Siol nan Gaidheal forum

I was in Newcastle recently. Very strange hearing all the words like "bairn" and even "dinna" in an English accent.

In some ways, Old [i.e. proper] Northumberland & Geordie dialect is much more like Lowland Scots than it is like "standard" English. The main difference being that there's been no substantial move to revive it.

Here's a few words you might recognise -

http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/Geor ... onary.html

Aad: Old - from the Anglo-Saxon Eald - Aad Wife
Aakward: Awkward
Agyen: Again
Ahint: Behind
Alang: Along
Ald: Variation of Aad
Ald Nick: The Devil
Amang: Among - of Anglo-Saxon origin
Aw: I - me as in Aw went te Blaydon races [often "Aa" as well - SR]
Aye: Yes

Caa': Call
Cam: Came
Canny: A Versatile word. Canny old soul - a nice old person. Canny good Canny hard - very good or very tough. Canny job - a good job. Poosibly a variation on the Scots word Ken meaning to know. [Rubbish - nothing to do with "ken", but anyway - SR]
Claes: Clothes - Anglo-Saxon
Clarts: Dirt or mud
Clarty: Dirty
Cloot: A cloth eg a dish cloot, or to clout.
Coo: A cow
Craa: Crow
Crack: To talk from Durtch Kraaken [rubbish - try "craic" - SR!]
Croon: Crown
Cuddy: A small horse or St. Cuthbert
Cushat: A pigeon

Oot: Out - Anglo-Saxon word Compare to the Dutch Utgang (out go- exit)
Ower: Over

Sang: A song
Sark: A shirt
Sel': Self
Shoot: Shout
Slake: Mud flat
Snaa: Snow
Sneck: The latch on a door
Sooth: South
Sparra: A sparrow, see also spuggy
Spelk: A splinter

Stane: Stone
Stob: A stump or post
Stottie: A kind of flat cake-like bread
Strang: Strong

Tab: A cigarette
Tak': Take
Tatie: Potato
Te': To [pronounced "tae" - SR]
Telt: Told
Teem: Pour
Toon: Town
Toon Army: Newcastle United football fans

Us: Me

Vennel: A narrow ally in Durham

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

Even some Gàidhlig in Geordie dialect too - these are from Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases

Breeks- "is them yer aad breeks?"- are they your old trousers. BRIOGAIS*-
Common English

[Chimli- "canny oan or ye'll set the chimli ahaad"- steady on or you'll set
the chimney on fire. probably English] SIMILEAR

Cowie- "Ah divvin like boolin tiv a cowie"- I don't like bowling to a
left-hander. cf Borders Carrie-handed CEÀRR

Duff- "hoy some duff ower the fire"- put some coal dust on the fire. DUBH??

Gob- "geet big gob"- great big mouth. GOB*

Gripe- "gie's thon gripe"- give me that garden fork. *GRAPA

Kep- "kep the baa"- catch the ball CEAP? (Don't know etymology of this word)

Skelp- "he wants he's hintend skelpt" He wants his backside smacked. SGEILB*

Spelk "Ah've gettin a spelk i me hand" I have a splinter in my hand. SPEALG

Spelk "thor's nae need to be afeart on a spelk like him"- there's no reason
to be frightened of a shrimp like him. SPEALG

Stob- "tie yor gallowa to the stob"- tie your horse to the post. STOB??

Stoor- "howway, get aa this stoor cleared" C'mon get all this mess cleared
STÙR

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

If Scots originally sprang from the northernmost dialects of Old English then you'd expect commonality.

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Chan eil mise nam Bhreatannach

Definitely, but I'm almost coming round to the idea that it's actually more of a Scots dialect than an English one. (At least the purer versions). There was also a hell of a lot of Scottish immigration into Newcastle, but the rural parts, where there were few Scots also use a lot of words we'd know.

I actually get on better with Geordies than Southern English as well, but that's another question!!!

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

I havenae always found that, I ve met southern english who were far easier to get on with Geordies and Yorkies

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MaConnachie
Oh MaCoo

Well, to be fair, it's probably wrong to generalise. There are good individuals everywhere, but southern English, especially home counties, have a bee in their bonnet.

