A recent article in Archeology.org (see below) reconstructs a what the language of inhabitants of Europe might have sounded like. The general consensus is that is sounds like Klingon. I personally think it sounds like Elvish but what the Hell.
Some background here; Almost all European languages (with only a couple of exceptions which we'll get to in a bit) are related to each other to a greater or lessor degree in a language family called "Indo-European". This is a by-product of a massive migration into Europe from West of the Himalayas in what is now Western China approximately 6000 years ago. The people or peoples who made this trek have been shown to have shared the same basic DNA and it is assumed (although it can never actually be proved by this point of course) that they also shared the same basic language and that most (but not quite all) existing European languages descend from this language. The language family to which most European languages are included is called "The Indo-European Family" and the oldest form is known as "Proto-Indi-European". Of course at that time there was no written form much less recorded samples but there has been attempts to reconstruct what it may have sounded like;
Taken from an article on Archeology.org;
Telling Tales in Proto-Indo-European
By ERIC A. POWELL
By the 19th century, linguists knew that all modern Indo-European languages descended from a single tongue. Called Proto-Indo-European, or PIE, it was spoken by a people who lived from roughly 4500 to 2500 B.C., and left no written texts. The question became, what did PIE sound like? In 1868, German linguist August Schleicher used reconstructed Proto-Indo-European vocabulary to create a fable in order to hear some approximation of PIE. Called “The Sheep and the Horses,” and also known today as Schleicher’s Fable, the short parable tells the story of a shorn sheep who encounters a group of unpleasant horses. As linguists have continued to discover more about PIE, this sonic experiment continues and the fable is periodically updated to reflect the most current understanding of how this extinct language would have sounded when it was spoken some six thousand years ago. Since there is considerable disagreement among scholars about PIE, no one version can be considered definitive. Here, University of Kentucky linguist Andrew Byrd recites his version of the fable using pronunciation informed by the latest insights into reconstructed PIE.
Schleicher originally rendered the fable like this:
Avis akvāsas ka
Avis, jasmin varnā na ā ast, dadarka akvams, tam, vāgham garum vaghantam, tam, bhāram magham, tam, manum āku bharantam. Avis akvabhjams ā vavakat: kard aghnutai mai vidanti manum akvams agantam. Akvāsas ā vavakant: krudhi avai, kard aghnutai vividvant-svas: manus patis varnām avisāms karnauti svabhjam gharmam vastram avibhjams ka varnā na asti. Tat kukruvants avis agram ā bhugat.
Here is the fable in English translation:
The Sheep and the Horses;
"A sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses." The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool." Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.
And here is the modern reconstruction recited by Andrew Byrd. It is based on recent work done by linguist H. Craig Melchert, and incorporates a number of sounds unknown at the time Schleicher first created the fable:
H2óu̯is h1éḱu̯ōs-kwe
"h2áu̯ei̯ h1i̯osméi̯ h2u̯l̥h1náh2 né h1ést, só h1éḱu̯oms derḱt. só gwr̥hxúm u̯óǵhom u̯eǵhed; só méǵh2m̥ bhórom; só dhǵhémonm̥ h2ṓḱu bhered. h2óu̯is h1ékwoi̯bhi̯os u̯eu̯ked: “dhǵhémonm̥ spéḱi̯oh2 h1éḱu̯oms-kwe h2áǵeti, ḱḗr moi̯ aghnutor”. h1éḱu̯ōs tu u̯eu̯kond: “ḱludhí, h2ou̯ei̯! tód spéḱi̯omes, n̥sméi̯ aghnutór ḱḗr: dhǵhémō, pótis, sē h2áu̯i̯es h2u̯l̥h1náh2 gwhérmom u̯éstrom u̯ept, h2áu̯ibhi̯os tu h2u̯l̥h1náh2 né h1esti. tód ḱeḱluu̯ṓs h2óu̯is h2aǵróm bhuged.
Here is the fable in English translation:
The Sheep and the Horses;
"A sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses." The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool." Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain."
And here is the modern reconstruction recited by Andrew Byrd. It is based on recent work done by linguist H. Craig Melchert, and incorporates a number of sounds unknown at the time Schleicher first created the fable:
H2óu̯is h1éḱu̯ōs-kwe;
"h2áu̯ei̯ h1i̯osméi̯ h2u̯l̥h1náh2 né h1ést, só h1éḱu̯oms derḱt. só gwr̥hxúm u̯óǵhom u̯eǵhed; só méǵh2m̥ bhórom; só dhǵhémonm̥ h2ṓḱu bhered. h2óu̯is h1ékwoi̯bhi̯os u̯eu̯ked: “dhǵhémonm̥ spéḱi̯oh2 h1éḱu̯oms-kwe h2áǵeti, ḱḗr moi̯ aghnutor”. h1éḱu̯ōs tu u̯eu̯kond: “ḱludhí, h2ou̯ei̯! tód spéḱi̯omes, n̥sméi̯ aghnutór ḱḗr: dhǵhémō, pótis, sē h2áu̯i̯es h2u̯l̥h1náh2 gwhérmom u̯éstrom u̯ept, h2áu̯ibhi̯os tu h2u̯l̥h1náh2 né h1esti. tód ḱeḱluu̯ṓs h2óu̯is h2aǵróm bhuged."
THE SHEEP AND THE HORSES;
In the 1990s, historical linguists created another short parable in reconstructed PIE. It is loosely based on a passage from the Rigveda, an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns, in which a king beseeches the god Varuna to grant him a son. Here, Andrew Byrd recites his version of the “The King and the God” in PIE, based on the work of linguists Eric Hamp and the late Subhadra Kumar Sen.
Here is an English translation of the story:
The King and the God;
"Once there was a king. He was childless. The king wanted a son. He asked his priest: "May a son be born to me!" The priest said to the king: "Pray to the god Werunos." The king approached the god Werunos to pray now to the god. "Hear me, father Werunos!" The god Werunos came down from heaven. "What do you want?" "I want a son." "Let this be so," said the bright god Werunos. The king's lady bore a son."
And here is the story rendered in reconstructed Proto-Indo-European:
H3rḗḱs dei̯u̯ós-kwe;
"H3rḗḱs h1est; só n̥putlós. H3rḗḱs súhxnum u̯l̥nh1to. Tósi̯o ǵʰéu̯torm̥ prēḱst: "Súhxnus moi̯ ǵn̥h1i̯etōd!" Ǵʰéu̯tōr tom h3rḗǵm̥ u̯eu̯ked: "h1i̯áǵesu̯o dei̯u̯óm U̯érunom". Úpo h3rḗḱs dei̯u̯óm U̯érunom sesole nú dei̯u̯óm h1i̯aǵeto. "ḱludʰí moi, pter U̯erune!" Dei̯u̯ós U̯érunos diu̯és km̥tá gʷah2t. "Kʷíd u̯ēlh1si?" "Súhxnum u̯ēlh1mi." "Tód h1estu", u̯éu̯ked leu̯kós dei̯u̯ós U̯érunos. Nu h3réḱs pótnih2 súhxnum ǵeǵonh1e."
THE KING AND THE GOD;
The online responses have been to mockingly claim that it sounds like Klingon and Romulan from "Star Trek" or Elvish from "Lord Of The Rings". More realistically I think it bears a certain resemblance to Celtic languages like Gaelic and Welsh, (spoken with an oddly Scandinavian accent) for whatever that's worth.
Incidentally the few languages that are not part of the Indo-European language family are;
The Uralic Language Family which includes Finnish, Estonian and Lapp along with the more distantly related Hungarian. This group are actually known to be relatively late-comers to Europe, arriving in the Dark Ages.
Maltese; which is actually a Semitic language related to Arabic and Hebrew and which arrived with the Moors.
The next languages are much older and thus more relevant to the historical evolution;
Basque; which is spoken in the mountain border area of North-West Spain and South West France. Basque is quite ancient and clearly predates Celtic or Latin. It is theorized that Basque may have been related to Iberian, the ancient pre-Latin language of Spain and Portugal. This makes logical sense but there are too few samples of this tongue to prove this.
The Caucasian Family which is spoken in the Caucasus Mountains on the borders of Russia and Turkey and includes Georgian, Abkhaz, Chechen, Ingush, Circasian and literally dozens of smaller tongues (some of which are only spoken by tiny groups), but not Armenian (which actually is Indo-European) and Azeri which is related to Farsi (Persian). Linguists group these Caucasian languages together although they are not entirely sure they are all actually related to each other, or any other language. There are simply too many languages in the Caucasus spoken by tiny groups to make an in depth study practical.
Although not in Europe; there is a third language isolate residing in another mountain area surrounded by Indo-European people, namely the Burushaski people who live in the mountains of Western Pakistan. This language is spoken by a relatively small and isolated group of people and thus has not been heavily studied.
There are also some important long dead European languages such as Etruscan which was spoken in pre-Latin Italy and is now thought to be related to a couple of other dead languages such as Raetic (spoken in the Southern Alps) and Minoan spoken in the Aegean Islands. There is also Pictish, once spoken in Scotland. The scanty evidence suggests a possible link for Pictish to Welsh but this is thus far unproven.
Linguists refer to these languages that are unrelated to other language families as "isolates". The Caucasian languages have some interesting factors in common with Basque and Burushaski. All three languages are acknowledged to be very ancient with peoples who live in remote mountainous regions which suggests that in ancient times these peoples retreated into the mountains in the face of the later migrations of peoples like the Celts, Slavs etc. Also worth pointing out that there are very ancient Stonehenge type structures, stone circles and burial mounds that stretch from the outer islands of Scotland across Europe to the Caucasian Mountains that in turn implies that at one point there was one basically related culture that stretched across Europe in pre-historic times predating the arrival of the Indo-European peoples. Therefore there may have also been a related language. In search of this theory various linguists have tried to find a link connecting Basque and Georgian, although thus far this theory is unproven and controversial. At attempt to further link the Proto-Indo-European language with the Basque/Georgian/Burshaski languages needs further study.
A TV DOC ABOUT PROTO-LANGUAGE;
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Some Better Royal Baby Names
Normally I wouldn't bother with royal celebrity gossip but as people were gushing over the royal baby, our future overlord and master, I was thinking, "Hey; Wouldn't it be cool if they went with a traditional Anglo-Saxon name?". Like Beowolf for example. Or how about some of the other Saxon kings such as;
Offa (r. 757-796)
Egbert, King of Wessex (r. 802-839)
Ethelwulf (r. 839-856)
Ethelbald (r.856-860)
Ethelbert (r. 860-866)
Ethelred (r.866-871)
Alfred 'The Great' (r. 871-899)
Edward 'The Elder' (r. 899-924)
Athelstan (r.924-939)
Edmund I (r. 939-946)
Edred (r. 946-55)
Edwy (r.955-959)
Edgar (r. 959-975)
Edward II 'The Martyr' (r. 975-979)
Ethelred II 'The Unready' (R. 979-1013 and 1014-1016)
Sweyn Forkbeard (r. 1013-1014)
Edmund II 'Ironside' (r Apr - Nov 1016)
Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016-1035)
Harold Harefoot (r. 1035-1040)
Hardicanute (r. 1035-1042)
Edward III 'The Confessor' (r. 1042-1066)
Harold II (r. Jan - Oct 1066) BTW his brother who tried to usurp the throne was named Tostiq, his two other brothers were named Gyrth and Leofwine, his father was Godwin and the arch-bishops who anointed him was named Ealdred and Stigand.
Edgar Atheling (r. Oct - Dec 1066)
Note; I know that Canute, Hardicanute and Sweyn Forkbeard were actually Norse but what the Hell.
Offa (r. 757-796)
Egbert, King of Wessex (r. 802-839)
Ethelwulf (r. 839-856)
Ethelbald (r.856-860)
Ethelbert (r. 860-866)
Ethelred (r.866-871)
Alfred 'The Great' (r. 871-899)
Edward 'The Elder' (r. 899-924)
Athelstan (r.924-939)
Edmund I (r. 939-946)
Edred (r. 946-55)
Edwy (r.955-959)
Edgar (r. 959-975)
Edward II 'The Martyr' (r. 975-979)
Ethelred II 'The Unready' (R. 979-1013 and 1014-1016)
Sweyn Forkbeard (r. 1013-1014)
Edmund II 'Ironside' (r Apr - Nov 1016)
Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016-1035)
Harold Harefoot (r. 1035-1040)
Hardicanute (r. 1035-1042)
Edward III 'The Confessor' (r. 1042-1066)
Harold II (r. Jan - Oct 1066) BTW his brother who tried to usurp the throne was named Tostiq, his two other brothers were named Gyrth and Leofwine, his father was Godwin and the arch-bishops who anointed him was named Ealdred and Stigand.
