When visiting the Halifax and Calderdale area, you will encounter local variants of standard English words and linguistic forms. See also the entry for Dialect.
As with most regional dialects, the local forms are more likely to be used by the older population, whilst the young adopt the received forms from radio, television and popular culture. The well-tuned ear might detect some variation in the pronunciation – and the dialect – in the various parts of Calderdale, but what follows will suffice on first contact.
Some of the notable features of the local pronunciation and accent include:
| The neutral schwa vowel |
In the imitated pronunciation used in Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion, the schwa vowel which is shown as
| ə |
is the indistinct sound heard as the first syllable in the standard English pronunciation of words such as
| about | |
| above | |
| around |
and as the final syllable in words such as
| mother | |
| bother | |
| rather |
and so on
| The & the glottal stop |
The glottal stop is frequently substituted for the definite article, the
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| I'm going t?shop | I'm going to the shop |
| Come in out o?cold | Come in out of the cold |
| See you in?morning | I'll see you in the morning |
The reduction of the to t' is less common in the Calderdale area:
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| I'm going t' t'shop | I'm going to the shop |
| Come in out o' t'cold | Come in out of the cold |
| See you in t'morning | I'll see you in the morning |
| Modified vowels |
Many vowels sounds are modified, lengthened and shortened
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Abaht | About |
| Allus | Always |
| Awkerd | Awkward |
| Bowt | Bought |
| Brek | Break |
| Brok, brokken | Broken |
| Coil | Coal |
| Coit | Coat |
| Cowd | Cold |
| Dee | Die |
| Dee-ad | Dead |
| Eyt | Eat |
| Feyt | Fight |
| Freeten, freyten | Frighten |
| Frozzen | Frozen, cold |
| Goo-in | Going |
| Hoil | Hole |
| Mek | Make |
| Nowt | Nothing |
| Meyt | Meat |
| Okkerd | Awkward |
| Owd | Old |
| Oer Ovver | Over |
| Owt | Anything |
| Reyt | Right |
| Shek | Shake |
| Speyk | Speak |
| Tee-a | Tea |
| Tek | Take |
| Thowt | Thought |
| Owt & Nowt |
The local pronunciation of owt and nowt – and similar words – is quite different from that represented by most stereotypical TV-northern accents.
The words do not rhyme with gout.
In both cases, the o is like that in standard hot, and the w has its usual sound. There is no equivalent sound in received English
| Feyt & Meyt |
In the local pronunciation, words such as feyt [fight] and meyt [meat] – and similar words – rhyme with the received pronunciation of eight not ate
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Eyt | Eat |
| Feyt | Fight |
| Meyt | Meat; this is not used for Meet |
| Reyt | Right |
| Speyk | Speak |
This is extended to the present participles:
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Eyting | Eating |
| Feyting | Fighting |
| Speyking | Speaking |
| Mek & Tek |
In the local pronunciation, words such as mek [make] and tek [take] – and similar words – rhyme with the received pronunciation of deck
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Brek | Break |
| Mek | Make |
| Shek | Shake |
| Tek | Take |
| Wek | Wake |
This is extended to the present participles:
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Brekkin | Breaking |
| Mekkin | Making |
| Shekkin | Shaking |
| Tekkin | Taking |
| Wekkin | Waking |
This vowel-change is not universally applied to the long a sound, so you are unlikely to find:
| Local form | Received English |
|---|---|
| Bek* | Bake |
| Cek* | Cake |
| Fek* | Fake |
| Flek* | Flake |
| Slek* | Slake |
| Rek* | Rake |
Could it be because these are weak regular verbs?
Page Ref: MMP132
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