Earlier Writers’ Observations. Börje Brilioth, the Swedish author of A Grammar of the Dialect of Lorton, treats Cumbrian in terms of both pronunciation and syntax as though it is a foreign language. He does not solely focus on its differences from standard English, as I have done; he builds it up from the ground. He does, however, include lists of irregular plurals, as I did in the last chapter, noting that plural forms ending in -s are sometimes doubled, especially in the case of numerals: twos becomes twoses, threes becomes threeses. This appears in the Orton dialect survey 40 years later, noting elevenses, a meal eaten at eleven o’clock in the morning. Brilioth mentions that words expressing measurements are often not modified in the plural, which continues to be the case in modern Cumbrian. Three pund (‘three pounds’), sebm uunce (‘seven ounces’). He describes the genitive11 case as being similar to in standard English, but occasionally having its ending doubled, as with plurals (so John’s apple may be Jwohn’ses apple). However, he also remarks upon the omission of the possessive ending altogether by some speakers, as I have said. Brilioth then makes a remark that I have thus far avoided making, because I have not been sure how to word it in an academic way. He says this: ‘One of the most striking mannerisms of the true Cumbrian dialect-speaker is his tendency to avoid - as far as possible - making a definite statement of any kind.’
This is something I had noticed in modern broad speakers and in 19th-century literature. The bush is thoroughly beaten-about. For an example, look to the chapter on phonology. The Orton quote from Albert Davidson; rather than saying he was a fussy 11
The genitive is the grammatical case indicating possession or association, and is marginal in a lot of aspects of English speech. It might be better called the 'possessive.' 110
