Introduction - 1892 Mid-Antrim Glossary
Author: ‘F.L.’ (William James Knowles)
Date: 1892
Source: Nine lists of local (mid-Antrim) words and sayings, with notes, published in the Ballymena Observer between April and August 1892. See 1892 Ballymena Observer (Mid-Antrim) Word Lists for original articles (USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/012).
Comments: This serialised ‘glossary’ was compiled in response to a letter published in the Ballymena Observer, 19 February, 1892, from P W Joyce, whose book, English as we Speak it in Ireland, was in preparation. Dr. Joyce was appealing throughout Ireland for help in amassing a record of Irish Dialect, including words of Scotch origin. The first response from the readers of the Ballymena Observer was a significant glossary of local words by ‘F.L.’ on April 8. This word list began with an appeal for other readers to “add to it and throw light on meanings which they will see are rather obscure to me”. Further word lists introduced by ‘F.L.’ then appeared on April 22; April 29; May 6; May 27; June 17; July 1; and August 18. The identity of F.L. as William James Knowles, MRIA (1832–1927), a distinguished antiquarian from Cullybackey, was confirmed by Joyce when English as we Speak it in Ireland was published in 1910. Numerous entries sourced from this ‘Ballymena Observer’ glossary were also published in the English Dialect Dictionary (1898) and the Scottish National Dictionary (1929–1946). A complete A–Z ‘merged’ glossary has been created from these entries, and appears as the ‘1892 Mid-Antrim Glossary’ in this website.
Doc. ref. no.: USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/013-introduction
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Ballymena Observer, February 19, 1892
Irish Dialect
To the Editor of the “Observer”
Sir. – Some time ago I wrote a series of six articles in The Educational Gazette (Dublin) on the Irish dialect of the English language, which were so well received, in England as well as Ireland, that I have resolved to resume the subject. We speak in Ireland a distinct dialect, which is very obvious among the peasantry, and is quite pereptible [sic] even among the educated classes. Our dialect peculiarities proceed chiefly from two sources: – First: The Irish language, once spoken over the whole country, has left many vestiges in our English. Second: the Irish people retain in their English speech many old English sounds, words and phrases, which have been long disused in other English-speaking countries. All this is pretty fully explained and illustrated in the six papers above mentioned. The work I have had in hands for the last few years will soon I hope be ready for press. When I am free from it I will take up this subject of Irish dialect and treat it – so far as I can – exhaustively. Though I have a large collection of Hibernicisms from all parts of Ireland, I am well aware that many still remain uncollected. I write to beg that those who are interested in the subject will send me lists of such peculiar forms of expression as are used in their several localities. These may be single words, such as kitthoge or kittagh, a left-handed person (Irish); clutch or clatch, a brood of young fowl (English); cloot, a hoof (Scotch); fockle, a sheaf of straw attached to the end of a pole and set ablaze (German); linthern, a covered drain for water; galore, plentiful; or they may be phrases, such as ‘kind father for him,’ ‘pay your footing,’ ‘the dear knows,’ ‘he lived his lane,’ ‘to sup sorrow,’ ‘he was killed dead,’ or any other colloquial peculiarities. In the interest of Irish literature I trust you will be good enough to insert this letter in your journal. – I am, sir, your obedient servant,
P. W. JOYCE, LLD, TCD,
Lyre-Na-Grena, Leinster Road, Rathmines,
Dublin, 15th February, 1891.
Ballymena Observer April 8, 1892
The Irish Dialect
To the Editor of the Ballymena Observer
Sir, – I have thought over Dr. Joyce’s letter, in reference to the Irish dialect, since it appeared in your issue of 19th February last. At first I thought I could say nothing on the subject, but on reflection and by conversing with neighbours and friends, I have been able to make out a pretty good list of words and sentences which were current, in the local dialect of the district, around Ballymena not many years ago. Many of them are still current, but they are rapidly being displaced by words and phrases of newer fashion, and I have no doubt a similar change is taking place in other parts of. In after years our descendents will certainly have a design to know what the local dialect was like, and we should therefore assist Dr. Joyce in his endeavours to preserve a record of it. I would send him at once the list I have prepared, but knowing that it is imperfect in many respects, I think it better to let it appear first in the OBSERVER, as I am sure many of your readers and correspondents will be able to add to it and throw light on meanings which they will see are rather obscure to me. –
Yours, &c.,
F.L.
The following list I propose to submit to your readers, which I shall endeavour as well as I can to arrange in alphabetical order. I may say generally that ‘gh’, wherever it may occur, has the sound of the last two letters, in the word Clough. ‘Dr’ and ‘tr’, sounds as if written ‘dhr’ and ‘thr’, also ‘er’ and ’re’ have in most cases that well known local sound somewhat like ‘ther’: –
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