The participants were asked to describe how they spoke in their own words.
How do you describe your accent: "Welsh-language accent - local."
Have there been other influences on the way you speak: Not Given
Do you have skills in languages other than English?: Yes
Other languages: English, Welsh
ALUN: Well,I witnessed a period you know as I'd been on a farm all my life, the change from horses to tractors - you can't talk to a tractor can you...you can talk to horses and they'd hear you coming in the morning to the stable, they knew that you were coming to feed them. You know... the term that we'd use for a horse... 'jibeck' remembering back isn't it. There was a close relationship between a horse and his master. I remember my father in tears when Joyce the horse was dying, because that was the one who'd take the milk out every morning and he really felt for him greatly at that time. Now, if a tractor doesn't start we'll say "the devil (bugger) won't start!... you know". But you could talk with an animal. Another term... calling in the cows for milking 'trwy fach, trwy fach, trwy fach' (poss. through the gateway). Well now the only thing you'll hear is the sound of the farm motorbike rounding them up - you don't hear those little sayings now. And the sad thing is that they are dying out gradually.
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.
