Geordie

For other uses, see the people and dialect of Tyneside.

Geordie (/dʒɔ:di:/) generally refers to a person from the Tyneside region in northeast England, in particular the city of Newcastle and the adjacent areas, or to the dialect of English spoken by these people.

'Outside this region, the term Geordie is the popular choice in referring to anyone from the North East, although this may be offensive to some people.

Background

When referring to the people, as opposed to the dialect, a definition of a Geordie is "someone born or brought up around the River Tyne communities", so this means North Tyneside (Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay) (Walker), South Tyneside (Jarrow, Hebburn, South Shields, Boldon), Gateshead, Newcastle, etc. akin to the way a Cockney is defined as "someone born within hearing distance of the Bow bells." As the Cockney definition has been taken to mean within three miles of the church of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside, the Geordie definition, by some, has been taken to mean only Tyneside. Another interpretation includes former areas of County Durham and Northumberland, including Ryton, Washington, etc. It must be noted that this particular definition of around the Tyne communities was not always the case, as Geordie has been documented for at least 180 years as meaning the whole of the North East of England.

Some like to define "Geordie" as the traditional documented way: hence as the people and the dialect of the whole of the north-east of England from Berwick to Teesside.

In recent times "Geordie," through Sky TV, and modern media, has sometimes been used to refer to a supporter of Newcastle United football club.

Until the late 1980s, early 1990's, people from Sunderland were included under the Geordie banner; however, the evolution of the term Mackem originating in the shipyards as an insult from the Tyne to Wear, and to a lesser extent the football-based rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland has seen the latter slightly less frequently included under the same definition. So hence some residents of Sunderland have differentiated. It is interesting to note that this rivalry of Tyne and Wear has had one past clash beyond football, since Newcastle and Sunderland briefly opposed each other during the English Civil War, going against the traditional post 1600s historical harmony between the communities in the North East of England.

Other Northern English dialects include:

• Pitmatic (spoken in many Durham and Northumberland mining communities)
• Cumbrian dialect
• Yorkshire and Lancashire dialect both vary across of the counties, and merge with each other in the border areas.
• Scouse (spoken in Merseyside)
• Mackem (spoken in Sunderland and to some degee across Wearside)
• Potteries (spoken in Stoke On Trent)
• Northumbrian (spoken in Northumberland, similar to Geordie)

Derivation of the term

A number of rival theories explain how the term came about, though all accept that it derives from a familiar diminutive form of the name "George," with George (called Geordie, but written George) once being the most popular eldest son's name in families in the north east of England.

One explanation is that it was established during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. The Jacobites declared that the natives of Newcastle were staunch supporters of the Hanoverian kings, in particular of George II during the 1745 rebellion. This contrasted with rural Northumbria, which largely supported the Jacobite cause. If true, the term may have derived from a popular anti-Hanoverian song ("Cam ye ower frae France?"), which calls the first Hanoverian king "Geordie Whelps", meaning "George the Guelph".

Another explanation for the name is that local miners in the north east of England used "Geordie" safety lamps, designed by George Stephenson in 1815, rather than the "Davy lamps" designed by Humphry Davy which were used in other mining communities.

Newcastle publisher Frank Graham's Geordie Dictionary states:

"The origin of the word Geordie has been a matter of much discussion and controversy. All the explanations are fanciful and not a single piece of genuine evidence has ever been produced."

In Graham's many years of research, the earliest record he has found of the terms use was in 1823 by local comedian, Billy Purvis. Purvis had set up a booth at the Newcastle Races on the Town Moor. In an angry tirade against a rival showman, who had hired a young pitman called Tom Johnson to dress as a clown, Billy cried out to the clown:

"Ah man, wee but a feul wad hae sold off his furnitor and left his wife. Noo, yor a fair doon reet feul, not an artificial feul like Billy Purvis! Thous a real Geordie! gan man an hide thysel! gan an' get thy picks agyen. Thou may de for the city, but never for the west end o' wor toon."

(Rough translation: "Oh man, who but a fool would have sold off his furniture and left his wife? Now, you're a fair downright fool, not an artificial fool like Billy Purvis! You're a real Geordie! Go, man, and hide yourself! Go and get your pick (axes) again. You may do for the city, but never for the west end of our town!")

