Northumberland and Durham dialect, Northumbrian dialect, or in England North East dialectBill Griffiths: A Dictionary of North East Dialect, 2004, Northumbria University Press, is any one of several traditional English dialects spoken in the historic counties of Northumberland and County Durham. The term Northumbrian can refer to the region of Northumbria but can also refer specifically to the county of Northumberland. This article focuses on the former definition and thus includes varieties from throughout the wider region, including County Durham.
The traditional Northumbrian dialect is a moribund older form of the dialect spoken in the area. It is closely related to Scots and Cumbrian and shares with them a common origin in Old Northumbrian.
The traditional dialect has spawned multiple modern varieties, and Northumbrian dialect can also be used to broadly include all of them: Geordie, the most famous dialect spoken in the region, largely spoken in Tyneside, centred in Newcastle and Gateshead Mackem, a dialect spoken in Wearside, centred on Sunderland Smoggie, a dialect spoken in Teesside; an area at the southern tip of region which straddles the border of Yorkshire and County Durham Pitmatic or "Yacker", a group of dialects spoken in mining towns of Northumberland and Durham Coalfield Berwick dialect, spoken in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northernmost town in England The only rhotic or variably rhotic dialect left in the region (Northumberland and northern Durham), nearly extinct, which uses the Northumbrian burr, mostly spoken today only by the oldest rural, male speakers.
Dialect divisions
19th century 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 the Humber–Lune Line) and Scots, 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 to Richmondshire and Cumbrian dialects, especially that of the Vale of Eden.page 39 of On 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 Like Cumbrian, the dialect of south Durham was subject to greater Scandinavian influence than the rest of Durham and Northumberland. 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.
21st century
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: Northern Urban North-Eastern English: Tyneside and urban Northumberland Central Urban North-Eastern English: Sunderland and much of Durham unitary authority Southern Urban North-Eastern English: Teesside, Hartlepool and Darlington
Central and northern urban dialects retain a decidedly Northumbrian base, but have been shaped by a standard English superstrate, resulting in hybrid dialects that incorporate elements of both traditional dialects and more standardised forms of English. 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.
Phonology Consonants
Northumbrian burr: the uvular pronunciation of /r/ as was prevalent in traditional dialects throughout much of Northumberland as well as northwestern County Durham. Exceptions in Northumberland included Tynemouth; the Scots-speaking Cheviots; and the south-west of the Country, where it was pronounced . The Northumbrian burr was typically absent from the further south in Durham. However, it was intermittently present in varieties of Durham Pitmatic spoken in the northeastern section of the Durham coalfield, which formed a transitional region extending as far south as Kelloe. 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. Nowadays, the feature is mostly restricted to elderly rural residents of Northumberland. is traditionally realised as in Northumberland and upper Weardale; on Tyneside and throughout the rest of Durham, it is typically /w/ as in Standard English. In contrast to most varieties of Northern 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. As with most Northern English dialects, final sound is reduced to e.g. for "ganging" ("going"). In common with most dialects of England, Northumbrian has lost . Scots typically corresponds to in Northumbrian cognates, compare Scots and with Northumbrian and . Unlike most Northern English dialects /l/ is clear in all cases and never velarised. The most conservative forms of the dialect undergo L-vocalization as in Scots, thus wall is and needful is . Allophonic develops before reflexes of Old English and in certain dialects, for example, Coxhoe dialect table , hook , home ; Newbiggin dialect haven and home . Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal VelarUvular Glottal Nasal m n ŋ Stop p b t d t͡ʃ d͡ʒ k ɡ ʔ Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʁ h Approximant (ɹ) j ʍ w Lateral l
Vowels Old English and Old Norse /ī/ and /ȳ/, together with Old English /i/ before /ld/, /y/ before /nd/, and Old French /i/, are subject to the Scottish Vowel Length Rule. In Northumberland and north Durham these vowels are typically realised as [ɛɪ] when short and [aɪ] when long. In south Durham they are generally realised as [aɪ] when short and [ɑɪ] when long. Under the influence of the Northumbrian burr, the NURSE–NORTH merger is widespread throughout most of Northumberland and north Durham, though vowels remain unmerged south Durham and parts of southwest Northumberland. The merged vowel is typically realised as [ɔː~ɔʁə], producing forms such as bord (bird) and forst (first). Old English /i/ remains as [ɪ] before /nd/, in words such as blind and find. Old English /u/ likewise remains [ʊ] before /nd/, producing forms such as pund (pound) and fund (found). Old English /a/ remains unrounded before /ŋ/, for example lang (long) and wrang (wrong). Old English /ū/ is generally retained as the long monophthong [uː] throughout the region, though it undergoes limited diphthongisation to [ʊu] in parts of south Durham. The regular development of Old English /ā/ shows several distinct developments. Initially (and before /h/), it develops to [jɪ~jɛ~ja], giving forms such as yin, yen, and yan (one). The [ja] type is chiefly characteristic of south Durham; [jɛ] is characteristic of north Durham and south Northumberland; while [jɪ] is characteristic of north Northumberland. Medially, it develops either into a centring diphthong [iə], characteristic of the western dialects, or into opening diphthongs such as [ĭe~ĭɛ~ĭa], characteristic of the eastern dialects. Within the eastern area, these form a continuum from relatively close realisations in the north-east to more open realisations in the south-east. Before /r/, the vowel typically develops either into a centring diphthong [ɛə] or an opening diphthong [eʚ], with long monophthongal reflexes [æː] reported in south Durham. This yields forms such as mair ("more") and sair ("sore"). Old English /o/ (open o) develops into [uə~oə] in western Northumberland and Durham and [øː] in eastern Northumberland and on Tyneside, as in hole and coal. This occurs in loanwords from standard English within the /ā/ set, such as goat. Old English /ō/ regularly develops into [ĭɵ] in eastern dialects, while in western dialects it merges with the medial reflex of OE ā, producing [iə]. Old English /āw/ (as in craw (crow) and knaw (know)) generally develop an open unrounded vowel, though rounded reflexes develop in western dialects. Old English /ē/ is generally realised as [iː] in Northumberland and north Durham. In south Durham it is diphthongised to [ɛɪ] or [ɪi]. Old English /ēa/ likewise develops alongside /ē/, in contrast to the shortened reflexes found in Standard English. It likewise produces [iː] in Northumberland and north Durham, but [ɛɪ~ɪi] in south Durham, as in heed ("head") and breed ("bread").
+ Monophthongs of Northumbrian (Tyneside) Front Central Back Unrounded Rounded Short Long Short Long Close ɪ iː ʊ uː Close-mid eː øː ə oː Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɔː Open a aː ɒ ɒː
Diphthongs + Diphthongs of Northumbrian (Tyneside) Endpoint Front Central Back Start point Front ai iɐ æu Back oe uɐ
Berwick-upon-Tweed 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.
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.
Classification in relation to English and Scots 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 of Modern Standard English but, rather, a related but separate Anglic language of its own, since it is largely not comprehensible by standard English speakers. Northumbrian has perhaps an even closer relationship with Modern Scots, and the NLS regards both as distinct but closely related languages derived from Old English; 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. The status of Scots and Northumbrian as either languages or dialects therefore remains open to debate.
Grammar Nouns Northumbrian includes some weak plurals such as ee/een (eye/eyes) and coo/kye (cow/cows) that survived from Old English into Northumbrian. Nouns of measure remain unchanged in the plural: fower fuit (four feet), twe mile (two miles), and five pund (five pounds) Pronouns