English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 124 pages of information about English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day.

English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 124 pages of information about English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day.

  W. I zay, Jan!  I axed Meyastur about that are last night.

  J. Well, what ded ur zay?

  W. Why, a zed one neyam ez jest zo vittun vor’n as tother; and
  he lowz a ben caal’d straddlebob ever zunce the Island was vust
  meyad.

  J. Well, if that’s the keeas, I spooas I lost the quart.

  W. That thee hast, lucky; and we’ll goo down to Arreton to the
  Rid Lion and drink un ater we done work.

Notes.—­Observe z for s, and v for f initially. What’s, What hast thou; nammut (lit. noon-meat), luncheon, usually eaten at 9 A.M. (n{-o}na h{-o}ra); leyarn, learn; esn, is not; gurt, great; zote, soft, silly; casn’t, canst not; laay, lay, wager; how’t wool, how it will; that are, that there; lowz (lit. allows), opines; zunce, since; vust meyad, first made; keeas, case; lucky, look ye!

SOUTHERN (Group 7):  EAST SUSSEX.

The following quotations are from the Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect, by the Rev. W.D.  Parish, Vicar of Selmeston; E.D.S. 1875.  The Glossary refers rather to E. than to W. Sussex, Selmeston being between Lewes and Eastbourne.

  Call over, to abuse.  “He come along here a-cadging, and fancy he
  just did call me over, because I told him as I hadn’t got naun to
  give him.” (Naun, nothing.)

Clocksmith, a watchmaker.  “I be quite lost about time, I be; for I’ve been forced to send my watch to the clocksmith.  I couldn’t make no sense of mending it myself; for I’d iled it and I’d biled it, and then I couldn’t do more with it.”
Cocker-up, to spoil; to gloss over with an air of truth.  “You see this here chap of hers, he’s cockered-up some story about having to goo away somewheres up into the sheeres; and I tell her she’s no call to be so cluck over it; and for my part I dunno but what I be very glad an’t, for he was a chap as was always a-cokeing about the cupboards, and cogging her out of a Sunday.” (The sheeres, any shire of England except Kent and Sussex; call, reason; cluck, out of spirits; coke, to peep; cog, to entice.)
Joy, a jay.  “Poor old Master Crockham, he’s in terrible order, surel{’y}!  The meece have taken his peas, and the joys have got at his beans, and the snags have spilt all his lettuce.” (Order, bad temper; meece, mice; snags, snails; spilt, spoilt.)

  Kiddle, to tickle.  “Those thunder-bugs did kiddle me so that I
  couldn’t keep still no hows.” (Thunder-bug, a midge.)

  Lawyer, a long bramble full of thorns, so called because, “when
  once they gets a holt an ye, ye do{a}nt easy get shut of ’em.”

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English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.