2012 Roland Bibby Memorial Lecture by Peter Arnold
Regional dialects must be more than an echo of the past if they are to survive.
That was the message spelled out to language enthusiasts at Morpeth, Northumberland. The warning was given as the town played host to an event marking National Dialect Day 2012.
The speaker was Mr Peter Arnold, Chairman of the Northumbrian Language Society. The Society was established 30 years ago by Morpeth historian Roland Bibby. Mr Arnold was delivering an annual lecture at the Town Hall in memory of Mr Bibby.
He told his audience that they had to accept change and learn to adapt or risk losing local dialects altogether. It was also important to find ways to engage young people if they were to be persuaded that dialect was relevant to them today.
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