Edgar Atheling (r. Oct - Dec 1066)
Note; I know that Canute, Hardicanute and Sweyn Forkbeard were actually Norse but what the Hell.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Muckles of words in the Scots lied;
Muckles of words in the Scots lied;
Auld Lang Syne ~ "Old Long Since"
Aye ~ Yes
Ba-Heids ~ A pompous ass (pronounced "baw-heed")
Bairns ~ Young children of either gender
Bampot ~ A crazy person
Bannock ~ A flat cake made of oats, barley or pease meal.
Bauchle ~ Originally a scuffed old shoe, later a slovenly person (pronounced "bawkhle")
Bawbee ~ Originally a Scottish coin worth six pence, now used to refer to any small change
Bidie-in ~ An unmarried live-in boy or girlfriend
Bing ~ A large mound formed by the slag waste from a nine or quarry
Blather-skate ~ Someone who rambles on at great length without saying anything of meaning
Bothy ~ A small hut
Brownie ~ In Scottish mythology a fairy, usually of a helpful nature to good hardworking people, especially farmers
Burn ~ A river or stream (from the gealic)
Canna ~ Can not or can't Champit ~ Something that has been mashed, usually food, ie; Potatoes or yams
Cludgie ~ A washroom
Corrie-Fisted ~ A left handed person (from the gealic "cearr")
Coup ~ As a verb; to topple, or turn over. As a noun a mess or a rubbish heap (pronounced "kowp")
Dinna ~ Did not or Didn't
Dreekit ~ Drenched or soaked
Dreeth ~ Parched, thirsty
Dumfoonert ~ Stunned speechless
Eeksie-Peeksie ~ Equal or level, also used to describe a tied game
Feesty ~ Damp or mouldy, usually for food
Fouter ~ To dither, stall or procrastinate (pronounced "footer")
Gaishon ~ An extreamly thin person
Gies ~ A contraction for "Give us" which can be both singular or plural
Gill ~ A liquid measure equal to a quarter pint, usually used for liquor
Girdle ~ A cooking griddle
Guttered ~ Falling down, passed out drunk, ie: In the gutter
Haiver ~ To talk nonsense
High heid yin ~ A boss or supervisor, or someone with a bossy high-handed manner
Hive ~ Hunger
Howff ~ A low class bar or dive
Howtowdie ~ A chick, can be used to refer to a bird or a young girl
Huckle ~ To shove, tackle or manhandle
Jaggy ~ Originally a stinging nettle, later anything prickly or jagged, can also be a person with a prickly temper
Jock Tamsen's bairns ~ A phrase used to mean "We are all related", as in "We are all Jock Tamsen's bairns"
Kelpie ~ In Scottish mythology a magical horse-like creature who lives in running streams
Ken ~ Knowledge or understanding
Law ~ A round, man-made hill or mound
Leid ~ Language
Loch ~ Lake
Lum ~ A chimney
Muckle ~ Used to describe any large amount, number or size
Nae ~ No (pronounced "Nay")
Neuk ~ A strip of land jutting into the sea
Peely-Wally ~ Pale looking
Pibroch ~ A mournful air played on a bagpipe (pronunced "pibrokh")
Quaich ~ A shallow two handed drinking cup
Red-Cap ~ In Scottish mythology an evil goblin who's cap is died in the blood of it's victims
Scunnered ~ To be fed up of something
Shieling ~ A temporary hut or lean-to, used in remote areas
Skean-dhu ~ A samall dagger worn in the top of a stocking with a kilt (from the gealic)
Skew-whiff ~ To be lopsided or askew
Sonsie ~ A plump healthy child
Tam ~ AKA Tam O' Shanter; a flat round cap somewhat resembling a beret, sometimes with a pompom and/or a tassel
Tatties ~ Potatoes
Trews ~ Originally any trousers, now specifically those of a tartan design
Wabbit ~ To be tired or rundown
Wean ~ A baby
Auld Lang Syne ~ "Old Long Since"
Aye ~ Yes
Ba-Heids ~ A pompous ass (pronounced "baw-heed")
Bairns ~ Young children of either gender
Bampot ~ A crazy person
Bannock ~ A flat cake made of oats, barley or pease meal.
Bauchle ~ Originally a scuffed old shoe, later a slovenly person (pronounced "bawkhle")
Bawbee ~ Originally a Scottish coin worth six pence, now used to refer to any small change
Bidie-in ~ An unmarried live-in boy or girlfriend
Bing ~ A large mound formed by the slag waste from a nine or quarry
Blather-skate ~ Someone who rambles on at great length without saying anything of meaning
Bothy ~ A small hut
Brownie ~ In Scottish mythology a fairy, usually of a helpful nature to good hardworking people, especially farmers
Burn ~ A river or stream (from the gealic)
Canna ~ Can not or can't Champit ~ Something that has been mashed, usually food, ie; Potatoes or yams
Cludgie ~ A washroom
Corrie-Fisted ~ A left handed person (from the gealic "cearr")
Coup ~ As a verb; to topple, or turn over. As a noun a mess or a rubbish heap (pronounced "kowp")
Dinna ~ Did not or Didn't
Dreekit ~ Drenched or soaked
Dreeth ~ Parched, thirsty
Dumfoonert ~ Stunned speechless
Eeksie-Peeksie ~ Equal or level, also used to describe a tied game
Feesty ~ Damp or mouldy, usually for food
Fouter ~ To dither, stall or procrastinate (pronounced "footer")
Gaishon ~ An extreamly thin person
Gies ~ A contraction for "Give us" which can be both singular or plural
Gill ~ A liquid measure equal to a quarter pint, usually used for liquor
Girdle ~ A cooking griddle
Guttered ~ Falling down, passed out drunk, ie: In the gutter
Haiver ~ To talk nonsense
High heid yin ~ A boss or supervisor, or someone with a bossy high-handed manner
Hive ~ Hunger
Howff ~ A low class bar or dive
Howtowdie ~ A chick, can be used to refer to a bird or a young girl
Huckle ~ To shove, tackle or manhandle
Jaggy ~ Originally a stinging nettle, later anything prickly or jagged, can also be a person with a prickly temper
Jock Tamsen's bairns ~ A phrase used to mean "We are all related", as in "We are all Jock Tamsen's bairns"
Kelpie ~ In Scottish mythology a magical horse-like creature who lives in running streams
Ken ~ Knowledge or understanding
Law ~ A round, man-made hill or mound
Leid ~ Language
Loch ~ Lake
Lum ~ A chimney
Muckle ~ Used to describe any large amount, number or size
Nae ~ No (pronounced "Nay")
Neuk ~ A strip of land jutting into the sea
Peely-Wally ~ Pale looking
Pibroch ~ A mournful air played on a bagpipe (pronunced "pibrokh")
Quaich ~ A shallow two handed drinking cup
Red-Cap ~ In Scottish mythology an evil goblin who's cap is died in the blood of it's victims
Scunnered ~ To be fed up of something
Shieling ~ A temporary hut or lean-to, used in remote areas
Skean-dhu ~ A samall dagger worn in the top of a stocking with a kilt (from the gealic)
Skew-whiff ~ To be lopsided or askew
Sonsie ~ A plump healthy child
Tam ~ AKA Tam O' Shanter; a flat round cap somewhat resembling a beret, sometimes with a pompom and/or a tassel
Tatties ~ Potatoes
Trews ~ Originally any trousers, now specifically those of a tartan design
Wabbit ~ To be tired or rundown
Wean ~ A baby
Monday, 15 April 2013
"Hail Mary" in various British Lieds
English/latin;
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum;
Hail Mary, of-grace full, Lord with-you;
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Blessed you among women,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
and blessed fruit of-womb your, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Holy Mary, Mother of-God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
pray for us sinners,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
now and in hour of-death our. Amen.
Old English/Anglo-Saxon;
Nal Wes ðu,Maria, mid gyfe gefylled, Drihten midðe.
Đu eart gebletsoð on wifum
and gebletsod ðines innoðes wæstm,
se Næland.
Nalige Maria,
Godes modor gebide for us synfullum,
nu and on pære tide ures forðsiðes.
Amen.
Shelta;
Graaltcha Mary,
tawn a noos,
Swuda's gyay duilsha;
buriest's thoo a byoors
a tom buriest's duilsha's goikhera a-ridyu, Jesus.
Mary raaks shako,
Nadjram a Daalyon,
sthafar mweelshas shakors minyurth
a toork a mweelshas' tharsps.
Staish.
Irish;
Sé do bheatha, a Mhuire,
atá lán de ghrásta,
Tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mná,
Agus is beannaithe toradh do bhroinne, Íosa.
A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé,
guigh orainn na peacaigh,
anois, agus ar uair ár mbáis.
Amen.
Gealic;
Fàilte dhut a Mhoire,
tha thu lan de na gràsan;
Tha an Tighearna maille riut.
Is beannaichte thu am measg nam mnà,
agus beannaichte toradh do bhronn, Iosa.
A Naoimh Mhoire, Mhathair Dhè,
guidh air ar son ne na peacaich
a nis, agus aig uair ar bàis.
Amen
Manx;
Dy bannee dhyt, Voirrey,
lane dy ghrayse,
ta'n Çhiarn mayrt.
Bannit t'ou uss mastey mraane,
as bannit ta mess dty vrein, Yeesey.
Voirrey chasherick,
voir Yee, guee er nyn son ain,
nyn beccee,
nish as ec oor nyn maaish.
Amen.
Welsh;
Henffych well, Mair, llawn o ras;
yr Arglwydd sydd gyd a thi;
bendigedig wyt ti ym mhlith merched,
a bendigedig yw Ffrwyth dy groth di Iesu.
Sanctaidd Fair, Mam Duw,
gweddia drosom ni pechaduriaid yr awr hon,
ac yn awr ein hangeu.Amen.
Cornish;
Hayl Marya, lun a ras,
Dew ew genough why,
Yn mysk benennow benegys ough why ha'n frut agas brys, Jesu,
benegys yth ew.
Marya Sans, Mam a Dew,
peseugh ragon pehadoryon ny,
lemmyn ha'n owr a'gan mermans.
Amen.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum;
Hail Mary, of-grace full, Lord with-you;
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Blessed you among women,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
and blessed fruit of-womb your, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Holy Mary, Mother of-God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
pray for us sinners,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
now and in hour of-death our. Amen.
Old English/Anglo-Saxon;
Nal Wes ðu,Maria, mid gyfe gefylled, Drihten midðe.
Đu eart gebletsoð on wifum
and gebletsod ðines innoðes wæstm,
se Næland.
Nalige Maria,
Godes modor gebide for us synfullum,
nu and on pære tide ures forðsiðes.
Amen.
Shelta;
Graaltcha Mary,
tawn a noos,
Swuda's gyay duilsha;
buriest's thoo a byoors
a tom buriest's duilsha's goikhera a-ridyu, Jesus.
Mary raaks shako,
Nadjram a Daalyon,
sthafar mweelshas shakors minyurth
a toork a mweelshas' tharsps.
Staish.
Irish;
Sé do bheatha, a Mhuire,
atá lán de ghrásta,
Tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mná,
Agus is beannaithe toradh do bhroinne, Íosa.
A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé,
guigh orainn na peacaigh,
anois, agus ar uair ár mbáis.
Amen.
Gealic;
Fàilte dhut a Mhoire,
tha thu lan de na gràsan;
Tha an Tighearna maille riut.
Is beannaichte thu am measg nam mnà,
agus beannaichte toradh do bhronn, Iosa.
A Naoimh Mhoire, Mhathair Dhè,
guidh air ar son ne na peacaich
a nis, agus aig uair ar bàis.
Amen
Manx;
Dy bannee dhyt, Voirrey,
lane dy ghrayse,
ta'n Çhiarn mayrt.
Bannit t'ou uss mastey mraane,
as bannit ta mess dty vrein, Yeesey.
Voirrey chasherick,
voir Yee, guee er nyn son ain,
nyn beccee,
nish as ec oor nyn maaish.
