GEORDIE ACCENT & CULTURE

[Real Geordie]

Like Lee Hall I was born in Newcastle and moved elsewhere within the UK to seek fame and fortune. Unlike him I failed miserably on both counts. I do however return back home three or four times a year to keep in touch with my roots. I thought it might be of some interest to those who view the BETM Live DVD (or maybe in the future a new UK tour) to understand the very basics of the Geordie accent, and to a lesser extent the culture which gives rise to it. There are any number of video clips on Youtube, but these are often efforts by comedians from elsewhere within the UK who over exaggerate and distort the language for comic effect, or native speakers who revel in speaking as fast, and in as strong an accent as possible, taking perverse pride in being unintelligible . I have always found that repetition of phrases to the point that they become familiar to the ear helps a lot when learning a language. Hence the following clips.

The term Geordie is specific to inhabitants of Newcastle upon Tyne. However, the term is used by outsiders in a more loose way to refer generally to people from the north east of England. Because Lee Hall was born in Newcastle his Billy dialogue is authentically Newcastle Geordie - you can hear the same speech patterns in any street there today. However, Billy is set in Easington which is south of Newcastle and Sunderland (as the crow flies about 20 miles Newcastle to Easington), and is not strictly a Geordie accent. Someone from outside the region could never tell the difference - the differences are often very subtle. So, when I use the term “Geordie” I am referring to the people of the north east region generally - I am sure this was the intention of Lee Hall. Whether from Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, Middlesbrough, Easington or the many towns and villages surrounding, we are all hewn from the same seam.

The north east, because the region is tucked away in the top right hand corner of England, almost isolated from other conurbations, has managed to change at a slower pace than other parts of the UK, and its accents and culture are better preserved. Like many areas of heavy industry around the world - coal mining, shipbuilding etc. - there is a macho culture of heavy drinking, admiration of sporting prowess, and also warmly welcoming strangers and visitors to the area and a self deprecating sense of humour. Billy would still feel at home were he to return today. Even in the coldest winter months it is a common sight to see people drinking outside bars in T-shirts. The lasses will wear the skimpiest of dresses. Why ? A combination of lunacy and refusal to be beaten by the weather. This is the theme of the following clip, a spoof on Scott of the Antarctic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxXbpHeIrUc

And even on BBC news from a few weeks ago !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-4323 ... -countries

The following clips just give some general expressions and pronunciation :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bISbltwlMHo

Important and frequent words in Geordie - ganning = going, and hyem = home. Billy leaving his first dance class (Mrs W) “where are you going” ? (Billy) On DVD - “I’m going home”, but on the UK tour this often became “am ganning home” though hyem was not ever used to my knowledge. Note “am” - not I am or I’m, So “am ganning hyem” is the most faithful . The pronunciation of the letter “o” is very deliberate and elongated in Geordie. Watch a number of clips to pick this up. Billy to Michael before he puts lipstick on him “Oh,no !” As the guy in the video says, just add “like” to the end of any sentence you want, as a pointless tag. (Billy) - what was he [Grandad] like, like ?” Same with the word “man”. This is a meaningless addition, and can even apply to a woman. It is not gender specific. Husband to wife - “hurry up man, or we’ll be late”. “Wor” = “our”, and “why aye man” simply means yes - “man” is optional here, you can just say “why aye” or even simpler “aye”. Words like town, down or brown consistently become toon, doon or broon. Words like dead, deaf or head consistently become deed, deef or heed. Words like round, sound or pound (£) consistently become roond, soond or poond - sometimes nowadays pund. “Give us twenty poond, am ganning doon the toon”. Note that the word “us” or sometimes pronounced “iz means “me”.

Changing tack, for our friends from Hamburg, some views on the matter from a Professor of German Studies at Newcastle University. What does she know, like ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS33IJrGJ8

Another one for our German friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phIR36Tmcrg

The term “marra” is an old mining term to describe your mate working with you, now just referring to a friend. Alright becomes “ar-reet” and “canny” means basically good. A canny lad or lass is someone you like, and it can also apply to objects - he’s done a canny job on that. This is a different meaning from the Scottish word canny, which means careful with your money, or cannae (?) which is a shortening of cannot.

Deka Walmsley is a fully paid up Geordie, and of course there is his conversation with posh dad “Aye well it’s wor forst time like yer nar”. In standard English “Yes, well it’s our first time like you know”. So it could alternatively have been “Aye man well it’s ...etc”, The word “like” is superfluous, just thrown in.

This final accent clip is just someone speaking and using various words mentioned beforehand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uur3btDYBXM

The intention of providing these clips is not so you can speak Geordie, but find it easier to understand, by recognising different words and expressions. It has possibly bored you to near death, but if anyone needs an explanation of dialogue either from the original film or musical, I’ll help if I can.

David

[madashell]

Thanks David, it’s been real helpful like.

[Real Geordie]

An opportunity to further attune your ear to the Geordie accent. This time a spoof on Downton Abbey and social benefit fraud. The advantage to this clip is that there is continuous “normal” conversation, rather than just random phrases. Note how words like “like” and “man” are dropped into sentences, and are meaningless. There are a number of references which will mean nothing to a non-UK listener, briefly noted below :-

See the clip from Get Carter (1971) first. This was a cult movie starring Michael Caine, as an underworld hit man from London, known for his distinctive cockney accent. He returns to Newcastle to avenge the death of his brother. Although predominantly filmed in Newcastle, the closing sequence in both the film and trailer is shot on the beach at Blackhall Colliery which is about 3.5 miles along the coast from Easington Colliery - at that time of course both working pits. Waste from these coastal pits was just dumped into the sea which became highly polluted. The beaches have since made a remarkable recovery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV4XrUDBlfM

Branston Pickle - a well known brand of chutney or sweet pickle, great with bread, cheese and a pasty !

The dole - unemployment benefit paid by the state

Downton Abbey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JBbGgzG2ao [14 minutes]

Changing tack completely, I have just discovered from newspaper archives that my great, great, grandfather was a strike breaker or “scab”. He lived and worked in a pit village, again about 3.5 miles from Easington, at a time before coal was mined at Easington. In 1879 the pit was on strike, and it seems he agreed to return to work accepting a reduction in wages. He was confronted in a pub by a group of other miners, and tempers flared. He was severely beaten and according to medical evidence at the trial injuries to his head were potentially life threatening. Two of his attackers were sentenced to 18 months hard labour. The more background reading I get through, the sheer hell of living and working in the mining industry at that time, and later, becomes obvious.

[Borrobil]

I’m pleased you don’t stick to the Geordie label for Billy's accent. People south of the Tyne may not appreciate being called Geordies. To make it complicated, I don’t think the Easington accent was Mackem (Sunderland) but most likely an inland accent nearer to Durham - Pitmatic. Mining started west of Durham well inland before the 1800’s and mining communities moved step by step, to the East, until Easington opened in 1899 probably bringing their accent with them. I am pretty sure I remember Lee Hall saying they spoke Pitmatic.
Map https://youtu.be/VUCIJoLz2ao?t=291 hit pause. include the time stamp 4min 51secs.and pause there is only one map to see.
A good insight into mining communities and the real accent is that of the real life folk singer coincidentally named Jack Elliot from the village of Birtley very near Easington.

You can listen to a nephew of Jack’s, coincidentally called Billy here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCKDghlA9w . (but that’s another thread.
http://billyelliottheforum.me.uk/forum/ ... of+Birtley)

The recording of the Jack and his friends is here. https://folkways.si.edu/elliot-family/t ... mithsonian. You can download the sleeve notes free. It has a Glossary at the end, and lots of chat about mining in the early sixties.
If you can even follow what they are saying, you are doing well.