Pitmatic: The Talk of the North East Coalfield (WOR Language)

Great book for makums

Pitmatic: The Talk of the North East Coalfield (Wor Language) Bill Griffiths is the undisputed authority on north-east dialects and this book shows his thorough and academic approach to his subject. This is far more than a dictionary of pit language: it is a complete history of the way miners talked both at work and socially. It is as much sociology as linguistics and a most facinating record of a way of life recently gone. Bill Griffiths deserves thanks for preserving this.

I am with a band called Pitmatics so I bought this to get some background learn the lingo. I like the stories and the insights into the Pitmatic dialect. Well researched and easy read. Issues: the subediting leaves something to be desired - peppered with spelling mistakes. And I would have liked to see an index of the Pitmatic terms in the book, as well as having them scattered through the sections; if you are looking for a word its hard to find it. Otherwise interesting book and I've got a couple of ideas for songs from it!

This is the best dictionary of pitmatic that I have ever read. Purely North Eastern language is dying out in the region, but for those of us who grew up speaking it, this is a welcome addition. It's a reminder of a world gone in my lifetime, and will appeal to future generations of scholars, or those interested in the past.

Having worked twenty five years in the North-East mines it brought back the way in which every day communication was used. Probably hard to understand if not from a mining background, but could be a good amusing book for any one interested in the mining folklore.

A good book and how a almost lost northern language as helped me to remember certain sayings and phrases from my childhood.

Not quite what I expected from the title. The 'talk' appears secondary to the break down of the various aspects of coal mining, such as pit surface features, underground,the officials,work practices, health & safety. One disadvantage of not being able to browse through a book before purchasing. Also as with Stotty 'n' Spice Cake: The Story of North East Cooking, I found the page size format awkward.

An exposition of the nature of Pitmatic, the language of the northeast coalfield - a very comprehensive investigation into its unique characteristics and its roots. Excellent.

I needed this book for research on the Pittman Bible Stories from the East Coal fields and I was pleased with the selection.