"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Monday, January 10, 2022
Have you been vaxxed against the epizooty? How about palpeetus of the punk? Are you feelin' a little dauncy?
The Scotch-Irish must have spoken border Elizabethan English (not Gaelic) to have such deep development in their way of talking, which only happens over centuries.
In contrast to Irish (and Welsh or Scots) who spoke no English at all and had to learn it from the 1800s onwards, so their English sounds very proper - much easier to understand than northern English dialects. It's a stark difference when you think about it.
I really must read those folkways books sometime.
Regional differences in England are far greater than people realise I think, and were carried out to the New World.
The Scotch-Irish must have spoken border Elizabethan English (not Gaelic) to have such deep development in their way of talking, which only happens over centuries.
Yes, that's definitely so. I think the Scots-Irish were border folk who immigrated to Ireland and thence to America. Another interesting linguistic tradition is "high tide" English (or "hoi toide" as its speakers pronounce it); this is a brogue spoken in the outer banks of North Carolina and evolved from certain dialects in 18th century England. My stepfather knows it and says it's still spoken among some of the old families. He said that, when he was a teenager, he and his pals would use the patois in school from time to time when they didn't want their teachers (who were almost always mainlanders) to know what they were saying.
See I looked into my g'mother's people who came from Cork in Ireland and along the way found that most Irish migrants in the 1800s like my g'mother's g'mother could not speak English. It stunned me, after growing up with non-English migrants, mostly Italian.
I read in old newspapers how Irish in the 1800s in Australia were bilingual and used their language for private convos.
I guess my g'mother's g'mother had time to learn English on the boat, she was only a young teenager travelling with her brother. I heard stories of being on deck, steerage, around the Cape, wish I'd asked more questions. And I wondered why why we had no weird language like the Appalachians, but English being a recently learned language explains that.
"There was a man of Han Dan, who went to the big city to learn how to walk 'proper'. When he returned to his village he could only crawl on hands and knees" - Chuang Tzu.
(Remember that country bumpkins used to be seen to walk funny as well as talk funny).
The Scotch-Irish must have spoken border Elizabethan English (not Gaelic) to have such deep development in their way of talking, which only happens over centuries.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_in_Northern_England
In contrast to Irish (and Welsh or Scots) who spoke no English at all and had to learn it from the 1800s onwards, so their English sounds very proper - much easier to understand than northern English dialects. It's a stark difference when you think about it.
I really must read those folkways books sometime.
Regional differences in England are far greater than people realise I think, and were carried out to the New World.
The Scotch-Irish must have spoken border Elizabethan English (not Gaelic) to have such deep development in their way of talking, which only happens over centuries.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's definitely so. I think the Scots-Irish were border folk who immigrated to Ireland and thence to America. Another interesting linguistic tradition is "high tide" English (or "hoi toide" as its speakers pronounce it); this is a brogue spoken in the outer banks of North Carolina and evolved from certain dialects in 18th century England. My stepfather knows it and says it's still spoken among some of the old families. He said that, when he was a teenager, he and his pals would use the patois in school from time to time when they didn't want their teachers (who were almost always mainlanders) to know what they were saying.
One of the best books on the subject is Albion's Seed. It explains where many of our regional dialects and customs come from. Available at Amazon.
ReplyDeleteHuh. A lot of those words I grew up with, in that usage. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds fascinating, Rebecca. Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteSee I looked into my g'mother's people who came from Cork in Ireland and along the way found that most Irish migrants in the 1800s like my g'mother's g'mother could not speak English. It stunned me, after growing up with non-English migrants, mostly Italian.
ReplyDeleteI read in old newspapers how Irish in the 1800s in Australia were bilingual and used their language for private convos.
I guess my g'mother's g'mother had time to learn English on the boat, she was only a young teenager travelling with her brother. I heard stories of being on deck, steerage, around the Cape, wish I'd asked more questions. And I wondered why why we had no weird language like the Appalachians, but English being a recently learned language explains that.
"There was a man of Han Dan, who went to the big city to learn how to walk 'proper'. When he returned to his village he could only crawl on hands and knees" - Chuang Tzu.
ReplyDelete(Remember that country bumpkins used to be seen to walk funny as well as talk funny).