Re: [conculture] Re: Greetings!
| From: | Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Monday, March 29, 1999, 20:47 |
|---|
Tom Wier wrote:
> What's
> to say that these two communities didn't exist side by side, together,
> and English only began to absorb them, slowly, over a period of
> centuries?
According to my History of the English Language class, these forms often
existed in the North of England for centuries, slowly diffusing
southward. I suspect that what the OED lists as "entering the language"
is when it entered the southern dialects, especially London's dialect.
--
"It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father
was hanged." - Irish proverb
http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/X-Files
http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/Books.html
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-name: NikTailor