Northumbrian dialect orNorthumbrian English is any one of several traditionalEnglish dialects spoken in the historic counties ofNorthumberland andCounty Durham. The termNorthumbrian can refer to the region ofNorthumbria but can also refer specifically to the county of Northumberland.[2] This article focuses on the former definition and thus includes varieties from throughout the wider region.
The traditional Northumbrian dialect is amoribund older form of the dialect spoken in the area.[3] It is closely related toScots andCumbrian and shares with them a common origin inOld Northumbrian.[4]
The traditional dialect has spawned multiple modern varieties, and Northumbrian dialect can also be used to broadly include all of them:
The onlyrhotic or variably rhotic dialect left in the region (Northumberland and northwest Durham), nearly extinct, which uses theNorthumbrian burr, mostly spoken today only by the oldest rural, male speakers.
Alexander John Ellis, a 19th century linguist and philologist, divided Northumberland and Durham into three main dialect groups based on their linguistic features. Ellis considered the bulk of Northumberland and northern County Durham as belonging to the 'North Northern' dialect group. This group was deemed to be a transitional variety between other Northern dialects (those north of theHumber–Lune Line) andScots, but overall still considered a form of Northern English. However, a small portion of northwestern Northumberland around the Cheviot hills was deemed to be Scots-speaking and therefore categorised as a variety of the Scots language. The southern part of County Durham was considered part of the 'West Northern' dialect group, which was deemed to be more closely related toRichmondshire and Cumbrian dialects, especially that of theVale of Eden.[6] Like Cumbrian, the dialect of south Durham was subject to greater Scandinavian influence than the rest of Durham and Northumberland.[7] Scandinavian influence is evident in the naming of streams in south Durham, which are typically named ‘becks’ (from the Old Norse ‘bekkr’). In contrast, 'burns' (from the Old English ‘burna’) are found in north Durham and Northumberland.
Urban North East English dialects are a group of English dialects spoken in urban areas of the North East of England, including major cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough. These dialects have emerged as a result of the region's rapid urbanization during the 19th and 20th centuries, which brought about significant social and demographic changes. In comparison to traditional dialects, urban North East English dialects have undergone a greater degree of dialect levelling. A tripartite division is recognised among modern urban dialects in the North East of England, which distinguishes between the northern, central, and southern urban dialects:[8]
Northern Urban North-Eastern English: Tyneside and urban Northumberland
Central and northern urban dialects retain a decidedly Northumbrian base, but have been shaped by a standard Englishsuperstrate, resulting in hybrid dialects that incorporate elements of both traditional dialects and more standardised forms of English.[9] On the other hand, the southern urban dialects have been subject to more significant dialect restructuring, resulting in a dialect which, while still North Eastern in character, lacks more marked Northumbrian forms such as 'gan' (to go) and 'divvent' or 'dinnet' (don't) that survive in Tyneside, Wearside and Durham.[10]
A 19th century dialect map of Northumberland and north Durham. The limit of the Northumbrian burr is shown by the outline.
Northumbrian burr: the uvular pronunciation of /r/ as[ʁ(ʷ)] was prevalent in traditional dialects throughout much of Northumberland as well as northwestern County Durham. Exceptions in Northumberland included Tynemouth, the far southwest of the county, and the Scots-speaking Cheviots.The Northumbrian burr was typically absent from dialects further south. However, it was historically present in varieties of Durham Pitmatic spoken in the northeastern section of the Durham coalfield, extending as far south asKelloe, though it was not characteristic of agricultural dialects of the area. The development of coal mining in the region and the ensuing in-migration from Northumberland to meet the increased demand for labour likely contributed to the presence of the burr in these Pitmatic varieties.[11][12] Nowadays, the feature is mostly restricted to elderly rural residents of Northumberland.
