A factsheet on Yorkshire dialect

An ancient tongue
Introduction Yorkshire Dialect Society. For many decades, turning Germany), the Angles developed in the widest sense
on the radio or television meant hearing Standard or what is now identified as Old English.
For most people, full Yorkshire dialect, as opposed to ‘BBC’ English but now regional accents at least are
simply a Yorkshire accent, is best thought of as a heard more and their speakers less likely to be The other main influence on Yorkshire language
foreign language. It represents as distinctive a pattern considered comic curiosities. came in the shape of the Vikings. From the ninth
of grammar, spelling, vocabulary, accent and century onwards, Danes and Norsemen invaded the
intonation as French or German or any other area, the Danes conquering York and the Norsemen
European language. But Yorkshire dialect is Origins and history coming in from the north. Under the subsequent rule
frequently sniggered at and equated with simple Celtic is the earliest language known in Britain – of the Vikings, the county of York was divided into
speech for simple folk. But phrases like ee bah goom dating from around 500BC – and elements survive as three thirdings, or ridings, administered from York in
and trouble at mill are rarely heard outside comedy modern Welsh and Gaelic. Some of it was carried into the centre. Viking influence can still be seen in the
sketches. Yorkshire dialect is far more than that. It is Yorkshire dialect too. The names of the rivers Calder placenames of Muker, Gunnerside and Thwaite in
an ancient form of speech and many of the words and Nidd and of Penyghent, and occasional words Swaledale. They added other words too – such as
used are signposts to our history and reflect the like brock (meaning badger), are still with us. Most addle (to earn), laik (to play) and teem (to pour) – but
language of Angles, Saxons and Vikings – significantly the Celts devised a system of counting or always mainly in the eastern and northern parts of
connections that have long since been dropped from scoring sheep that survived until well into the 19th Yorkshire, helping to further separate the North and
Standard English. People who speak modern German century. The words used varied from dale to dale; in East Riding dialects from the West Riding dialect.
will feel at home with Yorkshire dialect since some Wensleydale yan, tean, tither, mither, pip were 1, 2, 3,
words reflect those in their own language but have 4, 5 to farmers for 2000 years. The next ‘overhaul’ of English came with the
again been ‘ironed out’ of Standard English. Normans. After 1066, their Old French became
But most of the distinctive Yorkshire words originated interwoven with Old English leading to Middle
Like any language, Yorkshire dialect is changing, but from peoples who came after the Celts. When the English, used by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury
perhaps too quickly for its own good. If we could Romans left Britain around 400AD, a vacuum was Tales. The Normans had less impact on Yorkshire
transport ourselves back 100 years to the streets of created and then filled by waves of new settlers. than other areas but urchin (hedgehog), buffit (small
Pudsey or Barnsley or the villages of the Dales, most Among these were the Angles from northern stool) and fent (piece of cloth) are all from Norman
of us would have difficulty understanding what people Germany, who settled in northern and central French and still exist in Yorkshire dialect.
were saying and, of course, they would have trouble England, forming two kingdoms: Northumbria in the
making sense of what came out of our mouths. Since far North-east and Mercia in the Midlands. The With the spread of education, Middle English began
the late 19th century, Yorkshire dialect has been language of these two groups diverged and Mercian to be written down, and usually in a standardised
continually diluted to a point where, today, it is in dialect influenced southern and western Yorkshire form, a sort of early ‘BBC’ English. It wasn’t until the
danger of dying out, to be remembered only in books. and Northumbrian dialect dominated to the east and 19th century that Yorkshire dialect began to be
Why? Language experts point to the combined forces north. The boundary was broadly along the line of the recorded as a written language. By then, it had
of education, mass media, mobility and the River Wharfe and continues to this day. To the south already begun to decline.
importance attached to Standard English as a means developed the West Riding dialect, while to the north
of ‘getting on’ in life. There is nothing new or unique to the North and East Riding dialects took shape. The The Yorkshire Ridings lasted 1000 years, until 1974
Yorkshire about this. “Modern education is making Angles therefore laid the first proper foundations of when they were demolished to make way for West
havoc with provincial dialects,” wrote one Yorkshire dialect, giving it its Germanic character. Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire,
commentator – and that was in 1906. Humberside and Cleveland. Parts of the county were
Typical of this connection is the Yorkshire dialect lost or ‘handed back’ to neighbouring counties.
But it’s not a lost cause. Real Yorkshire dialect is still word sam, to gather up. This comes from the Old History and identity were all swept away in the name
quite widely understood and cherished. There are still English samnian and is reflected in the modern of convenience. In 1996, after a prolonged outcry,
fluent speakers – and many more partial users – and German word sammeln. With the Saxons in southern the East Riding was re-instigated and parts of
there is even a society dedicated to promoting it: the and western England (they were another tribe from Cleveland were given ‘honorary’ Yorkshire status.
