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'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 12:26 am
Interest has been shown recently in my native accent. Though I am a natural born Englander, I don't speak in a way that many people outside my region would be familar; ie, Received Pronunciation or Cockney. I hail from the Black Country region of the West Midlands - most emphatically
not Birmingham, thank you very much - and thus I speak what's known in official linguistic circles as Black Country Dialect (BCD). Even if you think you know how it sounds, you're most probably wrong. To address this, I present this two-part video showcasing some native BCD speakers (plus a few others of indeterminate origin) explaining some choice local phrases:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqIcbLkY2...re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=end...zviWAyO6Oc
Actually, my accent isn't as thick as some of theirs (much to my shame), as a result of exposure to more common elements.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 1:11 am
He can't be a real Aussie - he had no corks dangling from his hat. Incidentally, you'd be surprised how many times I and my fellow Black Countrymen get taken for Australian by visiting tourists.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 1:22 am
You should see the blank expressions I get from my Geordie accent! Anyone outside the north east doesn't have a clue what i'm on about.
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true - Carl Sagan
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 1:30 am
(This post was last modified: February 23, 2012 at 1:31 am by Cyberman.)
I can fully relate to that. I have a Geordie uncle, and even though I've known him all my life, I still struggle to catch what he says sometimes. I just nod and pretend I understand
Right, so we've got a Black Countrymon, an Aussie and a Geordie. Anyone else wanna play?
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 2:12 am
American or Canadian, but yeah, usually from that part of the world. Incidentally, one time I was stopped in town by a bunch of young giggling Japanese girls - it was like being pounced on by the Sailor Moon gang - anyway, they stuck a camera in my hand and got me to take a photo of them standing underneath and pointing at the Tesco sign outside our local branch of the store. They were most insistent that the sign be in the picture, so I've often wondered if the word means something rude in Japanese?
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 3:09 am
(This post was last modified: February 23, 2012 at 3:11 am by MrSkeptic.)
(February 23, 2012 at 2:03 am)padraic Wrote: When I was in Cambridge I mistook some blokes in a pub for Cockney;they spoke like Jamie Oliver.(is 'mockney' a Home Counties accent?)
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Trivia about Cockney: traditionally a person born within the sound of the bells of St Mary Le Bow. In the nineteenth century those bells would have been heard all over London. (according to Peter Ackroyd ,in 'London; The Biography')
Yes Padraic a 'mockney' is someone from the home counties (typically Essex), it is very similar to cockney, so much so that only a true cockney would probably be able to tell the difference. Typically cockneys were from the East End (as you say within earshot of the bells of St Mary Le Bow), but is now generally applied to all Londoners.
For such a small country the UK has a wonderful mix of accents, most of the ones you hear on TV are usually just a general southern one but there are some very strange and obscure regional ones! Listen out for the Scouse accent (from Liverpool), absolutely brilliant!
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true - Carl Sagan
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 3:24 am
So... England can be as incomprehensible as America!!
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RE: 'ow I spake
February 23, 2012 at 1:19 pm
I literally could not understand the guy in the Batmon T-shirt. It was like Boomhauer on "King of the Hill."
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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