The Yorkshire Dialect

'Yorkshire' Translator
Humorous translator: http://www.whoohoo.co.uk/ - the Yorkshire 'Chicken Run' one. Not an accurate title, as Wallace and Grommit cartoons are set in our neighbouring county of Lancashire, not Yorkshire.

I puts in - "Where have you been since I last saw you?"
I gets out - "Wheear 'ev theur bin sin ah last saw theur?"

This line from the Yorkshire anthem 'Ilkley Moor' should read, of course:
"Wheear as t'a bin sin ah saw thee?" (there are some regional variations in Yorkshire dialect)

Tha Knows
By the way, 'nowt' (from 'naught') is pronounced more like 'knowt' than 'out'. We don't much say 'ee bah gum' in Yorkshire but our friends ovver t' hill i' Lancashire do. However, we do say ayup ('hey up') at every opportunity, as a universal greeting ("Ayup Dave, arrs tha doin?") or sometimes as a mild expletive of surprise.

There's an anecdote about two Yorkshiremen in Denmark who needed somewhere to stay overnight. They had trouble making themselves understood and in exasperation lapsed into Yorkshire dialect but when they said that they wanted to 'lig out fo't neet', they were fully understood. Danish people know about 'lig' and 'neet'. They also know about another Yorkshire word - 'laiking' (like kids playing) and I once saw a photo of a Danish sign describing a children's play area, using that word. Not too surprising as they invaded us all those centuries ago.

It crosses my mind how well Yorkshire words might translate into text messages. 'Or8' is an accurate way to pronounce 'Alright' (nobody says alreet). 'Look here' would, of course, be 'Cthi' and 'Rlass' is 'our lass'. R Kelly always sounds like someone's sister. The first link below is a very fine example of local dialect from Barnsley.

Call it 'Dinner'
Or - why it's still reasonable to call it 'dinner' instead of 'lunch'. Besides all the usual arguments about creeping southernisation of northern English (as they buy up our cheaper homes) and remarks about 'school dinners' and 'dinner ladies', etc., there is also an etymological reason:

din·ner n.

1
  • The chief meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.
  • A banquet or formal meal in honour of a person or event.
  • The food prepared for either of these meals.
2         A full-course meal served at a fixed price; table d'hôte.

[Middle English - diner, morning meal, from Old French disner, diner, to dine, morning meal]
I was put on to this by a French friend. From this dictionary: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dinner

English Language Comparisons Suitspeak
The suits like pretentious words, such as 'Vision' and 'Mission Statement', to embroider their dull proceedings; as though divine inspiration was involved in their sad deliberations. Here's something for those who need their fix of gobbledygook - and something for those who don't:
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