al advantage, inasmuch as it gives a greater number of double FROM BLIND HARRY'S POEM, WALLACE, 1460. The king thaim chargyt, to bring him gud harnas ; AMERICAN DIALECTS. § 52. The first English settlers of the United States, coming from different parts of England, brought with them the varieties of dialect then existing in the mother-country. To these were added the Dutch, or the Low Germanic language in the state of New York; the German, or the High Germanic language, spoken by hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania and elsewhere; the French and Spanish languages, spoken in Louisiana, Florida, and Mexico, and also the French language spoken in Lower Canada; the Irish, the Italian, the Swedish, the Danish, the Norwegian, spoken in small settlements, or by individuals scattered through the mass of the American population. Besides these, the aboriginal tribes have furnished from the first, numerous terms to the current language of the times. Moreover, the peculiar circumstances in which the inhabitants of the United States are placed, the objects of Nature, the productions of the earth or of art, the employments, the modes of thought, require a corresponding diversity of language: first, generically, between this and the mother-country; second, specifically, between different parts of this country. Mr. Bartlett, in his valuable dictionary of Americanisms, mentions several classes of words. 1. Dutch words; as, olykoke, crullers. 2. German words. 3. French; as, bayou, crevasse. 4. Spanish; as, cavortin, chaparral. 5. Indian; as, hominy, powwow. 6. Negro; as, buckra. 7. Words which express the peculiarities of American institutions, &c.; as, caucus, boatable, buncome, mileage, backwoods, canebrake. 8. Vulgarisms; like atop and becase; and perversions, like happify and donate. To pass over the local peculiarities of smaller districts, there are certain generic dialectical differences which characterize, 1. New England. 2. The Southern States. 3. The Western States. ABOVE MY BEND=out of my power, W. ABSQUATULATE abscond. TO ALLOT UPON, N. E. EE'N AMOST-almost. ANY HOW YOU CAN FIX IT=at any rate. APPRECIATE to raise the value of, or, to rise in value. ARY=either. Aw. FUL, in the sense of ugly, and in the sense of very great. BACK and FORTH-backward and forward, N. E. BAD BOX = = bad predicament. BALANCE=the remainder, S. TO BARK UP THE WRONG TREE= to mistake one's object or course. BEE, a collection of people who unite their labor for the benefit of an individual or family, as a quilting bee. BETTERMENTS= improvements on new lands. BLAZE a mark on a tree for guiding a traveler. TO BLOW UP to scold or abuse. Boss =master. BOTTOM LAND=alluvial soil on the banks of rivers. BREADSTUFF bread-corn, meal, or flour. CALCULATE =expect or believe, N. E. CAN'T COME IT can't do it. CARRYING ON= frolicking. TO BE A CAUTION TO CAVE IN to give up. seed. CLEVER obliging. CLEVERLY well, or very well. CLIP a blow. TO CONDUCT to conduct one's self, N. E. CONSIDERABLE=very. CURIOUS=excellent, N. E. CUTE= sharp, cunning, N. E. DEADENING=girdling trees. DEMORALIZE to corrupt the morals. DICKER to barter, N. Y. DIFFICULTED perplexed. DIGGINGS neighborhood, or section of the country, W. DO DON'T=do not, Ga. DONE GONE ruined, S. Do TELL indeed! DREADFUL=very. To FELLOWSHIP WITH to hold communion with. ON THE FENCE to be neutral and ready to join the strongest party. Fix a condition, a dilemma. FIXINGS arrangements. To FIZZLE OUT to prove a failure. TO FLARE UP to get excit to be a warning. CHICKEN FIXINGS chicken frica = = 1 : 2 ed suddenly. TO GET THE FLOOR to be in possession of the = FIGURE to go to the greatest extent. GREEN inexperienced; English verdant. spirit. GUESS think, to believe, N. E.. To GRIT courage, TO HAIL FROM= to reside in. TO GET the hang of a THING to get the knack of doing it. HELP servants. HET heated. TO HIDE= to beat. To HOLD ON to stop, to wait. HUMBUG an imposition. To LET ON to mention. LIKELY handsome. LOAFER an idle lounger. Lora division of land. = = = = = LOT or trifles. PLUNDER baggage or great, very. PRETTY = or LOTS a quantity, a large number. LYNCH LAW=punishment executed by a mob without legal forms. To MAKE TRACKS to leave. MASS MEETING=large meeting called for some special purpose. MIGHTY great, very. Muss confusion. NON-COMMITTAL that does not commit himself to a particular measure. NOTIONS Small wares PLAGUY SIGHT=great deal, N. E. luggage, S. and W. POWERFUL