A. The Indefinite Article. Very few dialects follow the rule of the literary language according to which an is used before a vowel or h mute. ə is used before vowels and consonants, as ə apl, an apple. When n is used it is generally attached to the noun, as ə napl. In all the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. the indefinite article is used redundantly before numerals and nouns of multitude and quantity, as: more than a twenty of them; a many; a plenty; cp. lit. Eng. a few. This construction occurs in our older literature, cp. ‘A many fools,’ Mer. of Venice, III. v. 73.
B. The Definite Article. The dialect forms of the definite article have been given above under the consonant þ. In those dialects where the form is t, should the following word begin with a dental, the only trace of the article is the suspension of the dental. A clear distinction is made between teəbl, table, and t’eəbl, the table, dlium, gloom, and d’lium, the gloom. These same dialects, owing to liturgical influence, use the full form ðə before loəd, Lord, when applied to the Deity, save in off-hand speech and in the phrase loəd nǭz, the Lord knows, where the article is omitted altogether. The ending of the O.E. neuter form of the definite article survives in tōn, the one (O.E. ðæt ān), and tuðə(r, tɒðə(r, the other (O.E. ðæt ōðer). These words are in general use in the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng.; their origin being forgotten, the ordinary form of the definite article is often used redundantly before them.
The definite article is used in many dialects in cases where it would be omitted in the lit. language:
(a) In the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. before the names of all diseases, as: he has got the fever, the rheumatics.
(b) In the Sc. Midl. and sw.Cy. dialects before the names of trades and occupations, generally with a frequentative force implying the practising or learning of the trade, e.g. We’ve a-boun un purntice to the shoemakerin’ (Som.), Apprentices and improvers wanted to the Dressmaking.
(c) In Sc. before the names of sciences and commodities, as: he studies the botany; the sugar is cheap.
(d) In the Sc. and Midl. dialects before the names of days, months, seasons, especially when speaking of any particular circumstance connected therewith, as: he died in the Christmas.
(e) In the dialects of Sc. and n.Cy. before certain words, as church, school, bed, when these are used absolutely or indefinitely, as: it’s wearisome lying in the bed.
(f) In the Sc. n.Cy. and Midl. dialects before ordinals used adverbially, as: Tom came in the second and Jack the third.
(g) In Irel. and most parts of Eng. before both, as: I will have the both of them.
(h) In w.Yks. before proper names, and in the sw. dialects whenever a proper name or title is preceded by an adj., as: T’Skipton, T’Hawes; the young squire Jones.
(i) In I.Ma. before an adj. when special stress is required, generally with inversion of verb and adj., as: the sick I am.
The formation of the plural of nouns is practically the same as in the standard language, but a few points of deviation are worth notice. Nouns ending in þ which in the lit. language change þ to ð and take z in the plural, as pāþ, pāðz, generally retain the þ and take s in the plural in the dialects; similarly in Sc. and sw. dialects nouns ending in lf retain the f in the plural and take s. Nouns ending in st form their plural in əz, iz in the Midl. s. and sw. dialects, as bīst, beast, bīstəz, pōst, post, pōstəz. Very frequently, however, such nouns take a double plural, as bīstəzəz, postəzəz. A triple plural nestsəzəz, nests, is found in Sus. The only plurals in -n in the lit. language are oxen and the archaic form hosen. Brethren, children, and kine are double plurals. The list is much longer in the dialects and comprises: (a) Words which belonged to the weak declension in O.E.: æʃn, ashes, s.w.Cy.; bīn, bees, Irel. Chs.; īn, eyes, in general use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.; flīn, fleas, Midl.; pīzn, peas, Wxf. Eng. gen.; tōn, toes, Wxf. s.Chs. (b) Words which originally belonged to the strong or irregular declensions: brùðrən, brothers, Lei.; tʃīzn, cheeses, e.An. Dor.; klūtn, clouts, e.Yks.; vəzn, furze, Dor.; h)ɒuzn, houses, gen. in Eng. except n.Cy.; kīn, keys, Wil.; mɒuzn, mice, Glo. e.Dev.; nīzn, nests, s.Chs. Midl. e.An.; ōkn, oaks, Hrf.; pōzn, posts, Nhp. Shr. Glo. Hnt.; riksn, rushes, sw.Cy.; ʃūn, shoes, gen. in Sc. Irel. and Eng.; sistrən, sisters, Cai.; trīn, trees, Fif. Wxf.; tɒrvn, turfs, Sc.; wopsn, wasps, Hmp.; wenʃn, wenches, Glo. (c) Romance words to which the weak ending has been added: botln, bottles, sw.Dev.; klōzn, fields, Lei. Nhp. e.An.; feərin, fairies, e.Lan.; plēzn, places, Midl. sw.Cy.; primrōzn, primroses, Glo. Dev.
