1 : Fluctuations

After the Romans came Saxons (? plus Jutes), Vikings
i.e. Danes, the sequels (SaxonsII and VikingsII),
then Normans . . . in roughly that order.

Most of these hoards found it easier to tackle the
Norfolk or Suffolk coastline (except the Croomer
Ridge) than the Dover Cliffs, or even the Thames
Estuary - and (for most) nearer home too!

More friendly influxes of (genuine) foreigners
have been equally influential, over the centuries since.

Often mentioned are the Huguenot Protestant refugees.
There were also invited settlers from the Low Countries
(Walloons?) i.e. weavers; whom Norwich people called
"Strangers" (Strairngers), as it was easier than trying
to remember whether they were Dutch or French
(or neither).

There was once a large Jewish quarter in Norwich, too.
As with most refugees etc., the drift was always to the
urban areas (e.g. Van Couver in King's Lynn).

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2 : Over Here

Over-paid, Over-sexed, and over Here.
So ran the less-than-enthusiastic litany of their faults.

We had to take our share of evacuees, during that War,
although not in Norwich - which was heavily bombed.
Placed rurally, they were known as vacajees.

Other "internal" migrations, already mentioned,
include academics (to the UEA) and pensioners.

If anything rankles about most of those groups it
is the over-payment : Norfolk being chronically
a low-wage area.
Except, that is, for the "bosses" -
hence the 20th Century expression :

Did you ever see a farmer on a bike?.
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3 : Repercussions

Certainly there has always been a deep-seated mistrust
of foreigners (and, as we now know, this includes the
vast majority of Britons : i.e. to the N. S. and W. !).
I don't believe it amounts to hostility - just wariness.

Outright hostility would never have permitted the
refugees (as distinct from invaders) to settle, thrive
and integrate.
Luckily for them there had been earlier invasions
and attacks; so they profited from the comparisons.

We may tenuously conclude that Norfolk people
are still fairly tolerant, if not greatly welcoming or
effusively hospitable. Not too bad, then? . . .
but there is another side to the coin.

We have used the term 'integrate', but without
specifying [ not really knowing ] how long
the process took.

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4 : Citizenship

Yorkshire was one of the very last* cricketing counties
to waive the place-of-birth rule for new players.
There is no such complete bar on incomers to Norfolk;
and we will accord full Civil Rights. As to when . . . .

Wal, thass suffin als [ else ] - tha(t) all depend . . .

Few who arrive as fully-grown adults survive
long enough (given our harsh winters) to become
fully accepted as Dumplings (or Norrigers).

This is all beside the point for the large and growing
numbers of [ younger ] people, who were actually
born in the County, but are not descended from
Norfolk "stock".
Their "first language" (i.e. as spoken at home)
is different, perhaps markedly.

Yet it is quite amazing how readily children will
pick-up a "new" language at school : in an effort to
please everyone, they will usually become bi-lingual,
and be able to switch on and off, as the environment demands . . .

[ * perhaps the last; perhaps they haven't done it yet.
    Don't ask me about cricket!. ]

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5 : A Friend Indeed

It is not a Life Sentence of rejection/exclusion
(which would indeed amount to hostility) :
the exclusion is merely technical and a matter
of holding (or not) a Norfolk Passport.
Story L  provides the relevant "test".

There is, however, a stricter short-term rule :
it consists of a one-year probationary period.

Its more colourful definition is to -
summer an(d) win(t)er [ a person ].
Nobody is to be taken at face value; first impressions
are just that : appearances, accents, wealth all count
for nothing. Legitimate claims re education, business
or other achievements will be met with a
routine, totally insincere :-

Yis, noo dou(bt) you hev / Oi reckon tha(t) do
(or some such, in very flat and muted tones).

There is no requirement to start speaking like a native;
conversely, it is no sin to retain your original
Liverpudlian or Glaswegian accent.
(Many people would take more than 25 years,
even when they are trying hard - to nullify the same).

Of course, if you are hard to understand . . .
Of course, if your accent gives the game away . . .

6 : Metropolis

Our present concern is not with the architecture,
high-quality shopping, or InterCity rail service to
the Great Metropolis; but the lingo.

The City enjoys much inflow of tourists (many of them
from Japan, USA etc.); as well as numerous workers
imported from all over Britain
. . . a lo(t) onnem come fr'm away, dorn the?.

The net result is that it gets harder and harder to hear
Norwich accents inside the Walls, any day of the week.
Then, just as you think you have,
a further hearing may confirm -

There [They have] come in fr'm the coun(t)ry :
tha(t) mus(t) be Maarke(t) Day!

The genuine Norwich accent is indeed difficult to
track-down. The best bet is a LOCAL bus-service :-

Si(t) you down, moi dare -
tha(t) 'oon(t) be long afore we gi(t) there!
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7 : ASSWAHREESAY

We claim to have made every effort, throughout, to give
a Norwich "slant" or variation wherever it has been
valid and appropriate. Resting on these laurels,
the following list is presented; with translation only.

Asswahreesay : That is what he says
Wossuponya? : What is the matter with you?
Wossairdurn? : What is he doing?
In'agora'dur(t) : [ I'm ] not going to do it
Corrumahr! : Goodness, I'm hot!
Ayyadunna? : Have you done it?
Inchagar(t)? : Haven't you got it?
Eewahravalillarna : He wants to have a little of it [on it]
Gurza! : Give it to me!
Owdsi'eegirron? : How did the City get on?
Woyyawahn? : What do you want?

Recanting swiftly on my not commenting,
I must draw attention to a few points:-

(a) No leading H's or T's whatever;
(b) What and What's : now (sometimes) contain
      a single rather than a double-o;
(c) All the above have been personally
      checked and verified;
(d) The longest example is also probably
      the 24-carat best!;
(e) The third example has lost its final '- on',
      but retains the a-doin(g).

A recent amusing  website -
(http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Norwich)
has added further urban examples, including :

Cabbit? : Can I have a piece of that, please?
Assajook : I'm just kidding
Butharnhum : Both of them
Jargon : Running slowly
Gi(t)arninou(t)arna(t) :
      Do come in, it's beginning to rain
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8 : Silly Suffolk

There is also no dispute that the Suffolk version of
the E. Anglian dialect, with so very much in common
with its northern neighbours, is more "sing-song";
and has often been compared with Welsh.

A fair modicum of this variation of pitch exists,
however, in Norfolk speech too.

Like everything else tha(t) depend where you goo,
or rather how far; because towns like Diss and Thetford
get more "musical", being on the southern flank of the County.

On the western edges, the vowel sounds begin
to merge into the Fenmens' distinct dialect.
Mardle says true Norfolk inhabitants accuse those
in the Fens of having webbed feet; and call them
"yellow-bellies" (i.e. frogs)

N.B. this must be pronounced yaller ballies.

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9 : Elsewhere

Parts of Essex and The Fens are "associate members",
as it were . . . but anything else is dismissed under the
general term of The Sheers (Shires).

Conversely, before rural transport progressed (just?)
beyond the horse-and-cart, marked variations in the
dialect could readily occur within the County;
particularly as Norfolk covers such a very wide area.

It is easier these days (if not really better)
to claim an homogenous Norfolk tongue.

Even so, there are still fundamental differences between
lifestyles and occupations in the County (leaving aside
the City), deriving from the Holy Trinity of sub-regions:-

• The Coast (and seafaring);
• The Broads (inland waterways);
• Agricultural areas.

The three types of habitat have clearly (and of necessity)
produced, quite apart from variations based on distance
and remoteness, specific vocabularies of their own.

These are dealt-with separately; particularly because the
nature of agriculture has changed so much - since the
advent of the tractor - that much of its vocabulary is
(at best) obsolescent.

Of course, there is also little reference
to sail outside of the Broads.

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10 : Gone Where?

The emigres were part of the Pilgrim Fathers and
other groups. E.g. Vancouver of King's Lynn and the
(almost) appropriately named President Lincoln.

Such population movements (and the era in which
they occurred) do much to explain the many
"unexpected" parallels with current American speech.