Keeping Northumbrian language alive

Adapting to change is helping to keep the Northumbrian language alive.

But traditional dialects like 'Pitmatic' seem doomed to disappear, along with the colliery communities in which they were established.

That's the conclusion of Northumbrian dialect expert and poet Raymond Reed. He was delivering the annual Roland Bibby Memorial Lecture at Morpeth Town Hall.

So what is Northumbrian language? According to Mr Reed, it is a speech of old English or Anglo-Saxon, with 'a canny few Scandinavian words hoyed in to enrich it'.

Mr Reed's lecture was illustrated with readings of works written by himself and his late father, Fred.

The event proved so popular that extra seating had to be brought in to accommodate listeners at the ballroom.

Kim Bibby-Wilson, Secretary of the Northumbrian Language Society, said she was delighted by the turn-out.

Видео Keeping Northumbrian language alive канала MorpethNewsTV