Its gitten gae thrang fur oor Society. Fower ov us av hed privilege tu judge Young Farmers Club using oor myak ov tark. Allus gud tu knae thut nixt generation still ken thur Dialect. Yan ov us even crossed ower Border tu Thirsk, as Yorkshire Young Farmers Coountee Rally hed a Cumbrian Dialect Competition too! Fra that oor Featured pyage hez a Farming Theme fur this updyate.
Oor AGM und Members Dya wuz ont'10th May. Tek a deek ut oor News pyage fur mair details, but its grand tu see thu's lots garn on.
Finally we're prepping fur oor Summer git tugidder. Details anunder. Let Secretary kna if thu fancies commin'
When: Saturday 2nd August 2025 - 2pm to 4pm
Where: Moorforge Viking Settlement
With our Cumbrian Dialect taking many words from Norse, we thought it would be a good day out to go to Moorforge - Cumbria's very own Viking Settlement - for our Summer Get Together.
Cost is likely to be around £10 per person including Viking food, or around £5 per person without the food option.
If you're interested in coming, please use the form at the bottom of the page to express interest, or email the secretary.
David tells us:
I am delighted to inform you that my book about the Cumbrian poet John Richardson is now available. This is the fulfilment of a half-century of mulling over the idea of researching into this Master of trades, words, and a school. It is the first time that, as far as I can tell, that all his output has been combined into one volume, and reflects items found in a variety of formats and locations.
Its appeal will extend beyond those interested in dialect writing for dialect’s sake, worthy though that is. Indeed, a significant and informative proportion of Richardson’s output is in prose.
This book is, I believe, is a significant contribution to Cumberland literature.
Members of the Lakeland District Dialect Society may purchase a copy for £25 (rather than its full retail price of £30) using the link.
News - 26th May 2025
With details of our AGM and Members Day.
Featured - 26th May 2025
A farming theme this month. A tale from Hawes auction mart, 3 tracks from our Crack was Good CD, and an update from the Glossary of the Hundred of Lonsdale.
Diary - 26th May 2025
Updated with details of the National Dialect Festival in Blackpool this October.
When I update the website I'll put a note out @Workytown on Chunter (Twitter / X). Next update is due by the 30th June 2025.
Formed in 1939, the Lakeland Dialect Society came about out of a series of "Merry Neets", entertaining get-togethers at which town and country folk talk, sing and recite poetry, in the dialect of the Lakeland region:
Cumberland, Westmorland and the Furness district of Lancashire, now all in the modern county of Cumbria in the English Lake District.
The first Lakeland Dialect Society committee met at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle on June 10, 1939.
Members agreed that the aims of the society would be to preserve and celebrate the ancient speech of the region.
From the outset the Society was dedicated to the academic study of the Cumbrian dialects and to fostering the dialect speech and writing.
The constitution states: The objects of the Society shall be to encourage interest in the writing of Dialect Verse, Prose and Drama; to stimulate the publication of Dialect Literature and the production of Dialect Plays; to study the origins and history of Dialect, Folk-lore, Folk Songs and Local Customs and Traditions. The Society shall endeavour to bring together lovers of dialect so as to develop interest therein. If possible it shall make tape recordings of the various dialects within the area. These remain our aims today.
Despite difficulties in the years following 1939, the Society got established and flourished. Membership is currently around 250. Members live not only in the Lake District but also throughout the UK, and the rest of the World—all united in a love of “oor mak o’ twoak”!
The Society meets at roughly quarterly intervals, on Saturday afternoons at venues throughout Cumbria. Prospective members or casual visitors are always warmly welcomed, and a good “crack” is always guaranteed! A church service conducted in dialect is held biennially and there are occasional public performances. A Journal, published annually, is free to all members.
To join, contact a member of the society at the email address below, or telephone.
I'll tell the'
We're nut stuck up er prood i't mooth
Fer t'main on us was bred in't fells,
We're nobbut wiet, yammly, fwoak
Off t'seeam switch as yersels.
An' like yersels, we clag tight tull
0't bits o'country ways an' looar;
We like ta hod a crack aboot
T'auld dale-fwoak' at hev gone afooar.
Mi fadder, (an' nea doot he's reet),
Sez t's main o't' fell fwoak er o't seame
They "Hawk tagidder" on a drag,
Till Foxy's brush is hung on t'beame.
He sez 'at t' interest (like t' auld Fox)
Is rousan 'noo fer thee an' me,
Soo join, yersels, an git yer kin
Ta join oor own Society.
From The Works of Lance Porter - Lakeland Treasury
Compiled and edited by Ted Relph and Published by the Society
Have a look at our latest programme - we'll be meeting around the county from March until November and we'd love to see you there for some discussion and enjoyment of dialect and our rich heritage.
President: Mrs Jean Scott-Smith, Gale View, Main Street, Shap, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 3NH. Phone: 01931 716386
Email: lakespeak.jean@gmail.com
Journal Editor: Mrs Louise Green, Ireby
Phone: 01697371710
Email: louise.green2608@gmail.com
Secretary and Website: Phillip Gate, Workington
If you prefer to send a letter or speak by phone, please use our contact form and I'll get back to you.
Email: pg-cumbria@gmx.com
If you request a reply by email, and haven't heard back, please check your junk mail folder.
Secretary: Mr Phillip Gate, Workington
Email: pg-cumbria@gmx.com
Journal Editor: Mrs Louise Green, Ireby
Phone: 01697371710
Email: louise.green2608@gmail.com
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