The Language and Migrations of the Ulster Scots. An Examination of the Anglicist Hypothesis

Content:

1. Introduction

2. Origin and language of the Scots-Irish

3. Scots-Irish’ Migration to America

4. Planters and Slaves in Charleston, South Carolina

5. Gullah

6. African American Vernacular English
6.1 Earlier AAVE
6.2 Unique Features of AAVE
6.3 Corresponding Features

7. Conclusion

References

1. Introduction

There are several theories on how African American Vernacular English (AAVE) may have come into existence, however the creolist hypothesis has been the most prominent one. It states that AAVE is based on a creole and was brought to the United States by slaves from West Africa or the West Indies (cf. Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 175). However, the oppositional theory, called the Anglicist or dialectologist hypothesis, considers AAVE to be influenced by traditional English dialects (cf. ibid: 176). Most important seems to be the influence of the Scots-Irish from northern Ireland. As they make up the largest group of settlers in the American colonies in the 18th century (cf. Mauk & Oakland, 2014: 60) their language must have had an enormous impact on the emergence of several American English dialects, and probably also on AAVE. This would claim AAVE to be an English dialect as well, influenced by the features of Southern American English. But this is a subject of controversial debate. Some linguists are of the opinion that the Southern American accent was actually influenced by the language of African Americans. Still, there are several linguistic features of the Scots-Irish' language that can also be found in the United States, especially in the Appalachian and Southern dialect; and it is a “[...] fact that in the New World, i.e. in the United States as well as in the Caribbean, black slaves had extensive contact with people from Ireland” (Ewers, 1995: 75). Thus it is also possible that the American English varieties, primarily the southern one, could have had an impact on AAVE. However, [i]n order to be able to make a case for Scotch-Irish influence on American English, the following prerequisites have to be fulfilled: the shared features must have been part of 18th century Ulster English (i.e. the peak period of emigration to North America); they have to be found in those areas where emigrants from Ulster settled in large numbers and preferably only in those areas. (ibid: 78)

In the following those prerequisites stated by Traute Ewers will be examined. The focus will lie on the migratory patterns of the Ulster Scots and the dialect features they distributed in North America. Contact situations between African American slaves and the plantation owners and overseers are also of great importance. Charleston in South Carolina plays an important role with regard to language contact and will therefore be examined in more detail. As Gullah is a great part of discussion between advocates of the creolist and the anglicist hypothesis it will also be scrutinized in this paper. Gullah is an exceptional case, and must be clearly differentiated from AAVE. Nevertheless, AAVE must not be forgotten as well. It will be examined in greater detail. The focus will lie on earlier AAVE and the contexts in which certain features occurred. Those can be compared to Scots-Irish features and may show possible influence.

2. Origin and language of the Scots-Irish

The Scots-Irish’ migration started in Scotland at the beginning of the 17th century. English and Scottish Protestants were encouraged to move to the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland by King James I. As this territory was taken away by Irish Catholics, the Scots-Irish, also called Scotch-Irish or Ulster Scots were meant to keep out the Irish and to defend the English area. However, neither the Scottish Presbyterians nor the Irish Catholics were members of the Anglican Church, which is why England enacted laws against them. The Presbyterians were even enforced to pay tithes to the Anglican Church. Because of this strong discrimination many Ulster Scots moved to today's United States in the early 18th century.

The Scots-Irish’ language spoken in Ulster was actually a variety of Lowland Scots, which was highly distinctive from London speech in the 17th century (cf. Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 99). On the one hand, this might be due to the Great Vowel Shift, which took place differently in Scotland. On the other hand the Scottish Vowel Length Rule had an impact on the Scots language: „Sie manifestieren sich beispielsweise in der Aussprache [hus] für hoos (house), [spøn] für spune (spoon) oder der unterschiedlichen Vokallänge in brood (kurz) und brewed (lang)“ (Schmitt, 2009: 27). One noteworthy phonological aspect is the fact that “a simple 'mid' vowel [e]/[ε] type contrast is too weak a description of the phonetic inventory of the period” (Jones, 1995: 127). As a consequence 'head' was pronounced like something in between of [hεd] and [hid] (cf. Ibid.), which can be related to the “pin~pen merger”, a typical feature of Southern American English. The same applies to the sounds [ʊ] and [u], which could hardly be differentiated in Scots English as well (cf. ibid: 141). Another important feature with regard to the emergence of Southern American English is cluster reduction, which occurred in older Scots. Words like 'fact' and 'respects' were pronounced like <fack> and <raspacks> (cf. Jones, 1995: 220). There are lots of other differences in grammar and lexicon as well. Remarkable features are “the use of you all for plural you and special subject-verb agreement patterns, such as the use of -s with certain types of plural subjects (e.g. The people like s the food; A lot of them like s to eat)” (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 99). The vernacular construction I seen for I saw is supposed to come from Highland Scots (cf. Ibid.), which is actually the Gaelic speaking region of Scotland. It is also assumed that copula absence was brought overseas by the Scots-Irish, as it can be found in the language of black expatriates in Nova Scotia (cf. Wolfram & Thomas, 2002: 41). Another construction that is typical for Southern American English is the use of invariant be, which can also be found in the language of Ulster: I be to remain here till he calls 'I am bound to remain' (cf. Ewers, 1995, 77). Perfective aspect could also be expressed by a form of be, as in You had better not wait till it bees night (cf. ibid.). Bees was used instead of be for he/she/it (cf. ibid.: 76).

