East Midlands English
Encyclopedia
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
traditionally spoken in those parts of English Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
lying East of Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
(the A5 London - Shrewsbury Road). Today this area is represented by the counties of the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, (Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
and Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, see below).
Origins
Like that of YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, the East Midlands dialect owes much of its grammar and vocabulary to Nordic influences, the region having been incorporated in the Norse controlled Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
in the late 9th century. At this time, the county towns of the East Midlands counties became viking fortified city states, known as the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw.
For example, the East Midlands word scraight ('to cry') is thought to be derived from the Norse, skrike in modern Scandinavian, also meaning to cry.
East Midlands dialects in literature
The romantic English novelist, and East Midlander, D. H. LawrenceD. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
who was from the Nottinghamshire town of Eastwood
Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
wrote in the dialect of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield in several dialect poems as well as in his more famous works such as Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy with assistance from Pino Orioli; it could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960...
and Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.-Plot introduction and history:...
.
Though spoken less commonly today, the dialect of the East Midlands has been investigated in texts such as the Ey Up Mi Duck series of books (and an LP) by Richard Scollins and John Titford. These books were originally intended as a study of Derbyshire Dialect, particularly the distinctive speech of Ilkeston
Ilkeston
Ilkeston is a town within the Borough of Erewash, in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the River Erewash, from which the local borough takes its name. Its population at the 2001 census was 37,550...
and the Erewash
Erewash
Erewash is a local government district and borough in eastern Derbyshire, England, to the east of Derby and the west of Nottingham. It contains the towns of Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre and fourteen civil parishes....
valley, but later editions acknowledge similarities in vocabulary and grammar which unite the East Midlands dialects and broadened their appeal to the region as a whole.
"Ey Up" (often spelt ayup / eyup) is a greeting thought to be of Old Norse origin (se upp) used widely throughout the North Midlands
North Midlands
The North Midlands is a loosely-defined area of England. It is typically held to include South Yorkshire and the northern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and in some definitions also covers southern Cheshire and parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire. The region's largest city is Sheffield...
and South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, and "Mi Duck" is thought to be derived from a respectful Anglo Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
form of address, "Duka" (Literally "Duke"), and is unrelated to waterfowl. Non-natives of the East Midlands are often surprised to hear men greet each other as 'Mi Duck.'
Dialect words
In recent years, humorous texts such as Nottingham, As it is Spoke have combined phonetically spelt standard English words together in order to deliberately confuse non-natives to the region. For example:Aya gorra weeya?:is the wife with you? (lit. "Have you got her with you?)
It's black uvver ahh Bill's mother's:it looks like rain. (lit. "It's black over Bill's Mother's." q.v.) -- a common, if somewhat old fashioned, Midlands expression implying impending bad weather.)
Thiz summat up wee im:I think he may be ill. (lit. "There's something up with him.")
Yo norrayin no tuffees!:You aren't having any tuffees (sweets)!
However, there are many words in use in the traditional East Midlands Dialect which do not appear in standard English. The short list below is by no means exhaustive. More comprehensive glossaries exist within texts such as Ey Up Mi Duck by Richard Scollins and John Titford.
badly:hungover/ill
belt-job:defunct coal-mining definition for an "easy" job such as sleeping whilst watching a conveyor belt
blubber:to cry/weep uncontrollably (i.e. "Stop your blubbing.")
bonny: In many dialects, this has the sense of ‘looking well’ often referring to a healthy plumpness. In Leicester and Nottingham, a transferred sense of overweight is derived from this sense.
chuck:throw (Chuck us 'ball, (South-East Derbyshire)).
- The word has the Standard English literal sense of to gently toss a light object and the Standard English extended sense of to easily or contemptuously throwing a heavy object. The OED does not record a distinct regional use but does say that workmen use in their trades to mean throw generally.
clouts:trousers (usually pronounced claarts)
croaker:doctor
croggie:an (illegal) crossbar ride, "two-up" on the crossbar of a man's bicycle
cob:a bread roll
Bread roll
A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
(bap),(as verb:) to throw
duck's necks:bottle of lemonade
fast: stuck, caught (oh's gorrer finger fast)
Island:Roundabout
jitty/jetty:alley
Alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...
way
larup/larop:to cover with (usually a thick substance)
mardy: grumpy, sulky (i.e. "She's a mardy one!")
mash:to make a pot of tea (i.e. "I'll go mash the tea.")
nesh
Nesh
Nesh is an English dialect adjective meaning unusually susceptible to cold weather and there is no synonym for this use. Usage has been recorded in Cheshire, Staffordshire, the East Midlands, Lancashire, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
:a weak person, or one who feels the cold
oakie:ice cream (common in Leicestershire)
paste:to beat, often used interchangeably with larrup
piddle:falling liquid as rain or urine (i.e. "It's piddling down with rain" or "A dog's just piddled on the wall")
- The OED records this as a Standard English colloquialism rather than a regionalism.
piggle:to pick at a scab, spot or a skin irritation (i.e. "Stop piggling that scab!")
puddled/puddle-drunk:intoxicated
puther:to pour out uncontrollably
pot:a plaster cast
rammel:rubbish/waste
scraight/scraitin':to cry/crying
skank:Mean or unfair
snap:lunch/food,
snidered/snided/snied:covered/infested, (DH Lawrence used the word 'Snied' in a description of an infestation of mice in Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.-Plot introduction and history:...
.),
sucker:iced lolly
twitchel:alleyway
tabs:ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
s
tuffees:sweets, confectionery
wazzerk/wassock:fool (used across the east & west midlands)
sket: a useless person.
The greeting 'Now Then' (as 'Nah theen') is still in use in Lincolnshire, used where other people might say "Hello".
People from Leicester are known in the popular holiday resort Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
as "Chisits", due to their pronunciation of "how much is it" when asking the price of goods in shops.
It is also very common to hear people from Nottingham replacing the word "of" with "on". "There were two on em'" (There were two of them). "Get hold on em'" (Get hold of them).
Grammar
Those who speak traditional regional dialectsDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
are not trying unsuccessfully to speak Standard English
Standard English
Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...
. East Midlands English follows a series of distinct grammatical rules. Some examples follow below.
Formal address
Up until the mid 20th century it was not uncommon to hear the use of informal forms of address, Thee and ThouThou
The word thou is a second person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in almost all contexts by you. It is used in parts of Northern England and by Scots. Thou is the nominative form; the oblique/objective form is thee , and the possessive is thy or thine...
, as compared to the more formal Yo
Yo
Yo is an English slang interjection, commonly associated with American English. It was highly popularized after being used commonly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since the 1970s.-Common usage:...
or You. Use of the informal form of address is now uncommon in modern speech.
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns differ from standard English as follows:yorn:yours mine:mine |
theirn:theirs ourn:ours |
Example "It eent theirn; it's ourn!" (It isn't theirs; it's ours!)
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are characterised by the replacement of Self with 'Sen' (From Middle English seluen)Y'usen - Yourself,
Mesen - Myself,
Thisens - Themselves/Yourselves,
Ussens - Ourselves
Example "We sh'll ay to do it ussens." (We shall have to do it ourselves)
Dialect variations within the political region
Although NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
is located in the East Midlands, and has historically harboured a dialect comparable to other forms of East Midlands English, particularly among the older generation, the linguistic distinctiveness of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
has significantly eroded. There are influences from the western parts of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, and the South as well as the 'Watford Gap Isogloss
Isogloss
An isogloss—also called a heterogloss —is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature...
', the demarcation line between southern and northern English accents. Contrary to popular belief, the Watford in question is Watford
Watford, Northamptonshire
Watford is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. It should not be confused with the more significant town of Watford in Hertfordshire which is 50 miles to the south. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 224 people.It...
village and not the town of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
which borders the north of London.
The Danelaw split the present county into a Viking north and a Saxon south. This is quite plainly heard, with people in the south speaking more like people from Oxfordshire or Cambridgeshire and people in the north sounding more like people from Leicestershire.
Also of note is the anomalous dialect of Corbyite spoken around Corby
Corby
Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
in the north of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, which reflects the migration of large numbers of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
steelworkers to the town during the 20th Century. The dialect is often compared to Glaswegian
Glasgow patter
Glaswegian or The Glasgow Patter is a dialect spoken in and around Glasgow, Scotland. In addition to local West Mid Scots, the dialect has Highland English and Hiberno-English influences, owing to the speech of Highlanders and Irish people, who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the...
.
The dialect of Coalville
Coalville
Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
in Leicestershire is said to resemble that of Derbyshire because many of the Coalville miners came from there, and the dialect of Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
in North West Derbyshire has similarities with Northern English due to its close geographical position to Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
is, in a sense, separated from the remainder of the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
. East of the Lincolnshire Wolds
Lincolnshire Wolds
The Lincolnshire Wolds is a range of hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and the highest area of land in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent...
, in the southern part of the county, the Lincolnshire dialect is closely linked to The Fens
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
and East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, and, in the northern areas of the county, the local speech has characteristics in common with the speech of the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
. This is largely due to the fact that the majority of the land area of Lincolnshire was surrounded by sea, the Humber Estuary, marshland, and the wolds; these geographical circumstances permitted little linguistic interference from the East Midlands dialects until the nineteenth century when canal and rail routes penetrated the eastern heartland of the county.
There are also variations in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. Though all native speakers sound similar, there are noticeable differences between the accents of residents of, for example, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, or Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
and the Erewash Valley.
Counties in which East Midlands English is Spoken
- DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
- LeicestershireLeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
- LincolnshireLincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
- NottinghamshireNottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
- NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
- RutlandRutlandRutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
- StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
(Limited usage around Burton-upon-Trent)
External links
- Dialect words recorded in the Northamptonshire village of Sulgrave
- Specimens of the Coalville dialect