New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-22
THE NEWFOUNDLAND DIALECT.
SOME CURIOUS AND OBSOLETE ENGLISH
WORDS STILL IN USE
From The Scotsman.

From The Scotsman.
very cursory acquaintance with Local da-
lects soon reveals the fact that many words and
phrases OF the Res Grafton the EliZabethan and
even earlier periods are still current in 0ut-of-
the-way corners Of these islands, though long
obsolete in the language 81 ordinary cultivated
society. We learn from paper by The
Rev Dr. Patterson in number Of the Pro-
ceedings Of the Institute Of Nova Scotia that
large number Of these archaic forms are in use
In far-on Newfoundland Some are AT once
recognizable local survivals. others would
surpass the wit OF the average reader to in
terpret The word anatomy" is commonly di-
vided Into two parts OF which the first does
duty as the indefinite article. parallel cass
occurs in Shakespeare q Hen ~, v -:
Thou starved bloodhound thou atomy
thoul'
Child" is used as the feminine Of "boy" az in
1.-THE Winters Tale" iii. 3, "A boy or Il child,
wonder" Clean retains its Scriptural sense
OF utterly. entirely" as in Psalm XVI > 1
am clean forgotten" The dotterel, "a bird whose
alleged simplicity leads it into the fowlers net
while mlmicking his actions, passes its name on
10 an old fool in his dotage Possibly the WORD
"dotty" is derived from the same source Dout
for do out" and "douter an eXtlngulshtr are
the correlatives Of don" and "dOf. Flank-
ers" which is used the short for SPARKS
probably comes from the Danish "hunke"
Flaw has the same meaning az Ia SNAKE
gust OF wind SO also "frore' means Frozen
as in Paradise Lost" Book II.
THE parching air
Burns frore. and cold performs the ehe" OK
fire"
Parliamentary candidates are reminded mar
the process Of heckling comes from an hs,Iu-
ment used for separating the coarse parI VI ad
from the fine In Newfoundland, "hackle, ana
even cross hackle" signify the treatment OF
witness in a law court when IN a slH"ai uh
enviable positlon Hat" rs used In the sense Oh
clamp" as IN parts Of Scotland "here IL "
iad lof O
Gus heap or collection. The good ana convenient
word "heft" still nourishes across the water
and Lancashire readers VIII have no dlhlCnlly
In recognizing "JOnnlck & Janhock hoI.'Ts'
reliable and SO forth). "Leary' has the sig.in-
cation Of hungry" or faint as IN Old Eng
fish and is obviously OF German eXtracilOn
rgeer' - empty) Time fails US 70 go through
thr extensive list supplied by DR.. Patterson, nut
We may quote 'midered Tor WORRIED,
"mouch" to play truant. or to shlrk one VOTE,
"perney" presently" OF drectv' Don'
Latin "perniK' quick nimble. or active (com-
pare paradise Lost" Book VI: PernlcloGe
with one touch TO hreO; "robustious as IN
samson Agonlstes'. "ructions, which needs no
examination: "yarry." an adVerb connected with
the ''Yare yare good Iras, quick" OF antony
and Cleopatra" " >, az typical specimens ~
is particularly noticeable that every ouJe't ~
regarded as masculine OF feminine q man WIN
saw OF his head "he aches" and so on rms
custom has mercfully fallen into disuse among
US but s likely to be forever rampant III ne
awful German language as Mark Twain terms
Among verbs the Newfoundland custom is
aIso some centuries behind our own. They say
"sove" and dove" for saved" and dyed"
RUINED" for ran" hurried" for hurt and so
on Wasp" a. might be expected retains me
Anglo Saxon interchange OF the TWO hhaI Iet-
ters Among examples OF perverted or mis-
taken uses of words the following IS too GOOD
10 be omitted Or Patterson says. We have
heard a good janitor Of church having ms lceh
inps hurt by being obliged to use antlchrist
coal Anthracite" would have expressed ms
meaning more correctly.