Geordie And Northumbria Dialect

A not-too-serious handbook of Geordie and Northumbrian, suitable for adults and older children (learners and native speakers), based on words and phrases of North East dialect which have been recorded in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. As well as basic word lists, there are collections of proverbs, folklore, poetry, lists of personal and place names, and the occasional Geordie joke.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Dortmund (Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Northern English, language: English, abstract: What is a Geordie? Where does a Geordie live? And how does a Geordie speak and write? There have been countless debates about the definition of the term ‘Geordie’. Oftentimes it has been applied to people all across the Northeast of England. In contrast to this, recent studies consider the term rather inappropriate for people living elsewhere than in Newcastle and its direct surroundings, i.e. the so-called Tyneside. Wells claims the term is to be applied to “anyone who comes from Tyneside” (Wells 1982: p. 374). However, there is hardly any evidence for either theory. The name ‘Geordie’ is obviously derived from the early 18th century, when the inhabitants of Newcastle supported the English kings George I and George II. Thus they had formed an opposition to Northumberland, where it was obligatory to support the Scottish Jacobite rebellions (cf. Smith 2007). What can be said without a doubt is that people living in Sunderland, not more than twenty miles south of Newcastle, would probably feel offended when being called a Geordie. They prefer the term ‘Mackem’ in spite of quite a number of similarities to the Geordies with regard to language. According to Andrea Simmelbauer, Tyneside English, spoken in and around Newcastle, is a dialect which is “restricted to an area which stretches some 10-12 kilometres to the north and to the south of the river Tyne”(Simmelbauer 2000: p. 27). Nonetheless, the task of a final definition of the term ‘Geordie’ remains and will probably remain unsolved. So what can this paper do? At least it can give an overview of the linguistic features which characterize the accent that is commonly used in Newcastle and its surroundings. This topic has been covered by a wide range of linguists not only in academic papers, but also in popular, commercial literature: Scott Dobson humorously made the suggestion to “Larn Yersel’ Geordie” and Dick Irwin even published a book which contains “100 Geordie Jokes.” If so, why not start off with such a joke right from the beginning. It goes as follows: A Geordie in a wheelchair visits a medical doctor. The doctor says: “You’ve made good progress and it’s time to try to walk again.” The Geordie replies: “Work? Why man, Aa cannet even waak!” The joke only works under a certain condition. The listener or reader needs to be aware of particular Geordie pronunciations which are rudimentarily reflected in the semi-phonetic spellings of the words ‘I’ as Aa, cannot as cannet and walk as waak...

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,0, University of Potsdam, language: English, abstract: Being located at the fringes of England, at the course of the Scottish border, the North-East is often perceived as distinct from other English regions. Thus, this region has developed its unique local identity which is essentially borne by the distinctiveness of the spoken traditional dialect - Geordie. Despite its wide regional prevalence, the dialect’s identifiability aspects are especially rooted in the urban area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here, influencing factors such as football, a strong communal spirit, and recent media presentations have shaped the local patriotism as well as the identification with the spoken Tyneside English. However, the intense local language identification as an authentic “Geordie from the toon” has also been accompanied by a proceeding dialect levelling in the same area. These ambiguous circumstances arouse a sociolinguistic interest in a closer examination of the development, identification and perception of the Geordie dialect. How does the dialect contribute to the local identity? And does the local dialect levelling correlate with a changed attitude towards Geordie? In order to provide a suitable approach to the raised issue, the outline of this work is structured as follows: The theoretical part will discuss i.a. a brief classification of the terminology “Geordie” (2.1), its historical background (2.2) as well as the phonological features of Tyneside English (3.1). Subsequently, the third chapter will focus on dialect levelling and diffusion in the area of Newcastle. Dominic Watt’s empirical study on FACE and GOAT vowels serves as an illustration for contact-induced levelling in the Tyneside vowel system (3.2). Hereby, further aspects such as gender and social class will extend the reflection of a “Geordie identity”. Taking these points into account, the current status of Geordie, its reputation in the United Kingdom (4.) as well as an outlook on the future of the dialect are presented towards a final conclusion (5.).

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Dortmund (Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Northern English, language: English, abstract: What is a Geordie? Where does a Geordie live? And how does a Geordie speak and write? There have been countless debates about the definition of the term 'Geordie'. Oftentimes it has been applied to people all across the Northeast of England. In contrast to this, recent studies consider the term rather inappropriate for people living elsewhere than in Newcastle and its direct surroundings, i.e. the so-called Tyneside. Wells claims the term is to be applied to "anyone who comes from Tyneside" (Wells 1982: p. 374). However, there is hardly any evidence for either theory. The name 'Geordie' is obviously derived from the early 18th century, when the inhabitants of Newcastle supported the English kings George I and George II. Thus they had formed an opposition to Northumberland, where it was obligatory to support the Scottish Jacobite rebellions (cf. Smith 2007). What can be said without a doubt is that people living in Sunderland, not more than twenty miles south of Newcastle, would probably feel offended when being called a Geordie. They prefer the term 'Mackem' in spite of quite a number of similarities to the Geordies with regard to language. According to Andrea Simmelbauer, Tyneside English, spoken in and around Newcastle, is a dialect which is "restricted to an area which stretches some 10-12 kilometres to the north and to the south of the river Tyne"(Simmelbauer 2000: p. 27). Nonetheless, the task of a final definition of the term 'Geordie' remains and will probably remain unsolved. So what can this paper do? At least it can give an overview of the linguistic features which characterize the accent that is commonly used in Newcastle and its surroundings. This topic has been covered by a wide range of linguists not only in academic papers, but also in

'Geordies' is a celebration of North Eastern virtues, from the lovely countryside to the powerful cultural tradition. It covers the history and life blood of the region and looks at what makes the people of the North East what they are.

As entertaining as it is informative, this dictionary offers records and explanations of a northern English dialect. The research presents information about words that go back as far as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings as well as those present in today's vernacular. Ideal for anyone interested in English etymology, this reference is thorough and essential.

The Oxford Companion to the English Language provides an authoritative single-volume source of information about the English language. It is intended both for reference and for browsing. The first edition of this landmark Companion, published in 1998, adopted a strong international perspective, covering topics from Cockney to Creole, Aboriginal English to Caribbean English and a historical range from Chaucer to Chomsky, Latin to the World Wide Web. It succinctly described and discussed the English language at the end of the twentieth century, including its distribution and varieties, its cultural, political, and educational impact worldwide, its nature, origins, and prospects, and its pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, word-formation, and usage. This new edition notably focuses on World Englishes, English language teaching, English as an international language, and the effect of technological advances on the English language. More than 130 new entries include African American English, British Sign Language, China English, digital literacy, multimodality, social networking, superdiversity, and text messaging, among many others. It also includes new biographical entries on key individuals who have had an impact on the English language in recent decades, including Beryl (Sue) Atkins, Adam Kilgariff, and John Sinclair. It is an invaluable reference for English Language students, and fascinating reading for any general reader with an interest in language.