Amen.
Welsh;
Henffych well, Mair, llawn o ras;
yr Arglwydd sydd gyd a thi;
bendigedig wyt ti ym mhlith merched,
a bendigedig yw Ffrwyth dy groth di Iesu.
Sanctaidd Fair, Mam Duw,
gweddia drosom ni pechaduriaid yr awr hon,
ac yn awr ein hangeu.Amen.
Cornish;
Hayl Marya, lun a ras,
Dew ew genough why,
Yn mysk benennow benegys ough why ha'n frut agas brys, Jesu,
benegys yth ew.
Marya Sans, Mam a Dew,
peseugh ragon pehadoryon ny,
lemmyn ha'n owr a'gan mermans.
Amen.
Friday, 5 October 2012
A few BBC reports on Gaelic decline
From The BBC;
Can Scottish Gaelic survive?
Great efforts have been made in recent decades to preserve the language and culture of Scottish Gaelic, against the fact that the number of native speakers has been in long-term decline.
New research from the University of Edinburgh suggests that before long there may only be two Gaelic dialects left. Andreas Wolff of BBC Alba reports from Ballachulish in Argyll, on the mainland, where a young musician is learning the local dialect that may be on the verge of extinction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The BBC;
Gaelic dialects 'dying out', Edinburgh academic warns
All local dialects of Gaelic will die out except two, according to research by a University of Edinburgh academic.
Dr Will Lamb suggests only the Gaelic of Lewis and South Uist will be strong enough to survive in the future.
He said one of the reasons was that these dialects were dominant in Gaelic medium education.
Dr Lamb said another form of the language - influenced by a mix of dialects and which he dubbed mid-Minch Gaelic - was also emerging.
According to his research, in Gaelic medium units throughout Scotland - including the islands - 21% of teachers use a non-dialectal Gaelic.
He found 25% of the teachers spoke the Lewis dialect and 17.5% spoke Gaelic from South Uist.
But only 9% of Scotland's Gaelic medium teachers spoke Skye Gaelic, 8% North Uist and 7% Barra.
Dr Lamb told BBC Alba: "Without a change of what is happening in these communities most of the surviving Gaelic dialects will be gone in a few generations.
"I think it is important to have this debate right now about how we keep the language strong in its native communities."
John MacFarlane, a member of Taynuilt Gaelic Choir in Argyll, believes he is the last person in his area to speak the local dialect.
He said: "I feel somewhat of a dinosaur actually.
"When I was young the place was full of Gaelic, but it has altered entirely in my lifetime.
"I don't think there is anybody who is learning my particular dialect."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Learning support in Gaelic lacking, MSPs told
A mother of a boy who requires learning support has said that such help was severely lacking in Gaelic education.
Carole Henderson's son was diagnosed as having verbal dyspraxia when he was at nursery. He is now in Gaelic medium education at primary school.
Ms Henderson said in Lanarkshire, where they live, she had been unable to find educational specialists with Gaelic.
Speech therapists and psychologists were among the posts with no Gaelic speakers, she said.
The Scottish government said it was committed providing services that met people's needs, but added that it was for NHS boards and local authorities to decide how they funded specialist support.
Ms Henderson raised her concerns in a presentation to the Scottish Parliament's cross party group for Gaelic on Tuesday.
She has gathered details of her own experiences and those of other parents of children learning Gaelic who require specialist support.
Ms Henderson's evidence includes the results of a questionnaire answered by 21 schools providing Gaelic medium education, including schools in Argyll, the Highlands and Islands and in Glasgow. Continue reading the main story
"We need teachers, support for learning teachers, classroom assistants, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists.”
Eighteen schools which answered a question on what language was used by their educational psychologists said it was English.
Seventeen replied to a question on what languages their learning support teachers had.
Five said English and Gaelic, one Gaelic and another used English but was also learning Gaelic. The others who answered the question said learning support teachers used English only.
Ms Henderson said authorities in Wales and Ireland offered dedicated support to children who need extra help at Welsh and Irish Gaelic language classes.
She said: "We need teachers, support for learning teachers, classroom assistants, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists.
"We need to promote these career options in order that the qualified people exist for the health boards and local authorities to employ."
A spokesman said the Scottish government was committed to maintaining high standards of care.
He added: "It is for each NHS board to decide how best to deliver those services to meet the needs of the population, including how best to use funding, taking account of national and local priorities.
"Some local authorities have commissioned work on Gaelic assessment materials and operate a staged intervention model and we hope that these areas of good practice could be rolled out as more people with Gaelic skills enter the field.
"The Scottish government continues to work with Bòrd na Gàidhlig on initiatives to increase the number who speak Gaelic in all vocations."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaelic media reports 'unfair' says Aberdeen professor
A language professor has said some sections of the Scottish media's coverage of Gaelic has gone beyond fair comment and good taste.
Prof Kenneth MacKinnon, of the University of Aberdeen, studied newspaper clippings for a year.
He said on occasions reporting on public spending on Gaelic degenerated into inaccuracy, prejudice and mockery.
Prof MacKinnon said organizations set up to promote the language should stand up for Gaelic speakers.
The honorary professor in language planning and development at Aberdeen's Celtic department has written papers on attitudes towards Gaelic.
Following his latest research of the Scottish media, he said: "They probably think they are quite at liberty to be let loose on Gaelic where they wouldn't be allowed to say the same thing about minority communities within our society."
He added: "It goes beyond fair comment and it very often goes beyond good taste as well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Study reveals Gaelic student shortfall
Up to 860 people would have to become bilingual in Gaelic each year if the decline of the language was to be halted, according to a study.
A Royal Society journal published the research which found the language was in danger of becoming extinct.
However the authors said it could be saved by copying initiatives which had succeeded in revitalizing Welsh.
Census data used in the study showed there were 250,000 Gaelic speakers 100 years ago compared to about 65,000 now.
The study said the decline was caused by people switching to English to open up social and economic opportunities.
However it said this process had been less severe in Wales - especially over the last 40 years - due to a range of initiatives to boost the language there.
The study said similar action was needed in Scotland to make it more advantageous to be a Gaelic speaker.
The authors said their mathematical formulae showed that between 440 and 860 Gaelic learners needed to become fully bilingual each year to stem the language's decline, depending on how successful Gaelic-speaking parents were at passing on the language to their children.
Can Scottish Gaelic survive?
Great efforts have been made in recent decades to preserve the language and culture of Scottish Gaelic, against the fact that the number of native speakers has been in long-term decline.
New research from the University of Edinburgh suggests that before long there may only be two Gaelic dialects left. Andreas Wolff of BBC Alba reports from Ballachulish in Argyll, on the mainland, where a young musician is learning the local dialect that may be on the verge of extinction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The BBC;
Gaelic dialects 'dying out', Edinburgh academic warns
All local dialects of Gaelic will die out except two, according to research by a University of Edinburgh academic.
Dr Will Lamb suggests only the Gaelic of Lewis and South Uist will be strong enough to survive in the future.
He said one of the reasons was that these dialects were dominant in Gaelic medium education.
Dr Lamb said another form of the language - influenced by a mix of dialects and which he dubbed mid-Minch Gaelic - was also emerging.
According to his research, in Gaelic medium units throughout Scotland - including the islands - 21% of teachers use a non-dialectal Gaelic.
He found 25% of the teachers spoke the Lewis dialect and 17.5% spoke Gaelic from South Uist.
But only 9% of Scotland's Gaelic medium teachers spoke Skye Gaelic, 8% North Uist and 7% Barra.
Dr Lamb told BBC Alba: "Without a change of what is happening in these communities most of the surviving Gaelic dialects will be gone in a few generations.
"I think it is important to have this debate right now about how we keep the language strong in its native communities."
John MacFarlane, a member of Taynuilt Gaelic Choir in Argyll, believes he is the last person in his area to speak the local dialect.
He said: "I feel somewhat of a dinosaur actually.
"When I was young the place was full of Gaelic, but it has altered entirely in my lifetime.
"I don't think there is anybody who is learning my particular dialect."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Learning support in Gaelic lacking, MSPs told
A mother of a boy who requires learning support has said that such help was severely lacking in Gaelic education.
Carole Henderson's son was diagnosed as having verbal dyspraxia when he was at nursery. He is now in Gaelic medium education at primary school.
Ms Henderson said in Lanarkshire, where they live, she had been unable to find educational specialists with Gaelic.
Speech therapists and psychologists were among the posts with no Gaelic speakers, she said.
The Scottish government said it was committed providing services that met people's needs, but added that it was for NHS boards and local authorities to decide how they funded specialist support.
Ms Henderson raised her concerns in a presentation to the Scottish Parliament's cross party group for Gaelic on Tuesday.
She has gathered details of her own experiences and those of other parents of children learning Gaelic who require specialist support.
Ms Henderson's evidence includes the results of a questionnaire answered by 21 schools providing Gaelic medium education, including schools in Argyll, the Highlands and Islands and in Glasgow. Continue reading the main story
"We need teachers, support for learning teachers, classroom assistants, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists.”
Eighteen schools which answered a question on what language was used by their educational psychologists said it was English.
Seventeen replied to a question on what languages their learning support teachers had.
Five said English and Gaelic, one Gaelic and another used English but was also learning Gaelic. The others who answered the question said learning support teachers used English only.
Ms Henderson said authorities in Wales and Ireland offered dedicated support to children who need extra help at Welsh and Irish Gaelic language classes.
She said: "We need teachers, support for learning teachers, classroom assistants, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists.
"We need to promote these career options in order that the qualified people exist for the health boards and local authorities to employ."
A spokesman said the Scottish government was committed to maintaining high standards of care.
He added: "It is for each NHS board to decide how best to deliver those services to meet the needs of the population, including how best to use funding, taking account of national and local priorities.
"Some local authorities have commissioned work on Gaelic assessment materials and operate a staged intervention model and we hope that these areas of good practice could be rolled out as more people with Gaelic skills enter the field.
"The Scottish government continues to work with Bòrd na Gàidhlig on initiatives to increase the number who speak Gaelic in all vocations."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaelic media reports 'unfair' says Aberdeen professor
A language professor has said some sections of the Scottish media's coverage of Gaelic has gone beyond fair comment and good taste.
Prof Kenneth MacKinnon, of the University of Aberdeen, studied newspaper clippings for a year.
He said on occasions reporting on public spending on Gaelic degenerated into inaccuracy, prejudice and mockery.
Prof MacKinnon said organizations set up to promote the language should stand up for Gaelic speakers.
The honorary professor in language planning and development at Aberdeen's Celtic department has written papers on attitudes towards Gaelic.
Following his latest research of the Scottish media, he said: "They probably think they are quite at liberty to be let loose on Gaelic where they wouldn't be allowed to say the same thing about minority communities within our society."
He added: "It goes beyond fair comment and it very often goes beyond good taste as well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Study reveals Gaelic student shortfall
Up to 860 people would have to become bilingual in Gaelic each year if the decline of the language was to be halted, according to a study.
A Royal Society journal published the research which found the language was in danger of becoming extinct.
However the authors said it could be saved by copying initiatives which had succeeded in revitalizing Welsh.
Census data used in the study showed there were 250,000 Gaelic speakers 100 years ago compared to about 65,000 now.
The study said the decline was caused by people switching to English to open up social and economic opportunities.
However it said this process had been less severe in Wales - especially over the last 40 years - due to a range of initiatives to boost the language there.
The study said similar action was needed in Scotland to make it more advantageous to be a Gaelic speaker.
The authors said their mathematical formulae showed that between 440 and 860 Gaelic learners needed to become fully bilingual each year to stem the language's decline, depending on how successful Gaelic-speaking parents were at passing on the language to their children.
The last native speaker of Comarty dialect dies
Last native speaker of Scots dialect dies
By Jamie Hamilton, for CNN
updated 6:59 PM EDT, Fri October 5, 2012
The dialect spoken in the in the northern Scotland fishing village of Cromarty appears to be the only Germaic descendant in which no "wh" pronunciation existed.
(CNN) -- Bobby Hogg, the last native speaker of a dialect originating from a remote fishing village in northern Scotland, has died -- and so has the dialect he spoke.
The death of the 92-year-old retired engineer means that the Scots dialect known as Cromarty fisherfolk is now consigned to a collection of brief, distorted audio clips.
