Folk-Speech of Cumberland and Some Districts Adjacent: Being Short Stories and Rhymes in the Dialects of the West Border Counties — John Shaqi
Folk-Speech of Cumberland and Some Districts Adjacent: Being Short Stories and Rhymes in the Dialects of the West Border CountiesGibson, Alexander Craig
General
Folk-Speech of Cumberland and Some Districts Adjacent: Being Short Stories and Rhymes in the Dialects of the West Border Counties
Gibson, Alexander Craig
English language -- Dialects -- England -- Cumberland -- Texts
Of t’ Setterda’ mwornin’, when it com’, she hed us o’ ūp an’ stūrrin,
seùner nor sūm on us liket; an’ when I’d gitten sūm’at to eat, iv a
hūgger mūgger mak’ of a way, says Betty till me, says she—“Here’s six
an’ twenty pūnd o’ butter,” says she. “If thoo was gud for owte thoo
wad git a shilling a pūnd for’t, ivery slake. Here’s five dozen of
eggs,” says she, “_I_ wadn’t give a skell o’ them mair nor ten for
sixpence,” says she, “but _thoo_ mun git what thoo can,” says she,
“efter thu’s fūnd oot what ūdder fwoke’s axin. When thu’s meàd thy
market,” says Betty, “thu’ll gā to t’ draper’s an’ git me a yard o’
check for a brat, a knot o’ tape for strings tūl’t, an’ a hank o’
threed to sowe’t wid—if I’s gud for nowte else, I can _sowe_ yit,” says
she, wid a gurn; “than thoo mūn git hoaf a pūnd o’ tea an’ a quarter
of a steàn o’ sugger—they ken my price at Crosstet’s—an’ hoaf a steàn
o’ soat, an’ a pūnd o’ seàp, an’ hoaf a pūnd o’ starch, an’ a penn’orth
o’ steàn-blue, an’ git me a bottle o’ that stùff to rūb my back wid;
an’ than thoo ma’ git two oonces o’ ’bacca for thysel’.
If thoo leùks hoaf as sharp as thoo sūd leùk thu’ll be through wid
beàth thy marketin’ an’ thy shoppin’ by twelve o’clock; an’ thoo ma’
gā an’ git a bit o’ dinner, like ūdder fwoke, at Mistress Boo’s, an’ a
pint o’ yall. Efter that t’ seùner thoo starts for heàm an’ t’ better.
Noo thu’ll mind an’ forgit nowte? Ther’ t’ check, an’ t’ tape, an’ t’
threed, that’s three things—t’ tea, an’ t’ sugger, an’ t’ soat, an’ t’
seàp, an’ t’ starch, an’ t’ steàn-blue, an’ t’ rūbbin’ stūff, an’ t’
’bacca—I’s up-ho’d the’ nūt to forgit that!—elebben. Ten things for me,
an’ yan for thysel’! I _think_ I’ve meàd o’ plain aneùf; an’ noo, if
thoo misses owte I’ll say thoo’s a bigger clot-heid nor I’ve teàn the’
for—an’ that ’ill be sayin’ nèa lal!”
Many a fellow wad tak t’ ’frunts if his wife spak till him i’ that
way—but bliss yè I leev’t lang aneùf wid Betty to know ’at it’s no’but
a way she hes o’ shewin’ her likin’. When she wants to be t’ kindest
an’ best to yan, yan’s ola’s suer to git t’ warst wūrd iv her belly.
Well, I set off i’ gŭd fettle for Kes’ick, gat theear i’ gradely time,
an’ pot ūp at Mistress Boo’s. I hed a sharpish market, an’ seùn gat
shot o’ my būtter an’ eggs at better prices nor Betty toak’t on. I
bowte o’ t’ things at she wantit, an’ t’ ’bacca for mysel’, an’ gat a
gud dinner at Mistress Boo’s, an’ a pint o’ yall an’ a crack.
He wad be a cliverish fellow ’at went ta Kes’ick an’ gat oot on’t adoot
rain; an’ suer aneùf, by t’ time ’at I’d finished my pint an’ my crack,
it was cūmmin’ doon as it knows hoo to cūm doon at Kes’ick.
But when it rains theear, they hev to deù as they deù ūnder Skiddaw,
_let it fo’!_ an’ wet or dry, I hed to git heàm tūll Betty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account