English language in Northern England

{{Short description|none}} {{About|the varieties of English spoken in the northern part of England, and focuses on accents and dialects|varieties spoken in other regions of the United Kingdom and Ireland|English language#Britain and Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox language |name=Northern England English |familycolor=indo-european |altname=Northern English |pronunciation= |region=Northern England |speakers=? |fam2=Germanic |fam3=West Germanic |fam4=Ingvaeonic |fam5=Anglo-Frisian |fam6=Anglic | fam7 = Anglian | fam8 = North Anglic | fam9 = Northern English |script=English alphabet |isoexception=dialect |glotto=nort3299 |glottoname=Northern English |notice=IPA |map=Foot-strut split.svg |mapalt=A map of England, with isoglosses showing how different regions pronounce "sun" |mapcaption=How the vowel sound in ''sun'' varies across England. The thick lines are isoglosses. Northern English dialects have not undergone the FOOT–STRUT split, distinguishing them from Southern English and Scottish dialects.<ref>{{cite book|title=An Atlas of English Dialects|first1=Clive|last1=Upton|first2=John David Allison|last2=Widdowson|year=2006|isbn=978-0-19-869274-4|publisher=Oxford University Press|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofenglishdi00upto}}</ref> }}

The spoken '''English language in Northern England''' has been shaped by the region's history of settlement and migration, and today encompasses a group of related accents and dialects known as '''Northern England English''' or '''Northern English'''.<ref name=Robinson-2007> {{ cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/regional-voices-the-north-south-divide |access-date=20 October 2024 |title=Regional voices: the north-south divide |date=1 April 2007 |first=Jonnie |last=Robinson |publisher=British Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021051923/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/regional-voices-the-north-south-divide |archive-date=21 October 2023 }}</ref><ref name=Filpulla-2020> {{ cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics |url=https://oxfordre.com/linguistics/ |first1=Markku |last1=Filppula |first2=Juhani |last2=Klemola |title=External Influences in the History of English |entry=External Influences in the History of English |date=27 August 2020 |entry-url=https://oxfordre.com/linguistics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.0001/acrefore-9780199384655-e-284 |access-date=20 October 2024 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.284 |isbn=978-0-199-38465-5 }}</ref>

The strongest influence on modern varieties of Northern English was the Northumbrian dialect of Middle English. Additional influences came from contact with Old Norse during the Viking Age; with Irish English following the Great Famine, particularly in Lancashire and the south of Yorkshire; and with Midlands dialects since the Industrial Revolution. All these produced new and distinctive styles of speech.<ref name=Robinson-2007 />

Traditional dialects are associated with many of the historic counties of England, and include those of Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumbria, and Yorkshire. Following urbanisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, distinctive dialects arose in many urban centres in Northern England, with English spoken using a variety of distinctive pronunciations, terms, and expressions.<ref name=HickeyResNEN-intro> {{ cite book |title=Researching Northern English |editor-first=Raymond |editor-last=Hickey |editor-link=Raymond Hickey |date=2015 |publisher=John Benjamins |location=Amsterdam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ |chapter=The North of England and Northern English |first=Raymond |last=Hickey |series=Varieties of English Around the World |author-link=Raymond Hickey |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |pages=1{{ndash}}24 |doi=10.1075/veaw.g55 |isbn=978-9-027-24915-9 |oclc=1020144729 |lccn=2015033286 }}</ref>{{rp|16{{ndash}}18}} Northern English accents are often stigmatized,<ref> {{ cite web |date=15 June 2022 |title=New research reveals prejudice against people with Northern English accents |url=https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/news/new-research-reveals-prejudice-against-people-with-northern-english-accents/ |access-date=20 October 2024 |website=Northumbria University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112032023/https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/news/new-research-reveals-prejudice-against-people-with-northern-english-accents/ |archive-date=12 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> and some native speakers modify their Northern speech characteristics in corporate and professional environments.<ref name=Strycharczuk-2020> {{ cite journal |last1=Strycharczuk |first1=Patrycja |last2=López-Ibáñez |first2=Manuel |last3=Brown |first3=Georgina |last4=Leemann |first4=Adrian |date=15 July 2020 |title=General Northern English. Exploring Regional Variation in the North of England With Machine Learning |journal=Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence |volume=3 |issue=48 |page=48 |doi=10.3389/frai.2020.00048 |issn=2624-8212 |pmc=7861339 |pmid=33733165 |doi-access=free |quote=Our interest was in evaluating the hypothesis that dialect leveling in middle-class Northern English speakers has led to convergence toward a pan-regional General Northern English. We do find some evidence of such convergence, although some accents cluster in this respect (Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield), whereas others remain more distinct (Liverpool, Newcastle). |quote-page=16 }}</ref><ref name=abb> {{ cite web |date= |title=Accents in Britain: General Northern English (GNE) |url=https://accentbiasbritain.org/accents-in-britain/#:~:text=General%20Northern%20English%20(GNE) |access-date=20 October 2024 |website=Accent Bias Britain |publisher=Queen Mary University of London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109013950/https://accentbiasbritain.org/accents-in-britain/ |archive-date=9 November 2023 |url-status=live |quote=General Northern English (GNE) functions as a 'regional standard' accent in the North of England, and is used there mainly by middle-class speakers. While it is still recognisably northern, speakers of GNE can be very hard to locate geographically more precisely than this. }}</ref>

There is some debate about how spoken varieties of English have impacted written English in Northern England;<ref name=Ruano-García> {{ cite book |title=Researching Northern English |editor-first=Raymond |editor-last=Hickey |editor-link=Raymond Hickey |date=2015 |publisher=John Benjamins |location=Amsterdam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ |chapter=Northern English: Historical lexis and spelling |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 |pages=131–157 |first1=Javier |last1=Ruano-García |first2=Pilar |last2=Sánchez-García |first3=María |last3=F. García-Bermejo Giner |doi=10.1075/veaw.g55.06rua |isbn=978-9-027-24915-9 |oclc=1020144729 |lccn=2015033286 }}</ref> furthermore, representing a dialect or accent in writing is not straightforward.<ref> {{ cite book |title=Dialect Writing and the North of England |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-last1=Honeybone |editor-first2=Warren |editor-last2=Maguire |chapter=Chapter 1: Introduction |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KncxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |first1=Patrick |last1=Honeybone |first2=Warren |last2=Maguire |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KncxEAAAQBAJ |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-474-44256-5 |oclc=1117545825 |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9781474442565.003.0001 |quote=The issues of the 'accuracy' and 'authenticity' of the representation of a dialect in dialect writing are complicated ones to negotiate, and need to be seen in the light of what a writer intends for a text. |quote-page=6 }}</ref>

==Definition== The varieties of English spoken across modern Great Britain form an accent and dialect continuum, and there is no agreed definition of which varieties are Northern,<ref name=HickeyResNEN-intro />{{rp|8{{ndash}}14}} and no consensus about what constitutes "the North".<ref name=Montgomery> {{ cite book |title=Researching Northern English |editor-first=Raymond |editor-last=Hickey |editor-link=Raymond Hickey |date=2015 |publisher=John Benjamins |location=Amsterdam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ |chapter=Borders and boundaries in the North of England |chapter-url=https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/96539/8/Montgomery%20authors'%20final%20copy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2024 |at=pp. 345{{ndash}}368 in book; pp. 1{{ndash}}24 in repository: repository pagination used in citations. |first=Chris |last=Montgomery |series=Varieties of English Around the World |doi=10.1075/veaw.g55.15mon |isbn=978-9-027-24915-9 |oclc=1020144729 |lccn=2015033286 }}{{snd}}via [https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ White Rose Research Repository].</ref>{{rp|3{{ndash}}9}}

Wells uses a broad definition of the linguistic North, comprising all accents that have not undergone the TRAP–BATH and FOOT–STRUT splits. On that basis, the isogloss between North and South runs from the River Severn to The Wash, and covers the entire North of England (which Wells divides into "Far North" and "Middle North") and most of the Midlands, including the distinctive Brummie (Birmingham) and Black Country dialects.<ref name=Wells1982> {{ cite book |title=Accents of English vol. 2: The British Isles |date=1982 |first=John C. |last=Wells |author-link=John C. Wells |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511611759 |isbn=978-0-521-24224-0 |oclc=874021123 |url=https://archive.org/details/accentsofenglish0000well  |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |access-date=1 January 2025 }}</ref>{{rp|349{{ndash}}351}}

In his seminal study of English dialects, Alexander J. Ellis defined the border between the North and the Midlands as that where the word ''house'' is pronounced with {{IPA|u:}} to the north.<ref name=EllisV5> {{ cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvcKAAAAYAAJ |title=On Early English Pronunciation, with Especial Reference to Shakspere and Chaucer : Part V, Existing Dialectical as Compared to West Saxon Pronunciation |chapter=The Ten Transverse Lines |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvcKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1447 |at=See p. 19 [1451], section "LINE 6" |last=Ellis |first=Alexander J. |author-link=Alexander John Ellis |date=1889 |publisher=Trübner for the Philological Society, the Early English Text Society, and the Chaucer Society |location=London |access-date=22 October 2024 |quote=LINE 6.{{ndash}}The s. ''hoos'' line, or s. limit of the pron. of the word house as ''hoos'' (huus), which is also the n. limit of the pron. of ''house'' as any variety of (ha'us) [...]. |via=Google Books }}</ref> For Ellis, "the North" occupied the area northwards of a line running from the Humber Estuary on the east coast to the River Lune on the west (more recently, some linguists refer to the River Ribble, slightly further south).<ref name=Montgomery />{{rp|6}}

According to Wells, although well-suited to historical analysis, Ellis's line does not reflect everyday usage, which does not consider Manchester or Leeds, both located south of the line, as part of the Midlands.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|349{{ndash}}350}}

An alternative approach is to define the linguistic North as equivalent to the cultural area of Northern England{{snd}}approximately the seven historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire, or the three modern statistical regions of North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber.<ref name=HickeyResNEN-intro />{{rp|1{{ndash}}8}} This approach was taken by the Survey of English Dialects (SED), which used the historic counties (minus Cheshire) as a basis, and grouped Manx English with Northern dialects.<ref name=Wales2006> {{ cite book |first=Katie |last=Wales |date=2006 |title=Northern English: A Social and Cultural History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-86107-6 |oclc=64313095 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511487071 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaOuTaQ5zq4C}}</ref>{{rp|13}} Under Wells' scheme, the SED's definition includes Far North and Middle North dialects but excludes those of the Midlands.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|349{{ndash}}351}}

Scottish English is distinct from Northern English, although the two have interacted with and influenced each other.<ref name=HickeyResNEN-intro />{{rp|2}}

