English pronunciation idiosyncrasies

Anyone who speaks English, or has tried to learn it, will be well aware of the amazing array of odd pronunciations we have in the language. These are mostly caused by amassing words from so many other languages over hundreds of years, but nevertheless make learning the mapping between what’s written, the context it’s written in and how it’s pronounced a very tricky goal.

There have been various stories, essays and verses written to highlight many ambiguities and irregularities present in the pronunciation of different but similarly spelt words. An excellent example of this is a lengthy poem called The Chaos, written by Gerard Nolst Trenité (aka Charivarius), 1870-1946, and published in 1920 in the 4th edition of his 1909 textbook Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen.

Since its original publication it has been modified and reworked several times, with the original author’s version being 146 lines long and his last version (in the 7th edition of the book in 1944) was nearly twice as long. Various subsequent updates and revisions have been made around the world since then. The version presented by The English Spelling Society is 274 lines and highlights over 800 irregularities, and is preceded by a detailed history on the poem.

The poem’s first lines suggest it is written as if to one of Trenité’s students, Susy.

Anyway, here’s the authoritative version as presented by The English Spelling Society, with every tenth line numbered and set out like the author’s original version, with alternate couplets indented and problem words italicised.

Grammar Mistakes

There are many articles online that focus on the more common English grammar mistakes – correct use of “its” vs. “it’s”, correct use of “there”, “they’re” and “their”, correct use of “could of” vs. “could have” and so on.

I recently bumped into a very interesting article, 20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes, that looks at some more intricate grammar errors that are quite common. It was enlightening to learn the specifics of “which” vs. “that” and “who” vs. “whom,” and I’ve definitely been guilty of using “less” instead of “fewer”…

Definitely a good read!

On a more light-hearted note, I also bumped into these quite amusing takes on what is sometimes said vs. what is meant and what is heard.

This one looks at expressions that British people might use and contrasts what might be meant by them, versus how they may be interpreted by non-British people:

This one is more of a wry look at various phrases that are sometimes written in formal essays and articles, and what might really be meant by them:

A dictionary of new words (kind of)

English is a massive language. The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition has about 600,000 words in it and that doesn't include the similar number of technical and scientific terms that aren't listed.

In the early days of the language's evolution the mass of words was helped along by England having an influx of peoples and languages from many lands and this helped grow the number of different terms for the very same thing.

Olde English Criminals

Following on from the post about old English jobs that have faded away, I happened upon a list of terms for old specialist criminals from the eighteenth century, long since disused.

I found them in the 2008 QI Annual that covers the letter E, so all credit to QI for finding these. You can pick up the annual for a modest sum on Amazon.

 

However I’ve added to QI’s original list of 16 with a bundle of extra ones from The Lexicon of Thieves Cant (based on the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence and also Captain Grose's 1785 dictionary).

Criminal name	Description
Adam Tiler	a pickpocket's associate, who receives the stolen goods, and runs off with them.
Angler	pilferer or petty thief who, with a stick having a hook at the end, steals goods out of shop windows, grates etc. Also someone who 'draws in' victims in order to rob them.
Autem Diver	pickpocket who operates in churches and temples.
Autem Mort	a female beggar who hires children in order to inspire charity.
Bawdy-Basket	woman posing as sellers of pins and needles or pornographic books to disguise her real game, which was stealing linen clothes off hedges.
Bene Feaker	counterfeiter.
Bene Feaker of Gybes	counterfeiter of false passes.
Blue Pigeon	thief who steals lead off houses and other buildings.
Bob	shoplifter's assistant. One who receives stolen goods.
Bubber	a thief who steals from taverns.
Buffer-Nabber	professional dog-thief who killed the animal to sell its skin.
Bully-Huff	hung round brothels, surprising and threatening the customers by claiming that the woman they were in bed with was their wife. In between times, they intercepted lucky gamblers as they left the casino to relieve them of their winnings.
Bung-Nipper	stole the gold buttons from cloaks and the silver tassles from hatbands.
Clank Napper	a silver tankard stealer.
Clapperdogeon	professional vagabond, a varlet who wore a patched cloak and three hats, one on top of the other.
Dommerer	beggar posing as an escaped slave who had had their tongues cut out by the Turks for refusing to accept Islam.
Glimmerer	woman who went around in floods of tears claiming that her house had been burned down; alternatively she set other people's houses on fire, in order to loot them in the confusion.
Figure Dancer	one who alters the numbers on notes of credit or other paper money.
Footpad	a common thief.
Foyst	a pickpocket.
Jack in a Box	a card-sharp.
Lully Prigger	thief who steals wet clothes off clothes lines
Mumper	genteel beggar.
Napper of Naps	a sheep stealer.
Pad Borrower	a horse thief.
Poulterer	a man who opens mail and steals the money enclosed within.
Prigger	either a member of a three-man shoplifting team or a horse-thief.
Prigger of Prancers	a horse thief.
Prigger of Cacklers	a henhouse thief.
Rattling Mumper	beggar who begs from coaches.
Reader Merchant	a pickpocket.
Ruffler	armed robber or beggar disguised as an out of work soldiers.
Rum Bob	skilled apprentice thief.
Rum-Bubber	specialised in stealing silver tankards from taverns.
Rum Diver	skilled pickpocket.
Rum-Dubber	skilled lock-picker.
Rum File	skilled pickpocket.
Rum Padder	skilled highwayman.
Swaddler	not only stole from their victim but beat them up as well, sometimes murdering them into the bargain.
Swig-Man	covered their roguery by pretending to be an itinerant haberdasher.
Strowler	con man who convinced country gentlemen to 'lend' him money so he could go to London.
Tatmonger	card-sharp.
Tayle drawer	a thief who steals swords from a mans belt.
Wiper drawer	a thief who steals handkerchiefs.

