Yola language
Encyclopedia
Yola is an extinct
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...

 West Germanic language formerly spoken in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. A branch of Middle English, it evolved separately among the English (known as the Old English
Old English (Ireland)
The Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy, and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries...

) who followed the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 barons Strongbow
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland . Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow...

 and Robert Fitzstephen
Robert Fitz-Stephen
Robert Fitz-Stephen was a 12th century Cambro-Norman soldier, one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland, for which he was granted extensive lands in Ireland. He was a son of the famous Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of Deheubarth . His father was Nest's second husband,...

 to eastern Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1169.

The dialect, which in the period before its extinction was known as "Yola", meaning "old", evolved separately from the mainstream of English. Perhaps as a result of the geographic isolation and predominately rural character of the communities where it was spoken, Yola seems to have changed little down the centuries from when it first arrived in Ireland, apart from assimilating many Irish words. By the early 19th century, it was distinctly different from English spoken elsewhere.

The language continued to be spoken in south County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

 until the early to mid-19th century when it was gradually replaced with modern Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English is the dialect of English written and spoken in Ireland .English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of the late 12th century. Initially it was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with Irish spoken throughout the rest of the country...

. By the mid 19th century, the language was only spoken in remote parts of Forth, County Wexford. It was succumbing to the same set of social, political and economic processes and policies which were extinguishing the Irish language and by the end of that century little remained of its unique linguistic heritage.

Geographic distribution


It was mainly spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy
Bargy
Bargy is a barony in County Wexford, Ireland, where the now extinct Yola language was spoken.-References:*Jacob Poole, T. P. Dolan, and Diarmaid Ó Muirithe, Dialect of Forth and Bargy, Co. Wexford, Ireland, 1867, repub. 1996 ....

, two of the ten baronies of County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

 in the South East of Ireland.

Classification

Yola was a descendant of Middle English closely related to the dialects of South West England (Devon and Somerset) and South Pembrokeshire
Little England beyond Wales
Little England beyond Wales is a name applied to an area of southern Pembrokeshire and southwestern Carmarthenshire in Wales, which has been English in language and culture for many centuries despite its remoteness from the English border...

.

The urban settlements of Wexford and Dublin were both founded by the Vikings. It is possible that the English which flourished there was influenced by the Norse speech of the Vikings, although no evidence exists to support this theory.

There is also little evidence to support the theory of a link to Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 or Flemish.

The now-extinct language of north County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

, Fingalian
Fingalian
Fingalian is an extinct language formerly spoken in Fingal, Ireland, an area to the north of Dublin. A West Germanic dialect, it descended from the Middle English introduced following the Norman invasion of Ireland. It was extinct by the mid-19th century. It was similar to the Yola language spoken...

, originated around the same time and is believed to have been very similar.

Phonology

As in the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 and south-western varieties of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, most voiceless fricative
Fricative consonant
Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or...

s in Yola became voiced. The Middle English vowels are well-preserved, with no evidence of the Great Vowel Shift
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in England between 1350 and 1500.The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen , a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term....

.

One striking characteristic of Yola was the fact that stress
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...

 was shifted to the second syllable of words in many instances: morsaale "morsel", hatcheat "hatchet", dineare "dinner", readeare "reader", weddeen "wedding", etc.

Pronouns

Yola pronouns are similar to Modern English pronouns except in the first person singular and third person plural.
First and Second Person
First Person Second Person
singular plural singular plural
nom. Ich wough/wee thou ye
acc. me ouse thee ye
gen. mee oure yer yer

Verbs

Yola verbs had some conservative characteristics. The second and third person plural endings are sometimes -eth as in Chaucerian English. The past participle retains the Middle English "y" prefix as "ee".

Vocabulary

The glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...

 compiled by Jacob Poole provides most of what is known about Yola vocabulary. Poole was a farmer and member of the Religious Society of Friends from Growtown in the Parish of Taghmon on the border between the baronies of Bargy and Shelmalier. He collected words and phrases from his tenants and farm labourers between 1800 and his death in 1827.

Although most of its vocabulary is Anglo-Saxon in origin, Yola contains many borrowings from Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

.

Interrogative words
English Yola Scots Frisian Dutch
who? fho? wha?
fa? in Doric Scots
Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...

wa? wie?
what? fade? whit?
fit? in Doric Scots
wat?
when? fan? whan?
fan? in Doric Scots
wanneer?
where? fidi? whaur?
faur? in Doric Scots
wêr? waar?
why? farthoo? why?
fy? in Doric Scots
wêrom? waarom?
which? wich? whilk? welk?
how? how? hou? hoe?


