bbc voices recordings · throw throwing it about, chucking it about (suggested by interviewer);...

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Title:

Horsford, Norfolk

Shelfmark:

C1190/24/03

Recording date:

22.11.2004

Speakers:

Bowhill, Wendy, b. 1942; female; retired (father worked in forestry; mother housewife/land worker)

Graves, Jim, b. 1940 Downham Market, Norfolk; male; energy & management consultant (father

headmaster; mother teacher)

Palmer, Jim, b. 1928 Mundford, Norfolk; male; retired (father farmer; mother farmer’s wife)

The interviewees are all members of Horsford Bowls Club.

ELICITED LEXIS

pleased pleased; chuffed (modern); well pleased (used by younger speakers)

tired (not discussed)

unwell I didn’t feel too sharp○; I don’t feel too good

hot hot

cold perished; fruz*; fruzen

*

annoyed ratty; fighting mad (of being very annoyed); that get my back up

throw throwing it about, chucking it about (suggested by interviewer); hulling○ it about

play truant play truant

sleep (not discussed)

play a game have a roll up, have a game (of playing bowls)

hit hard give someone a good old thump; smack them one

clothes clothes

trousers trousers (used now); britches (used by grandfather)

child’s shoe plimsolls; plimmies∆

○ see English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905)

* see Survey of English Dialects Basic Material (1962-1971)

# see Dictionary of North East Dialect (2011)

∆ see New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006)

◊ see Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010)

⌂ no previous source (with this sense) identified


BBC Voices Recordings

mother ma

gmother grandmother (not used); nanny; granny

m partner (not discussed)

friend (not discussed)

gfather granfer; grandfather (not used); grandad

forgot name thingummyjig∆

kit of tools (not discussed)

trendy tart (“little old tart”)

f partner missus; the missus

baby (not discussed)

rain heavily pouring; chucking it down; hulling○ it down; hammer and tongs

∆1; cats and dogs

toilet petty, privy (used in past of outside toilet); three-holer2 (of outside toilet with three seats)

walkway (not discussed)

long seat couch (used in past); chaise-longue; settee (used now); sofa

run water beck (most common); stream; dike (of roadside “boundary ditch”)

main room living room; lounge (used by “posh” speakers/estate agents); front room (of room reserved

in past for special occasions e.g. Christmas)

rain lightly drizzle; drizzling

rich loaded; got more money than sense⌂ (of extravagant show of wealth)

left-handed cack-handed (also used of person doing something “awkwardly”); left-handed

unattractive (not discussed)

lack money skint; hard up; down to your last farthing⌂

drunk “it begin with ‘P’” (i.e. presumably ‘pissed’); had a few; had a skinful

pregnant pregnant; up the duff (“common”); in the family way (used by mother in past)

attractive half-tidy⌂; lush; bit of all right

insane loony (“loony bin” used to mean ‘mental hospital’); “if you aren’t careful they’ll send you to

Hellesdon”⌂ (used locally in past, reference to mental hospital); below par

◊; soft

moody “don’t know where his arse hang”⌂; arsey; got the hump (most common); in a bit of a shitty

ELICITED LEXIS

back-house = back-kitchen, scullery (0:46:43 we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always called the

‘back-house’ (and that used to be corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ it’d be the ‘back-house’) no, we

used to call it the ‘back-house’ (my old man always used to call it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come

from obviously ‘back-house’))

buskins = gaiters, leggings (0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the only suit he ever

had with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he

wore britches and buskins)

cock⌂3

= small ball used as target in game of bowls (0:55:47 people call the bowls ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and

‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that but that’s that’s common throughout the

country, isn’t it?)

1 New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) records ‘hammer and tongs’ in sense of ‘vigorously,

strongly, violently’. 2 Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (2006) records ‘three-holer’ in this sense.

