Yola is an extinct form of English that was spoken in the south of County Wexford. The dialect was most commonly used in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, where geographical isolation allowed it to flourish and evolve. It was largely extinct by the mid-1880s. Its last speaker, Jack Devereux, died in 1998.
Yola, which means “old,” evolved from Middle English. The language was brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of 1169.
Hear a song written in Yola about a hurling match from the 1600s in the video below:
Parts of the song contain words and phrases similar to those still in use today.
Translations
Examples of English-to-Yola translations include:
- “Who?” becomes “fho?”
- “What?” translates into “fade?”
- “When?” becomes “fan?”
- “Why?” is “farthoo?”
- The word “about” translates into “abut,” which is very similar.
- “Among” becomes “amang”
- “Between” translates into “Betweesk”
- The word “all” becomes “aul”
- “Wexford” becomes “Weisforthe”
- In Yola, the word “go” becomes “goe.”
Quare!
The slang word “quare” is one of the few remaining Yola words still in use. In Yola, “quare” translates to “very” or “extremely.” Modern examples include:
- It’s quare hot out!
- That’s quare bad!
- That’s quare good!
- You’re quare lucky!
Pronunciation
According to historical records, Yola was spoken slowly, and the word “a” was pronounced as “ah” (as in the word “father”).
The letters “ee” were pronounced like the “e” in the word “me.” In many instances, Yola placed extra emphasis on the second syllable. For example, the Yola word for “wedding” is “weddeen,” meaning the “deen” would have received a larger emphasis, reflected in the pronunciation wedeen.
Extinction
The dialect faced the same challenges as the Irish language, with societal change, administrative policies, and economic pressures favouring English over the traditional vernacular. These pressures intensified during a period of widespread economic hardship and emigration, driving Yola into decline.