Share your Northumbrian dialect words
Deek at these kenspeckle words and see if you can save 'the venerable grandmother' of the English language.
What some people call the 'purest form' of English, the Northumbrian dialect, has been eroded over time and no-one knows how much Northumbrians and Geordies still have their own way of speaking.
Words like yari, jugal and skumfish used to be heard regularly but the Northumbrian Language Society is desperate to get a snapshot of the state of the region's dialect and see which Northumbrian words are still in use.
The call comes after Collins English Dictionary asked people to look at three Northumbrian words and let them know, via Twitter, if they are used. If not, they will write the obituary for the dead words.
But if they are still in common use, the words will be reinstated into the Collins Corpus database and could even be included in future dictionaries.
The Northumbrian Language Society chose the three words for Collins to take to the public but they have many other words and want to take the opportunity to learn more about the health of Northumberland's dialect.
Kim Bibby-Wilson from the Northumbrian Language Society said: "It matters. If we all spoke hybrid American English, it would be a very boring world.
"As far as the Collins project is concerned, it's good - it's going to get a high profile and remind people of these words. When you speak about dialect people are fascinated.
"But the more life goes on, the less people hear the speech patterns. It's whether they are speaking these words or not. From anecdotal evidence we're losing words because they're not relevant anymore."
Unlike Scottish dialect, Northumbrian words do not get full recognition, meaning there is no European funding for researching and promoting the dialect, as well as projects to record people still speaking in the tongue.
Northumbrian only holds observer status under the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages.
Kim said: "We would love to have the funding. We should be looking at how the Scots dictionary is constructed.
"Northumbrian dialect is the venerable grandmother of English, not a poor cousin. It has always been isolated, by the North Sea, the Pennines, Cheviots and moors, and it is a purer form of English. It has been reserved here for longer because the Vikings and Normans didn't have a great deal of interplay with the locals.
"It's very important, because the language that's spoken in a particular area tells you so much, just like castles do and cathedrals and football teams. You wouldn't knock down Bamburgh Castle because it's no longer used for defence."
Many of the words used in Northumberland are from the Angles, while certain areas also picked up gypsy words because of nearby camps.
For instance, 'gadgy', now used to mean a man, was originally used to refer to non-gypsies, while charver, now a derogatory term, used to mean friend.
Which of the words below do you still use? Do you know of any other current Northumbrian dialect words?
Share your Northumbrian dialect words in the comments section below
SPREADING THE WORD
THE THREE WORDS COLLINS ARE RESEARCHING ARE
Shawm - to warm yourself
Hippletyclinch - walk with a limp
Bari - beautiful/handsome
FURTHER SUGGESTIONS FROM NORTHUMBERLAND
Deek - to look at
Yari - egg
Jugal - dog
Mort - wife
Netty - toilet
Oxter - armpit
Kenspeckle - distinctive
Skumfish - tired
Spelk - splinter
Gully - sharp knife for meat/general purpose
Puzzly-os - noughts and crosses
Lowp - to jump
Kist - strong box
WELL-KNOWN REGIONAL TERMS
Gadgy - non-gypsy man
Charver - friend
Gan - go
Lang - long
Canny - good
Hoy - throw
Ahad/ahaad - caught fire
Stotty - round bread
NEW ONES
Windy-pick - pneumatic drill
Starry head - Phillips screwdriver
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Add in a comment to share any Northumbrian dialect words...
How about clarty - meaning muddy "clarty boots"
Heh heh - didn't Sid the Sexist in Viz once say he was so hungry he 'could eat a scabby monkey fried in clarts'?
clegg = horsefly
clarty = mucky
to be on yer honkers = to be crouching
geps = glasses
outbye = remote
All phrases I used when I lived in the midlands that were met with blank looks!
When words are part of your upbringing and in everyday use it is easy to forget they may be part of local dialect
Hacky - dirty
Muckle - big
Guffy - pig
Pannying doon - raining very heavy
Gliff - fright
Plodging - paddle in water,sea
Dunsh - knock, bash into
Gallower - horse
Keek - dirt, muck (up to ya eyes in keek)
Hoolie (blowin a hoolie) - very windy
Parries or lops - head lice, fleas
Shan meaning awful, horrible. We used to say muckle shan deek
I love the word kenspeckle so much it's my web identity: http://kenspeckle.net/blog/2005/09/03/what-is-kenspeckle/, http://twitter.com/kenspeckle
Thanks for sharing these others. Love it!
Snanny - turnip (Swede to southerners.) We always made snanny-lanterns at halloween. Another word for turnip/swede was bagie.
Yag - firewood
Eric Mansfield says: "I remember my grandad used to have a broad Northumbrian accent (born 1899) and a word I always remember him using was - Varnigh (spelling?), meaning nearly."