Yola (language)
Yola, historically the Forth and Bargy dialect, is a revived Anglic language once spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy in County Wexford, Ireland. It is thought to have evolved from Middle English, which was brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion, beginning in 1169. As such, it was similar to the Fingallian dialect of the Fingal area. Both became functionally extinct in the 19th century, when they were replaced by modern Hiberno-English, although Yola was not officially extinct until the death of the last speaker, a local fisherman of Kilmore Quay named Jack Devereux in  1998. The name "Yola" means "old" in the language. History. The language was spoken in County Wexford, particularly in the baronies of Forth and Bargy. This was the first area English-speakers came to in the Norman invasion of Ireland, supporting the theory that it evolved from the Middle English introduced in that period. As such it is thought to have been similar to Fingallian, which was spoken in the Fingal region north of Dublin. 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 through Gaelicisation. After this point, Yola and Fingallian were the only attested relicts of this original form of English. Modern English was widely introduced by British colonists during and after the 17th century, forming the basis for the modern Hiberno-English of Ireland. The new varieties were notably distinct from the surviving relict dialects. As English continued to spread, both Yola and the 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 anglicized. The speech of Forth and Bargy was the only kind in Ireland included in Alexander John Ellis's work "On Early English Pronunciation Volume V", which was the earliest survey of “dialects of English”. The phonetics of the language were taken from a local reverend. Revival and use after the mid 19th century. Though Yola ceased to be used as a means of daily communication post 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 as Kathleen Browne's letter to Ireland dated to 10 April 1893. 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 language 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 the last native speaker of the language, and at said memorial a rendition of  the Lord's Prayer, translated into Yola was read. The Yola Farm has since closed down but there have been efforts beginning in 2021 of reopening it. Wikitongues also has a section dedicated to Yola on their website which hosts language documentation and revitalization resources. There also exists various groups focused on reviving the Yola language. Phonology. As in the Dutch language, in southwestern varieties of English and (to a lesser extent) in German, most voiceless fricatives in Yola became voiced. The Middle English vowels are well-preserved, having only partially and sporadically undergone the changes associated with the Great  Vowel Shift. One striking characteristic of Yola was the fact that stress shifted to the second syllable of words in many instances: ' "morsel", ' "hatchet", ' "dinner", ' "reader", "" "wedding", etc. Pronunciation. Consonants: Vowels: Grammar. Pronouns. Yola pronouns were similar to Middle English pronouns. Articles. The definite article was at first "a" or "ee", which was later replaced by "the". Verb. Yola verbs had some conservative characteristics. The second and third person plural endings were sometimes -eth as in Chaucerian English. The past participle retained the Middle English "y" prefix as "ee". Nouns. Some nouns retained the "-en" plural of ME "children", such  as "been" 'bees' and "tren" 'trees'. Vocabulary. The glossary compiled by Jacob Poole provides most of what is known about the Forth and Bargy vocabulary. Poole was a farmer and member of the Religious Society of Friends 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 Anglo-Saxon in origin, Yola contains many borrowings from Irish and French. Modern South Wexford English. Diarmaid Ó Muirithe travelled 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'. Examples. A Yola song. The following is a song in Yola with a rough translation into English. Address to Lord Lieutenant in 1836. Congratulatory address in the dialect of Forth and Bargy, presented to the Earl of Mulgrave, 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 Edmund Hore wrote: Section::::"The maiden of Rosslare". This following is a Yola poem from an original document containing accents to aid pronunciation;