LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.01.15 (03) [E]

Tue Jan 15 23:07:32 UTC 2002

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 15.JAN.2002 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language varieties

Dear Lowlanders,

I believe many of you will find the text below interesting.  It discusses
problems of growing linguistic diversity in fourteenth-century Britain.
(Numbers in square brackets refer to glosses at the end.)

I particularly like the part about "the Flemings (Flemish) that live in the
west of Wales and have given up their foreign language and speak like Saxons
now."  This is real Lowlands stuff!

Enjoy!

Reinhard/Ron

***

_Polychronicon_
by Ranulph Higden
translated from Latin into Middle English by John Trevisa in 1385
(http://icg.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/rvt/dialect2.html)

As hit is yknowe how many maner people beth in this ylond,
ther beth also of so many people longages and tonges.
Notheles Walschmen and Scottes, that beth noght y-melled [1]
with other nacions, holdeth wel nigh here furste [2]
longage and speche, bot yif Scottes, that were som time
confederat and wonede [3] with the Pictes, drawe somwhat
after here [4] speche. Bote the Fleminges that woneth in
the west side of Wales, habbeth yleft here strange
speche and speketh Saxonlych ynow. [5] Also Englischmen,
theigh hy [6] hadde fram the beginning three maner speche,
Southeron, Northeron, and Middel speche in the middel
of the lond, as hy come of three maner people of Germania,
notheles by commixstion and melling, [7] furst with
Danes and afterward with Normans, in many the contray [8]
longage is apeired, [9] and som useth strange wlaffyng, [10]
chytering, harryng, and garryng grisbittyng. [11]

This apeiring [12] of the burth-tonge is because of twey [13]
thinges. One is for children in scole, ayenes the usage and
manere of al other nacions, beth compelled for to leve here
owne longage and for to construe here lessons and ther thinges
a Freynsch, [14] and habbeth siththe [15] the Normans come furst
into Engelond. Also gentil men chlidren beth ytaught for to
speke Freynsch from time that a beth yrokked in here cradle [16]
and conneth speke and play with a child his brouch; and
oplondysch [17] men wol likne hamsilf to gentil men, and fondeth [18]
with gret bisynes for to speke Freynsch, for to be more
ytold of.

This maner was moche y-used tofore the furste moreyn, [19]
and is siththe somdel y-chaunged. For John Cornwal, a
maister of gramere, changede the lore in gramer-scole
and construccion of Freynsch into Englysch; and Richard
Pencrych lurned that maner of teching of him, and other
men of Pencrych, so that now, the year of oure Lord a
thousand three hondred foure score and five, of the
secund Kyng Richard after the Conquest nine, in the
gramer-scoles of Engelong children leveth Frensch
and construeth and lurneth an Englisch, and habbeth
therby avauntage in on side and desavauntage in
another. Here avauntage is that a lurneth here gramere [20]
in lasse [21] time than children wer y-wonded [22] to do.
Disavauntage is that now childern of gramer-scole conneth
no more Frensch than can here left heele, and that
is harm for ham and a scholle passe the se and travaile [23]
in strange londes, and in many caas also. Also gentil men
habbeth nowe moche y-left for to teche here childern Frensch.

. . .

Al the longage of the North-humbres, and specialich at York,
is so scharp, slytting, and frotyng and unschape [24]
that we Southeron men may that longage unnethe [25] understand.
Y trowe that that is bicause that a beth nigh to strange
men and aliens, that speketh straungelich, and also because
that the kinges of Engelond woneth alwey fer from that
contray.

***
GLOSSARY:

01: mixed
02: first
03: dwelled, lived
04: their
05: enough
06: though they
07: mixture and mingling
08: in many cases the country
09: impaired
10: stammering
11: chattering, snarling, and gnashing of teeth
12: impairment
13: two
14: in French
15: since
16: that they had been rocked in the cradle
17: provincial
18: tries
19: plague
20: their advantage is that they learned their grammar
21: less
22: accustomed
23: is harmful to them should they cross the sea and travel
24: piercing, grating and unshapely
25: hardly

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