BBC Voices

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

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  • Type

    sound

  • Duration

    01:00:26

  • Shelf mark

    C1190/15/04

  • Recording date

    2004-11-25

  • Is part of (Collection)

    BBC Voices Recordings

  • Recording locations

    Hereford, Herefordshire

  • Interviewees

    Hiles, Joan, 1926 May 05- (speaker, female, housewife), Hiles, Malcolm, 1953 Sept. 10- (speaker, male, food processing), Johnston, Richard, 1951 Sept. 07- (speaker, male, volunteer), Newman, John, 1938 May 24- (speaker, male, retired local councillor), Powell, Hayley, 1971 June 30- (speaker, female

  • Interviewers

    Hollings, John, 1940 May 07- (speaker, male)

  • Producers

    Radio Hereford and Worcester

  • Abstract

    [00:00:00] Speakers introduce themselves. Mention words used to mean childs soft shoes worn for physical education/unwell.[00:05:43] Discussion of words used to describe PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES. Discussion of words used to describe ACTIONS.[00:10:06] Discussion of words used to describe WEATHER AND SURROUNDINGS. Mention words for various rooms of house, words used to mean television/sit down/careful with money/drunk/annoyed/female partner/outside. Discussion about old methods of washing clothes, eating bubble and squeak.[00:18:50] Discussion of words used to describe PEOPLE AND THINGS. Mention words used to mean moody/annoyed/pregnant/father/attractive, words for various members of family.[00:25:59] Discussion about where they learnt their words: passed down through family/influence of media/imported from other languages. Mention words used to mean clothes/hungry, words used to describe direction of travel.[00:29:25] Discussion of words used to describe EMOTIONS. Mention words used to mean friend/rubbish/running water smaller than a river/narrow walkway between or alongside buildings/to play truant. Mention truant master/truant officer/school attendance officer who looked for children who played truant from school in past. Mention words used to mean to hit hard/male partner/rich/trousers. Mention Nitty Nora the nit nurse who used to go into schools, assumptions people made about women who wore trousers in past.[00:39:58] Mention words used to describe person looking sour, words used to mean unattractive/smelly/baby/friend/to hit hard/to rain lightly/to rain heavily/running water smaller than a river. Discussion about different uses and meanings of various words, words/phrases associated with going out for tea.[00:48:14] Discussion about Herefordshire speech, instructions given to them as children, new words, words used to mean police. Memories of their childhood/youth: lamplighter/gas lights in Hereford, going to dance during her break from work, expressions heard used by members of various Forces during Second World War. Description of jokes played on new apprentices/new Sea Cadets.[00:55:51] Discussion about Herefordshire speech, local pronunciations of words/place names. Description of doing voluntary work during Second World War, doing voluntary work now.

  • 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 five interviewees are residents of the Newton Farm housing estate in Hereford. A mix of retired and unemployed they are all involved as volunteers with the Newton Farm Information Centre.

  • Texts

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

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