Yan tan tethera

Yan Tan Tethera or yan-tan-tethera is a sheep-counting system traditionally used by shepherds in Yorkshire, Northern England, and some other parts of Britain. The words may be derived from numbers in Brythonic Celtic languages such as Cumbric which had died out in most of Northern England possibly as early as the sixth century, but they were commonly used for sheep counting and counting stitches in knitting until the Industrial Revolution, especially in the fells of the Lake District. Though most of these number systems fell out of use by the turn of the 20th century, some are still in use.

Origin and development

Sheep-counting systems ultimately derive from Brythonic Celtic languages, such as Cumbric; Tim Gay writes: “ all compared very closely to 18th-century Cornish and modern Welsh". It is impossible, given the corrupted form in which they have survived, to be sure of their exact origin. The counting systems have changed considerably over time. A particularly common tendency is for certain pairs of adjacent numbers to come to resemble each other by rhyme. Still, multiples of five tend to be fairly conservative; compare bumfit with Welsh pymtheg, in contrast with standard English fifteen.

Use in sheep counting

Like most Celtic numbering systems, they tend to be vigesimal, but they usually lack words to describe quantities larger than twenty; this is not a limitation of either modernised decimal Celtic counting systems or the older ones. To count a large number of sheep, a shepherd would repeatedly count to twenty, placing a mark on the ground, or move a hand to another mark on a shepherd's crook, or drop a pebble into a pocket to represent each score.

Knitting

Their use is also attested in a "knitting song" known to be sung around the middle of the nineteenth century in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, beginning "yahn, tayhn, tether, mether, mimph".

Modern usage

The counting system has been used for products sold within Northern England and Yorkshire, such as prints, beers, alcoholic sparkling water, and yarns, as well as in artistic works referencing the region, such as Harrison Birtwistle's 1986 opera Yan Tan Tethera.
Jake Thackray's song "Old Molly Metcalfe" from his 1972 album Bantam Cock uses the Swaledale "Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip" as a repeating lyrical theme.
Garth Nix used the counting system to name the seven Grotesques in his novel Grim Tuesday.
Terry Pratchett referenced the counting system in the book The [Wee Free Men], the system being used by both Granny Aching and the Nac Mac Feegles.

''Yan'' or ''yen''

The word yan or yen for 'one' in Cumbrian, Northumbrian, and some Yorkshire dialects generally represents a regular development in Northern English in which the Old English long vowel <ā> was broken into, and so on. This explains the shift to yan and ane from the Old English ān, which is itself derived from the Proto-Germanic *ainaz. Another example of this development is the Northern English word for 'home', hame, which has forms such as hyem, yem and yam all deriving from the Old English hām.

Systems by region

Yorkshire and Lancashire

Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and County Durham

Southwest England

Cumberland and Westmorland

Wilts, Scots, Lakes, Dales and Welsh

Number	Wilts	Scots	Lakes	Dales	Welsh
1	Ain	Yan	Auna	Yain	Un
2	Tain	Tyan	Peina	Tain	Dau
3	Tethera	Tethera	Para	Edderoa	Tri
4	Methera	Methera	Peddera	Peddero	Pedwar
5	Mimp	Pimp	Pimp	Pitts	Pump
6	Ayta	Sethera	Ithy	Tayter	Chwech
7	Slayta	Lethera	Mithy	Leter	Saith
8	Laura	Hovera	Owera	Overro	Wyth
9	Dora	Dovera	Lowera	Coverro	Naw
10	Dik	Dik	Dig	Dix	Deg
11	Ain-a-dik	Yanadik	Ain-a-dig	Yain-dix	Un ar ddeg
12	Tain-a-dik	Tyanadik	Pein-a-dig	Tain-dix	Deuddeg
13	Tethera-a-dik	Tetheradik	Para-a-dig	Eddero-dix	Tri ar ddeg
14	Methera-a-dik	Metheradik	Peddaer-a-dig	Pedderp-dix	Pedwar ar ddeg
15	Mit	Bumfitt	Bunfit	Bumfitt	Pymtheg
16	Ain-a-mit	Yanabumfit	Aina-a-bumfit	Yain-o-bumfitt	Un ar bymtheg
17	Tain-a-mit	Tyanabumfitt	Pein-a-bumfit	Tain-o-bumfitt	Dau ar bymtheg
18	Tethera-mit	Tetherabumfitt	Par-a-bunfit	Eddero-bumfitt	Deunaw
19	Gethera-mit	Metherabumfitt	Pedder-a-bumfit	Peddero-bumfitt	Pedwar ar bymtheg
20	Ghet	Giggot	Giggy	Jiggit	Ugain