Welsh "hur"?

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM
Wed Jan 23 15:49:49 UTC 2008


I think I asked about this usage in Scott long ago.

  OED,  "her, pers. pron., 3rd sing., fem...2.b....
 Represented as used by Welsh or Gaelic speakers for he, him, or for the speaker himself."

  OED's exx. go back to 1526.  The phrase "Represented as used" suggests that the editor had doubts about its authenticity and its origin.

  I too wonder what could account for it.  Surely it was not just "made up"?

  JL

"Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Joel S. Berson"
Subject: Welsh "hur"?
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In an 18th century rendition of allegedly Welsh dialect, I have seen
"hur" many times. One example:

A Welshman being at the gallows [says] tell hur father and mother,
hur dies a very good Christian.

What are these two "hur"s?

I can imagine the second being "here", but have no idea about the first.

Joel

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