Everyone has their own favourite dialect poem or story. Here is just a taste of the rich variety of works which have been written since the 1750s when authors first started to try to get down the traditional speech of native Cumbrians. They are favourites of some of the Lakeland Dialect Society's committee members.
The Snow, John Richardson (1817-1886)
It com doon as whist an' as deftly as death,
O' soond nut a murmur, o' air nut a breath;
Flake reacin' wi' flake. Oh! 'twas bonny ta see
Hoo it curver't up moontain, an' valley, an' tree.
Doon, doon it com floatin', sa white an' sa clear,
Ivvery twig, ivvery leaf, hed its burden to bear;
Ivvery dyke, ivvery hoose, ivvery rough cobble wo'
Hed its blossom, its reuf, or its copin' o' snow.
Mi Moontain, Bryan Dawson
Frae t' bottom on t' deepest valley
Frae t' top on t' hee'est fell
Frae Pattad'le ta Helvellyn
Langd'le to Bowfell.
Frae Windama in t' springtime
Tul Grassma in ta' t' fall
The's a moontain ta kap as moontains
That's bin climm'd bi yan an all.
It's a moontain amang moontains
Wid a summit bowt bi t' fell and rock
Ta remember them wat deed for us
Wid a cenotaph on t' top
Oot trampan t' fells, in t' rain, in t' sun, in t' snow
It's bin tramped on a thoosan ear o' so
Nivver short on a challenge, Ah clim up on ta t' rock
Ah stop for'ra drink and a natter
Fowk ken it weel as they pass it
On t' way ower ta Wastwatter
Thoo can crack on aboot Scafell
T' Crinkles an' aw the rest
But ta them that knaws t' moontains
This is yan on t' very best
It's yan ta crack on aboot
Ta clim when ivver thoo's able
Bi noo, thoo must a kent it
That's reet! - Mi moontain's caw'd Great Gable
MORE FAVOURITE BITS O' DIALECT
