International Mother Language Day 2021

A Jèrriais/Ulster Scots poetic collaboration for International Mother Language Day 2021

L'êteuchîn d'orcat à l'attercap;
lé ticl'ye en rouoge tchuivre ès ferntickles;
eune hâle d'or d'eune néthe minne hellsnationt...
lé pêtre à r'teurtchi les ferntickles
en enfilées tch'enfeunquent l'attercap.

D'en par où'est qu'i' fliambent, les ferntickles,
entréchîn chu radgîn hellsnationt,
la brûlâtion d'sahonte l'attercap
tchi s'êcappe au halant hellsnationt,
êcaûdé et taqu'té d'ferntickles.

L'înfèrna méta d'goutte hellsnationt,
les dgiâbliotîns attrioquent l'attercap
dans chutte ticlyie d'enfé d'ferntickles
à r'caûffer, dans l'cappeur, l'attercap:
qu'i' s'n âle hors, ch't însténabl'ye hellsnationt!

Composée par Geraint Jennings s'lon trais patholes en Scots d'Ulstèr proposées par Frank Ferguson dé l'Unnivèrsité d'Ulstèr prînses dé d'dans The Hamely Tongue dé James Fenton (1931-2021):

Thanks to Frank Ferguson of Ulster University for providing the three Ulster Scots words which served as prompts for the poem.

• attercap = roupilleux = troublesome or spiteful person
  
• ferntickles = du tavîn = freckles
  
• hellsnationt = honteux, honteusement = intolerable, intolerably, disgraceful, disgracefully

Rough translation of Jèrriais to English:

The spatter/spit of imitation gold of the attercap;
the copper kettle of the ferntickles ;
a haul/catch of gold from a black hellsnationt mine...
the spider retwisting the ferntickles
into strings which smoke up/befuddle the attercap.

As far as up to where the ferntickles flame,
from here as far as that hellsnationt blaze,
the burning shames the attercap
who escapes to the hellsnationt tidal current,
scalded and blotched with ferntickles.

The infernal metal drips hellsnationt,
the imps/little devils attract the attercap
into that kettleful of hell of ferntickles
to re-heat, in the copper boiler, the attercap:
let him begone, that hellsnationt unbearable man!

French poet of the Oulipo group of writers, Jacques Jouet, is noted for his use of the "redonde": a poetic form using the same three words at the end of lines within each three verse poem according to a pattern of literary constraint. He has used sets of three keywords suggested by literary partners writing in other languages; some of which have been published in the collection Poèmes avec partenaires (video of the poet reading some of these multilingual redondes). So his "redondes" are in French, but use the words from the other languages at the end of each line in accordance with this pattern:

• 12321
  
• 23132
  
• 31213

Bonus bookshelf reading: