BBC Voices
Conversation in Dunbar about accent, dialect and attitudes to language.
- Add a note
Log in to add a note at the bottom of this page.
- All notes
- My notes
- Hide notes
- Add to playlist
Log in to add this item to one of your personal lists.
- Add to favourites
Log in to add and display this item in your personal list of favourites on the right hand side of this page.
The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified.
Legal and ethical usage »
Type
sound
Duration
01:15:06
Shelf mark
C1190/43/08
Recording date
2005-03-18
Is part of (Collection)
BBC Voices Recordings
Recording locations
Dunbar, East Lothian
Interviewees
Ainslie, William Kenneth (Kenny), 1944 Feb. 23- (speaker, male, interviewee), Easingwood, Gordon, 1948 May 05- (speaker, male), Leslie, Colin, 1970 July 01- (speaker, male), Smith, Andrew, 1939 Feb. 26- (speaker, male)
Interviewers
White, Claire, 1978 Jan. 29- (speaker, female)
Producers
Radio Scotland
Abstract
[00:00:00] Speakers introduce themselves. Discussion of words used to describe PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES. Anecdote about drunken encounter with police. Description of hats worn in past by women working in local fields called uglies. Comment that when he was at school teachers forced left-handed children to write with their right hand. Anecdote about learning to write with left hand as a child because of injury to right hand.[00:18:49] Discussion of words used to describe WEATHER AND SURROUNDINGS. Comment that living in a seaside holiday resort means that they hear words and phrases used by visitors that wouldnt necessarily be used locally. Description of duffie type of school toilet used in past. Comment that he calls things by what theyre meant to be in front of his young children.[00:27:46] Discussion of words used to describe PEOPLE AND THINGS. Comment that as children growing up in the fishing community they werent allowed to call relatives by their first name until they had left school to show respect for their elders. Comment that in the past men didnt wear jewellery unless they were fishermen who wore earrings to identify where they came from. Mention story that old sailors always wore a gold earring in past to pay for their burial if they were drowned at sea and washed up in a foreign country.[00:50:24] Discussion of words used to describe CLOTHING. Mention words for particular items of clothing.[00:56:30] Discussion of words used to describe EMOTIONS.[01:01:22] Discussion of words used to describe ACTIONS.[01:07:18] Discussion about Dunbar speech and accent, other people having difficulty understanding them, how Dunbar accent is changing, mention local way of pronouncing numbers. Anecdote about speaking with Dunbar accent in Germany. Discussion about language used by fishermen, how it has changed over time. Comment that language used by farmers is completely different, how these two languages mix at school. Mention how speakers know each other. Speakers re-introduce themselves.
Description
BBC warning: this interview contains language which some may find offensive. Recording made for BBC Voices project of a conversation guided by a BBC interviewer. The conversation follows a loose structure based on eliciting opinions about accents, dialects, the words we use and people's attitude to language. The four interviewees are all close friends from Dunbar.
Texts
Metadata record: