pronounced very differently indeed, so as to mark strongly the
people who use them. [This may be seen more fully developed in two
papers, by T. Spencer Baynes, read before the Somersetshire
Archaeological Society, entitled the Somersetshire Dialect,
printed 1861, 18mo, to whom I here acknowledge my obligations for
several hints and suggestions, of which I avail myself in this
edition of my late relative's work].

The chief peculiarity West of the Parret, is the ending of the
third person singular, present tense of verbs, in _th_ or
_eth_: as, he _lov'th_, _zee'th_, &c., for he
loves, sees, &c.

In the pronouns, they have _Ise_ for _I_, and _er_
for _he_. In fact the peculiarities and contractions of the
Western District are puzzling to a stranger. Thus, _her_ is
frequently used for _she_. "_Har'th a doo'd it_," is,
"_she has done it_," (I shall occasionally in the Glossary
note such words as distinguishingly characterise that district).

Two of the most remarkable peculiarities of the dialect of the
West of England, and particularly of Somersetshire, are the sounds
given to the vowels A and E. A, is almost always sounded open, as
in _fA¤ther_, _rA¤ther_, or somewhat like the usual sound
of _a_ in _balloon_, _calico_, lengthened; it is so
pronounced in bA¤ll, cA¤ll. I shall use for this sound the
_circumflex over the a_, thus Ac_ or A¤_. E, has commonly
the same sound as the French gave it, which is, in fact, the
slender of A, as heard in _pane fane_, _cane_, &c. The
hard sound given in our polished dialect to the letters _th_,