Middle English Dialects

Gramática Histórica de la Lengua Inglesa

MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS

NORTHERN CHARACTERISTICS Phonology: VOWELS. 1. OE /ɑ/ remains /ɑ/: s w a , t w a  (< OE swa, twa) 2. OE /a/+ nasal is not rounded: f r a ( m ) (> OE fram) 3. OE /ō/ > eME /ū/: g ūd e (< OE gōd) 4. OE // > ME //: m ry , s i n (< OE myrig, synn) 5. Early weakening of final -e (already in OE): /-e/ > /-i/ > /ǝ/ > ≠ /-es/ (plural ending) > /-is/ > /-iz / /-ed/ (past ending) > /-it/ 6. Irregular development of gliding before h : common after /a/, rare after /e/ and /o/. CONSONANTS.

1. In final position and before f r o n t v o w e l s , p l o s i v e s are not palatalized and remain p l o s i v e s : s w i l k e , m i k e l (< OE swylc, micel). 2. Final and unstressed /ʃ/ () > /s/ (/): loses friction and becomes voiceless: s u l d e 'should', f l e s s 'flesh'. Spelling: 1. Diacritic <-i-> to indicate vowel length.

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2. Weakening: /-es/ (plural ending) > /-is/ > /-iz/ represented in various ways: <-is> / /<-ez>. Morphology: 1. Personal pronouns of Scandinavian origin: þa y , þe y , þa i r e , þe i r e , þa y m , t h a y , t h e y , t h a i r , t h a r , etc. 2. Plural of nouns from strong ones: - e s (< OE -as). 3. Present 3rd person singular in - ( e ) s (cf. OE -eþ): h a s , p u t t e s , etc. and plural equally in (e )s. 4. Predominance of the vowel of Preterite singular (Pret.1) in strong verbs (vocalic verbs) for both singular and plural. 5. Infinitives without final -n (from late OE). 6. Present participle ending: - a n d e . 7. Past participle without i - / y - ( < ME j(ǝ)
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MIDDLE ENGLISH TEXTS. NORTHERN DIALECTS. Richard Rolle of Hampole (14th c.): T h e B e e a n d t h e S t o r k . The bee has thre kyndes. Ane es, þat scho es never ydill and scho es noghte with thaym þat will noghte wyrke, bot castys thaym owte and puttes thaym awaye. Anothire es, þat, when scho flyes, scho takes erthe in hyr fette, þat scho be noghte lyghtly overheghede in the ayere of wynde. The thyrde es, þat scho kepes clene and bryghte hire wyngez. Thus ryghtwyse men þat lufes God are never in ydyllnes; for owthyre þay ere in travayle, prayand or thynkande or redande or othere gude doande or withtakand ydill mene and schewand thaym worthy to be put fra þe ryste of heven, for þay will noghte travayle. Here þay take erthe, þes, þay halde þamselfe vile and erthely, that thay be noghte blawen with þe wynde of vanitè and of pryde.

T h e Y o r k P l a y o f t h e C r u c i f i x i o n . (pp. 252 & ff. in Burrow and Turville, A B o o k o f M i d d l e E n g l i s h ). I Soldier

Sir knyghtis, take heede hydir in hye, This dede on dergh we may noght drawe.

ȝee wootte youreselffe als wele as I

Howe lordis and leders of owre lawe Has geven dome þat þis doote schall dye. 2 Soldier

Sir, alle þare counsaile wele we knawe.

3 Soldier

Sen we are comen to Calvarie Latte ilke man helpe nowe as hym awe. We are alle redy, loo, þat forward to fullfille.

4 Soldier

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10

Late here howe we schall doo And go we tyte þertille.

2 Soldier

It may noȝt helpe her for to hone If we schall any worshippe wynne. He must be dede nedelyngis by none.

3 Soldier

þanne is goode tyme þat we begynne.

4 Soldier

Late dynge hym doune, þan is he done.

1 Soldier

He schall nought dee us with his dynne.

3

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WEST-MIDLAND CHARACTERISTICS Phonology: VOWELS.

1. OE /a/ + /n/ > ME /o/ + /n/ (both in open and closed syllables). 2. OE /o+ŋg/ > /u+ŋg/.

Cf. among [ə'mʌŋ] < OE onġemang 3. OE /eo/ > ME /ö/ (still written ), [> ME /e/; in other dialects rounding is lost] OE heorte > ME horte (western areas) > ME herte (eastern areas) 4. OE // > ME // 5. OE (Mercian) /e/ remains /e/ : w e s , h w e t , etc. (
1. Loss of voice: /b, d, g/ > /p, t, k/ (when preceded by nasal or liquid). 2. Engind /-d/ in past and past participle > /-t/. Morphology: 1. OE 3rd personal pronoun plural: object pr. h e m areas ) 2. Present tense:

(while t h a y m

is found in northern

+3rd person singular in - t h < OE -eþ (cf. north-west midlands - ( e ) s ) +plural in - ( e ) n . 3. Present participle ending: - e n d e . 4. Past participle often preceded by i - < OE g e 5. Numerous plural (nouns) in - e n , either inherited from Old English or formed by analogy.

