Category: 91Èȱ¬;
bbc.co.uk
Date: 15.08.2005
Printable version
It might be some time before weather forecasters use
such language to describe a cold front across the southern half of the
UK, but all three words came out in the top ten of expressions for 'cold'
in the respective areas which took part in a major 91Èȱ¬ online survey
that's been gathering considerable momentum over the past six months.
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The results of the 'wordmap' survey are being highlighted
as part of 91Èȱ¬ Voices
week - a major exploration into what we say and how we say it around
the UK - on radio, tv and online, starting on Saturday 20 August.
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And if you thought such expressions as 'shrammed' (mainly
Bristol and Bath), 'taters' (Norwich and Peterborough) and 'knobbling'
(perfectly legal in Swansea) were quaint, then according to Dr Clive
Upton from the School of English at the University of Leeds, who helped
the 91Èȱ¬ with this project, you ain't heard nothing yet.
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So is regional dialect dying out? We might think that
the influences of television, new technology and fast transportation
links would mean that dialects in the UK are dying out - but the 91Èȱ¬
has found evidence that might show that is not necessarily the case.
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More than 32,000 people in the UK have taken part in the
Voices Word Map online survey to find out what words people use for
common things, such as grandmother, alleyway and playing truant.
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The research has been described by one of the world's
foremost experts on English Language, Professor David Crystal, as "the
most significant popular survey of regional English ever undertaken
in Britain".
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For example, around 240 words were submitted to describe
left-handed - from 'keggy' to 'corrie-fisted' - and not all of them
are very complimentary.
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Back in 1950, the University of Leeds carried out a
similar but smaller survey and only found 84 words for left-handed.
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Although the two surveys can't be directly compared,
the results are still quite remarkable and show there's a huge appetite
for local dialect and language.
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People were very keen to tell the 91Èȱ¬ about their words,
perhaps because it says something about their identity and where they
feel they belong.
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Sometimes words that we think are special to a particular
part of the UK, such as 'daps' in Wales and south west England, have spread
much further - whereas others, such as 'stoater' in Scotland (meaning
attractive) are only found in very localised areas.
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Mick Ord, the 91Èȱ¬'s Voices Project Director, says: "We're
working on the principle that everyone across the UK has a language
tale to tell, whether it's a word or phrase that they use or a story
about why they speak the way they do.
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"There are far more accents than there used to
be and although it may well be that some rural dialects are dying out,
not all dialect words have completely disappeared from our vocabulary.
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"More than 30,000 people have submitted words to the
online survey and it makes fascinating reading.
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"There's a common misconception
that local language has died out. nothing could be further from the
truth, if the findings of our survey are anything to go by.
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"We've recorded literally hundreds of language stories
as well. from the man who says he had his accent 'knocked out' of him
at school, to the woman who would never consider losing her accent because
it's such an integral part of her identity.
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"People will be able to hear accents from across
the UK online and on 91Èȱ¬ radio during Voices week."
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Notes to Editors
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Further
information about 91Èȱ¬ Voices is available as part of Radio Programme
Information for Week 34.
