eN ISSN 0079-9335

RLS

REGIONALLANGUAGESTUDIES ...NEWFOUNDLAND

Number 16June, 1999

Dedicated to the Memoryof

G.M. Story1927-1994

Memorial University of NewfoundlandDepartment of English Language and Literature

St. John's, Newfoundland

Copyright © 1999 by the Department of English Language and Literature.Memorial University of Newfoundland. Reproduction without the express writ­ten permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

CN ISSN 0079-9335

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editori.1 - (O.S.) 1

Words, Phrases and Pronunciations Used in Trouty(Trinity Bight, Trinity Bay) -

Clarence Drown DewIing,& Graham Shofrocks ,.2

Tribute - Oeorge Morley Story (1927-1994)-Melvin Baker et 01 . ...22

Revic\ys , 24

T.F. Hoad, ed., The Con,cise Oxford Dictionary ·oI·English Etymology- rev. by Franyois Chevillet

C.B. McCully, A Dictionary ofFly-Fishing: A Guide toils Language alld History - rev. by Clive Upton

Peter Trudgill, Dialects .. rev. by Fafouk Bouhadiba

TIlesjs Abstracts ..

Books Available ...

.. 31

.. 36

Memorial University of Newfoundland FolkJoreand Language Publication Series , 38

REGIONAL LANGUAGE STUDIES - NEWI'OUNDJJAND

Number 16

June, 1999

Editor: Graham SholTock!>

Regional Language Studies is primarily intended to promote the study of thevarieties of English spoken ill Newfoundland and Labrador. It also aims tospread information about other languages spoken in the province, and about thelinguistic research carried out here, We publish articles, reviews, bibliographies,notices, notes and queries, and are interested in work - wheUlcr synchronic ordiachronic - at al11inguistic levels (phonology, tllOl}lhology, syntax, and lexis).Regional and social dialects, specialised vocabularies (occupational dialects). andonomastics are of particular interest. We are also concerned with tile folklore,folk-life and materifll culture of tbe speech communities of the province.Contdhutions of a more general character may be included from time to time.

Regional LQ/l.guage Stu.dies is published by the Department of English Languageand Literature at Memorial University. Submissions and other correspondenceshould be addressed to Graham Shorrocks, Department of English Language andLiterature, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland,AIC 5S7, Canada. Readers are invited to submit the names of scholars whomight be interested ill receiving Regional Language Sfudies, or the llames oflibraries aJld other institutions.

The present issue is dedicated to the memory of G.M. Story (1927-1994), wholaid the groundwork for the modern study of Newfoundland dialects witlJ aninfluential series of short articles beginning in tlm second half of the 1950s. ItcOlltains a glossary of words find phrases from Trouty (Trinity Bight, TrinityBay), complied by Clarence Dewling. In addition, we present a review of aninteresting glossary of fly-fishing terminology, reviews of two other recentworks, abstracts of a number of theses, and a revised list of tlle MemorialUniversity of Newfoundland Folklofl? and Language Publication Series.

In "Common Names of 1)1811ts in Newfoundland" (see RLS 11 (Aug" 1987): 1­20), Peler J. Scolt recorded gillcQp and gillycup for 'buttercup', He comparedOlese Newfoundland forms 10 Devonshire's gil~cu.]J and gilty-cup {p. 8). JosephWright, in his English Dia.lect Dictiona.I)1 .(1898-1905), recorded various formsfor Devon, D01'set, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire: gil-CUp, gilt~cup, gUtell­cup, cUtin-cup, ciltillg~cllp, giffy'cup, gild~cup, gUdi"g~cu]J. See under gilt~CUl'.

In an informal publication about Dorsetshire life, we find gilly cups 'buttercups',evidently very much as in Newfoundland. See Leonard Studley's My Stor)'.Nigh Eighty Years in fhe Bl'oadwindsor Area qfthe Hill Count,y afWest Dor.sel~

The [luthor, circa 1988, p. 315.

WORDS, PHRASES AND PRONUNCJATIONS USEDIN TROUTY (TRINITY BIGHT, TRINITY BAY)

Compile<J by

Clorence Drown J)ewling

Edited, with Additions, & Phonetic, Grammatical & Other Notes by

Gruham ShoJ'l"ocJ{S

INTRODUCTION

Trinity Bight is an iudentation of Trinity Bay into the south side of the Bon8vistaPeninsula on Newfoundland's East Coast. 1 The Bight is bounded on tile eRst byThe Horsechops and, sixteen or so kilometers to the west, by Bonaventure Head.

Around this bite-shaped Bight are more than a dozen outports, whose historicalfoundati.ons were based on the inshore cod fishery of the mid-17th century.Similar interests have brought them to present limes. Settlers from 80utl1-WestEngland, Dorset in particular, began populating the harbours in great numbers inthe latter part of the 18th century.

These conul1unities grew into stTOllgly-rooted, independent units - each strivingnot only to survive, but to be betLer than any of the olhers. bIter-village contactwas limited by distance, lack of a fast, convenient means of transport and'theever~present, nOl-so-Utrivial round and common task". The younger people weregiven to courting and going to dances in the next community. The older folkwere content to visit their relatives up and down the shore, and to tmde WitJI themerchants and see the doctor at Trinity. Trinity was the one comlllon factor andcentral adliullistrntive and transportational hub of the Bight.

Each harbour developed its own diaiect; and each would make fUll of its neigh N

bour's "misuse" of what it considered proper English. No modern~day linguistwould be as dogmatic or as harsh about variations in (Jle Queen's English as were

1. The compiler Ilnd editor tllke pleasure illllcknowledging the uscful comments on all earli­cr droft made by Dr. William J. Kirwin, Prof. ElilCr!lus in tIle Deparllllcnl of English LangUllgeand Ulemlure, Memorial University of Newfoundhllld. We also thank ProT. RoberL Hol~eu. of theslime deparLment, for his comments on several entries. Such deficiencies as remain [Ire; of course,Oul' responslbiliLy, and nollhelrs.

4

these neighbours of ours. Differences developed, but generally these were inpronunciation and n nU~j'e handful of meanings; throughout the Bight, peopleunderstood one Rnother's speech without Ole least bit of difficulty. At Trouty, wedid not 1)1'011000ce tea to rhyme wilh bay, And we did not "drop our h's"; but wetalked extra fast, did not always sound our final consonants, and we did not knowbut thnt the "th~sounds" were good to eat.

Trouty has a population of under one hundred now and. even in its heyday, neverhad 1110re than two hundred. There seem to have been few Irish settlers In thearea generally, and Ulerc is 110 Roman Catholic church in Trouty itself.

This list has been compiled principaIly from direct observation of tbe speech ofmy mother, Lily (Brown) Dewlillg, who wns born in 1919, and who is a native ofTrouty, as were her parents before her. In smaller measure, it comes from allthose marvellous people with whom I share both roots and dreams. I was b0111 in1935, lived in Tl'Outy for the next twenty years, and remained in regular contactafter moving to Mount Pearl, before eventually returning home again. Myglossary is based in particular on focussed listening during the period 1990~1996.

TIle illustrative quotations are made~up sentences.

Note on Spelling: Dialect respellillgs nre, of course, somewhat arbitrary, and canonly suggest pronunciation. Thus, a word such as coaby might· equally well bespelt coby or cobey.

Readers are welcome to send any comments, additions, further examples, orcorrections to the Editor.2

ABBREVIATIONS & SYMBOLS

abr.adj.adv.arch.aux.Can.cL'clit:.cm.deg. mod.

abridgedadjective, adjectivaladverb, adverbialarchaicauxiliaryCanadiancOl~fer Ccompare')dille, cliticisedcentimeterdegree modifier (degree adverb I intensifier I qualifier)

2. Some words lind phrases in lhe glossary would counllls standard, 01' borderline stand~

ard, on just aboul any reckoning, but have been left in, as there Il1lty be a difference ill frequency ofusage, 01' itl collocation. This onen proves lo be the elise, when two varletles are compared (Ed.).

del.di'1.D.N.E.

D.N.B. II

E.D.D.

e.g,eSI)·etc.gen.Le,joe.mod,n.neg.obs.a.E.D.1I

pej.perll.phLphL v.1'1.pass.1'.1'.prep.pron.provo camp.sb.S.B.U.S.v.v.Lv.L

deteTllilnerdinleclDictionary of Ne11:fOlmdlrmd English = Story, Kirwin andWiddowson (cds.) (1982)Dictioi~ary of Nel1~rolJndlalldEltglish. Second EdWall. withSupplement =- Story, J(jnViJ1811d Widdowson {cds.) (1:990)The English Dialect DJcriollQl)' = Joseph Wright (ed,) (1898·1905)exempli gratia ('for example')especiallyet cetera ('aud so forth')gener,l(iy)id est Ctllat is')jocul,r(ly)modifiernounnegative(Jy)obsoleteThe Oxford En.glish Diction.ary, 2nd edn. = Simpson andWeiner (eds.) (1989).pejorative(ly)perlwpsphrasephrasal verbpluralpossessivepast participle (·ed participle)prepositionpronounproverbial comparisonsubstantiveStandard EnglishUnited States (of America)verbintransitive verbtransitive verb

The phonetic symbols used here are those of tIm Alphabet of the lnteruntionalPhonetic Association (I.P,A).

Italicised fonlls in 111e example sentences arc nonstandard words or phrases thatappear as entries elsewhere ill the glossary.

REFERENCES

Comilley, Rosemary. 1983. Longman Dictiol1a1Y ofPhrasal Verbs. Burnt Mill(Harlow): Longman OTanj) Limited.

Fanner, John S[tcphcn] all~ W[illifUl1] E[rnest] Henley (camps. and cds.). 1890~

1904. Slang an.d its Analogues, Past alld Present. A Dictionary lilli/orical andComparative of the Heterodox Speech of All Classes of Society for More thanThree Hundred Years. With Synonyms in. English, French, German, Italian, etc,7 voIs. London. [RepubJ. in 7 vols. New York: Kraus Reprint Corpol'Eltion,1965. The rev. and enl. edn. of Vol. I (first publ. in 2 Purls, 1903 and 1909) wasreissued, with Intro~uctjOJ1S by Lee Revens and G. Legman. New York:University Books, 1966.]

HawJdns, Joyce M. and Robert Allen (cds.). 1991. The"Oxford EncyclopedicEnglish Dictionm)'. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

SimpSOll, l.A. and E[dmund] S.C. Weiner (eds.). 1989. The O>.jol'd EnglishDictionary. Ed. [SirJ James A[ugustJ H[emyJ Murray et a1. 2nd edn. Preparedby J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Story, G[eorge] M[orley], W[illiam] J. Kirwin and l[ohn] D[avid] A[llison]Widdowson (eds.). 1982. Dictionary of Newfoundland English. [1st edn.JToronto: Univ. of Toronto Press. .

1990. Secolld Editi01l with Supplement. Toronto, etc.: Univ. of TorontoPress; St. John's, NF: Breakwater..

Wright. Joseph (ed.). l898H 1905. The E1lglish Dialect Dictionary. Being theComplete Vocabulmy ofAll Dialect Words Still in Use, or Known to have Beenin Use During the Last Two Hundred Years. Founded on the Publications of theEllglish Dial,ect Society and all a Large Amount of Material Never BeforePrinted. 6 vols. Loudon and Oxford: Henry Frowde, Publisher to the EnglishDialect Soc.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. [Repr. Oxford Univ.'Press, 1961.]

THE GLOSSARY

a [e.g1, ggJ] (det.) either. [See in D.N.E. under e'er.] "I wanted corn st1lrch andan egg to make the dessert, and I didn't have a one of them."

ass Eros) (u.) a piece of line that loosely attaches a 1'01)e to the ring in the shank ofa graple so that, if Ole graple is fouled on the bottom, then' the line can be bl'Okenby the people in Ole boat. and the l'Ope will then be able to lift from its attachmentto the claws of the graple. "Each spring, Old Denny would personally pick outthe twine that we were to use for the ass on each and evelY graph~."

bacJe in the complex prep. in bacJe of 'behind'. (POl' nil example, see undermollygrubs.)

bJnsty bough (n.) a dead, dry branch of fir or spruce, which burns fiercely,wHo a crackling sound, when llsed as kindling.

bl'cnstwodt (n.) a pike-like wooden suppo1't to the side(s) of a wharf or roadwhere Ulcre is the danger of erosion. ICf. E.D.D. breastwork under breast sh.,for similar meanings associated with llHlsonry; and breast: v., sense 3, 'to repair01' Sb"cngthen a hedge'.] "Harry got three weeks' work that summer, when theyput the breastwork on the inside side of the government wharf."

bl;ew (v.i.) (1) to carryon in a silly manDer for a ]ledod of time that isnoticeable, the result of which might be n hiding or a beating; (2) to net silly as anindication of Ule approach of windy or other had weather. (1) "Now, my laddie,you're brewing for a bang in the head, if you don't stop this carrying 011 rightaway." (2) "CoUn must be brewing for bad weather - he hasn't stopped laugh­ing the whole day." I.e., he is asking 'for it to happen; he is possessed by some­thing that is makhlg him behave thus (as with young children in windy weather).

bun up (v.i.) to shrink, to retract or conceal one's limbs or otller extremities, soas to occupy the smallest space, esp. against the cold. {Not in a.E.D. II, E.D.D.or D.N.E. Perll. an ahr. form of bundle up, which has the obs. meaning 'tocollect, or gather into a mass' (cf. a.E.D. II).] "When the wind blew stronger,we would go behInd Ole big rock and bUll up." Hence bunnell up (p.p. as adj.)doubled over to protect the extremities against the elements. "We found tlleyoung lambs bUBued up behind tlle manure shed." "The boys stuffed tlleil' handsinto their pockets and bunned up against the sleet."

bunt (n.) the straight, vertical section of the back of a cod trap, where the fishare finally b."upped and taken aboard I1le boat. The bUilt: is made up of Ull"ec-to­four-inch mesh, so as to prohibit all but the smallest of tom cods from goingthrough. [ef. E.D.D. under bunt sb.4, sense 2, 'the bagging part of a fishing­net'.] "Because 11m bUilt was old and the weight of the haul was so heavy, thewhole thing broke from the head ropes."

busker (n.) (I) a person who finds ways to provide for the family even indifficult situations; (2) a person, etc., physically bigger than usual for a certainstage of development - used esp. when referrlllg to a young boyar a domesticanimal. (1) IlShe never had much to WOITY about, even ill the worst of times ­her husband was such a busker." (2) "That ram was n big busker fcom themoment he was born."

butter box (n.) n box of wood or, later, corrugated cardboard to hold twenty­four olle-pound blocks of wrapped margarine; Any box of comparable size.

"Before the day wns over, Sophie bnd picked a butter-boxful of berries fromSkiJ11ler's Marsh."

buy A pig from in the expression, You wouldn't buy n pig from himtodRy. (See under pig.)

christen A fah'Y (phr.) gen. used pej,.in the expression not enough to .... Asmall amoullt of liquid, like tea, or wnsh water; an amount of liquid that is notsufficient. "Sure, there's not enough water ill the bucket to christen a fairy."

coaby (n.) a person who is l)robably old, without family, m, and somewhatdestitute. "What a poor old coabyl He has to go home now to a cold and emptyhouse."

cod trap or trap (n.) a special kind of fixed fjshiIig~gear used in Newfoundlandin tlle inshore cod fishery. [See further in D.N.E.]

conceited as n punt's piggin (prov. camp.) unnecessarHy proud; vain.. "SinceBertha has been working in St. John's, she's been going alOund as conceited as apunt's piggin."

cramp (v.) to cast a speil; to interfere and I or change the normal course ofevents. "We all tllOught that Aunt Sally could cramp and, when we opened thebox of raisins and it contained nothing but emmets, we knew it for sure."

cross d' stuff, cross da stuff (adj. pIn.) cranky; hard to get along with;bothered and troubled with someUling; difficult to talk to and reason with; on tllewarpath. Also glossed as You wouldn't buy a pig from him today. "Mary Janewas cross da stuff all day, until she remembered tlmt young June might have hadsome baking powder to loan her."

dell (n.) (1) the space in bottom or"a fishing boat where bilgeMwater collects; (2)a call to ducks. [In D.N.E. under dill.]

devil's limb ·(n.) a person who is capable' of attempting to do all SOllS of thingsfor tricks and fun. [Cr. E.D.D.: 'an imp; a tiresome, troublesome person'.]"Lloyd was the devil's limb, Remember the ti!ne he convinced Btlggy~Assed

George, that there was only one end to a piece of rope that ihey were coiling up?"

didoes (n. pl.) ['datdouz] (I) an unconttolled display of temper or Rnger; (2)pleasure, [Cr. RD.D.: dido 'n disturbance, noise, a fuss'; and pI. 'tricks, antics,eccentric feats'; Q.E.D. II: dial. and U.S. slan.g 'n prank, a caper; a disturbance,"row", "sbilldy".] (1) "By the time his mother got there, he was in his didoes­rolling and kicking on the floor, and cursing on everyone on this side of theharbour." (2) "That was just Jim's didoes, to know his brother was to got the full

blame for the open gatc. n le., a gate had been len open, Animals had got out, Andthen Ole mother was annoyed. One of the boys, at least as much to blame as theallIer, derives pleasure from his bralher's misfortune in having to take the blame.

dip (v.) to transfer fish from one holding area to another. e.g. from trap to boaLHence dill in and dlp·nct. [See furtller in D.N.E. under dip (v.) and dip-ncL]Also, to scoop up, or bale, of water out of a boaL

dish·pan (n.) ft pan in which dishes, etc., are wAshed. [O.E.D. U has Olecompound chamcterised as U.S.]

dobby (n.) a bun; n small muffin. "By bedtime, there was not a dobby lcftstanding from the four dozen that Lou had made thaI morning."

dougllboy (n.) a dumpling (flour, water and bakIng powder are mixed to aconsistency where you eRn roll Ule dough into small balls WiUl tile hand, or spoonit out, aud place tJle mixture on top of SOUl) or vegetables in a pot of boilingwater). [Contrast the meaning of 'bread dough rolled Ulin, cut into shapes, anddeep-fried' in some U.S. and Can. dials.]

down (adj.) an onshore (wind), probably strong and moisture-laden. "TIle windbas been down all morning." Hence down wind a moisture-laden wind blowingonshore (roughly souUI-east). and providing no good weather for drying fish orcalm water for boals or around wharves. nyou should know fuat a down windbrings a surf around shore.n

drawed (v.) past tense and p.p. of draw. as in" draw out. "We had drawed outevery rusty nail that we could find. n

dribbly (adj.) like a dribble. dribbling, as of a small amount of water flowing ina small drain or over a sloping rock. "TIle only water we had that summer wasfrom a little dribbly brook up behind Aunt Deb's lilac tree."

(lrove (p.p.) driven.

dry (adj.) baving a sense of humor or wry wit. "My gosh, be was some dry: hecould make tbe ca181augh, be could I"

eors (n. pI.) enr-flaps that can be let down from outside or inside a cap to coverthe ears and protect tJlem from frost. "As soon as Abel started watking on thepond that February morning, he bad ~ tie down Ws ears and lean into tJlC bitingwind." .

car",inker (n.) (1) an ear-nap on a cap. a winker (see also under cars); (2) anearwig; centipede. (2) "111e girls didn't like looking under the rocks for wonns,

10

as often they would find earwinkcl's. TIlcn the girls would run off, shivering andscreaming."

envy, covy [hvi] (adj.) describes fin icy pnl"l1 that is easy to walk on, beCftllSC theSUIl has melted a layer of lee beneath the colder transparent top layer. Walkingon this causes the top' layer to crumble and to give good traction. It makes anoise, nod one can move over H quickly on a sleigb.3 "We made good timecoming home t118t evening, as tlle path was eavy."

emmet (n.) an ant. [The word is now arch. in S.E.]

faint away (v.i.) to faint. "Maggie was looking very pale and glary-eyed.knew tbat she was going to faint away."

rceded (v.) past tonse and p.p. of feed. [Listed in E.D.D.] "Have you reeded thehens yet?" "The dog is out there, waiting to be feeded."

flake (n.) a platform built on poles for drying cod on the shore.

flamer (n.) au idle, impish person - gen. a child. Synonym of ghost (seebelow). "As soon as his mother's back was turned, the liUle'fIanlcr was hookin.gat the stove." (Children were warned to be careful about hooking at the stove,because tile bot embers were dangerous, and it was parti(;~l1arly dangerous for achild to do tJlis unsupervised. See under hooI{. and hookel', below.)

gaits (n. pI.) idiosyncratic behaviour of little and passing importance; larks,larking about, fun. [In E.D.D., see under gate sb.2, sense 16 'fun, "goings on ll

,

larksl' The present respelling is cross-referenced.] Across the train station, amother was trying to feed her two-year-old. As he continually moved his headfmm side to side to avoid the spoon, the mother would Gust as continually) say,"Now, stop your gaits."

gap (n.) n narrow opening to a valley. "I bad no sooner rcached the gap, when 1saw the tree with tile perfect knee on the side of the hill above me." [Knee hererefers to the root of a tree that can be cut out to make a rib for II boat. You lookfor them on a hillside, where the sturdy root will be visible.]

3. TI,ere is an old word, eel" or eefe 'easy', which was one of the words singled out byStalluyhurst ("History of Ireland," 1577) to show "the survival of archaic English in the Pale andparticularly in the County of Pord and Bargy (modem County Wexford)" (see Manfred Gorlnch,"Ellrly Modem English Dictionaries," New Studies ill flte Ilisfory of Ellglish, AnglislischePorschungen 232, Heidelberg: Ullivcl'si!II.LsvCrlllg C. Winter, 1995, p. 88). E.D.D. gives eat1l(y)'easy', n word restricted \0 Scotland flnd the far N0I1h, lind described as beIng obs. or obsolescentat the time, as well as the variant eefc for Wexford. .

11·

galle (v.) [gclp] (1) to gasp, gen. in the expresslon gape for breath; (2) toyawn. (1) "The pOOl' dog was lying there at the end of this bloody big piece ofrope, lind gaping for breath In tbe hot SUIl." (2) "When bedtime came, we allbegan to gape. II

gel' I gcrt (dog. mod.; adj.) great. AF. n deg. mod., gen. followed by big."Mally had a get big welt all his elbow, where the wop stung."

gHguys (n. pI.) a person's possessions or actions that are considered asnonsensical or uJlnecessary by oUlcrs. "Gcl. into your room and pick up thecomics und the other playthings," she growled at her twenty-yeur-old, "you're oldenough and ugly enough to give up olltbe gilguys now,"

ghost (n.) an idle, impish persoll - gen. a child. Synonym of flamer (secabove). "You dirty little ghostl Stop wilJing your nose in your coatsleevel"

glary·eyc(l Cadj.) with a fixed, unfocussed stare, not comprehending. "After tJJCnoise upstairs, Maud sat on tJJe edge of her bed and looked glary-eyed at tlleblackened window."

gone (1'.1'. as adj.) (1) looking like one who has experienced a lot of sickness and!or other troubles; gaunt jn features [Cf. RD.D. under gone, sense 5, 'tJlin,wasted, emaciated' (though this meaning was only recorded for Cai[thness]).]; (2)longing for. (1) "1 seen Elam today for tlte first time ill months. He lookedgone, fair gone." (2) "After the long winter, we were gone for a meal of freshfish." [This meaning is not given in E.D.D.] Also from (1) gone away (p.p. asadj.) having lost a lot of weight. Often followed by the phr. to notbing."Elfreda was out here today. My dear, she is gone away to nothing."

gralJIe ['gJelpal] (n.) a light ancbor. A graple has five claws or flukes, whereasan anchor has only two flukes. [D.N.E. does not make that particular distinction.A bought, metal graple may have five flukes, and an anchor two; however, ahomemade graple might have a different number of claws, e.g. four (Ed.).]

greens (11. pI.) cabbage, even "salted" cabbage (in winter); turnip tops. (Turnipgreens may actually come from plants other than turnips.) "We used to have asmall mesh net that Arch once knit for liS, and we used to boil our greens inthaLI!

hAlf-cut (adj.) moderately intoxicated. Synonym of hnlf~ol1.- [E.D.D. gives cutas meaning 'somewhat drunk, tipsy', and as obs.; note also half-cocked 'half~

dlUllk'. T-Ja{f·cut is quite widely used in Britain - e.g. jn Lnncashire and GreaterManchester County - and is not obs. Hawkins and Allen (1991) categorise it asBr[itish] sl[ang].] "I tell you, he was never too shy to try or do anything when hewns half-cuL"

12

hnlf~on (adj.) synonym of hAlf~cut, [Not recorded in E,D.D. nor in D.N.E. n.]

halllJl1cl'~ding~doJ1g Cadv.) with no holds barred (of n fight, either physical orverbal). "When they were first l1Huried, Ches and Diana used to hnve it hammer­ding-dong over every little thing that went wfong."

heavy (adj,) of a type .of weaUlcr wiU1 tllUnder and lightning. "Without a doubt,we were in for some heavy weather - Grand had been complaining of her shoul­der all day, and now the sky to the western was getting black find threatening,"

helf (n.) llte wooden handle of a tool such as a hammer, axe, or maul. [Cf.E.D.D.: h;lf'lhe haft or handle of such tools as lUI axe, mattock, etc., a "helve"'.J"The d,ogwood heIr of the maul continued to split as it dried."

bcn~JlUssy (n.) a person who is over-protected by clothitl;g and I or bushy hair;who is too heavily attired. [Contrast RD.D.: 'a woman who looks after poultry;a meddlesome, officious person'.] "There she was, sitting with her feet on theoven door, with a quilt around her shoulders and wheezlllg her lungs out - areal hen-hussy, if I ever saw one."

hen's egg (n.). This telm was used, complete with its pass, mod., even when noother type of egg might corne into consideration. (Duck's eggs were rare, andseabird eggs were almost never eaten, in lIle past.) "1 had three hen's eggs forbreakfast." "He hit his head on the door jamb, and had a lump on his head as bigas a hen's egg."

home (adv.) at home. (See under taffdy for an example.)

llOok (v.) poke with a hooker. (See next entry.)

hooker (n.) an iron tool for moving wood around in a stove. [The v. (cf.previous entry) could relate to huck v.3 in E.D.D. The n. does not seem to havebccnl'ecorded wiUl this specific meaning in other dictionaries.]

hug-me-tight (n.) a type of wide shawl wilh sleeves. Cf. more-moqern bolero."Aunt GraCe U1l'ew on her hug-me-tight, stuck a couple of additional combs inher hair and went, with a swirl, through the door." .

ice candle (n.) an icicle. "When we broke off the ice candle and began to suckon it, we remembered that the old mall had tarred the roof only a few monthsbefore."

in over (complex prep.) over.

junk (n.) n small log for the fire or stove.

13

kiln}) (n.) a knob; l\ smail, rounded IAn standing alone. "How grand it was tosumd 011 the tOJ) of the .khnp and look out over the harbour, after we had pickedthe biggest blueberries. II

Imightcl' (n.) someone quick in movement, impish. [Cf. E.D.D.: kniglHle'skillful, active, nimble'.] "1 can tell you, that she was one lit.tJe knighter inschool. There was nothing too bad for her to do."

knit [net] (v.) knitted.

Inggy (n.) see under tom cod.

IAmpers (n,) ['lremp::uz) an equine gum disease, in which the gums extend tocover, Of partiaUy cover, the tcelh.4 The "cure" for the disorder was to burnthem off with a heated iron rod. [Definitely pronounced with a retroflex IE,D.D.: 'n disease in a horse's mouth.'] "Old Bess is not eating. llhink she gotthe lampers; we're going to have to burn UJelll off."

latch onto (phr. v.) to get the idea or notiol1 of. [Given in COUl~J1ey (1983) as"Br[itish] E[nglish], not fllll. [forIll81J".] "As sOOl~ as she latched onto turning tJleheel, she could manage knitting three pail's of stockings a week."

ICAUlcru (adj.) used to describe a bat (the noctumal mammal); used conjointly(n.) to designate the nocturnal bat. [Recorded in E.D.D.] "Never wear anythingwhite on your head at night in Ole summer, because' the leathern~bals win comedown and get tangled ill your hair."

ICCI'Y (adj,) (1) describing someone in the early stages of hunger; (2) suspicious.(1) "Little Jimmy hadn't eaten since early Illoming, and now the growing lad wasfeeling a little leery." (2) "We were all leery of talking about politics in fTOnt ofthe newly 81Tived gentleman."

leggy (n.) see under tOIll cod,

Jicl{-(cr-sIllRltcr (Ildv. phr.) fighting, running, working WiOl a maximum ofenergy. [ct. E.D.D.: lick for smack 'as fast as possible' (under lick, sense 9).]"When we saw him llluning down the hill All lick-fer-smatter, WWI his raglantailJ; flying out behind him and his gaiters unbuckled, we knew (hat somethingwas wrong."

Iillick (0.) a small portion or piece; a fiddick [liddick - rare - is given in theD.N.E. under liU:ocks]. Gen. preceded by a neg., as not It lillick. "When OldJClTY had finished eating, there was not a lilUck left in the boiler,"

4. The tcchnlcnluume is lumpns. However, the Trouty version is !>l'OllOUlleea Wltll/r/.

14

limb out (v.t.) to ship out, to cut off the branches and tops from trees that havealready been cut down.

linnet (n,) twine; a section of neUing.

Jook~lIp (u.) a prospect; a look-out. [Cr. E.D.D.: 'prospect, futurc,.OllIJook',]"It had t.o be the fisherman's own look-UI) to see that the mcrclumt did nOl cheathim, when the fish was being weighed."

lllo)JygJ'11bs (n. pI.) (in the pIll'. in her I his moJlygrubs) a sulking fit. (Cr.E.D.D.: molligrubs, etc., under lI1ullygl'ubs'a fit of ill temper or of sulks; anill-natured, sulky person'.] "There was Old Sal, half way up tbe hill in ba,ck ofthe alder bushes in her mollygrubs."

muckJc (v'.t.) to embrace awkardly and VigOrollSly, in fUll. "I always hated forUncle Alf to visit, be~ause he'd always muckJe llOor molher and me for a kiss."

un (del.) [IlU(J), nUll, l1~lJ, IIlt~:u, etc.] neither; no;. not a; not one. Antonym of a."The weather was almost upou us, and we had na junk of wood for the fue."

l1ighter (n.) see under I<nighter.

off of (complex prep.) off.

off~willd (n.) a wind blowing (TOm the land to the sea - such a wind is gen.dry. "We'111et the fish stay in tile store for now but, all the next day timt thewind is off, we'll shu!! em out for an hour or so."

out (prep.) out of.

palllc [pmm] (n.) the palm of the hand, or of a mitten (locally mitt) or glove."The pames of the millS used to be hardened with mylTh." ;

pamc (v.) to knit a replacement palin into a millen or a glove. "Aunt Ettie hadto paille down three pairs of mitls last week."

llapCl'Cll, papl'cu ['pelp.lan, 'peTp~.lan] (adj.) made of paper. Gen. used todescribe a manufactured paper bag used to hold things bought at a grocery store.[Cf. E.D.D.: papem; paperell; peapem.] "Aunt Deb had a butter box filled Witllpaperen bags 111at she had collected over lllfmy years."

pecJdsh (adj.) feeling a little hungry, esp. for the fIrst time after a meal, butwhen it is not yet time for the next meal, or if the next menl is a littJelatc; or forthe first time after a bout of illness, when the appetite was lost. "I was beginningto feel a little peckish about this lime. II •

15

plcl{ (v.) to pluck (see U11der USC))'!: for IIIl cilCampJe). [Cf. E.D,D, under pickv.4, sense 5 'to strip off feathers, to pluck Rfowl'.]

}lig (n.) in Ille expression, You wouldn't buy n pig from him todAy = cr'Ossd' stuff', cranky; hard to get along Wi!11; bothered and troubled with something;difficult to talk to and reason with; on the warpath.

piggill (ll,) n container with which to dip or bnle water out of II boat.

piss~ASS ['pJS,fCS] (n.) someone who unwiltingly or foolishly gelS In the wny, orinterrupts Bome activity ill a minor wily. "Get out of the way, you pi.ss~ass! Noone else would ever Iml baking soda in doughboys, 110W would 111ey?"

piss tnil (11.) used pej. of a baby girl, or a young girl,S and indicating tbat shemight not be so useful to the family compared to a baby boy, or a young boy.The term was gen. followed by the word girl or maiden. It was usually spokenlaughingly, but wilh a stmng hint of tmth or regret:. [Cf. E.D.D.: pisfol; pistil 'aterm of derision or contempt'.] "TIle three oldest children were piss tail maidens,so they were little help to him in the woods."

)lUdc1y (deg. mod.; adj.) local pronunciation of pretty. Can be used with under­statement to mean 'extremely, ·very'. ""'Tis puddy bad," remarked MargaretJane, "when men got nothing else to do tllllll to go around the harbour reading 'fitfor a prince', or 'Newfoundland's best' off of a decent woman's underwear on aMonday morning. "6

punt (n.) a type of smallish fishing boat. [See fUltber in D.N.E.].

put it past to tllink [someone] incapable of doing a thiug (gen. used in the neg.idiomatic phL wouldn't pur it past someone). rCf. E.D.D.: put past one 'toexempt one fTom an imputation; to say or tllink tJmt one is incapable of doingsuch and such a thing; gen. used neg. '] "No, sir, I wouldn't put it past Georgie tosteal enough hay during tile winter to feed his horse."

<luar (n,) gen. n qunr of ice = ice formed at roadsides, under houses, or oncliff faces by the freezing of water that has seeped out of the ground. [D.N.E.has Ulis only as a v.l "We nigh-on killed ourselves, as we slipped and slid on thebig qum just down around the corner of Lou's wood store."

5. Might pcI'll. b~ us~d of a girl up to six y~nt·s of age or so, though ~ver"lcss frequ~lllly asshe grows older.

6. Fit [01' a prince wns n sales slogan for CllldcrelJa Flour, Q/ld Ne1l1oundlalld's best forNative Plour.

16

ro(n)l'y..heyed (adj.) extremely angry. Sometimes rORl'y..heycd mAd, [Givenin D.N,E. II as ro(aJry.e?'cd, but without the Ih/-insertlon. E.D.D. gives roary;rory 'prunk; gaudy, etc.: rory·tory 'loud, noisy, stirring'.) "Someone left thegarden gate opell. and the goats had gotten in; boy, wns Aunt Em roary-boyedmadIll

I'Olllll]ClI (adj.) rounded. "Put the rounden edge all top, Fred, so the linn.et won'tketcb [catch] as it goes out."

rounder (n.) see under (am cod.

I'udge (n.) n ridge or rise of land. "'Twas not before they put the highwaythrough. that people built houses in over the mdge."

sargeo ['stllJd30U] (adv.) (to fall) in an undignified manner; (to fall) in n heap allat once.' "Her feet and kn:ees were so tired and hurting that, when she reached thecouch, she fell down all sargeo."

SAwl (n.) a steel tool with sharp teeth for cutting wood. [Final III historicallyintrusive, as in Bristol? This pronunciation is not given in E.D.D. or D.N.E.](Cr. next entry.) "Hayward trod on his sawl and broke it, so he had to cut off thenight's wood with an axe."

sawl (v.) to cut with a saw. (Cr. IJrecedillg entry.) "Quillcr sawled .off hissummer wood during the last week in ApriL"

scotchel' (n.) a woman's old cap. to which little pride was attached. [Cf. skolly,given ill D.N.E. under skuIly.] "Give me me old scotcher, so r cnn keep me hairfrom blowin' all over me face, as I pick up a few blasty boughs."

scrop (n.) a scrap. "Bcniah hadn't eatcn since daylight, so by supper he wasfamished; he kept eating tiII there wasn't a scrop left."

scrape (p.p. as ndj.) scraped. "Bessie's throat was so bad that the only thing shecould eat was scrope turnip." Also sero])e (v.) past tense of scrape. "GeorgeWilliam scrape his upper arm, when he fell through the ladder."

scruple (n.) a high-pitched noise that is grating to the enr. [Cf. E.D.D. uuderscroop sb.t 'a harsh, creaking, grAting sound'.] 11] was nearly drove out of mymind with the noise. All evening. my shoes were scrupling and then, aftersupper. the rocking-chair leg began.to scrul>!e," .

service (11) a piece of ship's canvas, brill bag, carpet, or floonnat. that is (1)placed on the twine of a cod trap that is secured to the gunnel of n boat, so as toprotect that twine from being WOlll by the handle of the dip-Ilet as it moves back

17

and forU) when dipping ;11 the fish; (2) wrapped around the claws of a gmple, sothat U)C sharp, rusted edges of tllC irOll will not' chafe and cut through the rope.[E.D.D., sense 6: 'canvRs. CIC., wrnppcd round a rope to protect it fromchafing'.] (1) "Whenever Uncle Eph came in with a load of fish. he always madeRpoint of keeping the service hanging over tile gunnel."

shnnk (n.) the part of a graple or anchor that runs between the claws (or nukes)and Ule ring. "1111s made Fred so mad tJlat 110 grabbed the shank of the graplewith both hands, lifted it over bis bead, and threw it into the harbour."

shard (n.) a smnIl, sharp piece of broken glass or pottery. "After Charlottedropped and broke the sugar basin, there were shards all over 111e kitchen floor."

shnUcr (n.) a sprinkling of flour 01' snow, Ilg1l1Jy covering a surface.7 [Cf.E.D.D. '10 sprinkle; to rain slightly'; etc.] (Sec also next cntry.) "A shatter offlour on the table will stop the dough from sticking all."

shAttering (n) a sprinkling or JlOwdering, gen. of snow. [ef. E.D.D. 'asprinkling', etc.] (See also preceding entry.) "l1lerc was a shattering of snowthat night, and we could trace Lbe footprints of Ule person who stoIc the bay."

shnUery (adj.) fragmented (of tile sound of thunder). [Cf. E.D.D. 'loose, notcompact'.] "TIlroughout tile night. the shattery thunder could be heard in thedistance."

shed or soap (n.) a small remnant of a cake of soap. "Sure, we used to save upthe sheds of soap, put them in a can with holes punched in the bottom, and swirlthem around in tile dish-pan to make soapy dishwater."

shindig (11.) a time, dance, or party; a happening not easily or quickly described;sometimes a noisy or angry gathering. "His two broUlefS got togeUler and bad ashindig for him up in the Churchman's Hall a week before he got manied."

ship out (v.t.) to limb out; to cut off the branches aud tops from trees tl18t havealready been cut down. "Sandy tried to get the schoolmaster to go in tl1e woodswith him, Rnd so help him ship out the sta1li.gans he cut last spring."

shuff (v.) to shove.

shop door (n.) tile fly of a mAn's pants or ovemlls. "He left in such a huny thathe didn't lcnow thal his SllOP door was open, until poor old Miss Flannigan toldhim aoout iL"

7. &alter (mlher Ulan shatter) is widespread in Newfoundland generally.

18

sltcllikAlcc (n.) unbridled fun, [In E.D.D., sJtilJygnlcc (various -spellings Ipronunciations) is given as slang, find only with the meaning 'thin oatmealporridge or broth, weak gruel'. Farmer and Henley (1890~1904) give sldJJy orsJdlJigolce in tbis sense, and hence also 'anything of litl:le or no value'. Q.E,D.II gives skiIHgnlcc (vndous spellings 'pronunciations) slang; with roughly thesallle meanings as the otber two, but not wilh tbe Trouty mCf\uing.] "The twochildren and the kiLlen were havJilg skelliknlee Oil the kitchen floor, until theyheard grnndfatber stamp his feet in the back porch."

skittish (adj.) easily fdghtened and startled; scared. "One time, Alf and his boyshad a horse so skittish tbat ajay could send it tearing out the palll,"

slack-ass (n.) a procrastinator. [Not noted in any other dictionaries.]

slade-go-sling (adj, plu.) having a very untidy appearance (of a rOOIn, house,or other premises). HAunt Charlotte's house was always slade~go~sling, untilshe'd see her mother coming around the harbour; then she'd pick up all Oleclothes on the floor and wash "all the dirty pots by Ule stove: 11

sleep (n.) crystallised eye fluids tllut form on the eyelids during sleep. [ThusE.D.D., sense 12, 'a gummy secretion in tlle corners of the eye'.] "Anyone couldsee tllRt lle wasn't up for very long - tlle sleep was still on his eyes."

smatchy (adj.) of food in the early stages of spoilage, caused by improperprocessing. "The salt beef looked a little rusty and, when we tasted it, we couldeasily teU that it was smatchy."

smeech (n.) a small portion (geu. used pej.). "By the time we all had enough,there was not a smeech left in the bottom of the boiler.H

smegin (n.) a small piece of something. "By tl1e thue -the boys had finishedeating the cake, there was not a smegin left for tbe next meal."

smic1<dolll (n.) a free-for~all fight, either physical or verbal. "They hadsmickdom, when Abel found out that Bess had thrown out his home brew."

smite (n.) a small piece; 'a IJartic1e. [Cf. E,D.D, 'a small portion; a mite; 811

atom'.] "The poor old dog was so famished that he ate up every smite."

51l0P (n.) n mouthful of food. "Alf kept on eating after I an+ved. He knew thatI had been in the woods all morning, yet he did not offer me a single snap."

sociable (adj.) liveable; easy to live in I WiUl. "After the sun wellt down, Uleunventilated upstairs rooms were more sociable." "As soon as her fever broke,Polly WAS fe:eIitig more sociable."

19

soft (adj.) (1) of thccondiliolJ of snow or a snow path during mild weather,making travel by foot ofaled difficult:, lIS weight would cause sinking-through orsticking; (2) of tile kind of persoll who call be easi~y mani.pulated by another.[For (1), cf. E.D.D., scn,se 4, 'in a slale of thaw', etc.; for (2), cf. B.D.D.• sense8, 'easily imposed 111)011; "not quite all there", etc.'.] (1) '''Twas soft in thewoods; so, it was hard doing the bit of work we did do." (2) "Jiluie was so softthat Aunt Mllr got her to do morc tltAn her share of the work, not only on theflake, but in tile garden as well."

some (deg. mod.) very, extremely.

sonsed (Bdj.) highly intoxicated. "It was our custom to get soused at least onceduring Christmas." Hence soused to Hie eyes (adj. phf.) intoxicated to tIlepoint where no more liquor can be ingested. "After participating in thecelebrations in a half~dozCll or so houses, Eggy was soused 1:0 Ole-eyes."

span'ow WCllthcr (n.) a light snowfall in late spring, after SOllle growth hasstarted and worms and insects have relurned to the top layers of soil, attractingsmall birds looking for food. "I'm some put-out: 'twas only yesterday I sowedme small seed. Now, today, we're having sparrow weatJler."

squat (n.) a person who uncharacteristically does something sury, and is spokento I of in a condescending manner. !lyou poor little squal~ you should haveknown you couldn't get tllree gallons of liver in a two-gallon bucket,"

stRlligall (n.) a trunk of a fir tree; etc. [For further information, see in D.N.E.under stBl'l'igRn.]

story telJet· (n.) a person who tells something that is not true. Sucb telling isdone without malice; it is rather done as someone pulling someone else's leg. [Cf.D.E.D. 11.] "Get O~l with you, you little story tellerl Sure, my husband was thereat the time, and he says that Aunt Em was fully dressed at the time."

sweet (adj.) well-defined; clean. "The cut from Hlat newly-sharpened knifeacross his knuckles mustllave been some sweet."

taCCetl' (adj.) particular and choosy over food. [Cf. E.D.D. 'dainty, fastidious,particular; affected; esp. as regards food'.] "Sure he was always taffety over hisfood - his moUler could never please Jilin, when he was Jiving home."

toe jam (n.) the lint, dirt, and dead skin cells that collect belween the toes.[D.E.D. II. gives this as slan.g.] "Aunt !Emma used to tell her youngsters: 'If yougot not'in' else to do, take off your socks and pick out your toe jam, but shut upfind let me Cinko 't1

20

tom corl (n.) n small, inimature codfish lImt swims around wharves, Ilflrboul's,etc.; a small codfish that has been guUed, headed and drJc,l, without having beensplit [Le. the sOlmd~bol/e (ef. D.N.E.) is 81lll in it]. Roughly synonymous willIleggy Ilaggy and rounder.

top of his I ber Jungs (adv. phr.) often in the idiom to shout at the ... 10 shoutat full volume. !'When we rounded the point, there was Aunt Em, slanding in theswamped boat and screaming at the top of her lungs."

tops or turnip tops (n. pl.) young cabbage plants grown from seed, and grownup to about 10 em. in height. Cf. also greens (see above). "Gramps wouldalways save a thick piece ofisal! pork to boil wilh the first tops of the season fromGrammy's garden."

turnip tops (n. p1.)"8ee under tops.

tUrI" (n.) a kind of sea-bird, hunted for food by Newfoundlanders. They areoften bottled for cOllsumplidn out of season. [See furt11er iu D.N.E.]

'twas (clit. pron. + v./aux.) it was.

umbcrdoodlc (n.) umbrella Qoc.). "And there was Miss Priz, standing by thechurch steps on a scorching afternoon in August, WillI her umberdoole under herarm."

upstart (n.) a tOI'll and hanging cuticle. "The same upstart on the same fingerbad by now ruined"the second pair of nylons."

usen't (semi~aux.) didn't used to; was not in the habit of doing. [Cf. a.E.D. II.]"Old Mr. Cross usen'l ever dip his IU1"/'s in boiling water, before he'd pick them."

vamp (11.) a very short, woollen stocking, worn over a thinner sock for extrawflnnth. Might be worn tbus inside rubJler boots; or worn inside the housewithout shoes I boots, to protect against cold from the floors. [E.D.D. 'sock,shOlt stocking'; also in D.N.E.]

vamp, vemp (v.) to rellair the bouoms of stockings and vamps by reknitting themost worn palts. "Mother ha.d vemped down my stockings three time lastwinter." [Note l'amp/vemp down- E.D.D. gives vamp 'repair' as being "gen.used with up".]

weskit (n.) a waistcoat, vest. "Noah wanted a wesldt for" his part as a fat doctorill tile Easter play, but there wasn't one in l1le harbour. II

21

\fJuker (n.) energy; spJrit; funbilion. "Old Lonzie had never been much of aprovider; he had no winker when Aunt Vi married him, and he had no winker toshow fifty years Jnler."

winltel' (n.) see \lnder cnrwjnJ~cl·.

wop (n.) a waSI).

22

TRIIlUTE - GEORGE MORLEY STORY (1927-1994)

George Morley Story was bom in St. John's on October 13, 1927 find educAted atDisbop Feild College, Memorial University College, McGill University, andOxford University (D.Phil. 1954). George joined Memorial University's Depart­ment of English Language find Literature in 1954. where he established an inter­national reputation as Ii lexicographer and RenaiSSAnce scholar, find pIoneered U1Cstudy of Newfoundland history, culture, language and literature. His major New­foundland publications include (with Herbert Halpert) Christmas Mumming iTtNewjou-1IdlaTld (1969), and (with WilHam J. Kirwin and John D.A. Widdowson)the Dictional)' ofNewfoundland English (1982).

He was very active in the public ]lfomotion and preservation of Newfouudland'scullural and historkal heritage. President of the Newfoundland Historic Trustfrom 1,969 to 1971, he was president of the Newfouudland Historical Societyfrom 1978 to 1981, and in 1980 was named the first chairihan of tile Newfound­land and Labrador Arts Council. He was appointed director of the J.R. Small­wood Centre for Newfoundland.Studies in 1988, and in 1993 was named to theHistoric Siles and Monuments Board of Canada.

George was the recipient of several major honours: Fellow of the Royal Histori­cal Society (1976), the Society of Antiquaries (J978), and tile Royal Society ofCanada (1982), In 1977 he was awarded the Canada Council's Molson Prize, andin 1988 was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. For his distinguishedscholarship and cmcial influence on tile development of Memorial University,Story was posthumously awarded au honorary D.Litt. just a few days after hisdeadl on May 9. 1994.

George's love of history - indeed his graduate background in literary history ­prepared him for the culluraI~historical studies for which 1m is so well~known,

including the DictiollOlY of Newfoundland English, which slands as fl model oflexicographical expertise. Reading for lhis work gave him a great breadth ofknowledge about Newfoundland and Labrador, and he took many of the opporlu~

nities ·available to share that knowledge, both in Newfoundland Bnd beyond itsshores. His influence was pervasive, whether it was tlu·ough the dictionary, hisRlticles and addresses 011 Newfoundlanders, or through fonnal and informal COll­

tacts. with his academic Rnd non-academic peers. Throughout his life and works,George convInced NewfOUl1dlallders that they sbould take pride in tbeir dialects.He assured U,em, that their language did not consist of poor variations on main­land Canadian siJcech 01' British standards of English - that it was, rather, alanguage that had originated with the dialects of the early English and Irishsettlers, and had been modified through Newfoundlanders' independent (indeed,

23

unique) cultural, social. mId historicnl dcvclolJJ11Cnt. George was a scholar whowas at eflse in Oxford, where he could have had a career, yet he chose 10 Jive nndwork in Jlis native Newfoundland and \.0 be an inspiring example to youngerscholnrs. He llmtured them to tnke pride in studying Newfoundland and Labra­dor; his sense of loyally was to the people of th~ landwash.

Melvin Baker, Helen Peters, Shannon RyanMemOlial University of Newfoundland

24

REvmws

C.B. McCully. A Dictionary of Fly~Fisfling: A Guide to Its Language andHistory. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 280 Pl'. [Firstpublished by Carcanct Press. Manchester, 1992 as Fly-Fishing: A Book ofWords.]

That a book entiIJed A DictiOlla1)l of FlY-fishing should be praised in the arcanelJages of n·out and Salmon,magazine as being "unfailingly fascinating" must be ofgreat satisfaction to tile author, but should not surprise us unduly, That the lessspecialised Times Educational Supplement considers it to be "superbly illclusiveand authoritative" is probably as much testimony to Ute angling knowledge of thereviewer as it is to McCully- himself. But if such a work can hold the interest ofthis reviewer, whose experience of angling is Qf the coarsest variety and ended atan early age some thirty·five years ago, it must have much to recommend itbeyond its value as a SpOtting guide.

Sporting guide this book quite obviollsly is, and its readership is always likelyprincipally to cOlllllrise fly-fishing enthusiasts. Much mor/? than a "dictionary" inits narrowest sense of 'a book explaining the meaning of wurds' - indeed shyingaway from su:aightforward defilliUon of simple lexical items, l\S witlless theentries for fish vision, take, and very many more - the work is rather analphabetised treatise on the sport of fly-fishing and its vocabulary, both beingtreated with knowledge and, equally importantly, with enthusiaslll. Fish andhabitat, gear and technique, history, lore, and anecdote, aU receive treatment inentries which frequently run to several pages in length. (The entry for the tinymidge warrants almost two pages; that for sea trout runs to more than six,constituting an essay in its own right and arguably requiring subdivision to makeit immediately digestible by all but the committed reader.)

11mt this is a book principally intetidcd for fishing cognoscenti is apparent in theerudition and enthusiasm exhibited by the author. Unfortunately, it is alsoapparent from time to time in the assumptions it makes abont the render's level ofknowledge. A gaff, we are told, is used to land fresh-run salmon, with theadditional information that "the qualifying adjective 'fresh-run' is insertedbecause it would be.both pointless and erne) to use a gaff on salmon .. , which onewished to return to the water," Nowhere, however, are we told the meaning ofrl"csh~l"un, although to wish for an entry to make this explanation clear is nodOllbt to declare oneself an absolute ungling outsider. Again, a droIJPct· isdefined as "the strand" of nylon on which a second or third fly is fished", thedictionary leaving the 11ser to assume fished in this sense to meau 'tied' (in sOlDeway), or to supply the deficiency from another source.

25

A dictionary with a defining vocabUlary tJ18t is·not immediately transparent. Rndtbat remains opaque even after its own entries have been searched, is undoubtedly1,roblematicttl for students ignorant of the mysteries of fishing. This is not nglaring deficiency, how.ever, and is the only one of nole. Just two other, isolated,slips have come to light: tile "N-W" abbrevialion at mort is unexplained, ifperhaps obvious; and "Further" is misprinted at Ole end of the Imtcll 1 enlry. Awork of Bny complexity will always have RscalteJillg of these, serving to give thereviewer tile satisfaction of rmding Ulcm WitJlOUt detracting from Ule scholarshipof tile whole.

At the linguistic level it would be cRqJing to dwell on criticisms in the face of Ulewealth of information with which we Rrc provided. There is a disquisition 011 thedifferent origins but ultimate linking of alder, tree and fly; an aside 011 the fJIstuse of ephemel'al and the coining of e})hcmel'0lJt:Cl'" by Unuaeus; a detailedlisting ofsedgc(~fJies) - Cinnamon Sedge, Caperer, Grey Flag, Welshman'sButton ... ; a "picturesque but unproVf\ble" etymology of sewin in "sac-wyno,literally 'sea~joyll(: llOurs of browsing for the game fisherman in the close seaSOIl(whenever that is - tlle dictionary is silent all the l)oint), and for the linguist fltany time of the year.

Deyond the level of general language exposition Bud angling insl.nJction, theDi.ctionory of Fly·Fishing has practical application in one especial area of linguis­tics. It is to be observed tbat, when treating lexis lying between Ule everyday andthe obviously abstruse, general dictionaries frequently offer tbeir users inade­quate, even wrong, definitions. In such "sub-technical" areas, loose meanings arecontrived, in aU good faitb, by lexicographers who think they have a rumergrasp of detail than in fact tlley do. And, given the credibility which a reputabledictionary confers, tlIose imprecise meanings tend to become established, to beperpetuated and passed from dictionary to dictionary. Confronted with a special­ised term used in, say, medicine, or nuclear physics, the lexicographer untrainedin such areas of endeavour can be relied upon to have contacted an expert, inorder to ensure a correct definition. But experience shows that tllis is not thecase when dealing with more "everyday" specialisms. Practitioners in tllese areunlikely to have been consulted, often with worrying results. In how many dic­tionaries are we told that to fillet means 'to remove bones from meat or fish',when meat is normally boned, not filleted, and t.hat, by extension, H fillet is 'aboneless piece of ment', when a fillet of lamb or }JOl'k always has a bone in it?Once one.lllls conceived n dissatisfaction with the lreat1llellt of one sub-technicallexicon of which one 118S some precise knowledge, one is inclined to mistrust Uledictionary treatment of words in other sub-technical areas of which one isignorant. So in place of the butchering example, readers may care to substitutewords fTorn any sub·technical area willI which tlley are particularly famiJjar:study of UlOse words in any dictionary will undoubtedly prompt dissatisfactionwiUI some of Ute definitions given.

26

this is not, of course, to denigrate the general dictionary, which is usuallycompiled WJtJl great inlegrHy., But, whilst wisely drawing heavily Oll the OXfordEnglish Dictionary for help on many lexical issues ("My chief debt, as it is foranyone who undertakes sedons lexicographic work, is to the OED" - p.12),McCully can take informed issue with tbat work at several points: and, if issue isto be taken with the scrupulous OED, how much more is it to be taken with lesserWOl'ks? OED's definition of mort McCully finds to be "misleading", Its preciseidentification of the fish herJiJlg is "incorrect". Its tentative identification ofwhitling C8n, following this publication, be more firmly and accurately asserted.The dictionary data to whioh McCully refers is. of course, the old data which thepresent OED editors are working to revise in the light of the latest scholarship,conscious that, in matters of sub~techllical lexis, as in others, what satisfied anearlier generation of djctioJ1ary~makers cannot satisfy them. The light which besheds from a position of obviously expert knowledge Can be expected to delightthe editors of the OED and to prove invaluable to their work. Would that everyarea of the English craft lexicon bad its McCully, to draw together the Jinguisticand technical strands and tdbreate a resource for the grateful1exicographer.

It is always a pleasure to possess a work of scholarship which is the product ofexpertise and enthusiasm combined in equal measure. This book is one such.Angler, lexicographer, language historian, or simply student of words: ADictiOluuy of Fly~Fishillgw1l1 be a practical asset in the library of any of 111e8e.

Clive UptonEnglish DepaltmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsU.K.

27

T.P. HORd, ed. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford:Oxford Univ. Pross. 1993. xvi + 5521'1"

This dictiOllftfy is the first issue of the 1986 edition 115 flll Oxford Universitypnperback. TIle original compilation was undertaken by the late G.W.S. Frjed~

dchscn, who had initially assisted C.T. Onions and R.W. Burchfield in the eJabow

radon of the Oxford Dierionar)' ,of English Etymology (1966). As is stated in tJ1CIntroduction, "the jnlenUOll is thnt each entry should give a concise statement ofthe route by which its headword entered ll1C English Janguage, together with.where appropriate, a bdef account of ils development in English" (p. vii).

The layout is clear, didactic, And the lexicographical-cum-etymological informa­tion is !,resented in an impeccably concise way. Each word is followed by'afigure (Rolllan numerals) giving the century of introduction of the word intoEnglish. A definition (definitiolls) is (are) given, followed by figures in Romannumerals too, indicating the century (centuries) when the Rcceptation(s) is (are)first attested, e.g. "ncwfangled fond of novelty XV; new-fashioned XVI ... It; or"nice tfoolisb, stupid XIII; twanton XIV; teoy, shy XV; fastidious, daiuty; dif­ficult to manage or decide; Illinute and subtle; precise, critical; minutely accurateXVI; dointy, appetizing; agreeable, delightful XVIII". If a word is recordedfrom the Old English period, it is labelled "DE", Witll no other precision, asprecise dating is naturally problematic, e.g. "sharel cutting blade of a IJlough.DE serer, scoor ...".

It goes WitllOut saying thai, considering tIle modest size of such a book, oneshould not expect to find more tllan sclective·information neatly compacted with aview to bringing to 11m fore tile salient etymological features and the semanticevolution undergone by the recorded entries. Consequently, the reader will notfind definitions for semantically stable words. Nor should he expect to find anyinformation about recent semantic developments (e.g. bent, gay, straight), be­cause they are of secondary importance in tracing tlle etymology and history ofthe words in question.

For most words, though, one finds sufficient information to be able to trace Iheetymology of the word, form a clear idea as to its semantic evolution, and realisethe link between a given word and its etymological siblings: thus dccm goesback to Germanic domjoll (the stem vowel having been "mutated"), has evolvedfrom 'tgive judgement, judge' 1:0 'think, consider', is related to decmstcr (eitherof the two judges in the Isle of Man), and is duly cross~referenced to DOOM.

When a word had been borrowed into English the indication follows the entrystraightaway, e.g. "latrine XVlI. - F. - L. lalrIM. bath, privy ...", llski sb. XIX.- NOlW: - ON skUJ billet of cleft wood, snow-shoe. = DE: scld. Hence vb. XIX."(The "=" sign means 'corresponding to'.) Besides, the dictionary gives all the

28

necessary morphological loo]s for the reader to be in D position to break downderivatives or compounds into smaller units: "cnl.nchresis improper use (ofword)" 'is made up of CATA- 3 (Le. lIftlll iss") + Greek khreS~l1Qi 'use'.

This compact, one-volume diQtionary aims at being handy and authoritative (itsprestigious predecessor is a: sufficient guarantee for the reader 1:0 feel he is allsafe ground) fllld it is definitely user-friendly. Perhaps one would like to knowmore about some challenging etymological dddies. But, since tJle dictionary ismostly written for students, scholars and professional etymologists will closetJ1Cir eyes 10 some of its shortcomings. And olle can be sure that a small. volumelike this will win approval from an extensive Jay readership.

Pran(;ois ChcvilletUnlversit~ Stendhal Grenoble IIIGreilobleFrance

29

Peter TrudgilJ. Dialects, Language Workbooks. London and New York:Routledge, 1994. vii +70 pp.

This is the fourth handbook in the successful Language Workbooks series (editedby RJchard Hudson), a collection of comprehensive guidebooks with emphasis onthe ]ledngogic and practical description of linguistic matcdal In Dialects, somekey concepts are,put to work through field data, while tile analysis is confined toguidebook llroportions. Teclmicnlities are kept to a bare minimum, Trudgill'sselected terminology and his presentation of basic but useful concepts as the unitsdevelop is indicative of his continuous effort to offer 1he reader the necessaryresources to embark on a first-step study of dialects. ShOit but very instructive,Trudgill's book bears the hallmark of a work produced by a teaeher and a pro­fessional in the field of dialectology.

The main focus of the book is getting Ule reader acquainted with basic notions indialectology. The data are chiefly from British dialects of English. As I am notvery well acquainted with these varieties of EI~g1ish, 1will review tJ1e book fl'oma reader's perspective rather 1118n fmIn that of.a specialist in the particular field.Prior to this, a sketch of what the book is about is presented.

The book 0lle11s with suggestions on how it can be used (in class or individually),and how to make tbe best of it by having a go at some of the exercises (p. vii).The following twelve units that compose it cover areas like linguistic geography,isoglossic analysis and dialect syntax. Units 1-3 are devoted to regional and socialvariation in English. Trudgill's opening sentence, "We are used to talking aboutour language as if it were a single, clearly defined entity: the English Language"(author's italics, p.l), followed later on by "it is impOltnnt to point out tJ1at noneof lhese combinations - none of these dialects - is linguistically supClior in anyway to any other" (p. 2), exemplify tbe pedagogic strategy he uses to make thegeneral reader understand one of the basic claims in dialectology: namely, lhatlanguage is inherently variable, and that each language variety can be analysedlinguistically as a system in its own right. Undoubtedly, tlle aulllor is aware oflhe unfavourable attitudes the reader may have towards dialects in general, anddialectology in particular. He Oms uses sign-postings like tJlese throughout thebook to rnake his point. Unils 4-6 are an invitation to step into the field of dialec­tology proper. Trudgill presents basic notions such as traditional dialects, maill~

stream dialects, isoglpsses, together with useful tools Jike display maps to talkabont the geographical distribution ,of Ule Unguistic forms he has selected fordescription. Units 7-8 are comparatively more technical, in that they involvesome phonological analysis. Sociolinguistic markers such as "th fronting" Ilnd theglottal stop, two stlgmatised features of British dialects of English, are given par­ticular attention. Units 9-11 deal wilh the grammar of nonstandard dialects, indi­cflljng tJ1at grammars are all equal from a linguistic point of view. In Unit 12,dialect vuriation l1lroUgh contact is introduced using ")~)eradaptation for illustra-

30

tion. A short, selected bibliography (p. 59), "Answers to ExerCises" (pp. 60~68)

find an index (pp. 69-70) constitute 1110 closing parts of the work.

This book is clearly written and well organised. A useful begjl1111ng~of-unit sum­mary, n relevant list of EllgJish words, and prncticnl exercises are included jneach unit. Trudgill's explanations arc both accurate and clear, even to absolutebeginners who wish to discover the enjoyable world of dial~toJogy. As a work­book, it is a good companion not only for the general reader, but also for theteacher of English as a foreign language, who is generally unfamiliar with theregional varieties of British ~nglish. Though it is addressed to a limited audiencein the first place (users of British dialects of English), it also provides a comp[e~

hensive, method~orieJ1ted and step~by-slep analysis for the linguistics student, whocan use it to study language variation in general.

Although I enjoyed reading the book, and found it Jived up to the proposals of theauthor, I entertain the reservation, that some statements could have been spelt outmore clearly, to avoid potential confusion on the part of certain readers. Thebook addresses the absolute beginner, yet I found statements like "there is nothingyou can do or say in one dialect that you canuot do or say in another dialect" (p.2) somehow bemusing and ~oo general. T11ldgHl uses tIus statement to explain,that all dialects are "linguistically equar'. However, a word 01' two on the socialand geographical functions Of dialects (the'sociaJ and geographical space) wouldhave helped to dissipate any confusion Umt such a gen~ral statement might entail.Clearly, each dialect serves Ii given communication purpose by virtue of its socialand geographical settings.

Another notable case: "It is not necessary to use Standard English in order tospeak: formally" (p. 12). Benring in mind the fact l.bat formal style and informalstyle are explained "en pas~ant" iiI the sentence, "styles of English range fTOmvery formal to very informal, ,Witll a whole continuum of varieties in between"(p. 10), a fuller explallatioll might well prove useful. The fact is that StandardEnglish (or any stlindard(ised) variety of a given language) is often equated withformal situations, power a,nd prestige. Here, the author probably avoids discus~sing the graduated scale of formality because it is difficultto draw a clear~cut linebetween what is formal and what is informal: there are shades of formality - orinformality - dictated by social context. However, the reader would be less in­convenienced by such a statement if the terms formal and il1fvrmal were morerigorously defined. Clearly written for the greater part, well laid out, and withno typos 11mt I could spot, tUis book is one of the best invitations, available for themoment, to "do" dialectology.

Farouk BouhadibaInstitute of Foreign LanguagesUniversity of GranAlgeria

31

THESIS ABSTRACTS

Crista Beaudoill-Liclz. "Aspects of Certain Intnmsitivlsing Poal-bases And of nTransltivisillg Postbase in Labrador Inuttut." MA thesis. Deptutmellt ofLinguistics, Memorial Dnlv. of Newfoundland, 1982.

This study concerns itself Willl ce~1ain intransitivising postbases and a transilivis­iug postbase in Labrfldor Inuttut, a dialect of Inuktitut currently spoken mostly illfive settlements of Ole Labrador const. A verb classification is provided, accord­ing to the possible combinations of .the postbases under investigation with verbalstems. The verbs are selected from a dictionary of the Labrador dialect producedby Inuit: "Labrador Inuit Uqausingit"; all fonDs of the classification are elicitedby consulting five native speakers.

Aspects of intransitivisers and issues related to transitivity in some grammars ofother Eastern Dialects of ]nuktitut are presented.

For Labrador Inuttut, the intransitivising postbases and the trallsitivising one aredistinguished from other homonymous postbases, and t1leir phonological fonn isestablished. TIle postbase analysis is followed by the verbal stem classification.This classification provides distributional patterns with respect to tbe co­occurfCnce of the postbases with verbal stems. It is observed that morphologicalcategories show a tendency to coincide willl major semBlltic categories of verbalstems. .

Julie Brittain. "Two Valency-Increasing Processes in Sheshatshit Innu-Aimun:Applicative and Causative Formation." MA thesis. Department of Linguistics,Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, 1994.

In lItis t11esis,l will examine applicative cOllstlUCtiollS and causative constructionsin Innu-aimuIl, the Central Algonquian dialect spoken in Labrador. Canada, usingthe theoretical framework of generative gralIDnar.

lnnu-aimull applicative constructions display syntactic properties comparable to,for example, applicatives in Swahili (Bantu) and Twtzil (Mayan). TIle theory,developed in the work of Baker (1988), that Case Parallleterisation may accountfor these similarilles will be explored. Baker (1988) proposes I'hat the numberand the type of Cnses available in any given language is detennined by a three­wny parameter. The syntactic properties displayed by structures derived byvalency increase, sucb as nplllicative and causative constructions, and the pro-

32

posed Case parameter seHing are illlerdepcm}enl:, The theory of Case Parnmeteri­salimi is Ulerefore relevant to bolll types of COllstlllC!:iOll examined ill Ihis thesis.

J shall show that 1Jl00]lhological causative constructions CRIl only he derived fromintransitive verbs and I,hnt applicative cOllslrucllollS, Oil the other band, can onlybe derived from transitive verbs. I propose that Case availability may accountfor these restrictions.

01<" ..",1""

Roger Joseph House. "Dependency Relations Within tile French Noun Phrase."MA thesis. Department of Dillguistics, Memorial Dulv. of Newfoundland, 1989.

It is generally accepted Ibnt the words of a sentence are linked together bydifferent dependency relations. Some words are 'said to be heads and oOlers,modifers, The primary ·objective of this study is to analyse the nature of thedependency relations within the fundamental French lioun phrase.

The work comprises four main paem. The first chapter ii;' a comparison of twoopposing views on syntax: constituency and dependency. These two models areevaluated to see if there are things the linguist can describe or explain with onebut not the Diller. In the remaining chapters, a dependency approach is adoptedfor 11le Rllalysis of Ille depenClel1cy relations linking the French nOU11 phrase.

Chapter Two investigates the fundamental nature of dependency relations andstudies the underlying system which gives rise to tlle parts of speech. '11m notionof illcidmce is introduced and is shown to be tile basic mechanism involved independency structure. The special status of the noun is explained in terms of itsbinary nature: the fact that it incorporates both the mental referent and t11l.~

lexeme which nalnes 11mt referent.

The relation between article (or definer) and substantive is then studied in detailitt Chapter nlree. Whereas tradition had the mticle dependent 011 the substantive,it is argued in this chapler that lhe article ~s in facllhe bead element in the nounphrase. Finally, in Chapler Four, the adjective-substantive relation is analysed.Particular emphasis is put on the problems of adjective position in French. It isshown that adjective position is related to the binary nature of t11e noun and that itis the French solution to a general problem.

*"'''''1''''

33

Judy A. Lawlor, IlA Sociolinguistic Study of St. ThomRs and St. Philip's." BAHOllS. diss. Deparlment of Linguistics, Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, 1986.

This l)flper is n sociolinguistic study which aU:cmpts to investigate the presenceand / Of absence of llotvocalic (r) in two speech communities: St. ThomBs and St.Phillip's.

Three social vatiables of sex, age, and community background, and two linguisticfactors of preceding and following phonelic environments were investigated to

see to wlml extent these factors affect linguistic variation. Age emerged as themost significant factor.

Two speech styles were also investigated. However, tbe majority of infonnantsdisplayed litLIe stylistic stratification.

Wendy P.A. Scammell. "The Acquisition of the Dative Alternation and ParticleMovement by Second Language Learners." MA thesis. Department ofLinguistics, Memorial Ulliv. of Newfoundland, March 1991.

This thesis looks at the second language acquisition of the English dative alterna­tion, lJarticle movement and their interaction by native speakers of Micmac. Theassociated theories of syntactic Markedness, which follows from a tlloory of Uni­versal Grammar and Case theory are assumed as the basis for this research. Thedative alternation is argued to have the unmarked structure [NP PPJ, as well asthe marked structure [NP NP]. The unmarked structure for the verb-particleOOllslluction is assumed to be [V-Pet] aodany other position of the particle in thesentence is marked.

Results of a study on Ule acquisition of these structures indicate that the unmarkedforms of the dative alteruatioll and the verb~particle construction are acquiredfirst by second language learners. A greater number ,of subjects jUdged U1unark­ed forms more acceptable than marked ones .according to the results of an intuit­ive judgement test and 'employed more in produclion tllan marked stmctures are.Results on the interaction of tJlese s1Iuctures show that sentences conlauling anunmarked contiguous lJat"licle and a prepositional dative are judged most acceptRable and are widely employed in the production task. Sentences involving amarked vel'b~J)article construction and the marked doubleRobject form 'Of Oledative are judged less acceptable and are employed less in production. The re­sults presented in this study support a continuum of markedness fol' sentencesinvolving both target structures.

"''''''''''*

34

Wei Ping SUIl. "MfLl1dadn Classifiers from fI SemonticPoint of View," MAthesis. Department of Llnguistics, Memorial Uulv. of Newfoundland, 1989.

If we discuss classifiers in very general terms, probably all,languages have classr~

fiers. Under close examhmUon of clAssifiers, it is discovered that there arc twobasic kinds of classifiers: meusural classifiers and sortal classifiers (Lyons:1977). The term "classifier language" is normally restricted to languages withsartal classifiers: .such languages are frequently found in Southeast Asia.

Mandarin is the official language of China, spoken 'regionally in tbe NorthernPllIt of China. The language is exceptionally rich in classifiers. Modern Manda­rin dictionaries Jist about J50 standard classifiers. In addition t,here arc manynouns which are borrowed to selve as temporary classifiers. The toLaI number ofclassifiers is over 500 in spoken and written Mandarin, if we add in the tempor­my classifiers. The frequency of classifiers has been investigated (Xiong: 1977),and it was found that there is oue classifier for every 50 characters. In literaryworks, tbe frequency is even higher: about 30 characters for every classifier.However, most educated Adults commonly confine themselves to a core set of afew dozen classifiers.

In Mandarin tbe use of a numeral requires the use of a classifier. Incorrect useof classifiers renders a sentence lOullgmmmatical". The conslitucllts of the num­eral classifier construction must occur in tbe order: Numeral-CL-Noun. Manda­rin classifiers include verbal classifiers and noun classifiers. Thi.s paper concen­trates on noun classifiers.

Specialists find that sortal classifiers are 'sometimes determined on perceptualgrounds and the object is assigned to a class with which it shares some physicalcharacteristic. Such characteristics arc frequently different shapes: long, roundand flat, which are further divided into thick/thin; big/small, and flex~blelrigid.

'Ibis thesis -has tried to provide a full-scale analysis of Mandarin classifiers from asyntactical and a semantic point of view by a native speaker, and inlroduce an in­teresting, ulltnuched aspect.of classifiers, that has been treated in Chapter Five.TIle rhetorical function of classifiers has been neglected by scholars, and there ismuch to be -said all this aspect in Mandarin classifiers. The use of classifiers is inpart an art and not just a grammatical convention: peoille have varying degreesof skill in using them. We',can invent as many classifiers as we need for rheto­rical purposes find these temporary classifiers form an open~ended seL Therhetorical functions of Mandarin classifiers CRn also express different figures ofspeech, e,g" sketching. metaphor, simile, metonymy an~ irony. We CUll dis­tinguish the classifier from olher parts of speech by its sometimes remarkablerhetorical fUIlCtiOll.

"'''''''.\''1,

35

Marie Loldse Willett. "Object Preposed COl1slmctions in Millay." MA tJlcsis.Depn11ment of Linguistics, Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, May 1993.

ntis thesis is a study of the syntactic nature of Object Preposed constlUctioJls inMalay. Its purpose is to detenninc whether lllcse constl1Jctiolls exhibit propertiestypically associated wHh a passive annlysis or a topic analysis. The data elicitedfor this thesis reveals two l)cltinent properties: (1) the verb in Object Preposedconstructions cannot bear any mOfl,hology (Le. inflectional prefixing); (it) theappearance of an aspectual marker, modal or adverb (with certain restrictionsregarding adverbs) is a necessary requirement for acceptability. The first: ofthese properties bas been widely recognised in the literature, wheras the secondhas not been acknowledged.

The analysis put forward in Ods thesis is within a Government Bud Binding(Generative) framework. Various assum!lt.ions have been made with regard toconstraints on A'-movement, licensing properties 'Of INFL, and Ole availability ofan alternate subject position. Based on these assumptions, this thesis argues Utatthe properties exhibited by Object Preposing, with regard to morphology andrequired elements, are indicative of a sylltaLic structure typically associated withtopicalisatiOil rather tllan passivisation.

Examples r'om Mandarin Chinese involving preverbal object NPs are discussedas tlley are remarkably similar to tJle Malay data found in t.his thesis. These ex­amples also require the appearance of an additional element.. Mandarin, however,imposes further restrictions than Malay as t.he element is limited to a small groupof aspectualmarkel'S and adverbs.

Constructions sharing a similar syntactic structure willI topicalisntion (e.g. wh H

movement and focnsing) are also examined and compared with UlOse of ObjectPl'ellosing. These provide further evidence that Object l'l'eposed constructionsare essentially topicalised constructions and not 8 second form of Passive inMalay.

Zhong-Ying Ln. "The Preverbal NPs,in Chinese." MA 111esis. Depart1l.1ent ofLinguistics, Memorial Dniv. of Newfoundlaud, August 1991.

Tltis thesis is a study of the syntactic structures of Chinese preverbal NPs, whichis one of the prominent characteristics of the Cltinese language. Chapter Twodisplays various preverbal NPs in Mandarin Chinese, which are derived fl'om thebusic word order. In this cltsllter, the most important preverbal NP, subject(pre-S), is exp1aitled within the generative grammar framework.

,!'i'

36

Chapter Three investigates fronted objecCs in the position between UIe subject Andtbe verb (PTC·O). and presents some licensing conditions for such preverbalobjects. It is also shown that there is a semantic restriction, i.e., subject-objectsubstitutability, that obstructs o~ject movement.

Chapter Four discusses topicnllsation in Mandarin Chinese. It is claimed that thetopic in topicalisatlon (pre-Tl) is ill the SPEC of CP, leaving a covert trnce orovert anapbor that is R resurnpLive element in the object position. Such n topicdiffers from the preverbal object because UJe topic, not Ule preverbal object. Jmsn comment clause upon which it is predicated, even though they are both Ulcla­marked by the verb.

Coapter Five deals with two types of topic: the topic associated with prepositions(pre-'T2), and the topic which is an extracted pORsessor NP (pre-TI). It is arguedthat every pre-1'2 must have nll a1)1'ropriale preposition preceding it in D~struc~

ture, and UIal a pre-1'2 is assigned n theta role by the predication through Ule pre~

posHion. This chapter also presents the fnct that a pre-TI is extracted frolll thesubject position quite freely, but lhat tJli5 exlrnctiolJ is rcs1;ricted in certain casesfrom the object position. 1l is shown that there is an interesting gimiJadty be­tween Lbe object movement and tJle pre-1'3 ex1.ractiQJ1, that is, when the possessorNP is in the object position, 8ubject~possessor substitutability blocks the extrac·Lion.

nOOKS AVAILAJlLE

RLS REPRINT EDITION

Nos. 1~10 (1968-1982) are available in a single-volume reprint edition, witJ) cor­rections and an index, paper covers, 268pp. Price: C$12.50 + 15% HannouisedSales Tax (= C$14.38 in lotal).

The volume is' currently available post free. For the convenience of overseasrenders, cheques mnde out for equivalent mnollllts in foreign currencies nrcacceptable. Please send orders and cheques (Illude payable to the Department ofEnglish, Memorial University of Newfoundland) to:

Grabam Sl~orrocksEditor, Regional La"guage StudiesDepartment of English Language & LiteratureMemorial University of NewfoundlandSl John's, NPCanadaAIC5S7

37

A FESTSCHRIFT FOR EDGAR RONALD SEARY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Edgar Ronald Seary (G.M. Story) .........................••..... IAmong Other nJings: Meditation for Speaker and Chonlses

(A.A. Maedonald) ,............................. JJJElfric and EducnUoll (Margaret Miles~CadmDn) ..........•..... HIThomas More And his Prlnl:ers (R.I. Devereux) ........•...•.••..... IV'St.rong Lines' and Frnncis Quarles (David Freeman) ,................. VThe Art of Johnson's Londo1/. (P.A. O'FJaherty) ............•..•. . .. VIStenm: the Personal and the Real (C,J. Francis) ,..... . ... VllJames BeaUie, William WordsWOrUl. and fllC Evolution

of Romanticism (RH. King) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . .. VIllIrish History in Heroic Couplets (Alison M. Feder) ............•...... IXTIle Use of Dialect in Litemlure: Blackmore's West

Country Novels (W.J. Kirwin) . X111e Making of a Hopkins Sonnet 'Spe1t from Sibyl's Leaves'

(Nonnan H. MacKenzie) XI"The Second Coming' and Yeat's Vision of History

(Robert O'DriscoU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . •• . . .. XllKeith Douglas and Ule Western Desert (philip Gardner) . . . . . . . . . . • . .. XlllLove and Dealh in an English Novel: The Anti-Death League

Investigated (G.O. Robe"'> .. . . . • . XIVAlley's Dream (paul West) XV

The Seary Feslscluift was pulisbed in a fuU libmry binding in 1975. Some copiesare still available at a nominlll charge of CS5 + 15% H.S.T. (= C$5.75) i.ll tOlal.Cheques, payable to Ull~ English De!Jartmcnt, Memorial University, should be sentto Graham Shorrocks (Editor), English Deparl.ment, Memorial University ofNewfoundland, St Jolm's, NF, Ale 587. Canada. For the convenience of ouroverseas readers, an equivalent amount ill any major cun'Cllcy is accep~8ble.

2.

38

MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLANDFOLKLORE AND LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS

P.I. IGnsellR. Some Superstitions and Traditions of Newfoundland: ACollection of Silperstitiom, Traditions, Folk-Lore, Gllost Stories Etc.• Etc.•1998. v, 54 pp. pbk. ($7.4310c. lax)

A Reprint of the 1919 first published collection of Newfoundland Folklore, wilhan introduction by Dr. Pal Byme.

Devble'.~ Folklore of Newfoundland ill Old Words, Phrases and Express;ons,Their Origin alld Meaning, 1997. vi, 81 pp. pbk. ($9.58 inc. lax)

A Reprint of tlle P,K. Devine 1937 edillon, with Iln Jnlroduction by Dr. PhilipHiscock.

BibfiograpllY of British Folklore, 1996. xv, 456 pp. pble. ($35.00 inc. I1lx)

Wilh an introduction by Dr. J.D.A. Widdowson.

1. Gerald TIlOmas. The TalLTa~ and Philippe D:Alcripe. An AJlalysis of the TallTale GeJJre with Particular Reference to Philippe D'Alcripe's La NouvelleFabrique des Exccllcnts Traits de Verite, together with art AnnOtated Translationo/the Work. 1977. xv, 259 pp. pbk. ($10.70 inc. tax)

This translation and study of 8 sixteenth-century French collec'tion of taU talesincludes a discussion of tlie talllale in France and America, and its relationshipswith other folklore genres.

;;.I~b~u~l~e6.70~~~~a~) the Floor: Folk Dance in Newjo.undkmd, 1985. 127

. An analysis of the soc!al and cultural meanings of folk' dance pnst and present,based on extensive fieltlwork in Newfoundland.

3. Herbert Halpert, ed. A Folklore Sampler From the Maritimes. With aBibliograplllcal Essay 011 Ti,e Folktale in. English, 1982. xix, 272 pp. pbk.($10.70 Inc. lax)

An annotated collection of folklore from the Canadian Maritimes; 'includesbibllogrnphical essnys all tile folktale in B1~glish. childlore, and proverbs.

4. Kellnet.h S. Goldstein and Nell V. Rosenberg, cds. Folklore Studies i1l Honour ofHerbert lIalpert -A Festschrift, 1980. ix, 395 pp. pbk. ($12.84 inc. tax)

26 essays 011 a variety of foUdare topics from Canada, Britain alld tile UnitedStates by friends, colleagues and fanner sludents of Dr. Halpert

39

5. KenneUt S. Goldstein, cd. Canadia" Folklore Perspectives, 1978. vII. 68 pp.}Jbk. ($5.35 inc. lax)

Papers by Neil V. Rosenberg, Elli Konglis Maranda. Ban Seng Hoe, and CaroleHenderson Cflrpenlcr all the public pCl'cepUon of folklore and polltical aspects ofils Sllldy jll Canada.

6, Neil V. Rosenberg, ed. Folklore and OralliisfOly,l978. xx, WI Pl'. pbk. ($5.35inc. tax)

These papers, by historians, Jinguists, flnthrOjlO]oglsls and folklorists, provide fillintroduction to the use of oral data ill the study of culture and history.

7, Alison Feder and Bcrnjce SChl1111k, cds. Litera/ure (llld Folk Cultur'c: Irelalldand New/mUldlalld, 1977. ix, 182 PI), pbk. ($8.02 inc. tax)

Papers by Richard Walsh, Michael Molloy, Bryan MacMahon, Devin DanAher,Ronald Ayling, Herbert Halpert, William Kirwin on many IUlpects of Ule vernacularlind literlU'y cultures of Ireland Rlld Newfoundland.

8. Gerald Thomas. Songs Sung by French Newfoundla!lders: A Catalogue of theHoldil1g,~ of /lIe Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore (llld LanguageArc1live, 1978, ix.. 93 P]), pbk. ($5.35 inc, tax)

Lists 180 songs in 283 variants collected from singers in francophonecommunities Oil Newfoundland's POlt-au-Port Peninsula between 1971 and 1978.Provides Index of Tilles and First Lines and Index of Singers wilh Reperloires byTitles and First Lines, Brief biogra])bical notes on each singer,

9. Michael Taft. A Regional Discography of New!oundrand alld Labm.dor. 1904­1972, 1975, xxx, 102 Pl', pbk, ($5,35 inc, tax)

Lisls every commercial record featuring a Newfoundland performer and a widerange of privately produced discs. Documellls the selective adoption byNewfoundlanders of mainland popular music styles.

10, Paul Mercer, Nev.'.foundlalld SOllgs and Ballads in. Prillt 1842-1974: A Tifleand First-Line Index, 1979. xv, 343 pp. pbk, ($10.70 inc. tax)

LislS by title and first line all published texts of Newfoundland folksongs. a'oss~

referenced to Child, LaWfI, lind Taft.

Avai1nble from: The Secrelary, Department of Folklore. Memorial University ofNewfoundland, 81. John's, Newfoundland. AlB 3X8, Canada, Post fTee on receipt ofadvance lmymenL Please make cheques payable to MUNFAL Publications,