The plural form tʃildə(r, children, in general use in Irel. and Eng. is the regular form from the O.E. plural cildru. In the lit. language the r has ceased to be felt as a sign of the plural and the weak -n has been added. Certain nouns form their plural by change of vowel as in the literary language; these are: foot feet, goose geese, louse lice, man men, mouse mice, tooth teeth, woman women; breðə(r, bruðə(r, brother makes breðə(r in parts of Sc., n.Yks. Lan.; kau, cow, makes kai, Sc. n.Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. sw.Cy. On the other hand fut, foot, makes futs e.Suf., lɒus, louse, lɒusəz, Abd. e.Sus. n.Dev., mɒus, mouse, mɒusəz, m.Bck. e.Sus.
Certain nouns have the singular and plural alike, as: as, ash, ashes, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Midl.; tʃik, chicken, chickens, e.Sus.; tʃikn, ibid., Glo. Oxf. Ken. m.Sus. Som.; fɒul, fowl, fowls, Sc. Shr.; hors, horse, horses; and a few others; bīst, an animal of the ox tribe, has a collective plural bīs (biəs) in Sc. Yks. Lan. Midl. and sw.Cy. On the other hand, corn has a plural kornz, oats, in Sc.; ʃip, sheep, makes ʃips in War. Shr. Glo. Nouns expressing time, space, weight, measure, and number, when immediately preceded by a cardinal number, generally remain unchanged in the dialects of Sc. and Eng.
Double plurals are common in the dialects, for example: (a) əz, iz is added to the ordinary plural ending s, z, in: beləsəz, bellows, n. and nm.Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Midl. sw.Cy.; buədzəz, boards, Sus.; galəsəz, braces, n.Cy.; æmzəz, hames, sw.Cy.; keksəz, a plant, Midl. Ken. Sur. Dor.; ʃūzəz, shoes, Nrf. Dev.; sǭtsəz, sorts, Brks.; stepsəz, steps, w. and sw.Yks. w.Som.; þrīzəz, threes, tūzəz, twos, Brks. e.An.; toŋziz, tongs, w.Wil. w.Som. (b) z is added to the plural -n: brīknz, breeches, &c.; oksnz, oxen, w.Som.; plēzns, places, Not.; riksnz, rushes, Dev.; ʃūnz, shoes, Sc.; slōnz, sloes, Midl. e.Cy. sw.Cy. (c) s, əz is added to umlaut plurals: fīts, feet, Sc. se. Yks. Glo.; gīzəz, geese, Nhb.; mīzəz, mice, Ess. (d) tʃildə̄z, children, occurs in w.Yks. (e) The weak ending -n is sometimes added to the ordinary s, z: ǭzn, haws, Glo.; ipsn, hips, Oxf. n.Wil.; ɒksn, hocks, Ken. Dev. Cor.; nīzn, knees, s.Chs. (f) The weak plural ending is sometimes added to the umlaut plural: fītn, feet, e.An.; gīzn, geese, Suf.; kain, kine, Ayr. Gall. Wxf. n.Cy. Ken. Dev.; mīzn, mice, Cmb. Suf. Triple plurals occur in: ǭznz, haws, Glo.; ipsnz, hips, Oxf. n.Wil. In some nouns the plural form is used for the singular, as: ǭz, a haw, Oxf. Suf. Ess. Ken.; inz, an inn, Sc. n.Irel.; slōn, a sloe, Midl. s. and sw.Cy.; &c. In certain words the s of the stem has been taken as the sign of the plural, and a new singular formed without it, as: karitʃ, catechism, Fr. catéchèse, Sc. n.Yks.; ʃē, chaise, Yks. Lan. m.Bck. e.Sus.; hō, a single stocking, Sc. piz, a single pea, in Bch. Abd. is a survival of O.E. pise; in the lit. language a new singular has been formed, but cp. pease-pudding. Other examples of the formation of a new singular without s in the lit. language are: burial, O.E. byrgels; riddle, O.E. rǣdels; cherry, Fr. cerise; sherry, formerly sherris, Span. Xeres; skate, Du. schaats, Fr. échasse.
The following nouns, though remaining singular in form, take the plural form of the verb and pronoun and are used after few, &c., as: brōz, a kind of porridge, Sc.; broþ, broth, Sc. n.Ir. n.Cy. Midl. e.An. sw.Cy.; brouis, a kind of gruel, s.Chs. Shr.; grǖəl, gruel, e.An.; poridȝ, porridge, n.Cy., n.Midl.; sūp, soup, w.Yks. Shr.
The sign of the genitive, both singular and plural, is generally omitted when one noun qualifies another in all the n.Cy. dialects, and occasionally in the n.Midlands, as: the Queen cousin; my father boots; the lad father stick. A Lancashire magistrate is reported to have asked a witness, ‘Was it your brother dog?’ This characteristic of n.Cy. dialects is found already in the M.E. period. The M.E. practice of placing the genitival s at the end of an attributive clause survives in most dialects of Sc. and Eng., as: I’ve just seen Jim Dutton him as went to America’s wife; that’s the woman what was left behind’s child. There is a general tendency in all dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. to express the genitive plural by means of an additional syllable suffixed to the nominative plural, as: the farmerses cows. This is especially the case with the word folk, nom. pl. fōks, gen. pl. fōksəz.
The gender of nouns grammatically speaking can only be ascertained by means of the pronouns referring to them. There is a general tendency in all dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. to personify inanimate objects. In Sc. Irel. and the dialects of the northern counties the feminine pronoun is used, while in the Midlands, the e. s. and sw. counties, the use is variable. In the sw. dialects inanimate objects are divided into two classes. The first or personal class consists of formed, individual objects, as: a tool, a tree; for these masculine or feminine pronouns are employed. The neuter pronoun is used when referring to nouns contained in the second or impersonal class of unformed objects, as: water, dust.
In the dialects the practice of forming adjectives denoting material from the substantive by means of the suffix -en is carried out to a much greater extent than in the literary language, as: tinnen pots, glassen bottles, hornen spoons. This is especially the case in the southern and south-western dialects. The comparison of adjectives is formed in the dialects by adding the comparative suffix -er and the superlative -est to practically all adjectives, polysyllabic as well as monosyllabic. More and most are as a rule only used to supplement or intensify the regular comparison, as: more beautifuller, most worst. The following adjectives, irregular in the lit. language, are compared regularly in some dialects: badder, baddest, n.Cy. Midl.; farer, farest, Sc. n.Cy. and the Midlands; gooder, goodest, Cum. m.Yks. Dev.; iller, w.Yks. e.An., illest, Fif. n.Cy.; liker, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. sw.Cy.; littler, littlest, in general use in n. and ne.Sc. and Eng. The old comparative near, treated as a positive in the literary language, retains its force in n.Yks. and nw.Der.; similarly, far, further, is retained in Yks. Lan. and the Midlands. Mae, the M.E. comparative of many, is used in Sc. Nhb. e.Yks. Stf. Double comparatives occur in betterer, Cum. Yks. Dev. Cor.; morer, Shr.; worser, in general use in Sc. and Eng. A triple form, worserer, is heard in e.An. Double superlatives occur in bestest, sw.Cy.; leastest, Lan. e.An. sw.Cy.; mostest, Shr. Ken. Som. Cor.
In the dialects of the western and south-western counties it is usual to place the lower digit before the higher, as: five and fifty. In Shr. this rule is invariable when speaking of sums of money under £2, as: six and thirty shillings for a pig. In the dialects, especially of Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Lei. Wor. Shr., the ordinals after third take the suffix t instead of literary English th. The old ordinal erst, first in order, survives in Sc. and n.Yks.
In all the dialects of Sc. and Eng. there is a tendency to introduce a redundant personal pronoun after a noun when emphasis is required; this is especially frequent after a proper name, as: Mr. Smith, he came to my house. In Sc. and the northern dialects a pronoun is often used to introduce a statement, the specific subject being added later, as: it runs very well, does that horse. In all the dialects of Sc. and Eng. the objective form of the personal pronoun is used for the nominative: (1) After the substantive verb, as: it was her that did it. (2) When standing alone, as: Who did that? Her. (3) When the verb refers to different persons, as: him and me did it; Jack and us went together. (4) When antecedent to a relative pronoun, and therefore separated from its verb by a subordinate sentence, as: him that did that ought to be hanged. The objective forms are often used for the nominative when the pronouns are unemphatic, especially in the south-midland, eastern, southern, and south-western counties. Conversely in all the dialects of these same counties the nominative of the personal pronoun is used as the emphatic form of the objective case, as: her did it; her saw she. In Irel. the impersonal phrase it is often occurs redundantly at the beginning of a sentence, as: it’s sorry you will be; it’s sleepy I am.
