Yola dialect

Yola, more commonly and historically theForth and Bargy dialect, is an extinct dialect of theMiddle English languageonce spoken in thebaroniesofForthandBargyinCounty Wexford, Ireland. As such, it was probably similar to theFingalliandialect of theFingalarea. Both became functionally extinct in the 19th century when they were replaced by modernHiberno-English. The wordyolameans'old'in the dialect.In modern times, there have been efforts torevivethe dialect.
The dialect was spoken inCounty Wexford, particularly in thebaroniesofForthandBargy. This was the first area English speakers came to in theNorman invasion of Ireland, supporting the theory that it evolved from theMiddle Englishintroduced in that period. As such it is thought to have been similar toFingallian, which was spoken in theFingalregion north ofDublin. Middle English, the mother tongue of the "Old English" community, was widespread throughout southeastern Ireland until the 14th century; as the Old English were increasingly assimilated into Irish culture, their original language was gradually displaced throughGaelicisation. After this point, Yola and Fingallian were the only attestedrelictsof this original form of English.
Modern Englishwas widely introduced by British colonists during and after the 17th century, forming the basis for the modernHiberno-Englishof Ireland. The new varieties were notably distinct from the surviving relict dialects.As English continued to spread, both Yola and Fingallian died out in the 19th century, though Yola continued to be used as a liturgical language by the churches of Wexford well into the 20th century. To this day the Kilmore Choir sings what were once Yola tunes, now adapted to Standard English.
The speech of Forth and Bargy was the only kind in Ireland included inAlexander John Ellis's workOn Early English Pronunciation Volume V, which was the earliest survey of dialects of English. The phonetics of the dialect were taken from a local reverend.
Though the Forth and Bargy dialect ceased to be used as a means of daily communication after the mid-19th century, it continued to see significant usage as a liturgical language, and some personal usage within the linguist community of Ireland, such asKathleen Browne's letter to Ireland dated to 10 April 1893. Browne was a fluent Yola speaker and wrote a number of articles including "The Ancient Dialect of the Baronies of Forth and Bargy" in 1927.
County Wexford native Paddy Berry is noted for his condensed performances of the piece "A Yola Zong", which he has performed for various recordings, the latest of which was in 2017.Various Yola rhymes, passed down from generation to generation, can be heard spoken by a Wexford woman in a documentary recorded in 1969 on the present usage and rememberers of Yola in the former baronies of Forth and Bargy.
Yola Farmstead, a community-operated reenactment of a Forth and Bargy village as it would have been during the 18th century, delivered a speech and performance of a song in Yola at their opening ceremony, featured Yola phrases in their advertisements, and hosted events where participants could learn some of the dialect from linguists and other experts on it.The Yola Farmstead also hosted a memorial event dedicated to Jack Devereux of the Kilmore Choir, which once used Yola extensively in their Christmas services. Devereux was a preservationist of, and well-versed in, Yola; locals considered him to be an expert on the dialect, and a rendition of the Lord's Prayer translated into Yola was read at his memorial.
The Yola Farm has since closed down but since 2021 there have been efforts to reopen it.Wikitonguesalso has a section dedicated to Yola on its website which hosts language documentation and revitalization resources.
As in theDutch language, in southwestern varieties of English and (to a lesser extent) in German, mostvoicelessfricativesin Yola becamevoiced. TheMiddle Englishvowels are well-preserved, having only partially and sporadically undergone the changes associated with theGreat Vowel Shift.
One striking characteristic of Yola was the fact thatstressshifted to the second syllable of words in many instances:morsaale"morsel",hatcheat"hatchet",dineare"dinner",readeare"reader",weddeen"wedding", etc.
An exact spelling system for Yola has never been codified, beyond general trends listed inJacob Poole's writings. Most of the spellings are meant as comparisons to standard English ones of his day and the pronunciations are largely reconstructed. The following are listed here:
Note that the spellings can be somewhat inconsistent, due to many words attempting to draw comparison to English cognates and variation within the dialect. Not too much of the above, particularly regarding the vowels, is exactly certain.
Yola pronouns were similar to Middle English pronouns.
The definite article was at firstaoree, which was later replaced bythe.
Yola verbs had some conservative characteristics. The second and third person plural endings were sometimes-ethor-edhas in Chaucerian English. The past participle retained the Middle English "y" prefix asee.
Some nouns retained the-enplural of MEchildren, such asbeen'bees' andtren'trees'.
Theglossarycompiled by Jacob Poole provides most of what is known about the Forth and Bargy vocabulary. Poole was a farmer and member of theReligious Society of Friends(Quakers) from Growtown in the Parish of Taghmon on the border between the baronies of Bargy and Shelmalier.He collected words and phrases from his tenants and farm labourers between 1800 and his death in 1827.
Although most of its vocabulary is Old English in origin, Yola contains many borrowings fromIrishand French.
All the YolaetymonsareMiddle Englishunless stated otherwise. Yola words derived from a non-standard Middle English form list the variant first, followed by the variant in parentheses.
Diarmaid Ó Muirithetravelled to South Wexford in 1978 to study the English spoken there.His informants ranged in age between 40 and 90. Among the long list of words still known or in use at that time are the following:
Amain is a Norman word which means 'of easy use'.
The following is a song in Yola with a rough translation into English.
Congratulatory address in the dialect of Forth and Bargy, presented to theEarl of Mulgrave,Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, on his visit to Wexford in 1836. Taken from theWexford Independentnewspaper of 15 February 1860. The paper's editor Edmund Hore wrote:
This following is a Yola poem from an original document containing accents to aid pronunciation;
This following is a Yola poem taken from Kathleen Brownes glossary of Forth and Bargy
This following is a Yola poem taken from Kathleen Brownes glossary of Forth and Bargy