| Fingallian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Ireland |
| Region | Fingal |
| Era | atttested from 17th century |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | east2834fing1234 |
Fingallian or theFingal dialect is anextinct dialect ofMiddle English formerly spoken inFingal, Ireland. It is thought to have been an offshoot ofMiddle English, which was brought to Ireland during theNorman invasion,and was extinct by the mid-19th century.[citation needed] Although little is known of Fingallian, it is thought to have been similar to theYola dialect ofCounty Wexford.[2]
The surviving literature of Fingallian consists of two satirical or humorous poems, the short "Fingallian Dance" and the much longerPurgatorium Hibernicum. Both poems are anonymous and are thought to be humorous parodies of Fingallian.
Fingallian was spoken in the region ofFingal, traditionally the part ofCounty Dublin north of theRiver Tolka. It was spoken in the area near the northern border. The name "Fingal" is from the IrishFine Gall, or "territory of foreigners", probably a reference to aNorse settlement in the area. The linguistAlf Sommerfelt proposedOld Norse influence on the Fingallian dialect, but later scholars have found no evidence of such a connection.[3]
Like theYola dialect of Forth and Bargy inCounty Wexford, Fingallian is thought to have derived fromMiddle English, which was introduced by "Old English" settlers after theAnglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, andLeinster Irish. Middle English was well established in southeastern Ireland until the 14th century, when the area was re-Gaelicized and English was displaced. As such, the Yola and Fingal dialects would have been the only attestedrelicts of this original English variety in Ireland.[4][5]
The poem most likely to have been composed by a native speaker of Fingallian isThe Fingallian Dance, a brief, three-stanza poem written between about 1650 and 1660.[6] It is a mildly indecent poem about a man going to see dancers at abullring (bull fighting was practised in 17th century Ireland). Although the poem is likely to have been standardised when written down, it gives a flavour of Fingallian, particularly forms likefat for "what" orfen for "when". Other words that need explanation areame for "them",plack-keet for "placket" (a slit at the top of a petticoat, here used to mean a vulva), andabateing for "abutting, bordering on".[7]
The Fingallian Dance c.1650
On a day in the Spring,
As I went to bolring
To view the jolly Daunciers,
They did trip it so high
(Be me shole!) I did spee [By my soul, I did spy]
SixCunts abateing Seav'n hairs.
But wondering on 'ame,
Fat make 'em so tame
Fen de catch at their plack-keet,
The maids of y-yore
Wou'd y-cree, and y-rore,
And y-make o foul Rac-keet.
But fire take 'ame, [to hell with them!]
They made me ashame,
And when I went home to me weef
And told her the Chaunce [chance, here meaning "account"]
Of the Maids in the Daunce,
'Peace thy prateing', say'd shee, 'for dee [thy]Leef!' ["Keep quiet, for goodness' sake!"]
ThePurgatorium Hibernicum is a humorous and bawdy burlesque or travesty on the Roman poetVirgil'sAeneid. It exists in three versions: the original manuscript (Purgatoriam Hibernicum), another manuscript entitledThe Fingallian Travesty: the Sixt Book of Virgill's Aenoeids a la mode de Fingaule (1670–5), and a printed version calledThe Irish Hudibras orThe Fingallian Burlesque (1689).[6][8]
Virgil's prince Aeneas and his noble lover Dido are transformed into a bumbling young Fingallian called 'Prince' Nees and a coarse ex-nun Dydy. The names of all the characters are converted into mock 'Irish' forms and the places mentioned in Virgil's text become places in Fingal. Part of the humour for the Anglo-Irish readers of the poem is that Nees and Dydy converse with each other in broad Fingallian. Although the intention is supposedly to mock their speech, it is rendered with such vitality and wit that the effect is actually to give the reader an appreciation of its richness.[citation needed]
The short extract below provides a good example of Fingallian. In it Nees encounters Dydy again and seeing her look pale and unwell realises that he may have been responsible for giving her the 'flame' or venereal disease. A few features need explanation: 'V' is used instead of 'W' in Fingallian; 'suggam' is a kind of straw rope'; 'Ful dea ro' is derived from Irishfuil Dé, a rogha 'God's blood, my sweetheart':
- 'Sure, Sure!' sayes Nees, 'dis me old vench is!'
- But when he drew more neare her quarters,
- And know her by her suggam garters,
- 'Ful dea, ro, dou unlucky jade,
- I'll chance upon dee! Art thou dead?
- Fat devill vas be in dee, vench?
- Vas he soe hot is cou'd no quench
- De flame?' Indeed, oh no! but Nees chief
- Occasion is of all dis mischeif'.
Nees continues with an attempt to sweet talk Dydys and asks her for a 'pogue', but his fears are justified and Dydy is having none of it. She tells him that if he think he can have another 'bout' with her, he can think again – after he hasplay'd the vagge (been a wag) with her and given her thebagge (rejected her) she willvatch de vales ('watch the walls', be on guard) and foil his plan:
- 'I, Nees', sayes she in mighty snuffe,
- 'and be! is tink is varm enough,
- If dou cam shance but to find out
- Dee old consort to have a bout –
- and den, fen dou has play'd de vagge,
- to give me, as before, de bagge!
- Butt I will vatch de vales, Nees,
- And putt foile on dee by dis chees,'
Then Dydy goes on her way in highdudgeon.
InJohn Dunton'sLetters from Ireland (1698) he writes that in Fingal "they have a sort of jargon speech peculiar to themselves, and understand not one word ofIrish, and are as little understood by the English". Dunton gives a sample of the language: alamentation that a mother made over the grave of her son, who was a keen fisher and hunter. Note thata roon andmoorneeng are from the Irisha rúin "(secret) love" (vocative) andmúirnín "love" (lit. "little trust"):
| This is roughly translated as: Robin my love
|
Although Fingallian is no longer spoken, a large number of dialect words unique to Fingal have survived, especially in traditional Fingal towns and villages such as Swords (now a largesuburb of Dublin), Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Garristown, Oldtown, Balrothery, Portrane and Naul. Major sources for these include glossaries in an article in the folklore JournalBéaloideas by J. J. Hogan and Patrick O'Neill and a book on Fingal lore entitledFair Fingall by Patrick Archer.
Examples from Archer's Glossary include:
Examples from Hogan and O'Neill's Glossary include: