Ha’way man, get it right – BT’s book spelling mistake
Eyebrows have been raised over the latest phone book for Sunderland – in particular its spelling of a famous North East expression.
Whilemuchslimmerthan its predecessors and not as widely used as in the past, BT still produces physical phone books for customers.
The latest Durham and Wearside edition has been arriving in homes and offices across the area in recent weeks.
But some Mackems have been niggled by its use of the Tyneside spelling in ‘Howay man! It’s your local Phone Book!’ rather than ‘Ha’way’.
The word in question means “come on!” or can be used as an exhortation to encourageparticipantsinsporting contests.
The expression ‘Howay (sic) the lads’ is written inside theplayers’tunnelatStJames’ Park in Newcastle
Meanwhile ‘Ha’way the lads’ is emblazoned in the seats of the North Stand in the Sunderland Stadium of Light.
PhilCurtis,secretaryofthe SunderlandAntiquarianSociety and a former headteacher, joked: “Wearside, being somewhat more refined and cultured than Tyneside, will obviously opt for the correct pronunciation and spelling.”
ABTspokespersontoldthe Echo: “The BT Phonebook is all about local connections, so we wanted to use it to celebrate the range of regional variations in language and dialects across the UK.
“The British Library has helped us to highlight some
local greetings or phrases on thefrontcoversoflocalPhone Books.
“Thebookscoverlargegeographicalareassoit'simpossible to capture every variation, but we hope we've helped celebrate and draw attention to
therangeofdifferentdialects.”
It is not the first time that the spelling of the phrase has raised intrigue or caused controversy.
WhenUSPresidentJimmy Carter visited the North East in 1977, calling in at Doxford
Park and Washington, he famouslysaid“Ha’waythelads!” on television, although argumentspersistastohowhepronounced it.
In 1973 ITV commentator Brian Moore got it completely wrong when Sunderland captainBobbyKerrwaspresented withtheFACupafterafamous victory over Leeds United at Wembley Stadium.
As Kerr lifted the trophy Moore shouted “Hawa the lads!”, which was more akin to the dialect of Scotland.