Waiting for “Let’s Talk Tyke “

The YDS classes teaching tykes how to talk reight is so popular that a waiting list has had to be created. This link

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/yorkshire-dialect-classes-rammed-students-27811393

has the full story.
The Let’s Talk Tyke class was set-up by Chairman of the Yorkshire Dialect Society Rod Dimbleby, in Keighley Library. The class, the first of its kind, has barely been going for longer than a month and Rod is having to squeeze students in to the six week course. Speaking to The Daily Mail, Rod said: ‘It’s all been quite a shock. Quite a shock indeed!” I thought it might appeal to a few people. I was hoping to get a handful, maybe ten if I were lucky — a nice intimate group. But, well, it’s rammed. And the media! We were on the TV last week… and on the Today programme. We’ve even had to start a waiting list! It turns out people feel very strongly about Yorkshire dialect.’

The classes are an education in “real language”, and not just slang. He said: ‘Dialect is not slang or sloppy English. It’s real language,’ he says firmly. ‘It’s poetic and musical and part of our heritage. A lot of it could well date back in linguistic terms over 1,000 years to our Anglo-Norse ancestors.’ ‘There aren’t a fantastic number of us, maybe 50,’ says Rod. ‘But it’s a whole weekend and it’s great fun.’