306 'PROVINCIALISMS. 



wonder, then, the language of thefe Dales, 

 which differs little from that of the Vale, 

 except in its greater -purity^ fhould abound 

 in native words ; or that it mould vary fo 

 widely in pronunciation from the eftablifhed 

 language of this day, as to be in a manner 

 wholly unintelligible to ftrangers ; not, how- 

 ever, fo much through original words, as 

 through a regular SYSTEMATIC DEVIATION 

 from the eftab limed -pronunciation of Englijh 

 words *. 



This difference in PRONUNCIATION gene- 

 rally arifes from a. change of the vowels', which 

 is of courfe produ&ive of a change of words. 

 Hence it will be neceflary, in giving an ade- 

 quate idea of the language, to point out the 



leading 



* It might be a difficult talk, now, to afcertain with 

 precifion, whether thefe DEVIATIONS are in reality 

 corruptions or purities of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

 They are probably a mixture of the two ; I mean, they 

 m:ty contain fome flight admixture of depravity. But 

 it -would be equally reafonable to fuppofe that a di- 

 fturbed ftream fliould be lefs adulterate than its foun- 

 'tain, as that the language at prefent eftablifhed fliould 

 be lefs corrupt, or (to change the word without altering 

 the argument) lefs refined than that of a Diftrift fe- 

 eluded in a iinguhr manner from all intercourie with 

 other languages. 



