Ee & een

In Shaetlan de'r twa forms at translate tae StE 'one': ee an een. Dey hae saeperit functions: ee is da numeral form an is øsed attributively (laek a adjective/descriptive wird):

– I mind ee day...

But een is øsed absolutely an substitutes da noun (entity) an wirks laek a pronoun:

– Gie me yun een.

– A'm seen yun eens afore.

Baith forms ging back tae Aald English ān 'een'. Startin fae da 13C ān wis reduced tae a or ai afore consonants idda nort plaesses. Dis spleet cam tae be permanent an tøk on a differin grammatical meanin at's still reflected in Shaetlan: da full form (ān > een) wis set by fir øse as da pronoun, whaaras da reduced form (a(i) > ee) wis set by fir attributive (descriptive) øse. Standirt English doesna hae dis differentiation.