The Canada-Ulster Heritage Site.

Norland linguistics?:

An introduction to ------ Ulsterspeak and Poshspeak (a derivative of Ulster/Scots and BBC English)

This page is designed to help the ill-informed, the un-initiated or those who just enjoy a bit of fun and can enjoy the humour contained in the language. It is unique but can be found in all English speaking countries today from Australia to Zimbabwe!

Some of these expressions may be obsolete or used only by a small section of the population today, but they add to the unusual flavour of Ulsterism.

Norn Iron / Ulster	Translation	Norn Iron / Ulster	Translation
ards	Newtownards	a'wheen	a few
am fer aff	I am going now.	belshaft	City of Belfast
boutye?	How are you	bellymenaa	Town of Ballymena
bare achews	pair of shoes.	bias abun ma	Buy me a bun, Mother
brorr	brother	bertie greetins	birthday greetings
brill	brilliant/very, very good	buck edjitt	complete fool
bake/gub	mouth	beelin	oozing, unhealing
blute'rd	tired / very drunk	ca'meerawantye	Would you come here?
crack	fun	coul	cold
cryin buckets	weeping bitterly	crigged me toe	stubbed my toe
cloddin	throwing	da,farr	father
catch-yersel-on	have a bit of sense!	deadly crack	great fun
a dig in tha gub	a smack on the mouth	darry	Londonderry
daymare	Daily Mirror	duncher	peaked cap
dander	walk / meander	fag	cigarette
edjitt	idiot	fry	bacon and eggs
fash'n chaps	fish and chips	fortnight	two weeks
footer	fiddle / a fidget	geg	fun, a laugh
gipe	unpleasant person	gaze	give me
gulder	shout / yell	houl on	hold on
glunterpake	stupid person	hoult on	held on
hobnails	work boots	jinkers / jeepers	mild oath!
hay'nay	I don't have any	lug	ear
intill	into	loanin	narrow country lane
kowpe	over-turn	larn	learn or the town of Larne
luck at'ye	look at you	leton	pretend
larnin	education	mitch	skip school / meeting
midge	fruit fly / gnat	morr / ma	mother
mon'me'oan	I am on my own	mutton dummies	Belfast gym shoes
nuts corner	Belfast Intl. Airport	norn iron	Northern Ireland
norland	Northern Ireland	norfi	Ulster/NI resident
neufie	newcomer	naw	no
oul han	old chap	oxters	armpits
pechlin	shuffling / limping	the port	Portrush / Portstewart
pachle	muddle / mess	puetrid	vile / smelly
pixtures	movies / cinema	quare crack	good fun
qwet	stop	scunnered	disgusted / disliked
slabber	obnoxious person	sheugh	ditch / wet drain
sony a'shire	it's only a shower	spoarin	it's raining
sax	six	stikin out	really good
spittin	light rain	tally	Belfast Telegraph
tatey bread	potato scones	twelth	Twelth of July holidays
trainers	runners	trekter deckter	tractor mechanic
gutties	cheap runners	wurkin hard??	hardly working!

The question often arises as to whether it is country or town folk who make the biggest contribution to the colourful speech of Ulsterspeak. In Ulster, it would be a rural victory!

It would be at a country cross-roads, not a street corner, where one would be most likely to hear, (upon the approach of one of the more venerable farming residents), ''Here's oul Harry pechlin' along , sure there's more life in'is walkin stick than there is'n him!''

If ' Bellymeena' is not quite spelled like that on the map, EVERY Ulster man or woman is familiar with the town and it's people. It is fundamental to Ulster folklore. If it had not come into existance because of the number of Scots who settled in the area, it would have had to be invented!!

A language cult of its own has been produced because of the insistance of the inhabitants in using an 'e' where most people use an 'a' sound. To stress that they are realists, Ballymena people will tell you they are 'only interested in fex(facts)'. Of a weakling it will be said, 'He lex stamina.'

A shopkeeper will not ask a customer to repeat herself if she asks for 'a pecket of clothes pex please'.

On Budget Day, the question on everyone's lips will invariably be ,

'What's he goin till tex nex?'

A family in trouble will have their

'bex to the wall!'

Rural Ballymena will say 'fernainst the bire' and rural Ontario will say 'fernainst tha bern' and what does it mean? (against or beside the cow shed!)

So, it all comes down to:

You can tell a Ballymena man anywhere---- but you can't tell him much!!

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How Canada was named? A long ,long time ago when the buffalo were still roaming the vast plains, a small flotilla of sailing ships carried Irish families fleeing the great potato famine and were hoping to start a new life in the America's.

On board the lead ship was a family from the Shankill Road district of Belfast. After many weeks cooped up in the wee schooner and many trials and tribulations, there was tremendous excitement when land was sighted!

Little Billy was beside himself and was frantic to stretch his legs on the sandy shore. As the little ship sailed closer to the new world, Billy was very, very impatient and was pleading with his Father, for permission to leap unto the beautiful sand. His father was hesitant as Billy kept up his incessant plea,

Can a play , Da?? Can a play Da?,

Huh? can a?, can a Da? Can a Da

CANADA? Oh Canada!