Lecture 14-15 Grammatical Changes

Contemporary Dialects. In the course of the MnE period local dialects were, as we saw, gradually superseded by the literary languase. However, they have not disappeared and they still are a means of communication in the respective territories.
Modern dialects are divided into six groups. The modern Scottish and Northern dialects correspond to the ME Northern, the modern Western, Central and Eastern to the ME Midland. The Southern dialects are a more unified group.
Each group has its peculiarities in the sphere of phonetics and vocabulary. We will note the main phonetic peculiarities of each group.

1. 
   Peculiarities of dialedts in the phonetic sphere. ME long [u:] has not undergone the shift. Thus, the words house, out, down, mouth, crowd, now are pronounced [hu:s, u:t, du:e, kru:d, nu:].
   
2. 
   ME long[a:] was preserved in ME and became [ei]in the vowel shift. The literary stone, bone, who/e, road correspond to Scottish stane, bane, hai/, raid.
   
3. 
   Words like dane, g/ance, chance, etc. are usually pronounced with long [a:]: da:ns, gla:nstja:ns etc.
   
4. 
   The consonant [r] has been preserved, with a roll of the tip of the tongue.
   
5. 
   Many Scottish dialects have preserved the guuttural spirant [x] which is denoted by gh, as in naught, sought, brought.
   

Northern. (1) In most Northern dialects ME long [u:]has been preserved as such, that is it, has not undergone the vowel shift: in a few dialects it has become [ou] ar [au].

2. 
   OE long [a:] was preserved in ME and developed into [ei] in the vowel shift, (as in Scottish).
   
3. 
   ME long open [s:], which had changed into long closed [o:in the vowel shift, was not narrowed into into [i:]. The literary pronunciation of speak hea/, dea/ [spi:k, hi:l, di:l] corresponds te Northern [spe:k, he:l, de:l].
   
4. 
   Long [ж:] developed only before [m] and [f], as in calm, plam, calf, half; in all other cases Northen dialects have long [®:]e.g. in dance, chance, ask, past.
   
5. 
   In Northumberland, Durham, Lancashire, and Yorkshire short [u] did not change into [Л]. The corresponding words are pronounced with [u] or a vowel intermediate between [u] and [o].
   
6. 
   ME short [a] was not changed into [ж]. Thus, words like hat cat, hand, etc. are pronounced [hat, kat, hand].
   
7. 
   In Northern Northumberland a uvular [r] is pronounced.
   
8. 
   Inital [h] has mostly been dropped.
   
9. 
   There is a tendency to drop final [l] and [l] before dental consonants.
   

Western.

1. 
   ME long open [ж:], which became long closed [e:] in the vowel shift, has not been narrowed to [i:] (as in the Northern dialects).
   
2. 
   ME short [a] has not developed into [ж] (as in Northern dialects).
   
3. 
   Initial [h-] is dropped.
   

Central

1. 
   ME long open [s:] became long closed [e:], has not developed into [i:] (as in Northern and Western dialects).
   
2. 
   ME short [a] has not developed into [ж:] (as in Nothern and Western dialects).
   
3. 
   Initial [h-] has been dropped (as in Western dialects).
   

Eastern.

1. 
   ME short [a] has not developed into [ж] (as in Northern, Western, and Central dialects).
   
2. 
   Initial [h-] is often dropped; on the other hand it is some times added to words where it has no historical origin.