/hw/ is traditionally realised as[ʍ] in Northumberland and upperWeardale; on Tyneside and throughout the rest of Durham, it is typically /w/ as in Standard English.[13]
In contrast to most varieties ofNorthern English, traditional dialects north of the Tees are largely H-retaining. Northumberland and north Durham dialects are fully H-retaining while south Durham dialects occupy a transitional zone and exhibit variable H-retention.[13]
As with most Northern English dialects, final/ŋ/ sound is reduced to[n] e.g.gannin for “ganging” (“going”).
In common with most dialects of England, Northumbrian has lost/x/. Scots/x/ typically corresponds to/f/ in Northumbrian cognates, compare Scotsloch[lɔx] andcleuch/cleugh[kluːx] with Northumbrianlough[lɒf] andcleugh[kljʊf].
Unlike most Northern English dialects /l/ is clear in all cases and never velarised.
The most conservative forms of the dialect undergoL-vocalization as in Scots, thuswall iswaa andneedful isneedfu.[14]
Nurse–north merger: [ɔː] in words such asbord (bird)forst (first) throughout Northumberland and north Durham. This is a result of the Northumbrian burr modifying adjacent vowels.
[ɪ] in words such as ‘’blinnd’’ (blind) and “finnd” (find).
Occurring throughout much of north & west Northumberland, the GOAT vowel in words like "phone" and "tone" moves closer to [ɜː], so "phone" would be pronounced the same as the word "fern". Amongst those with stronger accents, a similar vowel can be found in the LOT vowel, so "cod" would be pronounced with a short œ sound.
Phonemic long /aː/ (writtenaa or more traditionallyaw). This creates some minimal pairs based upon phonemic vowel length, for examplegan [gan] "go" vs.gawn [gaːn] "going".
Preservation of Old English /uː/ (the sound of Southern Englishoo), thereforedown andtown are "doon" and "toon" in Northumbrian. It also retains the old English pronunciation of [ʊ] when followed by [nd], so "pound" and "found" are "pund" and "fund".
eu orui in words likeeneugh,muin andbuit, partially corresponds to ScotsVowel 7. The pronunciation of this vowel varies depending on the dialect.
The FACE vowel is typically [ɪə] or [ɪa].
Lack offoot–strut split, as in other Northern English varieties.
Diphthongisation of Northern Middle English [aː] to i+e in south Northumberland and north Durham, producingbyeth,styen and(h)yem for "both", "stone" and "home";[9] and tobyath,styan and(h)yam in south Durham. Older forms such asbaith,stane andhame, which are shared with Scots, survive in some Northumbrian dialects.[15]
[iː] in words such asheed anddeed meaning “head” & “dead” (compare Scots “heid” & “deid” and Yorkshire “heead” & “deead”)
Berwick-upon-Tweed is unique within Northumberland. The local speech has characteristics of the North Northumbrian dialect and due to its geographical location, has characteristics of the East Central Scots dialect as well.[16]
A sociological study of the Anglo-Scottish border region conducted in the year 2000 found that locals of Alnwick, 30 miles (48 km) south of Berwick, associated the Berwick accent with Scottish influence. Conversely, those from Eyemouth, Scotland, 9 miles (14 km) north of Berwick, firmly classed Berwick speech as English, identifying it as Northumbrian.
The Northumbrian Language Society (NLS), founded in 1983 to research, preserve and promote the Northumbrian language variety, considers it divergent enough to be not a dialect ofModern Standard English but, rather, a related butseparate Anglic language of its own, since it is largely not comprehensible by standard English speakers.[3][17] Northumbrian has perhaps an even closer relationship withModern Scots,[18] and both the NLS regard as distinctlanguages derived from Old English but close relatives;[3] however, mainstream scholarly sources regard them as essentially the same language, albeit with minor differences. The similarities are not commonly or formally recognised possibly due to sensitivities on both sides of the border.[19] The status of Scots and Northumbrian as either languages or dialects therefore remains open to debate.[20]
Northumbrian includes some weak plurals such asee/een (eye/eyes),coo/kye (cow/cows) andshough/shoon (shoe/shoes) that survived from Old English into Northumbrian but have become strong plurals in Standard Modern English – ox/oxen and child/children being exceptions. Regular Northumbrian plurals which correspond to irregular in Standard English includeloafs (loaves),wifes (wives) andshelfs (shelves)[2]
T–V distinction: Use of the singular second-person pronounsthoo ortha andthee in Durham and south Northumberland. In north Northumberland onlyye is encountered.
