Featured

Tek a deek ut oor dialect in action.


Ahs gan al'Kersmas fur thu fur December.


Ah wuz lairning thu, t'myak ov'tark fra North ovt'Sands und ahs got sum mer pyages fra t'beuk anunder an all.


If Fadder Kersmas hez bin gud tu thu. Thu'll mebbe hev tu ken new Cumbrian words like laallekkie fur Mobile Phone.


Isaiah 40-3:11

Translated by Jean Scott-Smith


Beuk of Isaiah Chapter fotty vusses three tull ‘lebben.


A voice shoots oot int’wilderness,‘Myak a way riddy fer t’Lord. Myak a straight rwoad int’ desert fer oor God.’

Ivvery dale boddem’ll be heaped upintul fyells, an awt’ fyells und hee spyots ull be liggen int’boddem. T’jye spyots ull be myad strat, und t’rough spyots ull bemyad livvell.

Then t’glory ov t’Lord ull beshowwn tull us, an’ ivveryyan ull see it ferthersels.


T’Lord Hissel ‘as promised aw this.


T’voice shoots, ‘Shoot oot amessage!’.

‘What hev ah t’shoot?’, ah esk.

Shoot thet aw fwolk er like girse, an’ the divvent last any langer ner wild floowers. T’girse gets all snirped up, an’ t’floowers fyad wen t’Lord sends his spirit blow-en ower them. Fwolk er nair myer lastin’ thun girse.

Aye. T’girse gets aw snirped upan’ floowers fyad, but t’word o’God gars on ferivver.


Jerusalem. Gan yer ways up on tul a hee fyell top, an’ shoot oot t’Good News! Shoot oot wid a lood voice. Zion. Tell t’Good News.

Divvent be flayt. Raise thi voice. Shoot oot lood. Tell aw t’cities o’Judah thet ther’ God’s cummen.


T’Lord God’ll cum wid greet pooer an’strang han! His arm’ll rule fer him. He hes greet rewards fer aw t’fwolk wah wuk fer him.


He’ll tyak care ev His flock. Just like a shippert. He’ll gether awt’ Lambs tagither, an’ carry thum in His arms, an’ gently lead t’yows.

T' Three Wise Men

by Norman Brown


Arv bin as't ter rite a tyal ev a lang time sen,

It's aboot oower Lord Jesus, an' t' three wise men:

Weel, meny, meny 'ears ago, so t' Bible ses ter us

A fella coad King Herod myad a lot er fuss.


Old Herod wus sutcha bad fella yer see,

If he'd fund oower Lord Jesus, poor larl thing wud ev 'ed ter dee,

So theas three wisemen fray Herod went,

Ter find this babby they wer sent.


The' went oower fileds an alang rwoads,

O't three wer tacken the' 'eavy loads

Melchior wus tired an' coald,

Wid a greet big bag, filled wid gold.


As the' went ower afield an' ower a dike,

Casper sed ter Balthazar, "Ah wunder wat 'e's like."

On the' gar wid frankincense an' myrrh

Ter giv them t'babby, liggen in t' hay

At last the' got tet styabel, neah farther te ga

The' 'ed fund ower Lord Jesus, under t' big star.


O't three went doon o' their knees, i' joy,

Ter wurship t' laal boy

Melchior gev is gift o' gold

Casper gev t'frankincense

Balthazar gev im myrrh.


Dialect fra t'Hundred of Lonsdale

Cumberland Wordhord

Lakeland Words 1898 - Bryham Kirkby


Barfin - A horse collar. A grand thing is a barfin ta gurn throo. (see Braffam - Braugham below)


Brim - Top


Brossen-full - Hed mair to eat than’s easy er good.


Dowin - Lunch, ten o’clock.

Aye! aye! thoo allus manishes ta land up aboot dowin time.


Gallases - Braces ta hod yan’s britches up.


Gurn - Gurn, an’ bide ’t. It’s good philosophy when ye ca’t run away frae ’t. Ah yance saw a fella gurnen throo a barfun fer a pun o’ bacca, an’ he gat it.


Haver - Oats.

That field o’ haver liuks weel.


Howk - To scoop out;

howk a whol; howk t’ inside oot.


Kisened - To dry out (and I've heard kissend being used for burnt too).

