“Emily Brontë’s only novel is considered to be one of the most powerful and enigmatic works in English literature.” (Alexander/Smith 2003: 553)Wuthering Heights(first published in 1847) is indeed a very powerful novel which is to its greatest part achieved by its setting in the Yorkshire moors and the realistic representation of the local transactions. Emily Jane Brontë was born in 1818; at the age of two she moved with her family to Ha-worth, West Riding of Yorkshire. Except for a few short journeys, Emily Brontë stayed in Yorkshire all her life and could thus vividly describe her Yorkshire surroundings as the setting of her novel. Furthermore, the Yorkshire dialect (based on Haworth dialect) in the speech of some of her characters adds to the completeness of the novel’s setting (Waddin gton-Feather 2004: 1). Most characters in the novel use a dialect word or phrase every now and then; Joseph, however, speaks Yorkshire dialect almost exclusively.
Joseph is the old servant at Wuthering Heights (which is both, the name of the novel and that of the house). Joseph is very religious and loyal to whoever is his master at the time. Ac-cording to Ellen Dean, the housekeeper at Wuthering Heig hts, he is “the wearisomest, selfrighteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses on his neighbours.” (Brontë 1994: 48-49) Hence, Joseph is an ambiguous character in the mind of the reader: on the one hand, he is always grumpy, quite harsh and even mean at times; on the other hand, he is an old man who is always truthful and loyal ; it seems he is always as good a person as his respective master is.
Joseph’s use of dia lect reflects the roughness of Wuthering Heights and its surroundings. The old man speaks an old dialect and lives in the old farmhouse. The house is habitable but not comfortable and it is always exposed to stormy weather. The same holds true for Joseph’s dialect: it is intelligible but not easy to understand and it is constantly looked down upon by the higher classes. Joseph’s dialect sounds quite rough although there is a certain beauty in it, just like the Yorkshire moors are said to be rough but beautiful. Finally, it suggests a lack of education if a speaker uses dialect solely, as Joseph does. Nonetheless, Joseph and his dialect resist all the storms which approach throughout the novel.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Yorkshire Dialect in Victorian Fiction and Modern Reality
2.1. Joseph’s Speech in Wuthering Heights
2.1.1. Spelling and Pronunciation
2.1.2. Grammar
2.1.3. Lexis
2.2. The Survey of English Dialects (SED)
3. Comparison between Joseph’s Speech and Yorkshire Dialect in the SED
4. Conclusion
5. Works Cited
Research Objectives and Thematic Focus
This paper examines the linguistic realization of the Yorkshire dialect in Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, specifically focusing on the character Joseph. The central research objective is to analyze how Brontë utilized spelling, grammar, and lexis to represent this regional dialect and to assess the stability of these dialectal features by comparing them with empirical data recorded in the Survey of English Dialects (SED) during the mid-20th century.
- Analysis of dialectal representation in 19th-century Victorian fiction.
- Examination of Joseph’s speech patterns in Wuthering Heights (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary).
- Evaluation of the Survey of English Dialects as a comparative linguistic tool.
- Assessment of diachronic dialectal change in Yorkshire from the 19th to the 20th century.
- Discussion on the conservation and stability of dialectal traits over time.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1. Spelling and Pronunciation
Deriving Emily Brontë’s intended pronunciation from her spelling is met by major difficulties. Sometimes modern readers may ask themselves why Emily Brontë chose non-standard spelling for certain words which are pronounced the way she spells them anyway, e.g. amang (1994: 99) for ‘among’ and ses (1994: 84) for ‘says’. This may have two reasons: some words are simply misspelled in order to elucidate Joseph’s lack of education (Chapman 1994: 21). Other words had a different standard pronunciation in the 19th century than they have today (Chapman 1994: 21); in consequence, Brontë’s spelling rendered non-standard pronunciation for Victorian readers. In Victorian times, spoken Standard English (StE) was much closer to written language than it is today (Görlach 1999: 27). Unstressed vowels were pronounced more clearly instead of being reduced to /?/ (schwa) as it is the norm in today’s Standard English.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Wuthering Heights, the character Joseph, and the motivation for examining his dialect within the context of the Yorkshire moors.
2. Yorkshire Dialect in Victorian Fiction and Modern Reality: This section explores the use of dialect in 19th-century literature and outlines the shift in dialectal usage from Victorian times to the modern era.
2.1. Joseph’s Speech in Wuthering Heights: This sub-chapter provides a detailed examination of how Emily Brontë represents Joseph's speech through non-standard spelling, unique grammatical constructions, and specific regional vocabulary.
2.1.1. Spelling and Pronunciation: This section investigates the difficulties in deciphering intended pronunciation from Brontë’s orthographic choices.
2.1.2. Grammar: This section analyzes Joseph’s usage of pronouns, reflexive suffixes, and subject-verb disagreements.
2.1.3. Lexis: This section focuses on specific dialectal words and swearwords employed by Joseph that deviate from Standard English.
2.2. The Survey of English Dialects (SED): This chapter introduces the methodology and data collection process of the Survey of English Dialects conducted between 1959 and 1961.
3. Comparison between Joseph’s Speech and Yorkshire Dialect in the SED: This chapter contrasts Brontë’s literary representation of the dialect with the empirical findings documented in the SED.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that the Yorkshire dialect has remained surprisingly stable despite historical and technological shifts.
5. Works Cited: This section lists the academic resources and primary texts used for the analysis.
Keywords
Yorkshire Dialect, Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, Joseph, Survey of English Dialects, SED, 19th-century fiction, dialectal change, linguistics, pronunciation, grammar, lexis, Victorian literature, phonetics, morphemes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this study?
This study focuses on the linguistic representation of the Yorkshire dialect in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, specifically through the dialogue of the character Joseph, and how these features relate to 20th-century empirical data.
Which linguistic components of Joseph’s speech are analyzed?
The paper performs a detailed analysis of Joseph’s spelling (to determine pronunciation), his grammatical structures, and his regional lexicon.
What is the main research question?
The research asks how accurately Brontë represented the Yorkshire dialect in her novel and to what extent those specific dialectal features were still present in the Yorkshire region during the 1950s and 60s.
Which scientific method is utilized in this paper?
The author uses a comparative approach, contrasting literary evidence from Wuthering Heights with linguistic data gathered from the Survey of English Dialects (SED).
What is the purpose of the Survey of English Dialects (SED) in this context?
The SED serves as an empirical benchmark to assess the conservation and change of the Yorkshire dialect over the century following the publication of the novel.
What are the key conclusions regarding the stability of the Yorkshire dialect?
The author concludes that while pronunciation has evolved due to modern media and education, the grammatical and lexical features of the Yorkshire dialect have remained remarkably stable.
Why is Emily Brontë’s spelling considered "enigmatic" by the author?
Brontë had to use a standard 26-letter alphabet to represent non-standard speech, leading to inconsistencies that, while sometimes difficult for modern readers, generally succeed in conveying the dialect's "rough" character.
What role does the character Joseph play in the novel’s atmosphere?
Joseph’s dialect reflects the harshness of the Wuthering Heights environment and underscores the social barriers and religious tensions present in the narrative.
How does the demonstrative system in Joseph's speech differ from Standard English?
Unlike the standard two-way distinction between 'this' and 'that', Joseph employs a three-way distinction (this, that, and 'yon') to signify the distance of objects or people.
- Quote paper
- Kirsten Nath (Author), 2005, Yorkshire Dialect in 19th Century Fiction and 20 th Century Reality. A Study of Dialectal Change with the Example of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and the Survey of English Dialects, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/45274