3 OED (online edition) records ‘cock’ in sense of target in game of curling, but not bowls.



coomb = quantity of corn, four bushels (0:30:06 drunk men can’t carry coombs of corn around bowling

greens)

copper = water boiler (1:06:45 her mother and grandmother’d be washing with the old copper and the

mangle and everything else and everyone’d get in a foul mind and never had really time to make the dinner

properly and there was always lumpy custard on a Monday)

crowd = to hurry (1:04:46 I’d come up the path in my crowding crowding up the path on my first little bike

and this poor old lady was riding I went straight in in between her legs and bowled her over)

dead = very, really (1:5:50 used to be dead worried le... lest the dog’d get hold of the tablecloth and pull it

over)

electric = electricity supply (0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed and

there was a bloke put uh pulling the floorboards all up round my bed because he was putting the electric

on ’cause we didn’t have electric on in our house until I was about ten I suppose something like that)

faggot = bundle of sticks (0:51:21 that all used to overflow and that so I dug a trench between the soak-

away and the ditch filled it full of old faggots and any old other old rubbish I could find and covered it up

again)

flannelette = type of cotton (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called

‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan (and I suppose we all

stunk really if we were really honest with ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years) thick fleecy

knickers and they usually had a pocket in them what you put your hanky in)

fore = before (1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t hardly see across the r... room and

my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went

to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the electric, weren’t there?)

F-word = euphemism for word ‘fuck’ (0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often

do […] particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really

like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women)

gawp = to gape, stare (1:07:54 I always think when you go on holiday you’re just sitting there gawping at

other people going about their daily business and then the next thing you know they’re come over here and

they’re gawping at you)

great = large, big (0:31:46 did you not like dancing though ’cause you’d got such great old feet?; 0:32:09

’cause where he walked all the grass died and there were these massive great footprints (well everything

have to have a good foundation you know that))

gym-slip = pinafore dress (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called




hae○ = to have (0:24:46 when I was younger my mother used to say, “if you go and get yourself in the

family way you’ll hae to go in the workhouse”)

hanky = handkerchief (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’

flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan (and I suppose we all stunk

really if we were really honest with ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years) thick fleecy knickers

and they usually had a pocket in them what you put your hanky in)

holl○ = ditch (0:50:38 yeah, a ‘holl’ is a ditch, isn’t it? (a ‘holl’) ditch round a field a ‘dyke’’s round a

marsh or something)

jack = small ball used as target in game of bowls (0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods

round the jack and you stick one into them a bit sharp scatter them about a bit that really g… gets them

annoyed; 0:55:47 people call the bowls ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’

the ‘jack’ things like that but that’s that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it?)

jam = to make firm by treading (0:32:19 well when I was a boy you always used to refer to anyone with

large feet as someone who could jam down an onion bed)



lay = to lie, reside (0:10:22 he knew when anybody Ted was in the toilet ’cause his bike laid outside on the

ground)

lest = for fear that (1:5:50 used to be dead worried le... lest the dog’d get hold of the tablecloth and pull it

over)

linen = laundry, washing (0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say gotta hang their ‘linen’ out,

don’t they?) no, […] I’d certainly say that probably hanging your ‘linen’ out was more common in Norfolk

than than hanging your ‘washing’ out hanging your ‘linen’ out’d be quite common parlance)

motor = car (1:07:54 but I’d far rather get in my motor and slip off one day perhaps have a couple of

nights away)

old man = father (0:46:43 (we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always called the ‘back-house’) and

that used to be corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ it’d be the ‘back-house’ (no, we used to call it the

‘back-house’) my old man always used to call it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come from obviously

‘back-house’)

petticoat = underskirt (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’




pools = organised system of betting on e.g. football matches (0:24:01 if someone had just won the pools

and started throwing it about right left and centre then that’s then you’d say they’d got ‘more money than

sense’)

rag-and-bone man = collector and seller of used items (1:01:21 an old rag-and-bone man he lived next

door to us he was Jimmy Kettle)

right = very, really (0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s really been nice to meet you, Jim” he said, “when I saw

you were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said, “that Jimmy Graves’s gotta be there and

he was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh” he said, “and I was right relieved to say

you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed about that)

sharp⌂ = well (0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views really who I

aren’t getting on too sharp with)

stay = corset, bodice (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’




take the mickey = to make fun of, poke fun at (0:18:41 there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh

man coming past in a car (yeah, that’s right that’s right) and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there,

that’s really taking the mickey out the rest of the world (but then I suppose that happen in every county,

doesn’t it?))

