I'm Silver - a compulsive studyholic and lover of trivial facts. I'm currently a Physics student at the University of Melbourne, Australia, but pursue linguistics in my spare time.
My interests lie in the Northern Eurasian language families - specifically Celtic, Germanic, Uralic, and Tungusic. I also contribute to the pages on the Salish family of America's Pacific Northwest. I try and help document the often underrepresented dialects of these language groups. I also have a keen interest in the names of plants, birds, body parts, and minerals. I have dedicated user pages for these, which I use to assemble documentation and hypotheses before committing them to the Wiktionary pages proper.
Language preservation is very important to me, and I try to help in the recording of endangered languages on Wiktionary whenever I can.
If you see a mistake in some of my work, please do point it out to me and show me where I can improve - I love learning, and strive to become a useful member of the Wiktionary community.
Silver's Accent[edit]
Rather strong English West Midlands (Coventry) accent, though markedly different from a Birmingham/Black Country accent. Midland accents, at least from the Coventry area, are ultimately classified as "Northern", however, they have been influenced by a feature creep of characteristics of the more northern types of "Southern" accents, such as those from places like Oxford and Northampton. One of these is the vowels used in 'cup/shut/mum' type words. However, the Northern pronunciation remains in words that are spelled with a double-o, such as 'room/roof/broom' - this may be a post-Victorian hypercorrection, but may also represent a genuine relic. The "Southern" long-a vowel is also creeping into the Midlands dialects, and has been since the widespread adoption of radio and popular media in the 1940's and 50's. The traditional short-a sound is becoming more and more scarce, though is passed on through speakers such as myself, who had a great deal of interaction with older generations (grandparents and great-grandparents) during childhood. The influence of Estuary English in the past 40 years or so is really eliminating regional accents among especially the urban working-class youth. It has become fashionable to adopt the "Chav" accent, or alternatively the Black South-London accent (predominantly Black Brixton accent), both of which are commonly presented in British rap music. I imagine, by the time my grandchildren are the age I am now (early 20's), the patchwork of accents I grew up hearing will be nothing but historical record, and will instead be replaced with the likes of 'ladz-ladz-ladz', 'bruv', 'cuz', 'innit', 'yoo-wot-mate', and 'dat-iz-mint'.
- tissue: [ˈtʰɪʃuː] (palatised/affricates, characteristic of Northern accents)
- tuna: [ˈt͡ʃuːnæ] (palatised/affricates, characteristic of Northern accents)
- stupid: [ˈst͡ʃuːˌpʰɪd] (palatised/affricates, characteristic of Northern accents)
- tune: [ˈt͡ʃuːn] (palatised/affricates, characteristic of Northern accents)
- bath, path, grass: [ˈbæθ], [ˈpʰæθ], [ˈgɹæs] (short front 'a' vowel, characteristic of Northern accents)
- room, broom, roof: [ˈɹʊm], [ˈbɹʊm], [ˈɹʊf] (short rounded 'u' vowel, characteristic of Midland accents)
- cup, shut, mum: [ˈkʰʌpʰ], [ˈʃʌtʰ], [ˈmʌm] (unrounded 'u' vowel, characteristic of Southern accents)
- poor, door, moor: [ˈpʰʊə], [ˈdʊə] [ˈmʊə] (diphthong before 'r' present, characteristic of Midland accents, also present in Welsh and Welsh Border accents, which I find particularly interesting)
- horse, hoarse: [ˈhɔːs], [ˈhɔːs] (horse-hoarse merger present, characteristic of Midland accents)
- cheer, chair: ['t͡ʃiːˌjə], [ˈt͡ʃɛː] (cheer-chair distinction present, characteristic of all English accents)
- tyre, tower, tar: [ˈtʰaɪˌjə], [ˈtʰaʊˌwə], [ˈtʰɑː] (distinction present, characteristic of all English accents)
- fury, furry: [ˈfjɔːˌɹi], [ˈfɜːˌɹi] (distinction present, characteristic of all English accents)
- bit, back tap: [bɪtʰ], [bækʰ], [tʰæpʰ] (word-final aspiration of t, p, and k present, characteristic of Northern accents)
Some Dialectal Words[edit]
- spudgie [spʰʌd͡ʒi] - sparrow.
