Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HERE’S US.. WE LOVE OUR LOCAL DIALECT.. SO WE DO
Belfast lingo as strong as ever despite social media influence
BELFAST is still “up to its oxters” in its quirky local dialect despite the growing influence of the US and social media.
The city’s colourful catchphrases, as proudly used by the likes of Corrie’s Jim Mcdonald and Bernie from Belfast Girls, are withstanding change (so they are) because of the strength of the local identity.
Even university graduates, who might otherwise ditch their down to earth idioms for Middle English, are clinging to their linguistic roots.
Although many have given up their “guddies” for trainers, and some are divided over whether “scundered” means embarrassed or fed up, the city remains largely steadfast in its lingo.
Ulster University linguistics professor Alison Henry, who specialises in the Belfast dialect, said she believed the city was rightly proud of its “colourful” speech.
She added: “Sometimes people think they do not talk properly but the Belfast dialect is something people are interested in. It is good to make people a bit proud of their local way of talking.
“The use of local forms goes much higher up the social scale in Belfast.
“If you are highly-educated and you are in England you would use few of these phrases, but they continue to be used in Belfast because of the strength of the local identity.
“Maybe if you knew somebody who went to university in England who came back speaking Middle English you would think they had airs and graces.
“There is a great emphasis in Belfast of being able to tell stories well and people often tell stories against themselves. It is all about having the craic.
“However, it does naturally happen that some expressions disappear and other new ones come in over time.”
The professor said fewer children might now describe their trainers as “guddies”, or say “stickin’ out” instead of great.
And even though the local dialect is heavily influenced by Ulster Scots and Irish, Prof Henry revealed people across the city were united in how they speak.
She added: “There is a perception that the West Belfast accent is a Catholic accent but that is not the case. There is no religious divide.”
Prof Henry said she was inspired to specialise in the local dialect by her grandmother and her sisters who were “broad Belfast speakers from the Springfield Road”.
She distinctly remembers the dialogue among the women who spent their working lives in the local linen factory.
Prof Henry recalled: “I remember them saying, ‘I am going to the shops for to buy bread. Go you on ahead. Go you away on.’ It is a common quirk in Belfast to put a ‘you’ in those commands or to add ‘for’. That always struck me.”