Tilley lamp = portable oil/paraffin lamp (1:05:33 well not everybody did we had a Tilley lamp (yeah, we

had one of them) (well they were modern) (yeah, we had them))

tumbril = dung-cart (0:12:24 some poor soul used to have to get in there with a shovel and tip it out on to

the tumbril and cart out on the field)

winceyette = type of cotton (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called




well = very, really (0:02:48 the younger generation said would say they were ‘well pleased’ but we we

don’t equate into that yet)

wood = bowling ball in game of bowls (0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods round the

jack and you stick one into them a bit sharp scatter them about a bit that really g… gets them annoyed;

0:55:47 people call the bowls ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’

things like that but that’s that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it?)



(get) wrong# = to get into trouble, be told off (0:31:34 I used to get wrong but what what what can anybody

do)

PHONOLOGY

KIT [ɪ]

(0:01:57 I think [θɪŋk] the worst thing [θɪŋ] is the the people who take it so seriously we all try and play to

win [wɪn] but some people you’d think [θɪŋk] there was a thousand pound hung on the end of the game;

0:20:10 then you’ve got the boys who came from down Methwold Hythe and down that way and Brandon

Bank down the Fens uh which well it’s only ten fifteen [fɪftiːn] mile away where there was a distinct

[dɪstɪŋkt] Fen accent which was very much different [dɪfɹənʔ] to the sort of rest of Norfolk; 0:50:38 yeah, a

‘holl’ is a ditch, [dɪʧ] isn’t it? (a ‘holl’) ditch [dɪʧ] round a field a ‘dyke’’s round a marsh or something

[sʌmθɪŋ])

BEhind, buckET, buskIN, chickEN, closET, honEST, kitchEN, linEN, massIVE, offICE, pockET,

softEST, stupID, womEN (0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […]

particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really

like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women [wɪmən]; 0:06:43 well my

grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes on more or less as what he had in the

wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat and buskins [bʌskənz]; 0:07:13 (I used to have a

vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a

jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan) and I suppose we all stunk really if we were really honest

[ɑnəst] with ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years (thick fleecy knickers and they usually

had a pocket [pɑkɪʔ] in them what you put your hanky in); 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had

chickenpox [ʧɪkʔ ] ’cause I laid in bed and there was a bloke put uh pulling the floorboards

all up round my bed because he was putting the electric on ’cause we didn’t have electric on in our

house until I was about ten I suppose something like that; 0:10:04 because we had a big old tank

upstairs in the house and you had we had a pump in the kitchen [kɪʧən] you had to stand there and

do about five-hundred pumps to fill the tank up for the day; 0:10:33 during and shortly after the war

one of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the Radio Times4 up into little squares and

hang it up in the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the softest [sɔːftəst] paper what she had;

0:10:52 my aunt Polly had a three-holer for three sizes of (yeah) well three sizes of behind

[bəhɔɪnd] or ages of behind [bəhɔɪnd] I suppose that was at Hardingham that was (we had one like

that); 0:11:58 yeah, I can remember when my dad used to have to empty the bucket [bʌkəʔ] on the

garden and then we got really modern and the cart used to come round on a Friday night; 0:12:11

we were I think probably a little before that because we didn’t have no buckets when I was young in

two different places where I lived there was no buckets [bʌkəts] there was just a massive cavity;

0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say got to hang their ‘linen’ [lɪnən] out, don’t they?)

no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire ’cause I lived down at Portsmouth there for

fourteen or fifteen years and even down there they’d laugh at me about hanging my ‘linen’ [lɪnən]

out; 0:30:23 I’ve always had an aversion to dancing, you know, I can’t think of anything more

stupid, [stuːpəd] you know, than just prancing about looking a fool; 0:44:33 and I was sitting in her

office [ɑfəs] which was a massive [mæsɪv] big room; 1:02:47 I found uh I got a little, like, little

little post-horn in uh, like, a little hunting horn in my office [ɑfəs] and I blew that much to his

amusement and that was what my granny used to call her children in off the meadows; 1:09:15 and

