When looking for resources to research the Kentish dialect the most obvious place to start is with word lists and dictionaries, these can be specifically dedicated to Kentish speech, or found among a dictionary of dialect words collected from across the British Isles. Beyond these documents we need to look for works which incorporate Kentish dialect words and pronunciation into them. In this latter group, as well as fictional verse and stories, there are factual texts from many fields, for example; religious, historical, geographical, agricultural, legal and travel writing, which feature terms that are rooted in Kent. Additionally publications such as Notes and Queries, Folklore and newspaper columns have produced lively inquiry into the dialect. Other sources include a few websites that have taken an interest in the dialect and some sound recordings available via the British Library website (see below) and You Tube.
Here are a few of the texts and that I have been using during my research, along with a few that I would be interested in looking at. I have also listed links to some websites.
Dictionaries, Lists and Publications on Kentish Dialect
History and Antiquities of the Isle of Tenet in Kent, Rev. John Lewis (London, 1736). Is mainly known for its list of words used on the Isle of Thanet collected by Lewis and expanded in the 2nd edition. There are a few more dialect terms recorded in the text and illustrations.
A Provincial Glossary with a Collection of Local Proverbs and Popular Superstitions, Francis Grose (London, 1787)
The Dialect of Kent in the 14th Century, Richard Morris (Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. VI, 1863)
Dr Pegge’s Alphabet of Kenticisms and Collection of Proverbial Sayings Used in Kent. Communicated by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat (Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. IX, 1874)
A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect and Provincialisms: in use in the county of Kent, W. D. Parish and W. F. Shaw (Lewes, Farncombe, 1888)
Memories of Malling and Its Valley, Charles Henry Fielding (Oliver, 1893). Has a chapter on Kentish proverbs and a list of Kentish names for wildlife.
The English Dialect Dictionary, being the complete vocabulary of all dialect words still in use, or known to have been in use during the last two hundred years, Joseph Wright (1898, six volumes)
English Dialects from the Eighth Century to the Present Day, Walter W. Skeat, 1911 Cambridge University Press.
“The Dialect of Kent”, Frank C. Elliston-Erwood (Invicta Magazine, Vol.3 No.4, December 1913)
The Dialect of Kent: Being the Fruits of Many Rambles, F. W. T. Sanders (Private limited edition, 1950).
A New Dictionary of Kent Dialect, Alan Major (Meresborough Books, 1981)
Kentish As She Wus Spoke, Alan Major (S B Publications, 2001)
Kent Dialect, Ian Howe (Bradwell Books, 2012)
Fictional Works
Aside from the dictionaries and word collections, probably the best way to get a feel for the pre-industrial Kentish dialect is to read the doggerel poem most commonly known as Dick and Sal at Canterbury Fair, written in the first quarter of the nineteenth century and attributed to John White Masters. This ballad of one hundred 4 line verses describes how Dick and Sal walked to Canterbury and the sights and sounds of the town and fair, written largely in a dialect quite unlike that spoken in modern day Kent. The most commonly available version is contained in Parish & Shaw’s Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. This version, published in 1888, is however quite significantly different from the first edition which was called Dick and Sal; or Jack and Joanses Fair, which is thought to be a more faithful representation of the Kentish dialect of that time, free from the reinterpretations imposed by the Victorians. It is interesting to study the differences and also to work out the meaning of the dialect words. There are some definitions of the dialect words and phrases used in Dick and Sal available online and in books, but I have been working on a more complete set which I hope to show in a series of posts looking at this significant work.
There are also a few other works of fiction which incorporate some Kentish dialect, including Dame Hobday, and her grandson, and a whale, And Noah’s flood, and may other things! – A TALE by Edward Nairne (Sandwich, 1791) and Lays and Legends of the Weald of Kent by Lilian Winser (London, 1897).
I have found some indications that the works below may contain some examples of Kentish dialect, I would love to be able to examine them, along with any of Frederick Sanders privately published books.
Time O’ Lilacs and Other Times, S. C. Nethersole (Mills & Boon, 1922)
is meant to contain some Kentish words.
A Return to Nature, Elsa D’Esterre Keeling (Jarrold, 1897)
The story of a visit paid to a Kent village by a lady graduate to act as governess to an American boy. “Readers will be acquainted with Kent dialect, and some of the expressions are curious.”
Cottage Folk, Mrs Comyns Carr (1901)
Pease Granock’s Father and In Perilous Times, Bessie Marchant
Cowferry Isle and Eastward Drift, Edward Percy
Set on Romney Marsh with some dialect words.
Websites
Kent Archaeological Society has two downloads available:
The Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect and Provincialisms in use in the county of Kent by W. D. Parish and W. F. Shaw was published by Farncombe & Co., Lewes in 1888.
A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect
A KAS publication containing material from four sources including W. D. Parish and W. F. Shaw’s dictionary
The British Library Sounds website has some recordings of Kent dialect from the 1950s up to the present day.
A BBC regional news page has a discussion of accent and language in the south-east of England.
The Kent Online Parish Clerks website has a section Kent Family Garden with a feature on Kentish dialect, a copy of “Dick and Sal” and a short dictionary.
This site on walks in Kent has an interesting page on the derivation of Kent place-names
Some notes on the dialects of Middle English.
Kenticisms 