| A-Z GLOSSARY: How do you say it? | | Slang Term | Definition of term | | Awld | Old | | Butty | Friend | | Cratur | Creature | | Dyuth | Death | | Ettles | Stinging nettles | | Flump | Fall down or collapse | | Gyule | Gloat or poke fun at | | Hummuck | Leg | | Im | Him | | Jud | Dead | | Kip | Short sleep or nap | | Lug | Ear or tow | | Moot | To root in the ground like pigs do | | Nesh | Delicate or feeble | | Oik | Lift | | Pizzun | Poison | | Quat | Sit | | Rasty | Rancid or unpleasant | | Strame | Stream | | Thou'it | You will | | Undud | Hundred | | Vorest | Forest | | Wuss | Worse | | Yud | Head | | Zid | Saw |
Read the history of the Forest of Dean and how the unique dialect evolved. It's written in 'Vorest Spake' so see how you get on!  It be pretty well zertin that our Vorest dialect evolved over unduds - p'raps thouzands o' years. Durin thic time it 'ave choinged an' altered a yup.
It be reazonable to azzume vram 'istorical an' arkeelogical recerds that iron ore minin' wuz carried on yer in the Vorest o' Dean ver over vour thouzand yers. Vust cum the Zilures vram the Celtic vamilies o' Urope in vour undud an' vivty B.C. Then cum the Romons vollowed by the Zaxons an' the Narmons. All on 'em brought wi' 'em thar various languiges, aczents an' dialects. But it wuz vram the erliest Celtic period that the vocablary an' dialect ztarted to evolve in the Vorest. The Zilures wuz Druids, an' thar leeders wuz cawd 'Grey Yuds', zo the uze o' the word 'yud' ver 'ead' da goo right back to theese erly doys. Zo to da the minin' terms 'gale' an' 'scowle'. Zo thee cost zee az it awl da goo back a 'ell o' a long woy. Dezpite all theeze yer invoiders the Vorester allus kep' 'is independance an' did not mix zocialbly ar intermarrym but even zo, much o' the invoiders languiges an' dialects muzt 'ave rubbed off on 'em. Zum o' the Vorest vocablury be pure Awld English, zuch az wen thoy da uze the pronouns 'Thee' an' 'Thou', thiz moy bin hinfluenced by all them thar non-convarmizt religious movements zuch az the Quoikerz an' the Primative Methodizts az wuz about in the Vorest bout two 'undud ar zo years agoo. But the biggust hinfluence on the Vorest dialect wuz the minin' induztry an' the miners tharzelves. The miners lived a very inzular life, thoy worked tagither, lived in thar zmall villiges tagither, looked a'ter thoir ship tagither an' a'ter work wen' to the pub tagither - if thoy 'ad a yupny ver a pint o' zider. Many vroizez az thoy uzed at work wuz alzo uzed in thar everydoy lives. 'Ows thee acker cuttin?' In the pit thiz ould mean 'Iz yer axe zharp?'. But outzide 'o work it 'wer a general inquiry inta yer mates 'ealth. 'Ow bist thee awld butty?', the butty zyztem wuz a woy o' payment in the pit wer the Butty Mon ould poy out a group o' miners workin' under 'im. But the word 'Butty' wuz alzo uzed az a word ver yer vrend ar mate. Many werds wuz peculier to the miners an' the mines: Comp - Candle
Dipple - Steep incline
Tushin - Carrying
Daddocky - Rotten (wood) Whenever thus uze the hindefinite article 'that' or that'n' allus uze the werd 'thic'. The letter 'H' be zeldom uzed in Vorest - 'cept wer it zhouldn't be. 'H' da becum 'Y'. 'Come here' becums 'Come yer'. The letter 'H' can be added to a werd - zpecialy wen a 'ooman da wun a zound 'posh': Er 'ad a neck az ong az a hostrich
Garge's dahter uzed ta zing in the Hopera The vowel 'I' da nearly alwoys becum 'OI': 'Ard toimes
'Im wer allus roight Thee cost zhift the consonants about anywer theeze loik: Do'st wun a goim a donimoes Ar zumtimes thee cost add a hextra zylible to a werd: The poor zod drownded in the river If theez wun to zoy 'DO', 'CAN' ar 'BE' in the negative then theez gotta zoy: Thee disn't - thee cosn't - thee bisn't Thee zhould niver zoy: I'm gwain ta 'ave a lie-down Thee zhould allus zoy: I'm gwain ta 'ave me a lie-down The uze o' MALPROPRIZMS is very commun in Vorest - specialy 'mong the wimmen. I be gwain ta git garge a pup ver 'iz birthdoy, one o' thoy zpotty damnations Im 'ad 'iz appendages remuved - jus' a'ter the general erection it 'wer Er cud zee a lot bitter wuns er 'ad er cattericks remuved Our Vorst be choingin'. Volks da muv out an' volks da muv in bringin wi' em thar aczents an' dialects an' mergin' wi' our awn an' zo dilutin' ont. The young 'ums da lissen to the tele an' the radio an' da lern to spake like them on it. All the deep pits 'ave zhut an people da goo vurther avield ver work. New roads da meen az thoy can goo vurther Vram 'ome to thoir jobs an zo mar da cum yer to live 'cos it be a nize ploice now thit all the pits iz zhut 'an the ploice av 'ad a good clane-up. Many da vizit uz now becus it be a nice place to zpend a 'oliday. Wi 'ave cum a long woy vram the doys wen the only wuns to cum yer by caravan ztopped at Crump Medda.  Article reproduced by the kind permission of Keith Morgan Test your knowledge of the Forest dialect See also: Mining in the Forest, from the Forest of Dean | 