aw’s (I is) andthoo's (thou is) are the first and second person present forms of the verb "to be" in Durham and south Northumberland. In north Northumberlandaw'm (I am) is used as in Scots and Standard English.[21]
In Northumberland and north Durham the definite article is unreduced as in Standard English andScots. This is considered a peculiarity among Northern English dialects.
In south Durham the definite article is traditionally reduced to[t] or[d], usually written as t'. An isogloss running just north ofBishop Auckland separates the two varieties.[22][23]
The English verb "to be able" is in Northumbrian in the older form 'te can', for exampleaw used te cud sing meaningI used to be able to sing.[24][25]
In 1883 Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte was granted a civil list pension for his work on English dialects. His dialect studies draw upon both written texts and the results of field work, which consisted of the direct interrogation of native speakers. In 1862 he published a compilation of 24 dialectal translations of the Old Testament passage, The Song of Solomon, which he commissioned from local dialectologists from throughout England and southern Scotland. According to a register of his known works, six Biblical translations were commissioned in the Northumbrian dialects, four of which appear in The Song of Solomon.[26][27]
Scots
Wha's yon cumin oot o the wilderness like til lunts o reek, smellin o myrrh an wi aa the pouthers o the mairchan?
Northumberland
Whe's yon it cums ower the moor like pillors o reek, saented wi marrh an wiv aa the poothurs o the maerchint?
Newcastle
Whe's this that cums oot o the wildorness like pillors o reek, sçainted wi myrrh an wiv aa pouthers o the maerchant?
Weardale
Whe's this at cums out ud wilderness leyke pillers uv reek, sented wih myrrh an wih ōh powders ud merchant?
English
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and with all powders of the merchant?
alreet or aareet / awreet - a variation on "alright" or "hello" (often used in the phrase "aalreet mate").
aye - yes
bairn/grandbairn - child/grandchild
bari - "good" or "lovely"
banter - chat/gossip
belter - "really good", used in the filmPurely Belter
bess - "please ya bess" for "please yourself"
te boule - to roll, howeverte boule aboot means to "mess around"
bray - to overpower or defeat someone, usually in a physical sense
byer - cattle shed
cannet or canna - cannot
canny - "pleasant", or like inScots "quite" (therefore something could be described as "canny canny")
chud - chewing gum
clart or clarts - "mud" as in "there's clarts on yor beuts", or to act foolishly as in "divvent clart aboot".
cuddy - a small horse or a pony
te dee - do
deeks - "look" as in "Gie’s a deeks" - "Gimme a look"
dinnet, divvent or dinna - "don't"
divvie - an insult, referring to a stupid person
doon - down
ee - oh, an exclamation of shock
feyther, fatther, or fadder - "father"
te gan - to go ("gannin" or "gaan" = going)
gadgie - man
git awesh - "go away"
geet, varry - very
gie's- "Give me", compare "Gimme"
had / haud - "hold" example:keep ahad means "keep ahold" or "look after", andhaud yor gob means "keep quiet".]
hev or hae - have
hacky - "dirty"
haddaway - "get away"
hairn (or hen) - similar to "hinny", see below
hinny a term of endearment - "Honey"
hoose - house
ho'wair, ho'way or ha'way - "come on"
te hoy - to throw
hyem - "home"
us- me, for examplePass us the gully meaning "Pass me the knife"
ket - sweets
te knaw / te knaa - know
lekky - electricity, or electric
te lend - often used for borrow, (lend us a bi meaning "Can I borrow a pen?")