It is the first unique dialect to be lost in Scotland, according to Robert Millar, a reader in linguistics at the School of Language and Literature at Aberdeen University.
"Usually minority dialects end up blending in with standard English to form a hybrid. However, this is a completely distinct dialect which has become extinct," he said.
Cromarty fisherfolk appears to be the only descendant from the Germanic linguistic world in which no "wh" pronunciation existed, Millar said.
"'What' would become 'at' and 'where' would just be 'ere'," he said.
It was also the Scots language's only dialect that dropped the "H" aspiration.
"The loss of Cromarty is symptomatic of a greater, general decline in the use of the Scots language," according to Director of Scottish Language Dictionaries Chris Robinson. "This should be a wake-up call to save other struggling dialects."
Ten miles down the coast from Cromarty is Avoch, another sleepy fishing village with the closest surviving dialect to Cromarty fisherfolk, one that may also be endangered, according to Robinson. "It looks more than likely that this will go the same way as the Cromarty dialect," he said.
The dialect of the peoples who originally resided on the shores of Cromarty -- which lies on the tip of Black Isle peninsula, a four-hour drive north of Edinburgh -- was directly linked to their traditional fishing methods.
However, during the industrialization of fishing in the 1950s, established working methods were lost and the connection between the way of life and the dialect eroded. In fewer than 30 years, much of the dialect became obsolete.
Millar argues that the decline in Scots language represents a wider global trend.
"Generally, in the literate world, local dialects are suffering. The highly mobile and technologically advanced areas of the world are worst affected," he said.
There are some 6,000 to 7,000 languages in the world and it is estimated that they are disappearing at a rate of one every two weeks, according to Millar.
Some 96% of the world's population speak just 4% of the world's languages, he said. "Most languages are only spoken by a few hundred people," he added.
Why mourn the loss of a language? "At a banal level, it's a little bit of color in our lives is gone," he said. "Any time something dies, it's lost. Whether it be languages or species, we lose something. Everyone in the world loses something. Diversity surely is a good thing, and we've just lost a bit of it."
Greater communication and interdependence among communities is resulting in "dialect homogenization," Millar said.
And people tend to abandon their own languages for one of the larger languages for good reasons, according to Anthony Aristar, professor of linguistics at Eastern Michigan University and director of the school's Institute for Language Information and Technology.
"They want modern conveniences; they want their children to have decent jobs," he told CNN in a telephone interview. "All this requires being able to speak in the dominant language. So they see little use in preserving their languages."
But the loss of a language often results in the loss of the stories that were told in that language, and in the cultural knowledge they contained. "Even medical know-how," he said.
Robinson, of the Scottish Language Dictionaries, maintains that Scots minority dialects like Cromarty have faced other pressures.
"Educationally, English has been the language used in Scotland since the 18th century. Consequently, Scots speakers are not literate in their own language. Also, until recently, Scots has had a social stigma attached to it as a working-class or second-rate language."
Yet there are signs of improvement for the state of Scots minority dialects. More Scots books, especially children's books, are being published than ever before. In addition, since 2009, the Scottish government has provided funding for the Scottish Language Dictionaries, which has also given the language a status boost.
The support has been seen as a natural progression from the move by Westminster in 2002 to sign the European Union Charter of Minority and Regional Languages recognizing Scots, Gaelic and Welsh as languages separate from English.
Still, the rate of the worldwide loss of dialects and languages remains consistent.
Robinson said he would like to see more efforts taken to safeguard minority Scots dialects.
"Scots has an amazing literary history, yet it is completely ignored in our schools," he said. "The books must be made more widely available and read more in schools for the language to survive in the future."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Daily Mail;
Final word from Cromarty: Scottish Black Isle dialect silenced forever as last native speaker dies aged 92
By Jane Borland
PUBLISHED: 20:17 GMT, 3 October 2012
It was a traditional dialect used for centuries by fisherfolk.
But yesterday it emerged that the language of Cromarty had finally died with the passing of its last speaker.
Bobby Hogg was the only person still fluent in the age-old tongue of the Black Isle and his death at the age of 92 means it will now exist only in audio recordings.
Mr Hogg, a retired engineer, said recently he could still close his eyes, see the boats heading out to sea and hear the unique speech pattern – never normally written down – that set his people apart.
His younger brother Gordon had been the other surviving speaker – but he died in April last year, aged 86.
Yesterday, Dr Robert McColl Millar, of Aberdeen University’s linguistic department, said Mr Hogg’s death was highly significant.
He added: ‘It is the first time that an actual Scots dialect has so dramatically died with the passing of the last native speaker.
‘This was always going to be the danger of the Black Isle, as there were so few speakers even when it was healthy, when the fishing was still good.
‘So Bobby Hogg’s passing is a very sad day. It was a very interesting dialect and was unlike any of the others.
‘There are one or two who still have some facility in the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect but most of the time they speak Highland English.
Bobby was the last fluent native speaker who spoke no other tongue from a child. He was what we term a “dense” speaker. So all we have now are the recordings.’
Mr Hogg, who died on Sunday, had worked across Britain, but kept coming back to Cromarty.
His wife Helen was a direct descendent of the community’s most celebrated son, 19th century polymath Hugh Miller.
But the Hoggs were from the fishing community. In 2007, the brothers were recorded by Am Baile, the project that has created a digital archive of the history and culture of the Highlands and Islands.
Mr Hogg said: ‘Our father was a fisherman and all his folk had been fishermen stretching way back. It was the same on our mother’s side too. When we were young, we talked differently in the fishertown to the rest of Cromarty.
‘It wasn’t written down. It was an oral culture. We had this sort of patois, which I think had both Doric and Gaelic in it.
'There were words, a lot to do with the fishing, which nobody else could understand. It is dying out. You hear a smattering in some things people from Cromarty say, but nobody speaks it fluently but for us.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Washington Post;
Posted at 09:48 AM ET, 10/05/2012
‘Cromarty fisherfolk’: Another rare language dies in Scotland
By Olga Khazan
The last native speaker of an obscure English dialect known as Cromarty fisherfolk died this week in a tiny fishing town on Scotland’s Black Isle, making his a recently disappeared rare world language.
“Bobby Hogg, who was 92 when he died, was the last person fluent in the dialect once common to the seaside town of Cromarty, 175 miles north of Edinburgh,” the AP reported.
While few people may mourn the demise of Cromarty specifically, it’s another example of the one language that dies every two weeks and a general trend toward linguistic standardization as the global population moves to cities. UNESCO expects half of the globe’s 6,000-plus languages to die off by the end of the century.
So what did Cromarty sound like?
The New Statesman has this excerpt:
"Am fair sconfished wi hayreen; gie’s fur brakwast lashins o am and heggs. (I’m so fed up with herring, give me plenty of ham and eggs for breakfast.)”
And the AP offers up even more:
“Holl tol / Very drunk
Foamin for want / Desperate for tea
At’s theer trouble? / What’s your trouble?
Theer nae tae big fi a sclaffert yet! / You’re not too big for a slap!”
You can listen to exerpts of interviews with Hogg and his (now-deceased) brother Gordon at the Scottish history site Am Baile, which has documented the dialect. In this excerpt, the Hoggs give a run-down of Cromarty fish names:
Bobby: When ye take the different names of fish, they're different in Cromarty to what they are everywhere else, like. Different names. So that's only the start, like. Same wi the line fishing an, ye know, all the things relative to it, right? These things have all disappeared now. Folk don't know what ye're talking about, even.
Gordon: No.
Interviewer: So what are some o the names?
Gordon: Well, a plashack - that's a big, a big flat fish. We call that a plashack.
Gordon: An we call others ones - there's one they call it - it's a biggar-man, an it's a, it's a flounder too. It's a flounder but it's -
Bobby: It's biggar-man - you'll find that in the Scottish Dictionary. It's a flounder, a black flounder, right? Say it's a biggar-man in Cromarty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The New Statesman;
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/10/death-cromarty-fisherfolk-dialect
The death of the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect
By Helen Lewis Published 04 October 2012 13:38
Listening to extinct languages and dialects is an eerie, but incredible, experience.
The last native speaker of the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect, Bobby Hogg, has died - and with him, a version of our language which had unique words, expressions and character.
You can listen to Hogg and his brother Gordon speaking here: the dialect has a lilting, sing-song quality. Linguists think it was influenced by Norse and Dutch, and survived because of the close-knit community and relative geographical isolation of Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands.
We're lucky that in 2009, a researcher called Janine Donald set out to preserve and record as much of the Cromarty dialect as she could. She wrote up her findings here, and it's quite hard to see what the roots of some of the words are that were in use. For example, where did "amitan", meaning "a fool" come from? (Also, can we revive "belligut" for "a greedy person"?)
"Am fair sconfished wi hayreen; gie’s fur brakwast lashins o am and heggs." (I’m so fed up with herring, give me plenty of ham and eggs for breakfast.)
Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of specialist vocabulary relating to fishing, which I imagine is now gone for good, like "o the teydin" meaning "seventh fishing line".
There's always something poignant about the death of a last speaker of a language, pidgin, creole or dialect. According to K. David Harrison's film for National Geographic, in 2010 there were around 7,000 languages in the world, but they were disappearing at the rate of one every two weeks. Dialects and other particular sub-forms of a language, therefore, are probably disappearing more regularly. For example, linguists think that only two forms of Gaelic will survive.
Thankfully, after years of neglect, there are now several organisations doing their best to capture these languages and dialects before an increasingly interconnected world means they are lost for ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: Before he died Bobby Hogg and his brother helped compile a brief glossary of Comarty-Scots which I have a copy of. I will post some examples form it in the future.
http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_page.jsp?item_id=131892
By Jamie Hamilton, for CNN
updated 6:59 PM EDT, Fri October 5, 2012
The dialect spoken in the in the northern Scotland fishing village of Cromarty appears to be the only Germaic descendant in which no "wh" pronunciation existed.
(CNN) -- Bobby Hogg, the last native speaker of a dialect originating from a remote fishing village in northern Scotland, has died -- and so has the dialect he spoke.
The death of the 92-year-old retired engineer means that the Scots dialect known as Cromarty fisherfolk is now consigned to a collection of brief, distorted audio clips.
It is the first unique dialect to be lost in Scotland, according to Robert Millar, a reader in linguistics at the School of Language and Literature at Aberdeen University.
"Usually minority dialects end up blending in with standard English to form a hybrid. However, this is a completely distinct dialect which has become extinct," he said.
Cromarty fisherfolk appears to be the only descendant from the Germanic linguistic world in which no "wh" pronunciation existed, Millar said.
"'What' would become 'at' and 'where' would just be 'ere'," he said.
It was also the Scots language's only dialect that dropped the "H" aspiration.
"The loss of Cromarty is symptomatic of a greater, general decline in the use of the Scots language," according to Director of Scottish Language Dictionaries Chris Robinson. "This should be a wake-up call to save other struggling dialects."
Ten miles down the coast from Cromarty is Avoch, another sleepy fishing village with the closest surviving dialect to Cromarty fisherfolk, one that may also be endangered, according to Robinson. "It looks more than likely that this will go the same way as the Cromarty dialect," he said.
The dialect of the peoples who originally resided on the shores of Cromarty -- which lies on the tip of Black Isle peninsula, a four-hour drive north of Edinburgh -- was directly linked to their traditional fishing methods.
However, during the industrialization of fishing in the 1950s, established working methods were lost and the connection between the way of life and the dialect eroded. In fewer than 30 years, much of the dialect became obsolete.
Millar argues that the decline in Scots language represents a wider global trend.
"Generally, in the literate world, local dialects are suffering. The highly mobile and technologically advanced areas of the world are worst affected," he said.
There are some 6,000 to 7,000 languages in the world and it is estimated that they are disappearing at a rate of one every two weeks, according to Millar.
Some 96% of the world's population speak just 4% of the world's languages, he said. "Most languages are only spoken by a few hundred people," he added.
Why mourn the loss of a language? "At a banal level, it's a little bit of color in our lives is gone," he said. "Any time something dies, it's lost. Whether it be languages or species, we lose something. Everyone in the world loses something. Diversity surely is a good thing, and we've just lost a bit of it."
Greater communication and interdependence among communities is resulting in "dialect homogenization," Millar said.
And people tend to abandon their own languages for one of the larger languages for good reasons, according to Anthony Aristar, professor of linguistics at Eastern Michigan University and director of the school's Institute for Language Information and Technology.
