DIALECT can be divided conveniently into four separate sections: Pronunciation, Dialect Words, Construction and the Archaic Form, similar to the King James version of the Bible.

Pronunciation

Firstly, the "air" sound as in "spare," "chair," "pair" and "air" itself, etc, is pronounced as in "car." Parallel with this is another group of "air" sounds, such as in "pair," "chair," "there" and "where," which can also take the long "ee" sound of "eel", "reel," etc. I don't know why this is so, and it's a matter of taste which version is correct.

A similar situation arises with the "igh" sound in such words as "light," "right," and "night." Most of them take the double "ee" sound, for example ""leet," "reet" and "neet." But some take the long "ay" sound, as in "late," so we have "height" becoming "hayt," and "right" in some cases becoming "rayt." Again, it is a matter of feel.

In some words, the final "r" is rolled or emphasised. In one special case, the word "doff" is pronounced "dorf."

It is often said that Lancashire vowels are broad, meaning they are longer or sometimes more guttural than in Southern English.

Then, there is the pronunciation of "nought," "bought," "thought," and suchlike, as "nowt," "bowt" and "thowt."

Strangely, "caught" becomes "catched" and "taught" becomes "larnt" (learned). "Bowl" is pronounced like "cowl," while "old" and "cold" are similar. There are other differences, but these are the main ones.

Dialect

There are many dialect words, of which I have used but a few in my novels, for instance "fawce," "mournt" (mustn't).

Dialect

Introduction
Construction
Archaic form
Stories

THIS is not a comprehensive study of the pronunciation and construction of the Lancashire dialect and I don't suggest it would or could apply to any time before 1900.

It is the mill talk of three generations - those too old to have fought in the Great War, those who did fight it in, and those who fought in the Second World War.

It is the language I grew up with at home, at school and in the wheelgate. It varied from town to town, and varied greatly between adjoining counties and districts.