The various dialect forms of the personal pronouns are of special interest to the philologist in that they supply living examples to prove the truth of the theory necessary to explain the original forms of the pronouns in the separate branches of the Indo-Germanic family of languages. Most of the pronouns, especially the personal and demonstrative, must have had accented and unaccented forms existing side by side in the parent language itself, and then one or other of the forms became generalized already in the prehistoric period of the individual branches of the parent language. At a later period, but still in prehistoric times, there arose new accented and unaccented forms side by side in the individual branches, as e.g. in prim. Germanic ek, mek beside ik, mik. The separate Germanic languages generalized one or other of these forms before the beginning of the oldest literary monuments, and then new accented beside unaccented forms came into existence again. And similarly during the historic periods of the different languages. Thus, e.g., the O.E. for I is ic; this became in M.E. ich accented form beside i unaccented form; ich then disappeared in standard M.E. (but it is still preserved in one of the modern dialects of Somersetshire), and i came to be used as the accented and unaccented form. At a later period it became ī when accented and remained i when unaccented. The former has become lit. Eng. I, and the latter has disappeared from the lit. language, but it is still preserved in many northern Eng. dialects as i. In these dialects i is regularly used in interrogative and subordinate sentences; the M.E. accented form ī has become ai and is only used in the dialects to express special emphasis, and from it a new unaccented form a has been developed, which can only be used in making direct assertions. Thus in one and the same dialect (Windhill, Yks.) we arrive at three forms: ai, a, i, which are never mixed up syntactically by genuine native dialect speakers. Something similar to what has happened and is still happening in the modern dialects must also have taken place in the prehistoric and historic periods of all the Indo-Germanic languages.
I. (a) The nominative of the first person singular. The stressed form is generally the same as the normal development of old ī (v. p. 132), but in some of the n.Midl. dialects ǭ is used. The unstressed forms are generally a or ə, but in the n.Midl. dialects o is the general form. The forms itʃ (ich), ɒtʃ (utch), ɒtʃi (utchy), and the contracted form tʃ (ch), as: tʃam = I am, were formerly used in Wxf. Dor. Som. and Dev. These forms are still used by old people in a small district of Som. close to Yeovil on the border of Dorset, cp. ‘Chill pick your teeth, zir,’ Lear, IV. vi. 250. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generally mī, rarely mei. The unstressed form is mə.
II. (a) The nominative of the second person singular. The stressed form generally contains the normal development of old ū (p. 132), but in the n. and n.Midl. counties the ð has generally become t in interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generally ðī, rarely ðei. The unstressed form is ðə. The pronoun of the second person singular is in use in almost all the dialects of Eng. to express familiarity or contempt, and also in times of strong emotion; it cannot be used to a superior without conveying the idea of impertinence. In s.Sc. this pronoun has entirely disappeared from the spoken language, and is only very occasionally heard in other parts of Sc. In Glo., owing probably to Quaker influence, it can be used without rudeness to a superior. In Nrf. it is only used in a few stereotyped salutations, as: fare-thee-well. In e.Dor. it is only used to children or in recriminatory language.
III. (a) The nominative of the third person singular masc. The stressed form is generally h)ī, rarely h)ei. The unstressed form is generally i or ə. In the n. and some n.Midl. dialects the i is used in affirmative sentences and the ə in interrogative and subordinate sentences. The unstressed form ə, written a, occurs often in Shakespeare’s Plays, cp. ‘Hostess. Nay, that a did not. Boy. Yes, that a did,’ Hen. V, II. iv. 32, 33. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is h)im and the unstressed form im, but in the s.Midl. s. and sw.Cy. dialects ən, generally written en, un (O.E. hine), is the regular unstressed form for im. It is also used of inanimate objects and in w.Som. of feminine animals, though never of a woman.
IV. (a) The nominative of the third person singular fem. The stressed form is generally ʃī, rarely ʃei, but in some of the n.Midl. dialects it is ʃū. The unstressed form is generally ʃə, but ʃu is also used in those dialects which have ʃū as the stressed form. O.E. hēo, she, survives as ū, u generally written hoo, in parts of w.Yks. Lan. Chs. Flt. Dnb. Stf. Der. Not. Wor. (b) The objective case is generally h)ē(r, h)ə(r.
