CULTRA, HOLYWOOD, CO.DOWN BT18 OEU, NORTHERN IRELAND, TEL +44 (0)28 9042 8428

The archive is composed of a unique collection of books, tape recordings, research papers and notes etc relating to the study of language. This collection consists of material gathered by a variety of interested individuals and institutions including Sir John Byers, Professor R.J. Gregg, J.J. Marshall, T.G.F. Paterson and Brendan Adams.

It comprises research notes and recordings of and relating to local proverbs, sayings, folklore, wordlists and poetry, dating mainly from the 20th century. Also included is a growing list of dialect items, first initiated by the Belfast Naturalist Field Club in 1951, but continued by officers at the Museum, which went on to form the basis of the 'Concise Ulster Dictionary' (Oxford University Press, 1996). The Dialect Archive also includes rare, published, but out-of-print sources on dialect, such as the work by William Lutton (1923), J.J. Marshall (1904), W.H. Patterson (1880) and Michael Traynor (1953). Also associated with the Dialect Archive is a tape-recorded survey of Hiberno-English, the results of which can be found deposited as part of the Museum's Sound Archive.
Staff contact: Anne Smyth, Archive Manager
Access: Please telephone 028 9042 8428 for an appointment or query.