Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1964, Page 157

Nom in Shetland
165
of surnames, having only patronymic names. Many of them
are descended from the Norwegians and speak a Norse
tongue corrupted (they call Norn)among themselves, which
is now much worn out.
“The incomers (whose residence in these isles is not above
a few centuries of years) . . . speak the Scots language as
well as the Norse”.
4. Thomas Gifford of Busta (1733). Steward and Justi*
ciar Depute of Shetland.
“The ancient language spoken by the inhabitants of Zet^
land was that of the Norwegians called Norn, and contb
nued to be that only spoken by the natives till of late,
and many of them speak it to this day among themselves,
but the language now spoken here is English, which they
pronounce with a very good accent, and many, especially
about Lerwick, speak Dutch very well, having had frequent
occasion to converse with the Dutch people”.
5. George Low, an Orkney minister (1774).
On Foula. “The Norse language is much worn out here,
yet there are some who know a few words of it; it was
the language of the last age, but will be entirely lost by
the next.
“None of them can write their ancient language, and but
very few speak it, the best phrases are all gone, and nothing
remains but a few names of things and two or three rem*
nants of songs which one old man can repeat and that
but indistinctly.
“Norn proverbs I could find none, nor is it possible
to get translations, as it is entirely confined to the lower
class of people, who cannot be supposed to have a thorough
knowledge either of one language or the other.”
6. Rev. Patrick Barclay, minister of Aithsting and Sands=
ling (1792).
“The language spoken is a mixture of Norwegian, Dutch
and English; but all the inhabitants now understand pure
English, though they could speak among themselves so as
an Englishman could not understand them”.