==History== Many historical northern dialects reflect the influence of Old Norse.<ref name=Jesch-2017> {{ cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain |publisher=Wiley |location=Hoboken |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118396957 |first=Judith |last=Jesch |author-link=Judith Jesch |title=O ld N orse in E ngland |editor-first1=Robert |editor-last1=Rouse |editor-first2=Siân |editor-last2=Echard |editor-first3=Helen |editor-last3=Fulton |editor3-link=Helen Fulton |editor-first4=Geoff |editor-last4=Rector |editor-first5=Jacqueline A. |editor-last5=Fay |entry=Old Norse in England |date=2017 |pages=1–2 |entry-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118396957.wbemlb516 |quote=Old Norse [has] left its mark on a substantial range of English vocabulary as well as a number of form words, not only in some regional dialects but also in the modern standard language. |doi=10.1002/9781118396957.wbemlb516 |isbn=978-1-118-39695-7 |oclc=992436496 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=Dance-2007> {{ cite book |first=Richard |last=Dance |date=2017 |editor-first1=Laurel J. |editor-last1=Brinton |editor1-link=Laurel J. Brinton |editor-first2=Alexander |editor-last2=Bergs |editor2-link=Alexander Bergs |series=Mouton Reader |title=The History of English. Volume 2: Old English |chapter=Chapter 11: English Contact: Norse |pages=202{{ndash}}219 |doi=10.1515/9783110525304-011 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-110-52273-0 |oclc=1004877872 |quote=The quantity and type of Norse-derived words attested in the dialects of the North and East Midlands are particularly impressive, especially in the Middle English period. |quote-page=214 }} </ref> In addition to previous contact with Vikings, during the 9th and 10th centuries most of northern and eastern England was part of either the Danelaw or the Danish-controlled Kingdom of Northumbria (except for much of present-day Cumbria, which was part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde). Consequently, modern Yorkshire dialects, in particular, are considered to have been influenced heavily by Old West Norse (the ancestor of Norwegian) and Old East Norse (the ancestor of Swedish and Danish).<ref name=Rhodes2015> {{cite web |url=https://www.viking.no/the-viking-travels/jorvik-york/yorkshire-dialect-words-of-old-norse-origin/ |title=Yorkshire Dialect Words of Old Norse Origin |first=Barrie Markham |last=Rhodes |date=21 June 2015 |access-date=3 February 2025 |website=The Viking Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729094851/https://www.viking.no/the-viking-travels/jorvik-york/yorkshire-dialect-words-of-old-norse-origin/ |archive-date=29 July 2023 |url-status=live |quote=The word list definitions draw heavily on the work of Dr. Arnold Kellett of The Yorkshire Dialect Society, in particular his ''The Yorkshire Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition and Folklore'' (1994).}} ({{oclc|30028946}}).</ref>

In the 19th century, there was large-scale migration from Ireland to Northern England, particularly to Liverpool and its hinterland. Summarising the views of several scholars, Wales (2006) highlights some features of accents and dialects in the North West influenced by Hiberno-English, such as the dental articulation of ''dat'' ("that") and ''tree'' ("three"), and the usage of ''yous'' as the second-person plural pronoun {{see below|{{section link|#Pronouns}}, below}}.<ref name=Wales2006 />{{rp|119}}

==Northern accent and dialect varieties== Varieties include: * Cheshire dialect * Cumbrian dialect * Geordie{{snd}}spoken in Newcastle and Tyneside, which includes southern parts of Northumberland * Lancashire dialect * Mackem{{snd}}in Sunderland and Wearside * Mancunian{{snd}}in Manchester, Salford, various other areas of Greater Manchester, and parts of Lancashire and eastern Cheshire * Northumbrian dialect * Pitmatic{{snd}}two varieties: one in the former mining communities of County Durham, the other in Northumberland * Scouse{{snd}}in Liverpool and Merseyside, with varieties in western Cheshire and southern Lancashire * Smoggie{{snd}}in Teesside * Yorkshire dialect.

A survey published in 2022 found that compared to the findings of the Survey of English Dialects carried out in the first half of the twentieth century, the edges of many dialect regions have shifted. Furthermore, there are transitional zones between dialects where towns, such as those between Manchester and Liverpool, may display considerable heterogeneity. The authors also found evidence of dialect regions crossing county boundaries.<ref name=UpdateAtlas> {{ cite journal |journal=Journal of Linguistic Geography |title=Towards an updated dialect atlas of British English |first1=MacKenzie |last1=Laurel |first2=George |last2=Bailey |first3=Danielle |last3=Turton |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=46{{ndash}}66 |date=2022 |doi=10.1017/jlg.2022.2 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/07AD1E071645452F33A118B08E038CD6/S2049754722000026a.pdf/towards-an-updated-dialect-atlas-of-british-english.pdf |issn=2049-7547 }}</ref>{{rp|50, 61, 62}}

General Northern English (GNE) refers to a newer "pan-regional standard accent" emerging from dialect leveling and the "reduction of accent variation" found in Northern England. GNE is associated with educated urbanites. A 2020 study sampling 105 accents from Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield discovered a "considerable degree of leveling, especially between Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, although some differences persist."<ref name=Strycharczuk-2020 />{{rp|1}}<ref name=abb />

==Phonological characteristics== 200px|thumb|left|Red areas are where English dialects of the late 20th century were rhotic; in the North, only some of Lancashire is included. [[File:Ng-coalescence.svg|thumb|Pronunciation of [ŋg] in the word ''tongue'' throughout England; the major Northern counties with this trait are located where the North West and West Midlands meet.]]

===Speech features=== There are several speech features that unite most of the accents of Northern England and distinguish them from Southern England and Scottish accents.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|349{{ndash}}351}}

====''Trap{{ndash}}bath'' split==== The accents of Northern England generally do not have the trap–bath split observed in Southern England English, so that the vowel in ''bath'', ''ask'' and ''cast'' is the short {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel {{IPA|/a/}}: {{IPA|/baθ, ask, kast/}}, rather than {{IPA|/ɑː/}} found in the south. There are a few words in the BATH set like ''can't'', ''shan’t'', ''half'', ''calf'', ''rather'' which are pronounced with /ɑː/ in most Northern English accents as opposed to {{IPA|/æ/}} in Northern American accents. The {{IPA|/æ/}} vowel of ''cat, trap'' is normally pronounced {{IPA|[a]}} like in Standard Southern British English, rather than the {{IPA|[æ]}} found in traditional Received Pronunciation or General American, while {{IPA|/ɑː/}}, as in the words ''palm'', ''cart'', ''start'', ''tomato'', may not be differentiated from {{IPA|/æ/}} by quality, but by length, being pronounced as a longer {{IPA|[aː]}}.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|353{{ndash}}356}}

