Click on names to find out more about the participants.
Relationship of interviewees: Chris and Andrea are a married couple, both know Jill and Rod
Where: Tillingham, Essex
Language of interview: English
Voice clip 1
Jill vents her irritation at the way Essex people are portrayed by the media - they don't all speak what she describes as estuary English, dropping the Ts in words like water and butter.
Voice clip 2
A discussion of a particular word which is used locally as a harmless or even affectionate all-purpose term. Do the older generation, who use it all the time, have any idea what it means?
This clip contains language which some may find offensive.
Rod Welham
Rod talks about how his son is carrying on the local accent.
Chris Newbury, Bus fitter
Chris talks about how his wife Andrea changes the way she speaks when she's at her parents' house.
Andrea Newbury, Office/secretary
Andrea talks about a word her mother used to avoid - pregnant.
Long description of interview: All of this group have lived in this part of Essex most of their lives and are very proud of it. Although less than 50 miles from London, it is still very rural. It is known as the Dengie Hundred and the villages and towns are on the Dengie Peninsula. However, in recent years many people have moved into the area, a lot of them from London. Jill, Andrea and Rod work in offices, Chris is a bus fitter. The discussion takes place in Rod's front room. Jill is the most vocal, particularly about the changes happening to life in the area.
Foreign Language Syndrome occurs when people with brain injuries lose the ability to talk in their native accent. After a stroke, George Reynolds developed an Italian accent.
