(Wor Language)

- an exploration of dialect and life in the North-East

A SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT'S CONCLUSIONS

Each of the three themes presents a study growing from the gains in understanding when words are looked at in subject groups. The word groups can then the more easily be related to their context in the world of home and work, so that word and object, and word and process serve to illuminate each other. The resulting publications form a series of themed histories that combine documentary, oral and linguistic evidence in a novel synthesis. There have been separate studies of dialect and of work processes, but we believe this is the first attempt to bring together language and the world it operated in, in a regional / historical context.

Changes in technology and changes in dialect seem closely linked. In the past, vocabulary has often been re-applied to new contexts: the 'few broths' of the open fire become the staple of the kitchen range also; the agricultural background of many mine workers is reflected in the way they name directions and places in the pit. In the 20th century, technical change has accelerated, more often causing a dislocation in terminology: brand names tend to dominate and modern fashions bring in a more (inter)national vocabulary.

Dialect loss has proceeded at a different rate in each topic. The introduction in the early 19th century of the standard 'kitchen range' weakened traditional terms for fire and its hardware relatively early. Major improvements in diet and range of foodstuffs available has tended to eclipse the simple recipes of an earlier age; the suet and carbohydrate dishes needed to provide energy for hard-working miners has fallen victim to health concerns; the bland concepts of national loaf and sausage mass produced in the mid 20th century have led to a reaction in favour of more flavoursome foreign foods and meals.

Mining has been so widespread over the North-East region that even with the closure of the pits, its imprint on everyday speech remains notable. Mining terminology was particularly persistent, surviving and adapting to mechanisation of coal production and the 'new look' of nationalisation in 1947. While purely technical terms will now die out, many work terms also have application to the everyday world, and the overlap between 'Pitmatic' and general North-East dialect is particularly significant: in a real sense the talk of the pits informed and shaped the everyday speech of the outside world and was a major factor in continued dialect use in the 20th century.

Fishing and the coast preserves one of the oldest and most conervative sets of special vocabulary, with words for main coastal features going back direct to the Anglian and Viking Ages. The origin of the coble as local fishing boat remains obscure, but is tentatively accorded to Anglo-Viking initiative in the years 900-1200 A.D. One important advance has been the realisation that Viking/Scandinavian influence on the coast long survived the decline of their political power inland, and that distinctive words in North-East dialect could be Norse-based up to ca.1500. Words of Norse origin that seem to enter North-East dialect via Scots could in fact exhibit a common susceptibility to Scandinavian (and later Dutch) influence along the coast.
As well as exhibiting a long-coast unity, there is also much divergence in local vocabularies e.g. re names for fish, crabs, sea-birds, etc. This comes either from a period of independent fishing villages, or reflect areas of vocabulary so familiar and everyday that local terms sufficed.

While we present above some of the linguistic conclusions that can be drawn from the material, it is important to acknowledge the essential role of the community at large in passing to us words, explanations, quotations and illustrative literature - and joining in the debate over words use and origin. Without this participation, no study of this kind could proceed.
We hope you have enjoyed the project, whether you took part or only read the results. Continued comment and input are certainly expected and welcome!

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