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FLEXIONAL ENDINGS.

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as in Souden Fell (N. saudr, a sheep), Duddon, Marron, Knorren. The provincial welkin (G. wolken, the clouds) is a plural of this kind. It is probable we have also plurals in er, in the names Waver, Cocker, Allerby (D. ell, an alder), Askerton (D. ask, an ash), etc. The ending et remains to be mentioned, as in Hesket, Arthuret, Hackett, Fawcett (Forcett), etc. Sparkhead, near Ullswater, is popularly pronounced Sparket, and this throws light on some at least of the above names, most, if not all, being compositions or corruptions to which we have now no satisfactory clue.

The derivation of isolated words from the allied languages is attended with a difficulty which may be mentioned here. The E. knee (pr. nee) may be compared with N. hnie, and G. knie. From the latter, as well as from the etymology, we learn that the k of knee was once pronounced,-from the former that it was aspirated before it became mute. The comparison of the pronunciation and orthography of knee shows that the word passed through the Norse stage, but that it did so in England. We have a word of this kind amonst the names of places, namely, Knock, for which there is C. cnoc, or N. hnukr; but the same reasoning applies, and Knock must be Celtic, having passed through the Norse stage in Cumbria. Hnukr is clearly borrowed from the Celtic, the ending oc (og) being a Celtic diminutive, and the root probably cen (cean), the head. "Knuckle" is a double diminutive derived from knock.

*The et of Dunmallet I supposed in my former essay on this subject to be the Danish neuter article, affixed to a foreign (Celtic) word that was not quite intelligible; but any other explanation must be more satisfactory, as this is the only example we have of the kind. On the subject of the article with proper names, Rask (Old Norse Grammar) says: "The article is not used in composition with proper names, unless it be that the word was originally a common appellative which by custom has been used as a proper name, e. g. Vik-in, the fjord at Christiana in Norway, Logr-inn, Lake Mälar; but Danir, the Danes," without an article. Very little consideration satisfies us of the truth of this; we can understand the bay, because it is the great bay, or the only bay of the district. The force of demonstratives has always been as it is now, notwithstanding that in modern times they are more frequently used. The supposed name L'Ulf, the wolf, from which Lyulph's tower is believed to take its name, could never have arisen as the name of a baron. We can understand the bay among bays, and the wolf among wolves, but not the wolf among men.

The Celtic cnoc, notwithstanding its orthography, retains the accent on the root, and is pronounced in two syllables cunnuc. By the removal of the accent, the root sound has been lost in E. knock, and know. Our dialect stands opposed to English in the latter word, which it has as ken. Very great discrepancies are, however, observable in accent: C. nae mair has retained the correct accent and form; G. nimmer (nie mehr) altered the accent and with it the form. Late Cumbrian has likewise altered the forms of word in consequence of accent: we find praps for perhaps, pode for uphold, mappen for may happen.

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The most characteristic affix of modern Cumbrian is ment, though it cannot be supposed ever to have been intelligible: it forms a kind of collective, as dirtment, roughment, a heap of dirty or rough things, and a kind of abstract, as bitterment (bitterness), preachment. Generally speaking, it carries with it a feeling of contempt. Some appears also in frequent use: growsome (D. grue, to dread), grim, fewsome (see few, page 84), are examples. The ending y is still used to form diminutives, etc.; in sweeties its plural is equivalent to things." Lin, once very common, is no longer current. We find it in gawrlin, from gawp (gorp), hawflin, from half, a half-witted person, kitlin, a kitten. Madlin, a person of bad memory, mafflin, mazelin, a simpleton, may contain either lin or in, according as they are to be derived from mad, maf, maze, or from maddle, maffle, mazle. The former is the more probable. Lin is G. ling, which is scarcely distinguishable in meaning from ing. We have at least one example of kin (G. chen), used for contempt, in maislikin, and under the euphonic law of the German, namely, following a liquid. Geslin (gosling), which has the root vowel modified, is still in use. Double, and apparently superfluous, derivations are common in Cumbrian, as they are in all languages. We have satisfise from satisfy, spelder (see page 75), churchwardner, from spell, churchwarden, and belder to bellow, from beel; and likewise many such words as attackded, drownded, which is simply a derivation from the participle, the same that modern languages have followed so extensively in making roots for themselves from Latin. Probably in this we have an explanation of the d in belder and spelder.

DERIVATION AND COMPOSITION.

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There are a few peculiarities to be noticed here: fadge, E. fag, which contrasts with brig, E. bridge. Collership-hoos (Borrowdale Letter) certainly contains E. scholarship, which has lost its initial, and from this we may perhaps connect cowl, to scrape the street, with D. scovel, a shovel. Changes of this kind must by no means be regarded as corruptions.

The dialect still retains the power-which English has lost-of forming an unlimited number of compounds: stairfoot, townhead, instead of foot of the stairs, etc. The accentuation of these words demands some explanation. English laws would require the accent on the first syllable, the language regarding both parts as uninflected; the Cumbrian dialect, on the other hand seems to look on the first part of the compound as a genitive case,— for which it has no sign,—and consequently places the accent on the second syllable. Grammarians may object, that the words are then not real compounds, but practically, in my opinion, they are so. Amongst the compounds appear a few remarkable assonances: ham-sam, havey-scavey, hay-bay, kerley-merley.

