Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch Part 2

After Chaucer, Northumbrian English became a mere popular dialect no longer represented in literature. But the form of Northumbrian spoken north of the Tweed, Lowland Scotch, has during the next three hundred years quite a different history. From the Scottish war of Independence to the Union of the Crowns, Scotland had its own literary language. It is customary to speak of three periods of Scottish language and literature as Old, Middle and New: Old Scotch extending down to about 1450; Middle Scotch to the Union of the Crowns; and New Scotch covering the period after the Union. This is, of course, simply a Northern and later form of the Northumbrian we have discussed above.

15. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOTCH. O.E. _a_, _a_.

There are no monuments in O.Sco. dating back to the 13th or first half of the 14th Century. The first of any importance that we have is "The Bruce" of 1375. By this time the language of Scotland had already undergone many changes that made its general character quite different from literary or Midland English. None of these changes tended so much to differentiate the two as the very different development of O.E. long and short _a_. In the south O.E. _a_ > _e_ (_name_ > _nem_ > _nem_); but O.E. _a_ > _o_, later _o_ (_stan_ > _ston_ > _stone_, _ham_ > _hom_ > _home_). The change of _a_ to _o_ (probably about 1200) took place before that of _a_ to _a_, else they would have coincided and both developed to _o_ or _e_. The last is precisely what took place in Scotland. O. Nhb. _a_ > _a_ and early coincided with original _a_, and along with it developed to later _e_, as only short _a_ did in the south. The two appear together in rhyme in Barbour. Their graphic representation is _a_, _ai_, _ay_. The sound in Barbour is probably _?_ or _e_. In "Wallace" Fr. _entre_ is also written _entray_, _entra_. Fr. _a_ and _ei_ and Eng. diphthong _ai_ (< _aeg_)="" rhyme="" regularly="" with="" sco.="" _a_,="" _ay_,="" _ai_,="" from="" o.e.="" _a_.="" on="">

and O.N. _a_- and M. Sco. _e_-sounds in general see Curtis, ----1-165.

16. CURTIS'S TABLE.

The following (see Curtis ----144-145) ill.u.s.trates the development of O.E. _a_, and _a_, in England and Scotland:

1. Central Scotland. {O.E. _a_} { } > an _e_-vowel.

{O.E. _a_}

2. S. Scotland and {O.E. _a_} Ellis's D. 31* { } > _e_ > an _i_- in England. { } fracture in {O.E. _a_} the mdn. diall.

{ > an _e_-vowel.

3. The rest of Northern { O.E. _a_ { > _e_, later England and Midland. { { _i_-fracture in { { D 25, 26, 28, 29.

{ { O.E. _a_ > _o_ or _u_, with fracture.

4. Southern England { O.E. _a_ > an _e_-fracture or { _i_-fracture.

{ O.E. _a_ > _u_ or _o_.

[*Footnote: Ellis's D 31 = N. W. Yorks.h.i.+re, c.u.mberland, Westmoreland and N. Lancas.h.i.+re.]

In 1. O.E. _ham_ > _hem_, _name_ > _nem_.

In 2. _ham_ > _hem_ > _hi?m_, _name_ > _nem_ > _ni?m_.

In 3. _ham_ > _hom_, _ho?m_, _ho?m_ or _hum_ with fracture.

_name_ > _nem_.

_name_ > _nem_ > _ni?m_ in certain dialects.

In 4. _ham_ > _hum_, or _hom_.

_name_ > _ne?m_, _ni?m_.

The intermediate stage of this development, however, is explained in two ways. According to Curtis it was (in 2) _a_ > _e_ > _e_ > _i_ > _i?_. Luik (--244) shows that das Vorrucken zum Vocalextrem ist an die Abstumpfung gebunden; wir finden es nur dort, wo auch Abstumpfung zu constatieren ist, wabrend diese selbst ein weiteres Gebiet hat. Schon daraus folgt, da.s.s die Abstumpfung das Primare ist, da.s.s also ihre Basis _e_ war, nicht _i_. Dies wird bestatigt durch eine einfache Erwagung. Hatte die Abstumpfung die Lautstufe _i_ ergriffen, so hatte sie auch das _e_ treffen mussen, das ja schon seit Beginn der neuenglischen Zeit in allen Dialekten durch _i_ vertreten ist. Endlich bieten die fruhesten Zeugnisse nur _e_, nicht _i_, auch fur solche Striche, die heute _i_ haben.

According to this, then, the development is more probably _a? > e > e? > i?_, or, as Luik thinks, _a?_ > _ae_ > _ae?_, or _e?_ > _e?_ > _i?_.