- ruddock [ɹʌdɔkʰ] - robin.
- mew [mjuw] - seagull.
- speight [spʰeɪtʰ] - woodpecker.
- clough [klʌf] - small moorland stream, usually running from high ground, may be seasonal.
- tarmac [tʰɑːmækʰ] - blacktop, asphalt.
- yaffle [jæfl̩] - woodpecker.
- SPG [ɛspʰid͡ʒi] - rat, mouse (after the mouse in the popular TV show, The Young Ones).
- rinnel [ɹɪnl̩] - small stream, channel.
- scrump [skɹʌmpʰ] - to hunt for (and to steal) apples in the summer.
- causey [kʰɔːzi] - pavement, shortened form of causeway.
- dickie-bird [dɪkʰi bɜːd] - finch, siskin, bluetit (any of the small, colourful songbirds).
- spetchel [spʰɛt͡ʃl̩] - splinter, sliver.
- slag [slæg] - promiscuous woman (vulgar, offensive).
- tart [tʰɑːtʰ] - promiscuous woman (vulgar, offensive).
- shrapnel [ʃɹæpʰnl̩] - loose change.
- gambol [gæmbɔʊl] - to do a forward roll.
- batch [bæt͡ʃ] - a round bread roll or bun.
- cut [kʰʌtʰ] - a canal.
- backend [bækʰɛnd] - autumn.
- mardy [mɑːdi] - grumpy, sulky, grouchy.
- mizzle [mɪzl̩] - very fine rain that quickly soaks everything.
- entry [ɛntɹi] - the passage between two terraced houses leading to the alley behind, where the bins and garages are located.
- to lob [lɔb] - to throw (usually hard).
- pump [pʰʌmpʰ] - a black slip-on shoe used for sports class in English schools (which usually take place in a large hall rather than outside).
- snap [snæpʰ] - packed lunch, after the sound made by metal lunchboxes when closed.
- to blart [blɑːtʰ] - to cry loudly and dramatically, usually in an attention-seeking way.
- dannies [dæniːz] - hands, always in the plural.
- sough [sʌf] - a drain or gutter lining the road.
- "The Jag" - local name for the Jaguar Car Company, a major local employer, referring to their many plants in Coventry and surrounds.
- sprog [spɹɔg] - baby.
- nan [næn] - grandmother.
Silver's Subpages[edit]
Salishan Language Pages[edit]
Germanic Language Pages[edit]
Tungusic Language Pages[edit]
Uralic Language Pages[edit]
Silver's Favourite Resources[edit]
- Celtiadur - in-progress etymological dictionary and side-by-side comparison of the Celtic languages, being compiled by a fluent speaker of many of the Celtic languages.
- MacBain's Gaelic Dictionary - a searchable etymological dictionary of Scottish Gaelic from 1911.
- Am Faclair Beag - an English-Scottish Gaelic dictionary.
- eDIL - an electronic version of the Dictionary of the Irish Language from the Royal Irish Academy, Cambridge University, and Queen's University Belfast.
- Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru - The Dictionary of the Welsh Language from the University of Wales, searchable in both Welsh and English. Includes etymological notes about other Celtic languages.
- Gerlyver Kernewek - The Dictionary of the Cornish Language from the Cornish Language Partnership, searchable in both Cornish (Standard Written Form) and English.
- Teanglann - an Irish language library, includes Ó'Dónaill's 1977 Irish-English Dictionary, Ó'Dónaill's 1991 Irish Dictionary, De Bhaldraithe's 1959 English-Irish Dictionary, an extensive grammar reference collection, and numerous sound files of native speakers from all the major dialects. Searchable in English and Irish.
- Manx Dictionary - a work-in-progress English-Manx/Manx-English dictionary.
- In Dúil Bélrai - a work-in-progress Old Irish-English glossary (also includes a dictionary and a guide to Old Irish on the web) from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, note that some of the search functions are Irish-input only.
- Grand Terrier - Francis Favereau's French-Breton dictionary - searchable in Breton and French.
