The Great English Language

[baan_yangyai]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

[Wes Turner]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

[baan_yangyai]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

Ta v.much Wes Turner! Yes we certainly can! From your signature, I guess you're from Canada Eh?

[Wes Turner]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

Ta v.much Wes Turner! Yes we certainly can! From your signature, I guess you're from Canada Eh?

Yup and i still have some DOE left, some wonga!! alright mate, how isit hanging?

[redrus]

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

[baan_yangyai]

Did u mean Aluminium or Aluminum?

[suegha]

I'm from Ireland where you can experience 100s of different accents, UK is the same. I think it dates back to when our ancestors didn't travel (hardly at all) many people were born, lived and died in the same village and never ventured more than a few miles.

Other factors then started entering in when people started travelling, as Liverpool, which has a very distinct accent, was affected by the large Irish community. But in each case of development it was distinct merging with distinct, so the UK and Ireland still have a huge diversity of accents. Good, I say, it's all part of life's rich tapestry!

[chuchok]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Could it be the English spoken on Pitcairn Island.(Descendants of the "Mutiny on the Bounty". )Apparently their English is like stepping back 150b years.They commonly use words like shalt, thou etc...

[redrus]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Could it be the English spoken on Pitcairn Island.(Descendants of the "Mutiny on the Bounty". )Apparently their English is like stepping back 150b years.They commonly use words like shalt, thou etc...

I'll sithee later, up ower till ower yonder.. (I'll see you later, over the hill over there.)

They still speak like that up in the Yorkshire Dales too.

redrus

[gburns57au]

Who the Fluck cares.....talk about it in an English forum

[chuchok]

Pitmatic (originally "pitmatical") is a dialect of English used in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. It developed as a separate dialect from Northumbrian and Geordie due to the specialised terms used by mineworkers in the local coal pits. For example, in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear the word "Cuddy" is an abbreviation of the name Cuthbert (particularly the local saint, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne), but in Durham Pitmatic, as in Lowland Scots, "cuddy" denotes a horse, specifically a pit pony.

Traditionally, pitmatic, together with some rural Northumbrian communities including Rothbury, used a distinctive, soft, rolled "R" sound, produced at the very back of the throat. This is now less frequently heard: since the closure of the area's deep mines, and the subsequent dilution of the area's identity, many young people speak in a more generic "Geordie-like" way. The softly throaty "R" sound can, however, still sometimes be detected, especially amongst elderly populations in more rural areas.

While in theory pitmatic was spoken throughout the Great Northern Coalfield, from Ashington in Northumberland to Trimdon in County Durham, early references apply specifically to its use by miners "especially from the Durham district" (1873) and to its use in County Durham (1930).

[JimsKnight]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Could it be the English spoken on Pitcairn Island.(Descendants of the "Mutiny on the Bounty". )Apparently their English is like stepping back 150b years.They commonly use words like shalt, thou etc...

I'll sithee later, up ower till ower yonder.. (I'll see you later, over the hill over there.)

They still speak like that up in the Yorkshire Dales too.

redrus

I was in my car giving a co-worker a lift in, he was from south Yorkshire whilst talking about the long distances covered driving he said to me -

'ow long did it taake thee to come hither from Lancashire?'

I've studied a bit of olde english before but but hearing it said like that made me think it was from the medieval man of the 1400s!

I was unsure what he was trying ask at first even though all the words would be recognised written down by most english folk (and dare I say it, a few yanks!) I asked him to repeat it and he switched to modern english, although he then said 'ow long did it take you to come 'ere!'

[daleyboy]

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

[Guest endure]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Could it be the English spoken on Pitcairn Island.(Descendants of the "Mutiny on the Bounty". )Apparently their English is like stepping back 150b years.They commonly use words like shalt, thou etc...

I'll sithee later, up ower till ower yonder.. (I'll see you later, over the hill over there.)

They still speak like that up in the Yorkshire Dales too.

redrus

I was in my car giving a co-worker a lift in, he was from south Yorkshire whilst talking about the long distances covered driving he said to me -

'ow long did it taake thee to come hither from Lancashire?'

My Grandad (who was from North Derbyshire) used to talk like that all the time.

[zzap]

Ta v.much Wes Turner! ...

From 'up North', are we?

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

That's right...

Did u mean Aluminium or Aluminum?

Aluminum, of course. What is Aluminium???

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

And I thought it was Watford...

Edited February 14, 2006 by zzap

[suegha]

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

[thaibebop]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

I am surprised your yank friend was surprised. We here in America have more accents than we know what to do with, so why shouldn't the UK?

[zzap]

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

[suegha]

I actually think that non-brits are amazed that the UK has such a range of accents because it's so small, by comparison to so many other places I mean.

[thaibebop]

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

You think that is what makes up American accents? New York(all five barrows are different) and New Jersey have their own accents as does BeanTown and Chicago, Mid-west, deep south, Georgia and the Carolinas, The Cheese state and the Land of 10,000 Lakes speak with the same accents. All of this by english speakers.

[Rj 81]

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

Your just gutted rkid that your not a Manc, I fink your just a proper closet Manc in disguise

[zzap]

I am sorry, i guess this exposes my ignorance.

[Prakanong2005]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Why it ow I speak bonny lad (or used to with the dialect as well but only the accent now)

It comes from Northumberland and Durham coalfields

[thaibebop]

I am sorry, i guess this exposes my ignorance.

No harm done, now ya know.

[Prakanong2005]

Think how they speak in Billy Elliott the movie or now the musical

It was set in my home town.

