BBC Voices

Conversation in Hawick about accent, dialect and attitudes to language.

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  • Type

    sound

  • Duration

    00:58:41

  • Shelf mark

    C1190/43/15

  • Recording date

    2004-11-11

  • Is part of (Collection)

    BBC Voices Recordings

  • Recording locations

    Hawick, Scottish Borders

  • Interviewees

    Armstrong, Robert (Bert), 1924 Oct. 08- (speaker, male, interviewee), Elliott, Madge, 1928 June 20- (speaker, female), Landles, Ian, 1952 June 15- (speaker, male), Stewart, David, 1930 May 21- (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 EMOTIONS.[00:07:00] Discussion of words used to describe ACTIONS. Comment that their generation didnt play truant from school because there was discipline in the home when they were young. Description of games played as children. Recitation of dialect poem about childhood games.[00:12:38] Discussion of words used to describe PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES. Mention that left-handed children were forced to use right hand at school.[00:17:59] Discussion of words used to describe WEATHER AND SURROUNDINGS. Recitation of dialect poem Wet Day. Mention words used to mean wet. Comment that in past many people would share one toilet in local tenement buildings. Mention that in past everything was kept below kitchen bed, recitation of dialect poem Below the Kitchen Bed.[00:26:41] Discussion of words used to describe PEOPLE AND THINGS. Description of teddy boys in past compared to young people in cheap trendy clothes today. Recitation of part of dialect poem.[00:35:08] Discussion of words used to describe CLOTHING.[00:35:47] Discussion about Hawick speech, use and meaning of local words and phrases, some taken from Speak Teri book about Hawick speech. Mention words used for numbers/letters in Hawick, pronunciation of local family names, word used to mean unwell. Explanation of words and phrases associated with textile industry. Comment that some words they use sound Chinese. Mention words used to mean going to various places/for local towns. Description of working in tweed mills in past.[00:46:39] Discussion about how Hawick speech has changed over time, possible reasons for this, use of and attitudes towards Hawick dialect, being told to speak English at school in past. Mention origin of particularly Hawick word used to describe multiple sledges tied together. Discussion about when they would use Hawick/English, changing speech in certain situations. Performance of various Hawick dialect songs. Speakers re-introduce themselves.

  • Description

    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 local history enthusiasts and members of the Hawick Archaeological Society.

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