a definitive answer. In origin these
diphthongal honemes represented primarily the inherited Germanic diphthongs au
and eu respectively. Germanic au is Old English [әe:a], normally spelled
ea; it developed thru the stage әeo, attested for Northumbrian in the
proper names AEostoruini, AEodbaldo. With these reflexes of Germanic au and eu
there coincided certain diphthongs of secondary origin which resulted from
contraction of Old English әe and e respectively with back
vowels.(caep/cap), aa (waalk/walk), ai (bait/bait), oe (toe/ toe), u (
uncle/uncle).
* similarly with diphthongs, we have
ey (meyl/ mile), iy ( siy/ see), uw ( cuw/ cow)
*and among consonants, you can still
hear the magnificent Northumbrian burr in words like rruff (rough) and roond
(round).
3. Pronunciation.
*where Northumbrian and the Standard
English words are the same, we usually say them differently:cum ti the Toon an
bowt a new short ( he came to Newcastle and bought a new shirt)telt ye te dee
yon? (who told you to do that?)
4. Vocabulary.
*Northumbrian has hundreds and more
words which are different from the Standard English equivalent.example: gan=go,
clarts=mud, hacky=dirty, fema=fragile, bonny=attractive, wairsh= weak, pollis=
police officer, gadgy=man, mell=hammer, tab= cigarette and so on.
It has some words which just cannot
be properly translated into Standard English. For example, what word can
express all the meanings of their favorite word canny, as in:
fettle the day hinny? Wey, canny,
noo.far ist? It’s a canny waalk.’s a canny lass.’s a canny crack.
5.
Tone. Their system of tones are different.
*Asking a question - Can ye lend is
a pund kiddah? (Can you lend me a pound old chap?)
*Giving a dismissive reply - Hadaway
ye hippy worky-ticket! (Be off with you, you lazy good-for-nothing!), we have
analyzed differences between Northumbrian and Standard English language. And it
is time to explain another variant of Northern dialect -
"Yorkshire".remains in current Yorkshire dialect and the
pronunciation of early dialect words are still recognizable in some present
dialect words. Old English plural endings such as "childer"
"een" and "shoon" still exist in Yorkshire dialects when
they have been replaced in the standard tongue by "children", "eyes"
and "shoes". The Northumbrian word "hus" for house, is
still used in east and north Yorkshire dialects, and in some areas "mother
and father" are still pronounced in a similar way to their Anglian
pronunciation of "moder" and "fader".all of Yorkshire
dialect words and terms come from the speech of the first Germanic invaders of
the 5th and 6th centuries.of Yorkshire dialect.Yorkshire dialect is known for
its sing - song quality, a little like Swedish.
· [oe] > [u], as
in luck ([luk]).
· the is reduced to
t’.
· initial h is
dropped.
· was>were
· still use thou
(pronounced [tha]) and three.
· aught and naught
(pronounced [aut] and [nout]) are used foe anything and nothing.
A North Yorkshire accent is
scattered with the sounds commonly associated to Northumbrian. For instance,
"owt" sounds more like "oot". When "thou" is used
as "you", which is not at all unusual in Yorkshire dialect, it is
pronounced more like "thoo" in North Yorkshire, whereas in other
parts it sounds like "thow".of the words more likely to be used in
North Yorkshire than in other parts of the country include "thrang"
meaning "busy", a "thunner pash" refers to a downpour of
rain and there are some typical North Yorkshire sayings which almost sound like
they have a Scottish influence.example: Yano’ them lasses is reet bonny (One of
those girls is very pretty).Yorkshire dialect has many of the identifiers of
" Northern English", particularly the vowel sounds in words, for
example: a is pronounced as a short "a" as opposed to the southern
longer "aa" or "ah" (bath, grass, glass) and "u"
"OO" are pronounced "uh". The pronunciation of consonants
can also sound different to other regions in England. "Ds" are
pronounced as "ts" and "bs" can sound like "ps"
(apsolutely).dialect as is the use of the "were" instead of
"was" when describing an event in the past.
For example: "I were minding my
own business", "She were real bonnie" rather than "I
was…" or "she was…". Two more distinctly Yorkshire words
"owt" and "nowt" are still commonly used and are believed
to have their roots in Anglo - influenced Old English, and of course
"aye" can still be heard often, though perhaps less so with younger
generations. "Nay" is even used when a Yorkshire man or woman really
wants to make his point.negatives though not exclusive to Yorkshire are
regularly used by people of all ages ("I were never scared of
nobody") and "while" is often used in place of "until"
(" I work Monday while Friday, 9 while 5"). The Yorkshire dialect
also often uses verbs in a different context to Standard English: "to
borrow" is uses as "to lend".
Vocabulary of Yorkshire
dialect.words of Yorkshire dialect took their origin from the Angles and even
from the Celts.are some Yorkshire words: aboon=above or over, agait= start,
aht=out, baht= without, clem= to starve, cobby= active, conny=darling, dawks=
hands, doff= take off, dwine= waste and so on.
Going forward, we want to present
our analysis, which includes comparison between Northumbrian and Yorkshire
dialects. We did two comparison between dialects, and for it we chose one text
from Northumbrian and one from Yorkshire.text "A DAY OOT WI ME
MARRAS" and Yorkshire text "DOOAN’T FURGET" (these texts you can
see in the appendix).the analysis, we can present results of this analysis.the
texts, we fount that texts has not sufficiently similar words. Words are
different from each other with their spelling and pronunciation. But there were
some similar words which they use in their colloquial speech:
Northumbrian "forgit" is
Yorkshire "furget", Standard English "forget"and Yorkshire
"tha or thi" Standard English "your""ti" is
Yorkshire "t’" and Standard English "the""mi" is
Yorkshire and Standard English
According to these texts we analyzed
that Northumbrian and Yorkshire dialects different from each other,
notwithstanding the fact, that beginning of Yorkshire dialect is Northumbrian
dialect. It vindicates that Northumbrian dialect changed under influence of
invasions until now, and became a little bit cognate with Standard English.
Pronunciation of these two dialects are alike but in Northumbrian it is
impossible to guess what is the text about, in Yorkshire it is possible.there
are some alike words which are pronouncing and spelling differently, but a
roots are the same.example: Standard English "above" is Northumbrian
"abeum" and Yorkshire "aboon". Here, we can see, that
"ab" is the root and "-eum",
"-oon" are endings of a
dialects. So, we understood that in this situation a spellings, pronunciations
can be different, but there exists some words which roots are same and
differing only with its endings. But it is still impossible to guess the
meaning of the word, by knowing only the root of the word.we have learned about
distinguishing Standard English and Northumbrian dialect, Yorkshire dialect.
Conclusion
By making an analytical
investigation of Northumbrian dialect in the Old English period, and in the
Modern English period, we have learned what is dialect in general, history of
appearance of a dialects and specially learned about Northern English dialects
in the Old and in the Modern English periods. Also, we have learned about
differences between dialectal words, and differences of grammar, pronunciation
and spelling.dialect, we understood that a dialect which is spoken in a
particular area has its own grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Also a
dialect closely connected with social standing of humanity.of Old English are:
Mercian, West Saxon or Wessex, Northumbrian and Kentish. The main reason of
appearance of a dialects is Germanic tribes who settled in England in the 5th
and 6th centuries and their tribal speech transformed into dialects of English
language. Kentish dialect occupied territory of Kent. Wessex occupied territory
south of the Thames and the Bristol Channel. Mercian, central region, from the
Thames to the Humber. Northumbrian, spoken from the Humber north to the river
Forth.we know, there were four main dialects in the Old English period, and one
of them was Northumbrian. The dialect occupied the northern part of England.
Northumbrian dialect, has strong, unbroken history stretching back more than
fourteen hundred years. Although its use has declined in recent years, it
nevertheless has a long and vigorous literary tradition, both oral and written,
which preserves its essential features. It forms the basis of its regional
culture and heritage. Northumbrian dialect have changed and suffered but it
does not cease to exist. It persists as the Northern Yorkshire dialect at the
present time.we revealed definitions of a dialects, areas and the main dialects
of Old English, we made an analytic investigation and compared Old English
dialect with Standard English language. To achieve this goal, we used 276
language units from Old English dialectal and Standard English texts, which
helped us to compare them. And we tried to find out common words with the
Standard English language, grammar differences between them and tried to learn
about their pronunciation. So, an analytic investigation showed that nearly all
words from Old English simplified under influence of invasions. There are some
common words which are steady in the Standard English colloquial speech.
