The Northumbrian burr is the distinctive uvular pronunciation of the letter "R" in the traditional dialects of Northumberland, Tyneside ("Geordie") and northern County Durham in England, now remaining only among speakers of rural Northumberland, excluding Tyne and Wear. It is one of the few rhotic dialects left in England.
Pronunciation According to Påhlsson (1972),Påhlsson, C. (1972) The Northumbrian Burr. Lund: Gleerup. the Burr is typically pronounced as a voiced uvular fricative, often with accompanying lip-rounding (). Approximant , voiceless fricative , tapped and trilled uvular pronunciations occur occasionally. The data for Northumberland and northern Durham in the Survey of English Dialects (gathered in the 1950s) suggest that in addition to full pronunciation in syllable onset, uvular in these dialects was usually maintained in syllable coda position, typically as the uvularization of the preceding vowel.Orton, H. and Halliday, W. (1962) Survey of English Dialects (B): The Basic Material, Vol. 1, The Six Northern Counties and the Isle of Man. Leeds: Arnold & Son.
Effects on neighbouring sounds The Northumbrian Burr has affected the pronunciation of adjacent vowels, particularly those that precede it, which were subject to 'Burr Modification': Påhlsson (1972: 20) notes that "Burr-modified vowels are vowels that have become retracted and lowered (in most cases) due to a following posterior , e.g. 'first' , 'word' ". Wells states that "It is the effect of uvular on a preceding vowel which has historically given rise to forms such as birds, worms in Northumberland: the has not only coalesced with the vowel, making it uvularized, but has also caused it to be retracted from centre to back". One effect of Burr Modification was the development of the nurse–north merger in dialects of English in northeast England. In addition, Harold Orton reported that the Burr caused retraction of following alveolar consonants to post-alveolar or retroflex position.Orton, H. (1939) "ɹɛtɹoʊflɛks kɒnsənənts ɪn ɪŋglɪʃ" [Retroflex consonants in English]. Maître Phonétique 67: 40–41.
History 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 of guttural R throughout much of Western Europe are both unknown.
Richard Oliver Heslop refers to the suggestion by James Murray that the Burr originated in the speech of Harry Hotspur which Shakespeare, in King Henry IV, Part 2, describes as peculiar in some way:
Helsop noted, "Whether the tradition originated in this description; or whether Shakespeare gives expression to a tradition current in his time, is yet a matter for investigation."
However, Shakespeare's text does not indicate specifically what was distinctive about Hotspur's speech, and this may be unconnected to the Northumbrian Burr entirely.
The first definite reference to distinctive pronunciation of R in Northeastern England was made by Hugh Jones in 1724,Wales, K. (2006) Northern English: A Social and Cultural History, p. 101. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. slightly predating the more well known description of it by Daniel Defoe, who wrote, in his A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain,Defoe, D. (1724–27) A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain, vol. iii:232-33. London: Dent (1974). that:
Around the turn of the 20th century, the Burr was recorded by Alexander J. EllisEllis, A. (1889) On Early English Pronunciation, Part V: The Existing Phonology of English Dialects Compared with that of West Saxon. New York: Greenwood Press. and by Joseph Wright.Wright, J. (1905). The English Dialect Grammar. Oxford/London/Edinburgh/Glasgow/New York/Toronto: Henry Frowde. Ellis said that the Burr was also known as the . He divided his sites in Northumberland and north Durham into "Burr Strong", "Burr Weak" and "No Burr".
In the 20th century, it was recorded throughout much of the Northeast in the Orton Corpus.Rydland, K. (1998) The Orton Corpus: A Dictionary of Northumbrian Pronunciation, 1928–1939. Oslo: Novus Press.
Audio recordings Audio recordings were made in the 1950s for the Survey of English Dialects which feature the Northumbrian Burr, all of which are publicly available from the British Library and the University of Leeds: Wark Thropton Lowick – Sound not available online in archive Earsdon – Sound not available online in archive Embleton – Sound not available online in archive
Current status 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 in Tyneside English. Nevertheless, some older speakers, especially in northern Northumberland, still use it regularly.Wells, J., op.cit., pp. 368ff., 374.
See also Pitmatic Sierra Leonean English
References
External links BBC – Radio 4 – Routes of English Recording of the Week: ever heard the 'Northumbrian burr'? British Library Sound Recordings for Northumberland Sound Comparisons (Lindisfarne)