Cheshire dialect
The Cheshire dialect is a North-west Midlands English dialect which lies between the dialects of the surrounding counties of Lancashire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire.[1][vague]
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History [edit]
The dialect has existed for centuries, distinct from standard English; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the other works of the 14th-century Gawain poet are written in this dialect, as is the religious poem St. Erkenwald, which dates from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century.[2][3] Cheshire author Alan Garner states "Of course [the Cheshire dialect] has changed, as all living language changes, since the time of the Gawain poet. But when I read sections of the poem aloud to my father, he knew, and used, more than 90% of the vocabulary; and the phonetics of the vowels have scarcely changed."[4]
Early references include English proverbs and dialect words collected by John Ray in the 17th century, and a glossary of Cheshire words, compiled by Roger Wilbraham in 1817 and expanded in 1826.[1][5] These sources were expanded by Egerton Leigh in a glossary published posthumously in 1877, which was an attempt to preserve a way of speech that was already under threat from "emigration, railways, and the blending of shires."[1][6] Leigh notes that some words collected by Ray had already disappeared.[1] Later reference works include Thomas Darlington's Folk-speech of South Cheshire (1887) and Peter Wright's The Cheshire Chatter (1979).
Characteristics and usage [edit]
Cheshire dialect contains some words that are distinct from standard English, such as "shippen" for cattle-house.[7] According to Leigh, most unique Cheshire words derive from Anglo-Saxon; "shippen" is from scypen.[1][7] Other words derive from transposition, for example, "waps" for "wasp" and "neam" for "name".[1] The British Library Sound Archive contains recordings of the dialect from various parts of the county.[8] A number of authors have written in Cheshire dialect, including poetry by H. V. Lucas (Homage to Cheshire; 1939–60) and Rowland Egerton-Warburton (Hunting Songs; 1877), and prose by Beatrice Tunstall.[citation needed]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Leigh E. Introduction in: A Glossary of Words Used in the Dialect of Cheshire (Hamilton, Adams, and Co./Minshull and Hughes; 1877) (accessed 14 July 2010)
- ^ Wilson E. Gawain Poet (fl. c.1375–1400). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press; 2004) (accessed 14 July 2010)
- ^ Wallace D. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature, p. 627 (Cambridge University Press; 1999) (ISBN 0521890462)
- ^ Renner B. An Interview with Alan Garner. elimae (2002) (accessed 14 July 2010)
- ^ Wilbraham R. An Attempt at a Glossary of Some Words Used in Cheshire, 2nd edn (T. Rood; 1826)
- ^ Harrison S. Leigh, Egerton (1815–1876). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press; 2004) (accessed 14 July 2010)
- ^ a b The National Archives: Photographs related to Gladys Threadgold and family (accessed 14 July 2010)
- ^ British Library Sound Archive Catalogue: Accents and dialects - English language - England: Cheshire (accessed 14 July 2010)