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WEST MIDLAND TEXTS. Ancrene Wisse (last third of the 12th century) Lawman, The Brut (12th century) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (14th century) The Pearl (14th century) A N C R E N E W I S S E ( N U N 'S G U I D E ) Fikeleres beo þreo cunnes. þe forme beo uvele inoh; þe 35

oþre þah beo wurse; þe þridde þah beo wurst.

40

(...)þe forme ȝef a mon is god, preise him bivoren himseolf and make him, inoh reae, ȝet betere þen he beo: ant ȝef he sei wel oer de wel, heve hit to hehe up wi overherunge. þe oer, ȝef a mon is uvel ant sei ant de se muche mis þet hit beo se open sunne þet he hit ne mahe nanes-weis allunge

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wiseggen, he þah, bivore þe mon seolf makect his uvel leasse. "Nis hit nawt nu", he sei, "se over uvel as me hit make. Nart tu nawt te ane i þis þing, þe forme ne þe leaste. þu havest monie feren. Let i-wure, god mon. Ne geast tu

nawt te ane. Moni de muche wurse."

S IR G A W A IN

A N D

T H E G R E E N K N IG H T

Mony klyf he overclambe Fer floten fro his frendez

in contrayez straunge, fremedly he rydez;

At uche warþe oþer water þer þe wyȝe passed, He fonde a foo hym byfore, bot ferly hit were,

715

And þat so foule and so felle þat feȝt hym byhode; So mony mervayl bi mount

þer þe mon fyndez,

Hit were to tore for to telle of þe tenþe dole.

TRANSLATION (from Tolkien, J.R.R. 1979, S i r G a w a i n a n d t h e G r e e n K n i g h t , P e a r l a n d S i r O r f e o ,

London: Unwin Paperbacks: pp. 32-33:

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Many a cliff he climbed o'er in contries unknown far fled from his friends as an exile (without fellowship) he rode. At every wading or water on the way that he passed he found a foe before him, but it was something extraordinary (save a and so foul were they and fell that fight he must needs. So many a marvel in the mountains he met in those lands that 'twould be tedious the tenth part to tell you thereof.

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few for a wonder);

(715)


EAST-MIDLAND CHARACTERISTICS Phonology: VOWELS.

1. OE /a/ + /n/ is not rounded (unlike West-Midland dialect). 2. /o+n/ is unrounded > /a+n/. 3. OE /eo/ > ME /e/; ( rounding is lost) Often written . OE heorte > ME horte (western areas) > ME herte (eastern areas) 4. OE // > ME // 5. Diphthongs are not frequent before /-ht/. Morphology: 1. OE 3rd personal pronoun plural: object pr. h e m areas ) 2. Present tense:

(while t h a y m

is found in northern

+3rd person singular in - t h < OE -eþ (cf. north-east midlands - ( e ) s ) +plural in - ( e ) n . 3. Present participle ending: - e n d e . 4. Past participle preverb i - < OE g e - does not usually appear. 5. Numerous plural (nouns) in - e s . Generalized for all classes of nouns and all cases.

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EAST MIDLAND TEXTS. Havelok the Dane (12th -13th c.) þer was sorwe, (h)wo-so it sawe!

Hwan þe children bi þ(e) wawe Leyen and sprauleden in þer blod,

475

Havelok it saw, and þe(r) bi stod. Ful sori was þat seli knave, Mikel dred he mouhte have, For at hise herte he saw a knif, For to reven him hise lyf.

480

But þe k(n)ave þat litel was He knelede bifore þat Judas And seyde: "Loverd, merci nou! Manrede, loverd, bidd' I you! Al Denemark I wile you yeve To þat forward þu late me live; Here I wile on boke swere þat nevre more ne shal I bere

Ayen þe, loverd, shel(d) ne spere, Ne oþer wepne, that may you dere. TRANSLATION: There was sorrow, who-ever saw it! When the children by the wall Lie and sprawl in their blood, Havelock saw it, and by there stood. Full sorry was that poor boy, Much dread he could have, For at his heart he saw a knife, To ravage him his life. But the boy that was little He knelt before that Judas And said: "Lord have mercy now! Feudal homage, lord, I offer you. All Denmark I will give you On condition that thou let me live; Here I will over the book swear That never more I shall bear, Against thee, lord, nor shield nor spear Nor any other weapon, that may harm you.

