Upper Nidderdale was part of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, however, you may find our local dialect has more in common with the traditional North Riding. Most Yorkshire accents you’ll hear on TV are modern day West and South Yorkshire e.g. Leeds and Sheffield, and these are actually quite different to the dialect traditionally spoken in the Dales. For example you might hear “reyt” for “right”, or “rahnd” for “round” in West Yorkshire today, but you’re more likely to hear “reet” and “roond” in the Dales.
Upper Nidderdale is right on the border with the old North Riding, which may provide a partial explanation as trade (particularly farming) and family ties routinely crossed the border. Whilst the industrial revolution saw an influx of people into manufacturing towns in the old West Riding, giving them their own distinct dialect and accents, rural areas of the Dales remained relatively isolated and less influenced by outside changes.
Although dialect has become somewhat “flattened” by exposure to other accents in film and television, a recognisably Dales dialect remains, particularly among older speakers and farming families. Many agricultural terms trace their roots back to Old English and Old Norse. Some words are basically unchanged such as “gimmer”, meaning a female lamb, which comes directly from Old Norse.