Here's one I haven't seen brought up- the locals 'round these parts often use your'n for a 2nd person singular possessive adjective (not sure if it's used in plural).
The derivation seems perceptible enough: "your one" would be more logical than yours following the pattern of "this one" and "that one". That is an assumption though.
Seems to manifest as an Appalachian Scots-Irish usage.
Is that regionally accurate?
Interestingly Dictionary.com sez:
Origin:
1350–1400; ME, equiv. to your + -n, as in mine
-wheras yours is described as about 100 years older, a mere eyeblink on that scale...
Your'n
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2578
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
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Re: Your'n
I prefer the second derivation above because of the parallel structure it implies:... The derivation seems perceptible enough: "your one" would be more logical than yours following the pattern of "this one" and "that one". That is an assumption though.
...
Origin:
1350–1400; ME, equiv. to your + -n, as in mine
...
my -->mine
your--> yourn
Be careful how you use and pronounce it though, as in "What's mine is mine and what's yours is your'n."
Note that this is different from "YORN," a label I've seen used in programming for a routine that asks for a Yes OR No answer from a user in a script.
(Historical note: during the Poor People's March On Washington, some of the locals often referred to Resurection City as Insurrection City and the Reflecting Pool as Lake Huron, pronounced with a silent "H." Those were different times ...)
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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