Part 6

The trick of adding a vowel to sound words is not unpleasing to the ear. Thus: "I bin-a wait fer you; come-a ring-a dem bell. Wut mek-a (or mekky) you stay so?" "Yeddy," "yerry," and probably "churry" are the result of this--heard-a, yeard-a, yeddy; hear-a, year-a, yerry; chur-a, churray. When "eye" is written "y-eye," it is to be pronounced "yi." In such words as "back," "ax," a has the sound of ah. They are written "bahk," "ahx."

Professor J. A. Harrison of the Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, has recently written a paper on "The Creole Patois of Louisiana,"[i21] which is full of interest to those interested in the study of dialects. In the course of his paper, Professor Harrison says: "Many philologists have noted the felicitous [Greek: aithiopizein] of Uncle Remus in the negro dialect of the South. The Creole lends itself no less felicitously to the recit and to the conte, as we may say on good authority. The fables of La Fontaine and Perrin, and the Gospel of St. John have, indeed, been translated into the dialect of San Domingo or Martinique; lately we have had a Greek plenipotentiary turning Dante into the idiom of New Hellas; what next? Any one who has seen the delightful 'Chansons Canadiennes' of M. Ernest Gagnon (Quebec, 1880) knows what pleasant things may spring from the naive consciousness of the people. The Creole of Louisiana lends itself admirably to those petits poemes, those simple little dramatic tales, compositions, improvisations, which, shunning the regions of abstraction and metaphysics, recount the experiences of a story-teller, put into striking and pregnant syllabuses the memorabilia of some simple life, or sum up in pointed monosyllables the humor of plantation anecdote." Professor Harrison alludes to interesting examples of the Creole negro dialect that occur in the works of Mr. George W. Cable, and in "L'Habitation Saint-Ybars," by Dr. Alfred Mercier, an accomplished physician and litterateur of New Orleans. In order to show the possibilities of the Creole negro dialect, the following Conte Negre_, after Dr. Mercier, is given. The story is quoted by Professor Harrison, and the literal interlinear version is inserted by him to give a clue to the meaning. The Miss Meadows of the Georgia negro, it will be perceived, becomes Mamzel Calinda, and the story is one with which the readers of the first volume of Uncle Remus are familiar. It is entitled "Mariage Mlle. Calinda."

1. Dan tan le zote foi, compair Chivreil ave compair Dans temps les autres fois, compere Chevreuil avec compere

2. Torti te tou le de ape fe lamou a Mamzel Calinda. Tortue etaient tous les deux apres faire l'amour a Mademoiselle Calinda.

3. Mamzel Calinda te linmin mie compair Chivreil, cofair Mlle. Calinda avait aime mieux compere Chevreuil, quoi faire

4. li pli vaian; me li te linmin compair Torti oucite, le plus vaillant; mais elle avait aime compere Tortue aussi,

5. li si tan gagnin bon tchor! Popa Mamzel Calinda di li: il si tant gagner bon coeur! Papa Mlle. Calinda dire lui:

6. "Mo fie, li tan to maie; fo to soizi cila to oule." Landimin, "Ma fille, il (est) temps te marier; faut te choisir cela tu voulez." Lendemain,

7. compair Chivreil ave compair Torti rive tou ye de cote Mlle. C. compere Chevreuil avec compere Tortue arriver tous eux de cote Mlle. C.

8. Mamzel C., qui te zongle tou la nouite, di ye: "Michie Chivreil ave Mlle. C., qui avait songe toute la nuit, dire eux: "Monsieur Chevreuil avec

9. Michie Torti, mo popa oule mo maie. Mo pa oule di ain Monsieur Tortue, mon papa vouloir me marier. Moi pas vouloir dire un

10. dan ouzote non. Ouzote a galope ain lacourse dice foi cate dans vous autres non. Vous autres va galopper une la course dix fois quatre

11. narpan; cila qui sorti divan, ma maie ave li. Ape dimin arpents; cela qui sortir devant, moi va marier avec lui. Apres demain

12. dimance, ouzote a galope." Ye parti couri, compair Chivreil dimanche, vous autres va galopper." Eux partir courir, compere Chevreuil

13. zo tchor contan; compair Torti ape zongle li-minme: son coeur content; compere Tortue apres songer lui-meme:

14. "Dan tan pace, mo granpopa bate compair Lapin pou "Dans temps passe, mon grandpapa battre compere Lapin pour

15. galope. Pa conin coman ma fe pou bate compair Chivreil." galopper. Pas conner (= connaitre) comment moi va faire pour battre compere Chevreuil."

16. Dan tan cila, nave ain vie, vie cocodri qui te gagnin Dans temps cela en avait un vieux, vieux crocodile qui avait gagne

17. plice pace cincante di zan. Li te si malin, ye te pele li plus passe cinquante dix ans. Lui etait si malin, eux avaient appele lui

18. compair Zavoca. La nouite vini, compair Torti couri trouve compere Avocat. La nuit venir, compere Tortue courir trouver

19. compair Zavoca, e conte li coman li barace pou so compere Avocat, et conter lui comment lui embarrasser pour sa

20. lacourse. Compair Zavoca di compair Torti: "Mo ben la course. Compere Avocat dire compere Tortue: "Moi bien

21. oule ide toi, mo gacon; nou proce minme famie; la tair vouloir aider toi, mon garcon; nous proche meme famille; la terre

22. ave do lo minme kichoge pou nizote. Mo zongle zafair avec de l'eau meme quelquechose pour nous autres. Moi va songer cette affaire

23. To vini dimin bon matin; ma di toi qui pou fe." Toi venir demain bon matin; moi va dire toi que pour faire."

24. Compair Torti couri couce; me li pas dromi boucou, Compere Tortue courir coucher; mais lui pas dormir beaucoup,

25. li te si tan tracasse. Bon matin li parti couri lui etait si tant tracasse. Bon matin lui partir courir

26. cote compair Zavoca. Compair Zavoca dija diboute ape cote compere Avocat. Compere Avocat deja debout apres