4 British weekly TV and radio programmes listing magazine first published in 1923.



that that ha... actually had an inside toilet which was most unusual ’cause you generally went to the

camp toilets but this one had its own inclusive one but that was sort of a bit like an internal earth

closet [əːθklɑzəʔ] really)

<em-> (0:59:05 when you get a play on the television that’s located in Norfolk or Suffolk come to

that matter and they employ [ɪmplɔɪ] actors from some other part of the country [...] that sound so

false to anyone who lives here)

it (0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your cool, isn’t it,

[ɪnəʔ] and I must admit that I do swear under my breath if you like and then um just hope nobody

hear it [ət]; 0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work which really was

hard work and you were pitching hay or corn in August when that was really hot and you just got

used to it [ətʔ] and you just carried on; 0:18:41 (there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh

man coming past in a car) yeah, that’s right that’s right (and then there’s another punchline, isn’t

there, that’s really taking the mickey out the rest of the world) but then I suppose that happen in

every county, doesn’t it? [dʌnəʔ]; 0:29:56 (and I can remember on your sixtieth birthday) that

weren’t ’cause I was drunk I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve done it [əʔ] (you carted my wife round

the bowls green to prove how strong you were); 0:50:38 yeah, a ‘holl’ is a ditch, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ] (a

‘holl’) ditch round a field a ‘dyke’’s round a marsh or something; 0:55:47 people call the bowls

‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that but

that’s that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ])

objECT (0:01:19 and one of the objects [ɑbʤɪks] of the game of bowls is to get your opponents

annoyed and then you’re half-way to winning)

DRESS [ɛ]

(0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […] particularly when I get [gɛʔ] in

a temper [tɛmpʔə] if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really like it particularly the

F-word [ɛfwəːd] and particularly coming from women; 0:08:57 I can remember [ɹɪmɛmbə] the day I had

chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed [bɛd] and there was a bloke put uh pulling the floorboards all up round my

bed [bɛd] because he was putting the electric [ðəlɛktɹɪkʔ] on ’cause we didn’t have electric [ɪlɛktɹɪkʔ] on in

our house until I was about ten [tɛn] I suppose something like that; 0:39:06 that was his wedding [ ]

photograph and that was the only suit he ever [ɛvə] had with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when

[wɛn] he was nearly eighty and uh the rest [ɹɛst] of the time he wore britches and buskins)

get, kettle (0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […] particularly

when I get [gɛʔ] in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really like it

particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women; 1:01:21 an old rag-and-bone man he

lived next door to us he was Jimmy Kettle [kɪʔ ]; 1:03:11 that was a great competition in the

villages a hundred years ago as to who’d get [gɪʔ] done first they’d go trooping through the village

blowing this horn with the old wagons all decorated up; 1:07:54 but I’d far rather get [gɛʔ] in my

motor and slip off one day perhaps have a couple of nights away)

TRAP [æ]

(0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty [ɹætʔi] is well people as don’t share my views really who I aren’t

getting on too sharp with; 0:09:36 no, we had candles [kæ ] didn’t have electricity till I was fifteen nor

uh sewers I I don’t think they went I didn’t have uh running water till I was I think I was fifteen when they

put that on; 0:19:45 and even now he quite often say to me, “can [kæn] you [tɹænslæɪt] that [ðæʔ] into

English; 0:20:10 then you’ve got the boys who came from down Methwold Hythe and down that way and

Brandon Bank [bɹændəm bæŋk] down the Fens uh which well it’s only ten fifteen mile away where there

was a distinct Fen accent [æksənʔ] which was very much different to the sort of rest of Norfolk; 0:56:33



when I first joined the bowls club twenty years ago there weren’t all this drink driving business and people

did used to consume vast quantities of alcohol [æɫkʔəhɑɫ] after a bowls match [mæʧ])

LOT [ɑ]

(0:01:19 and one of the objects [ɑbʤɪks] of the game of bowls is to get your opponents annoyed and then

you’re half-way to winning; 0:11:04 even when I got [gɑʔ] married which was 1966 I bought a little cottage

