摘要:The following is from a servant’s testimony, recorded in 1654 in south-east
England:
[...] this
Informant saied to the said Susan haue a care or els
you will sett the barne on a fire: And the said Susan
replyed if I doe what is that to you, goe about {goe} your
bussines:
(Essex Record Office, Colchester. Borough of Colchester Informations.
MS D/B5/Sb2/9, the information of Katheryne Perry, 1654)
Witness depositions like this abound in handwritten manuscripts that are scattered
in archives across England. Because of their inaccessibility, these records
are largely an untapped source in English historical linguistics. In this article
we report on a project currently underway, which aims at producing an electronic
text edition of English depositions from 1560–1760. Unlike many previous
editions, we will reproduce the original manuscript text as closely as possible;
moreover, the electronic format will also allow the edition to be much larger
than printed editions. The edition will contain both a transcription and a coded
version of the transcription that will enable computer searches, a historical and
linguistic introduction, textual notes, and a glossary, as well as a selection of
manuscript images. We conclude this article with a case study, by which we
illustrate the particular value of our edition of speech-related material for linguistic
research.