It seems to differ from its numerous synonyms by
the suggestion of what we call a muddle: that is an active wrangling
which has become inextricably confused.
SURVIVALS IN LANCASHIRE SPEECH
Mr. Ernest Stenhouse sends us notes on Tract II, from which we extract
the following:
'_Poll_ (= to cut the hair) is still familiar in Lancashire. _Tickle_
(unstable) is obsolescent but not yet obsolete. As a child I often
heard _meterly_ (= moderately): e.g. _meterly fausse_ (? false) =
moderately cunning. It may still be in use. _Bout_ (= without = A.S.
butan) is commonly heard.
'The words tabulated in Tract II, p. 34, and the following pairs are
not homophones in Lancashire: stork, stalk; pattern, patten; because
although the _r_ in stork and pattern is not trilled as in Scotland,
it is distinctly indicated by a modification of the preceding vowel,
somewhat similar to that heard in the _[(or]e_ words (p. 35).
'Homophony may arise from a failure to make distinctions that are
recognized in P.S.P. Thus in Lancashire the diphthong sound in _flow_,
_snow_, _bone_, _coal_, _those_, &c., is very often pronounced as a
pure vowel (cf. French _eau_, _mot_): hence confusion arises between
_flow_ and _flaw_, _sow_ and _saw_, _coal_ and _call_: both these
vowel sounds tending to become indistinguishable from the French
_eau_.'
FEASIBLE
_Feasible_ is a good example of a word which appears in danger of
being lost through incorrect and ignorant use.
Pages:
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71