LL-L "Etymology" 2008.05.28 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 27 May 2008 - Volume 02
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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at scotstext.org>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.05.27 (01) [E]

> From Heather Rendall   heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk

> According to Ekwall's DEPN it was originally Chedesie < Cedd's island
> and it must be the local 'buzz'  s > z that changes it to 'zoy'
>
> Middlezoy was originally  Soweie, Sowi where Sow- relates to a local
> stream name and the -i is from OE eg, ig = island
>
> Weston  Zoyland was formerly Westsowi with the same origins
>
> Heather
>
> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Etymology
>
> So what I find interesting here is that it looks as though *...z oy
> came to be reanalyzed as one word.
>
> Furthermore, considering earlier written ...ie, there seems to have
> been a shift to ...oy conditioned by dialectical phonology.
>
> My knowledge of England English dialectology is somewhat dated, but I
> do remember that "Zummerzet" dialects (which I really enjoy listening
> to) have [z] where others have [s] (and [v] where others have [f], as
> in vadder [ˈvadɻ̩] for 'father'). But what I'm after is to know if the
> pronunciation of [aɪ] ([aI]) could have led to [ɔɪ] ([OI]). I believe
> that the most common pronunciation if this diphthong in that area is
> [ɑɪ] ([AI]) or perhaps [ɒɪ], which could indeed have led to [ɔɪ]
> ([OI]).

Ron, Heather,

Yes, islands, I see it now. I suppose [AI] to [OI] and suchlike is
feasible, since my original attempts at Googling for "zoy" did turn up
some Gloucestershire dialect text where the verb "say" was written
"zoy".

So this is like "Anglesey", "Jersey", "Guernsey"?

Ron, note that the initial [s]>[z], [f]>[v] for Zummerzet tends to be
limited to words of "Saxon" as opposed to "Romance" derivation. I'm not
sure just how reliable this is as a rule: I note [si:] for "sea" as well
as [zi:] for "see". "Vall" means to fall down/over, while "fall" means
"autumn".

The drive from Yeovil through Martock northwestwards to Bridgwater does
reveal some interesting terrain. Through Muchelney and Muchelney Ham,
Langport (sounds Scottish - and it's nowhere near the sea!), Huish
Episcopi, then on to Othery and Middlezoy. So far this is hilly terrain,
but the drive from Middlezoy to Westonzoyland is suddenly very flat as
far as the eye can see. For some distance the road is like a sine curve
for no apparent reason except that it's delineated by trees on either
side, so perhaps this was once a forest. I pass over a canal bridge then
suddenly there's this great long, straight, very even road so that you
have to resist the temptation to floor the pedal. Once when I was
driving there a passenger explained that this used to be Westonzoyland
Airport, and the road was actually a runway, so that explains that!

Having had that explained I was able to look from side to side and see
that there were indeed various overgrown runways on either side. I don't
remember Middlezoy or Westonzoyland being particularly raised from the
flat area, but I'll look out for it next time. If it was a lake in the
past then it looks like it must have been very shallow indeed, and quite
large. There still does seem to be an airport of some sort in the area:
last week I saw a large aircraft's lights flying low over Westonzoyland
in the dark and it was then that I noticed that there are aircraft
warning signs - not old ones - along the "runway" road. So there's some
sort of airport around, but no functional airport is visible from the
road.

Thinking about it, I wonder if Westonzoyland was a bit further north at
one time? The village seems to be level with the airport, but there's a
sudden rise as you leave the village on the far side. Is it possible
that when a lake is drained, people tend to build on the richer soil in
the basin, so that villages will creep into the erstwhile lake?

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/
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