LL-L "Language varieties" 2004.08.11 (14) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 11.AUG.2004 (14) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: John Duckworth <jcduckworth2003 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Language Varieties


Henry said:

"I have a tea mug, a gift from my former mother in law, with almost the same
text on it. On my mug it says "And if thee ever does aught for naught, allus
do it for thisen". The picture and the rest of the text is about a
Yorshireman teaching his son. However, I haven't been able yet to figure out
its meaning. Can you enlighten me there?"

The meaning of this Yorkshire adage (And if thee ever does aught for naught,
allus do it for thisen.) is: 'And if you ever do anything for nothing,
always do it for yourself!' The inscription on Bill Wigham's sugarbowl, of
course, means almost the same: "If thee does aught for naught, do it for
th'sel' " would be translated: 'If you do anything for nothing, do it for
yourself'.

The _thee_ or _tha_ form of the second person pronoun was still very much
alive in Lancashire and Yorkshire (as well as further north) not so many
years ago, and it still survives to some extent, though _you_ has become
dominant. The actual pronunciation of _aught_ and _naught_ would actually be
[owt] and [nowt], but the makers of tourist souvenirs must have thought it
advisable to use a more standard spelling.

The difference between _th'sel_ ( _thisel_ might be more correct?) and
_thisen_ is quite interesting. They are equivalent to _thyself_ in Standard
English, and reflect the usage of different areas of Yorkshire. In my area
of Lancashire (and I think I am right in saying the whole of the county) we
_thisel'_ was always used, and I used to associate the pronunciation
_thisen_ with Yorkshire speech. Later I discovered that some areas of
Yorkshire use the same word as we did.

The more modern form of these expressions would be: _ if ye ever do owt fer
nowt, (allus) do it fer yersel' _. The words _owt_ <_aught_ (anything),
_nowt_ < _nought_ (nothing), and _allus_ < _always_ (pronounced [o:l at z]) are
still very much alive.

John Duckworth
Preston, UK

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