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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
GUEST,Phil d'Conch Shanty or Chantey? (197* d) RE: Shanty or Chantey? 14 Jan 22


Ranger: English vs British shanty lingo. The so-called “New World” was also New Scotland &c. It was, and still is, culturally, linguistically and socially diverse but highly stratified, as if you didn't know that already I'm sure.

If one part of the vessel spoke proper English, the remainder likely did not. Also, it's undignified for a 'gentleman' to shout. The Exec's job was town crier (griot, gritador); the Boatswain's was translation:

c.1750
“Many crewmen aboard a given ship in either navy* were from the same area, which was a source of unity. In the French navy, regional differences were particularly important. Ships in the Mediterranean fleet were manned by crewmen from Provence and southern France, while in the Atlantic fleet crewmen generally came from Brittany and other regions along the Atlantic coast…. The gulf between officers and men was somewhat wider in the French navy because officers did not help to raise their own crews and usually spoke only French, while crews spoke Breton or Provencal.”
[Dull, Jonathan R., The Age of the Ship of the Line, (Lincoln: U. of Nebraska, 2009, pp.17-18)]
*French or English.

So if it's an English shanty/chanty on the quarterdeck, it will likely be a near subgenre on the foredeck but with a very different 'British' label. eg:
amrán
iomramh
iorram
iurram
jorum
joram
jorram
juram
òran


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