| Language is evolving | - Ten years ago the word ‘sick’ meant ill.
- Two years ago it meant bad taste.
- Today in school playgrounds ‘sick’ means really good.
|
We’re looking for a Leicester family to feature in a BBC 2 documentary about how our accents and language are changing. The BBC is looking for a Lester family to star in a documentary about how our accents and language are changing. Through their personal stories and conversations with neighbours, extended family and friends around the UK, the programme will look at how our language is evolving and why. Our language
 | | What you talkin' bowt? |
Ten years ago the word ‘sick’ meant ill. Two years ago it meant bad taste. Today in school playgrounds ‘sick’ means really good. Young people deliberately change the meaning of words to fox their elders, but there are many other reasons why language is evolving, from the decline in deference to increased immigration; from greater social mobility to developing technology. Is this you? The BBC is looking for four generations of a Leicester family who all speak differently, different accents, different words and different phrases. These are examples of the kind of people we are looking for. Do they sound like you or anyone you know? The grandparents: Mary and Clifford, worked in the hosiery, boot and shoe or mining industries and still speak with a strong Leicestershire accent, often using words and phrases that the younger generations hardly understand. They remember when Received Pronunciation or RP was how people had to speak if they wanted to get on in life, just like the newsreaders on the BBC.
 | | Mollie - from Safforn Estate, Leicester |
Mollie - from Safforn Estate in Leicester says, "I've lost my Yorkshire accent and gained a Leicester one!" The son: Their son Bill, now in his late fifties, and about to retire as a bank manager, was the first in the family to go away to university and has lost his strong childhood dialect. He had elocution lessons to rid himself of his accent because back in the fifties it just wasn’t acceptable to have a strong regional and work in a profession. He now lives in Kent and speaks a version of ‘Estuary’ English, but when he come home he finds himself lapsing back into his old way of speaking. The granddaughter: His daughter, Juliet, is married to Suresh who runs a clothing business in Leicester and speaks with a pronounced modern Leicester accent. Both his parents came to live in the City back in the 50s and are originally from the Punjab. He sometimes speaks Punjabi to his two children, which Juliet doesn’t really understand, but she has picked up some Punjabi words that she uses in her everyday speech. The great granddaughter:
 | | Youngster - from Rushey Mead, Leicester |
Their daughter, Indira, is a feisty 15 year old who likes music, raving, clothes and boys. Her family complain that they can’t understand what she’s talking about – and she loves that! Her language is a mixture of Punjabi, Jamaican patois, cockney and American English spoken with a Leicester twist and picked up from the school playground, and from the media. At home she’s under pressure to talk ‘normally’ and not to swear and use slang. Youngster - from Rushey Mead in Leicester says, "I've got a bit of a Leicester accent, but I don't think it's too bad." If any of these characters sound like you any of your friends and family we would love to hear from you.
E-mail tim.daly@bbc.co.uk
or ring him on 0207 208 9326.
| 
