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An Investigation into Staffordshire dialect

Lorraine Turner

What is Staffordshire dialect? Is it dying out? In order to understand these questions, we must first establish the meaning of the word ‘dialect’. It refers to the local variations in the way we speak, pronounce and spell words. Different areas have different vocabularies and, in some cases, use different grammatical terms.

Most of us learnt, from childhood days, to speak in a regional dialect specific to the area we were brought up in. We may also learn dialect from other regions when we move to live in other towns and counties or commute greater distances to our place of work. Unfortunately, dialect is often associated with the uneducated in society. What many people do not realise, however, is that what we now sometimes call standard, BBC or the ‘Queen’s English’, that is, a formal style of speech and writing, was once just one of many dialects itself. It evolved from the East Midlands dialect of the 12th and 13th centuries as power, and therefore powerful people tended to focus on the areas of Oxford and Cambridge and migrate toward the capital, London.

The dialects of England have evolved over 1,500 years. They include Old (450 to 1140); Middle (1150 to 1500) and Modern English forms (1500 to the present day). An example of an ancient dialect word is nesh, from Old English Hnaesce meaning ‘tender’. Traditional dialect, evolving from Anglo-Saxon times, is often associated with industry, farming and mining terms, and so it is argued that, especially in urban districts, traditional words are replaced by modern dialect forms as older forms of work decline and change. It is worth remembering, though, that some changes in working practices are really very recent. For example, hand-cutting, turning of hay, the thatching of hay ricks and quite primitive methods of coal-getting are, I believe, still within living memory to some older Audley people. It has generally been thought that speakers of traditional dialect are limited to the older generation, though my research questions this.

Though some dialect words are very local, Staffordshire dialect shares many words and features with other areas.

There are two major dialectal divisions across the country associated with traditional dialect - those of North and South. These divisions follow the old Anglo-Saxon boundary between the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. These dialect boundaries are additionally divided into regions now known as the modern dialect regions of England. They incorporate the 4 original Northern, West and East Midlands and Southern areas as well as the vast array of new towns and villages which sprang up following population increases during the Industrial Revolution. The boundaries denote where modern dialect word variations in spelling and pronunciation tend to remain static in a particular area of the country. Yet they are also subject to gradual changes caused by modern day movements in commuting and residential settlement. The modern dialect area, of which Staffordshire is a part, includes most of Cheshire, northern Shropshire, parts of southern Derbyshire, north-western Warwickshire and north-eastern Worcestershire. Some words which remain in the modern day dialect area used to have a much wider use. A good example is the way in which some Staffordshire dialect speakers use starved to mean cold and clemmed for hungry. You will most certainly find this use in Cheshire, North Shropshire, Derbyshire and parts of Worcestershire. But up to the end of the 16th Century the use of ‘starved’ to mean cold was even more widespread than this. There is an interesting historical reason for this. In fact, the areas just described roughly coincide with the area of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

Staffordshire dialect, along with other dialects, differs from slang. Slang words are usually short-lived, change from decade to decade and are quickly replaced by newer forms. For example, people’s age and peer group setting are detectable by the slang terms they use. The words ‘fab’ and ‘groovy’ are outdated compared to today’s ‘dope’ and ‘mega’ but these will also quickly become unfashionable. Dialect is not subject to these rapid changes.

Regional dialect often contains verb forms not found in the Standard English dialect. We can see this in the very distinctive negative verbs found in Staffordshire dialect. Standard English shan’t, won’t and can’t become shanna, wunna and conna. It is also interesting that Old English forms of thee and thou occur in the Staffordshire dialect:

thee cost from you could - Old English ‘couldest’

ast from Old English ‘hast thou’

thou knowst or thee knowst from Old English ‘thou knowest’.

It is easy for us today, with our ease of communication and universal education, to dismiss dialects as the quaint speech and writing of a small minority. We must not forget, however, that until very recently dialects were the main means of communication for the vast majority of Britain’s population.

I undertook some research as part of an A-level English Language course at Stoke-on-Trent College and it rapidly became a major task which I hope to develop further through my degree studies. To begin my research, I completed a pilot study by approaching 6 people in the 70 plus age group in the Uttoxeter and Stoke on Trent areas. Both men and women were encouraged to converse in local dialect and several phrases were noted which contained both traditional and modern dialect terms. I also referred to two reference books on Staffordshire dialect, selected several traditional words and asked respondents to provide additional phrases giving their own interpretation and meaning. The material enabled an ‘in depth’ language investigation into both traditional and modern dialect usage in North (Stoke-on-Trent) and East (Uttoxeter) Staffordshire, covering a wider age range. I wanted to discover whether meanings had changed over the decades or whether certain words had died out altogether.

My next task was to research the provenance (that is, trace the origins) of the words and their earliest recorded dates in the Oxford English Dictionary. I also referred to 12 dialect reference books showing both local and countrywide usage. Publication dates ranged from 1829 to 1996, enabling me to trace changes in meaning over time. I collated the results into alphabetical order and completed databases to show changes across the publication dates.

Then 2 questionnaires were designed: one contained a selection of North Staffordshire words from the pilot study, the other concerned those associated with East Staffordshire. Both questionnaires were issued to 100 respondents in North and East Staffordshire within the age range 16 to 85. The respondents were chosen from a variety of backgrounds and occupations. They included students, shop floor workers, those in professional occupations and those who had retired from employment. They were all asked:

Do you know this word?