[kɑʔɪʤ] out near Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy down the garden there and I could tell you

where I buried the bucket and the last bucketful right now)

anybody, not (0:00:14 and I’m Jim Palmer and they couldn't find anybody [ɛnɪbɑdi] else so I came

along to join them; 0:17:27 you name it and I was asked if I was it but not [nəʔ] many people

recognise the Norfolk accent; 0:29:30 been there once or twice myself but I’d n… not [nɑʔ] things

I’d want to talk about; 0:29:38 you had had a few one night because in all the years I’ve known you

I’d or anybody [ɛnɪbədi] else at the bowls club you danced once)

dog, God (0:06:13 nowadays you’ll hear people saying, “God, [gɔːd] isn’t that cold, God, [gɔːd]

isn’t that hot can’t bear it”; 1:5:50 used to be dead worried le... lest the dog’d [dɔːgəd] get hold of

the tablecloth and pull it over)

STRUT [ʌ > ɤ]

(0:09:15 I lived out in the country [kʌntʔɹi] but not as country [kʌntʔɹi] as you I reckon; 0:11:04 even when

I got married which was 1966 I bought a little cottage out near Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy

down the garden there and I could tell you where I buried the bucket [bʌkɪʔ] and the last bucketful

[bʌkəʔfəɫ] right now; 0:17:58 well you know what they say, “you can always tell a Norfolk man but you

can’t tell him much” [mɤʧ]; 1:06:45 her mother and [mʌðəɹ ən] grandmother’d [gɹænmʌðəd] be washing

with the old copper and the mangle and everything else and everyone’d get in a foul mind and never had

really time to make the dinner properly and there was always lumpy [lʌmpʔi] custard [kʌstəd] on a

Monday [mʌndi])

ONE (0:01:19 and one [wʌn] of the objects of the game of bowls is to get your opponents annoyed

and then you’re half-way to winning; 0:05:30 and I was once [wʌns] in that situation there was a

gang of students were helping young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen; 0:21:41 yeah, and you

would you were better off at school if you had black ones [wənz] (that’s it) some of them had old

khaki ones [wʌnz] like sort of ex-army stores; 0:29:38 you had had a few one [wʌn] night because in

all the years I’ve known you I’d or anybody else at the bowls club you danced once [wʌns]; 0:41:46

I always think it done me a great deal of good because I used to I used to in in the job I liked my

work and I lived for it and I didn’t let nothing [nʌθən] slide)

FOOT [ʊ]

(0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods [wʊdz] round the jack and you stick one into them a

bit sharp scatter them about a bit that really g… gets them annoyed; 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had

chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed and there was a bloke put [pʊt] uh pulling [pʊlən] the floorboards all up

round my bed because he was putting [pʊtʔ ] the electric on ’cause we didn’t have electric on in our house

until I was about ten I suppose something like that; 0:30:23 I’ve always had an aversion to dancing, you

know, I can’t think of anything more stupid, you know, than just prancing about looking [lʊkən] a fool)

BATH [aː > ɑː]

(0:13:12 (did any of you ever play truant and what would you call it if you did?) I durstn’t my father was

the schoolmaster [skuːɫmaːstə] so I daren’t; 0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say got to hang

their ‘linen’ out, don’t they?) no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire ’cause I lived down at

Portsmouth there for fourteen or fifteen years and even down there they’d laugh [laːf] at me about hanging

my ‘linen’ out; 0:30:32 when I went to school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday



afternoon [aːftənuːn] was always the dancing class [daːnsən klɑːs] and the old iron desks used to get

pushed back all round the room and they used to go prancing [pɹaːnsən] up and down the middle country

dancing, [kʌnʔɹi dɑːnsən] weren’t it?)

half past (0:42:37 so that’s when I started to play and that’s the best thing I ever done because

there would be a game at half past [haːpəs] six seven o’clock and I’d got to be home)

CLOTH [ɔː > ɑ]

