654 



MR HENRY BELLYSE BAILDON ON 



citizen, which a Scotchman will usually pronounce with a pure 2-sound in the first 



syllable. 



I: 



§ 72. not followed by Id, nd, ng, ht, g or c, rimes 



a) itself, 

 is : miss, 75, 23. this, 75, 22. 

 his : iwis, 335, 32. 

 is : bliss, 42, 36. 

 is : his, 335, 32. 

 widdy : smydy, 223, 56. 

 will : still, 115, 45. 

 bit : spit, 137, 54. upsit, 137, 51. 

 it : wit, 283. 4. 249, 28. 

 billie : illwillie : quliillylillie, 39, 31. 

 chitterlilling : rilling : schilling, 178, 371. 

 win : skin, 36, 60. 233, 21. 



„ : within, 233, 22. 



„ : ryn, 310, 9. 



„ : pin, 317, 34. 

 drink : wink, 211, 16. 

 innys : schinnis, 202, 13. 

 begin : in, 43, 89. 

 drink : sink, 279, 13. 

 grippis : lippis, 207, 18. 

 schippis : lippis, 206, 3. 

 kirk : stirk, 261, 66. 

 will : thrill, 325, 12. 



b) OE. y (later i or ii) (see § 105, §§ 107 and 109). 



c) OE. e. (?) flint : hint (NE. hent), 224, 80. 



with 



unblist : brist (NE. burst), 138, 99. 



d) ON. y (shortened) (see § 111). 



e) Fr. or Latin e. 

 win : gin, 317, 34. 

 stink : ink, 150, 10. 



f) Fr. or Lat. i. 



grippis : ecclippis, 151, 14. 



mist : solist, 75, 27. 



clippis : lippis, 193, 55. 206, 5. 



unblist : resist, 138, 99. 



bit : spit : quit, 137, 54. 



wit : it : unquit, 249, 41. 



g) Fr. or Lat. u. 



widdy (NE. halter) : smydy : study, 223, 48. 



will : still : bill (Lat. Bulla), 115, 42. 

 h) OE. eo (see § 66). 

 i) ON. i. 



still : will : till, 115, 44. 



will : ill, 239, 17. 325, 13. 



will : till, „ ,, 



still : ill, 325, 15. 

 k) Du. i. 



stink : clink, 151, 16. 



skippis : lippis, 206, 8. 



There is not much calling for remark in this rime-list. That there is a tendency, 

 however, as shown still in NSc. for e and i to be assimilated or interchanged, cannot be 

 doubted, and before n + consonant the i prevails, especially before ng and nk, as in NE. 

 in the words English, engine, etc., and in ink. It seems most probable that in Dunbar's 

 time the pronunciation varied, as in modern Scotch dialect. The Irish dialect of to-day 

 leans strongly to the i, as in stringth for strength. Study had probably a short ii sound 

 = NSc. ui as in guid, a sound, when quickly spoken, not easily distinguished from I. 

 The words bit and grip I have classed according to the Anglian forms bit and grip, 

 and not the WS. bite and gripe. We have in NE. the corresponding forms bit, grip, 

 bite, gripe. (See Archiv., cii. 73.) 



S 73. 2. I : before nd rimes with 



a) itself. 



behind : fynd : bind : blind, 87, 72. 



behind : lind, 174, 324. wind, 194, 67. 

 : „ : bind : find, 192, 12. 



§ 74. It is remarkable how sharply Dunbar discriminates between i + nd and y + nd. 

 The reason seems to be that y + nd had been lengthened to a diphthong, since it rimes 

 with y + nd ; and i + nd was not generally lengthened as in ME. The lengthening of 

 behind for Scotch ahint, the only word in the list that has a long sound in NSc, must 

 have taken place later through English influence (see under Y.). This view is accepted 

 and, I think, rendered still more probable, in spite of all that is said on the other side 

 by Heuser (Anglia, XIX. 404) and by Dr Geeken [§ 13,. 2)]. (See also § 108.) 



