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The Yorkshire dialect refers to the Northern English language varieties spoken in England's historic county of Yorkshire. Those varieties are often referred to as Broad Yorkshire or Tyke.[1] The dialect has roots in older languages such as Old English and Old Norse; it should not be confused with modern slang. The Yorkshire Dialect Society exists to promote use of the dialect in both humour and in serious linguistics; there is also an East Riding Dialect Society.
Yorkshire is generally not as stigmatised as other dialects, and has been used in classic works of literature such as Wuthering Heights, Nicholas Nickleby and The Secret Garden. Studies have shown that accents in the West Riding (that is, mostly, modern West and South Yorkshire) are generally popular and are associated with common sense, loyalty and reliability.[2][3]
Traditionally, there was not one dialect in Yorkshire but several. The Survey of English Dialects identified many different accents in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Dialect Society draws a border roughly at the River Wharfe between two main zones. The area to the southwest of the river is more influenced by Mercian dialect whilst that to the northeast is more influenced by Northumbrian dialect. The distinction was first made by A.J. Ellis in On Early English Pronunciation. It was approved of by Joseph Wright, the founder of the Yorkshire Dialect Society and the author of the English Dialect Dictionary. Investigations at village level by the dialect analysts Stead (1906), Sheard (1945) and Rohrer (1950) mapped a border between the two areas.[4]
Over time, speech has become closer to Standard English and some of the features that once distinguished one town from another have disappeared. In 1945, JA Sheard predicted that various influences "will probably result in the production of a standard West Riding dialect", and KM Petyt found in 1985 that "such a situation is at least very nearly in existence".[5] However, the accent of Hull and East Yorkshire remains markedly different. The accent of the Middlesbrough area has some similarities with Geordie.[6]
One anomalous case in the West Riding is Royston, which absorbed migrants from the Black Country at the end of the 19th century. The speech of Royston contrasts with that of nearby Barnsley, as it retains some Black Country features.[7][8]
Some features of Yorkshire pronunciation are general features of northern English accents. Many of them are listed in the northern English accents section on the English English page. For example, Yorkshire speakers have short [a] in words like bath, grass and chance. The long [ɑː] of southern English is widely disliked in these words.[9]
The following features are recessive, and are generally less common amongst younger than older speakers in Yorkshire:
Most Yorkshire accents are non-rhotic, but rhotic accents do exist in some areas that border with Lancashire. At the time of the Survey of English Dialects, much of the East Riding was partially rhotic: a final r on a word, as in letter, hour, and quarter would be pronounced in a rhotic manner, but an r mid-way through a word, as in start, yard, and burn would be pronounced in a non-rhotic manner.[32]
Some consonant changes amongst the younger generation are typical of younger speakers across England, but are not part of the traditional dialect:[33]
The following are typical of the older generation:
These features can be found in the English Accents and Dialects collection on the British Library website. This website features samples of Yorkshire (and elsewhere in England) speech in wma format, with annotations on phonology with X-SAMPA phonetic transcriptions, lexis and grammar.
See also Wells (1982), section 4.4.
A list of non-standard grammatical features of Yorkshire speech is shown below. In formal settings, these features are castigated and, as a result, their use is recessive. They are most common amongst older speakers and amongst the working-classes.
In informal Yorkshire speech, negatives may be more contracted than in other varieties of English. These forms are shown in the table below. Although the final consonant is written as [t], this may be realised as [ʔ], especially when followed by a consonant.[48]
Hadn't does not become reduced to [ant]. This may be to avoid confusion with hasn't or haven't, which can both be realised as [ant].[49]
The director Ken Loach has set several of his films in South Yorkshire and has stated that he doesn't want actors to deviate from their natural accent.[50] The dialect is strongest in the 1969 film Kes, filmed around Barnsley with local actors, and in the (now rare) 1977 film The Price of Coal. which had actors from across South Yorkshire. The films Looks and Smiles (1981) and The Navigators (2001) were both set in Sheffield. Loach has noted that the speech is less regionally-marked in his more recent films and has attributed this to changing speech habits in Yorkshire.[51] Dialect of the northern dales featured in the series All Creatures Great and Small.
A number of popular bands hail from Yorkshire and have distinctive Yorkshire accents. Joe Elliott and Rick Savage, vocalist and bassist of Def Leppard; Alex Turner, vocalist of the Arctic Monkeys;[52] Jon McClure, of Reverend and The Makers;[53] Jon Windle, of Little Man Tate;[54] Jarvis Cocker, vocalist of Pulp;[55] and Joe Carnall, of Milburn[56] and Phil Oakey (of The Human League) are all known for their Sheffield accents, whilst The Cribs, who are from Netherton, sing in a Wakefield accent.[57] Graham Fellows, in his persona as John Shuttleworth, uses his Sheffield accent, though his first public prominence was as cockney Jilted John.
Actor Sean Bean normally speaks with a Yorkshire accent in his acting roles, as does actor Matthew Lewis, famously known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films.[58][59]
The late British Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes originated from Mytholmroyd, close to the border with Lancashire, and spent much of his childhood in Mexborough, South Yorkshire.[60] His own readings of his work were noted for his "flinty" or "granite" voice and "distinctive accent"[61][62] and some said that his Yorkshire accent affected the rhythm of his poetry.[63]
The soap opera Emmerdale, formerly Emmerdale Farm, was noted for use of Broad Yorkshire but the storylines involving numerous incomers has diluted the dialect until it is hardly heard.
In the ITV Edwardian/interwar period drama Downton Abbey, set at a fictional country estate in North Yorkshire between Thirsk and Ripon, many of the servants and nearly all of the local villagers have Yorkshire accents.
In the Game of Thrones, many of the characters from the North of Westeros speak with Yorkshire accents, matching the native dialect of Sean Bean, who plays Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark.
Several of the dwarves in the Peter Jackson film adaptation of The Hobbit, namely Thorin Oakenshield, Kíli and Fili, speak with Yorkshire accents.
The character of the Fat Controller in the Thomas and Friends TV series, as voiced by Michael Angelis, has a broad Yorkshire accent
On Ilkla Moor Bar t'At, a popular folk song, is sung in the Yorkshire dialect and accent and considered to be the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire.[64]
Several nineteenth century books are kept in specialist libraries.
West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Sheffield, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Burnley, Cheshire, Manchester
Isaac Newton, Beowulf, British Museum, Leonardo da Vinci, Boston Spa
Jane Eyre, Kate Bush, Brontë family, Emily Brontë, Progressive rock
Roald Dahl, J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Andy Griffiths, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Standard English, English language in England, American English, Scottish English, United Kingdom
Lancashire, Scots language, Northamptonshire, London, Oxfordshire
Bermuda, British English, American English, Canada, United Kingdom
American English, Michael Jackson, Voice of America, Bbc, Inland Northern American English
Cheshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Inland Northern American English