(/a: mæn wi: but ə feəl wəd he sold ɒf hiz fɜnətʃə ænd lɛft hiz waɪf. nu: jɔrə feɪ: du:n ri:t feəl nɒtən a:təfɪʃəl feəl laɪk bɪli: pɜvəs. ðoʊzə ri:l dʒɔdi: gænən haɪd ðəsəl gænən gɛt ðaɪ pɪks əgʲɛn. ðoʊ meɪ di: fə ðə sɪti: but nɪvə fə ðə wɛst ɛnd ʌwɔ: tu:n/)

Geographical coverage

Although the dialect of North East of England is through tradition often referred to as Geordie the term "Geordie" is, to some, incorrectly used to cover all the peoples of the region, though this usage is sometimes confined to people from other parts of the United Kingdom, and sometimes can be considered a slightly incorrect by some North-Easterners who may not come from Tyneside and the surrounding areas.

People from Sunderland have been termed Mackems over the past 15years. They used to call themselves Geordies (singing 'Geordies' at their 1973 cup final), some still do feeling strongly others have hijacked the name;

A more specific, but slang, term for people from Hartlepool is Monkey hangers, whilst natives of the Teesside conurbation have recently been referred to as 'Smoggies', in reference to the smog which transcends from the heavy industry that populates much of Teesside and, in particular, Middlesbrough. .

Also, people from South Shields, on the Tyne, are called Sandancers. by some, though this has nothing to do with their accent as they are Geordies. If you look at history, the people -in the main- from South Tyneside are descendants from people from the metropolitan Gateshead and Newcastle (A respectful note must go out to the immigrants from Scotland and Ireland), people who at around the beginning of the industrial revolution about 1850s and 1860s all the way up to the early 20th century moved up river to work in ship yards and coal mines. They are often described as having a stronger Geordie accent than their cousins from North Shields, Wallsend, Gateshead, Newcastle et al. The term Sandancer comes from the 1930s, when some Arab immigrants moved to South Shields and could not find work. So hence in order to pay their way and get digs, through poverty, legend had it they'd 'sand dance' in the sand dunes on South Shields beach for money. People outside South Shields noticed this and jumped to label and thought it was a kind of racist freak show slavery. So hence the South Shields populace got the name 'Sanddancers.' However over time when people forgot about the slanderous racist connotations of the term, the term become endearing to the populace.

Some people from the countryside in between these urban areas are by some referred to as 'pit yacks' Northumberland around the Ashington and Cramlington area), again though this has nothing to do with their accent as in the main they are Geordie.

Geordie dialect

Geordie arguably derives much less influence from Old French and Latin than does Standard English, being substantially Angle tribe and Danish Viking in origin. The accent and pronunciation, as in Lowland Scots known as "Inglis", reflect more clearly old Angle pronunciations, accents and usages. There are also some pre-Anglo Saxon Brythonic influences as well. For example, Geordies are more likely to say "mam" (/mæm/) than the usual English "mum" (/mʌm/) or the more Gaelic "ma".

'Geordie' is widely perceived as one of the most distinctive (and, by outsiders, incomprehensible) of English accents. Citizens of Newcastle and the surrounding area have been accused of exaggerating their distinctive dialect for comic effect, or to bamboozle non-Geordies.

Pronunciation of personal pronouns differs markedly from Standard English: Geordies use "yous" (IPA: [juz]) for plural "you", "me" (/mi/) for "my", "uz" (/ʌz/) for "me", "wor" (/wɔ:/) when emphasised) "our", which probably comes from the Scandinavian word "vår" /ʋɔr/meaning "our". The word "wor" is sometimes placed before the given name of the person being the subject of conversation to denote that they are a family member, for example "wor Allan" or "wor da" (father). It is also quite common for Geordies to use the word "man" for both men and women (which probably derives from the Angle word "man" meaning "person"), as in "howay man" (meaning "come on you"), or even "howay man woman"! Another common variant is the phrase "How man woman man!" (which is used to either get someone's attention or, more commonly, express exasperation at the subject).

Vowel sounds are also quite unusual.

