the aftermath of aftermath
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In a message dated 4/16/02 4:07:17 PM, fetteroll@... writes:
<< So was the "w" once pronounced as in the others? >>
Yep.
Language lives well in ballads. There's one called "The Twa Sisters" (still
pronounced) and in "The Twa Corbies," which is in Scots dialect, the "twa" is
pronounced in the text.
It lasted longer in Scotland than England, that pronunciation.
Because of the rhythm and rhyme of ballads, there will be whole phrases which
are obsolete in spoken or written use, but still sung and passed on because
the ballad doesn't make sense without it.
In Matty Groves, a version collected in the SE U.S., one verse is:
I'm standin' here with two swords by my side
They cost me deep in purse
I'll give to you the best o' them
and I will take the worst, worst, and I will take the worst.
Library-collectors would probably change that "worst" to "worse" for
grammatical perfection, but whatever. The "cost me deep in purse" definitely
dates the text from when men carried their money in purses (little belt
pouches). And there's a Ben Jonson song about a cutpurse. Cutpurse was a
pickpocket. But the name was from literally slipping by, bumping someone,
and at the same time cutting the cords of leather or whatever that held a
purse on a belt, or that held it closed. So in the 17th century, there were
still pouches in use. The song is considered to be older than that, but from
just that purse clue it goes back at least to 17th C.
Sandra
<< So was the "w" once pronounced as in the others? >>
Yep.
Language lives well in ballads. There's one called "The Twa Sisters" (still
pronounced) and in "The Twa Corbies," which is in Scots dialect, the "twa" is
pronounced in the text.
It lasted longer in Scotland than England, that pronunciation.
Because of the rhythm and rhyme of ballads, there will be whole phrases which
are obsolete in spoken or written use, but still sung and passed on because
the ballad doesn't make sense without it.
In Matty Groves, a version collected in the SE U.S., one verse is:
I'm standin' here with two swords by my side
They cost me deep in purse
I'll give to you the best o' them
and I will take the worst, worst, and I will take the worst.
Library-collectors would probably change that "worst" to "worse" for
grammatical perfection, but whatever. The "cost me deep in purse" definitely
dates the text from when men carried their money in purses (little belt
pouches). And there's a Ben Jonson song about a cutpurse. Cutpurse was a
pickpocket. But the name was from literally slipping by, bumping someone,
and at the same time cutting the cords of leather or whatever that held a
purse on a belt, or that held it closed. So in the 17th century, there were
still pouches in use. The song is considered to be older than that, but from
just that purse clue it goes back at least to 17th C.
Sandra