A UNIVERSITY lecturer from Switzerland visited the Tynedale town she is researching as part of a focus on language in the North-East.

Mirjam Schmalz, a lecturer at the University of Zurich, has been studying dialect in rural parts of the Tyne Valley as part of the international research she and Sandra Jansen, of the University of Paderborn, in Germany, are jointly undertaking.

After an initial appeal through the Hexham Courant, a handful of Hexham residents did contact Mirjam to take part. However, a more varied age group is being sought.

Anyone interested in taking part, which involves reciting and recording a short story, should email mirjam.schmalz@es.uzh.ch