• "er" on the end of words becomes "a" (/æ/) ("father" is pronounced "fatha", both "a" sounds as in "hat").
• Many "a" sounds become more like "e" (/ɛ/): "hev" (/hɛv/) for "have" and "thet" for "that".
• Double vowels are often pronounced separately as diphthongs: "boat" becomes (/buət/) and "bait" becomes (/biʲət/).
• Some words acquire extra vowels e.g "growel" (/groʊʷɛl/) for "growl", "cannet" (/kænɛt/) for "can't"). This property of the dialect has led Geordie to be known for putting as many vowels as possible into a word.
• The "or" sound in words like "talk" becomes "aa" (/a:/ or /æ:/) hence "walk" becomes "waak" (/wa:k/ or /wæ:k/).
• "er" sounds in words like "work" becomes "or" (/wɔ:k/).
• The "ow" in words like "down" or "town" becomes "oo" (/u:/), hence "the Toon" meaning 'the town' (Newcastle). In Sunderland, the "oo" in words like "cook", "book" or "look" becomes "uu" (/ʏ/), although this accent has come to be known as Mackem, not Geordie. This does, however, apply to some extent on some Geordie accents, with the exception of the word "look". A common phrase to illustrate this when discussing their accent with non-Geordies is "Captain Hook's cook book" or "Super Duper Computer"

A Geordie joke that illustrates some of the above goes as follows:

Doctor to Geordie in wheelchair : You've made good progress and now it's time to try to walk (/wɔk/) again.

Geordie : Work (/wɔk/)? Why man, Aa cannet even waak (/wa:k/)!

The TV personality Phill Jupitus once told a Geordie joke demonstrating the dialect on an edition of QI about General Custer giving a speech to his troops before the Battle of the Little Big Horn. General Custer says "They've got war drums", at which point a young Geordie says "thieving bastards". He believes the enemy to have stolen their drums, because "war" sounds like "wor" the Geordie expression for "our".

Another joke is that of a ship coming in to port: Geordie :"waats the name of your ship?" Man in boat : "Anna!" Geordie : "A na ye na, but I divna." Geordies pronounce "I know" in the same way as "Anna" would be said if using received pronunciation.

A slightly more obscure set of jokes revolve around the accent of the people of Ashington, with the two most popular being about a barber's shop.

Man: "I'd like a perm please" Barber: "I wandered lonely as a cloud..." (the opening line to a Wordsworth poem of the same name)

This is perhaps easier to understand when viewed with the next joke:

Man: "I'd like it curled please" The barber opens the window (hence making the room cold)

These two jokes illustrate how speakers of the Ashington variation of the Geordie dialect shapes some of their vowel sounds, but are completely incomprehensible to those outside of the region.

Vocabulary

Geordie also has a large amount of vocabulary not heard elsewhere in England, though some are shared with (or similar to) Scots. Words still in common use today include:

• alreet (/'a:lri:t/ a variation on alright
• cannit 'can not'
• canny for "pleasant" (the Scottish use of canny is often somewhat less flattering), or to mean 'very'. Someone could therefore be 'canny canny'.
• geet for "very" , also *muckle (used more in Northumberland)
• hyem for "home"
• deek for "look at"
• kets for "sweets/treats"
• knaa for "to know/know"
• divint for "don't"
• bairn/grandbairn for "child/grandchild"
• hacky for "dirty"
• gan for "to go/go"
• hoy for "to throw"
• toon for "Town"
• nettie for "toilet"
• neb for "nose"
• clart for "mud" as in "there's clarts on yar boots"
• hadaway for "get away"
• hinny a term of endearment - "Honey"
• haad for "hold/ ie keep a hadd/ keep a hold/ had yer gob/ keep quiet"
• divvie for "stupid person"
• tab for "cigarette"
• chor "to steal"
• chiv for "knife"
• nowt for "nothing"

Howay or Haway is broadly comparable to the invocation "Come on!" or the French "Allez!" ("Go on!"). Examples of common use include Howay man! or Haway man!, meaning "come on" or "hurry up", Howay the lads! or Haway the lads! as a term of encouragement for a sports team for example, or Ho'way!? (with stress on the second syllable) expressing incredulity or disbelief. The literal opposite of this word is "Haddaway" (go away), which is not as popular as Howay, but has found frequent use in the phrase "Haddaway and shite".

The word hyem for "home" is inherited from the Old Norse and "gan hyem" (go home) sounds almost identical to the Danish and Norwegian for go home (gå hjem). The word tab for "cigarette" is thought to derive either from Ogden's Tabs, a once-popular cigarette brand, or more simply as a diminutive of tobacco (which is derived from Spanish tobacco).

Geordie commonly uses the word aye meaning "yes", (Middle English ai, from Old Norse ei) like most Scots and northern English dialects. By contrast, a Geordie might say na for an emphatic or dismissive "no". "A wudn't nah like" is also a popular phrase meaning "I don't know"; while a common term amongst Geordies in the Ryton and Blaydon area to denote disbelief is "pure well aye" or "well na", meaning that something is obvious. It is also used in the North Shields, Tynemouth, and Wallsend area.

Much of the vocabulary contains elements inherited from Old English that have been lost in Standard English, as the north was comparatively less affected by the Norman conquest. Pronouncing Old English with a Geordie‐like accent, rather than the more commonly recommended German, results in a form more comprehensible to those with knowledge of the meaning of Geordie vocabulary. When a Geordie uses the word larn for teach, it is not a misuse of the English word "learn" as often thought; the word is derived from the Anglo Saxon word læran, meaning "to teach" (compare German lehren with identical meaning).

In Standard English, where one would say "to be able", in Geordie, "te can" (from Old English "cunnan", "to know") is used in its place. Though "can" is used in Standard English, it does not appear there in infinitive form.

It is said that the Roma influenced some of the Geordies' words eg. charva is an old word meaning child in Roma and has been used by Geordies to describe troublesome people for some time. Since the 1980s however charva has taken on a separate meaning of a distinct part of popular culture, and since the late 1990s the word chav, with the same etymology and definition as charva, has gained common usage nationally, particularly in the South-East. The Spanish word chaval, meaning young man, has the same root. Geordies, however, prenounce it "charv"

The word gadgie for man (usually a pensioner) is derived from the similar sounding Roma word for a non-Roma. The word for dog is jugal which, again, derives from the Roma word originally meaning jackal. There is a high percentage of people with Roma origins in the North East .

Newcastle hosts a large travelling fair, the "Hoppings", which has been held annually on the Town Moor every year for over a century. Although organised by, and attended by travelling showmen, there are a number of Roma at the main entrance to the fair.

The region also has seen Italian immigration, particularly in the 19th century. As a consequence, some slang words like netty, meaning a toilet or bathroom, have been linked to a corresponding Italian word, in this case cabinetti.

"Geordie" is also sometimes used to describe the distinctive dialect of the people of Northumbria. However strictly speaking, South East Northumberland (the mining area bordering Tyneside) has its own similar, but distinctive dialect known as Pitmatic.

Geordie in the media

In recent times, the Geordie dialect has featured prominently in the British media. Note however, that although the dialect appears, the dialect is toned down for comprehension of the general (non-Northumbrian) public. Television presenters such as Ant and Dec are now happy to use their natural dialect on air. Marcus Bentley, the commentator on the UK edition of Big Brother, is often perceived by southerners to have a Geordie dialect. However, he grew up in Stockton on Tees. Brendan Foster and Sid Waddell have both worked as television sports commentators. However, in general, the Geordie dialect still tends to be employed for comedy effect as opposed to serious usage.

The dialect was also popularised by the comic magazine Viz, where the dialect itself is often conveyed phonetically by unusual spellings within the comic strips. Viz magazine itself was founded on Tyneside by two local males, Chris Donald and his brother Simon.

The Steve Coogan-helmed BBC comedy I'm Alan Partridge featured a Geordie named Michael (Simon Greenall) as the primary supporting character and de facto best friend of the eponymous hero, despite Partridge's typically snobbish and patronising demeanour sinking to new lows when referring to Michael (at one point referring to him as 'just the Work Geordie').

Mike Neville and George House (aka Jarge Hoose), presenters of the BBC local news programme Look North, in the 1960s and 1970s, not only incorporated Geordie into the show, albeit usually in comedy pieces pointing up the gulf between ordinary Geordies and officials speaking Standard English, but were responsible for a series of recordings, beginning with Larn Yersel' Geordie which attempted, not always seriously, to bring the Geordie dialect to the rest of England.

The mastermind behind Larn Yersel' Geordie was local humourist Scott Dobson, who wrote several booklets on the theme in the early 1970s, including History o' the Geordies, Advanced Geordie Palaver, The Geordie Joke Book (with Dick Irwin) and The Little Broon Book.

The Jocks and the Geordies was a Dandy comic strip running from 1975 to the early 1990s.

External links

• Northumbria Language Society - The Language
• Newcastle English (Geordie)
• Sounds Familiar? — Listen to examples of Geordie and other regional accents and dialects of the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website
• Northumberland County Council - The Northumbrian Language
• Geordie slang dictionary
• Geordie Gabba Travellers
• The British Library's Myers Project, about North-East England
• Mawson Wareham - Newcastle record label (classical, folk, comedy etc, mainly by Northeastern performers)
• Whoohoo Geordie translator