GEORDIES think they are of Viking origin, citing the expression 'ganin hyem' because hyem is similar to the Scandinavian for 'homewards'. I thought the Tees was the northern boundary of Danelaw while Northumberland and Durham remained English? Vic Woods, Yearby, Redcar.

NORTHUMBRIA, north of the Tees, was known as Bernicia and included Northumberland, Durham and land as far north as Edinburgh. Unlike southern Northumbria (Yorkshire), the region escaped major Viking colonisation. When the Danes invaded England under Halfdene in 866 they seized York and colonised Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire and East Anglia instead. Halfdene's Danes were less interested in Bernicia. They attacked it in 875 AD and received submission, but allowed Anglo-Saxons (or more accurately Angles) to keep control. Place name evidence and political history demonstrates that most of Bernicia was outside direct Danish influence, with major exceptions being south Durham and, to a lesser extent, the Durham coast. North of the Tyne was solidly Anglo-Saxon, but Halfdene established a settlement on the promontory stronghold at Tynemouth in 875. This Danish control over the entrance to the Tyne will have severely weakened the Bernicians. Viking influence seems to have survived at Tynemouth for centuries, as Scandinavian personal names were still unusually numerous here after 1066. A 19th Century dialect expert also noted that Tynemouth had a distinct 'non-Angle' dialect more closely resembling the speech of the Durham coast than Tyneside. However, a distinct Tynemouth dialect is no longer apparent today. Strangely, the present day county of Northumberland shows very little Viking influence.

Dialect is probably a less reliable indicator of Viking settlement than place names. Norse dialect influence was very strong in Cumberland and since the Borders shared a common culture, Norse dialect words were likely to be widespread. Studies show that emerging mining dialects of Tyneside demonstrated very strong Norse features, including words like 'skeets' and 'marra', whilst 'gan hyem', a common Cumbrian expression may also have been introduced to Tyneside in this way. Dialect words of Dutch origin were already well established in Newcastle through Dutch influence on the sea port. Dutch-Geordie words include 'keek' (see) and 'hoy' (throw). These could be added to a rich supply of longer-established Northumbrian Angle words in the Geordie dialect.

l If you have a Burning Question, or can improve on the answers above, please write to Burning Questions, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or e-mail david.simpson

If you have a Burning Question, or can improve on any of the answers above, please write to Burning Questions, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or e-mail david.simpson@nne.co.uk