Page:The ancient language, and the dialect of Cornwall.djvu/77

Cornish forms of expression, and thought, to be found in the writings of Chaucer, seems evident from the compari- sons and quotations from that poet, as given further on. It is difficult to say what was the exact pronunciation of English 500 years ago when Chaucer wrote, but it is startling to find so many words common to him, and to the Cornish dialect of the present day, and judging by the rhyme, after making due allowance for the poet's license, pronounced in the same manner. In the Cornish pronunciation we commonly find that i is pronounced like e, as selvei' for silver ; the e like ai, as raide for read ; the a like aa, as traade for trade ; the o like aw, as awnly for only ; the s like z, as zaid for said ; the u like oo, as oogly for ugly ; the / like v, as vaather for father, and the g is almost always dropped at the end of a word, as writin for writing, settin for sitting. There are other differences also; the miner may be said to speak more broadly than the husbandman, and to more fre- quently use aw for o, and v for /. There is a frequent use of the word do; instead of saying, / know, it is, / do know, or, as in the western dialect, / de knaw; the Cornishman in saying, "I do know," does not use the word do with emphasis, as in ordinary English ; and also for / think the western man will say, / de theenk, which in the eastern dialect is expressed by " semmee to me." In such words as thick, thing, and thin, the th is pronounced not like d, or like th, but in a manner half- way between the two. The vowel is doubled, or prolonged,