The New Geordie Dictionary


Book Description




A Dictionary of North East Dialect


Book Description

As entertaining as it is informative, this dictionary offers records and explanations of a northern English dialect. The research presents information about words that go back as far as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings as well as those present in today's vernacular. Ideal for anyone interested in English etymology, this reference is thorough and essential.




Dictionary of Canadianisms


Book Description

More than one long joke about "Oot and aboot," this book details how those in Canada speak more than just English or French. We have a vocabulary--and a number of dialects--all our own. So, sit on the chesterfield with a box of timbits and read this tongue-in-cheek take on Canada's unofficial language.




How to Talk Like a Local


Book Description

'Susie Dent is a national treasure' RICHARD OSMAN 'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' PAM AYRES __________________________________________ Would you be bewildered if someone described you as radgy? Do you know how to recognise a tittamatorter? And would you understand if someone called you a culchie? How to Talk Like a Local gathers together hundreds of words from all over the country and digs down to uncover their origins. From dardledumdue, which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through forkin robbins, the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to clemt, a Lancashire word that means hungry, it investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides a fascinating insight into the history of the English language. If you're intrigued by colourful words and phrases, if you're interested in how English is really spoken, or if you simply want to find out a bit more about the development of our language, How to Talk Like a Local is irresistible - and enlightening - reading. __________________________________________________ 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent and nobody writes about it more entertainingly' GYLES BRANDRETH 'It's an interesting and, at times, hilarious read. One for word-lovers' THE SUN




Taak of the Toon: How to Speak Geordie


Book Description

Gain an insight into the English language, via one of the UK’s richest dialects: Geordie.




The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians


Book Description

New species of animal and plant are being discovered all the time. When this happens, the new species has to be given a scientific, Latin name in addition to any common, vernacular name. In either case the species may be named after a person, often the discoverer but sometimes an individual they wished to honour or perhaps were staying with at the time the discovery was made. Species names related to a person are ‘eponyms’. Many scientific names are allusive, esoteric and even humorous, so an eponym dictionary is a valuable resource for anyone, amateur or professional, who wants to decipher the meaning and glimpse the history of a species name. Sometimes a name refers not to a person but to a fictional character or mythological figure. The Forest Stubfoot Toad Atelopus farci is named after the FARC, a Colombian guerrilla army who found refuge in the toad’s habitat and thereby, it is claimed, protected it. Hoipollo's Bubble-nest Frog Pseudophilautus hoipolloi was named after the Greek for ‘the many’, but someone assumed the reference was to a Dr Hoipollo. Meanwhile, the man who has everything will never refuse an eponym: Sting's Treefrog Dendropsophus stingi is named after the rock musician, in honour of his ‘commitment and efforts to save the rainforest’. Following the success of their Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles, the authors have joined forces to give amphibians a similar treatment. They have tracked down 1,609 honoured individuals and composed for each a brief, pithy biography. In some cases these are a reminder of the courage of scientists whose dedicated research in remote locations exposed them to disease and even violent death. The eponym ensures that their memory will survive, aided by reference works such as this highly readable dictionary. Altogether 2,668 amphibians are listed.




Real English


Book Description

While it is accepted that the pronunciation of English shows wide regional differences, there is a marked tendency to under-estimate the extent of the variation in grammar that exists within the British Isles today. In addressing this problem, Real English brings together the work of a number of experts on the subject to provide a pioneer volume in the field of the grammar of spoken English.




Whare de yea belang?


Book Description

Where de yea belang?brings together the distinctive vocabulary of the North East dialect. "Abackabeyont, bait-poke, cracket, drucken, etten, fettle, guissie pigs, lonnin, marra, nyen, plote, queen-cat, reckling, skinch, tew, upcast, vine, willok, yem, zookers!" If you enjoy finding out about dialect words – how and where and when they were used – and where they came from – this is the best guide to help you explore the world of North East dialect. Until the 20th century, dialect was a marker of economic, social and cultural change. We know that the North East maritime connections with the Dutch led to the introduction of many 'new' words. The Scottish influence of the keelmen (fisherman) on the Tyne and their effect on local language was much more radical. Although the Tyneside dialect and identity and this way of speaking is fast waning, the popularity of discovering this language and dialect shows there is still a great interest in the languages and dialect of the past. The late Bill Griffiths (1948–2007)was an extraordinary writer and poet: radical, experimental and scholarly, but also had a great sense of humour. He was a wonderful champion of the North East, its people and heritage. Born in Middlesex, he read history before graduating in 1969. Bill ran his own independent press and published political pamphlets and essays on the arts and poetry. After gaining a PhD in Old English he fled London and settled in Seaham where he embraced the northern way of life. 'He was also a scholar of Old English and dialect who know how to make his work accessible. Private and uncompetitive, he was at least these things: poet, archivist, scholar, translator, prison-rights campaigner, pianist, historian, curator, performer, editor, short-story writer, essayist, teacher, book-maker and lyricist. The Saturday before he died, Bill discharged himself from hospital to host the Dialect Day at the Morden Tower in Newcastle upon Tyne. He died as he lived: cataloguing, awarding Best Dialect prizes, opera on his radio, the poetry paramount.' Obituary, The Independent, 20 September 2007.




Dictionary of the British English Spelling System


Book Description

This book will tell all you need to know about British English spelling. It's a reference work intended for anyone interested in the English language, especially those who teach it, whatever the age or mother tongue of their students. It will be particularly useful to those wishing to produce well-designed materials for teaching initial literacy via phonics, for teaching English as a foreign or second language, and for teacher training. English spelling is notoriously complicated and difficult to learn; it is correctly described as much less regular and predictable than any other alphabetic orthography. However, there is more regularity in the English spelling system than is generally appreciated. This book provides, for the first time, a thorough account of the whole complex system. It does so by describing how phonemes relate to graphemes and vice versa. It enables searches for particular words, so that one can easily find, not the meanings or pronunciations of words, but the other words with which those with unusual phoneme-grapheme/grapheme-phoneme correspondences keep company. Other unique features of this book include teacher-friendly lists of correspondences and various regularities not described by previous authorities, for example the strong tendency for the letter-name vowel phonemes (the names of the letters ) to be spelt with those single letters in non-final syllables.




Larn Yersel Geordie


Book Description