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[personal profile] untonuggan
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My mum is from Yorkshire, in the northern part of the United Kingdom. The first time my partner went to Yorkshire with me she had a difficult time understanding what many of my family members were saying, because Yorkshire has a very particular dialect. I've grown up hearing it, although my mum's is mostly gone except for when she talks to family in the UK. People with a very strong dialect are said to have a "broad" Yorkshire accent.

Here is the "unofficial anthem" of Yorkshire sung in the Yorkshire dialect, to give you a sense of both the Yorkshire sense of humor and how people talk. My mom and my aunts and uncles have all sung it round the dinner table before.



Lyrics and their translation into "standard English" (from Wikipedia)

Yorkshire lyrics
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee?
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee?
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee?
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
Tha's been a cooartin' Mary Jane
Tha's bahn' to catch thy deeath o` cowd
Then us'll ha' to bury thee
Then t'worms'll come an` eyt thee up
Then t'ducks'll come an` eyt up t'worms
Then us'll go an` eyt up t'ducks
Then us'll all ha' etten thee
That's wheear we get us ooan back
Translation
Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw you?
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw you?
Where have you been since I last saw you?
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
You have been courting Mary Jane
You are bound to catch your death of cold
Then we will have to bury you
Then the worms will come and eat you up
Then the ducks will come and eat up the worms
Then we will go and eat up the ducks
Then we will have eaten you
That's where we get our own back
Some singers add the responses "without thy trousers on" after the fourth line of each verse, and "where the ducks play football" after the seventh. Other variations include "where the nuns play rugby", "where the sheep fly backwards", "where the ducks fly backwards", "where the ducks wear trousers", and "an' they've all got spots".
Finally, a picture of Ilkley moor itself:

Ilkey Moor


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