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485


MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS-SOUTHERN. KENTISH (SOUTH-EAST) CHARACTERISTICS. Phonology: VOWELS.

1. OE //> ME //: v e r s t 'first' 1, z e n n e 'sin' 1, c h e r c h e 'church' 22, etc. 2. OE // > ME /e/ (cf. other dialects > /a/): h e d d e 'had' 27, w e s 'was' 29, þe t 'that' 1, etc. 3. OE falling diphthongs changed into rising from which we have: <ēa> /ǣa/  > /ja/ /: d y a d 'dead' <ēo> /ēo/  > /je/ / : d y e v e l 'devil' 1, etc. CONSONANTS.

1. Initially and before /l/ and /r/: /f/ > /v/: v y n d e 'find' 25, v o l k e 'folk' 39, etc. /s/ > /z/ (with less regularity): z e n n e 'sin' 1, z a y þ 'saith' 19, etc. Morphology: 1. - ( e ) t h in the

third person singular of the present (< OE -eþ).

plural of the present (< OE -aþ). 2. Present Participle in - i n d e ( < - i n g e ) . 3. Infinitive without - n . 4. Strong Verbs: maintenance of the vowel of the preterite plural or past participle 5. The past participle prefix (OE ġe-) is kept though weakened: > ME e- /ə- / j- / i-. 6. The plural of substantives is in - e n (beside -e s ). 7. Third person plural pronouns: Nom. h i , h y , acc. h i s e , h i s , gent. h y r e , dat. h a m . Vocabulary. 1. Large number of French loan-words.

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KENTISH TEXT: AYENBITE OF INWYT by DAN MICHEL OF NORTHGATE An Augustian monk at Canterbury translated into his Kentish dialect in 1340 the S o m m e d e s V i c e s e t d e s V e r t u e s by Friar Lorens of Orléans. The new title was A e n b i t e o f I n w y t , which is 'The Remorse' or more exactly 'The Prick of Conscience'. Gluttony Verst zigge we of þe zenne of g l o t o u n y e þet is a vice þet þe dyevel is moche myde y-payd and moche onpayd God. Be zuych zenne heþ þe dyevel wel grat miȝte in manne. Huerof we redeþ ine þe godspelle þet God yaf y-leave þe dyevlen to 5

guo into þe zuyn; and þo hi weren ine ham, hise adreynten ine þe ze, ine tokninge þet þe g l o t o u n s ledeþ lif of zuyn and þe dyevel heþ y-leave to guo in ham and hise a d r e n c h e ine þe ze of helle and ham to do ete zuo moche þet hi tocleve an

zuo moche drinke þet hy ham a d r e n c h e þ. ____________________________________________________

W. Caxton, T h e R y a l l B o o k .- And fyrst we shal saye of the synne of glotonye / whiche is a vyce that moche pleaseth the devyl, and dyspleaseth to god. By this synne hathe the devyl grete power in man wherof we rede in the gospel that god gaf lycence to devylles for to entre in to swyn, and whan they were entred they drowned them in the see. Thys sygnefyeth that the glotons that lede lyf of hogges and of swyn the devyls have leve to entre in to them & to drowne them in the see of helle. And maketh them to ete so moche that they breste / & drynke so moche that they be drowned. ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________

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Huanne þe kempe heþ his velaȝe y-veld and him halt be þe þrote, wel onneaþe he arist. Alsuo hit is of þan þet þe

dyevel halt be þa zenne; and þervore bleþeliche he yernþ to þe þrote ase þe wolf to þe ssepe him vor to astrangli, ase he

dede to Even and to Adam in paradys terestre. þet is þe vissere 15 of helle þet nymþ þane viss bi þe þrote and by þe chinne. þis zenne moche mispayþ God. ____________________________________________________

Whan the champyon hath owerthrowen his felowe, he holdeth hym by the gorge by cause he shold not relyeve. Ryght so is hyt of hym that the devyl holdeth by hys synne in his mete the

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devyl renneth to hys gorge lyke as the wolf dooth to the sheep for to strangle hym. lyke as he dyd to Adam Eve in paradys terrestre. Thys is the fysshar of helle whiche taketh thy fysshes wyth the grynnes by the throte / This vyce dyspleseth moche / ... .

SOUTH-WESTERN CHARACTERISTICS. Phonology: VOWELS.