Prepositions
English Yola Scots Frisian Dutch
about abut aboot om/rond
above aboo abuin boven
against ayenst agin tsjin tegen
among amang amang onder/tussen
around arent aroond rond
at adh at ap
before avar afore foar voor
below/beneath/under aloghe ablo/anaith/unner ûnder beneden/onder
beside/next to besithe/neeshte asyd/neist njonken naast
between betweesk/beteesh atwein/atweish tusken tussen
by bee bi by bij
for vor for foar voor
from vrom/vrem/vreem frae fan van
in i/ing in/i' yn in
out ut/udh oot út uit
over ower/oer ower oer over
through trugh throu troch door
upon apan/pa upon/upo' op
with wee wi mei met


Other pronouns
English Yola Scots Frisian Dutch
all aul aw/aa al al
any aany/aught onie enig
each, every earchee, earch/erich/everich ilk, ilka/iverie elk, elk, ieder
few vew few/a whein weinig
neither nother naither
none, nothing noucht, nodhing nane, nocht niemand, niets/niks
other ooree/oree ither oar ander
some zim sum somlike sommige
this, that dhicke, dhicka this, that dizze deze, dat


Other words
Yola English Scots Frisian Dutch German Irish
Weisforthe Wexford Wexford "Wexford" "Wexford"
(lit. "West-voorde")
"Wexford" Loch Garman
zin sun sun sinne zon Sonne Grian
loan, lhoan land land lân land Land Talamh
dei, die day day dei dag Tag
theezil yourself yersel dysels jezelf
dijzelf (obsolete)
du selbst tú féin
vriene friend frein freon vriend Freund Cara
a, ee the the de, it de, het die, der, das a', an
dhing thing thing ding ding Ding rud
ee-go go gae/gang/gan gean gaan gehen imigh
vear fear fear frees vrees Furcht eagla
yola, yole old auld âld oud alt sean

Modern South Wexford English

Diarmaid Ó Muirithe travelled to South Wexford in 1978 to study the English spoken there. His informants ranged in age between 40 and 90. Among the long list of words still known or in use at that time are the following:
  • Amain: ‘Going on amain’ = getting on well
  • Bolsker: an unfriendly person
  • Chy: a little
  • Drazed: threadbare
  • Fash: confusion, in a fash
  • Keek: to peep
  • Saak: to sunbathe, to relax in front of the fire
  • Quare: 'Very' or 'Extremely'

A Yola Song





Fade teil thee zo lournagh, co Joane, zo knaggee?

Th' weithest all curcagh, wafur, an cornee.

Lidge w'ouse an a milagh, tis gaay an louthee:

Huck nigher; y'art scuddeen; fartoo zo hachee?

Well, gosp, c'hull be zeid; mot thee fartoo, an fade;

Ha deight ouse var gabble, tell ee zin go t'glade.

Ch'am a stouk, an a donel; wou'll leigh out ee dey.

Th' valler w'speen here, th' lass ee chourch-hey.

Yerstey w'had a baree, gist ing oor hoane,

Aar gentrize ware bibbern, aamzil cou no stoane.

Yith Muzleare had ba hole, t'was mee Tommeen,

At by mizluck was ee-pit t'drive in.

Joud an moud vrem earchee ete was ee Lough.

Zitch vaperreen, an shimmereen, fan ee-daf ee aar scoth!

Zitch blakeen, an blayeen, fan ee ball was ee-drowe!

Chote well aar aim was t'yie ouz n'eer a blowe.

Mot w'all aar boust, hi soon was ee-teight

At aar errone was var ameing 'ar 'ngish ee-height.

Zitch vezzeen, tarvizzeen, 'tell than w'ne'er zey.

Nore zichel ne'er well, nowe, nore ne'er mey.

(There are nine more verses).

Rough translation into Modern English:

An Old Song

What ails you so melancholy, quoth John, so cross?

You seem all snappish, uneasy, and fretful.

Lie with us on the clover, 'tis fair and sheltered:

Come nearer; you're rubbing your back; why so ill tempered?

Well, gossip, it shall be said; you ask me what ails me, & for what;

You have put us in talk, till the sun goes to set.

I am a fool, and a dunce; we'll idle out the day.

The more we spend here, the less in the churchyard.

Yesterday we had a goal, just in our hand.

Their gentry were quaking, themselves could not stand.

If Good-for-little had been buried, it had been my Tommy,

Who by misluck was placed to drive in.

Throngs and crowds from each quarter were at the Lough;

Such vapouring, and shimmering, when stript in their shirts!

Such bawling, and shouting, when the ball was thrown!

I saw their aim was to give us ne'er a stroke.

But with all their bravado, they soon were taught

That their errand was aiming to bring anguish upon them.

Such driving, struggling, 'till then we ne'er saw.

Nor such never will, no, nor never may.

Cardinal numbers in Yola

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
oan twye dhree vour veeve zeese zeven ayght neen dhen

Address to Lord Lieutenant in 1836

Congratulatory address in the dialect of Forth and Bargy, presented to Earl Musgrave, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

on his visit to Wexford in 1836 taken from the Wexford Independent newspaper of 15 February 1860. The paper’s editor Mr Edmund Hore writes:


The most remarkable fact, in reality, in connexion with the address is this. In all probability it was the first time regal or vice-regal ears were required to listen to word of such a dialect; an it is even still more probable that a like event will never happen again; for if the use of this old tongue dies out as fast for the next five-and-twenty years as it has for the same bygone period, it will be utterly extinct and forgotten before the present century shall have closed.



