BATH not 'barth'Continuing on from last weeks blog Snow Leopard has been loaded it is fully operational, without any visible glitches and all is as perfect as Apple claim it to be !
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Today we are awaiting the arrival of special visitors from that island that lies between us and the european continent, on that island four old nations live in comparative harmony. These particular folk are from England two will arrive this day and two more tomorrow, neither couple knowing the other. It will be interesting to see how they communicate and interact when they get together both having the same language.
The way in which the English speak English often denotes the class or the assumed class of the speaker, nowhere is this more apparent than in London and its outer areas where dialect is largely avoided by the professional classes and is a common form of snobbishness or so it seems to me.
I often wonder why people with good strong county accents feel the need to lose their dialect and conjoin with others in uttering a flat insipid style of speech that lacks vitality. Fortunately the displacement of dialect
rarely occurs with the people from Northern or Southwestern counties.
This past week I have been listening to the Beeb in order to attune my ears to hearing and deciphering English English, which is entirely different to that which is pronounced on this island. The most noticeable difference with the non dialect English is the addition of the R sound when using an A which sounds like AR for example Bath actually sounds like Barth !
They have been here, those non dialect English speakers, and after having had several drinks while sitting around the fire, their rich county accents have flowed out and warmed the atmosphere. Which makes me suspect that their adoption of the non dialect English in the first place stemmed from some sort of inhibition or insecurity.
I do though understand the need to fit in when moving to a different area or country. Fitting in is done by being considerate to others, using common sense by not forcing your ways on them or comparing the new place with your last abode. Otherwise an outspoken neighbour might tell you to return to whence you came.
Our accents do though change minimally and naturally as we unconsciously accept the different idioms of dialect of our new place of abode.
Strangely, every person that meets us hears different parts of our voice; in much the same way as each person recognises facial features differently too. For example, I once shaved off my beard. Some people noticed right away while others didn't notice at all and some did not even recognise me until I spoke.
