The title of Melody Lasalle's post, "Harry Jackson, I Need to Talk to You," caught my eye this past week. Perhaps because I've been researching a line of ancestors from England, I immediately wondered whether I would be able to understand my ancestors if I could ask them questions. Would their accents (and mine for them) make communication difficult?
I delight to hear accents -- from any part of the U.S., from England, or from anywhere else in the world -- and I especially enjoy hearing British accents. But enjoying an accent doesn't mean I always understand what the speaker is saying. Sometime an interpreter would be helpful.
Thinking about my Northumberland ancestors and their probable accents sent me to the internet to see what an accent from that county might sound like. I found several youtube videos and read viewers' comments who pointed out that there's a difference between the accent of a native speaker and the accent of a non-native speaker imitating the native speaker. Based on comments, I think the three videos below were the best examples of the native language of Northumberland (excluding the even more localized accents of Pitmatic and Geordie).
This particular video, below, has 30 dialects from around the U. K. but it will begin mid-video where someone from Northumberland speaks for a minute or two. (You can listen to all the accents by restarting the video.)
This next video comes from the British Drama Club. It is a recording on vinyl and is a little scratchy but, in my opinion, worth listening to for the accent.
And this last video comes from the Northumbrian Language Society. Listen closely. Even then you may not understand all the words.
I know that language changes over time so it would be hard to definitively say that my ancestors from Northumberland sounded like any of these speakers. No matter how much or little the language changed over nearly two centuries, I suspect that their accents would be a challenge for me to understand today. But I'd certainly be willing to try! I would hope my ancestors would be patient with me, too. (For anyone interested in learning more about the language of Northumberland, see Northumbriana, website of the Northumbrian Language Society.)
So, tell me, did you catch everything the speakers said? Or were there parts that sounded like a foreign language?
Have you ever considered whether it could a challenge to have a conversation with any of your ancestors because of accents or language?
--Nancy.
Copyright ©2018, Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
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"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers...." Malachi 4:6
I have even had to consider pronunciation within a single county when the census enumerator has recoded a place of birth that never existed. What did he hear? My example is Aserby, Lincolnshire which could be one of a few places due to local dialect. Birthplace was only on one census and no sign of a baptism/christening record.
ReplyDeleteWhile researching for this post I learned that Northumberland also has several accents, something that surprised me. It makes for interesting, and sometimes frustrating, research doesn't it, Hilary? Could Aserby have been Asterby? (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterby.)
DeleteGood topic, Nancy, and I love the way you built a post from what Melody had shared! Just reading the Outlander books has made me aware not only of accent and dialect differences, but also the use of archaic words. I learn new-old words every time I open the book! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth. I haven't read any of the Outlander books. Do you think the accents are authentic to the time period? I should check it out.
DeleteVery interesting! I've always been interested in how language shapes lived experience, how we perceive and interact with the world.
ReplyDeleteI've been interested in language for many years. Do you think language shapes experience or experiences shape language? Sometimes I wonder if language changes because or slang or because people don't enunciate clearly. It's interesting how the meanings of words change over time.
DeleteFascinating post. And a very cool idea to link in the YouTube videos for audio examples!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo. I love listening to accents so it made sense to search for and share youtube videos.
DeleteSo true! I saw a movie from Ireland one time and it actually had subtitles though the actors were speaking English. Or some form of it, LOL
ReplyDeleteOh, Ellie, that's too funny. Do you remember what movie it was? I'd be interested in watching it even if only for the accents.
DeleteI think the shaping of language by and experience and experience by language is fluid. If you're interested in American dialects, I found some information you might be interested in on the Library of Congress website. (I seaeched for "linguistics.") https://www.loc.gov/collections/?q=Linguistics
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip and link, Liz. I wish I could find a similar resource for British accents. Perhaps I'll see if The National Archives has a similar collection.
DeleteIs this along the lines of what you're looking for? https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/oral-history
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liz. Yes, a collection like this will be very useful.
DeleteI'm glad to hear it!
ReplyDelete