YORKSHIRE. 309 



touching the gums alone, as in the ordinary 

 articulation of the /. I notice this as a pro- 

 vincialifm ; and know no better teft of a nor- 

 tbern provincialift than this peculiarity. 



In the pronunciation of VOWELS, that of 

 o long, as inftone, yoke, bole t more, is firft no- 

 ticeable. A mere provincialift of Eaft York- 

 (hire knows no fuch found ; nor can he, with- 

 out much practice, pronounce it. In the 

 provincial dialedt it takes four diftinct vocal 

 founds j namely, eea, an, ooa, 0, according 

 to the confonants it is joined with in compofi- 

 tion. Thus ftone is pronounced jleean ; yoke, 

 yauk ; bole, focal ; more, mare. 



The diphthong ea, which formerly, it is 

 probable, had a diftinct vocal found affigned 

 it in the Englilh language, but which feems 

 to be at prefent entirely unknown to the 

 Englifh tongue, is flill in common ufe in the 

 dialect under notice. In the eftablilhed pro- 

 nunciation, break is become brake ; tea, tee j 

 fea, fee \ but in this they are pronounced 

 alike, by a vocal found between the < and the 

 a long. 



