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From Wikipedia:

The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. Those varieties are often referred to as Broad Yorkshire or Tyke.

Why is the Yorkshire dialect called 'Tyke'? Can the accent be referred to as tyke as well?

ODO's definition of tyke includes a number of negative senses. Is this sense also derogatory?

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Thank you for this question. In Nick Park's animated short film, The Wrong Trousers (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrong_trousers), Wallace tells the thieving penguin, "I'll get you for this, you tyke." Nick Park coming from Lancashire, would this be an insult? – JAM Feb 27 at 22:00
Racist in the extreme. What an insult to the penguin. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 27 at 23:24

1 Answer

As OED says, tyke originally came from Old Norse tík - female dog, bitch. It's not exclusively reserved for Geordies (or people from Newcastle), but as OED also points out, it often does have that sense - "perhaps originally opprobrious; but now accepted and owned [by them]".

I recall that my grandmother, who never lived anywhere but Sussex for all her 99 years, used to sometimes call me a dirty little tyke. I doubt all "Novocastrians" are happy to be thus called.


FWIW here's the full relevant OED entry...

3. A nickname for a Yorkshireman: in full Yorkshire tyke.
(Perhaps originally opprobrious; but now accepted and owned.
It may have arisen from the fact that in Yorkshire tyke is in common use for dog.)

...but no mention of the word being used to mean the Yorkshire accent/dialect.

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Thank you. Do people commonly call the Yorkshire dialect/accent tyke? I'd also appreciate it if you could include the OED entry (for this sense) in full. – coleopterist Feb 27 at 20:40
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@coleopterist: To be honest, until I read your comment on this earlier question, I doubt I've ever heard "tyke" used on its own to mean the dialect itself. Yorkshire is a huge county - but it doesn't even reach as far as Newcastle, even though they're sometimes called tykes too. Bearing in mind people from the whole general area have a reputation for being quick to take offence, and handy with their fists, I would strongly advise not calling one a "tyke" to his face, whatever OED may say. – FumbleFingers Feb 27 at 21:27
Considering my own grandmother said the same, I’d say tyke is a common word for such little buggers as thee and me. And we haven’t seen the ancestral homelands of Hertforshire for many centuries now. – tchrist Feb 27 at 22:34
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As someone from Yorkshire I can tell you that I've never heard the Yorkshire dialect called 'Tyke'. The word is usually aimed at a child or dog who is cheeky or mischievous; a 'dirty little tyke' would imply they had come home with muddy clothes or feet, from playing outside all day and probably getting up to mischief. It could be used affectionately or pejoratively. In my experience it's unlikely to be aimed at an adult, but maybe it is in some parts of Yorkshire. I don't think the penguin counts as an adult, Wallace calls him a tyke precisely because he's not a human adult. – Mynamite Feb 27 at 22:36
@Mynamite: But I take it you do realise that some Brits (particularly those bloody Lancastrians, who've never much liked Geordies anyway) sometimes use Tyke as a [facetious] perjorative for Yorkshiremen and/or those from Tyneside. Not me though (I just call you all "bloody northerners"! :) – FumbleFingers Feb 28 at 3:33
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