As most of the Irish spoke Gaelic, there was only little contact with Irish English, but there was hardly contact with Scotland and England as well. As a consequence the Scots-Irish’ language has not changed significantly after the migration to Ulster and “[...] the variety of English which the Scots-Irish brought to America in the early 1700s was a rather archaic form of Scots English” (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 98).

3. Scots-Irish’ Migration to America

When the Ulster Scots migrated from Northern Ireland to the colonies of America they did not only escape from religious oppression but also from “poor harvests, slumping linen sales, and rising rents and tithes” (Griffin, 2001: 66). From 1718 to 1729 thousands of Ulster Presbyterians moved to America and “[...] Pennsylvania appeared to men and women of the north as a perfect Ulster [...]” (ibid). As many other European migrants came to this region the population was of diverse heritage: English, Dutch, Germans, Irish and Scots distributed in Pennsylvania. They did even have different beliefs, as there were Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and Quakers to name only some (cf. ibid.: 101). However, the different groups of migrants lived in clusters and “[a]ccording to contemporaries the Irish could not be 'restrained...from settling any where from among themselves,' and did not 'mix in their settlements.'” (ibid.: 104) It is also stated that they were “quick witted as well as quick tempered, rather visionary, imperious, and aggressive” (Dillard, 1985: 74). It can be assumed that they were a solitary group of people and therefore their culture and language must have been relatively stable.

As “the Germans had already claimed much of the prime farming land in Pennsylvania” (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 99) the Scots-Irish began to move westwards to Appalachia by the 1730s (cf. Schneider, 2008: 428). They used the Cumberland Gap and “[... fanned out into the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee […]” (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998: 99). Many people of Scots-Irish origin settled in the highlands of South Carolina and established farming there, as “[...] the underpopulated and relatively isolated mountains provided them the refuge that they were looking for” (Dillard, 1985: 74).

With regard to the total number of US inhabitants in 1790 it may be assumed “[...] that the influence of their [i.e. immigrants from Ulster] speech should be strongest in Georgia and South Carolina, especially in the upland areas of these two states, and in Pennsylvania” (Ewers, 1995: 78). The language of the southern Appalachian regions showed several interesting features, such as invariable is, invariable was, invariable don't, multiple negatives, the use of ain't, nonstandard past participle, 3rd person singular + ø, or there's + NP plural (cf. Ibid: 84). The use of invariant be was also found in those areas: “It occurs in sentences such as I think you be right” (Ewers, 1995: 79). What could also be found was the use of ourn, theirn, yourn, hern and hisn for possessive pronouns, as in I thought hern was prettier than mine (cf. Schneider, 2008: 447). Personal pronouns + all as in Well, I’ll see you all later were also frequently used in the Appalachian regions (cf. ibid.). Third person reflexive pronoun consisted of a possessive + -self or –selves, as in He was just up there by hisself (cf. ibid.).

As the plantations could mainly be found in the lowlands, the higher settlements were relatively isolated and therefore also more homogeneous with regard to language. In the lowlands of South Carolina Charleston has become the centre of rice growing. First settlers came from Ireland, Wales and England, but, French and Dutch people, as well as Baptists from Massachussetts soon followed. Many slaves were imported to work on the rice plantations.

The position and influence of the Ulster Scots is of great importance in this situation. Their culture and language seemed relatively stable and therefore could have influenced the unstable situation in areas like Charleston. As thousands of slaves were brought to the South Carolinian low country, economy grew rapidly.

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