Thank God I'm Not A Cumbrian!
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
February 9, 2010 9:58am CST
If you click the link below it will take you to a Wikipedia page rambling on about the Cumbrian dialect. Now, I'm from Lancashire originally so have come to terms with how the Cumbrians talk. When I first met John's friends I couldn't understand A WORD they said as there are regional variations.
There is one word I use that I can't find in the article and that word is "cowie." This word can be used if you can't think of an alternative such as, "I'm going over there to speak to cowie," which can be translated to "I'm going over there to speak to Jen." Cowie is used if you can't remember someone's name (or anything else come to that). In fact what I should've said was, "Am gan o'er therr t'speak ta cowie!" Something like that!If you're not confused now you soon will be!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbrian_dialect
By the way, instead of saying "pound" as in pound coin the Cumbrians say "pun." When I first heard this I didn't have a clue what they were on about!!
1 person likes this
7 responses
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
9 Feb 10
I think I met Cumbrian in Paris. He said to be from UK, but I couldn't understand even one word. He looked at me with a question mark on his face and asked: do you speak English?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
9 Feb 10
Haha! That is sooo typical of a Cumbrian to say that to you. I've often been at the football, surrounded by Cumbrians and thought to myself, "My God, is this England or what?" Haha!
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
11 Feb 10
I speak with Midwest American accent, far away fro Cumbrian...
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Feb 10
Haha! Yes, it's taken me a while to get used to all the strange words (and the strange way in which they are said) here in Cumbria. They've got a great sense of humour though and they were brilliant during the floods in 2005. Everyone helps everyone else, there is a sense of community here...but don't ask me who my neighbours are because I haven't got a clue!
@derek_a (10873)
•
9 Feb 10
Oh brilliant! I know it is difficult to understand at first, but I just love deciphering local dialects.
I spent a weekend in Newcastle and had a great time with their dialects, as they did with mine - I'm welsh (but English speaking). I also lived in Lancashire for 12 years in my youth, in Blackburn. There was a small town nearby called Darwin, and I could never get the hang of what they were saying, when speaking in "full dialect". And they had their own newspaper too, and that was a complete mystery to me! But what great friendly people they were! 
_Derek
_Derek@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
9 Feb 10
The nearer to Manchester you get the stronger the accent is! I have quite a strong Lancashire accent as my Dad is from Wigan and I was born in Ashton-Under-Lyne. People born in Blackpool (Sangronans) don't really have an accent. My nephew Thomas is a good example of this even though his mother is a Geordie!!Tonight Carlisle will play host to Leeds. I know the fans aren't supposed to mix but if I were to walk in amongst them all I probably wouldn't be able to tell a word they said. Cumbrians amongst the Yorkshire folk!
Priceless! 
Priceless! 
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
9 Feb 10
eh?
Yikes, well I could make some of it out, but if I heard it spoken, I'm sure I'd be standing there with a dumb look on my face!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
9 Feb 10
Haha! Well I used to be like that with the Cumbrians when I first met them. I'm not allowed to compare them with the Geordies either (county next door) as they get very upset lol. At least our main footy team Carlisle won tonight so a trip to Wembley is in the offing. I can't wait!
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
9 Feb 10
There's nothing like the confussion of a local dialect and the quirky use of words to mean something undecipherable. One of my favourites is the Cornish accent which ranks up there with the Cumbrian for being completely confusing when some one gets into full garbled flow.
I may have to start using "cowie" as it's much shorter than saying "thingymajig" and "thingymabob"
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
9 Feb 10
That's exactly what I've been doing! I used to say "thingy" all the time but it's "cowie" for me now...especially now that Carlisle WON tonight against the mighty Leeds. Wembley here we come. Wow, how ecstatic am I lol!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
9 Feb 10
I stayed in Hexham for two nights when I was in the UK. I am not sure whether Hexham is in Cumbria or if it is in the next region to the right. We left London where we could understand everyone and drove to Hexham, where we found an Australian friend and stayed with her.
Everything was good and normal until we went to the pub on the first night. We discovered that we could not understand a thing that the locals were saying to each other. Even when her friends were speaking to us and trying to contain their accent by talking slowly, we still had trouble! 
The second night we went to a darts competition where this ex Aussie girl was competing. That was just as bad!
We had the same trouble up in Scotland. Talking to people involved in tourist or hospitality roles was OK, but when we got to the pub, we did not know if they were talking about us or what. They might as well have been talking Chinese!
The second night we went to a darts competition where this ex Aussie girl was competing. That was just as bad!
We had the same trouble up in Scotland. Talking to people involved in tourist or hospitality roles was OK, but when we got to the pub, we did not know if they were talking about us or what. They might as well have been talking Chinese! 
@BarBaraPrz (51831)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
9 Feb 10
Yes, we all speak the same language, but differently.