Germanic[edit]
- Bosworth-Toller - an electronic version of Bosworth-Toller's enormous Old English Dictionary.
- An English-Old English Dictionary - online searchable copy of Mary Lynch Johnson's 1927 dictionary.
- Historical Grammar of Old English - online version of Cyril Babaev's grammar.
- The Germanic Lexicon Project - includes John Clark Hall's 1916 Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.
- The Thesaurus of Old English - a searchable, updated thesaurus from Glasgow University.
- Orðabanki - a glossary of Icelandic terms, searchable in all main North Germanic languages as well as English, Finnish, North Saami, and Greenlandic.
- Dictionary of the Swedish Academy - the definitive dictionary of Swedish, includes Old Swedish forms. Not searchable in English.
- The Skaldic Project - a searchable database of Norse sagas and poetry, including a dictionary of the words used in them.
- The Icelandic-English Online Dictionary - from the University of Wisconsin - note that it is not designed for English-Icelandic searches.
- ISLEX - a searchable dictionary that gives results in Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish.
- Føroysk orðabók - the Dictionary of Faroese - searchable only in Faroese.
- Old Norse Pronunciation Guide - a short PDF file by very drengr Dr Jackson Crawford of Youtube fame. Shows the basics of reconstructed Norse pronunciation c.1100's Iceland as well as the corresponding orthography used today.
- málið.is - Online dictionary resource from the Icelandic Language Institute - only searchable in Icelandic. Has plenty of etymological information.
- Duden Online - Online version of the Duden Dictionary - searchable only in German, has some etymological information.
- Etymologie Bank - Dutch etymological dictionary from the Meertens Institute, searchable only in Dutch, but includes information on Low Saxon and Frisian languages too.
- Westmünsterländische Dialekte - Dictionary of Westmunsterlandic Saxon, part of the Westphalian language. Searchable in Saxon and German.
- Oostfraeisk Woordenbauk - Dictionary of East Frisian Saxon, a North Low Saxon language with a strong Frisian substrate. Searchable in Saxon and German.
- Plautdietsch Lexicon - Dictionary of Plautdietsch, an East Saxon language spoken predominantly by the Mennonite community.
- Groninger Zakwoordenboek - Dictionary of Gronings dialect, part of the North Low Saxon language with a Frisian substrate.
- Meertens Dialect Dictionary - Meertens Dutch Dialect Dictionary
- DSDD - Database of the Southern Dutch Dialects
- DWDS - German Etymological Dictionary
- Den Danske Ordbog - The national dictionary of the Danish Language. Includes etymological information.
- Das Österreichische Wörterbuch - Austrian Dialects
- Fleischemerish.de - Flörsheim Dialect
- Berliner Wörterbuch - Berlin Dialect
- Oschpele - South Tyrolian Dialect
- Idiotikon - Swiss German Dialect Dictionary
- Schwäbisch Schwätza - Swabian Dialect
- Kölsch Wörterbuch - Cologne Dialect
- Ensheim - A compilation of various German dialect dictionaries
- Bayrisches Wörterbuch - Bavarian Dialect
- Palatina Rhenania - Palatinate German Dialect
- Plattmakers' Low Saxon Dictionary - The most comprehensive coverage of Saxon dialects on the internet in one place. Searchable in English, Dutch, German, and Saxon.
- Kölsch Akademie - Cologne dialect of Franconian.
- Eifelfux - Wordlist from the Eifel dialect of Franconian.
- Wörterbuchnetz - Several searchable dictionaries of various Franconian dialects.
- Lagis-Hessen - South Hessian Franconian dictionary.
- Redde-N-Ìhr-Plàtt? - Conjugation tables, phonetic inventories and various texts in both Rhine, Lorraine, and Moselle Franconian. (In French).
- Allgäuer Wörterbuch - Dictionary of the Allgäuer dialect of Alemmanic.
- Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch - Saterland dialect of East Frisian.
- Jysk Ordbog - Dictionary of the Jutlandic Dialects, includes etymological information.
- Dictionnaire Alsacien - French/Alsatian dictionary
- Ordbokene - Norwegian national dictionary, includes both Nynorsk and Bokmål, as well as a little etymological information.