S'funny now as my sister lives in a 250,000GBP house built on the site of one of coal mines that shut in the early 90's - at that time you could get an aaprtment in the town for well under 10,000GBP

[PeaceBlondie]

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

You think that is what makes up American accents? New York(all five barrows are different) and New Jersey have their own accents as does BeanTown and Chicago, Mid-west, deep south, Georgia and the Carolinas, The Cheese state and the Land of 10,000 Lakes speak with the same accents. All of this by english speakers.

Hate to disagree with you, Thaibebop, but I was born in Chicago, and we'd take our vacations in southern Wisconsin, s. Michigan, and pass through northern Indiana, the birthplace of standard American radio broadcasters. Fifty years ago, I couldn't tell a 1% difference. Of course, the Scandanavian immigrants in Minnesota spoke with their national accents, but the same is true of any immigrants anywhere. I agree that NY-NJ has a dialect or accent, but never heard before that Neuw Yahwk City had five wheelbarrows. OK, Brooklyn guys, yeah. And Boston, for sure. And while I never heard many of them talk, Vermont-NH-Maine are different from New York.

Okay, Texas has two or three accents, but it's bigger than Thailand, which has numerous dialects. But by the late 20th century, I suspect most of the Confederate states had mellowed out a lot, or melted together. IJWT can do some great Carolina and Alabama accents, but they're comical exaggerations of casual talk. I've picked up the George W. Bush Midland-Odessa oil roughneck Spanish: "Booo-WAY-nus DI-ass, Seen-your-eat-ah, Cooooomo estaaas?"

I think colloquial speech is what we're talking about, but for formal responses in school, for announcements and the like, there's generally a 'standard American English' and a 'BBC' or 'standard' or 'Queen's English' in the UK.

My son can already spot someone from a different county of Ireland, sometimes. He's learning to sound County Clare.

Bostonians say, "I have no idear wheah my cah is.

[Guest endure]

I think colloquial speech is what we're talking about, but for formal responses in school, for announcements and the like, there's generally a 'standard American English' and a 'BBC' or 'standard' or 'Queen's English' in the UK.

The only people who speak the Queen's English in the UK are the Queen and a few toffs. I used to have a landlord who was a minor toff (Eton & the Guards) who was reasonably comprehensible on a good day but he had a brother whose plum was so large I simply couldn't understand more than 10% of what he said. He was an absolute nightmare on the phone

[Nignoy]

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

must agree there redrus , as a scouse, who lived and worked in germany for over 20 years, I used to enjoy changing to the different dialects, even now when I speak to germans I find myself naturally falling into their dialect, only problem is ,as oldtimers disease sets in it plays hel_l,, with my thai, laos and khmer, and if I happen to be slurping the odd Lao Khao usually fall back into Swahili nignoy

[redrus]

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

must agree there redrus , as a scouse, who lived and worked in germany for over 20 years, I used to enjoy changing to the different dialects, even now when I speak to germans I find myself naturally falling into their dialect, only problem is ,as oldtimers disease sets in it plays hel_l,, with my thai, laos and khmer, and if I happen to be slurping the odd Lao Khao usually fall back into Swahili nignoy

Only learned every day Deutch when I was there but, it was Plait where I lived (Emden in Ostfriesland).

redrus

Ps; glad to see your tickers holding out Nignoy did you get that replacement....?

[ChiefBEM]

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

You think that is what makes up American accents? New York(all five barrows are different) and New Jersey have their own accents as does BeanTown and Chicago, Mid-west, deep south, Georgia and the Carolinas, The Cheese state and the Land of 10,000 Lakes speak with the same accents. All of this by english speakers.

Hate to disagree with you, Thaibebop, but I was born in Chicago, and we'd take our vacations in southern Wisconsin, s. Michigan, and pass through northern Indiana, the birthplace of standard American radio broadcasters. Fifty years ago, I couldn't tell a 1% difference. Of course, the Scandanavian immigrants in Minnesota spoke with their national accents, but the same is true of any immigrants anywhere. I agree that NY-NJ has a dialect or accent, but never heard before that Neuw Yahwk City had five wheelbarrows. OK, Brooklyn guys, yeah. And Boston, for sure. And while I never heard many of them talk, Vermont-NH-Maine are different from New York.

Okay, Texas has two or three accents, but it's bigger than Thailand, which has numerous dialects. But by the late 20th century, I suspect most of the Confederate states had mellowed out a lot, or melted together. IJWT can do some great Carolina and Alabama accents, but they're comical exaggerations of casual talk. I've picked up the George W. Bush Midland-Odessa oil roughneck Spanish: "Booo-WAY-nus DI-ass, Seen-your-eat-ah, Cooooomo estaaas?"

I think colloquial speech is what we're talking about, but for formal responses in school, for announcements and the like, there's generally a 'standard American English' and a 'BBC' or 'standard' or 'Queen's English' in the UK.

My son can already spot someone from a different county of Ireland, sometimes. He's learning to sound County Clare.

Bostonians say, "I have no idear wheah my cah is.

30 years ago on my first trip to Boston I met this georgous girl.

I said "Hello"

and

before she could say anything, her girl friend ran up to us and rapidly said

"Urryup, I phaaked da cah n da yhaad n left da moota runin!"

(Try saying "Urryup, I phaaked da cah n da yhaad n left da moota runin!" real fast so you can understand what it sounded like to me.)

I told the girl that I only spoke english and asked what country they were from.

She said something else that I did not understand and walked away like she was mad at something.

Before the evening was over I learned that most people from Boston spoke their own version of the English language.