24 Trent Street,
Stockton-on-Tees,
September 27, 1898.


CONTENTS

CHAPTER...PAGE
I.Yorkshire Stories of Wit and Character[1]
II.Wit and Character[17]
III.Wit and Character—continued[28]
IV.Wit and Character—continued[43]
V.Wit and Character—continued[54]
VI.Customs of the Year and Folklore[66]
VII.Customs of Courtship, Marriage, Birth, and Death[94]
VIII.Omens, Charms, Recipes[126]
IX.Witchcraft[153]
X.Witchcraft—continued[173]
XI.Some Characteristic Yorkshire Sayings
By the Rev. M. C. F. Morris. B.C.L., M.A., Rector
of Nunburnholme. Author of Yorkshire Folk-Talk.
[210]
XII.Idioms and the Peculiar Use of Certain Words[222]
XIII.Similes, Proverbs, and Sayings[238]
XIV.Children’s Lore[257]
XV.Odd Scraps of Old Yorkshire, etc.[279]
XVI.A Few Simple Hints on the Grammar of the Folk-speech[316]
...Glossary[342]
...Concluding Remarks[475]

THE YORKSHIRE FOLK-SPEECH IS NOT A DIALECT, BUT A LANGUAGE.

To those unacquainted with our folk-speech, the following list will be helpful when reading. A glossary of words now in use in the North Riding will be found at the end of the volume.

Ah= I.
Ah’s= (I is) I am.
Ah s’= I shall.
’an= than.
’at= that, which, who.
i’= in, ’iv’ before a vowel.
i’ ’t= in it.
i’ t’= in the.
’ll= will.
ma= me.
mah= my.
na= nor, no, than.
o’= on, also of.
ov= of.
’s= is, has, or as.
s’= shall.
‘t= it.
t’= the.
ta= thou or you.
ti= to.
ti t’= to the.
ti ‘t= to it.
till= to.
tiv, used before a vowel = to.
wa= we.
wi’= with, as a rule ‘wiv’ before a vowel.
ya= you.
yer= your.
yah, adj., personal numeral = one.
yan, adj. = one.
ya’d= you had or you would.

CHAPTER I
YORKSHIRE STORIES OF WIT AND CHARACTER.