====''Foot{{ndash}}strut'' split==== The foot–strut split is absent in Northern English, so that, for example, ''cut'' and ''put'' rhyme and are both pronounced with {{IPA|/ʊ/}}; words like ''love, up, tough, judge,'' etc. also use this vowel sound. This has led to Northern England being described "Oop North" {{IPA|/ʊp nɔːθ/}} by some in the south of England. Some words with {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in RP even have {{IPA|/uː/}}{{snd}}''book'' is pronounced {{IPA|/buːk/}} in some Northern accents (particularly in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and eastern parts of Merseyside where the Lancashire accent is still prevalent), while conservative accents also pronounce ''look'' and ''cook'' as {{IPA|/luːk/}} and {{IPA|/kuːk/}}.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|351{{ndash}}353}}

====Other vowels==== The Received Pronunciation phonemes {{IPA|/eɪ/}} (as in ''face'') and {{IPA|/əʊ/}} (as in ''goat'') are often pronounced as monophthongs (such as {{IPA|[eː]}} and {{IPA|[oː]}}), or as older diphthongs (such as {{IPA|/ɪə/}} and {{IPA|/ʊə/}}). However, the quality of these vowels varies considerably across the region, and this is considered a greater indicator of a speaker's social class than the less stigmatised aspects listed above.

In most areas, happy-tensing has not occurred; the unstressed vowel at the end of words such ''happ'''y''''', ''coff'''ee''''' and ''tax'''i''''' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɪ]}}, like the ''i'' in ''bit'', and not {{IPA|[i]}}. This was also the norm in RP until the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yek.me.uk/changestwe.html|title=Changes in British English pronunciation during the twentieth century"|last= Windsor Lewis |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Windsor Lewis |access-date=1 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130041736/http://www.yek.me.uk/changestwe.html |archive-date=30 November 2024}}</ref> The tenser {{IPA|[i]}}, similar to Southern England and Modern RP, is found throughout the North East from Teesside northwards, and in the Merseyside and Hull areas.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|isbn= 3-11-017532-0 |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last1=Kortmann | editor-first2= Edgar W. | editor-last2= Schneider |first=Joan |last=Beal |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|pages=126}}</ref>

The {{IPA|/ɒ/}} vowel of {{sc2|LOT}} is a fully open {{IPA|[ɒ]}} rather than the open-mid {{IPA|[ɔ]}} of modern Received Pronunciation and Southern England English.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|356}}

====''R'' sound==== The most common ''R'' sound, when pronounced in Northern England, is the typical English {{Audio|Postalveolar approximant.ogg|postalveolar approximant|help=no}}; however, an {{Audio|alveolar flap.ogg|alveolar tap|help=no}} is also widespread, particularly following a consonant or between vowels.<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|368}} This tap predominates most fully in the Scouse accent. The North, like most of the South, is largely (and increasingly) non-rhotic, meaning that ''R'' is pronounced only before a vowel or between vowels, but not after a vowel (for instance, in words like ''car, fear,'' and ''lurk''). However, regions that are rhotic (pronouncing all ''R'' sounds) or somewhat rhotic are possible, particularly amongst older speakers:<ref name=Wells1982 />{{rp|368}} * Lancashire and Greater Manchester areas north of the city of Manchester may residually be rhotic or pre-consonantally rhotic (pronouncing ''R'' before a consonant but not in word-final position), for example, in Accrington and Rochdale.

* Lincolnshire may weakly retain word-final (but not pre-consonantal) rhoticity.

* Uvular rhoticity, in which the same ''R'' sound as in French and German is used, has been described as the traditional "burr" of rural, northern Northumberland{{snd}}possible as well, though also rare, in County Durham.

====Other features==== The North does not have the clear distinction between the {{Audio|Alveolar lateral approximant.ogg|"clear ''L''"|help=no}} and {{Audio|Velarized alveolar lateral approximant.ogg|"dark ''L''"|help=no}} common to most other accents in England; most Northern accents pronounce all ''L'' sounds with a moderate amount of velarization. Exceptions to this are in Tyneside, Wearside and Northumberland, where ''L'' is clear,<ref name=UrbanNEen> {{ cite book |last1=Beal |first1=Joan C. |last2=Burbano-Elizondo |first2=Lourdes |last3=Llamas |first3=Carmen |title=Urban North-Eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside |series=Dialects of English |date=2012 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |url={{GBurl|0aZvAAAAQBAJ}} |isbn=978-0-748-64152-9 |oclc=793582295 }}</ref>{{rp|42}} and in Lancashire and Manchester, where ''L'' is dark.<ref name=Beal-2004 />{{rp|130}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Note that this source incorrectly transcribes the dark L with the symbol {{angbr IPA|ɬ}}, i.e. as if it were the voiceless alveolar lateral fricative.}}{{2px}}<ref name=EnAccentsDialects> {{ cite book |title=English Accents & Dialects : an Introduction to Social and Regional Varieties of English in the British Isles |first1=Arthur |last1=Hughes |first2=Peter |last2=Trudgill |author-link2=Peter Trudgill |first3=Dominic |last3=Watt |date=2013 |edition=5th |publisher=Routledge |location=London |quote-page=116 |quote=[Manchester] /l/ is dark [ɫ] in both onset and coda positions, and in the latter context may be vocalised (e.g. ''meal'', l. 2). In some cases the /l/ is extremely dark in initial position, and may be practically vocalised, e.g. ''Lake'' (l. 19), in which /l/ resembles [w]. |isbn=978-1-444-12138-4 |oclc=900418443 }}</ref>

