These corruptions and deviations comprise nearly all the points wherein the dialect of Cumberland differs in sound and pronunciation from ordinary English speech; and set forth roughly, as they are, (abbreviations explaining themselves, and archaic words being given in a concise glossary) they may, with a little attention, enable the uninitiated reader to understand all the Cumbrian pieces contained in this volume.
Some irregular verbs, as well as some not commonly classed as irregular, are curiously varied in Cumbrian conjugations. I give a few of these, written down as they rise in recollection, and arranged a la Lindley Murray.
| Present. | Past. | Past Participle. |
|---|---|---|
| Break | Brack | Brocken |
| Bring | Brong, and Brang | Browte |
| Brust (burst) | Brast | Brossen |
| Cleed (clothe) | Cleàd | Cled |
| Clim’ | Clam | Clim’t and Clum |
| Cūm (come) | Com | Cum’t |
| Cut | Cot and Cuttit | Cutten |
| Drink | Drunk | Drucken and Drocken |
| Drive | Dreàv | Druvven |
| Fling | Flang | Flung |
| Git (get) | Gat | Gitten |
| Gi’e (give) | Gev | Gi’en |
| Ga and Gang (go) | Went | Geàn |
| Greet (weep) | Grat | Grūtten |
| Hit | Hat and Hot | Hitten |
| Ho’d (hold) | Hodit | Hodden |
| Let | Let | Letten |
| Kest (cast) | Kest | Kessen |
| Knead | Knod | Knodden |
| May | May’d or Med | |
| Mun (must) | Mūd | |
| Put | Pot | Putten |
| Rive | Reàv | Ruvven |
| Run | Ron | Run |
| Rise | Reùz | Ruzzen |
| Stick | Stack | Stuck and Stucken |
| Set | Set | Setten |
| Tak | Tok and Teùk | Tocken |
| Thrust | Thrustit | Throssen |
Minced or modified oaths are remarkably numerous in Cumberland, and in very common use. Most of them have descended from the old Roman Catholic times when, as Dr. Newman in speaking of Roman Catholic populations of the present day, avers, habitual swearing indicated piety and reverence for things sacred, and not profaneness. As heard now in Cumberland, these ancient expletives are as void of piety as of profanity, being used without any knowledge of their original signification, and merely to add force to asseveration, and to express, as varied in tone, surprise, disgust, pleasure, or indeed almost any feeling or emotion whatever. I append a few of these with their probable, often obvious, etyma:—
| ’Scush or Skerse | God’s curse |
| Goy, and Goy Sonn | God, and God’s Son |
| Gock, and Gock Sonn | Ibid. Ibid. |
| ’Od’s wuns an’ deeth | God’s wounds and death |
| Loavin’ days | Loving Jesus |
| ’Od’s wintry wuns | God’s sundry, or wondrous, wounds |
| ’Od’s wyte leet on thee | God’s blame fall on you |
| ’Od rot, ’Od sink, etc., etc. | See Dickinson’s Glossary |
| ’ Marry | By Mary |
| ’ Mess | By the Mass |
| Dār, Dy, and Dyne | Damn |
| Faix, and Faikins | Faith |
| Cock’s wunters | God’s wonders |
| Loze | Lord |
| My song | My soul |
| Deil bin | Devil be in |
The peculiarities of the Scottish dialect have been explained by many writers, much more ably, as well as more at length, than may be done by me. Therefore the only assistance towards the understanding my Scots rhymes that I offer the reader is to intermingle, in the glossary appended, such Scottish words as I have used, with those proper to Cumberland and those common to both sides the Border.
The brief glossary here given consists, then, only of the words used in Scotland or Cumberland, or both, which appear in the foregoing Tales and Rhymes; corruptions and abbreviations being omitted. The significations I alone am answerable for, having, in nearly all instances, adopted the sense I can recollect the words being used in by the people speaking them in their daily talk. The quotations are intended to make these significations more intelligible, and also, by showing the manner in which the words so illustrated are used by others, to prove that the meanings I have so adopted are generally correct.
A GLOSSARY
OF
SCOTCH AND CUMBRIAN WORDS
OCCURRING IN THE RHYMES AND TALES CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME.