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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007RP
I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. http://home.arcor.de/t2c/Crusoe16.mp3 (86 KB) The reader is Nigel Graham, and what strikes me as a bit unusual is the "pressed extension" [1] of the vowels in this speech, especially as in "year" and "1632". Almost immediately, this creates a picture of a British speaker of either "higher class" or theatrical experience [2]. I was never really sure if my former English teacher (he is the Cornish speaker in the AUEAA) tended to do the "same thing" out of his native dialect (Cornwall) or if it resulted from his affection for stage plays. [1] There is certainly a more apt description for this type of variation in pronunciation. [2] quote from the Internet: Graham's theatrical experience is apparent as he adeptly portrays fictional and real characters. So, is it a) higher class, b) theatrical experience, c) native dialect, or d) none of the above? Regards, Igor > I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, > though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > "year" and "1632". Almost immediately, this creates a picture of a > British speaker of either "higher class" or theatrical experience [2]. [...] > So, is it > > a) higher class, > b) theatrical experience, > c) native dialect, or > d) none of the above? It could be any one or any combination. Note that (a) would include (c). Most or all British, Australian, etc actors can speak RP at will; and not a few N.American ones can, too. Outside the theatre, even if people are proud of their regional speech they tend to lose many or all of its defining characteristics when they work, especially in jobs which require a lot of talking, away from their places of origin.  SignatureMike. >I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, >though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >c) native dialect, or >d) none of the above? This doesn't sound "higher class" to me. It sounds like someone suppressing a regional dialect to come as close to RP as he can (or perhaps simulating that effect), though what region, I can't say - although it sounds me more like a southern "burr" than a northern accent. Jim, Yorkshire, BrE SignatureJim a Yorkshire polymoth > This doesn't sound "higher class" to me. It sounds like someone > suppressing a regional dialect to come as close to RP as he can (or > perhaps simulating that effect), though what region, I can't say - > although it sounds me more like a southern "burr" than a northern > accent. The 'r' in 'first' sounds that way, certainly. Reminds me of Joss Ackland a bit. mike.j.harvey@gmail.com schrieb: > > This doesn't sound "higher class" to me. It sounds like someone > > suppressing a regional dialect to come as close to RP as he can (or [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > The 'r' in 'first' sounds that way, certainly. Reminds me of Joss > Ackland a bit. Thank you very much for your answers. To me, the speaker bears a certain resemblance to the Cornish speaker in the archive. But that may well be caused by a theatrical touch, they both seem to share. In order to exclude that a judgment is impaired by a too short clip, I recorded some more of the same speaker. http://home.arcor.de/t2c/Crusoe2ndp.mp3 (256 KB) Regards, Igor > mike.j.harvey@gmail.com schrieb: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > http://home.arcor.de/t2c/Crusoe2ndp.mp3 (256 KB) I hear it the opposite way round from Jim: the actor/reader is, I would guess, usually a speaker of middle-of-the-road RP (not the "hyperlectal" version), who for dramatic purposes is - not very consistently - affecting a few regional features. Those features are not appropriate to Hull, but might suggest the rural south of England. The longer excerpt you gave us seems to me increasingly RP, and I don't hear anything noticeably regional after the first sentence or two. Alan Jones >> mike.j.harvey@gmail.com schrieb: >> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >me increasingly RP, and I don't hear anything noticeably regional after the >first sentence or two. I agree, absolutely "any more than my father or mother, ... etc" seems accentless to me. I now think the earlier idiocyncracies noticed were nanifestations of the actors "art". SignatureJim a Yorkshire polymoth >>I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, >>though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > >Jim, Yorkshire, BrE Agreed. To my ear it's a positively wierd mix. "...of a goowd family... ...thoh'w not of that cahntry". Sure as heck not like anything from anywhere near York nowadays (nor, I suspect, of any other time either). Not RP, either - and definitely not "upper class". Sounds like a refined Mummerset more than anything. Cheers - Ian (BrE: Yorks., Notts., Hants.) |
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