Lancashire Dialect

In 1987, proud Lancastrian E. Foote had the following to say about the Lancashire dialect..........

As little as twenty years ago one could have written about the Lancashire dialect as it actually existed, now it is more accurate to use the past tense because the dialect has all but vanished. True, the accent remains, but that is a different thing. An accent is merely a way of pronouncing words; a dialect is a distinct variation of language itself, with its roots in the past, fashioned out of local character, customs, habits and industry. Birmingham has not got a dialect, nor has Liverpool, nor has London; they all have accents of their own and little else. But Lancashire speech is a real dialect, rich in historical connections.

The words listed below which were in daily use by a majority of Lancashire people until a short while ago indicate just how old our dialect is:-

Brid (bird) - Anglo-Saxon
Clough (wooded vale) - Middle English
Deg (to sprinkle) - Icelandic
Fain (glad) - Anglo-Saxon
Flit (to move) - Middle English
Lake (to play) - Anglo-Saxon
Mun (must) - Icelandic
Thrutch (to push) - Anglo-Saxon

It is astonishing that so many words should have remained in regular use in one district from Anglo-Saxon times. In the whole of standard English only one word has retained the Anglo-Saxon method of forming the plural and that is 'ox' with its plural 'oxen'. In Lancashire we have two others: 'een' (eyes) and 'shoon' (shoes).

From Clogs to Bingo in Three Generations.

E. Foote - 1987

And here's a bit of information about another well known piece o' Lanky tawk..........

Gradely

Although no longer in common usage the worg 'gradely' can still be heard in Lancashire. It's used to describe anything that is simple, of good quality, honest and decent and probably comes from the Norse word 'greithiga' meaning straight-forward and uncomplicated

Index