"They want modern conveniences; they want their children to have decent jobs," he told CNN in a telephone interview. "All this requires being able to speak in the dominant language. So they see little use in preserving their languages."
But the loss of a language often results in the loss of the stories that were told in that language, and in the cultural knowledge they contained. "Even medical know-how," he said.
Robinson, of the Scottish Language Dictionaries, maintains that Scots minority dialects like Cromarty have faced other pressures.
"Educationally, English has been the language used in Scotland since the 18th century. Consequently, Scots speakers are not literate in their own language. Also, until recently, Scots has had a social stigma attached to it as a working-class or second-rate language."
Yet there are signs of improvement for the state of Scots minority dialects. More Scots books, especially children's books, are being published than ever before. In addition, since 2009, the Scottish government has provided funding for the Scottish Language Dictionaries, which has also given the language a status boost.
The support has been seen as a natural progression from the move by Westminster in 2002 to sign the European Union Charter of Minority and Regional Languages recognizing Scots, Gaelic and Welsh as languages separate from English.
Still, the rate of the worldwide loss of dialects and languages remains consistent.
Robinson said he would like to see more efforts taken to safeguard minority Scots dialects.
"Scots has an amazing literary history, yet it is completely ignored in our schools," he said. "The books must be made more widely available and read more in schools for the language to survive in the future."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Daily Mail;
Final word from Cromarty: Scottish Black Isle dialect silenced forever as last native speaker dies aged 92
By Jane Borland
PUBLISHED: 20:17 GMT, 3 October 2012
It was a traditional dialect used for centuries by fisherfolk.
But yesterday it emerged that the language of Cromarty had finally died with the passing of its last speaker.
Bobby Hogg was the only person still fluent in the age-old tongue of the Black Isle and his death at the age of 92 means it will now exist only in audio recordings.
Mr Hogg, a retired engineer, said recently he could still close his eyes, see the boats heading out to sea and hear the unique speech pattern – never normally written down – that set his people apart.
His younger brother Gordon had been the other surviving speaker – but he died in April last year, aged 86.
Yesterday, Dr Robert McColl Millar, of Aberdeen University’s linguistic department, said Mr Hogg’s death was highly significant.
He added: ‘It is the first time that an actual Scots dialect has so dramatically died with the passing of the last native speaker.
‘This was always going to be the danger of the Black Isle, as there were so few speakers even when it was healthy, when the fishing was still good.
‘So Bobby Hogg’s passing is a very sad day. It was a very interesting dialect and was unlike any of the others.
‘There are one or two who still have some facility in the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect but most of the time they speak Highland English.
Bobby was the last fluent native speaker who spoke no other tongue from a child. He was what we term a “dense” speaker. So all we have now are the recordings.’
Mr Hogg, who died on Sunday, had worked across Britain, but kept coming back to Cromarty.
His wife Helen was a direct descendent of the community’s most celebrated son, 19th century polymath Hugh Miller.
But the Hoggs were from the fishing community. In 2007, the brothers were recorded by Am Baile, the project that has created a digital archive of the history and culture of the Highlands and Islands.
Mr Hogg said: ‘Our father was a fisherman and all his folk had been fishermen stretching way back. It was the same on our mother’s side too. When we were young, we talked differently in the fishertown to the rest of Cromarty.
‘It wasn’t written down. It was an oral culture. We had this sort of patois, which I think had both Doric and Gaelic in it.
'There were words, a lot to do with the fishing, which nobody else could understand. It is dying out. You hear a smattering in some things people from Cromarty say, but nobody speaks it fluently but for us.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Washington Post;
Posted at 09:48 AM ET, 10/05/2012
‘Cromarty fisherfolk’: Another rare language dies in Scotland
By Olga Khazan
The last native speaker of an obscure English dialect known as Cromarty fisherfolk died this week in a tiny fishing town on Scotland’s Black Isle, making his a recently disappeared rare world language.
“Bobby Hogg, who was 92 when he died, was the last person fluent in the dialect once common to the seaside town of Cromarty, 175 miles north of Edinburgh,” the AP reported.
While few people may mourn the demise of Cromarty specifically, it’s another example of the one language that dies every two weeks and a general trend toward linguistic standardization as the global population moves to cities. UNESCO expects half of the globe’s 6,000-plus languages to die off by the end of the century.
So what did Cromarty sound like?
The New Statesman has this excerpt:
"Am fair sconfished wi hayreen; gie’s fur brakwast lashins o am and heggs. (I’m so fed up with herring, give me plenty of ham and eggs for breakfast.)”
And the AP offers up even more:
“Holl tol / Very drunk
Foamin for want / Desperate for tea
At’s theer trouble? / What’s your trouble?
Theer nae tae big fi a sclaffert yet! / You’re not too big for a slap!”
You can listen to exerpts of interviews with Hogg and his (now-deceased) brother Gordon at the Scottish history site Am Baile, which has documented the dialect. In this excerpt, the Hoggs give a run-down of Cromarty fish names:
Bobby: When ye take the different names of fish, they're different in Cromarty to what they are everywhere else, like. Different names. So that's only the start, like. Same wi the line fishing an, ye know, all the things relative to it, right? These things have all disappeared now. Folk don't know what ye're talking about, even.
Gordon: No.
Interviewer: So what are some o the names?
Gordon: Well, a plashack - that's a big, a big flat fish. We call that a plashack.
Gordon: An we call others ones - there's one they call it - it's a biggar-man, an it's a, it's a flounder too. It's a flounder but it's -
Bobby: It's biggar-man - you'll find that in the Scottish Dictionary. It's a flounder, a black flounder, right? Say it's a biggar-man in Cromarty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The New Statesman;
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/10/death-cromarty-fisherfolk-dialect
The death of the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect
By Helen Lewis Published 04 October 2012 13:38
Listening to extinct languages and dialects is an eerie, but incredible, experience.
The last native speaker of the Cromarty fisherfolk dialect, Bobby Hogg, has died - and with him, a version of our language which had unique words, expressions and character.
You can listen to Hogg and his brother Gordon speaking here: the dialect has a lilting, sing-song quality. Linguists think it was influenced by Norse and Dutch, and survived because of the close-knit community and relative geographical isolation of Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands.
We're lucky that in 2009, a researcher called Janine Donald set out to preserve and record as much of the Cromarty dialect as she could. She wrote up her findings here, and it's quite hard to see what the roots of some of the words are that were in use. For example, where did "amitan", meaning "a fool" come from? (Also, can we revive "belligut" for "a greedy person"?)
"Am fair sconfished wi hayreen; gie’s fur brakwast lashins o am and heggs." (I’m so fed up with herring, give me plenty of ham and eggs for breakfast.)
Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of specialist vocabulary relating to fishing, which I imagine is now gone for good, like "o the teydin" meaning "seventh fishing line".
There's always something poignant about the death of a last speaker of a language, pidgin, creole or dialect. According to K. David Harrison's film for National Geographic, in 2010 there were around 7,000 languages in the world, but they were disappearing at the rate of one every two weeks. Dialects and other particular sub-forms of a language, therefore, are probably disappearing more regularly. For example, linguists think that only two forms of Gaelic will survive.
Thankfully, after years of neglect, there are now several organisations doing their best to capture these languages and dialects before an increasingly interconnected world means they are lost for ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: Before he died Bobby Hogg and his brother helped compile a brief glossary of Comarty-Scots which I have a copy of. I will post some examples form it in the future.
http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_page.jsp?item_id=131892
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Proper names in Yola
Yola was the language spoken in County Wexford as in Ireland until the late 19th Century by the descendents of 11th Century English settlers. Considered an off-shoot of Middle English with some Gaelic influences. I compiled this list from Poole's Yola Glossary, still the only scholarly work on the leid. Some of the translations are mine.
Male names;
Billy ~ Billeen
Cormac ~ Cournag
Dennis ~ Deenees
Diarmuid ~ Dearmed
Jack ~ Jackeen
James ~ Jaames
Joseph ~ Josef
Harry ~ Harrie
Hugh / Fitzhugh ~ Peeougheen
Kelly ~ Kealy / Kealeen
Larry ~ Learry
Martin ~ Marteen
Maurice ~ Mareesh
Meyler ~ Meyleare
Miles ~ Michare
Mogue ~ Moake
Patrick ~ Parick
Peter ~ Beedher / Peether
Phillip ~ Phielim
Robert / Robin ~ Robbeen
Sean ~ Shaneen
Simon ~ Zimon
Thaddeus ~ Thadee
Theodore ~ Theig
Thomas ~ Thommeen
Tom ~ Tam
Trevor ~ Treblere
Walter ~ Wathere
William ~ Wyllhaume
Female names;
Catherine/Kate ~ Caut
Ellen / Nelly ~ Neleen
Jane ~ Jennate
Joan ~ Jauaan
Margarete ~ Margeraate
Mary ~ Maree
Sally ~ Zailee
Male names;
Billy ~ Billeen
Cormac ~ Cournag
Dennis ~ Deenees
Diarmuid ~ Dearmed
Jack ~ Jackeen
James ~ Jaames
Joseph ~ Josef
Harry ~ Harrie
Hugh / Fitzhugh ~ Peeougheen
Kelly ~ Kealy / Kealeen
Larry ~ Learry
Martin ~ Marteen
Maurice ~ Mareesh
Meyler ~ Meyleare
Miles ~ Michare
Mogue ~ Moake
Patrick ~ Parick
Peter ~ Beedher / Peether
Phillip ~ Phielim
Robert / Robin ~ Robbeen
Sean ~ Shaneen
Simon ~ Zimon
Thaddeus ~ Thadee
Theodore ~ Theig
Thomas ~ Thommeen
Tom ~ Tam
Trevor ~ Treblere
Walter ~ Wathere
William ~ Wyllhaume
Female names;
Catherine/Kate ~ Caut
Ellen / Nelly ~ Neleen
Jane ~ Jennate
Joan ~ Jauaan
Margarete ~ Margeraate
Mary ~ Maree
Sally ~ Zailee
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Address to the Lord Liutenant of Ireland in Yola
Address to Lord Lieutenant in 1836
Congratulatory address in the dialect of Forth and Bargy, presented to Earl Musgrave, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on his visit to Wexford in 1836 taken from the Wexford Independent newspaper of 15 February 1860. The paper’s editor Mr Edmund Hore writes:
"The most remarkable fact, in reality, in connexion with the address is this. In all probability it was the first time regal or vice-regal ears were required to listen to word of such a dialect; an it is even still more probable that a like event will never happen again; for if the use of this old tongue dies out as fast for the next five-and-twenty years as it has for the same bygone period, it will be utterly extinct and forgotten before the present century shall have closed.
In order for a person not acquainted with the pronunciation of the dialect to form anything like an idea of it, it is first necessary to speak slowly, and remember that the letter a has invariably the same sound, like a in “father”. Double ee sounds like e in “me”, and most words of two syllables the long accent is placed on the last. To follow the English pronunciation completely deprives the dialect of its peculiarities."
To’s Excellencie Constantine Harrie Phipps, y’ Earle Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland. Ye soumissive Spakeen o’ouz Dwelleres o’ Baronie Forthe, Weisforthe.
