Bill Griffiths was a very modest but nevertheless remarkable man. This tireless campaigner for appreciation of our regional dialect, passed away in 2007.
"He exemplified the task of poetry without ever wishing to be treat as a poet. 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 folk loricist" - Nicholas Johnson, The Independent.
Arguably no-one has done more to collate/research our local dialect words and phrases and his books (particularly his Dictionary of North East Dialect) are his great legacy.
Bill was not a local man, he was born in Middlesex and moved to the North East in 1990.
He adopted the area and loved the region and it's people, particularly the mining community, with it's sub-dialect, pitmatic. I suppose it was typical of the man that he should settle in Seaham, a town with a rich mining heritage.
Bill tragically died suddenly of a heart attack. He was only fifty nine. The region has lost one of it's great crusaders and he is greatly missed by all those who knew him and respected him so much.
Visit Bill's 'Durham and Tyneside Dialect Group' website - go to links page for access.

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The English language has many regional variations or dialects. Dialect embodies three basic features -
1) words unique to the area
2) nationally used words used locally in a unique way
3) the way the words are spoken.

The dialects of Northumberland, Durham and Tyneside are unique. The following is a brief history of how it seems to have evolved.

The English language has it’s origins in Anglo Saxon (Old English or OE) and still many OE words (or, to be more accurate, close derivatives of them) remain in national use including one well worn swear word/obscenity in particular!
Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) invaded England after the fall of the Roman Empire and gained overall control from the 5th century AD and apart from the loss of control resulting from the Viking Invasion in the north of England, this remained so until the Norman Invasion in 1066. Whilst the Anglo Saxons retained control there was relative consistency of language throughout England with variations in the south (West Saxon OE) and the north (Anglian, comprising of Mercian and Northumbrian). Even that minimised as late West Saxon became the written norm nationally, in the late 10th century.
It seems to have been the Viking invasion of the 9th century and then the Norman invasion of the 11th century which had a destabilising effect on this relatively uniform situation.
The Vikings brought many of their own words (Old Norse - ON) into the north (some spread into southern speech too) and then, perhaps more critically, the Normans introduced Norman French (as well as the pre-existing Latin) as the language of government, the judiciary, literature etc. So the business of the ruling class was conducted in a different language to that of the ordinary people. One can see that this could lead to a gradual breakdown in consistency of language, as it evolved, from local area to area. So throughout the middle ages (11th to 13th centuries) divergence of language occurred particularly between north and south. Major changes in the grammar of the language developed too. This was the period of middle English (ME).
The Angevin Empire broke up in the early 13th century. Anglo-Normans had to commit either to England or to France. This reversal opened the way for a potential revival of a consistent form of English language and also, following the War of the Roses, national unity became a more pressing political matter. In that situation one may have expected dialects to erode as speech became standardised nationally again (with central government control, the invention of the printing press, the growth of grammar schools and teaching norms etc.) but surprisingly, not so.
By the 17th/18th centuries dialects were being closely linked to regional identity with works written in dialect appearing and even interest in dialect by academics (eg. The Royal Society).
Ordinary working folk were becoming more literate, more politically aware and would have a strong sense of belonging, dialect being seen as an integral part of that feeling. Hence the rising status of dialect with this ‘legitimacy’ and perhaps as a resistance to central governmental controls and attempted influence.
Dialect in the North East was to be further developed by subsequent upheavals, as follows -
1) The development of mining and the eventual industrial revolution. There was an influx of rural/farming families (and their language) into the growing urban areas. In the mines a unique sub-dialect (pitmatic) developed.
2) Immigration of Irish and Scottish families looking for work in the heavy industries.
3) The keel men had strong Scottish (Edinburgh area) connections.
4) During the 17th to 19th centuries there were close maritime ties with Holland which seems to have introduced some Dutch words into our local dialect.

SUMMARY
Whilst the influence of the Viking invasion may not have quite been so influential in Northumberland and Durham (unlike Yorkshire and Cumbria) nevertheless it still was an important factor. The relative geographic isolation of the north east (before the development of transport systems) perhaps created a situation where there was strong retention of OE combined with ON influences. The Norman (Anglo French) influence was to a much lesser degree and hence during the ME period our dialect developed in it’s own distinct way. The growth of the Great Northern Coalfield and influx of rural, then Scottish and Irish workers bringing their language and dialect added to the grand mix. It is from all these influences that Northumbria today has it’s own unique local dialect. Present day rapid forms of communication, the computer age, the media, globalisation etc. may erode dialect (and certainly many unique local words are disappearing) but despite this our dialect remains the primary and central identifier of the area we live in.

Acknowledgement - to the late Bill Griffiths of the Durham & Tyneside Dialect Research Group/Centre for Northern Studies - see links. For definitive works on our dialect check out his Dictionary of North East Dialect and other publications.
The information I have given above owes much to his research.

Roly Veitch
28th May 2008
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