Smoggie
Smoggieis a colloquial term used to refer to people from theTeessidearea ofNorth East England.The term is also used to describe the local accent and dialect spoken in the area. The term relates to the area's notoriety for its high levels of pollution from local industry, which resulted in a thick smog that often blanketed the region. Despite popular belief that the term originates from the 1960s, its earliest recorded use is in the 1990s, as visitingfootballsupporters from other areas of the country began to refer to the locals as "smog monsters", which was later shortened to "smoggies".[1]Despite its origins as a term of derision, "Smoggie" has since been adopted as a term of pride by many residents of Teesside.[1]
History
[edit]Originally, this was a term of abuse for supporters ofMiddlesbrough F.C.coined by theirSunderland A.F.C.counterparts. The name was meant to refer to the heavy air pollution once produced by the local petrochemical industry,[1][2]and fromDorman Long.[3]Though, at first, Smoggie was used as a pejorative term, it has become an example ofreappropriationwith many people now proudly calling themselves 'Smoggies'.[1]
Current usage
[edit]Primarily directed at people from Teesside, 'Smoggies' is often used to describe the areas of Teesside with a noticeable amount of industry.[4]The term was referred to byMiddlesbrough South and East ClevelandMP,Tom Blenkinsop,in the House of Commons, and was recorded inHansard,in July 2011.[5][1]Smoggies has occasional use as a nickname for Middlesbrough F.C.[6][5][7]In 2013 the Cleveland Art Society organised a major exhibition of the works of local artists entitledSmoggies Allowed in an Art Gallery.[8]
Characteristics
[edit]Due to the rapid growth of Teesside in the 19th century, Smoggie represents an example of new dialect formation and was influenced byNorthumbrian,YorkshireandHiberno-English.[9]Despite its mixed origins, it is considered part of the urban North East dialect area, forming the 'Southern Urban North-Eastern English' dialect region including Hartlepool and Darlington.[10]
Phonology
[edit]- Like most North East dialects, the definite article is always full and never reduced to t' as in the Yorkshire dialect.
- Final unstressed /i/ is a tense [i] rather than a lax [ɪ]. This mirrors other North Eastern dialects and contrasts with Yorkshire English.
- H-droppingis common in informal speech. This is considered unusual among most North East dialects but is shared withMackem.
- /l/ is typically more velarised than in other North East dialects.[10]
- Square–nurse merger:the vowel inword,heard,nurse,etc. is pronounced in the same way as insquare, darefor many speakers. This is[ɛː].[11][12]
- The phoneme/aɪ/(as inprize) may become a monophthong[ɑː]before a voiced consonant. For example,fivebecomes[fɑːv](fahve),prizebecomes[pʰɹɑːz](prahze). This does not occur before voiceless consonants, so "price" is[pʰɹaɪs].[13]
- The FACE vowel is typically [eː], or sometimes more rarely [ɪə] or [ɜː].
- The GOOSE vowel is typically [ɪʉ] or [ʉː].
- The START vowel is typically more fronted than in upper North East varieties, thusparkis typically pronounced [paːk].
- In conservative forms of the dialectmakeandtakeare pronouncedmekandtek([ˈmɛk]and[ˈtɛk]). These contrast with the Sunderland and Durham variantsmakandtakbut are counterintuitively shared with broad Geordie.[10]
Vocabulary
[edit]- Smoggie is characterised by a relative lack ofNorthumbrianismsin comparison toGeordie,Mackem,andPitmatic(upper North East dialects). Markedly North-Eastern forms such asdivventordinnetfor "don't" andganfor "go" are not found on Teesside.[9]
- However, a limited number of Northumbrian words are still found in the dialect, such asbairnandcanny.
- The emphatic interjectionwell ayecorresponds to the upper North Eastwhey ayeorScotsoch aye.[14]
- ’owayor’oweecorresponds to Geordiehowayor Mackemhaway.On Teesside thehis always dropped.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdePearce, Michael (2014)."'Not quite a Geordie': the folk-ethnonyms of north-east England "(PDF).Nomina.37:22–24.
- ^Harley, Shaun (16 October 2007)."'I was made in Middlesbrough'".BBC News.Retrieved2 October2013.
- ^"Dictionary of Middlesbrough and Teesside Accent Dialect and Slang".Love Middlesbrough - Middlesbrough Borough Council. 2012–2014. Archived fromthe originalon 16 November 2018.Retrieved5 July2014.
- ^"Geordie: A regional dialect of English".British Library.Retrieved2 October2013.
- ^ab"Teesside MP uses the word" smoggie "in Parliament speech".Evening Gazette (Teesside).11 July 2011.Retrieved29 September2013.
- ^Hancox, Dan (10 September 2009)."How is Britain coping with the recession? - Middlesbrough - Smoggies steel themselves".New Statesman.Retrieved2 October2013.
- ^"Maximo Park fear for footy teams".BBC News.22 April 2009.Retrieved29 September2013.
- ^"Exhibition showcases work of Teesside artists".Middlesbrough Borough Council.1 June 2013.Retrieved2 October2013.
- ^abKerswill, Paul (23 July 2018). "Dialect formation and dialect change in the Industrial Revolution: British vernacular English in the nineteenth century". In Wright, Laura (ed.).Southern English Varieties Then and Now.De Gruyter. pp. 8–38.ISBN9783110577549.
- ^abcBeal, Joan C. (2012).Urban North-eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside (Dialects of English).Edinburgh University Press.
- ^Williams & Kerswill (1999),pp. 143, 146.
- ^Handbook of Varieties of English,p. 125, Walter de Gruyter, 2004
- ^Williams & Kerswill (1999),pp. 146, 156–159.
- ^"TeesSpeak: Dialect of the Lower Tees Valley".Lower Tees Dialect Group.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2012.Retrieved12 July2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Williams, Ann; Kerswill, Paul (1999)."Dialect levelling: change and continuity in Milton Keynes, Reading and Hull"(PDF).In Foulkes, Paul; Docherty, Gerard (eds.).Urban voices. Accent studies in the British Isles.London: Arnold. pp. 141–162. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 September 2012.