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At the end of a long day, the dealership staff often
head to the pub for a well-deserved pint. We recorded them talking about
how they use language at work and the 'motor trade' phrases they use.
As the only woman on the sales team, Sharon is often
treated as 'one of the lads' and the men don't tone down their banter
for her at all. She wouldn't mind, except that her partner tells her off
for swearing too much at home! Much of what the men came out with was
too blue to publish on the BBC's website...
Find out more about the group below. Click the links
to listen to them talking and hear the whole group in discussion in the
'best bits'.
Contributors
Alyn Aitken
Sharon Gilmour
Steve Harris
Iain Nash
Best bits
Motor trade jargon
'Sausage and mash'
'Full of arms and legs'
Name: Alyn Aitken
Age: 27
Occupation: Car sales
Lives in: Worcester
Lived here: Less than four years
Born: Irvine
Describes own accent as: "Scottish"
Languages: English (mother tongue)
Name: Sharon Gilmour
Age: 29
Occupation: Car sales
Lives in: Rednal, Birmingham
Lived here: Less than four years
Born: Irvine
Describes own accent as: "Normal"
Languages: English (mother tongue)
| Listen to Sharon |
| The men at work don't tone down their
language when Sharon's around at all. She says she finds herself talking
like a bloke even when she's at home! |
Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
Name: Steve Harris
Age: 34
Occupation: Car sales manager
Lives in: Halesowen
Lived here: All his life
Born: Birmingham
Describes own accent as: "Black Country"
Languages: English (mother tongue), some French
| Listen to Steve |
| The "wag woman" used to come
looking for children who weren't at school when Steve was a boy. |
|
Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
| Steve says people in the motor trade
stick together and he has friends working for many different companies
all over the UK. He thinks they pick up language from each other. |
|
Listen
to the clip |
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| Can English-only speakers be bilingual?
Steve says he will "tone up or tone down" depending on who
he's talking to. |
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Listen
to the clip |
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Name: Iain Nash
Age: 27
Occupation: Car sales
Lives in: Edgbaston
Lived here: Less than a year
Born: Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Describes own accent as: "Well spoken"
Languages: English (mother tongue), good French, a little German,
Korean and Japanese
| Listen to Iain |
| Iain's mother considered sending him
to elocution lessons. He explains it's because he had a very strong
Milton Keynes accent. |
|
Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
| Iain says people think he sounds posh
- especially when he's had a few beers! |
|
Listen
to the clip |
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Best bit: Motor trade jargon
The group discuss words they use at work. Examples of words to describe
cars are: "cut and shut", "ringed", "chopper"
or "swapper" and
"mint". The salesmen have lots of words about customers and
deals. They talk about a few (clean) examples.
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: 'Sausage and mash'
Steve says he uses the phrase "sausage and mash" at work - it's
rhyming slang for 'cash'. The group laugh as the BBC interviewer says
she doesn't believe he really asks about customers' "sausages".
Is Steve the world's first Black Country rhyming slanger caught on tape?
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: 'Full of arms and
legs'
Steve says a Black Country phrase for 'pregnant' is "full of arms
and legs". The group agree it's unusual but Iain says that he's heard
Steve use the phrase.
Listen
to the clip
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