Event Details

The RHC is cancelling the planned study day on Dialect and Regional History - from the Vikings to the voices of modernity.

Dialect is a living phenomenon, part of the contemporary culture of North West England. It also encompasses layers of the region’s history, dating back over a millennium. In this Study Day, we explore how dialect contributes to our understanding of the history of North West England.We begin with consideration of Viking-Age vocabulary and dialect terms in place-names. We then explore the dialect poets who responded to the rapid social and economic changes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. To round off the day, we will be treated to recitations of historical poetry, celebrating dialect from across North West England.

9:30-10:00 Dialect and the Historian: Introduction - Dr Fiona Edmonds (Lancaster University)

10.00-11:00 Vikings in your Vocabulary: Tracing the Old Norse Influence on Northern English - Dr Richard Dance (Cambridge University)

11.00-11.30 Coffee/tea& biscuits

11.30-12:30 The Language of the Cumbrian Landscape: dialect in Lake District place-names - Professor Angus Winchester (Lancaster University)

12:30-1:30 Lunch*

1:30-2:30 Dialect Poetry and the Lancashire Cotton Famine - Dr Simon Rennie (Exeter University)

2.30-3.00 Tea/coffee & biscuits

3.00- 3:30 'Oor Mak o' Tawk’: recitations of historical poetry in Lakeland dialect - Jean Scott-Smith (Lakeland Dialect Society)

3.30-4:00 Edwin Waugh: the Lancashire Burns - Sid Calderbank (The Edwin Waugh Dialect Society)

4.00 Close of Study Day

In light of increasing concerns about Coronavirus, we announce with regret that we have decided to cancel this Regional Heritage Centre event. Some supporters may have already booked for the Study Day on April 4th, and we will contact those people to arrange a refund. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We hope to reschedule the events for autumn 2020. We are keeping our May 16th and June 13th events under review, and we will provide updates in future Newsletters.