Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore

The work presents a wide-ranging survey of English regional speech and popular tradition, gathering dialect words, phrases, place-names, proverbs, superstitions, and customs from printed and oral sources. It treats pronunciation, syntax, and vocabulary—showing retention of archaic meanings and forms, regional variants of the definite article, corruptions and folk etymologies, and expressive compound terms—illustrated by dialect specimens and word lists drawn from literature and local glossaries. Chapters chronicle misunderstandings between dialect and standard speakers, trace old literary words preserved in local speech, and record folk beliefs and customs without attempting exhaustive explanation, letting readers pursue origins and connections themselves.