17. O.E. _o_.--A LIST OF ILl.u.s.tRATIVE WORDS FROM THE ABERDEEN DIALECT.

Another Northern peculiarity relates to O.E. _o_. While in the south O.E. _o_ developed to an _u_-vowel or an _u_- fracture, in Scotland it became _ee_ (_ui_, _ee_, _i_). The process involved here does not yet seem to be fully understood. The modern dialect of Aberdeen is most p.r.o.nounced in this respect, older _i_ also frequently becoming _u_, _o_. The following examples taken from "Johnnie Gibb" (Aberdeen. 1871) will ill.u.s.trate:

1. Words with an _u_ (o)-vowel in English that have _i_ in Aberdeen dialect: _ither_, "other"; _mither_, "mother"; _tribble_ (O. Fr. _troble_), "trouble"; _kwintra_ (O. Fr. _contree_), "country"; _dis_, "does" (3. s. of "do"); _hiz_, "us"; _dizzen_ (O. Fr. _dozaine_), "dozen"; _sipper_ (O. Fr. _soper_), "supper."

Here we may also include, _pit_, "to put"; _fit_, "foot." _Buik_, "book," seems to show the intermediate stage, cp. also _tyeuk_, "took." On the other hand O.E. _broer_ > _breeder_; (_ge_)_-don_ > _deen_; _judge_ (O. Fr. _juger_) > _jeedge_, all of which have a short vowel in English recent speech.

2. Words with _i_ in Eng. that have _u_ in Aberdeen dialect: _full_, "to fill"; _spull_, "to spill"; _buzness_ (cp. O.E.

_b?sig_), "business"; _wutness_, "witness"; _wull_, "will"

(vb.); _wunna_, "will not"; _wutty_, "witty"; _chucken_, "chicken"; _fusky_ (Gael. _usquebah_), "whiskey"; _sun_, "sin."

3. Words with _oo_ (or _iu_) in Eng. have _ee_ (_i_) in Aberdeen dialect: _seer_ (O. Fr. _sur_), "sure"; _seen_, "soon"; _refeese_ (O. Fr. _refuser_), "refuse"; _peer_ (O. Fr. _poure_), "poor"; _yeel_ (M.E. _?ole_), "yule"; _reed_ (O.E. _rod_), "rood"; _eese_ (O. Fr. _us_), "use"; _shee_ (O.E. _sceo_), "shoe"; _adee_, "ado"; _tee_, "too"; _aifterneen_, "afternoon"; _skweel_, "school"; _reet_ (O.E. _rot_), "root"; _const.i.teetion_, "const.i.tution." Cp. also _gweed_ (O.E. _G.o.d_), "good." The _w_ in _gweed_, _skweel_, shows again the process of change from _o_ to _ee_. _U_ in _buik_ and _w_ in _kwintra_ also seem to represent the _u_-element that is left in the sound. In words like _refeese_, _keerious_, etc., where _ee_ is from Fr.

_u_, the sound is quite easily explained. So _fusky_ from _usquebah_. _Full_, from O.E. _fyllan_, and _buzness_ are interesting.

18. INORGANIC _Y_ IN SCOTCH.

Many words have developed a _y_ where originally there was none.

This phenomenon is, however, closely connected with _e_-_i_-fracture from original _a?_. _Y_ we find appears often before _a_ (from original _a?_). It is, then, simply the development of the _e_-_i_-fracture into a consonant + _a_, and may be represented thus: O.E. _ac_ ("oak") > _ec_ > _ec_ > _e?c_ > _i?c_ > _yak_. (See also Murray D.S.C.S., 105). Cp. _yance_ and _yence_, "once"; _yell_, "ale"; _yak_, "ache." This also appears in connection with fracture other than that from O.E. _a_: cp.

_yirth_, _yird_, for "earth."

19. _D_ FOR THE SPIRANT _TH_.

This appears in a number of words: e.g., _ledder_, "leather"; _fader_ (in Gau), _fadder_, "father"; _moder_, _mudder_, "mother"; _broder_, _brudder_, "brother"; _lidder_ (A.S. _lire_); _de_ (Gau), "the" (article); _widdie_ (O.E. _wiig_), "withy"; _dead_, "death"; _ferde_, "fourth"; etc. In some works this tendency is quite general. Norse loanwords as a rule keep the spirant, but in the following loanwords __ has become _d_: _cleed_, _cleeding_, "clothe, clothing," from O.N. _klaea_; _red_, "to clear up," O.N.

_ryja_; _bodin_, O.N. _boinn_ (? See E.D.D.); _bud_, "bribe," O.N.

_bo_; _heid_, "brightness," O.N. _haei_; _eident_, "busy," O.N.

_iinn_ (_ythand_ is, however, the more common Sco. form); _bledder_, "to prate," O.N. _blara_ (more commonly _blether_ in Sco.); _byrd_, "ought," O.N. _buri_; _stiddy_, O.N. _stei_. I do not think _ryde_, "severe," can be derived from O.N. _reir_; and _frody_, "wise," is rather O.E. _frod_ than O.N. _fror_. _Waith_, O.N. _vaeir_, has kept the spirant, but _faid_, a "company of hunters," has changed it to _d_. _Faid_ probably comes in from Gaelic. I have called attention to this change of __ to _d_ in Sco., since many words affected by it have become almost identical in form with their Scand. cognates and have consequently been considered loan-words. See --23.

20. O.E. _a_ AND O.N. _aeI_. HOW FAR WE CAN DETERMINE SUCH WORDS TO BE OF NATIVE OR OF NORSE ORIGIN.

Certain Eng. dialect words in _e_ corresponding to O.E. _a_ have been considered Scand. loanwords. We have, however, seen that in the north O.E. _a_ > _e_ just as did O.N. _aei_ (_ei)_. How many of these words are genuine English and how many are loanwords becomes, then, rather uncertain. Wall argues that the Norse words were always in M.E. spelled with a diphthong, while the genuine English words were spelled with an _a_--thus _bain_, _baisk_ from O.N. _baeinn_, _baeiskr_, but _hame_, _stane_, _hale_ from O.E.

_ham_, _stan_, _hal_. If this were always the case we should have here a safe test. It is, however, a fact that in Scottish texts at least, no such consistency exists with regards to these words. The following variant spellings will show this: _hame_, _haim_, _haym_; _stain_, _stane_, _stayne_; _hal_, _hale, hail_, _hayle_; _lak_, _lake_, _laik_, _layk_; _blake_, _blaik_, _blayk_, etc., etc. There is, however, another way in which to determine which of such words are loanwords and which are not. In Southern Scotland in D. 33, and in Northwestern England (D. 31), O.N. _aei_ and O.E. _a_ did not coincide, but have been kept distinct down to the present time (see Ellis's word-lists and Luik, 220, 221). In these two dialects O.E. _a_ developed to an _i_-fracture (see --16.2), while O.N. _aei_ never went beyond the _e_-stage, and remains an _e_-vowel in the modern dialects. Here, then, we have a perfectly safe test for a large number of words. Those that have in D. 31 and D. 33 an _i_-vowel or an _i_-fracture are genuine English, those that have an _e_-vowel are Scandinavian loanwords. Ellis's list offers too few examples of words of this cla.s.s. We find _hi'm_, _bi'n_, _hi'l, sti'n_, and in Murray's D.S.C.S. _heame_, and _heale_ (beside _geate_ (O.N. _gata)_, _beath_, _meake_, _tweae_, _neame_, etc.). This then proves that Sco. _haim_, _bain_, _hail_, and _stain_ are from O.E. _ham_, _ban_, _hal_, _stan_ and not from O.N. _haeim_, _baeinn_, _haeil_, _staeinn_. _Mair_, in spite of its _e_-vowel, is not from O.N. _maeir_, for a following _r_ prevented the development to _i_, as a rule, although in c.u.mberland _meear_ is found beside _mair_. The word "steak" (O.N. _staeik_), which occurs in Ellis's list, has had an irregular development and cannot be considered here (see further Luik, 323). In the following works are found a number of words of this cla.s.s:

Westmoreland and c.u.mberland Dialects, by J.R. Smith. London. 1839.

A Glossary of Words and Phrases of c.u.mberland, by William d.i.c.kinson. London. 1859.

Folk Speech of c.u.mberland, by Alexander Craig Gibson. London.

1873.

A Glossary of Words used in Swaledale, Yorks.h.i.+re, by John Harand.

E.D.S. 1873.

Whitby Glossary, by F.K. Robinson. E.D.S. 1876.

21. A LIST OF SOME WORDS THAT ARE NORSE. FURTHER REMARKS.

These all aim at giving the phonetic value of the sounds. O.E., O.N.

_a_ is represented by _ea_ or _eea_, indicating _i_-fracture. For instance: _heam_, _steean_, _neam_, _geat_, _beeath_, _leath_ (O.N.

_lai_), _heeal_, _brea_ (O.N. _bra)_, _breead_ (O.E. _brad_, not O.N. _braei), greeay_, _blea_, etc. Those that have _a_, _ai_, or _ay_, that is an _e_-vowel, and must consequently be derived from the corresponding O.N. words, are the following:

BLAKE, _adj._ yellow, pale, O.N. _blaeikr_.

BLAKEN, _vb._ to turn yellow, N.N. _blaeikna_.

CLAME, _vb._ to adhere, O.N. _klaeima_.