Some northern English speakers have noticeable rises in their intonation: to other speakers of English, they may sound "perpetually surprised or sarcastic."<ref name=Cruttenden-1981> {{ cite journal |journal=Journal of Linguistics |title=Falls and Rises: Meanings and Universals |first=Alan |last=Cruttenden |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=77{{ndash}}91 |date=March 1981 |doi=10.1017/S0022226700006782 |quote=[T]he rises of Belfast and some northern English cities may sound perpetually surprised or sarcastic to southern Englishmen (the precise attitude imputed will depend on other factors like pitch height and the exact type of rise)... |quote-page=83 |issn=0022-2267 }}</ref>

===Distinctive sounds=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Major distinctive sounds of Northern English<ref>{{cite web|title=Accents of English from Around the World|editor=Heggarty, Paul |display-editors=etal |publisher=University of Edinburgh|year=2013|url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/research/gsound/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Beverley|last2=Mees|first2=Inger M.|year=2003|title=The Phonetics of English and Dutch|publisher=E.J. Brill |edition=Fifth Revised|isbn=9004103406}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zBlrSasr14oC&q=manchester%20is%20geographically|title=English Accents & Dialects|isbn=9781444121384 |last1=Hughes |first1=Arthur |last2=Trudgill |first2=Peter |last3=Watt |first3=Dominic James Landon |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref name=Beal-2004>{{cite book |first=Joan C. |last=Beal |editor1-last=Schneider |editor1-first=Edgar W. |editor1-link=Edgar W. Schneider |editor2-last=Burridge |editor2-first=Kate |editor2-link=Kate Burridge |editor3-last=Kortmann |editor3-first=Bernd |editor3-link=:de:Bernd Kortmann |editor4-last=Mesthrie |editor4-first=Rajend |editor5-last=Upton |editor5-first=Clive |editor5-link=Clive Upton |year=2004 |title=A Handbook of Varieties of English |chapter=English dialects in the North of England: phonology |volume=1: Phonology |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |location=Berlin |pages=113{{ndash}}133 |isbn=978-3-110-17532-5 |oclc=1046309982 |doi=10.1515/9783110197181-011 }}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Watson|first=Kevin|year=2007|title=Liverpool English|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=37|issue=3|pages=351–360|url=http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/4011/1/download2.pdf?origin=publication_detail |doi=10.1017/s0025100307003180|s2cid=232345844|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref> {{citation|last1=Watt|first1=Dominic|last2=Allen|first2=William|year=2003|title=Tyneside English|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=33 |issue=2|pages=267–271|doi=10.1017/s0025100303001397|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=liverpool>{{cite web|url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/homes/patrick/liverpoolphonics.pdf|title=Phonemes, graphemes and phonics for Liverpool English|last1=Honeybone|first1=Patrick|last2=Watson|first2=Kevin|access-date=2024-01-16}}</ref><ref name=Williams-1999> Williams, Ann; Kerswill, Paul (1999). Section [https://archive.org/details/urbanvoicesaccen0000unse/page/146/mode/2up '8.2.1.3 Hull'] (pp. 146{{ndash}}147) in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120916171839/http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/linguistics/staff/kerswill/pkpubs/WilliamsKerswill1999UrbanVoices.pdf "Dialect levelling: change and continuity in Milton Keynes, Reading and Hull"] (PDF). In Foulkes, Paul; Docherty, Gerard (eds.). [https://books.google.com/books?id=jkxpAwAAQBAJ ''Urban Voices: Accent Studies in the British Isles'']. London: Arnold. pp. 141{{ndash}}162. {{ISBN|978-0-340-70608-4}}. {{OCLC|43558503}}. Archived from [http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/linguistics/staff/kerswill/pkpubs/WilliamsKerswill1999UrbanVoices.pdf author repository] (PDF) on 16 September 2012. Note: see pp. 5{{ndash}}7 in repository copy, which differs slightly from equivalent in book. Retrieved 13 February 2025{{snd}}via Internet Archive. </ref><ref>{{citation|editor-last=Raymond|editor-first=Hickey|date=2015|title=Researching Northern English|publisher=John Benjamins|location=Amsterdam|isbn=978-90-272-6767-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ}}</ref> ! English diaphoneme ! Example words ! Manchester {{Small|(Mancunian)}} ! Lancashire ! Yorkshire ! Cumbria ! Northumberland {{Small|(Pitmatic)}} ! Merseyside {{Small|(Scouse)}} ! Tyneside {{Small|(Geordie)}} |- |{{IPAc-en|æ}} |b'''a'''th, d'''a'''nce, tr'''a'''p |colspan="7"|[a~ä] {{Audio|open front unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |{{IPAc-en|ɑː}} |br'''a''', c'''a'''lm, f'''a'''ther |colspan="5"|[aː~äː] {{Audio|open front unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[äː~ɑː] |[ɑː~ɒː] {{Audio|en-us-awe.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |{{IPAc-en|aɪ}} |f'''igh'''t, r'''i'''de, tr'''y''' |colspan="7"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[aɪ~äɪ]}} {{Audio|en-us-eye.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}Geordie and Northumberland, when not final or before a voiced fricative: [ɛɪ~əɪ] {{Audio|Nl-ij.ogg|listen|help=no}}{{hidden end}} |- |{{IPAc-en|aʊ}} |br'''ow'''n, m'''ou'''th |[aʊ] |[æʊ] |colspan="2"|[aʊ~æʊ] |[ɐʊ] |[æʊ] |[ɐʊ~u:] {{Audio|En-uk-oh.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |{{IPAc-en|eɪ}} |l'''a'''me, r'''ei'''n, st'''ai'''n |colspan="1"|[ɛɪ~e̞ɪ] {{Audio|En-uk-a.ogg|listen|help=no}} |colspan="4"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[e̞ː]}} {{Audio|mid front unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}Lancashire, Cumbria, and Yorkshire, when before ''ght'' as in ''weight'': [eɪ~ɛɪ] {{hidden end}} |[eɪ] {{Audio|en-us-a.