Hosta gittin' on? Ahs vanna got t'updyate oot' on tyam this munth eh?
Tek a deek ut' al things garn on.
Ahs fair leukin' forrard tu gittin back tu mah Viking roots ut oor Summer Git tugither (see annunder - let us kna if thu wants to cum alang).
Ahs put a note aboot Grasmere Dialect Plays event ower in Ambleside in August on oor Diary pyage.
Featured pyage hez a letter tu Rev Parson Tommy Scugg fra 1838. Its nut allus easy bin Vicar eh! Ahs put An Owd Draft Yowe's Teeale fra Wensleydale up fur thur anaw.
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 - 30th June 2025
A letter to The Rev. Parson Tommy Scugg from John i'the Gate, that was published in the Journal back in 1838, and the Wensleydale Dialect Rhyme No 3 - An Owd Draft Yowe's Teeale.
Diary - 30th June 2025
I've added the Grasmere Dialect Play presentation that will take place in Ambleside this August.
When I update the website I'll put a note out @Workytown on Chunter (Twitter / X). Next update is due by the 30th July 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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