V. The nominative of the third person singular neut. The stressed form is generally it, but in Sc. and Nhb. hit. The unstressed form is generally it or ət. In Oxf. Dor. and Som. it is frequently used instead of the plural pronoun when animals or objects are referred to collectively.
VI. (a) The nominative of the first person plural. The stressed form is wī, rarely wei. The unstressed forms are wi, wə. In many n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects wi is used in affirmative sentences and wə in interrogative and subordinate sentences. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is generally ɒs, but in some of the n.Cy. and n.Midl. dialects it is uz, in Sc., parts of Irel. and Nhb. hɒz. The unstressed forms are əs, əz.
VII. The second person plural. Few dialects discriminate between you and ye; on the whole the use of ye for the nom. and obj. cases singular and plural is the more general. In s.Chs. you is always singular in meaning though it takes the verb in the plural, as: you thinken; ye is always plural. In Irel. and Nrf. the curious form yous, in Irel. also yees, is used when more than one person is addressed.
VIII. (a) The nominative of the third person plural. The stressed form of the nominative is generally ðē or ðeə, but in some midl. and s. dialects it is ðai or ðei, and in Sh. and Or.I. n.Ken. Sus. dē, rarely dei. The unstressed form is generally ðe or ðə, rarely ði. In Lin. War. Shr. ə (O.E. hīe) is used for the unstressed form of they. (b) The objective case. The stressed form is ðem, rarely ðēm. In all the dialects of Irel. and Eng. the unstressed form is əm (O.E. heom), generally written em, or ’em. In Sc. the unstressed form is ðem or ðəm.
The conjunctive possessive pronoun is in many dialects formed by adding the genitival s to the personal pronouns both nominative and objective, as: we’s, Oxf. Ess.; us’s, m.Yks. Glo. Oxf.; you’s, Sur.; him’s, w.Sc. Hrf.; she’s, Sur. Wil.; them’s, Dev.; in e.An. that’s is used for his, her, its. The use of the personal pronoun, nominative or objective, instead of the possessive is common in many Midl. and sw.Cy. dialects, especially when unemphatic or in addressing children, as: we held we breaths; let’s be off tul us dinners, In certain n.Cy. and Midl. dialects the old uninflected it is still used instead of the modern its, cp. ‘It lifted up it head,’ Ham. I. ii. 216. In Hmp. the still older use of his for the neuter possessive is preserved, cp. ‘To every seed his own body,’ A.V. 1 Cor. xv. 38. In ne. Lan. her (O.E. hiera) is used for their. Throughout England the use of our, your before a proper noun to denote that the person spoken of belongs respectively to the family of the speaker or the person spoken to is very common, as: our Sal; your Tom. wə(r is in general dialect use in Sc. Irel. and Eng. for the unstressed form of our.
In the Midl. e. s. and sw. counties the disjunctive possessive pronouns, except mine, thine, are generally formed from the conjunctive by adding n or ən, thus hisn, hern, ourn, yourn, theirn. A double form is used in mine’s, Sc. n.Yks. This double ending is added to the nom. in weez’n, Glo.; shizn, War. Glo. Brks. Hmp. Wil. The conjunctive form is used disjunctively in Lakel. Suf. Ess., as: that is my. In w.Yks. that’s is used as the disjunctive possessive of the third person. Apart from these deviations, the dialects generally express the disjunctive possessive pronouns in the same manner as the lit. language.
The reflexive pronouns are generally formed by adding self, sel, sen, or seln for the singular, and selves, sels, sens (rarely sen) for the plural, to the conjunctive possessive pronouns, usually the unstressed forms: mi, ði, wə(r, jə(r, &c. The endings sen, seln, sens are chiefly confined to the n.Midl. dialects. The endings self, selves are hardly ever used in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and n.Midlands. Frequently the objective case of the simple personal pronoun is used with a reflexive meaning, especially in Sc. n.Cy. and n.Midl., as: get thee dressed while I wash me. In Sc. theirsel is used when the idea is collective, theirsels when it is segregate.
The demonstrative pronoun this is expressed by: (1) This, generally used in the same manner as in lit. English. (2) This here, in general dialect use in Eng. (3) That, in Sc. and n.Irel. as: that is a fine day. (4) Thease, Hrf. Glo. and sw.Cy., used of objects having a definite shape; cp. Lat. hic; in w.Som. when the noun, whatever its quantity or number, has already been mentioned in the same sentence, it is referred to as that, this, not as thick, thease. (5) Thease yerimy, Glo. (6) Thick here, sw.Cy. In disjunctive use are: (7) Thisn, thisna, n.Cy. Midl. Suf. Sur. (8) Thease here, w.Som. (9) Thissum, Glo. Hmp. sw.Cy.