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[ɪə~eː] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɛ}} |b'''e'''d, '''e'''gg, br'''ea'''d |colspan="7"|[ɛ] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɛər}} |f'''air''', h'''are''', th'''ere''' |[ɛː] |{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɜː(ɹ)~ɛː(ɹ)]}}}}|ta1 = center}}South Lancashire: [ɜː(ɹ)] North Lancashire: [ɛː(ɹ)] {{hidden end}} |colspan="3"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɛː]}}}}|ta1 = center}}some places by the Scottish border: [ɛːɹ]{{hidden end}} |rowspan="2"|[eː] {{Audio|Close-mid front unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} (square–nurse merger) |[ɛː] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɜr}} |f'''ur''', h'''er''', st'''ir''' |colspan="2"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɜː]}} {{Audio|Open-mid central unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}rhotic Lancashire: [ɜːɹ]{{hidden end}} |{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɜː~ɛː]}}}}|ta1 = center}}East Riding of Yorkshire: [ɛː~ɜː] rest of Yorkshire: [ɜː]{{hidden end}} |colspan="2"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɜː]}} {{Audio|Open-mid central unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}some places by the Scottish border: [ɜːɹ]{{hidden end}} |[øː~ʊː] {{Audio|Close-mid central rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |{{IPAc-en|ər}} |doct'''or''', mart'''yr''', small'''er''' |colspan="7"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ə~ɜ~ɛ]}} {{Audio|Open-mid central unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}rhotic Lancashire and some places by the Scottish border: [əɹ~ɜɹ]; also, Geordie: [ɛ~ɐ]{{hidden end}} |- |{{IPAc-en|iː}} |b'''ea'''m, mar'''i'''ne, fl'''ee'''ce |colspan="4"|[ɪi] |[i] {{Audio|en-us-e.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[iː~ɨ̞i] |[iː~ei] |- |{{IPAc-en|i}} |cit'''y''', hon'''ey''', part'''ie'''s |colspan="2"|[ɪ~e] {{Audio|Near-close near-front unrounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɪ~e~i] }}}}|ta1 = center}}Hull and northern North Yorkshire: [i] rest of Yorkshire: [ɪ~e]{{hidden end}} |colspan="2"|[ɪi~i] |colspan="2"|[i] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɪər}} |b'''eer''', f'''ear''', h'''ere''' |colspan="5"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɪə̯~iː.ə]}}}}|ta1 = center}}rhotic Lancashire and some places by the Scottish border: [ɪə̯ɹ~iː.əɹ]{{hidden end}} |[iɛ̯] |[iɐ̯] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɔː}} |'''a'''ll, b'''ough'''t, s'''aw''' |rowspan="2" |[ɒː~ɔː] |colspan="4"|[ɒː~ɔː] |rowspan="3" colspan="2"|[o̞:] {{Audio|Mid back rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |rowspan="2"|{{IPAc-en|ɔːr}} |h'''or'''se, n'''or'''th, w'''ar''' |rowspan="2" colspan="4"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɒː~ɔː]}}}}|ta1 = center}}rhotic Lancashire and some places by the Scottish border: [ɒːɹ~ɔːɹ]{{hidden end}} |- |h'''oar'''se, f'''or'''ce, w'''ore''' | {{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɔː]}}}}|ta1 = center}}(possible ''horse''-''hoarse'' distinction){{hidden end}} |- |{{IPAc-en|oʊ}} |g'''oa'''l, sh'''ow'''n, t'''oe''' |colspan="1" |[ɔʊ~ɔo] |colspan="4" |{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[oː~ɔː~ɵː]}} {{Audio|Mid back rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}}}}|ta1 = center}}West Yorkshire, more commonly: [ɔː] Hull, especially female: [ɵː]{{hidden end}} |[ɔu~ɜu~ɛʉ] |[ʊə~oː] |- |{{IPAc-en|ʌ}} |rowspan="2" |b'''u'''s, fl'''oo'''d, p'''u'''t |colspan="7" rowspan="2"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ʊ]}} {{Audio|near-close near-back rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} (no foot–strut split)}}|ta1 = center}}Northumberland, less rounded: [ʌ̈]; in Scouse, Manchester, South Yorkshire and (to an extent) Teesside the word ''one'' is uniquely pronounced with the vowel [ɒ], and this is also possible for ''once'', ''among(st)'', ''none'', ''tongue'', and ''nothing''{{hidden end}} |- |{{IPAc-en|ʊ}} |- |{{IPAc-en|ʊər}} |p'''oor''', s'''ure''', t'''our''' |colspan="5"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ʊə̯~uː.ə]}}}}|ta1 = center}}rhotic Lancashire and some places by the Scottish border: [ʊə̯ɹ~uː.əɹ]{{hidden end}} |[o̞:] |[uɐ] |- |{{IPAc-en|uː}} |f'''oo'''d, gl'''ue''', l'''o'''se |[ʏː] {{Audio|Nl-U.ogg|listen|help=no}} |colspan="2"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ʊu]}}}}|ta1 = center}}North Yorkshire: [ʉ:]{{hidden end}} |[ʉː] {{Audio|Close central rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[yː] |[ʉː] {{Audio|Close central rounded vowel.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[ʉu~ʊu~ɵʊ] |- |{{IPAc-en|ɒ}} |l'''o'''t, w'''a'''sp, c'''ou'''gh |colspan="7"|[ɒ] |- |intervocalic & postvocalic {{IPAc-en|k}} |ra'''cq'''uet, jo'''k'''er, lu'''ck''' |[k] or [k~x] |colspan="4"|[k] {{Audio|Voiceless velar plosive.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[k~x] {{Audio|Voiceless velar fricative.ogg|listen|help=no}} or [k~ç] {{Audio|Voiceless palatal fricative.ogg|listen|help=no}} |[k~kˀ] |- |initial {{IPAc-en|h}} |'''h'''and, '''h'''ead, '''h'''ome |colspan="6"|[∅] or [h] |[h] |- |{{IPAc-en|l}} |'''l'''ie, mi'''ll''', sa'''l'''ad |colspan="6"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[l~ɫ]}}}}|ta1 = center}}/l/ is often somewhat "dark" (meaning velarised) [ɫ] {{Audio|Velarized_alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg|listen|help=no}} throughout northern England, but it is particularly dark in Manchester and Lancashire.{{hidden end}} |[l] {{Audio|Alveolar_lateral_approximant.ogg|listen|help=no}} |- |stressed-syllable {{IPAc-en|ŋ}} |ba'''ng''', si'''ng'''er, wro'''ng''' |colspan="2"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ŋg~ŋ]}}}}|ta1 = center}}[ŋ] predominates in the northern half of historical Lancashire{{hidden end}} |colspan="3"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ŋ]}}}}|ta1 = center}}[ŋg] predominates only in South Yorkshire's Sheffield{{hidden end}} |[ŋg~ŋ] |[ŋ] |- |post-consonantal & intervocalic {{IPAc-en|r}} |cu'''rr'''ent, th'''r'''ee, p'''r'''ay |colspan="5"|{{hidden begin|title = {{nobold|{{larger|[ɹ] or, conservatively, [ɹ~ɾ] }}}}|ta1 = center}}[ʁ] in Lindisfarne and traditional, rural, northern Northumberland{{hidden end}} |[ɾ] |[ɹ~ɾ] |- |intervocalic, final & pre-consonantal {{IPAc-en|t}} |a'''tt'''ic, ba'''t''', fi'''t'''ness |colspan="5"|[ʔ] or [t(ʰ)] |colspan="2"|[θ̠] {{Audio|Voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative.ogg|listen|help=no}} or [ʔ] |}

