[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by garinda

Try this for a little light reading at bedtime, from 1748.

http://gredos.usal.es/jspui/bitstrea...alect_1748.pdf



I should imagine it's a struggle, even for those of the broadest Lancashire accent.

To me it's like reading Spanish, which I don't really speak.

With just the odd word or two making sense.

I could make out some of it, but that lot was written in the 1700's, probably hearing it spoken it might make more sense. Waugh was one of the best at writing the Lanky dialect, as it was spoken in the 1900's.
Reading old documents from the 1100's to the 1800's shows a marked difference in spelling, which would also affect pronunciation.

Retlaw.