CONSIDERABLE=tolerable. TO RECKON to think, to imagine. SHANTY a hut. Rock a stone, S. and W. SMART CHANCE a good deal, S. and W. SPLURGE a blustering effort, S. and W. SPRY -nimble, N. E. To SQUAT to settle on anothers' lands, or on the United States lands without a proper title. TO STAVE OFF to delay. TO TAKE ON to grieve. TALL great, fine. TIGHT close, penurious. TIGHT MATCH a close or even match. To TOTE to carry, 8. UGLY ill-tempered, bad, N. E. THERE'S NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT the fact is just so. =to USED TO COULD could for merly, S. YANK to twitch powerfully. The apprehension has sometimes been expressed, that in the progress of time the Americans would so change and corrupt their mother tongue that they would speak, not the English, but an American language; while among themselves as great diversities would exist as formerly existed among the tribes of Greece. This apprehension seems to be passing off. It is getting to be understood that the existing dialectical differences are not as great as in the mother-country;. while the increasing intercourse between the two nations, and the increasing interchange of the literary productions of each will help to preserve the oneness of the language. If the Anglo-Saxon race are destined to spread over North America, and thus become a mighty continental nation, the system of school education, and the use of the same text-books in the institutions of learning, and of the same periodicals and reading books in families-in short, the mighty power of the press, urged on by those who have drunk from the "wells of English undefiled," will help to keep the people of America one in Language as one in government. And though it should be conceded that the best authors and public speakers in England have the advantage of the leading minds in our own country in idiomatic raciness and finished elegance, it should in justice be claimed that the great mass of the people of the United States speak and write their vernacular tongue with more correctness than the common people of Great Britain. ས།། E THE LORD'S PRAYER IN ANGLO-SAXON, WITH A GRAM- § 53. Fæder ure, thu the eart on heofenum, si thin nama gehalgod; to-becume thin rice; geweordhe thin willa on eorthan swa swa on heofenum.. Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-dæg, and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgifadh urum gyltendum, and ne gelæde thu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfle. Fæder, "father," the linguals d and th being interchanged, here in the vocative case. Ure, "our," possessive adjective pronoun. The English diphthong ou is substituted for the Anglo-Saxon long vowel û. Thu, "thou," the personal pronoun being inserted before the relative pronoun of the second person. Here, again, English ou Anglo-Saxon û. = The, "who," indeclinable relative pronoun. Eart, "art," 2d pers. sing. pres. indic. from wesan, "to be." dative. Heofenum, "the heavens," dative plural from heofen, "heaven." be." Si, "be," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from wesan, "to Thin, "thine," possessive adjective pronoun. Nama, "name," with final a formative of nouns, which is dropped in English. Gehalgod, "hallowed," past participle from gehalgian, "to hallow." To-becume, "let come," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from to-becuman, "to approach" or "come."-Thin, "thine," as before. Rice (comp. English ric in bishopric), “kingdom.” Geweordhe, "let be done," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from geweordhan, "to be done."-Thin, "thine," as before. Willa, with final a formative of nouns, which is dropped in English.-On, "in" or "on," here construed with the dative, as before. Eorthan, "earth," dative singular from eorthe, "earth." Swa, "so," demonstrative adverb of manner, used as a demonstrative. Swa, "as," demonstrative adverb of manner, here used as a relative.-On heofenum, "in the heav ens," as before. Urne, "our," possessive adjective pronoun in the accusative case singular. Ge, also," conjunction. Daghwamlican, "daily," adjective in the accusative case singular. Hlaf (whence English loaf), "bread," in the accusative case. Syle, "give thou," 2d pers. sing. imper. from syllan (whence English to sell), "to give." Us, "to us," dative of we, "we." And, "and," conjunction. Forgyf, "forgive thou," 2d pers. sing. imper, from forgifan, "to forgive.”—Us, "to us," as before. Ure, "our," in accusative plural. |