Читать книгу Levelling and diffusion in the Cumbrian city dialect of Carlisle - Sandra Jansen - Страница 16

Of all cities in northern England, Newcastle has the greatest influence on Carlisle. For people from Carlisle, Newcastle has been a centre of attention for a long time. Already in 1838, a daily railway connection was established between the two cities (McCarthy 1993: 86) and Carlisle people are still travelling to Newcastle quite frequently. Even though some people commute to Newcastle for work, the majority of Carlisle people go there for shopping and pleasure, e.g. for concerts and theatre plays etc. The sort of (football team) rivalry found in the different urban areas of the north-east, e.g. Sunderland vs. Newcastle, or Middlesbrough vs. Newcastle, does not exist between Carlisle and Newcastle.

Watt (2002) explains that historically Northumberland and Scotland were closely connected and that this connection is still felt in the city. Even though Carlisle shares history with Scotland, people in Carlisle, however, do not really feel connected with Scotland. Historically, Hadrian’s Wall was a cut-off point. This is reflected in the very limited information overlap between the Carlisle archive and archives across the border (local archivist p.c.). McCarthy (1993: 99) makes this point very clear when he talks about Carlisle identity:

In many respects the history of Carlisle compares well with many other towns. First innovation, then stability, and finally, rapid change in the last two centuries have characterized it. What marks Carlisle out as different from many other places is its geographical isolation and its frontier position. The people of Carlisle have always identified closely with their city and its surroundings. Perhaps its remoteness and its border location are partly responsible for the conservative element in local society, but that element is deeply rooted in history. As one writer put it, ‘Cumbrians, when border warfare was over and masstrooping days had passed away, still felt that they were not as other men are.’

Thus, Carlisle people define themselves based on the geographical position of their city. In terms of identity, Carlisle does not seem to have emancipated itself from its Cumbrian roots. When asked about the Carlisle dialect, people interviewed for this study often talked about the traditional Cumbrian dialect. Moreover, a regional nickname such as ‘Geordie’, ‘Mackem’, ‘Scouse’ or ‘Cockney’ has not development yet. This may show that the inhabitants of Carlisle do not yet see Carlisle English as a variety in its own right, different from the varieties spoken in the areas surrounding the city. In fact, a Google search (11.10.2011) did not give any results for ‘Carlisle identity’, while ‘Cumbrian identity’ did give at least some results while there is even a research project devoted to ‘Geordie Identity’ now.