MAI’T BE PLESANT TO TH’ECCELLENCIE, - Wee, Vassalès o’ ‘His Most Gracious majesty’, Wilyame ee Vourthe, an, az wee verilie chote, na coshe and loyale dwellerès na Baronie Forthe, crave na dicke luckie acte t’uck neicher th’ Eccellencie, an na plaine grabe o’ oure yola talke, wi vengem o’ core t’gie ours zense o’ y gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name; and whilke we canna zei, albeit o’ ‘Governere’, ‘Statesman’, an alike. Yn ercha and aul o’ while yt beeth wi gleezom o’ core th’ oure eyen dwytheth apan ye Vigere o’dicke Zouvereine, Wilyame ee Vourthe, unnere fose fatherlie zwae oure diaez be ee-spant, az avare ye trad dicke londe yer name waz ee-kent var ee vriene o’ livertie, an He fo brake ye neckares o’ zlaves. Mang ourzels – var wee dwytheth an Irelonde az ure genreale haim – y’ast, bie ractzom o’honde, ee-delt t’ouz ye laas ee-mate var ercha vassale, ne’er dwythen na dicke waie nar dicka. Wee dwyth ye ane fose dais be gien var ee guidevare o’ye londe ye zwae, - t’avance pace an livertie, an, wi’oute vlynch, ee garde o’ generale reights an poplare vartue. Ye pace – yea, we mai zei, ye vast pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th’ast ee-cam, proo’th, y’at wee alane needeth ye giftes o’generale rights, az be displayth bie ee factes o’thie goveremente. Ye state na dicke daie o’ye londe, na whilke be nar fash nar moile, albeit ‘constitutional agitation’, ye wake o’hopes ee-blighte, stampe na yer zwae be rare an lightzom. Yer name var zetch avancet avare ye, e’en a dicke var hye, arent whilke ye brine o’zea an dye craggès o’noghanes cazed nae balke. Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi’ mattoke, an zing t’oure caulès wi plou, wee hert ee zough o’ye colure o’ pace na name o’ Mulgrave. Wi Irishmen ower generale houpes be ee-boud – az Irishmen, an az dwellerès na cosh an loyale o’ Baronie Forthe, w’oul daie an ercha daie, our meines an oure gurles, praie var long an happie zins, shorne o’lournagh an ee-vilt wi benisons, an yersel and oure gude Zovereine, till ee zin o’oure daies be var aye be ee-go to’glade.
Standard English Translation
To his Excellency, Constantine Henry Phipps, Earl Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General, and General Governor of Ireland. The humble Address of the Inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, Wexford.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY – We, the subjects of his Most Gracious Majesty, William IV, and, as we verily believe, both faithful and loyal inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, beg leave at this favourable opportunity to approach your Excellency, and in the simple dress of our old dialect to pour forth from the strength (or fullness) of our hearts, our sense (or admiration) of the qualities which characterise your name, and for which we have no words but of ‘Governor’, ‘Statesman’, etc. In each and every condition it is with joy of heart that our eyes rest upon the representative of the Sovereign, William IV, under whose paternal rule our days are spent; for before your foot pressed the soil, your name was known to us as the friend of liberty, and he who broke the fetters of the slave. Unto ourselves – for we look on Ireland to be our common country – you have with impartial hand ministered the laws made for every subject, without regard to this party or that. We behold in you one whose days are devoted to the welfare of the land you govern, to promote peace and liberty – the uncompromising guardian of the common right and public virtue. The peace – yes, we may say the profound peace – which overspreads the land since your arrival, proves that we alone stood in need of the enjoyment of common privileges, as is demonstrated by the results of your government. The condition, this day, of the country, in which is neither tumult nor disorder, but that constitutional agitation, the consequence of disappointed hopes, confirms your rule to be rare and enlightened. Your fame for such came before you even into this retired spot, to which neither the waters of the sea below nor the mountains above caused any impediment. In our valleys, where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough, we heard the distant sound of the wings of the dove of peace, in the word Mulgrave. With Irishmen our common hopes are inseparably bound up – as Irishmen, and as inhabitants, faithful and loyal, of the Barony Forth, we will daily and every day, our wives and our children, implore long and happy days, free from melancholy and full of blessings, for yourself and our good Sovereign, until the sun of our lives be gone down the dark valley (of death).
This address in included as part of Jacob Poole's 1867 glossary of the Yola language which remains the only such book about Yola.
Congratulatory address in the dialect of Forth and Bargy, presented to Earl Musgrave, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on his visit to Wexford in 1836 taken from the Wexford Independent newspaper of 15 February 1860. The paper’s editor Mr Edmund Hore writes:
"The most remarkable fact, in reality, in connexion with the address is this. In all probability it was the first time regal or vice-regal ears were required to listen to word of such a dialect; an it is even still more probable that a like event will never happen again; for if the use of this old tongue dies out as fast for the next five-and-twenty years as it has for the same bygone period, it will be utterly extinct and forgotten before the present century shall have closed.
In order for a person not acquainted with the pronunciation of the dialect to form anything like an idea of it, it is first necessary to speak slowly, and remember that the letter a has invariably the same sound, like a in “father”. Double ee sounds like e in “me”, and most words of two syllables the long accent is placed on the last. To follow the English pronunciation completely deprives the dialect of its peculiarities."
To’s Excellencie Constantine Harrie Phipps, y’ Earle Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland. Ye soumissive Spakeen o’ouz Dwelleres o’ Baronie Forthe, Weisforthe.
MAI’T BE PLESANT TO TH’ECCELLENCIE, - Wee, Vassalès o’ ‘His Most Gracious majesty’, Wilyame ee Vourthe, an, az wee verilie chote, na coshe and loyale dwellerès na Baronie Forthe, crave na dicke luckie acte t’uck neicher th’ Eccellencie, an na plaine grabe o’ oure yola talke, wi vengem o’ core t’gie ours zense o’ y gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name; and whilke we canna zei, albeit o’ ‘Governere’, ‘Statesman’, an alike. Yn ercha and aul o’ while yt beeth wi gleezom o’ core th’ oure eyen dwytheth apan ye Vigere o’dicke Zouvereine, Wilyame ee Vourthe, unnere fose fatherlie zwae oure diaez be ee-spant, az avare ye trad dicke londe yer name waz ee-kent var ee vriene o’ livertie, an He fo brake ye neckares o’ zlaves. Mang ourzels – var wee dwytheth an Irelonde az ure genreale haim – y’ast, bie ractzom o’honde, ee-delt t’ouz ye laas ee-mate var ercha vassale, ne’er dwythen na dicke waie nar dicka. Wee dwyth ye ane fose dais be gien var ee guidevare o’ye londe ye zwae, - t’avance pace an livertie, an, wi’oute vlynch, ee garde o’ generale reights an poplare vartue. Ye pace – yea, we mai zei, ye vast pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th’ast ee-cam, proo’th, y’at wee alane needeth ye giftes o’generale rights, az be displayth bie ee factes o’thie goveremente. Ye state na dicke daie o’ye londe, na whilke be nar fash nar moile, albeit ‘constitutional agitation’, ye wake o’hopes ee-blighte, stampe na yer zwae be rare an lightzom. Yer name var zetch avancet avare ye, e’en a dicke var hye, arent whilke ye brine o’zea an dye craggès o’noghanes cazed nae balke. Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi’ mattoke, an zing t’oure caulès wi plou, wee hert ee zough o’ye colure o’ pace na name o’ Mulgrave. Wi Irishmen ower generale houpes be ee-boud – az Irishmen, an az dwellerès na cosh an loyale o’ Baronie Forthe, w’oul daie an ercha daie, our meines an oure gurles, praie var long an happie zins, shorne o’lournagh an ee-vilt wi benisons, an yersel and oure gude Zovereine, till ee zin o’oure daies be var aye be ee-go to’glade.
Standard English Translation
To his Excellency, Constantine Henry Phipps, Earl Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General, and General Governor of Ireland. The humble Address of the Inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, Wexford.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY – We, the subjects of his Most Gracious Majesty, William IV, and, as we verily believe, both faithful and loyal inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, beg leave at this favourable opportunity to approach your Excellency, and in the simple dress of our old dialect to pour forth from the strength (or fullness) of our hearts, our sense (or admiration) of the qualities which characterise your name, and for which we have no words but of ‘Governor’, ‘Statesman’, etc. In each and every condition it is with joy of heart that our eyes rest upon the representative of the Sovereign, William IV, under whose paternal rule our days are spent; for before your foot pressed the soil, your name was known to us as the friend of liberty, and he who broke the fetters of the slave. Unto ourselves – for we look on Ireland to be our common country – you have with impartial hand ministered the laws made for every subject, without regard to this party or that. We behold in you one whose days are devoted to the welfare of the land you govern, to promote peace and liberty – the uncompromising guardian of the common right and public virtue. The peace – yes, we may say the profound peace – which overspreads the land since your arrival, proves that we alone stood in need of the enjoyment of common privileges, as is demonstrated by the results of your government. The condition, this day, of the country, in which is neither tumult nor disorder, but that constitutional agitation, the consequence of disappointed hopes, confirms your rule to be rare and enlightened. Your fame for such came before you even into this retired spot, to which neither the waters of the sea below nor the mountains above caused any impediment. In our valleys, where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough, we heard the distant sound of the wings of the dove of peace, in the word Mulgrave. With Irishmen our common hopes are inseparably bound up – as Irishmen, and as inhabitants, faithful and loyal, of the Barony Forth, we will daily and every day, our wives and our children, implore long and happy days, free from melancholy and full of blessings, for yourself and our good Sovereign, until the sun of our lives be gone down the dark valley (of death).
This address in included as part of Jacob Poole's 1867 glossary of the Yola language which remains the only such book about Yola.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
How we would talk if the Saxons had won the Battle of Hastings in 1066
The Lords Prayer in Old English;
An account of the Battle of Brunanburgh in Old English (a battle between the Saxons and an alliance of Scots, Picts and Norsemen);
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
An ancient Brittonic curse and some Pictish
The language of the ancient Celtic Britons was oral and has left few written traces but after the Roman conquest a few examples exist; along with a few gravestones there are a few charms and pendents one of which is believed to have a curse;
a) Original version;
"Adixoui Deuina Deieda Andagin Uindiorix cuamenai"
b) Possible translation;
"The affixed - Deuina, Deieda, Andagin, (and) Uindiorix - I have bound"
An alternate translation being:
"May I, Windiorix for/at Cuamena defeat the worthless woman, oh divine Deieda"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Picts were the inhabitants of Scotland during the Roman conquest of Britain who withstood Roman domination. Very little is known about them although they are believed to have been Celts who spoke a separate language. Aside from a few place names the only one known surviving example of Pictish comes from a probable eighth or ninth century grave marker found in the Shetland Islands called The Lunnasting stone. There is not enough to enable a full translation but when translated into the Latin alphabet the original appears to say;
"ttocuhetts: ahehhttmnnn: hccvvevv: nehhton"
or "ettecuhetts: ahehhttannn: hccvvevv: nehhtons"
It has been suggested that the last words translate as "the vassal of Nehtonn" and the word "Ahehhttannn" is also a name.
All of which shows how fiendishly difficult it is to discipher a long dead language when faced with a serious lack of info to work with. It can not even be stated with certainty whether Pictish is even Celtic at all although the available evidence suggests a relationship with Welsh rather than Gaelic.
a) Original version;
"Adixoui Deuina Deieda Andagin Uindiorix cuamenai"
b) Possible translation;
"The affixed - Deuina, Deieda, Andagin, (and) Uindiorix - I have bound"
An alternate translation being:
"May I, Windiorix for/at Cuamena defeat the worthless woman, oh divine Deieda"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Picts were the inhabitants of Scotland during the Roman conquest of Britain who withstood Roman domination. Very little is known about them although they are believed to have been Celts who spoke a separate language. Aside from a few place names the only one known surviving example of Pictish comes from a probable eighth or ninth century grave marker found in the Shetland Islands called The Lunnasting stone. There is not enough to enable a full translation but when translated into the Latin alphabet the original appears to say;
"ttocuhetts: ahehhttmnnn: hccvvevv: nehhton"
or "ettecuhetts: ahehhttannn: hccvvevv: nehhtons"
It has been suggested that the last words translate as "the vassal of Nehtonn" and the word "Ahehhttannn" is also a name.
All of which shows how fiendishly difficult it is to discipher a long dead language when faced with a serious lack of info to work with. It can not even be stated with certainty whether Pictish is even Celtic at all although the available evidence suggests a relationship with Welsh rather than Gaelic.
Monday, 27 February 2012
The intro to "Piers Plowman"
Written by William Langland circa 1360 - 1387 "Piers Plowman" is one of the relatively small number of surviving works of literature written in Middle English and is second in importance only to "The Canterbury Tales". Below are some introductory passages along with translations;
1.a) "Memorandum quod Stacy de Rokayle pater willielmi de Langlond qui stacius fuit generosus & morabatur in Schiptoun vnder whicwode tenens domini le Spenser in comitatu Oxoniensi qui predictus willielmus fecit librum qui vocatur Perys ploughman."
b) (translation)
"It should be noted that Stacy de Rokayle was the father of William de Langlond; this Stacy was of noble birth and dwelt in Shipton-under-Wychwood, a tenant of the Lord Spenser in the county of Oxfordshire. The aforesaid William made the book which is called Piers Plowman."