Pronunciation of Old English alike Germanic and Swedish style of pronunciation
which is different from Standard English. Mostly a stress falls on the first
syllable. Grammar is differing too.the second part of our practical work, we
compared Northumbrian dialect and Yorkshire dialect with the Standard English
language. So, first of all we compared Northumbrian dialect with the Standard
English and learned that Northumbrian dialect is differing from Standard
English, especially with its pronunciation and spelling. Then, we investigated
Yorkshire dialect, its grammar, words, pronunciation and spelling. We compared
Yorkshire dialect with the Standard English. They are different from each
other, but Standard English has more common words with Yorkshire dialect than
with Northumbrian. So, at last, we compared Yorkshire dialect and Northumbrian
dialect. Northumbrian has words which are steady in Yorkshire dialect, their
pronunciation are alike but word order is differing. Word order of Yorkshire
dialect is more common with the Standard English language. So, we know that
Northumbrian dialect is the beginning of Yorkshire dialect, and it proves that
Northumbrian dialect does not disappeared. But notwithstanding that fact, they
are very different from each other. It proves that Northumbrian dialect has
been changed during periods and it became more common with the Standard English
language. They are differing with their spellings and grammar, but rules of
pronunciations are the same.
References
1. Antrushina.
"Lexicology of English language
2. Sokolov
M.A., Gintovt K.P., Tihonova I.S. "Theoretical phonetics of English
language" 2004
. Rastorguev
T.A. "History of English language" 2003
. Ivanov
I.P., Chahoyan L.P., Belyaeva T.M. "Practicum of the History of English
language". 2005
. Ellis,
Alexandra J. "The existing phonology of English dialects". 1889
. Francis,
W. Nelson "Dialectology: an introduction" 1983
. Davis,
Lawrence "Dialectology" 1983
. Orton,
Harold and Nathalia Wright "Survey of English dialects, vol.1, The six
northern countries and the Isle" 1963
. Trudgill,
Peter. "Social and historical perspectives" Oxford: Blackwell 1983
. A.A
Reformatski "Introduction of Linguistics" 1996
. Labov,
William "The social stratification of English" 1996
. Winfried
"Directions for historical linguistics" 1968
. Kirk,
John M. "Studies in linguistic geography" 1985
. Trugill,
Peter "The dialects of England" Cambridge 1990
. Peter
Roach "English phonetics and phonology, Glossary" 2009
. www.northumbria.org.uk
. www.oxforddictionaries.com
. www.oldenglishtranslater.co.uk
. www.babaev.tripod.com
. www.gutenberg.org
. www.wordorigins.org
. www.oldenglishteaching.arts.gla.ac.uk
. www.wmich.edu
. www.yorkshiredialect.com
. www.universalteacher.org.uk
. www.uni-due.de
. www.en.mwikipedia.org
. www.yorkshire-dialect.org
. www.thehypertexts.com
. www.yourdictionary.com
Appendix A
dialects
ENGLISH
|
SOUTHERN
|
NORTHERN
|
1. Southern 2. East Anglian 3.
South West dialect
|
1. Northumbrian 2. Yorkshire 3.
North West 4. West Midland
|
Appendix B
the unready and the daneson pissum
geare com Anlaf and Swegen* to Lundenbyrig* on nativates Sancte Marie* mid
iiii(feower) and hundnifotigum scripum, and hie tha on tha burh faestlice
feohtende waeron, and eac hie mid fyre ontendan woldon, ac hie ac paer geferdon
maran hearm and yfel ponne hie aefre wendon paet him aenig burhwaru gedon
sceolde. ac seo halige Goldes modor on paem daege hire mildheortnesse paere
burhware gecythde and hie ahredde with heora feondum.hie panon ferdon and
worhton paet maeste yfel pe aefre aenig here don mihte on baernette and
hergunge and on mannsliehtum, aegther be thaem saeriman on Eastseaxum and on
Centlande and on Hamtunscire*.aet niehstan namon him hors and ridon swa wide
swa hie woldon, and unasecgendlic yfel wyrcende waeron. Pa geraedde se cyning
and his witan paet him man to sende him gafol behete and metsunge, wip pon pe
hie paere hergunge geswicen… And hie pa paet underfengon, and com pa eall se
here to Hantune*, and paer wintersetle and hie man paer feddle geond eall
Westseaxna rice and him man geald siextiene pusend punda. Pa sende se cyning
aefter Anlafe cyninge AElfeah biscop and AEthelward ealdorman and man gislode
pa hwile into paem scipum, and hie pa laeddon Anlaff mid miclum weorscipe to
paem cyninge to Andeferan. And him pa Anlaf behet, swa he hit eac gelaeste,
paet he naefre eft to Angelcynne mid unfrithe cumin holde.
