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Geordie Lexis
Geordie Dialect Vocabulary
Many people believe the word dialect refers only to the use of unusual vocabulary, but this is only one aspect of a dialect. This preoccupation with vocabulary is perhaps not surprising. Grammatical variation tends to be very subtle and many non-standard constructions are in fact national, rather than regional features of popular speech. Likewise, differences in pronunciation, although noticeable, rarely affect our ability to understand each other. So it is only when someone uses an unfamiliar word or expression that we assume they are speaking in dialect.
Local words and expressions
There was, until quite recently, greater lexical diversity across the UK. For centuries, local lifestyles and speech changed very little. Despite a gradual erosion of dialect vocabulary over the course of the twentieth century, one still regularly hears local words and expressions, and Tyneside is a particularly fruitful hunting ground. Much of the local vocabulary is descended from Old English (Anglo-Saxon), but has changed or been replaced in other varieties of English further south. For instance, when a Geordie uses the verb larn, meaning ‘to teach’, it is not a misuse of the Standard English verb learn (c.f. modern German lernen), rather it is the modern reflex of the Anglo-Saxon verb læran, meaning ‘to teach’ (c.f. modern German lehren). Several Geordie words are also thought to have been borrowed from Romany. For example, gadgie, meaning ‘bloke’ or ‘fellow’, is probably an anglicised version of the Romany word used to refer to a ‘male non-Roma’, gadjo (plural gadje). There has been a Roma presence for centuries in the Borders area and so it is not surprising this has influenced speech in the North East.
A rich local vocabulary
The table below gives examples of regional vocabulary in Tyneside. All are from recent BBC interviews and reflect current usage. They represent natural, authentic usage, rather than reported usage, which can sometimes be exaggerated. The list is by no means comprehensive, and there are numerous other local words commonly used, for example: bonny (‘pretty’), burn (‘stream’), canny (‘quite, really, very’), cushat (‘wood pigeon’), fogs (‘first’), hadaway (‘get away’ or ‘you must be joking!’), haway (‘come on!’), hame (‘home’), hockle (‘spit’), hoy (‘throw’), marra (‘mate’), muckle (‘very’), plodge (‘trudge through thick mud’), spuggy (‘sparrow’ - used recently as a nickname for a character on the television series Byker Grove), stot (‘bounce’), spelk (‘splinter’) and pet, the quintessential Geordie address to females, and popularised by the character of Terry Collier in the television series The Likely Lads and the programme title Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. It is incredibly difficult to record dialect vocabulary naturally. The fact so many local words are included below demonstrates a wealth of local vocabulary is still used spontaneously by Geordies. The left-hand column lists each word, while the second column gives a definition in Standard English. Click on the sound files to hear a Geordie using the target word. The right-hand column gives information about the background of the word and its regional distribution.
| Word | Standard English equivalent | sound file | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| alang | along | also common in Scotland - adjectives ending orthographically in <-ong>, such as long, strong, wrong retain the Old English pronunciation that derives from Anglo-Saxon (c.f. modern German lang) | |
| and all | as well, also, too | they would hire a hay-man and all in the summertime to help them with the hay | used nationally (although this pronunciation is restricted to the North East of England) |
| and such as | etcetera, and so on and so forth | a couple of outside buildings where they stood the ash-bins and such as ‘ and that was about it | also common in other parts of the northern England |
| a-one | one | , nearly every house had a, a little wash-house; sometimes you shared a-one with somebody else | at one time common in popular speech across the country - this is now restricted to ritual counting, such as before playing a piece of music or when boxing referees count out time |
| aught | anything | common across much of the northern England, although pronunciation varies - derived from Anglo-Saxon eowiht | |
| auld | old | , like I say, this is the auld house that we‘re ganning to have a look at | common across the northern England and in Scotland - derived from Anglo-Saxon ald, which had mutated to old in Midlands and southern dialects by the thirteenth century (cf. modern German alt) |
| aye | yes | mentioned a sledge? | origin unknown, common in the northern England and Scotland and in the extremely formal ceremonial voting system of The House of Commons |
| bairn | child | until recently common across much of the northern England, nowadays more restricted to the far north and Scottish Borders - probably Old Norse in origin (although possibly also Anglo-Saxon - cf. modern Danish barn) | |
| bait | snack, packed lunch, food taken to work | derived from Old Norse beita, (‘food’ ) | |
