[18. Inorganic y in Scotch.]
Many words have developed a y where originally there was none. This phenomenon is, however, closely connected with e-i-fracture from original ā̆. Y we find appears often before a (from original ā̆). It is, then, simply the development of the e-i-fracture into a consonant + a, and may be represented thus: O. E. āc ("oak") > ę̄c > ēc > ēəc > iəc > yak. (See also Murray D.S.C.S., 105). Cp. yance and yence, "once"; yell, "ale"; yak, "ache." This also appears in connection with fracture other than that from O. E. ā: cp. yirth, yird, for "earth."
[19. D for the Spirant th.]
This appears in a number of words: e.g., ledder, "leather"; fader (in Gau),fadder, "father"; moder, mudder, "mother"; broder, brudder, "brother"; lidder (A.S. liðre); de (Gau), "the" (article); widdie (O. E. wiðig), "withy"; dead, "death"; ferde, "fourth"; etc. In some works this tendency is quite general. Norse loanwords as a rule keep the spirant, but in the following loanwords ð has become d: cleed, cleeding, "clothe, clothing," from O. N. klæða; red, "to clear up," O. N. ryðja; bodin, O. N. boðinn (? See E.D.D.); bud, "bribe," O. N. boð; heid, "brightness," O. N. hæið; eident, "busy," O. N. iðinn (ythand is, however, the more common Sco. form); bledder, "to prate," O. N. blaðra (more commonly blether in Sco.); byrd, "ought," O. N. burði; stiddy, O. N. steði. I do not think ryde, "severe," can be derived from O. N. reiðr; and frody, "wise," is rather O. E. frod than O. N. fróðr. Waith, O. N. væiðr, has kept the spirant, but faid, a "company of hunters," has changed it to d. Faid probably comes in from Gaelic. I have called attention to this change of ð to d in Sco., since many words affected by it have become almost identical in form with their Scand. cognates and have consequently been considered loan-words. See § 23.
[20. O. E. ā and O. N. æi. How far we can Determine such Words to be of Native or of Norse Origin.]
Certain Eng. dialect words in ē corresponding to O. E. ā have been considered Scand. loanwords. We have, however, seen that in the north O. E. ā > ē just as did O. N. æi (ei). How many of these words are genuine English and how many are loanwords becomes, then, rather uncertain. Wall argues that the Norse words were always in M. E. spelled with a diphthong, while the genuine English words were spelled with an a—thus bain, baisk from O. N. bæinn, bæiskr, but hame, stane, hale from O. E. hām, stān, hāl. If this were always the case we should have here a safe test. It is, however, a fact that in Scottish texts at least, no such consistency exists with regards to these words. The following variant spellings will show this: hame, haim, haym; stain, stane, stayne; hal, hale, hail, hayle; lak, lake, laik, layk; blake, blaik, blayk, etc., etc. There is, however, another way in which to determine which of such words are loanwords and which are not. In Southern Scotland in D. 33, and in Northwestern England (D. 31), O. N. æi and O. E. ā did not coincide, but have been kept distinct down to the present time (see Ellis's word-lists and Luik, 220, 221). In these two dialects O. E. ā developed to an i-fracture (see § 16.2), while O. N. æi never went beyond the e-stage, and remains an e-vowel in the modern dialects. Here, then, we have a perfectly safe test for a large number of words. Those that have in D. 31 and D. 33 an i-vowel or an i-fracture are genuine English, those that have an e-vowel are Scandinavian loanwords. Ellis's list offers too few examples of words of this class. We find hi'm, bi'n, hi'l, sti'n, and in Murray's D.S.C.S. heame, and heale (beside geate (O. N. gata), beath, meake, tweae, neame, etc.). This then proves that Sco. haim, bain, hail, and stain are from O. E. hām, bān, hāl, stān and not from O. N. hæim, bæinn, hæil, stæinn. Mair, in spite of its e-vowel, is not from O. N. mæir, for a following r prevented the development to i, as a rule, although in Cumberland meear is found beside mair. The word "steak" (O. N. stæik), which occurs in Ellis's list, has had an irregular development and cannot be considered here (see further Luik, 323). In the following works are found a number of words of this class:
Westmoreland and Cumberland Dialects, by J.R. Smith. London. 1839.
A Glossary of Words and Phrases of Cumberland, by William Dickinson. London. 1859.
Folk Speech of Cumberland, by Alexander Craig Gibson. London. 1873.
A Glossary of Words used in Swaledale, Yorkshire, by John Harand. E.D.S. 1873.
Whitby Glossary, by F.K. Robinson. E.D.S. 1876.
[21. A List of Some Words that are Norse. Further Remarks.]
These all aim at giving the phonetic value of the sounds. O. E., O. N. ā is represented by ea or eea, indicating i-fracture. For instance: heam, steean, neam, geat, beeath, leath (O. N. laði), heeal, brea (O. N. brā), breead (O. E. brād, not O. N. bræi), greeay, blea, etc. Those that have a, ai, or ay, that is an e-vowel, and must consequently be derived from the corresponding O. N. words, are the following:
blake, adj. yellow, pale, O. N. blæikr.