That is expressed by: (1) That, generally used in the same manner as in lit. Eng. (2) That there, in general dialect use in Eng.; a second there is often added, as is also a second here to this here. (3) Thack, thacky, Glo. sw.Cy. (4) Thick there, Glo. I.W. sw.Cy. (5) Thon, Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur., used to identify an object remote from both speakers. (6) Thonder, Chs. Hrf. (7) Yon, Sc. Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. Hrf. e.An. Dev., used especially of a person or thing a little way off, but within sight. (8) Yond, Edb. Yks. Lan. Dev. (9) Yonder, Ayr. I.Ma. s.Chs. Nhp. w.Wor. Nrf. In disjunctive use are: (10) Thatn, Lakel. Der. Not. Wor. Hrf. Sur. (11) Thickumy, Som. (12) Thilk, Glo. In Sc. n.Midl. Lon. Suf. Ken. that is used in emphatic reiteration of an assertion, as: I suppose you are in a hurry. I am that. In all the dialects that is used adverbially with the meaning to such a degree, as: I was that bad. It is also used before a substantive with the meaning such, as: in that fear that I couldn’t move. In n.Hmp. thick is always used for this, and thuck for that; in Dor. thick is only used for the personal class of formed individual objects.
These is expressed by: (1) These, as in lit. Eng. (2) Thes here, w.Yks. Midl. Brks. Nrf. Ken. Som. n.Dev. (3) These yerimy, Glo. (4) Theasum, theasamy, Glo. Hmp. sw.Cy. (5) This, ne.Sc. n.Cy. parts of Yks. and Lan., and sw.Cy. It is used especially with plural nouns denoting time, as: this three weeks. In disjunctive use are: (6) These ’ans (= ones), theseun, Cum. Hrf. Brks. Wil. (7) Thism, Glo.
Those is seldom or never heard in genuine dialect speech. Its place is supplied by: (1) Them, in all the dialects of Sc. Irel. and Eng. In Sc. it is especially used as the antecedent of the relative, as: them at did it. (2) Them there, n.Midl. Midl. e.An. Dor. Som. (3) Themmin, Glo. Wil. (4) Themmy, sw.Cy. (5) They, Midl. Suf. s. and sw.Cy., used especially as the antecedent of the relative. (6) They there, Ken. w.Som. Dev. (7) That, ne.Sc. (8) These, Sc. Cum. Yks. (9) Thon, Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. (10) Yon, Sc. n.Irel. n.Cy. n.Midl. e.An. Dev. (11) Yond, Edb. Yks. Lan. Dev. (12) Them ’ans, Cum. (13) Yon ’ans, Cum. These and those are both expressed by: (1) Thae, Sc. Uls. n.Cy. (2) Thick, thuck, Wor. Dev. (3) Thir, Sc. (s. of the Grampians) Uls. n.Cy. In disjunctive use: (4) Thirs, thors, Sc. Nhb. (5) Thir ’ans, Cum.
There are no special dialect words for the interrogative pronoun, but the following deviations from the lit. use are worth notice: Whom is hardly ever used in any dialect; its place is taken by who. In Sc. and n. and ne.Yks. whose is seldom used as an interrogative pronoun, a periphrasis being used instead, as: who is aught the bairn? whose is the child? who belongs this house? whose house is this? In Cum. which is used of persons as well as of animals and things.
The relative pronoun is generally expressed by as, at, that or what for all genders and numbers, when the antecedent is expressed. In other cases who is used for the masc. and fem. nom. and obj., and what for the neuter. Whom is never used in the dialects. As is rarely used in n.Cy., but in the other parts of England it is in general use. At is in general use in Sc. Irel. n.Cy. and a small portion of the n.Midl. counties. What can be used when it refers to persons as well as to inanimate objects in some of the n.Midl. counties, and in nearly all the counties south of the n.Midlands. In w.Som. it is only used when special emphasis is required. In s.Not. Hrf. Glo. and Nrf. the relative which is used redundantly in a conjunctive sense, as: ghosts, which I can’t bear talking about. In Brks. whosen is used for whose, but as a rule the possessive relative cannot be expressed by a single word in the dialects; instead a periphrasis or parenthetical sentence is substituted. Especially frequent is the use of as or what coupled with a possessive pronoun, as: that’s the chap as his uncle was hanged. In Sc. at is similarly used, as: the man at his coat’s torn.