The strong pluralising tendency is not to be overlooked, neither in the local etymology, nor in the modern dialect. We find it in names as old as Helvellyn, the mountains of the lake, but plurals of this character are difficult to trace. The plural ending er is probably the oldest Gothic form-Birker fell (D. birk, a birch)— and as in German, was originally e, to which it assumed an r. This was followed by the plurals in en: Oxenholme (D. oxe). Older plurals, however, gave way to the modern English in s: the Scaws (D. skov, a wood), near Penrith, Ellers, Raynors. Most of the plurals thus used are, strictly speaking, unnecessary, and the linguistic purpose appears to be that of making the word indefinite. There are several similar instances of pluralising in the modern dialect: outs from ought-"Is there outs of folk?"—all wayses, wases me (woe is me). The pl. fuits, feets, is also in use.

In rejecting the sign of the genitive, the dialect has gone a step beyond the English abolition of cases: thus for Harry's pump we have the odd-looking expression, Harry pump. But like all other dialects, though it cast off the old endings, it has not scrupled

to make for itself new flexion. "I send thee thisan ;" and in fact thisan is one of the commonest words in use. The ending is not confined to the accusative; we find "What'n mannishment's this?" in which what'n is eq. "what kind." The Cockney dialect had something similar in his'n, but I think only when used substantively, whilst Cumbrian has it both in substantive and adjective use. In all probability it is an agglutination of the Danish article en, which is always postfixed. This'n, what'n, would thus be eq. the this, the what*. There is a remarkable vocative case found in one word, min from man, which is used equally to boys, horses, or anything, addressed authoritatively. Another singular piece of flexion remains in the comparative nearther, apparently formed on the model of E. farther. The latter, however, is not derived from far, but from the positive forth, and near is already a comparative (cf. nigh.) The C. nearther is pronounced very nearly as if it were nigherther. The indefinite article and the numeral one are furnished with a connecting link in Cumbrian usage: two boys say to each other, "Aw've just ya hawpenny left," "And aw've just yan." This is a mid-sense, and shows the difference between the adjective and substantive forms.

The pronouns of address have their peculiarities in Cumbrian as in almost all dialects. Ye, which has supplanted the other cases, is now the pronoun of respect, and thou betokens familiarity or contempt. The latter is the pronoun always used between friends, and singularly enough is that which is heard in "fratching." The use of thou in Lancashire, if applied improperly, is highly resented, but there is no such strong feeling on the matter in this district. The third person he and she, is likewise used in address, but, as far as I am aware, only to children: "What is he doin, hinny?" With this we may compare the Italian usage: thou between persons on a perfect footing of equality, you where a certain amount of distance has to be maintained, and she (or rather her) as the highest mark of respect.

*The Lat. Caiu-s es-t stultu-s-s and t being the fundamental characteristics of the Sans. pronouns sa and ta―is eq. Caiu-that be-he stupid-that.

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The "grammatical inaccuracies" of the dialect appear to shock strangers and persons unaccustomed to reflect on such matters. The verbs, and especially the verb "to be," as may be supposed, are the greatest stumbling-block. Considerable diversity, however, exists in connexion with verbal flexion, every person doubtless correcting the general usage according to his knowledge of English. As it is difficult therefore at present to say precisely what the flexion of the verbs is, the following examples are given chiefly from the Borrowdale Letter: verb to be" Sea nags is as rank in Dublin beck, as if thou was lyukin at ten thousand geese in a gutter," "I'se as thin as lantern leets," "I whop I'se git strang agyan or it be lang," I'se plague ye sair wi it;" plural-" They hes hed," "They swallow land nags as hens dus big," "The Parlemen-hoos, whore gentlemen gangs to bate yan anudder," "When they'r starvt amyast, and gits lile milk;" first person"I maks mysel easy," "I cares lile;" second person-" Thou knows," "If thou so me now." From these examples it appears that the third person singular has been taken as the essential part of the verb, and suffered to supplant the other persons of the singular, and the third person plural. The English verb principally differs from the Cumbrian in having preserved the flexion of the second person singular, but it must be observed that in later times it has suffered this person to become altogether obsolete. I'se appears above instead I shall, an auxiliary of late introduction into English. I'se becomes I is when emphatic.

There are several other peculiarities in the verbs deserving of remark. Du and duv (do) interchange, and there appears to be some confusion in the usage: "And sea duv I," "Nay, I duvn't." Possibly the usage varies in different localities, but that such was the origin of the distinction I am unable to say. Du I should suppose properly used before consonants, duv before vowels. For we also find "Stick tuv it," "tuv an at yon Dublin." The past of du is dud. The verbs mun and mud are somewhat curious: aw mun du, aw mud a duin, the former expressing the strong obligatory sense of E. must, the latter a mid-sense between E. might and must. An attempt appears to have been made to remove the

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