English is a rich language, in that each nation, and even each local area in which it is spoken uses a slightly different dialect, with its own lexicon, phonology, and vocabulary. Speech patterns are adapted to meet the needs customs and backgrounds of local speakers. This can be seem in the Kentish and Cornish dialects presented in the following texts from Early Modern English: \"Ich am a Comishe Man\" (1547) by Cornwall and \"A Wooing song of a Yeoman of Kent´s Sonne\" (1611), by Ken. While there are certain distinct similarities, there are also speech patterns that are specific to the dialect in use.
Cornwall dialect is by and large observed as an ancient language that is very similar to Gaelic and Irish. According to writer, Simon Reed, Cornish language tends to be distinctive in terms of its features which include the retention of Old and Middle English. Other features include the following: "the retention of thou and ye, double plurals, archaisms [such as un], reversals, omissions of prepositions and [the use of] they as a demonstrative adjective" (1). According to both Norman Blake and Kent Archaeological Society, Kentish language tends to have a particular pronunciation similar to Cockney English, which is a specific dialogue used in the Southern part of London. Typical features associated with the Kentish dialect include shifts of the diphthong, a deleting of the letter /h/ and the use of /d/ for the letter, j (1992; 2008).
Both dialects have a strong Germanic influence which can be seen in the use of certain words and phrases. Most prominently, both texts use the word “Ich”, for I, which is a German word, not associated with modern English. Further both dialects use the /v/ in pace of a modern /f/ as can be seen in Germanic phonologic inventory. In the Kentish poem, he refers to his “vather” which is highly reflective of the German word for father “Vater.” It is interesting to note, however, that the “t” sound at the center of the word has already softened, in the Kentish, to adopt the /ϴ/ in place of the /d/ phoneme in the word. A similar use of /v/ in place of /f/ is used in the Cornish speech, in use of the word “vyshe” for “fish” and “volk” for “folk.” The use of /u/ instead of /v/ is also notable, especially as it relates to the first stanza, "I haue house" [] and if you'l loue me" (Ravenscroft). This replacement occurs in each of the stanzas of the poem.
In contrast, however, the Kentish often uses /z/ in place of /s/ while the Cornish consistently uses the /s/ phoneme. For example, in the Kentish poem, he refers to himself as a “zone” or son, using /z/ in the place of s. However, in the Cornish, soul is “soole” and now “zoole”. This shows the development of the soft s in the Cornish well before it was developed in the Kentish. The letter /v/ is used in the Cornwall poem, while absent in the Kentish poem. For example, the poem notes "many volke do segge, I mar many dyng to seg" (Boorde). The evidence of the reversals that are key to the Cornwall dialect are evident in the poem, particularly, in the lines "that iche may it of sup," which is essentially that I may take a sip of it reversed. The Kentish poem does not use reversals, as the reader can clearly observe what Thomas Ravenscroft is attempting to relay in the poem. Another aspect that is dissimilar between the poems is the deletion of the letter /e/ in the word they in the Cornwall poem, whereas with the Kentish poem, there is no deletion of the letter /e/. The differences are more evident than the similarities between the two dialects, which is suggestive of the distinctions that are present considering both languages emerged in different parts of the world.
Works Cited
Blake, Norman. The Cambridge History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Print.
Boorde, Andrew. Ich am a Cornishe Man”. 1547. PDF.
"A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect." KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 2008. Web. 12 May 2016. <http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/cassets/KentishDialect.pdf>.
Ravenscroft, Thomas. A Wooing song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne. 1611. PDF.
Reed, Simon. "Cornish Dialect Introduction." Cornish Culture, 5 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 May 2016. <https://cornishculture.co.uk/portfolio/cornish-dialect-introduction/>.
