Lakeland words and phrases

Explanatory
The following pages claim to do no more than to set forth some of our best known dialect words, and to somewhat explain or illustrate their use by a sentence in which the word is introduced. So may not only the word be preserved, but something also of unity of expression be maintained at the same time.

Much of the matter has gone through the pages of the Penrith Observer, in the form of weekly notes. These notes were subject to some criticism. They were the means of eliciting a good deal of help towards making the collection more complete and accurate.

The method of spelling was frequently commented upon as involving an unnecessary innovation. A short explanation will, it is hoped, enable the reader to grasp it. Take such words as face, race, place, with the long a. We pronounce: them fi+as, ri+as, pli+as, with a short i sound, and the a short as in as. Words like master, plaster, become maister, plaister, with the a sounded as in pay. The long o sound is a pet aversion. Home becomes hi+am, boat as if it were boo+at, poke takes the form of poo+ak. Such words as post prove our consistency and cause many a one to get laughed at for the hasty o we assign it just as if it were copy.