Tag: Dialect

The past:my old Lancashire way of talking

We always called people in the family,our so and so,our  dad, our mam,our Lizzie.

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Why did dad die,our mam? Did God need ‘im,mam? What for?
Oh,be quiet our Kath an’ stop blatherin’ an’ ‘arpin’ on at mi like that…Am tired mekkin’ ye dinner an’ tea an’ our Annie’s commin’ too
Will we have petato cakes,mam?
Y’ll have nowt if ye keep on yappin’.
But,mam,I like talkin’. Why don’t you like it,mam?
Curiousity killed the cat.
No,mam it was you,You sent for that man from Vernon Street and ‘ad the cat and its kittens destroyed except fe our Ginger.
Now, stop tellin’ lies and do the washin’ up.
Am not tellin’ lies…A saw it
Ye’r a very naughty girl.. I’ll slap ye if ye don’t shut ye trap now.
Oh,Mam,don’t ‘it me. again..
Well,shurrup then.. do as yer told.. be a good girl.
Awlright,mam.Shall a wash up fe ye?
That’s right,yer a gud girl really.Just be#ave yerself and keep quiet.Ye nearly grown up now.A’ll show ye ‘ow to knit socks soon.. yr 9 now aren’t ye?
That I am,mam.Am a big girl
An’ ye brain’s too big…. go and mop the steps now and put the white stone on… it’ll be the toilet next.Clean it before grandad come

‘ow Ah used te speek

A modern reenactment of a Viking battle
A modern reenactment of a Viking battle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Photo0920 frozen 1When ah were in’t town
Ah met sum folk from up our road.
She sed,you’ve got a verry educated accent
and moreover you luk just like wa daughter in law,
She’s Danish.Am sure you must be related to her.
Ah,sed,the Vikings did get to Ireland..
I expect am descended from them.
Actually i wasn’t talking like that at first
But when they said,you have no accent I suddenly found
If Ah shut mi nostrils and kept my mouth barely open
Ah cud talk just like I used to..
But mi face is configured differently.
When I got home,I wer tellin’ mi husband
but he finds it distressin’ like;
Cud be it reminds ‘im of his dad and mam
And all the uther folk he knew when eh wer growin’ up
Bit it hurts now he’s not got them any more.
Am I putting on an act?
Which is real,what I once was,
or what I became.
Well,luv,ah’ve got numor to say now…Ta ta.
Ooh,it’s rainin’ again and the sheets are out in the backstreet.
Oh,bugger.

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