10 



Is there any superstition as to the first person who enters a 

 house in the New Tear ? Is stress laid upon the colour of 

 complexion and hair ? 



(567) What are the customs observed at the birth of children ? 



(588) Describe the ceremonies practised at courtship and marriage. 



(623) Describe the ceremonies at death and burial. 



(669) Describe any games of ball or any games with string, or other 

 games. 



(674) Describe all nursery games of children. 



(686) Is there any special rule of succession to property ? 



(703) Is any stone or group of stones, or any ancient monument or 

 ancient tree connected with local customs ? 



(706) Are any special parts of the village or town the subject of 

 particular rights, privileges, or disabilities ; do these parts 

 bear any particular names ? 



(711) Describe special local modes of punishment or of lynch law. 



(719) Describe special customs observed at ploughing, harrowing, 

 sowing, manuring, haymaking, apple-gathering, corn-harvest, 

 hemp-harvest, flax-harvest, potato-gathering, threshing, flax- 

 picking, and hemp-picking. 



The collections under this head will be digested by Professor Rhys 

 and the representatives of the Folklore Society. 



Place Name of Observer 



3. Peculiarities of Dialect. 

 Directions to Collectors of Dialect Tests. 



1. Do not, if it can be helped, let your informant know the nature of 

 your observations. The true dialect-speaker will not speak his dialect 

 freely or truly unless he is unaware that his utterance is watched. In 

 some cases persons of the middle class can afford correct information, and 

 there is less risk in allowing them to know your purpose. 



2. Observe the use of consonants. Note, for example, if v and z are 

 used where the standard pronunciation has/ and s. This is common in 

 the south. 



3. Observe very carefully the nature of the vowels. This requires 

 practice in uttering and appreciating vowel sounds, some knowledge of 

 phonetics, and a good ear. 



4. Record all observations in the same standard phonetic alphabet, 

 viz., that given in Sweet's ' Primer of Phonetics.' A few modifications 

 in this may be made, viz., ng for Sweet's symbol for the sound of ng in 

 thing ; sh for his symbol for the sh in she ; ch for his symbol for the ch in 

 choose ; th for the th in thin ; dh for the th in then. If these modifications 

 are used, say so. But the symbol j must only be used for the y in you, 

 viz., as in German. If the sound of j in just is meant, Sweet's symbol 

 should be used. On the whole it is far better to use no modifications at 

 all. Sweet's symbols are no more diflBcult to use than any others after 

 a very brief practice, such as every observer of phonetics must necessarily 

 go through. 



