Gower dialect

The Gower dialect refers to the older vocabulary or slang of the Gower Peninsula on the south Wales coast. It was Normanised/Anglicised relatively early after the Norman conquest of England. Relatively cut off from the Welsh hinterland, but with coastal links across south Wales and the West Country, the region developed their distinct English dialect which endured to within living memory.

History The Gower Peninsula was geographically insulated from 'mainland' modern language influences until well into the twentieth century. A number of words and pronunciations were recorded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as distinct usages in Gower — many of which might once have been widespread but which had fallen out of use in the developing standard English.

Some Gower words seem to derive from the Welsh language (e.g. pentan), but many more of the words and usages are cognate with English country dialects including those of South Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Vocabulary Angletouch - a worm Back - iron plate, part of a dredge Beader/bidder - person appointed to summon guests to a Gower wedding Bellamine - unglazed brown earthenware pitcher (cf Bellarmine) Bett - prepared turf used for hedging Blonkers - sparks Bossey - a calf still running with its mother Bubback - scarecrow; dull person Bumbagus - the bittern (cf Welsh aderyn y bwn) Butt - a small cart Caffle - tangle Carthen - winnowing sheet Casn't - cannot Cassaddle - harness piece for a draught horse Cavey - humble Charnel - box-like space above the fireplace, often used for hanging bacon Clavvy/ Clevvy - large oak beam supporting the inner wall of a chimney Clever - fine (adj) Cliffage - tithe on quarried limestone, payable to the Lord of the Manor Cloam - earthenware Cratch - haystack Culm - small coal used in lime-burning Cust - could Cuzzening - coaxing Dab - a large stone used in playing duckstone Deal - a litter (of pigs) Dobbin - large mug Dowset - Gower dish, similar to 'whitepot' (below) Drangway - narrow lane or alleyway Drashel - a flail Dree - three Dreppance - three pence Drow - throw Dryth - dryness Dumbledarry - cockchafer Evil - a three pronged dung-fork Frawst / froist - a dainty meal (n); frightened/astonished (adj) Gake - yawn Galeeny - guinea-fowl Gambo - a cart; wagon Glaster - buttermilk in the churn Gloice - a sharp pang of pain Gurgins - coarse flour Gwain - going Hambrack/hamrach - a straw horse-collar (cf 'rach') Herring-gutted - lean, skinny Holmes - holly Inklemaker - busy person Ipson - the quantity that can be held in a pair of cupped hands Ite - yet Jalap - liniment; laxative tonic Jorum - large helping of tea or beer Keek - to peep Keelage - foreshore berthing fee due to the Lord of the Manor Keeve - large barrel or vat Kerning - ripening; turning sour Kersey - cloth woven from fine wool Kittlebegs / kittybags - gaiters Kyling - sea fishing Lake - small stream or brook Lancher / Lansher - greensward between holdings in a common field or 'viel' Leery - empty Lello - a fool; a carefree lad Makth - makes Mapsant - local saint's feast day celebrations (from Welsh mab - son; sant (holy) Mawn - large wicker basket for animal feed Melted - broken up, disintegrated Mort - pigfat; lard Mucka - a rickyard Neargar, fargar - nearer, farther Nestletrip / nesseltrip - smallest pig in a litter Nice - fastidious Nipparty / Noppit - perky Nummit / Nommit - a simple lunch, e.g. of bread and 'soul', as might be sent to harvesters in the field (? 'noon meat'?) Oakey - greased Oakwib - cockchafer Owlers - wool smugglers Pentan - hob (from Welsh pen - head or top, tan - fire) Pill - stream Pilmy - dusty Planche - to make a board floor (cf French plancher - a wooden floor) Purty - to turn sulky Quapp - to throb Quat - to press or flatten Raal - real Rach - the last sheaf of corn to be harvested (see also 'hamrach') Reremouse - the bat (animal) Resiant - resident, particularly a person resident in the area but not having a feudal tenancy Riff - short wooden stick for sharpening a scythe Rining - mooching; scrounging Rying - fishing Scrabble - to gather up objects hastily Shoat - a small wheaten loaf Shrid - to trim a hedge Slade - land sloping towards the sea Soul - cheese or butter, as eaten with bread Spleet - (1) a knitting needle (2) a quarryman's bar Starved - perished with cold Stiping - hobbling a sheep by tying its head to its foreleg with a band of straw Tacker - a youngster Tite - to overturn Towser - a rough apron Uddent - wouldn't Umman - woman Vair - a stoat or weasel Vather - father Vella - fellow Viel/Vile - a field. The name is still used to describe a commonly managed field at Rhossili on Gower, which is farmed in a mediaeval strip field arrangement Vitte - clever or smart Vorrit - forehead V'rall - for all Vurriner - foreigner Want - a mole (animal) Weest - dismal Whirret - a slap Whitepot - a Gower delicacy of flour, milk & currants baked (cf. Devon dialect whitepot, a sort of bread-and-butter pudding) Wimbling - winnowing Witches - moths Yau - ewe Zig - urine Zive - scythe Zongals/songals - corn gleanings Zul/sul - a plough Zz'thee knaw - do you know

Use of the dialect in art

Cyril Gwynn was a Gower poet who used the Gower dialect in his poetry.

Phil Tanner was a Gower singer who used the Gower dialect in his songs, including the Gower Wassail.

Gower dialect

Bron en licentie