As kisened as a kill stick. Noo Ah nivver saw a kill stick, but it’s summat varra dry wi’ neea natur left in’t, acos owt ’at’s kisened’s mortal near withoot any sap er owt worth niamen.


Lick-pot, Lang-Man - The first and second fingers.


Roke - Scratch.

That barn’ll roke ivvry mortal thing i’ t’hoose wi’ that nail if tho’ll let it, ’at will ’t.


Shive - Slice

A slice of bread. To cut a neat swathe.

From the Dialect of Cumberland 1873 - Robert Ferguson


Braffam, Braugham - A collar for a horse.


Clev. bargam. Referred by Wedgwood with much probability to the same origin as the word hamberwe, or hanahorough, a coarse horse-collar, made of reed or straw, from beiwe or borough, protection from the hames, the two words of the compound being in this case reversed. (See Barfin above).


Hag - To chop

Dutch:hakken, Old Norse: hiacka, Swedish: hagga, German hacken, to chop, hack.


Kizzent - adj. Parched or shrivelled.

Crav. kizzened. I think the author of the Crav. Gloss, is right in taking the word to be the same as guizened, which Ray gives as applied to tubs or barrels that leak through drought. The origin, then, is evidently to be found in Old Norse gisinn, leaky (of tubs and vessels.) (see Kisened above).


Lick - To beat.

Welsh llachio, to beat, cudgel, Suio-Goth, laegga, to strike.


Lonnin' - A country lane

Frisian Lona, Laan a lane or narrow passage. Perhaps from Old Norse leyna, to hide.


Mislikken - To neglect or forget.
Dut. misselick, ambiguus, dubius, in quo errare, aut de quo dubitare potest.


Poddish - Porridge of oatmeal.

In common use throughout the agricultural districts, especially for breakfast, and though irreverently compared by Dickens to "diluted pin-cushions without the covers," a very wholesome article of diet. Welsh potes, Manx poddash.


Smeeth - Smooth

Ang.-Sax. smzthe, smooth.


Teanel - A Basket (West and Cumberland Dialect)

Ang.-Sax. teanel, a basket, from tan, a twig.
Similarly swill, (contraction of swigel,) from Old Norse svigi, a twig.


Waits - Nightly musicians who used to play in the streets at Christmastide.

"Wayte, waker, vigil" Old Norse vakta; Old High German wahten; German wachten - to watch or keep awake.


From a Glossary of Words and phrases pertaining to the Dialect of Cumberland 1878 - William Dickinson


Brek - Fun; a practical joke. A good story, generally of the sporting type; an amusing incident.


Curly kue - G. a flourish in writing, &c.


Fash - G. trouble ; inconvenience.


Fasten eve - Shrove Tuesday evening or the eve of the feast before Lent.


'At Fasten eve neet
Ceuks find cannel leet.'


After this night the cooking is to be done by daylight for the season, or the cooks must provide candles.


Frosk - The Frog (back in 1878 the author noted that the word was nearly obsolete!)


Gowpin - A handful; or the two hands full


Lang-end - The final end.


Pissibeds - The flowers of the dandelion plant.

From a Glossary of the Dialect of the Hundred of Lonsdale - Robert Peacock 1869


Rossel,

(1) v.t. to heat, to roast. "To rossel one's shins."

(2) vi. To bask over a fire.


Thible,Tibel

n - a stick to stir porridge

(this is an interesting variation to me. In Billy Brannan, a tyale fra t'Abbey Holme Billy used Thivel).


Yalla Pumps

n - very young calve; so called from their hoofs being yellow when calved.


Yallow-yowring

n. the yellow-hammer

From the Bank of the River Derwent near the Yearl in Wukkinton' und t'other spots roond aboot.


Beckie - (Workington) A water bailiff who makes sure that the fisherfolk have permission to tickle the trout and salmon!


Brossenful - (sometime Brussenful) To be pleasantly full after after your meal.


Blackite - A bramble, A blackberry.

(Efter picking this yer' crop, ah telt the t'Cumberland Blackite Broonie Recipe)


Button Sticks - (Whitehaven) At the start of the Industrial Revolution poor country folk coming to work in the mines may have used sticks rather than buttons to hold their clothes together.


Chittering - Cold. Linked to shivering or trembling.


Kaylieghed - Supped ower much. Inebriated


Kersmas - Christmas