==Grammar and syntax== In general, the grammatical patterns of Northern English are similar to those of British English. However, Northern English has several unique characteristics.<ref name=BLgrammar> {{ cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/grammatical-variation-across-the-uk |date=24 April 2019 |publisher=British Library |title=Grammatical variation across the UK |first=Jonnie |last=Robinson |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920210517/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/grammatical-variation-across-the-uk |archive-date=20 September 2020 }}</ref>

===Northern Subject Rule=== Under the Northern Subject Rule, the suffix ''"-s"'', which in Standard English grammar only appears in the third-person singular present, is attached to verbs in many present- and past-tense forms (leading to, for example, "''the birds sings''"). More generally, third-person singular forms of irregular verbs, such as ''to be'', may be used with plurals and other grammatical persons; for instance "the lambs is out". In modern dialects, the most obvious manifestation is a levelling of the past-tense verb-forms ''was'' and ''were''. Either may dominate depending on the region and individual speech patterns (so some Northern speakers may say "I was" and "You was", while others prefer "I were" and "You were"). Furthermore, in many dialects, especially in the far North, ''weren't'' is treated as the negation of ''was''.<ref name=Pietsch2005> {{ cite book |first=Lukas |last=Pietsch |chapter="Some do and some doesn’t": Verbal concord variation in the north of the British Isles |pages=125{{ndash}}209 |quote-page=126 |quote=This intriguing system has been among the chief grammatical characteristics of the dialects of northern Britain, including Scots, since the Middle English period. |chapter-url=http://lukas-pietsch.de/documents/Pietsch_2005_Concord.pdf |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last1=Kortmann |editor1-link=:de:Bernd Kortmann |editor-first2=Tanja |editor-last2=Herrmann |editor-first3=Lukas |editor-last3=Pietsch |editor-first4=Susanne |editor-last4=Wagner |editor4-link=:de:Susanne Wagner |title=A Comparative Grammar of British English Dialects: Agreement, Gender, Relative Clauses |date=2005 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-11-018299-6 |oclc=469918353 |doi=10.1515/9783110197518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AhrrioRVP8C }}</ref>

===Epistemic ''mustn't''=== The "epistemic ''mustn't''", where ''mustn't'' is used to mark deductions such as "This mustn't be true", is largely restricted within the British Isles to Northern England, although it is more widely accepted in American English, and is likely inherited from Scottish English. A few other Scottish traits are also found in far Northern dialects, such as double modal verbs (''might could'' instead of ''might be able to''), but these are restricted in their distribution and are mostly dying out.<ref name=Beal-2010> {{cite book |title=Introduction to Regional Englishes : Dialect Variation in England |first=Joan C. |last=Beal |date=2010 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-2116-3 |oclc=646397147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucNvAAAAQBAJ |quote=Unlike double modals, epistemic ''mustn't'' shows no signs of receding in the North of England. |quote-page=38 |access-date=14 February 2025 }}</ref>{{rp|26, 38}}

===Pronouns=== While standard English now only has a single second-person pronoun, ''you'', many Northern dialects have additional pronouns either retained from earlier forms or introduced from other variants of English.

