The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-11-07
why Mr. Lowell Chose tho Yankee
Dialect, and what he thinks or IL.

ed by Ticknor g. Fields, Of Boston. In an
introduction the author explains his adop-
ton of the Yankee dialect, and says as to
that dialect:
should be half inclined to name the
Yankee lingo, rather than dialect. 1t
has retained q few words now fallen into
disuse in the mother country, like to tarry,
to progress, fleshy, fall, and some others.
It has changed the meaning Of some, as in
freshet and it has chung to what suspect
to have been the broad Norman pronunci-
alton Of (Which Moliere puts into the
mouths of his rustics) in such words as
sarvant, parfect, vartoo, and the like. 1t
maintains something Of the French sound
of a, also, in words like chamber, danger
though the latter had certainly begun to
take its present sound as early as 1886,
when I sometimes find 1t spelt danger.
But, in general way, it may be said that
nothing can be found in It which does not
still survive il some one or other Of the
English provincial dialects. / am not
speaking now of Americanisms properly 50
called that is, Of words or phrases which
have grown into use here either through
necessity, invention, or accident, such as q
carry, one-horse affair, prairie, to va
NOSE. Even these are fewer than is some
times taken for granted.
Our "uplandish men retain the soft or
thin sound Of the in some words, such as
rule, truth, while he says moo for new and
gives to view and few SO indescribable
Q mixture of the two sounds with slight
nasal tincture that it may be called YAM
kee shibboleth. In rule the least sound of
precedes the u. ! find reule in Pea
cocks "Repressor."
OF the Yankee preterites, find rise and
rize for rose in Middleton and Dryden, elm
In Spencer, chees (chose) In Sir John Man
devil, give (gave) In the Coventry Plays,
shet (shut) in Golding's Ovid, het in Chap
man and Viewers Epitaphs, thriv and smit
in Drayton, quit in Ben johnson and Henry
More, and pied In the fastidisus Lander.
Rid for rode was anciently common.
The Yankee has retained something of
the long sound Of the in such words as
axe, wax, pronouncing them exc, wex
shortened from ak, Walk. He also says
hev and he'd for have and had. In most
cases he follows an Anglo Saxon usage.
In ak for axle he certainly does. I find
wex and aisches (ashes) In Pecock, and
exc in the PASTOR Letters. Chaucer wrote
hendy. Dryden rhymes can with men, as
Mr.. Riglow would. Alexander Gill, Mil
toms teacher, in his "Lagonomia cites
hez for hath a. peculiar to Lincolnshire.
Sir Christopher Wren wrote belcony.
Thaim for them was common In the six
teenth century. We have an example Of
the same thing In the double form Of the
verb thrash, thresh. While the New Eng
lander cannot be broughtto say instead for
instid commonly std where not the last
word In q sentence), he changes the into
{ In red for rid, toll for till, hender for
hinder, rense for rinse. find red In the
old interiude Of Thersytes," tell In let
ter or Daborne' 10 Henslow, and also
shudder to mention II, In q letter Of the
great Duchess Of Marlborough, Attossa
herseiH Gill charges the eastern counties
with kfver for cover; and u for 10. The
Yankee pronounces both too and TO like -
(like the tou In touch) where they are not
emphatic. In that case, both become ~.
/ The Yankee always shortens the u In tho
ending .ture, making ventnr, natuI, pictur,
ana % on. This wss common also among
the educated Of the last generation. ] am
inclined to think It may have been once
universal, and ! certainly think It more
elegant than the vile vincher, naycher,
pickcher that have taken its place, sound
ing ike tho invention Of Photographer
With his mouth full of hot pudding. Nash,
In his +" Pierce Penniless," has ventur, and
% spells II, and meet It also in fBpenser,
Drayton, BEN johnson, Heffick, and Prior.
This testimony. Hom ono Of the most
celsbrased Of Yankees, We commend TO
tho attention Of our lrecentl correspondent
- Ysnkee.nab elH y ,4sis1s ~ ft3:..ls