I. A Few Phonetic Notes.

As regards phonetics, Jerome’s language shows us the usual characteristic alterations and abbreviations of vulgar speech.

The uncultivated individual instantly and invariably unmasks himself by dropping his »h’s», however he may struggle to avoid it. On the other hand, an h not existing in ordinary pronunciation, is sometimes heard before a vowel, especially in pathetic speech.

Another characteristic of non-culture, often ridiculed in comic papers, is the pronunciation of u:

An r, consisting of a scarcely perceptible vibration of the tip of the tongue (named vanish-r by Ellis), is often heard in words and combinations where it does not exist in ordinary pronunciation. In some cases, it seems to be used to avoid a hiatus, in others, it is evidently the effect of an exaggerated palatal pronunciation of the vowel.

A long vowel is often abbreviated: weskit for ‘waistcoat’, gal, gel for ‘girl’, dunno for ‘don’t know’, agin for ‘again’, etc.; while, on the other hand, a short vowel (esp. o) is sometimes lengthened: dawg for ‘dog’, gawd for ‘god’ (Novel Notes 212).

(The same pron. of short o exists in the Essex dialect.)

In vulgar London speech, w is sometimes heard instead of v. Jerome’s language offers, however, but one sample: wiolets (T. T. T. 137. 5.)

(The pronunciation of w as v, Veller for Weller, etc. is said to be extinct in modern vulgar English.)

The g in words ending with -ing, esp. the present participle, is mostly mute in vulgar pronunciation.

This pronunciation of the participle is, however, rather an archaism. Sendin’. etc., is the ancient, dialectic pronunciation, and is not exclusively characteristic of vulgar language. Our author tells us that it has been—and is perhaps at present—the fashion among certain circles of the capital: «He suppressed a yawn, and replied, ‘Mornin’ dropping the g. The custom was just coming into fashion; he was always correct». (Sketches 51. 9.)

Blasé Billy.

Other anomalisms are: sich for such, hisself for himself, forarther for further (T. T. T. 247. 12), allus for always, mar for mother (P. Kelver II. 64. 30), oss for horse (Sketches 195. 20).

II. Accidence.

Anomalisms in the Conjugation of the Verbs.

The effect of analogy is obvious in the following examples.

Past.

(The common anomalous form I seed is not to be found in Jerome.)

Perfect Participle.

Present Participle.

The Present Participles preceded by a pleonastic -a are very numerous.

To Be.

It wur instead of it was is dialectic or vulgar. The samples I have found in Jerome (Three Men in a Boat 221, Woodb. Farm 8 + 10 + 56) are obviously all dialectic.

The uncommon form warn’t instead of wasn’t occurs in Woodb. Farm (p. 8, 1), but is evidently also dialectic.

Of the common anomalous form they’s instead of they are there is no example in Jerome.

To Have.

Have not and has not are regularly transformed into ain’t.

Pronouns.

The abbreviated form ’em (for them, Middle-Engl. hem) is very common in Jerome, as in ordinary easy conversation among all classes.

The ordinary confusion of I and me appears in a few instances.

Me instead of myself is archaic, but occurs in vulgar language also.

You is very often corrupted into yer or ye.

Them is sometimes confused with those:

Enclitic here (always written ’ere: this ’ere, that ’ere, etc.) is very common. Of enclitic there I have found no example in Jerome.

The assimilation of m in himself (hisself) is regular.

Nouns.

The vulgar tongue has a strong liking for diminutive forms ending in -y, -ey. I have found in Jerome the following instances.

Cf. milky = milkman; dusty = dustman; bricky = bricklayer; posty = postman (Baumann).

Sometimes, the tendency to form words ending in -y seems to extend also to the Participle.

(Cf. dreaming > dreamy; chatting > chatty, etc.)

An instance of double-possessive appears in Sketches p. 201. 8.

(Cf. Swed. »hanses rock», etc.)

III. Syntactical Remarks.

Constructions with To be and the Present Participle are used colloquially, with the intention of vividness, in many cases where there is no particular reason to stress the fact that a thought is just a going on, a tendency especially characteristic of the Celtic-speaking Englishman. The uneducated vulgus have a strong predilection for these constructions and overdo them, as in the following examples, where there is not any reason at all for using them:

Adjectives, adverbs, and other words are often accompanied by a pleonastic -like.

(Such-like is quite normal. In fact, when the word is not attributive, »such» would now be colloquial, e.g. »thieves and such» for »such-like», »the like».)

Adverbs are often substituted for adjectives.

This tendency extends, however, to the colloquial language of the cultivated. »Precious», for instance, is almost regularly substituted for very by many persons of some education.

(The inverse construction—adverb instead of adjective—may be heard now and then: the child looked very nicely, etc.)

Adjectives turned into a Plural Noun to express a State of Mind.

As stands very often for Relative Pronouns without a preceding such.

Nearly as often, as or as how is substituted for subordinate that.

Constructions with so ... that are contracted in the following manner.

Double Negative Particle is rather common—as in German and other languages also.

The ordinary confusion of on and of occurs in one instance, admirably illustrating the difficulties the uneducated meet with as often as they try to disguise the fatal dropping of the h’s:

The following sequence of words—with stress upon the pronoun—is in high favour with the uncultivated Englishman (Cf. Swed. sa han, sa jag. etc.):