Who Are Geordies?
The Geordie nickname originates from and is used to describe people from the north east of England, specifically people from the areas of North And South Tyneside, Northumberland (which includes Tynedale and Hexham) and the mainly western areas of County Durham.
The terms Geordie or Geordies probably originated from the fact that the miners in the north east coalfields used George Stephenson's safety lamps to prevent underground explosions, rather than the Davy lamp which was more commonplace. If that's true then maybe Geordies have George Stephenson to thank for not having the nickname "Davies" instead.
The term also used to encompass the people living in the north east areas of Sunderland and Middlesbrough but this has been dropped by a large proportion of the people in these areas, who now prefer to be recognised as Mackems or Smoggies respectively.
These short video clips perfectly capture the essence of the Geordie accent compared to so called "Proper English". It must be pointed out however that like any other people who talk with an accent, Geordies are very capable at speaking the "Queens" English should the occasion arise. (That last bit, which I italicised, made me giggle..as it's the sound of a Geordie getting on his/her high horse!!! )
* A person from South Shields is a Geordie or more affectionately known as a Sand Dancer. Not sure that the Wikipedia version of the meaning is correct. From what I've always understood there were a lot of Arabs** (and still are) living in South Shields. That fact combined with the location of South Shields, right on the North Eastern coast, is why we are called "Sand Dancers".
** Roman Arab reference: Arbeia (name of Roman Fort) in South Shields...Arbeia is thought to be a Latinised form of a name originally from Aramaic - the native language of the last attested unit stationed at the fort - meaning 'the Place of the Arabs'.
