From the Epistle to the Romans.
Also—Geven, goven, moun, quyt (quit = to repay), stakker trone[109] (throne), and scores of others are quite common with us.
The following past tenses are given by Angus as obsolete, and as having been so for long:—fand, flang, slang, stang, wan, wrang, every one of which are in frequent use.
In Wicliff’s edition of the Bible we have:—
‘The keperis weren afeered.’ ‘And brak.’ ‘The wisdom of this world fonned.’ ‘Clensed with besyms.’ ‘Mayster Moses seide if ony man.’ ‘Twey men.’ ‘Ridile as whete,’ ‘Joseph lappide it’ (St. Matthew). ‘Moun comprehende with alle seyntis which is breed’ (Eph.). ‘He concitide’ (St. Luke). ‘And telde him’ (Acts). ‘It schal not rewe Him’ (Hebrews).
Such words, when uttered by our country people, are not vulgar, though they may sound odd, but that is because they are old fashioned and unfamiliar; and if their utterance has no charm for you, then it is music you never heard in your youth, and which your ear can never rightly appreciate. So that you may see at a glance to what extent the language has altered, and how the folk-speech has remained almost stationary during the last three or four hundred years, let us compare a few of the commonest North Riding words of to-day with the standard English of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries.
| Words of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, taken from the best authors. | Common North Riding words, 1898. | Standard English as pronounced in 1898, or giving the word which has supplanted the older one. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afeered | Afeeard | Afraid | |
| Axed | Axed | Asked | |
| Besyms | Bizzums, buzzums | Broom | |
| Bounden | Bounden | Bound | |
| Brak | Brak | Broke | |
| Brast | Brast | Burst | |
| Breede | Breed | Breadth | |
| Burn | Burn | Stream | |
| Cam | Cam | Came | |
| Chare | Chare | Carefully | |
| Concitide | Consated | Imagined, opinionated | |
| Fain | Fain | Gladly | |
| Fand | Fand | Found | |
| Flang | Flang | Flung | |
| Flig | Flig | To fly | |
| Fonned | Fond | Foolish | |
| Gaddered | Gaddered | Gathered | |
| Geven | Geven(1) |  | Given |
| Goven | Govven(1) | ||
| Gotten | Gotten | Got | |
| Lapped | Lapped | | Wrapped |
| Lappide | Lapp’t | ||
| Laverock | Lairock or laverock | The lark | |
| Leifer | Leif or leifer | Soon, willingly | |
| Moniment | Moniment | Monument | |
| Mown | Mun | Must | |
| Ony | Onny | Any | |
| Partinge | Parting | Division | |
| Plain | Pleean | Complain | |
| Putten | Putten | Put | |
| Quyt | Quit | To repay | |
| Rewe | Rewe | Repent | |
| Ridile | Ruddle or riddle | To sift | |
| Shamefuller | Shamefuller | Very disgraceful | |
| Snarled | Snarled | Knotted | |
| Stakker | Stakker | Stagger | |
| Strake | Strake | Struck | |
| Swownd | Swound or soond | To faint | |
| Telde | Tell’d or tell’t | Told | |
| Threpe | Threeap | Argue, contend | |
| Togedder | Togedder | Together | |
| Tossen | Tossen | To throw | |
| Twey | Tweea | Two | |
| Ware | Ware | Beware | |
| Wrack | Wrack | Destruction | |
| By hook or crook | By hook or crook | By any means | |
| 1: ‘Gi’en’ is by far the most general. Still, amongst the olderpeople, one often hears ‘geven’ and ‘govven.’ | |||
Need I add more to prove my case? I think not.
Those interested are requested to read the concluding remarks at the end of the Glossary.