What's your local dialect?

[Democratic Hawk]

Mine is:

Pitmatic

Pitmatic is a dialect of English used in the counties of  Northumberland and Durham. It developed as a separate dialect from  Northumbrian and Geordie due to the specialised terms mineworkers used. An example of this is the word "Cuddy". In Northumberland and  Tyne and Wear this term is an abbreviation of the name  Cuthbert, but in Durham Pitmatic, as in Lowland  Scots, it denotes a horse, specifically a pit pony.

Traditionally, Pitmatic, together with some rural Northumbrian communities incuding  Rothbury, used a distinctive soft rolled R produced at the very back of the throat. Since the closure of the areas deep mines, and the subsequent dilution of the areas identity, this usage is now less frequently heard, with many young people speaking in a more generic " Geordie-like" way. However, it can still sometimes be detected, especially amongst elderly populations in more rural areas.

While in theory Pitmatic applies to the whole Great Northern Coalfield, from  Ashington in Northumberland to  Trimdon in County Durham, early references apply specifically to Durham

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

Where do I find a list of English dialects please?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language

It offers descriptions of some dialects but not others

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

For American English, check out:

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1906/dialects.html

Dave