24 G. Stephens, 



After these examples we may go to the general remarks in Freu- 

 deuthal's »Ueber den Närpesdialect» (8™. Helsingfors 1878), p. 141 — 3; 

 — that comparatives are in -ER or -AN, superlatives in -ST or -AST. 

 Some adjectives have doiiLIe shapes, hke ILAK (= elak, bad), ILAKAN 

 and »värr»; GÂMBÂL, GÅMBLAN and »aider»; GÖD, GODAN and 

 »bâter». Comparatives of direction end in -AN, as 0STRAN, VÀSTRAN, 

 more-east, more-west. We have also such from Prepositions, like 0VRAN, 

 0VRAST, UNDRAN, UNDRAST. Weak or regular comparatives are in 

 -AN; as FLlTI, busy, FLlTIAN, flitiast; FRISK, fresh, FRÎSKAN, friskast; 

 NY, new, NYAN, nyast. 



Freudenthal adds, that these endings are found in most of the 

 Swedish moles (dialects) in the south of the Finnish province of Vasa, 

 tho the most southerly of all, that of Lappfjärd, has comp, in -AR not 

 -AN, as FRi'SKÀR, NYAR. 



The Vesterbotteu Swedo-Finnish moles offer the same peculiarity. 

 Unander tells us (Allmogemålet i södre delen af Vesterbottens län, 8™. 

 Uppsala 18-57, p. VII), that comparatives and superlatives are frequentl}^ 

 in -ENE, -AST, as SMAL, SMALENE. smalast; LETT, LETTENE, 

 lettäst; but also in -ER, -ST, as FAGER, FAGER, fägst. — And so in 

 other parts of the province (See Fr. Widmark, Bidrag till kännedom om 

 Vesterbottens Landskapsmål, 8'". Stockholm 1863, p. 16). Adjectives 

 in Nysätra often have -ENE in the comp., in Kalix -AN, in Skellefteå 

 -ANE. So also as to Adverbs. For instance in N. Kalix TEID, often, 

 comp. TEIRAN, sup. TEIREST. 



Thus this »illegality» or »accidental barbarism» or modern »patois- 

 development» is of acknowledged high antiquity in Sweden (14"" cent.), 

 has subsisted, and is still in full vigor in various folklands in Sweden 

 and Swedish Finland. But it is still older than the 14"' century, for it 

 is found in Scandinavia's oldest colony England, whose first Scando- 

 Anglic settlers came over from the 3"' to the 6**" year-hundred after 

 Christ. I have found this -N comparative in Old and Early English, 

 in the wellknown word Ot*l^E (now in English replaced by OR, which 

 is properly the 0. Engl. ÀHW^Ï>ER, mod. E. EITHER, 0. Dan. ^ER), 

 which answers to the Sanscrit ATHAVA, M. Goth. Alt>l>AU, Ohg. ODHO, 

 EDHO, N. Icel. EDA, 0. Swed. EÎ>A, 0. Dan. .ETH.E, .ETH, ETH, etc. 

 In Cnut's Dooms, Sec. 5 (Thorpe's Anc. Laws and Inst, of England, Vol. 

 1, p. 378), where OÏ^t^E stands in the text, Ms. G has jjassim Ot>ï>ON. 

 So in Sec. 42 (Thorpe 1, 400), Ot^t^E in the text, Ms. B pa.ssMu Ot^I^EN, 

 Ms. G OIjI^ON. So in Sec. 45 (Thorpe 1, 402), text OÏ>ï>ON, Ms. A 



