Language

The advent of, first, radio and then television and finally the PC spell-checker has seen the universal adoption of “standard English” in place of the local dialects and vocabulary. Unlike Wales, Scotland and even Cornwall there has not been much in the way of a fight-back by supporters of traditional speech.

Wheear wor ta bahn when Ah saw thee?
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Tha’s been a-courtin’ , Mary Jane
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Tha’s bahn ta get thi deeath o’ cowd
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Then we sal ha ta bury thee
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Then t’worms’ll come an’ eit thee up
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Then t’ducks‘ll come an’ eit up t’worms
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Then we sal come an’ eit up t’ducks
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

Then we sal hev etten thee
On Ikla Moor baht ’at

However there are a few surviving examples of the dialect.

The most common one must be the unofficial Yorkshire anthem - On Ilkla Moor baht ‘at >

However if you go back to the 19th century in the rural parts of Yorkshire there were examples of a different vocabulary - rather than simply different pronunciation of English words.

Take this rural counting system -
1 Yahn 2 Tavhn 3 Tether 4 Mether 5 Mimph 6 Hithher 7 Lithher 8 Auver 9 Dauver 10 Dic

These names for numbers have been claimed to be based on Norse or Danish from the days before William of Normandy’s invasion in 1066.

If you are stuck with the local tongue then there is a Yorkshire to English dictionary here ...

A widely quoted dialect motto is -

Ear all, see all, say nowt,
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt,
And if tha ever does owt fer nowt,
allus do it for thissen

And a toast is -

Here’s to mi mother’s son,
Mi wife’s ‘usband,
And not forgettin’ missen

And this one about Yorkshire folk from outsiders -

You can always tell a Yorkshireman,
But you cannot tell him much

Northern Heritage Grandad Brian Townsley Sheeky Family Strangeway Family Brotherton Townsley.Info