Norfolk Dialect

The Norfolk dialect, also known as Broad Norfolk, is a dialect that was once spoken by those living in the county of Norfolk in England. Much of the distinctive vocabulary of Broad Norfolk has now died out and only the older generations use the fullest amount, so the speech of most of Norfolk is now more an accent than a dialect. Portrayal of the Norfolk dialect/accent in TV is often regarded as poor and the treatment of it in a TV Drama "All The King's Men" in part prompted the foundation of FOND (see below) Norfolk is popularised as a yod-dropping dialect where /ju:-/ is pronounced /u:-/. Other features of Norfolk are that "here" and "hair" (and "hare") are homophones while "daze" and "days" are not. There have been attempts to revive the Norfolk dialect. The Friends of Norfolk Dialect (FOND) is a group which formed in 1999 with the aim of preserving and promoting Broad Norfolk. The group campaigns for the recognition of Norfolk as a dialect, and for the teaching of "Norfolk" in schools. FOND aims to produce a digital archive of recordings of people speaking the dialect's traditional words. In July 2001 the group was awarded 4000 from the National Lottery in aid of recording equipment for this purpose. A typical example of the Norfolk accent and vocabulary can be heard in the songs by Allan Smethurst, aka The Singing Postman. Smethurst's authentic Norfolk accent is well known from the songs he released in the 1960s, such "Hev Yew Gotta Loight Bor?". The Norfolk dialect should not be confused with Pitcairn-Norfolk, a second language of the Pitcairn Islands, or with Norfuk, the language used on Norfolk Island.

Famous Speakers

  • Horatio Nelson - "I am a Norfolk man , and glory in being so", also said to Captain Hardy "Do you anchor." (an order, not a question in the Dialect)

Example vocabulary

Dialectal Words
Bishy barney bee
ladybird
Bor (pronounced 'buh' in West Norfolk)
a term of address, boy or neighbour
Crockin
crying
Dickey
donkey
Dodman
snail
Dudder
shiver
Ill a bed an wus up
Very sick
Mawkin
scarecrow
Mawther
young woman
Rum
odd
Squit
nonsense
Accented pronunciation
Gret
great, big, or significant
Loight
light
Troshin
originally 'threshing,' now working in general

External links

 

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