‘Noo then...gie ma summat, an’ leeak sharp aboot it, fer Ah is badly.’

These words, spoken by a ‘village dame’ entering a doctor’s waiting room, were penned in the latter half of the 19th century by author and collector of Yorkshire folklore Richard Blakeborough, who collated expressions of dialect from across the county.

In his book ‘Yorkshire wit Character, Folklore & Customs’ - first published in 1898 - Blakeborough recounts conversations peppered with dialect, drawing attention to the wide variations - the remarks made in the North Riding would ‘not hold good when applied to the West Riding.’

Dialect is still spoken across the Yorkshire region - you only have to visit a country show to hear it used in conversation. We still hear Bradfordians using words such as ‘ginnel’ for a back alley and ‘bob’ for go to. And, of course, most people are familiar with ‘On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at’ - or, in standard English ‘On Ilkley Moor without a hat.’

But its use is diminishing as the years go by. The importance of preserving local dialect was being addressed more than a century ago. In March 1897, the Yorkshire Dialect Society was formed in Bradford, to encourage the study and recording of dialect from across the region.

The oldest surviving dialect society in the world, it was formed from a committee that had already spent three years working on the Yorkshire section of the much celebrated English Dialect Dictionary, written by famous Bradfordian linguist Joseph Wright.

Society vice-president Muriel Shackleton, of Wibsey, has been a member for a quarter of a century.

“The north and east are quite similar but the West Riding is very different,” she says. “The word ‘boot’ for instance, becomes ‘booit’ in the West Riding, and ‘beeat’ in the north and east.

“In the north and east ‘house’ becomes ‘hoose’ or ‘oos’, which is drifting towards Scottish.

She adds: “I have always been interested in the old words that my grandma used to use. She used to call a starling a ‘shepster’ and a thrush a ‘throstle’.

“Preparing a packed lunch was called ‘putting up’ and acorns were ‘ackorns’ I remember a teacher holding up some acorns and telling me that I had got the name wrong.”

Members of the society who live not only in Yorkshire but across the globe, enjoy written and spoken dialect. They hold four meetings every year, one in each of the old ridings and an annual Christmas gathering.

“Dialect brings a local flavour, it is part of the environment,” says the society’s publicity officer Eric Scaife, of Leeds, who has also belonged to the group for 15 years, said: “We would like more people to join us as we want to retain the old language of Yorkshire. We spend a lot of money restoring landscapes and buildings - it costs nothing to retain our language. It is part of our heritage.”

He adds: “We particularly want to attract more younger members with their ideas.”

Bradford-born historian, the late Dr Arnold Kellett, who was president of the society for a decade, said in his book the Yorkshire Dictionary of dialect, Tradition and Folklore, claimed that dialect was disappearing fast.

Society member Eileen Rennison is keen to see it thrive. She grew up in North Yorkshire, surrounded by people speaking dialect. My parents were both what I would call bilingual, switching from standard English to dialect.”

Her fascination was such that she began writing down expressions used by her mother and father.

“If my mother took a long time when going to the shop he would say ‘She’ll be kalling’, which meant gossiping, and if my father saw me going out to play he would say ‘Where are you allocking off to?’ That is a lovely word.” Eileen, who lives in York, has retained her interest to this day.

“Dialect can be different not only from one riding to the next but from one village to another. The West Riding has a lot of words originating from its industrial past.”

With linguists among its membership, and links to a number of universities, the society also carries out research and conducts surveys surrounding dialect.

The conversation between the dame and doctor, documented by Blakeborough carries on: ‘Ah can nowther bahd ti sit doon, stan’up, ner nowt,’ she says.

The doctor asks her what the problem is. ‘...it’s neea ewse assing me,’ she replies, ‘ Ah’ve cum’d to see you aboot that.’

For more information about the society visit yorkshiredialectsociety.org.uk. Eric can be contacted on 0113 260 5823 or 07899 737279.