Is that English?

[Graye]

I remember scrages! I was always scraging my knees when I was a kid. And how about scrobble? Another word which I thought was "real" English until I was about 10.

I once heard two old chaps at the bus stop in deep conversation about local news. The one said to the other "There was a bint knocked off down Brummagem Road". I would imagine that would be totally incomprehensible to non-Midlanders?

[Millymollymandy]

Perfectly comprehensible, sounds like London/Estuary English to me!

[Graye]

Even Brummagem? I'm surprised...

[mrsflibble]

I can remember talking to a South African colleague about cakes.

Me: "I like teacakes.."
Her: "What are they? Like cupcakes, but bigger?"
Me: "No, they're kind of doughy scones, sometimes with currant/sultanas..."
Her: "Ah, that's a flapjack"
Me: "Naw, a flapjack is oats in syrup, cut into squares.."
Her: "No, that's a muffin.."
Me: "No, that's a teacake with attitude, with a weeks worth of calories.."

Et cetera!

same problem, similar conversation, me talking to my texan sister in law.

also getting her to realise that Cilanto is called corriandar here, so the leaves, stalks, roots and seeds all have the same name here was confusing. in texas, corriandar refers to the roots and seeds, cilantro to the leaves and stalks.

[Millymollymandy]

Even Brummagem? I'm surprised...

Er no, but I thought that was the name of a road!

Birmingham?

[Graye]

That's it! Although my son (we're visiting and right in the thick of Brummie accents at the moment) has just pointed out that the right way to say it is Brummajum. I suppose that's where Brum comes from... My Dad's father was a Black Country chap and his "English" was something else. I remember him telling me I couldn't do something like this "Thou mount do thar..." I don't think he knew "you", it was always thee, thou or thy. And my OH thought it was a Yorkshire thing...

[Millymollymandy]

I thought thee and thou was a Somerset thing!

[Green Aura]

I think in Yorkshire it's more thi and tha

[MuddyWitch]

I grew up using the second person singulars too (thee, thou, thine etc) in Nottinghamshire.

Most languages use such pronouns, french, spanish, itallian etc. It is actually much easier to work out what people are saying if we use them.

I miss 'one' ie 'if one were to go shopping' rather than 'if you (well, not you literally, it could just as easily be me or one of the kids), went shopping...' conversations with my hubby!

MW

[mrsflibble]

soph has a mostly essex accent, except for words like "bath", "cup" and "bugger" whu=ich all use the nottingham pronounciation. annoying 'cos then James can pin down EXACTLY where she's got certain words from lol.

[Alice Abbott]

I have a most definite American accent, although as I come from California I like to think it manages to avoid most American excesses. Mack is from Waterford so has a lovely gentle Irish accent. Now the kids seem to have developed a cross between the two - I swear they sound like the Kennedy clan - pure East Coast Bostonians! Not bad going as they have never actually been to the US yet...

[Brij]

I grew up using the second person singulars too (thee, thou, thine etc) in Nottinghamshire.

Most languages use such pronouns, french, spanish, itallian etc. It is actually much easier to work out what people are saying if we use them.

I miss 'one' ie 'if one were to go shopping' rather than 'if you (well, not you literally, it could just as easily be me or one of the kids), went shopping...' conversations with my hubby!

MW

I'm not sure if it is generally colloquial French or if it is the crossed-with-Spanish-version the family I'm staying with speak, but they use the 'tu' (second person singular) rather than 'on' (one - as in anyone) for that sort of thing - as in - you take the second left, go straight ahead and it is on the right. My French boyfriend uses it too... in fact, the only person that really uses the French equivalent of 'one' seems to be me!

Speaking the Queen's French, me!

[anarchistinslippers]

Speaking the Queen's French, me!

But she's bloody German!

[Derry]

I remember scrages! I was always scraging my knees when I was a kid. And how about scrobble? Another word which I thought was "real" English until I was about 10.

I once heard two old chaps at the bus stop in deep conversation about local news. The one said to the other "There was a bint knocked off down Brummagem Road". I would imagine that would be totally incomprehensible to non-Midlanders?

not heard scrobble before!

[Derry]

That's it! Although my son (we're visiting and right in the thick of Brummie accents at the moment) has just pointed out that the right way to say it is Brummajum. I suppose that's where Brum comes from... My Dad's father was a Black Country chap and his "English" was something else. I remember him telling me I couldn't do something like this "Thou mount do thar..." I don't think he knew "you", it was always thee, thou or thy. And my OH thought it was a Yorkshire thing...

back in t'day, brum used to be called brummagem (but probably spelt proper) and then it kinda evolved into being Birmingham =] but yuss, tis why we'm called brummies