 Key features of Yorkshire dialect sentences can be an obstacle course of double
negatives, as in wi dooant want nowt to do wi’
in conversations about Yorkshire weather, including
If the main features of Yorkshire dialect had to be backendish (autumnal), coming on (starting to rain),
summed up, they might be as follows nooab’dy (we don’t want anything to do with anyone).
harr (mist), mizzle (misty drizzle), puckly (dull, East
UYorkshire dialect preserves the ancient distinction Riding), rawky (raw and misty), snizy (bitingly cold
UThe West Riding dialect stands slightly apart from between you as a subject and you as an object in a and damp, North Riding), thin (cold), thunner pash
its cousins in the North and East Ridings. It is the sentence. Once we might all have said thou kissed (downpour, North Riding), tipplin’ dahn (raining hard),
easiest for outsiders to understand and is the version her and she kissed thee. Modern English has white ovver (covering of snow), wuthering (blustery)
usually adopted by those trying to imitate a Yorkshire discarded the distinction but in dialect tha or thoo tend And there is a whole ladder of expressions to use in
accent. To listen to it, however, West Riding is quite to be used as the subject and thee as the object. response to the question Nah then? (How are you?)
harsh in sound, perhaps reflecting the hard industrial
lives often led by its speakers. The North and East
UReflexive verbs are more common than in grand (really well), nicely (quite well), nobbut middlin
dialects include an additional hint of Geordie and Standard English. In Yorkshire, you don’t sit down, (only average), fair ter middlin (not at my best),
sound softer than West Riding dialect. They contain you sit yourself down, as in ah’ll sit missen dahn. nobbut dowly (miserable, poorly), taken badly (ill),
greater elements of Scandinavian and the East Riding goin’ dahn t’Nick (going to die)
dialect is perhaps the hardest for outsiders to
penetrate. Even within Ridings, however, there is
Sample words and phrases
considerable variation in sounds and spellings over
The following give something of a flavour of dialect Yorkshire in films and on TV
Many films and TV programmes feign Yorkshire
quite short distances. In the Dales, for example, there
are significant differences from one dale to another.
UWi ‘ad ter wesh wersens i’ cowd watter We had to dialect or accents rather badly but the following are
wash in cold water (West Riding) said to be reasonably good representations
UYorkshire dialect retains many old words since UYan o’ them lasses is reet bonny One of those girls UKes, filmed around Barnsley
discarded from Standard English, as in sher’s starved
is very pretty (North Riding)
(she’s cold), or ‘updated’ as in ah telled Fatther (I told
UListen at bairn roaring! Listen to the baby crying! UBilly Liar, filmed in Bradford
Father). It is quite Germanic and Scandinavian with
some words reflecting those languages. UWi s’ll ‘appen stay while Munda We’ll perhaps stay UThe Full Monty, featuring Sheffield
UVowel sounds tend to be either shorter than until Monday UAll Creatures Great and Small, filmed in the Dales
Standard English, as in bath or brass, or broader, as
in abaht (about) or ‘eead (head).
UTak nooa gaum on it Take no notice (West Riding) ULast of the Summer Wine, filmed in Holmfirth
UConsonants tend to be pronounced more UAllus at t’last push up Always at the last minute Emmerdale, Heartbeat and Monty Python sketches
are not said to be good representations
emphatically but both spoken and written forms tend UAh’m bahn ter side them pots I’m going to clear
to drop the h at the start of words and the g at the away the dishes (West Riding)
Further information
end, as in is ‘Arry courtin’? UThamunsupupanshurrup You must drink up and be UBasic Broad Yorkshire and The Yorkshire Dictionary of
UThe, and the letter t in general, is often replaced by quiet (West Riding) Dialect, Tradition and Folklore, both by Dr Arnold Kellett
the much imitated glottal stop, where the standard t
sound is either half pronounced (on the bed is written
UOff-comed-un Someone from outside Yorkshire UYorkshire Words Today by Yorkshire Dialect Society
on t’bed, and pronounced somewhere between ont Yorkshire people are, of course, traditionally UThe Yorkshireman’s Dictionary by Peter Wright
bed and on bed) or seemingly dropped altogether, as renowned for not suffering fools gladly. Interestingly, UYorkshire Dialect Society
in ge’i’e’en (get it eaten). In this way, written dialect there are a huge number of ways to call someone a www.yorkshiredialectsociety.org.uk
(which tends to be highly phonetic, ie follows the way fool in Yorkshire dialect, including
UEast Riding Dialect Society
words actually sound) can be a sea of apostrophes. barm-pot, blether-‘eead, bladder-head, buffel-‘eead, www.yorkshiredialect.com/east_riding_dialect_society.htm
UWords are often run together, as in cawf-‘eead, clart-‘eead, dooad, doylem, dummie-‘ UYorkshire Dialect Website www.yorkshiredialect.com
lerrergerritersen, or let her get it herself. eead, feckless, feeal/fooil, fond-‘eead, gaumless,
fleerer, gauve-Andrew, gawby, gawk, gawp-‘eead,
UYorkshire Ridings Society www.yorkshireridings.org
USingular verbs are often used where plurals would gommeril, leetgeen, lobcock, lump-yed, maddling, UYorkshire Genuki www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS
be used in Standard English, as in t’days is getting numb-yed, nuppit, stoddy, wossack USilsden town website
brighter. In a way that similarly implies sloppy www.silsden.net/yorkshiredialect/dictionary.htm
grammar but is really just the way the dialect is, them It is easy to insult someone in dialect! Similarly, there
is often used in place of those, as in them cakes, and are understandably many expressive phrases to use UYorkshire Dialect Verse www.yorkshire-dialect.org

Written by West Winds Yorkshire Tearooms, Buckden, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 5JA; 01756 760883; www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk © West Winds Yorkshire Tearooms 2010