2.a) "Whan this werke was wrouyt, ere Wille myte aspie
Deth delt him a dent and drof him to the erthe
And is closed vnder clom"
b) (translation"
"Once this work was made, before Will was aware
Death struck him a blow and knocked him to the ground
And now he is buried under the soil."
1.a) "Memorandum quod Stacy de Rokayle pater willielmi de Langlond qui stacius fuit generosus & morabatur in Schiptoun vnder whicwode tenens domini le Spenser in comitatu Oxoniensi qui predictus willielmus fecit librum qui vocatur Perys ploughman."
b) (translation)
"It should be noted that Stacy de Rokayle was the father of William de Langlond; this Stacy was of noble birth and dwelt in Shipton-under-Wychwood, a tenant of the Lord Spenser in the county of Oxfordshire. The aforesaid William made the book which is called Piers Plowman."
2.a) "Whan this werke was wrouyt, ere Wille myte aspie
Deth delt him a dent and drof him to the erthe
And is closed vnder clom"
b) (translation"
"Once this work was made, before Will was aware
Death struck him a blow and knocked him to the ground
And now he is buried under the soil."
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Two riddles in Anglo-Saxon from The Exeter Book
Riddle 25;
Old English
Ic eom wunderlicu wiht wifum on hyhte neahbuendum nyt; nægum sceþþe burgsittendra nymthe bonan anum. Staþol min is steapheah stonde ic on bedde neoðan ruh nathwær. Neþeð hwilum ful cyrtenu ceorles dohtor modwlonc meowle þæt heo on mec gripe ræseð mec on reodne reafath min heafod fegeð mec on fæsten. Feleþ sona mines gemotes seo þe mec nearwað wif wundenlocc. Wæt bið þæt eage.
Modern English
I am a wondrous creature for women in expectation, a service for neighbors. I harm none of the citizens except my slayer alone. My stem is erect, I stand up in bed, hairy somewhere down below. A very comely peasant's daughter, dares sometimes, proud maiden, that she grips at me, attacks me in my redness, plunders my head, confines me in a stronghold, feels my encounter directly, woman with braided hair. Wet be that eye.
Answer: Onion
Riddle 26
Old English
Mec feonda sum feore besnyþede, woruldstrenga binom, wætte siþþan, dyfde on wætre, dyde eft þonan, sette on sunnan þær ic swiþe beleas herum þam þe ic hæfde. Heard mec siþþan snað seaxses ecg, sindrum begrunden; fingras feoldan, ond mec fugles wyn geond speddropum spyrede geneahhe, ofer brunne brerd, beamtelge swealg, streames dæle, stop eft on mec, siþade sweartlast. Mec siþþan wrah hæleð hleobordum, hyde beþenede, gierede mec mid golde; forþon me gliwedon wrætlic weorc smiþa, wire bifongen. Nu þa gereno ond se reada telg ond þa wuldorgesteald wide mære dryhtfolca helm—nales dol wite. Fif min bearn wera brucan willað, hy beoð þy gesundran ond þy sigefæstran, heortum þy hwætran ond þy hygebliþran, ferþe þy frodran, habbaþ freonda þy ma, swæsra ond gesibbra, soþra ond godra, tilra ond getreowra, þa hyra tyr ond ead estum ycað ond hy arstafum lissum bilecgað ond hi lufan fæþmum fæste clyppað. Frige hwæt ic hatte, niþum to nytte. Nama min is mære, hæleþum gifre ond halig sylf.
Modern English translation;
Some fiend robbed me from life, deprived me of wordly strengths, wetted next, dipped in water, took out again, set in the sun, deprived violently of the hair that I had after, the hard knife's edge cut me, ground from impurities, fingers folded and a bird's delight spread useful drops over me, swallowed tree-ink over the ruddy rim, portion of liquid, stepped on me again, traveled with black track. After, a man clad me with protective boards, covered with hide, adorned me with gold. Forthwith adorned me in ornamental works of smiths, encased with wire Now the trappings and the red dye and the wondrous setting widely make known the helm of the lord's folk, never again guard fools. If children of men want to use me they will be by that the safer and the more sure of victory the bolder in heart and the happier in mind, in spirit the wiser. They will have friends the more dearer and closer, righteous and more virtuous, more good and more loyal, those whose glory and happiness will gladly increase, and them with benefits and kindnesses, and they of love will clasp tightly with embraces. Ask what I am called as a service to people. My name is famous, bountiful to men and my self holy.
Answer: Bible
Old English
Ic eom wunderlicu wiht wifum on hyhte neahbuendum nyt; nægum sceþþe burgsittendra nymthe bonan anum. Staþol min is steapheah stonde ic on bedde neoðan ruh nathwær. Neþeð hwilum ful cyrtenu ceorles dohtor modwlonc meowle þæt heo on mec gripe ræseð mec on reodne reafath min heafod fegeð mec on fæsten. Feleþ sona mines gemotes seo þe mec nearwað wif wundenlocc. Wæt bið þæt eage.
Modern English
I am a wondrous creature for women in expectation, a service for neighbors. I harm none of the citizens except my slayer alone. My stem is erect, I stand up in bed, hairy somewhere down below. A very comely peasant's daughter, dares sometimes, proud maiden, that she grips at me, attacks me in my redness, plunders my head, confines me in a stronghold, feels my encounter directly, woman with braided hair. Wet be that eye.
Answer: Onion
Riddle 26
Old English
Mec feonda sum feore besnyþede, woruldstrenga binom, wætte siþþan, dyfde on wætre, dyde eft þonan, sette on sunnan þær ic swiþe beleas herum þam þe ic hæfde. Heard mec siþþan snað seaxses ecg, sindrum begrunden; fingras feoldan, ond mec fugles wyn geond speddropum spyrede geneahhe, ofer brunne brerd, beamtelge swealg, streames dæle, stop eft on mec, siþade sweartlast. Mec siþþan wrah hæleð hleobordum, hyde beþenede, gierede mec mid golde; forþon me gliwedon wrætlic weorc smiþa, wire bifongen. Nu þa gereno ond se reada telg ond þa wuldorgesteald wide mære dryhtfolca helm—nales dol wite. Fif min bearn wera brucan willað, hy beoð þy gesundran ond þy sigefæstran, heortum þy hwætran ond þy hygebliþran, ferþe þy frodran, habbaþ freonda þy ma, swæsra ond gesibbra, soþra ond godra, tilra ond getreowra, þa hyra tyr ond ead estum ycað ond hy arstafum lissum bilecgað ond hi lufan fæþmum fæste clyppað. Frige hwæt ic hatte, niþum to nytte. Nama min is mære, hæleþum gifre ond halig sylf.
Modern English translation;
Some fiend robbed me from life, deprived me of wordly strengths, wetted next, dipped in water, took out again, set in the sun, deprived violently of the hair that I had after, the hard knife's edge cut me, ground from impurities, fingers folded and a bird's delight spread useful drops over me, swallowed tree-ink over the ruddy rim, portion of liquid, stepped on me again, traveled with black track. After, a man clad me with protective boards, covered with hide, adorned me with gold. Forthwith adorned me in ornamental works of smiths, encased with wire Now the trappings and the red dye and the wondrous setting widely make known the helm of the lord's folk, never again guard fools. If children of men want to use me they will be by that the safer and the more sure of victory the bolder in heart and the happier in mind, in spirit the wiser. They will have friends the more dearer and closer, righteous and more virtuous, more good and more loyal, those whose glory and happiness will gladly increase, and them with benefits and kindnesses, and they of love will clasp tightly with embraces. Ask what I am called as a service to people. My name is famous, bountiful to men and my self holy.
Answer: Bible
Saturday, 24 December 2011
A battle scene from "The Elene"
"The Elene" is an Old English poem, sometimes known as "Saint Helena Finds the True Cross." Written somewhere between the 8th and 10th centuries by the poet Cynewulf about whom little is know, including exactly when he lived. He is belived to have been from Mercia or Northumbria and wrote in that dialect. He was probably a monk or other religious figure. Four of his poems survive. "The Elene" is 1,321 lines long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ridon ymb rofne, ðonne rand dynede,
camp wudu clynede, cyning ðreate for,
herge to hilde. Hrefen uppe gol,
wan ond wælfel. Werod wæs on tyhte.
Hleopon hornboran, hreopan frican,
mearh moldan træd.
Translation;
“They rode about the famous one; then the shield dinned,
the battle-tarp clanged, the king advanced with a troop,
a battalion to the battle. The raven yelled from above,
dark and greedy for carrion. The troop was on the march.
The horn-bearers ran, the heralds called out,
the horse trod the earth”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ridon ymb rofne, ðonne rand dynede,
camp wudu clynede, cyning ðreate for,
herge to hilde. Hrefen uppe gol,
wan ond wælfel. Werod wæs on tyhte.
Hleopon hornboran, hreopan frican,
mearh moldan træd.
Translation;
“They rode about the famous one; then the shield dinned,
the battle-tarp clanged, the king advanced with a troop,
a battalion to the battle. The raven yelled from above,
dark and greedy for carrion. The troop was on the march.
The horn-bearers ran, the heralds called out,
the horse trod the earth”
Thursday, 1 December 2011
A Gospel in Sercquiais/Jerriais
The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, and Les Casquets) are actually closer to France than to England or Ireland but have been under British rule in the 13th century. Prior to this the islands were part of the Kingdom of Normandy and people there spoke various dialects of Norman-French. One of these that survive is Sercquiais, spoken on Sark by only a few dozen people, although is there is a great deal of mutual intelligibility between the various Channel tongues and French. The French refer to these tongues as "patois". Below is part of the gospel of St. Matthew;
Sercquiais version;
"L'chen qui sème s'n allit s'mai ; Et tàndis qu' i s'maitt une partie d' la s'menche quitt le long du ch'mìnn et l's oesiaux du ciel vìndrint et i la màndgirent. Une aûtre quitt dans d's endréts roquieurs, où alle n'avait pas fort de terre; et ou l'vist ossivite, parçe que la terre où al' 'tait n'était pas ben avant. Mais l'solé se l'vitt et ou fut brulaie; et coumme ou n'avait pas d'rachinnes, ou s'quitt. Une aûtre quitt dans d's épinnes, et l's épinnes vìndrent à craitre, et l'etoupidrent. Une aûtre enfin quitt dans d'bouanne terre, et ou portit du fritt; quiq' grâins rèndirent chent pour un, d'aûtres sessànte, et d'aûtres trente. L'chen qu'a d's oureilles pour ouit qu' il ouêt." (S. Makyu. Chap. XIII. 3-9)
English translation;
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." Gospel of St Matthew, NIV)
Sercquiais version;
"L'chen qui sème s'n allit s'mai ; Et tàndis qu' i s'maitt une partie d' la s'menche quitt le long du ch'mìnn et l's oesiaux du ciel vìndrint et i la màndgirent. Une aûtre quitt dans d's endréts roquieurs, où alle n'avait pas fort de terre; et ou l'vist ossivite, parçe que la terre où al' 'tait n'était pas ben avant. Mais l'solé se l'vitt et ou fut brulaie; et coumme ou n'avait pas d'rachinnes, ou s'quitt. Une aûtre quitt dans d's épinnes, et l's épinnes vìndrent à craitre, et l'etoupidrent. Une aûtre enfin quitt dans d'bouanne terre, et ou portit du fritt; quiq' grâins rèndirent chent pour un, d'aûtres sessànte, et d'aûtres trente. L'chen qu'a d's oureilles pour ouit qu' il ouêt." (S. Makyu. Chap. XIII. 3-9)
English translation;
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." Gospel of St Matthew, NIV)
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Intro to The Speculum Vitae
Written in the middle to late 14th century possibly by William of Nassyngton, an obscure English poet about whom little is known. The poem is written in Late Middle English which is much closer to Modern English than the earlier works of Chaucer as English evolves into the next step in it's development as the language of Shakespeare. The title however is in Latin and translates as "Mirror of life".
a) Original;
In English tonge I schall you telle,
yif ye with me so longe wil dwelle.
No Latyn wil I speke no waste,
But Englisch, that men vse mast,
That can ech man vnderstonde,
That is born in Ingelande.
For that langage is most chewyd,
Os wel among lered as lewyd.
Latyn, as I trowe, can nane
But tho, that haueth it in scol tane.
And somme can frenssche and no Latyn,
That vsed hav cowrt and dwellen therein.
And somme can of Latyn a party,
That can of Frensche but febly.
