Definite article reduction (original) (raw)

Definite article reduction (DAR) is the term used in recent linguistic work to refer to the use of vowel-less forms of the definite article the in Northern dialects of English English, for example in the Yorkshire dialect. DAR is often represented by dialect spelling "t'" or "th'". DAR is found in most traditional Northern English varieties and even some North Midlands dialects, however, the dialects of Northumberland, northern/central County Durham, and the northernmost part of Cumberland around Carlisle are not affected by DAR.