Lexis

Trudgill (1990) remarks on the prodigious variation in vocabulary arising from both the historical settlement patterns of the various European invaders and the later linguistic changes following settlement (see Historical Development of Yorkshire Dialect). Trudgill (1990) and Kellett (1992; 1994) cite the following examples of lexical (word) variations falling within the three Yorkshire Ridings

Trudgill (1990) also highlights the remarkable resemblance that some dialect words have in relation to their Scandinavian counterparts, a testimony to their historical origins:

Some words in Yorkshire dialect at first sight seem to be standard English but, as Kellett (1992) points out, " they do not mean what they appear to mean." He gives the following examples:

flags	not banners to be waved, but paving stones.
gang	not a group of people, but the verb ‘to go’.
real	a description of something good or outstanding, not a reference to genuineness.
brat	not necessarily a child, this could be an apron.
starved	relating to feeling cold rather than a state of hunger.
sharp	used in the sense of ‘quickly’ rather than having a point or edge
right	employed not only to indicate direction but as an intensifier in the sense of ‘very’.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Yorkshire dialect is the method of sheep-scoring (counting). Witty (1927) observes that this system is associated only with Yorkshire and parts of Cumberland (Cumbria), an area equating roughly to the ancient Brythonic localities of Elmete, Loidis and Craven; the last bastions of the Celts in Yorkshire.

From comparisons made with, inter alia, Welsh, Gaelic, Erse (Irish) Old Norse and Old English, Witty concludes that the sheep-scoring numerals survive from the original Celtic language.

Halliday and Umpleby (1949: 168) provide the following examples of some of the numerals employed. There are other variations associated with the Craven, Knaresborough and Mashamshire areas

	Swaledale	Wensleydale	Nidderdale
one	yahn	yan	yain
two	tayhn	tean	tain
three	tether	tither	eddero
four	mether	mither	peddero
five	mimph	pip	pitts
six	hithher	teaser	tayter
seven	lithher	leaser	later
eight	anver	catra	ovvero
nine	danver	horna	covvero
ten	dic	dick	dix
eleven	yahndic	yan-dick	yain-dix
twelve	tayhndic	tean-dick	tain-dix
thirteen	tetherdic	tither-dick	eddero-dix
fourteen	metherdic	mither-dick	peddero-dix
fifteen	mimphit (or mump)	bumper	bumfitt
sixteen	yahn-a-mimphit	yan-a-bum	yain-o-bumfitt
seventeen	tayhn-a-mimphit	tean-a-bum	tain-o-bumfitt
eighteen	tether-a-mimphit	tither-a-bum	eddero-o-bumfitt
nineteen	mether-a-mimphit	mither-a-bum	peddero-o-bumfitt
twenty	jigit	jigger	jiggit or giggit

It is however not only purely words which contribute to the distinctiveness of the Yorkshire dialect but also the variety of idiomatic expression. The following examples are taken from Kellett (1992).

allus at t’ last push up	always at the last moment.
nobbut a mention	just a small amount.
it’s nut jannock	it’s not fair.
’e wor ’ard on	he was fast asleep.
livin’ tally / ower t’ brush	living together as man and wife but not married.
tek a good likeness	be very photogenic.
It caps owt	it beats everything.
goin’ dahn t’ nick	ill and not going to get better.
a reight gooid sooart	a really kind person
Ah wor fair starved	I really was cold

Trudgill (1990) observes that, whilst variation in the vocabulary of modern dialect is still extant, the differences are much less than those which occur in traditional dialect. He considers that, in modern English, vocabulary is becoming increasingly more uniform (1990: 114). Wakelin (1977) suggests that the phonetic (pronunciation) and semantic (meaning) 'disintegration of words 'may particularly occur 'in boundary areas between dialects'. Using the Yorkshire word for starling, he provides an example of 'how the phonemic variants �.may provide a series of easy transitional steps from one to another across a border area' (1977: 73-4; 76-7). The position is summarized in the following table which illustrates how, moving westward from the Yorkshire coast, sound-changes occur in different parts of the word.

One example of variation in meaning, noted by Rawling (2000), relates to the dialect word nawpin. Kellett (1994) ascribes this word to the WR and defines its meaning as : 'a free handout, tip, or something cadged' (1994: 122). However, Rawling found that the word was also used in the NER to describe 'the act of hitting someone' (2000: 31).

Halliday, W.J. and Umpleby, A. S. (eds) (1949) The White Rose Garland, London: Dent and Sons.

Kellett, A. (1994) The Yorkshire Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition and Folklore, Otley: Smith Settle.

Rawling, B.J.H. (2000) A Study of Present-day Yorkshire Dialect, BA Dissertation, College of Ripon and York St John, York

Wakelin, M. F. (1977) English Dialects: An Introduction, Revised Edition, London: The Athlone Press, University of London.

Witty, J.R. (1927) Sheep and Sheep-scoring. In Kellett, A. and Dewhirst, I .(1997) A Century of Yorkshire Dialect, Otley: Smith Settle.

Standard English	North Riding	East Riding	West Riding
sweets	goodies	goodies	spice
ear	lug	lug	tab
armpit	oxter	armpit	armhole

Standard English	Yorkshire Dialect	Modern Norwegian
play	lake	leike
flea	lop	loppe
fist	nieve	neve
child	bairn	barn