_p207_-_Map_of_Northumberland_dialects.jpg)
TheNorthumbrian burr is the distinctiveuvular pronunciation of R in the traditionaldialects ofNorthumberland,Tyneside ('Geordie'), and northernCounty Durham, now remaining only among speakers of rural Northumberland, excludingTyne and Wear. It is one of the fewrhotic dialects left in England.[1]
According to Påhlsson (1972),[2] the Burr is typically pronounced as a voiced uvularfricative, often with accompanying lip-rounding ([ʁ(ʷ)]).Approximant[ʁ̞],voiceless fricative[χ],tapped[ɢ̆] andtrilled[ʀ] uvular pronunciations occur occasionally. The data for Northumberland and northern Durham in theSurvey of English Dialects (gathered in the 1950s) suggest that in addition to full pronunciation insyllable onset, uvular/r/ in these dialects was usually maintained insyllable coda position, typically as theuvularization of the preceding vowel.[3]
The Northumbrian Burr has affected the pronunciation of adjacent vowels, particularly those that precede it, which were subject to 'Burr Modification':
In addition,Harold Orton reported that the Burr caused retraction of followingalveolar consonants topost-alveolar orretroflex position.[5]
Since uvular R is not typical of other English dialects, it may be assumed that this pronunciation is an innovation in the northeast of England. When it occurred and whether the development is connected with the spread ofguttural R throughout much ofWestern Europe are both unknown.
Heslop (1892)[6] refers to the suggestion byJames Murray that the Burr originated in the speech ofHarry Hotspur, whichShakespeare describes as peculiar in some way:
Stuck upon him as the sun
In the grey vault of heaven: and by his light,
Did all the chivalry of England move
To do brave acts; he was indeed the glass
Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves,
He had no legs, that practis’d not his gait:
And speaking thick, which nature made his blemish,
Became the accents of the valiant;
For those that could speak low, and tardily,
Would turn their own affection to abuse,
To seem like him: so that, in speech, and gait,
In diet, in affections of delight,
In military rules, humours of blood,
He was the mark and glass, copy and book,
That fashioned others.[7]
However, Shakespeare's text does not indicate what was distinctive about Hotspur's speech so that may not be connected with the Northumbrian Burr.
The first definite reference to distinctive pronunciation of R in Northeastern England was made byHugh Jones in 1724,[8]slightly predating the more well known description of it byDaniel Defoe, who wrote, in hisA tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain,[9] that:
I must not quit Northumberland without taking notice, that the Natives of this Country, of the antient original Race or Families, are distinguished by a Shibboleth upon their Tongues in pronouncing the letter R, which they cannot utter without a hollow Jarring in the Throat, by which they are as plainly known, as a Foreigner is in pronouncing the Th: this they call the Northumberland R, or Wharle; and the Natives value themselves upon that Imperfection, because, forsooth, it shews the Antiquity of their Blood.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the Burr was recorded byAlexander J. Ellis[10] and byJoseph Wright.[11] Ellis said that the Burr was also known as the[kʁʊp].[12] He divided his sites in Northumberland and north Durham into "Burr Strong", "Burr Weak" and "No Burr".[13]
In the 20th century, it was recorded throughout much of the Northeast in theOrton Corpus.[14]
Audio recordings were made in the 1950s for theSurvey of English Dialects which feature the Northumbrian Burr, all of which are publicly available from the British Library and the University of Leeds:
The Northumbrian Burr, like many traditional dialect features in England, has largely disappeared from the dialects of northeast England, and it is no longer found inTyneside English. Nevertheless, some older speakers, especially in northern Northumberland, still use it regularly.[20]