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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009Dialect Apostrophe
Recently, I've been reading a few novels by Lynda Page, mainly because they are set in Leicester shortly after the war and bring back memories. However, her attempts at reproducing Leicester dialect and accent give me a few giggles and a bit of puzzlement. For "nothing", she regularly writes "n'ote". Even weirder, for "something", she writes "'ote". Now, I can understand her avoidances of "nowt" and "owt" since these words can and, in many places, are pronounced with the "cow" vowel as opposed to the "low" vowel. I can only suppose that, perhaps inspired by fantasy novels, she assumes the apostrophe is a marker that says "this word is dialect". For anyone who is familiar with Leicester dialect (before it became part of Bangladesh), I would also like to query Ms Page's use of "bleddy" - the only pronunciation of "bloody" I am familiar with in the Midlands uses the "put" vowel rather than an "e".  SignatureRob Bannister >Recently, I've been reading a few novels by Lynda Page, mainly because >they are set in Leicester shortly after the war and bring back memories. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >the only pronunciation of "bloody" I am familiar with in the Midlands >uses the "put" vowel rather than an "e". Not in Nottingham (and therefore maybe in Leicester). My local dialect has "bleddy" with the "egg" vowel. Possibly to be found in north east Derbyshire and south Yorkshire, too. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >> Recently, I've been reading a few novels by Lynda Page, mainly because >> they are set in Leicester shortly after the war and bring back memories. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > dialect has "bleddy" with the "egg" vowel. Possibly to be found in > north east Derbyshire and south Yorkshire, too. Thanks. Despite my frequent stays in Nottingham and Leicester as a child, I obviously didn't notice that. SignatureRob Bannister >>> Recently, I've been reading a few novels by Lynda Page, mainly because >>> they are set in Leicester shortly after the war and bring back memories. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >Thanks. Despite my frequent stays in Nottingham and Leicester as a >child, I obviously didn't notice that. You probably weren't on a housing estate or downtown. A common form of greeting (meaning "Hello, how are you") was "Eyup yuh bleddy bogger". SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >> Thanks. Despite my frequent stays in Nottingham and Leicester as a >> child, I obviously didn't notice that. > > You probably weren't on a housing estate or downtown. A common form > of greeting (meaning "Hello, how are you") was "Eyup yuh bleddy > bogger". You mistake me. My grandfather, who worked at the ironworks, said "bloody" with the "put" vowel, also in "bugger". Another puzzle was that my mother said and taught me to say "mam", while my cousins all said "mommy" (not with the American o) or perhaps that was the "put" vowel too. SignatureRob Bannister > For "nothing", she regularly writes "n'ote". > Even weirder, for "something", she writes "'ote". My family is from Castle Donington (Leics) and I lived there in the 1950s. I know exactly what she means. > For anyone who is familiar with Leicester dialect (before it became part > of Bangladesh), I would also like to query Ms Page's use of "bleddy" - > the only pronunciation of "bloody" I am familiar with in the Midlands > uses the "put" vowel rather than an "e". Same here. However, I don't like your remark about Bangladeshis. Sort of witty remark that BNP members laugh at. To be avoided. >> For "nothing", she regularly writes "n'ote". >> Even weirder, for "something", she writes "'ote". [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Same here. However, I don't like your remark about Bangladeshis. Sort > of witty remark that BNP members laugh at. To be avoided. Hey, my favourite brand of "Indian" chutneys comes from Leicester. SignatureRob Bannister |
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