Olde English Jobs

I like reading about the English language. It fascinates me.

The grammar rules and syntax interest me, as does the way words fade in and out of the language and morph from form to form along their useful lives.

I was happy to recently bump into a colleague from University who I’d lost track of, all the more as he seems to have collected a lot of interesting language-related links and posts on his site.

In a recent local town council magazine Keith Turner & Daniel Parslow provided a good catalogue of old job titles that used to be common in market towns such as Aylesbury, where I live, that have fallen into disuse over the years.

All credit to Keith and Daniel for this list, which I am typing up to make more widely available.

Job title	Description
Abigail	Lady's maid
Ale-conner	Official who tested the quality and measures served in pubs
Ankle beater	Young person who helped drive cattle to market
Boot catcher	Servant at an inn that removed travellers’ boots
Bozzler	Parish Constable
Bridewell Keeper	In charge of the lock-up or jail
Bunter	Female rag and bone collector
Bog Iron Hunter	Searched for Iron Ore in bogs and marshes
Cartomancer	Fortune teller using cards
Chapeler	Hat maker
Costermonger	Peddler of fruits & vegetables
Clapman	Town crier
Clod hopper	Ploughman
Donkey Man	Passenger carriage driver
Eyer	Made holes in sewing needles
Feather wife	Woman that cleans feathers for sale
Fagetter	Firewood seller
Flauner	Confectioner
Frobisher	Cleaned and polished metal
Gabeler	Tax collector
Gelder	Animal castrator
Gong Farmer	Emptied privies and cesspits
Greensmith	Worker in copper
Hobbler	Towed canal boats
Jongleur	Travelling minstrel
Knocker Upper	Woke people up
Knock Knobbler	Dog catcher
Layer	Paper mill worker
Leech collector	Waded through rivers to collect the leeches which attached to him
Lungs	Alchemist's assistant who fanned the fire
Mud lark	River bed scavenger
Mule Scavenger	Children who would crawl under fabric mills to collect cotton and fluff
Mountebank	Seller of fake medicines
Night Soilman	Emptied cesspits, ashpits and outside toilets
Nob Thatcher	Wig maker
Osler	Bird catcher
Ponderator	Weights & measures inspector
Powder monkey	Boys who supplied ship cannons with gunpowder below deck
Quarrel Picker	Glazier
Ratoner	Rat catcher
Resurrection Man	Provided surgeons with fresh cadavers with which to learn their craft
Rodman	Surveyor's assistant
Saltpetre man	Collected urine and dung used in the manufacture of saltpetre
Searcher of the Dead	Sought plague victims
Secret Springer	Watch spring maker
Sexton	Church caretaker - sometimes dug graves and rang the church bells
Smoke Doctor	Specialist in the construction or repair of chimneys
Tapster	Barman/woman
Town Husband	Collected dues from the fathers of illegitimate children of the parish for their upkeep
Treadmill Operator	Trudged atop a giant mill wheel treadmill to push it round
Upright Worker	Chimney Sweep
Vamper	Made the upper part of a boot or shoe covering the instep and sometimes extending over the toe
Webster	Operator of looms
Yatman	Gatekeeper