The pronouns ''thou'' and ''thee'' have survived in many rural Northern dialects. In some case, these allow the distinction between formality and familiarity to be maintained, while in others ''thou'' is a generic second-person singular, and ''you'' (or ''ye'') is restricted to the plural. Even when ''thou'' has died out, second-person plural pronouns are common. In the more rural dialects and those of the far North, this is typically ''ye'', while in cities and areas of the North West with historical Irish communities, this is more likely to be ''yous''.<ref name=Buchstaller> {{ cite book |title=Researching Northern English |editor-first=Raymond |editor-last=Hickey |editor-link=Raymond Hickey |date=2015 |publisher=John Benjamins |location=Amsterdam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNf4CgAAQBAJ |chapter=Morphosyntactic features of Northern English |pages=71{{ndash}}98 |first1=Isabelle |last1=Buchstaller |author-link1=:de:Isabelle Buchstaller |first2=Karen P. |last2=Corrigan |doi=10.1075/veaw.g55.04buc |isbn=978-9-027-24915-9 |oclc=1020144729 |lccn=2015033286 }}</ref>{{rp|85{{ndash}}86}}

Conversely, the process of "pronoun exchange" means that many first-person pronouns can be replaced by the first-person objective plural ''us'' (or more rarely ''we'' or ''wor'') in standard constructions. These include ''me'' (so "give me" becomes "give us"), ''we'' (so "we Geordies" becomes "us Geordies") and ''our'' (so "our cars" becomes "us cars"). The latter especially is a distinctively Northern trait.<ref name=Buchstaller />{{rp|84{{ndash}}85}}

Almost all British vernaculars have regularised reflexive pronouns, but the resulting form of the pronouns varies from region to region. In Yorkshire and the North East, ''hisself'' and ''theirselves'' are preferred to ''himself'' and ''themselves''. Other areas of the North have regularised the pronouns in the opposite direction, with ''meself'' used instead of ''myself''. This appears to be a trait inherited from Irish English, and like Irish speakers, many Northern speakers use reflexive pronouns in non-reflexive situations for emphasis. Depending on the region, reflexive pronouns can be pronounced (and often written) as if they ended ''-sen'', ''-sel'' or ''-self'' (even in plural pronouns) or ignoring the suffix entirely.<ref name=Buchstaller />{{rp|85{{ndash}}86}}

==Vocabulary== Very few terms from Brittonic languages have survived, with the exception of place-name elements (especially in Cumbria) and, by some accounts, the Yan Tan Tethera counting system, traditionally used in counting stitches in knitting, counting-out games, nursery rhymes, and, reputedly, counting sheep.<ref name="roud"> {{ cite encyclopedia |title=A Dictionary of English Folklore |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198607663.001.0001/acref-9780198607663 |date=2003 |editor-first1=Steve |editor-last1=Roud |editor1-link=Steve Roud |editor-first2=Jacqueline |editor-last2=Simpson |editor2-link=Jacqueline Simpson |entry=shepherds' score |entry-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198607663.001.0001/acref-9780198607663-e-944?rskey=URTRMG&result=919 |entry-url-access=subscription |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn= 978-0-198-60766-3 |oclc=931715587 |quote=There is no doubt that the numerals are traditional and are prized as a genuine part of local dialect [...] but their origin is neither as simple, nor as antique as is often supposed. }}</ref> However, the most likely source for this is Wales in the post-medieval period.<ref name= roud /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yorkshiredialect.com/celtlang.htm|title=The Celtic Linguistic Influence|publisher=Yorkshire Dialect Society|access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>

In some Northern English dialects, the forms ''yan'' and ''yen'' used to mean ''one'', as in ''someyan'' ("someone") or ''that yan'' ("that one"): Griffiths (2004) notes that "OE án (with long vowel) remained 'an' in the North, with the 'a' breaking to 'ia', 'ie', etc."<ref name=Griffiths2004> {{ cite encyclopedia |title=A Dictionary of North East Dialect |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnort0000grif/ |entry=yan, ane |entry-url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnort0000grif/page/178/mode/1up |at=p. 178 col 2 |url-access=registration |first=Bill |last=Griffiths |author-link=Bill Griffiths (poet) |date=2004 |edition=1st |publisher=Northumbria University Press |location=Newcastle |isbn=978-190-479406-6 |oclc=61424579 |via=Internet Archive |access-date=4 February 2025 }}</ref>

A corpus study of Late Modern English texts from or set in Northern England found ''lad'' ("boy" or "young man") and ''lass'' ("girl" or "young woman") were the most widespread "pan-Northern" dialect terms. Other terms in the top ten included a set of three indefinite pronouns ''owt'' ("anything"), ''nowt'' ("naught" or "nothing") and ''summat'' ("something"), the Anglo-Scottish ''bairn'', ''bonny'' and ''gang'', and ''sel''/''sen'' ("self") and ''mun'' ("must"). Regional dialects within Northern England also had many unique terms, and ''canny'' ("clever") and ''nobbut'' ("nothing but") were both common in the corpus, despite being limited to the North East and to the North West and Yorkshire respectively.<ref name=Ruano-García />{{rp|144{{ndash}}146}}

==See also==

*{{annotated link|English language in Southern England}} *{{annotated link|Northern Subject Rule}} *{{annotated link|Scottish English}}

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==    * {{cite journal |journal=Journal of Linguistic Geography |title=Towards an updated dialect atlas of British English |first1=MacKenzie |last1=Laurel |first2=George |last2=Bailey |first3=Danielle |last3=Turton |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=46{{ndash}}66 |date=2022 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/07AD1E071645452F33A118B08E038CD6/S2049754722000026a.pdf/towards-an-updated-dialect-atlas-of-british-english.pdf |issn=2049-7547}} Presents the results of a large-scale dialect survey and hence the status of regional dialect variation, and draws comparisons with the findings of the Survey of English Dialects carried out in the first half of the twentieth century. * {{cite book |first=Katie |last=Wales |date=2006 |title=Northern English: A Social and Cultural History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-86107-6 |oclc=64313095 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaOuTaQ5zq4C}} An account of Northern English that surveys its history, culture, and diversity.

== External links == * [https://www.edwinwaughdialectsociety.com/ Edwin Waugh Dialect Society]{{snd}}Lancashire dialect * [https://northumbrianlanguagesociety.co.uk/ Northumbrian Language Society]{{snd}}Northumbrian dialect * [https://www.yorkshiredialectsociety.org.uk/ Yorkshire Dialect Society]{{snd}}Yorkshire dialect

Category:English language in England Category:North East England Category:Yorkshire Category:Lancashire Category:Northern England