like - used as a filler in many sentences; usually every other word, e.g.like, is he on aboot me or like, summat, like?
mair for "more" (compare with German "mehr")
mam/ma a variation of Mother
man - often used as a generic term of address, as in "Giv uz it heor noo man" or "haway man"
marra - Friend. Used like "mate" -aareet marra meaning "hello friend")
me or ma - my (compare: myself >meself ormesel)
mollycoddle - overprotect, "wrap in cotton wool"
muckle - similar to "canny", in the sense of meaning "quite". It can also mean "big", for instance "Yon hoose hez a muckle windae" means "that house has a big window"
ner, na or nar - no
neb - nose (nebby = nosey)
neet - night
nettie - toilet
nivvor - never
noo - now,
nowt - nothing
owt - anything
pet - a term of address or endearment towards a woman or a child
plodge - to stomp about or wade through something ungracefully
radge or radgie - crazy
sel - "self" as in mesel = myself, yersel = yourself, hesel = himself, horsel = herself,waselves, thaselves
shuttin for "shooting" thus simply shortening the "oo" vowel sound
snek - nose
spelk - a splinter
stot - to bounce. A well-known local bread bun called a 'stottie cake' receives its name from the fact the dough is 'stotted' about when being made.
summat or summick - something
tab - cigarette
tiv or te - to. The former is usually used when the following word begins with a vowel.There's nowt tiv it - "there's nothing to it"
toon - town (or specifically Newcastle)
wa - "our". used in a more general sense unlike "wor" below as in "Divvint touch wa bags" means "Don't touch our bags"
willent, winnit - "won't"
wor - our, Used primarily to denote a family member, such as "wor bairn"
wu - "us" in Northumberland and Tyneside as inWhat ye deein te wu? means "What are you doing to us?". "us" is used in Durham and Wearside.
yark - verb meaning to hit or move abrasively. Believed to be a corruption of "jerk"
ye or 'ee for you as inWhat are 'ee deein meaning "What are you doing?"
^page 39 ofOn Early English Pronunciation, Part V. The existing phonology of English dialects compared with that of West Saxon speech, A.J. Ellis, Truebner & Co, London, 1889[1]
^Beal, Joan C. (2012).Urban North-eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside (Dialects of English). Edinburgh University Press.
^Beal, Joan, C.; Burbano-Elizondo, Lourdes; Llamas, Carmen (2012).Urban North-eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside (Dialects of English). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^abGriffiths, Bill (2002).North East Dialect: Survey and Word List. Centre for Northern Studies. p. 48.ISBN0951147285.
^Kerswill, Paul (23 July 2018). "Dialect formation and dialect change in the Industrial Revolution: British vernacular English in the nineteenth century". In Wright, Laura (ed.).Southern English Varieties Then and Now. De Gruyter. pp. 8–38.ISBN9783110577549.
^Påhlsson, Christer (1972).The Northumbrian Burr: A Sociolinguistic Study. Durham: Gleerup. pp. 25–26.
^Heslop, Oliver (1893–1894).Northumberland words. A glossary of words used in the County of Northumberland and on the Tyneside. Volume II. Oxford University Press.
^abUpton, C.; Parry, D.; Widdowson, J. D. A. (1994).Survey of English dialects: The dictionary and grammar. London: Routledge.
^Heslop, Oliver (1893–1894).Northumberland words. A glossary of words used in the County of Northumberland and on the Tyneside. Volume II. Oxford University Press.
^Palgrave, Francis Milnes Temple; English Dialect Society (1997).Hetton-Le-Hole Pitmatic Talk 100 Years Ago A Dialect Dictionary of 1896. Johnstone-Carr. p. 9.
^"Mapping English".Northumbrian Words Project. 11 March 2019. Retrieved5 June 2023.
^Song Of Solomon, In Twenty-Four English Dialects. 1862.ISBN1166258874.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
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