Aal Aboot Geordie

Intended as an informative but light and accessible exploration of all things Geordie, this book examines the origins of the Geordie dialect of Tyneside, through its Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and Dutch roots. It includes an A-Z glossary of Geordie words along with explanations of the Northumberland burr and topographical words like chare, lonnen, heugh and haugh. The book examines the Geordie dialect's relationship to the Scots language and Geordie's place in a wider European context. The book includes a table comparing Geordie and north European words including those of Scandinavia. The two main theories explaining how the word Geordie came about are examined linking its roots to either the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 or the development of a miners' safety lamp - the Geordie lamp - by George Stephenson in 1815. Comparisons are made to the neighbouring dialects of Sunderland, Northumberland and Teesside and the book pinpoints the origins of local rivalries within the region. Some of the best-known Geordie songs are featured in the book including the Blaydon Races, Keel Row, Bonny Bobby Shafto and Cushie Butterfield with an explanation of their origins. There is a brief history of Newcastle Brown Ale, Newcastle United, the Geordie Netty and some examples of Geordie food. There are features on the keelmen, a particularly distinct Tyneside community who made a significant contribution to Tyneside culture and an examination of their links to the Tudor and Elizabethan clans called the Border Reivers. The reiving roots of the Geordie surnames Charlton, Robson and Armstrong are explored in which it is revealed that the region's passion for football is more than four centuries old.