Category: BBC;
bbc.co.uk
Date: 22.08.2005
Printable version
The accents and local slang words of the people of Nottinghamshire,
Leicestershire and Derbyshire are to be preserved forever at the British
Library Sound Archive as a result of them taking part in
Voices, a season of BBC Radio and TV programmes running
between 20 and 28 August.
BBC Voices presents a snapshot of the ways we all speak
across the UK in the early 21st Century. At its heart is a ground-breaking
recording of 1,000 voices from across the country.
Examples of the recordings to be stored in the British
Library Sound Archive are the stories of five ex-servicemen, who are
now fire-fighters and work in the Ashfield area of Nottinghamshire.
They discuss the military slang they used while they
were in the forces - derived from words they picked up while serving
in India and Africa - bringing them back to the Nottingham area, shortening
and evolving them and integrating them into their daily vocabulary.
In addition, the fire-fighters also talk about life
during the miners' strike of the Eighties, and how the term 'scab' was
used to describe a strike-breaker during these times.
They describe
how the word cuts deeper and is far more powerful than any swear word
could ever be - creating divides between close family members that were
never repaired.
Another example of the recordings are the stories of
former miners from the town of Coalville, Leicestershire.
Horace recalls how, when he was working down the pits,
being a Leicestershire lad, he referred to lunch as 'snap'; but the
Geordie miners he would come across called it 'piece time' and the Scottish
would call it 'bread'.
In addition, fellow ex-miner Kevin tells how people
who originally hailed from the Coalville area, but emigrated to a far-off
country like Australia or New Zealand, would return with a 'twang' to
their accent. Yet within two minutes of speaking to a local, they would slip
back into their original dialect.
He recalls how proud these ex-pats
are of their native accent and of bringing their family back to their
roots so that they can hear how people speak like they used to.
An further example of the recordings to be stored in
the British Library are the memories of a group from Belper, Derbyshire,
reminiscing about their childhood experiences.
They talk about the phrases they use to describe feeling
poorly. 'Ee were badly' translates to not feeling well – but can
vary from area to area, becoming 'Ay were badly' the next town over.
In addition, farmers from Matlock are interviewed and
put forward various names for cow or cattle -
including 'beast', 'teats' and 'paps' - and explain that a funnel
for pouring diesel is called a 'ton dish'.
Mick Ord, Project Director, BBC Voices, says: "It's
a really great achievement by the audio gatherers to capture nearly
1,000 voices, each one unique and each one an example of the great heritage
of accent and dialect we have across the UK.
"This will get people talking and hopefully discussing
their own 'language story', because we all have at least one."
BBC Voices is a season of programming across the BBC,
exploring and documenting the way people speak today.
More than 32,000 people have taken part in the BBC's online
survey to create a 'Word Map' that reflects the richness and diversity
of the English language.
The results of this are available at bbc.co.uk/voices
- log on and find out more about which words are most popular in your
area and to hear further recordings.
Local words, dialects and phrases are also featured
on the BBC Where I Live site for all three counties, including a guide
to the local lingo and an explanation of where the local dialect originated
from.
Find this at at bbc.co.uk/nottingham/voices2005 for Nottingham;
at bbc.co.uk/leicester/voices for Leicester; and at bbc.co.uk/derby/voices2005
for Derby.