| byre | cowshed | that was the stable and then next door to the stable was the byre where the house cows lived | common in other parts of the north and in Scotland - retained from Anglo-Saxon byre |
| champion | great, lovely | common term of approval among older speakers in the northern England | |
| clarts | mud, crap | used to jump off the wagon, outside the Central Station, covered in clarts | origin unknown, although references date back to 13th century |
| crack | banter, camaraderie, fun | was great, it was, eh, the, the, the crack was great, the crack | probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon verb cracian (cf. modern German krachen) - from which we get Standard English expressions, such as to crack a joke and wisecrack |
| gan | go | until recently common in local dialect as far south as Humberside, nowadays very much the Geordie marker - derived from Anglo-Saxon gan in contrast to Old Norse ga, which was at one time common in the North West of England | |
| grand | great, fine, excellent | common term of approval among older speakers in northern England | |
| granda | grandfather | I says to my granda, I says, “Well, what was the hole for in the ceiling?” | term of endearment for ‘grandfather’ used across much of the North East |
| hinney | honey | they would say to you when you went down, and you, “Yes, just get what you want, hinney!” | common form of address in the North East used when addressing females or young children |
| laddie | lad, boy | I remember when I was a little laddie looking up through the hole | also common in Scotland |
| lang | long | also common in Scotland - adjectives ending orthographically in <-ong>, such as long, strong, wrong retain the Old English pronunciation that derives from Anglo-Saxon (c.f. modern German lang) | |
| lass | girl | common across the whole of the northern England - possibly derived from Old Norse lasqar, meaning ‘unmarried woman’ | |
| lassie | girl | her, one lassie got a mouse down her jumper before dinner-time the first day | also common in Scotland |
| like | like (discourse marker) | common discourse marker across the UK - especially common in the North East in utterance-final position | |
| loaning | lane | , when we got to the loaning, the road, we had to turn round and come back up | derived from Old Frisian lona, meaning ‘lane’ term of endearment for ‘mother’ used across the whole of the north and in Scotland and Northern Ireland |
| mam | mother | term of endearment for ‘mother’ used across the whole of the north and in Scotland and Northern Ireland | |
| man | form of address | common form of address used widely in the North East to attract attention or establish solidarity among speakers - also used (with a different pronunciation) in the Caribbean | |
| mebbies | maybe, perhaps | common in the North East in contrast to the use of mebbe or happen elsewhere in the northcommon in the North East in contrast to the use of mebbe or happen elsewhere in the north | |
| mind | mind you (discourse marker) | utterance-final discourse marker used widely in the north (in contrast to mind you elsewhere) | |
| nae | no (determiner) | common also in Scotland - pronunciation survives from Middle English Northumbrian dialect | |
| naebody | nobody | also common in Scotland | |
| naught | nothing | always think you ganning to be left with naught again, aren't you? | common across much of the northern England, although pronunciation varies - derived from Anglo-Saxon nawiht |
| netty | outside toilet | origin unknown, although some theories suggest it is an abbreviation of Italian gabbinetti, meaning ‘toilet’ | |
| our lass | my wife/girlfriend/female partner | see lass above and go to Geordie connected speech processes for explanation of local pronunciation of our | |
| our + personal name of a relative | my + personal name of daughter/son/brother/cousin etc. | term of endearment used when referring to a close relative - pretty common in the north and parts of the Midlands | |
| round the doors | nearby, in our area | , uh, the local pub, The Townley Arms, or working men's clubs round, you know, round the doors | |
| somewhat | something | very common elsewhere in the north and in parts of the Midlands | |
| tae | to | should‘ve had to walk there when you were a kid I divvent think I would like tae | also very common in Scotland - derived from Old Frisian ti in contrast to Old Norse till, which survives in dialects in the North West |
| why | well (discourse marker) | do you say that the horse is far better than the tractor? | highly distinctive discourse marker commonly used in the North East in utterance-initial position |
| wrang | wrong | also common in Scotland - adjectives ending orthographically in <-ong>, such as long, strong, wrong retain the Old English pronunciation that derives from Anglo-Saxon (c.f. modern German lang) | |
| yet | still (now as formerly) | , uh, and it was fantastic to smell -I still, in fact I can still smell it yet | common in other parts of the north and in Scotland |
| you know | you know (discourse tag/filler) | common discourse tag with highly distinctive pronunciation in the North East used as a hedge or filler |