In order for a person not acquainted with the pronunciation of the dialect to form anything like an idea of it, it is first necessary to speak slowly, and remember that the letter a has invariably the same sound, like a in “father”. Double ee sounds like e in “me”, and most words of two syllables the long accent is placed on the last. To follow the English pronunciation completely deprives the dialect of its peculiarities.



To’s Excellencie Constantine Harrie Phipps, y’ Earle Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland. Ye soumissive Spakeen o’ouz Dwelleres o’ Baronie Forthe, Weisforthe.



MAI’T BE PLESANT TO TH’ECCELLENCIE, - Wee, Vassalès o’ ‘His Most Gracious majesty’, Wilyame ee Vourthe, an, az wee verilie chote, na coshe and loyale dwellerès na Baronie Forthe, crave na dicke luckie acte t’uck neicher th’ Eccellencie, an na plaine grabe o’ oure yola talke, wi vengem o’ core t’gie ours zense o’ y gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name; and whilke we canna zei, albeit o’ ‘Governere’, ‘Statesman’, an alike. Yn ercha and aul o’ while yt beeth wi gleezom o’ core th’ oure eyen dwytheth apan ye Vigere o’dicke Zouvereine, Wilyame ee Vourthe, unnere fose fatherlie zwae oure diaez be ee-spant, az avare ye trad dicke londe yer name waz ee-kent var ee vriene o’ livertie, an He fo brake ye neckares o’ zlaves. Mang ourzels – var wee dwytheth an Irelonde az ure genreale haim – y’ast, bie ractzom o’honde, ee-delt t’ouz ye laas ee-mate var ercha vassale, ne’er dwythen na dicke waie nar dicka. Wee dwyth ye ane fose dais be gien var ee guidevare o’ye londe ye zwae, - t’avance pace an livertie, an, wi’oute vlynch, ee garde o’ generale reights an poplare vartue. Ye pace – yea, we mai zei, ye vast pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th’ast ee-cam, proo’th, y’at wee alane needeth ye giftes o’generale rights, az be displayth bie ee factes o’thie goveremente. Ye state na dicke daie o’ye londe, na whilke be nar fash nar moile, albeit ‘constitutional agitation’, ye wake o’hopes ee-blighte, stampe na yer zwae be rare an lightzom. Yer name var zetch avancet avare ye, e’en a dicke var hye, arent whilke ye brine o’zea an dye craggès o’noghanes cazed nae balke. Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi’ mattoke, an zing t’oure caulès wi plou, wee hert ee zough o’ye colure o’ pace na name o’ Mulgrave. Wi Irishmen ower generale houpes be ee-boud – az Irishmen, an az dwellerès na cosh an loyale o’ Baronie Forthe, w’oul daie an ercha daie, our meines an oure gurles, praie var long an happie zins, shorne o’lournagh an ee-vilt wi benisons, an yersel and oure gude Zovereine, till ee zin o’oure daies be var aye be ee-go to’glade.



Standard English Translation



To his Excellency, Constantine Henry Phipps, Earl Mulgrave, Lord Lieutenant-General, and General Governor of Ireland. The humble Address of the Inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, Wexford.



MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY – We, the subjects of his Most Gracious Majesty, William IV, and, as we verily believe, both faithful and loyal inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, beg leave at this favourable opportunity to approach your Excellency, and in the simple dress of our old dialect to pour forth from the strength (or fullness) of our hearts, our sense (or admiration) of the qualities which characterise your name, and for which we have no words but of ‘Governor’, ‘Statesman’, etc. In each and every condition it is with joy of heart that our eyes rest upon the representative of the Sovereign, William IV, under whose paternal rule our days are spent; for before your foot pressed the soil, your name was known to us as the friend of liberty, and he who broke the fetters of the slave. Unto ourselves – for we look on Ireland to be our common country – you have with impartial hand ministered the laws made for every subject, without regard to this party or that. We behold in you one whose days are devoted to the welfare of the land you govern, to promote peace and liberty – the uncompromising guardian of the common right and public virtue. The peace – yes, we may say the profound peace – which overspreads the land since your arrival, proves that we alone stood in need of the enjoyment of common privileges, as is demonstrated by the results of your government. The condition, this day, of the country, in which is neither tumult nor disorder, but that constitutional agitation, the consequence of disappointed hopes, confirms your rule to be rare and enlightened. Your fame for such came before you even into this retired spot, to which neither the waters of the sea below nor the mountains above caused any impediment. In our valleys, where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough, we heard the distant sound of the wings of the dove of peace, in the word Mulgrave. With Irishmen our common hopes are inseparably bound up – as Irishmen, and as inhabitants, faithful and loyal, of the Barony Forth, we will daily and every day, our wives and our children, implore long and happy days, free from melancholy and full of blessings, for yourself and our good Sovereign, until the sun of our lives be gone down the dark valley (of death).



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