And somme vnderstonde wel Englysch,
That can nother Laty nor Frankys.
Bothe lered and lewed, olde and yonge,
Alle vnderstonden english tonge.
a) Original;
In English tonge I schall you telle,
yif ye with me so longe wil dwelle.
No Latyn wil I speke no waste,
But Englisch, that men vse mast,
That can ech man vnderstonde,
That is born in Ingelande.
For that langage is most chewyd,
Os wel among lered as lewyd.
Latyn, as I trowe, can nane
But tho, that haueth it in scol tane.
And somme can frenssche and no Latyn,
That vsed hav cowrt and dwellen therein.
And somme can of Latyn a party,
That can of Frensche but febly.
And somme vnderstonde wel Englysch,
That can nother Laty nor Frankys.
Bothe lered and lewed, olde and yonge,
Alle vnderstonden english tonge.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
John Audelay's warning to future book thieves
John Audelay was a priest and poet in the early 15th century who wrote approximately 68 religious poems and Christmas carols that have survived. Little else is known about him other than that he lived at Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire where he died sometime after 1426 reportedly at an advanced age and there is a reference to him living in London in 1417. His last written work was an introduction to a collection of poems warning future readers not to steal or deface his work.
a) Original version;
"No mon this book he take away,
Ne kutt owt no leef, y say for why;
For hyt is sacrilege, sirus, y ȝow say,
He beth accursed in the dede truly;
if ye wil have any copi,
Askus leeve and ye shul have,
To pray for hym specialy,
That hyt made our soules to save,
Jon the blynde Awdelay
The furst prest to the Lord Strange he was,
Of thys chauntre here in this place
That make thys bok by Goddus grace,
Deef, syk, blynd, as he lay,
Cujus anime propicietur Deus.
b) Modern translation;
"None must take this book away
Or cut out any page, I'll tell you why;
For it is sacrilege, sirs, I tell you
He will be accursed in the deed;
If you would have a copy
Ask leave, and you will have,
To pray especially for him
That made it [the book] to save your souls
John the blind Audelay;
He was the first priest to the Lord Strange
Of this chantry
That made this book by the grace of God
As he lay deaf, sick, and blind
On whose soul God have mercy.
a) Original version;
"No mon this book he take away,
Ne kutt owt no leef, y say for why;
For hyt is sacrilege, sirus, y ȝow say,
He beth accursed in the dede truly;
if ye wil have any copi,
Askus leeve and ye shul have,
To pray for hym specialy,
That hyt made our soules to save,
Jon the blynde Awdelay
The furst prest to the Lord Strange he was,
Of thys chauntre here in this place
That make thys bok by Goddus grace,
Deef, syk, blynd, as he lay,
Cujus anime propicietur Deus.
b) Modern translation;
"None must take this book away
Or cut out any page, I'll tell you why;
For it is sacrilege, sirs, I tell you
He will be accursed in the deed;
If you would have a copy
Ask leave, and you will have,
To pray especially for him
That made it [the book] to save your souls
John the blind Audelay;
He was the first priest to the Lord Strange
Of this chantry
That made this book by the grace of God
As he lay deaf, sick, and blind
On whose soul God have mercy.
Friday, 5 August 2011
Caedmon's Hymn with Modern Translation
Written sometime between 657-680 a.d. by Caedmon, an Anglo-Saxon lay brother and herdsman living at Whitby Abbey who claimed the verses came to him in a dream. Upon presenting the full work the Abbot made him a full monk and he continued to write other works which have not been found. Little else is known of him including when he he lived or died, it is also not clear but he may have been sainted at some point. Considered a major work of Old English literature.
a) Original (using modern letters);
Nu scylun hergan
hefaenricaes uard,
metudæs maecti,
end his modgidanc,
uerc uuldurfadur
swe he uundra gihwaes,
eci dryctin
or astelidæ
he aerist scop.
aelda barnum
heben til hrofe,
haleg scepen.
tha middungeard
moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin
æfter tiadæ
firum foldu
frea allmectig
b) English translation;
Now [we] must honour
the guardian of heaven,
the might of the architect,
and his purpose,
the work of the father of glory[39]
— as he, the eternal lord,
established
the beginning of wonders.
He, the holy creator,
first created heaven as a roof
for the children of men.
Then the guardian of mankind
the eternal lord,
the Lord almighty
afterwards appointed
the middle earth,
the lands, for men.'
a) Original (using modern letters);
Nu scylun hergan
hefaenricaes uard,
metudæs maecti,
end his modgidanc,
uerc uuldurfadur
swe he uundra gihwaes,
eci dryctin
or astelidæ
he aerist scop.
aelda barnum
heben til hrofe,
haleg scepen.
tha middungeard
moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin
æfter tiadæ
firum foldu
frea allmectig
b) English translation;
Now [we] must honour
the guardian of heaven,
the might of the architect,
and his purpose,
the work of the father of glory[39]
— as he, the eternal lord,
established
the beginning of wonders.
He, the holy creator,
first created heaven as a roof
for the children of men.
Then the guardian of mankind
the eternal lord,
the Lord almighty
afterwards appointed
the middle earth,
the lands, for men.'
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
The Venerable Bede's Death song
The Venerable St.Bede was the foremost scholar and religious thinker of the Anglo-Saxon era. Living from 672-735A.D. he wrote many works of history, religious works, translations, science and astrology as well as personal letters in Old English and Latin, many of which survive in whole or part. One of his English works was as short funeral prayer known as "The Death Song":
a) Original version (in modern letters and punctuation);
Fore ðæm nedfere nænig wiorðe
ðonc snottora ðon him ðearf siæ
to ymbhycgenne ær his hinionge
hwæt his gastæ godes oððe yfles
æfter deað dæge doemed wiorðe.
b) Modern Translation;
Facing that enforced journey, no man can be
More prudent than he has good call to be,
If he consider, before his going hence,
What for his spirit of good hap or of evil
After his day of death shall be determined.
a) Original version (in modern letters and punctuation);
Fore ðæm nedfere nænig wiorðe
ðonc snottora ðon him ðearf siæ
to ymbhycgenne ær his hinionge
hwæt his gastæ godes oððe yfles
æfter deað dæge doemed wiorðe.
b) Modern Translation;
Facing that enforced journey, no man can be
More prudent than he has good call to be,
If he consider, before his going hence,
What for his spirit of good hap or of evil
After his day of death shall be determined.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
A Bible verse in Jerriais
Jerriais is the language of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. The Islands are closer to France than England and their languages are a dialect of Norman French;
Mais si not' bouonne nouvelle est muchie, oulle est muchie des cheins tchi sont pouor péthi. Pouor dé ieux l'dgieu d'chu monde a êgalué les cheins tchi n'craient pon, à seule fîn qu'i' n'appèrchèvent la lueu d'la bouonne nouvelle d'la glouaithe du Christ, tch'est l'portrait du Bouôn Dgieu. Ch'est en tchi jé n'prêchons pon d'nos-mêmes, j'prêchons qu'Jésû Christ est l'Seigneu et qu'nous j'sommes vos sèrvants par Jésû. Viyant qu'le Bouôn Dgieu dit, "Qu'la leunmiéthe lithe dé d'dans la nièrcheu," et a lit dans nos tchoeurs à seule fîn d'bailli la leunmiéthe d'la glouaithe dé Dgieu dans la fache dé Jésû Christ. (2 Corîntchiens, 4: 3-6)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4: 3-6)
Mais si not' bouonne nouvelle est muchie, oulle est muchie des cheins tchi sont pouor péthi. Pouor dé ieux l'dgieu d'chu monde a êgalué les cheins tchi n'craient pon, à seule fîn qu'i' n'appèrchèvent la lueu d'la bouonne nouvelle d'la glouaithe du Christ, tch'est l'portrait du Bouôn Dgieu. Ch'est en tchi jé n'prêchons pon d'nos-mêmes, j'prêchons qu'Jésû Christ est l'Seigneu et qu'nous j'sommes vos sèrvants par Jésû. Viyant qu'le Bouôn Dgieu dit, "Qu'la leunmiéthe lithe dé d'dans la nièrcheu," et a lit dans nos tchoeurs à seule fîn d'bailli la leunmiéthe d'la glouaithe dé Dgieu dans la fache dé Jésû Christ. (2 Corîntchiens, 4: 3-6)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4: 3-6)
Sunday, 5 June 2011
The sermon on the mount in Manx
Alternating between Manx with English translations;
1a). As fakin lheid ny earrooyn dy leih, hie eh seose er slieau: as tra v'eh er hoie sheese, haink e ynseydee huggey;
1b). And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2a). As hrog eh seose e choraa, as dynsee eh ad, gra,
2b). And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3a). Bannit t'adsyn ta imlee ayns spyrryd: son lhieusyn reeriaght niau.
3b). Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4a). Bannit t'adsyn ta dobberan: son bee ad er nyn gherjaghey.
4b). Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5a). Bannit t'adsyn ta meen surransagh: son bee yn thalloo oc ayns eiraght.
5b). Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6a). Bannit t'adsyn ta accryssagh as paagh lurg yn ynrickys: son bee ad er nyn yannoo magh.
6b). Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7a). Bannit ta'n vooinjer vyghinagh: son bee myghin er ny hoilshaghey daue.
7b). Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8a). Bannit t'adsyn ta glen ayns cree: son ver ad Jee my-ner.
8b). Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9a). Bannit t'adsyn ta tayrn sleih gys shee: son bee ad enmyssit nyn gloan dy Yee.
9b). Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10a). Bannit t'adsyn ta surranse tranlaase er graih cairys: son lhieusyn reeriaght niau.
10b). Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11a). Bannit ta shiuish tra vees shiu oltooanit, as tranlaasit, as dy chooilley ghrogh-ghoo currit ass nyn lieh dy aggairagh er y choontey aym's.
11b). Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12a). Gow-jee boggey, as bee-jee erskyn towse gennal: son s'mooar ta nyn leagh ayns niau: son shoh myr ren ad tranlaase er ny phadeyryn va rhymbiu.
12b). Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13a). Shiuish sollan y thallooin: agh my ta'n sollan er choayl e vlass, kys hig e vree ayn reesht? cha vel ymmyd erbee sodjey ny chour, agh dy ve tilgit magh, as stampit fo cassyn deiney.
13b). Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14a). Shiuish soilshey yn theihll Cha vod ard-valley ta soit er cronk ve follit.
14b). Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
1a). As fakin lheid ny earrooyn dy leih, hie eh seose er slieau: as tra v'eh er hoie sheese, haink e ynseydee huggey;
1b). And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2a). As hrog eh seose e choraa, as dynsee eh ad, gra,
2b). And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3a). Bannit t'adsyn ta imlee ayns spyrryd: son lhieusyn reeriaght niau.
3b). Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4a). Bannit t'adsyn ta dobberan: son bee ad er nyn gherjaghey.
4b). Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5a). Bannit t'adsyn ta meen surransagh: son bee yn thalloo oc ayns eiraght.
5b). Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6a). Bannit t'adsyn ta accryssagh as paagh lurg yn ynrickys: son bee ad er nyn yannoo magh.
6b). Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7a). Bannit ta'n vooinjer vyghinagh: son bee myghin er ny hoilshaghey daue.
7b). Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8a). Bannit t'adsyn ta glen ayns cree: son ver ad Jee my-ner.
8b). Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9a). Bannit t'adsyn ta tayrn sleih gys shee: son bee ad enmyssit nyn gloan dy Yee.
9b). Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10a). Bannit t'adsyn ta surranse tranlaase er graih cairys: son lhieusyn reeriaght niau.
10b). Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11a). Bannit ta shiuish tra vees shiu oltooanit, as tranlaasit, as dy chooilley ghrogh-ghoo currit ass nyn lieh dy aggairagh er y choontey aym's.
11b). Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12a). Gow-jee boggey, as bee-jee erskyn towse gennal: son s'mooar ta nyn leagh ayns niau: son shoh myr ren ad tranlaase er ny phadeyryn va rhymbiu.
12b). Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13a). Shiuish sollan y thallooin: agh my ta'n sollan er choayl e vlass, kys hig e vree ayn reesht? cha vel ymmyd erbee sodjey ny chour, agh dy ve tilgit magh, as stampit fo cassyn deiney.
13b). Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14a). Shiuish soilshey yn theihll Cha vod ard-valley ta soit er cronk ve follit.
14b). Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)