1. O.E. /ɑ / is most often /ō/,; sometimes / ɑ /. 2. O.E. /a/ before nasal is /o/ (m o n , m o n n e , c o n s t , etc.) or /a/ in a n ( d ) 3. The O.E. diphthongs have completely disappeared. As in all the South and in the West-Midlands, the most striking feature is the sound /ö/ for which the spellings have been indicated above: f l o < O.E. flēo, s o < O.E. sēo (ll. 33-34), b o < O.E. bēon. CONSONANTS.

1. Voicing of /f/ to /v/ at the beginning of words is common: 'for', 'fair' Spelling: Much influenced by practices of Anglo-Norman scribes. 1. The letter indicates [u] as well as /ü/ 2. /ö/ is sometimes writen but most often in the Anglo-Norman manner (today's commonly ). 3. the sound /v/ is written or . 4. hw- is written and also (French influence) 5. the sound /ʃ/ is written , and even 6. /w/ is sometimes written or Morphology: 1. Nouns: Genitive sg. is in - e s . Dative sg. in - e . 2. The DEFINITE ARTICLE þe still has a flexion. 3. Personal pronouns: 1 st sg. i c h , i h or I 3 rd sg. Masc. h e , h i n e , h i n , h i m Fem. h e ( o ) , h i r e , h i r e dual G. u n k e r 3rd pl. h i , h e o , h o r e , h e r e , h o m , h e o m

4. Prest. indic.: 2nd sg. in - s t ; 3rd sg. in - ( e ) þ; 3 rd pl. also in -( e ) þ. 5. Pres. subjuntive in - ( e ) , pl. in - ( n ) 6. The infinitive is in - e ( n )

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7. Past participle always preceded by i - (< O.E. ge-). Vocabulary Almost purely Germanic. Rare French words . THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE Text. Poem of 1794 lines. Written after the death of Henry II in 1189 and before the accession of Henry III in 1216. 'Ich rede þi þat men bo ȝare And more wepe þane singe, þat fundeþ to þan hoven-king, Vor nis no man wiþute sunne. Vor- þi he mot, ar he wende honne, Mid teres and mid wope bete, þat him bo sur þat er was swete. þarto ich helpe, God hit wot, Ne singe ih hom no foliot; For al mi song is of longinge And i-mend sumdel mid woninge, þat he groni for his unwrenche; Mid mine songe ich hine pulte, þat he groni for his gulte. SING, CUCKOO (13th. century)

S in g , cu cu , n u ! S in g , cu cu ! S in g , cu ccu ! S in g , cu ccu , n u ! Sumer1 is i-cumen2 in; Lhude sing, cuccu! Groweþ sed, and bloweþ med, And springþ þe wde nu. Sumer here means 'spring'. ME lenten had long been understood to mean the original fast and gradually lost its specific meaning of 'spring'. Because of this, ME writers were compelled to use somer in this sense since the adoption of spring dates only from the 16th century. 2 ME like OE previously had recognised two periphrasis for the passive, which had no morphological expression. The locution was 'to be' (ben ) or 'to become (wore ) + past participle. 1

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Sing cuccu!

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Awe bleteþ after lomb, Lhoud after calve cu; Bulluc sterteþ, bucke verteþ; Murie sing, cuccu! Cuccu! cuccu!

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Wel singes þu, cuccu; Ne swik þu naver nu.

ȝif þu gest herof to sputinge, Ich wepe bet þane þu singe;

ȝif riȝt goþ forþ ans abak wrong, Betere is mi wop þane þi song, þeȝ sume men bo þurȝut gode And þurȝut clene on hore mode, Hom longeþ honne noþeles. TRANSLATION__________________________________________

S in g , cu ck o o , n o w ! S in g , cu ck o o ! S in g , cu ck o o ! S in g , cu ck o o , n o w ! The spring is (=has) come in; Sing loud, cuckoo! The seed grows, the mead [mi:d](=meadow) blows, And the wood springs now. Sing cuckoo! The ewe bleats after the lamb, Lows the calf after the cow; The bullock starts, the buck farts; Merrily sing, cuckoo! Cuckoo! cuckoo! Thou singst well, cuckoo! Dost not stop thou ever now.

COMMENTARIES: - l. 1.

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i-cumen < OE ge-cumen. The prefix, weakened, is kept. - l.2. lhude < OE hlūd. The original sound /hl/ disappeared late. cf. l. 7. - l.3. (ll. 4, 6, 8) -(e)þ for the third person of the present tense as opposed to northern -es. - l. 6. lomb < OE lamb. Western rounding. - l. 8. Voiceless fricatives > voiced fricatives (not only Kentish). verteþ < OE ferteþ PdE 'fart' - l. 9.

ME muri(e) < OE myrig > ... > PdE ['meri] PdE form is coming from Kentish while here we have the western development.

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Middle English Dialects

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