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

A foond Geordies tae be ok as lang as ye arenae too much o an 'Uppity Jock'

I look at their history though and kind of feel sorry for them. They've gone through all the industrial decline, ship building and mining etc, lost their fishing in that area, and Northumbrian dialect's biting the dust, but they've no national flag to rally folk round like we have and fight back against Londoncentric rule. (That said, Blair's constituency is in the region - and Brown's is in our country!)

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

You have to raise the volume of your voice and speak *at* them. Always meet their eye and give no hint of subservience. Be confident almost to the point of barbarism. Do not use humour.

Remember that public schooling is training to allow one to become a cog in the imperial machine. It can be used against one. For when given an order one will obey without thinking.

Salute smartly and keep one's back straight as you march out the door.


It's not exactly relaxing, and does not come naturally to those of us who come from an egalitarian society but it's the only way to handle them.



Agreed again.

What do we do if, after Indie, they apply to join?!

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Chan eil mise nam Bhreatannach

Just smile smuggly, while we padlock the gate.

I had an experience in Bath where I was talking to some nice-but-posh (dim?) folk, and then at the end, they said, "Don't lose your brogue".

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

:)

Very good!

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Chan eil mise nam Bhreatannach

Pretty much agree, but the Berwick issue cannot be neglected. And we have to be clear that Berwick = NORTH of the Tweed. Not the huge bit south of it, now under Berwick council.

_________________
"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

Aye, its strange being in Berwick, asked a bobby fur directions, he sounded Scottish with a hint of Geordie, but wore one of they english styled polis man helmets.

Saw a thing on telly bout them, they mostly say they are english, but would prefer to be in Scotland due to social economic benefits.

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MaConnachie
Oh MaCoo

Definite hint of eu de cheek there....

Aye they feel thay hae tae leave Saxonia because it's fu o malingerin foreigners who refuse tae speak the local language or adopt local customs (which is totally lost on them)

Some parts of Dumfriesshire have a funny accent these days, due to the Carlisle influence. All post for that part of the world goes through there. (Last time I was in Carlisle I asked the museum staff why all their stuff on Scotland was concerned with Border raiding, and barely a mention of how David I had used the place as his capital - likewise in Northumbria, it's barely mentioned that Lindisfarne was a Gaelic church outlet. The Norsemen forced Lindisfarne's monks inland, where they became the basis of Durham. Durham University - and Newcastle University, which came off it, like Dundee Uni off St Andrews - are remote descendants of Iona's traditions, but don't know it.)

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

Aye. The border should be the river.

The same should apply in the west where it should follow the Esk, rather than the Sark.



No, I come across this quite a bit. Not all settlers are bad. You almost feel sorry for them.



If there has been any change in the local accent though it is because of the sheer number of settlers. In a few disturbing cases children have actually been able to reach maturity with English accents having *not* been sent away to school.

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Chan eil mise nam Bhreatannach

Well, to be fair, it's probably wrong to generalise. There are good individuals everywhere, but southern English, especially home counties, have a bee in their bonnet.[/quote]


Should that not read "some southern English". I have met many good S English people. Even Public school people.
In fact one defended me when a racist English girl told me that I spoke funnily.
I had to calm him down when he took offence on my behalf.
There are arrogant Saxons but there are good ones too. Sad to say the media are usually to blame for the casual supremacy that some can have. Read the Torygraph or the Daily Wail..... "Doncha see vat the Sweaties are just a baahnch of subsidy jaahnkees"
Now imagine that every day.
The main difference between us and them is that their media acts as though they are the rightful rulers of the world.
Ours acts as though we cannot survive without them.
I reckon the average Scot would be much the same if the Daily Record printed daily tales of Subsidy Junkie England and the Scotsman spent every weeked with essays on how Scotland was the greatest contributor to world civilisation and the southerners were merely an impediment. If BBC Scotland praised everything Scottish and rubbished the Rest of the World.

Given the propaganda they are fed the miracle is that they are not all arrogant prigs.....