Pedants' Revolt

[celeste]

Cheethamgirl:
 
Since living in the South has your accent changed much?

[cheethamgirl]

Yes it has Celeste.  Lost my Manky twang completely.  Hardly surprising as I've lived the greater part of my life in the south.  However, when I was at primary school, back in the 60's, our 4th year teacher recorded each of us reading out a favourite poem.  When he played it back, I couldn't believe how bad I sounded. I started making an effort  to improve my speech, even at the age of 10. Hearing the variety of different accents around me in Cheetham was, I think, what gave me my ear for languages.


Hubby has never lost his northern (Lymm) accent tho.  What was funny was the way our Bucks born daughter used to speak to me in a southern accent but spoke to her dad in a northern one.  She'd ask me if we could go to visit Windsor 'carsell' (Castle) but, when her dad came home she'd tell him about her tip to the 'cassel'.


I should add that, at times of severe stress, I have been known to lapse into Mankspeak - eg 'bluddyell!'  It's not just the accent but also the intonation of that which goes sort of like this: ~~.  When really pushed to the limit, I have also been known to emit that classic Manky swearword 'kinELL'!   


  

[tony dixon]

Also in the North in the fifties we had mills with huge brick " chimleys " and when you got new clothes you went round to all your relatives houses where they would put a " threepenny joey " in your " sky rocket " - that's pocket for those not familiar with the lingo.

We'd go to the chippy for a " pea mixture " - chips and peas - we'd clash with rival gangs and throw " duckers " ( stones ) at them and we'd sometimes go to the sea-side on " wakes week "

Life was so much simpler in those days.                                                                                             

[celeste]

I was the opposite in a way with my accent, when I was about eleven a younger lad who lived round the corner said 'don't you speak posh' and I was very self-conscious and tried to tone it down until my mother pulled me up about it, I have been asked if I came from the South but by an American lady who I met in Warrington

[cheethamgirl]

When I was 6, I visited my Uncle & Aunt in London and went out to play with my cousin and her friends at the local 'rec' (they called play parks 'recreation grounds' dahn sahff).  They all took the mick out of the way I spoke, especially when I said 'anyroad' instead of 'anyway'.  I too felt self conscious about it so I started trying to speak like them, but they took umbrage at this and beat me up.


When my Bucks-born daughter was about the same age, we went north to visit all the relatives, and she was chatting away with one of her little cousins when an Auntie said: 'Eh dunnt yore liccklun talk nice?  I say, licclun, yer talk reel nice, dunnt yer?'
Daughter looks at me for help.   



   

[celeste]

I had to read that twice,  it can be embarrassing for both parties and whoever has to explain.
 
It seems Cheryl Cole is having the same problem with her Geordie accent, unlesss it is all a facade for publicity purposes

[cheethamgirl]

Everytime I see Cheryl Cole on that advert for hair products, it seems to me she is bemoaning the lack of stature of her Scandinavian boyfriend.  She complains: "Leif's too short"!


 

[celeste]

Well I read that she had hair extensions put in for that ad - because she's worth it!

[cheethamgirl]

That's right, she did.  I note that in a lot of mascara ads these days the models are wearing false eyelashes.  Tsk tsk.