Elizabeth Gaskell's Guide to Manc (Part 1)

Are you a choughin-yed? Do you feel wambly? Does someone you know talk too much flother? In this episode, we look back at the language used by 19th century Mancunians, whose dialect was championed by novelist Elizabeth Gaskell in her novels Mary Barton and North and South. We’ll discuss how Gaskell challenged lazy stereotypes about women writers, becoming a literary superstar and important social campaigner. Dean, Chris and Yakub discuss how she introduced expressions used by everyday working people to a wider Victorian audience - as well as delving into the meaning of words used in the thriving industrial city of Manchester - including ‘nesh’, ‘frabbit’ and ‘baggin-time’.

 

Special thanks: Manchester BIPC; Image: Hardman Creative; Our podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.