Do you know what this word means?

Do you use this word?

Do older relatives/friends use this word?

Respondents were requested to state Yes or No to these questions. In addition, they were asked to provide their own meanings for the words.

Only a few questionnaires were returned incomplete. Respondents’ replies demonstrated a good knowledge of a variety of words from both targeted areas. Results were collated and arranged according to age so that similarities and changes could be easily viewed across the chosen age groups.

There were 5 major findings in my research:

1 Residential and occupational changes did in some instances affect respondents’ knowledge, as shown by two examples: a probation officer within the age range 51-55 from Uttoxeter, who had previously resided in the Lancashire and Leicester areas, supplied the interpretation for chuck as “a term of endearment”; a parish priest within the age range 56-60 from Uttoxeter, had previously lived in the West Midlands area during the course of his career. He provided the interpretations “something baked” and “starting instructions” for the words butty and two-three respectively.

2 There was substantial knowledge concerning both traditional and modern dialect. See petty and off-side as examples below.

3 However, despite traditional dialect being uderstood and used by a varied age range, there was some evidence of its limitation to the 40 and 50 plus age groups. See cale and raker for examples below.

4 Although most of the words provenanced were of dialect origin, respondents suggested that some of these were, in fact, slang, as is seen in the tables later.

5 There was evidence of prejudice within the 36-40 and 46-50 age groups and some respondents denied knowledge of several of the words. In many instances replies gave clear evidence to the contrary. In the following examples, the 4 lecturers all said that they did not know the words but their explanations clearly show that they did. So these replies provide a definite link between occupation (or class position) and their attitude to dialect:

Lecturer 36/40: mashin - “tea’s mashin/making tea”

Lecturer 36/40: keggy-handed - “cack handed”

Lecturer 36/40: wench - “er’s a good looking wench”

mashin - “eet’s mashin wench”

yed - “mind me yed”

Lecturer 46/50: tow-rag - “toe rag”

To give a flavour of the research, I have provided 23 Staffordshire dialect words from the language investigation, together with their provenanced details and respondents’ own interpretations. Some words, like wench, bring out respondents’ prejudices or possible reasons for their dislike of certain words. I have also included some words suggested by respondents or confirmed by provenance to be of slang use rather than dialect.

Is dialect dying out? It became clear from the investigation that both modern and traditional dialect continue to survive despite some changes in meaning over several decades. Evidence also suggests that traditional dialect, dating in some instances from Beowulf’s time, continue in use alongside modern forms. Changes in rural and industrial activities have not always caused dialect words to die out. In many cases the meanings vary from, or interlink with, modern terminology. For examples, see fettle, petty, snappin, slaggin and butty below. Dialect words are perhaps not so much in danger of rapidly disappearing as is often thought to be the case. Taken as a whole, the English language has been the subject of many changes throughout its history but that does not necessarily mean that the language as we know it is beginning to die out. These changes have occurred from earliest times - since the Celts first settled in the British Isles. Successive invasions by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Danes and Normans have increasingly ripened the English language with synonyms (words of similar meaning). We only have to open a dictionary to see the vast array of words available. For example, the Anglo-Saxons had only one word ‘king’. The Normans gave us the synonyms ‘sovereign’, ‘majesty’ and ‘crown’.

Unfortunately, too little research and too few local publications limit our knowledge of this fascinating and rewarding subject. Additional research into traditional and modern dialect in other areas of Staffordshire can provide a wealth of additional information. However, the history of dialect is an equally enthralling area of investigation in its own right.

I have only succeeded in scratching the surface. Staffordshire is just one of many regions awaiting thorough investigation. Readers are invited to undertake their own research. You will find local people only too willing to assist you with your research. Their comments will surprise and entertain you and, of course, it is fun to do. A word of warning: do not take the text books too literally! For example, maps show boundary lines which cannot be taken at face value. By the time of publication, the boundary lines may already have changed as words ‘skip over the borders’, either because people travel greater distances to work in neighbouring dialect regions, or they take up residence in other areas. The boundary lines are, therefore, only meant as a guide only to dialect use in the counties of England.

Good luck with your research. I look forward to reading about dialect in the Audley area in a future edition of the Audley Historian!

Select Bibliography:

Brockett, John Trotter: A Glossary of North Country Words in Use With

Their Etymology and Affinity to Other Languages (1829)

Levitt, JH: Staffordshire Dialect Glossaries (Univ. Keele, 1968)

Oxford English Dictionary

Trudgill, P: The Dialects of England (Blackwell, 1993)

Wilson, David: Staffordshire Dialect Words (1974)

Wright, Thomas: Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English (1856)

As a general guide, ‘OED’ is an abbreviation of the Oxford English Dictionary. (I have also provided the earliest recorded date.) Other abbreviations concern the area in which the words are known to be used, eg Dur = Durham; Yks = Yorkshire and Stf = Staffordshire. ‘Other sources’ are taken from 12 dialect reference books. Bracketed numbers in the ‘Respondents’ Comments’ column show their age ranges, and the word given as an example is typical of the way that age group interpreted it. Emboldened words provide the most popular interpretations across the age ranges. As space restrictions prevent a fully detailed listing of respondents’ comments, details are provided in abridged format.

Sc Irel Eng Lan Brks throughout age group: variants of fine/good, condition/form

TOW-RAG OED: tow - pottery mf, to smooth surface pain in the bum/thief (16/20)