Even if changes and differences in grammar and pronunciation are visible and complicated, differences in vocabulary (words and expressions) may affect hardly the communication between the speakers of the dominant language and the dialect.
During history, dominant societies have taken possession of different territories as in England happened. That is why, the Geordie dialect, has been influenced from different dominant societies and their languages in use. In fact, a great number of Scandinavian and French words penetrated in England’s own language. However, there are still many words and expressions which origin remains unknown.
To continue with the explanation, some words will be mentioned so that the differences that an English speaker can find when speaking with a Geordie are clarified. In order to do so, the variations that have arisen can be divided into four groups: the first one is formed by those which roots are probably set in Old English period, the second one by those which roots are set in Scandinavian period, the third one by those set in an unknown root and finally, other origins which can be set in Angle or French origins.
Root in Old English period:
The term ‘bairn’ was used before the 12th century and seems to come from Old English ‘bearn’. Nowadays Geordie people continue using it for the English standard term ‘child’. Something similar happens with the term ‘canny’ which roots probably come from Old English word ‘cunnan’. However, in OE period it used to mean ‘to know’ while in Present day English (PDE) its meaning has changed to ‘pleasant’ or ‘very’. (Ervanová, 2011, p. 20)The verb ‘to go’ in OE was expressed by ‘gán’, word that Geordie continue using.
However, other words such as ‘home’ have different ways of expressing and lay on different roots as well: ‘hyem’, ‘yem’ or ‘hame’. The first two options have Scandinavian origin while the last one is derived from Old English ‘hām’. However, it is worth mentioning that this last one is more common in Scotland than in Tyneside (Ervanová, 2011, p. 21).
If we look into set expressions, Geordie use ‘What’s the crack?’ for asking ‘What’s new?’ or ‘How are you?’ (Ervanová, 2011, p. 20). Old English ‘cracian’ meant ‘relevance’ and that is why Geordie maintains this usage, in order to ask for new or relevant information.
Scandinavian root:
Terms such as ‘axle teeth’ and ‘blather’ used in Geordie for ‘molars’ and ‘talk nonsense’ respectively, come from Scandinavian words ‘joxl’ and ‘blathra’ (Simpson, 2015). From the word ‘blather’ there is a really used expression in Geordie: ‘What ye blatherin’ an aboot?’ (Simpson, 2015), which for an English native speaker would be hard to understand.
Unknown root:
This group is one of the most interesting ones because the linguistics have not found consistent roots to group them. In addition, some of the words in here are due to everyday usage that has established differently:
The term ‘Aw’ is used for referring to oneself: ‘I’m going home’ in Geordie is expressed: ‘Aw’s gan yem’’. Something similar happens to the usage of ‘wey’ (wey-aye)’, which in Standard English means ‘well’ (well yes). Another characteristic feature is the usage of ‘eee’ for exclamation of surprise as in ‘Eee, aw Knaa!’ (Simpson, 2015) for ‘Whoa, I know!’.
However, other word’s roots remain unknown as in ‘hadaway’. The dictionary suggests a connection with the expression ‘hold away’ or ‘come on!’ as a phrase of encouragement for people (Simpson, 2015).
Others:
As already commented in this blog, the Geordie 80% of words have Angle origin (Geordie Origins, n.d.) so most of the terms used by these people will be part of the English language. However, as can be seen different invasions and everyday usages influenced the language and some differences developed.
Other Geordie words such as ‘ashet’, come from French language. In this case, French usage of ‘assiette’ for referring to a dish on which a pie is served (Simpson, 2015). Romani origin has also been suggested for words such as ‘gadgie’(cheap) or ‘baari’ (excellent) (Ervanová, 2011, p. 20). Last but not least, is important to take into account the indigenous terms which remain in local songs or legends such as ‘hinny’ (a kind of pancake), ‘worm’ (monster), ‘mazer’ (an eccentric person) among others.
However, there is a long list of different terms that can be found in Geordie. So for further information there is a great online dictionary (mentioned in the references list) where more words examples can be found. In addition, this video gives more evidences of the changes from English to Geordie:
References:
Simpson, D. (2015). A Geordie Dictionary. Roots, dialect, and place-names. Englandsnortheast.co.uk. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/GeordieDictionary.html
Ervanová, P. (2011). The Intelligibility of the Geordie Dialect. Masaryk University. (Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis)
YouTube. (2015). How to speak like a Geordie. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifC79RmUWRY&feature=youtu.be %5BAccessed 27 May 2016].
YouTube. (2014). Geordie Vs. London. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvKyTGKuGaU&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 27 May 2016].
Geordie dialect 