of the Old English
Her - here Pissum - this Geare -
year Hie - they Mid - with Feohtende - fight Eac - also Hie - they Woldon -
will (would) Faestlice - fast Maran - much Yfel - evil Ponne - than (then)
Sceolde - should Ac - but Seo - the Goldes - gold
|
Modor - mother Daege - day Paere -
there Heora - their Feondum - enemy Don - do Worhton - work Aet - at Swa - as
Neihstan - last Pa - then (when) Cyning - king Behete - promise Metsunge -
provision Rice - kingdom Punda -pound Hwile -while
|
Appendix C
’s death song
Fore thaem neidfaerae naenig
uuiurthit, thoncsnottura, than him tharf sie to ymbhycggannae aer his
hiniongae huaet his gastae godaes aethatha yflae aefter deothdaege deomid
uueortha
|
Facing Death, that inescapable
journey, Who can be wiser than he Who reflects, while breath yet remains, On
weather his life brought others happiness or pains, Since his soul may yet
win delight’s way After his death - day.
|
’s prayer
Fader urer thu arth thu bist in
heofnum sie gehalgad noma thin; tocymeth ric thin. Sie willo thin Suae is in
heofne in eortho Hlaf userne in oferwistlic Sel us todaeyand forgef us
scyldgum usum And ne inlaend in costunge Ah gefrig usich from yfle.
|
Our father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name, Try kingdom come Try will be done. In earth as it is in
heaven, Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts And lead us
not into Temptation, But deliver us From evil.
|
Appendix D
day oot wi me marras’ll dandor an
moach ayont yon galloway, an tyek note o thi blee sky blent wit hi hills, see
thi spuggies, an thi neuks bedighted wi eglantine. Fornenst thi cree an abeun
thi hemmel, wu’ll hev wor bait, an batten worsels, time wu watch wor bollen
bellies graa tiv I muckle, yarkin size.wu’ll tyek wor pipe an blin heor time
thi reek gaans oot, an set wor dowps amaang thi pittleybeds an forgit aboot
this bale world. An gyep it thi cuddies, an thi gobby, donnart crass wi thor
feckless cries an thi lowpin yows an dunchin coneys I thi grass.bollen born hes
corved I jud I thi stenchin clarts an sleck, as it lowps, reels an blethours an
cowps its creels.hoppin bords are aal agabbor, playin hitchi - dabbor, an
skiddadin doon thi swally I thi soft low. But thi larks are geeson
of Northumbrian dialect.
Aad - old Abeun - above Ayont -
beyond Bait - a meal Batten - feed well Bale - evil Blee - blue Blent -
blended Blin - to stop or to stay Chep - man Clarts - mud Coneys - rabbits
Dandor - saunter Dunchin - bumping Eglantine - roses Fornenst - opposite to
Galloway - horse Geeson - scare Gyep - gape, look at Hyem - home Howked -
picked
|
Jud - bend Kif - good, sweet,
attractive Lairks - larks Low - light Lowpin - leaping Marras - friends ,
mates Mooch - slouch Muckle - big Neet - night Neuks - nooks, crannies Off
the belt end - in succession Powkin - poking Pud - pudding Slorpin - drinking
Spuggies - sparrows Stingey - means Thi barri morts - smart lasses Tetties -
potatoes Yarbs - herbs Yarkin - big Yarries - eggs Yon - that
|
Appendix E
’t furget!then, tha wants t’ empty
t’ owd watter aht o’kettle and fill ‘er up wi’ fresh water afoor tha puts it on
t’ob.taypod reet nicely warmed and dry insahd, and then get thi tay in ., as
soon as t’ kettle comes reet on t’ boil an’ not a second afoor ot aftah, get
watter pooared in t’ pot.’t furget! Allus tek t’ pot kettle and not t’ kettle
to t’ pot.mash a fair wahl an’ then girrit a stir afoor tha pooars it aht.,
thez summas puts milk in fust an’ summas put tay in fust. Too oor way o’
thinkin’ t’ important thing is to mek certain tha’s med plenty fooar seconf
‘elpin’s!
of Yorkshire dialect.- start, to go,
to move- out- always- next to- going- without- beat up- clever, smart’ole -
mouth- gossiping- briskly- muddy- hungry- to starve- near, field- darling- Grow
Moist- hands- waste- eyes- fight- show promise- boss, foreman- gossip- fool-
staring- nice looking- eat greedily- suspected- rubbish- chest’ - affected-
Cows - Ladybirds- to drink- leap- lie down- carrying- brew- must- annoy- cold-
self- snare- something- empty- touch- work hard- speech- strange- worse- ache