(0:01:53 oh they do get my back up very often, [ɑftən] yeah; 0:10:33 during and shortly after the war one

of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the Radio Times4 up into little squares and hang it up in

the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the softest [sɔːftəst] paper what she had; 0:21:41 yeah, and

you would you were better off [ɔːf] at school if you had black ones (that’s it) some of them had old khaki

ones like sort of ex-army stores; 0:27:49 if someone was a ‘bit below par’ they were they were ‘soft’, [sɔːft]

weren’t they?; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t hardly see across [əkɹɔːs] the r...

room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore

they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost [kɔːst] of the electric, weren’t there?; 1:06:45 her

mother and grandmother’d be washing [wɑʃən] with the old copper and the mangle and everything else

and everyone’d get in a foul mind and never had really time to make the dinner properly and there was

always lumpy custard on a Monday)

Australia (0:37:36 I had the opportunity to go and work in Australia [ɔːstɹæɪliə]; 0:37:51 I’d never

been out of Norfolk I’d never been on a train I’d never been out of Norfolk and I was eighteen and

had to get to Australia [ɑstɹæɪliə] uh with my son)

NURSE [əː] (0:00:49 I think the most im... most important thing is when you’re getting annoyed is to not let anybody

know it and to treat all those who are trying to upset you with the contempt they deserve [dɪzəːv]; 0:06:43

well my grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes on more or less as what he had in the

wintertime he’d have a shirt [ʃəːt] and an old waistcoat and buskins; 0:30:23 I’ve always had an aversion

[əvəːʒən] to dancing, you know, I can’t think of anything more stupid, you know, than just prancing about

looking a fool; 1:09:15 and that that ha... actually had an inside toilet which was most unusual ’cause you

generally went to the camp toilets but this one had its own inclusive one but that was sort of a bit like an

internal [ɪntəːnəɫ] earth closet [əːθklɑzəʔ] really)

durstn’t, first, hurl (0:13:12 (did any of you ever play truant and what would you call it if you did?)

I durstn’t [dɤsənʔ] my father was the schoolmaster so I daren’t; 0:24:17 I think I’d probably say,

“hurling [hɤlən] it about”; 1:04:46 I’d come up the path in my crowding crowding up the path on

my first [fɤst] little bike and this poor old lady was riding I went straight in in between her legs and

bowled her over)

weren’t (0:06:09 I think that was more so years ago, weren’t [wəːnt] it?; 0:23:29 and ‘rich’ people

were always ‘loaded’, weren’t [wɑnʔ] they? (yeah)

5; 0:27:49 if someone was a ‘bit below par’ they

were they were ‘soft’, weren’t [wɑnʔ] they?5; 0:29:56 (and I can remember on your sixtieth

birthday) that weren’t5 [wɑnʔ] ’cause I was drunk I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve done it (you

carted my wife round the bowls green to prove how strong you were); 0:30:32 when I went to

school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday afternoon was always the dancing

class and the old iron desks used to get pushed back all round the room and they used to go

prancing up and down the middle country dancing, weren’t it? [wʌnəʔ]; 0:56:33 when I first joined

the bowls club twenty years ago there weren’t5 [wɑntʔ] all this drink driving business and people

5 This construction could also be interpreted as ‘wasn’t with secondary contraction’; see Peter Trudgill’s The Norfolk Dialect

(2003, p. 55) for description of bePASTNEG (= weren’t) in Norfolk dialect.



did used to consume vast quantities of alcohol after a bowls match; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about

half past ten and couldn’t [kʊ ʔ] hardly see across the r... room and my grandmother’d say,

“Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to bed ’cause,

you know, there was the cost of the electric, weren’t5 [wɑnt] there?; 1:07:25 (what about

holidays?) well there weren’t [wəːnt] such a thing, was there?)

work (0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work [wəːkʔ] which really was

hard work [wəːkʔ] and you were pitching hay or corn in August when that was really hot and you

just got used to it and you just carried on; 0:24:46 when I was younger my mother used to say, “if

you go and get yourself in the family way you’ll have to go in the workhouse” [waːkhæʉs])

FLEECE [iː]

(0:00:41 what makes m... people [piː ] ratty is well people [ ] as don’t share my views really who I

aren’t getting on too sharp with; 0:06:51 my sister always used to say in fact she still does what’ll keep

[kiːp] the heat [hiːʔ] out’ll keep [kiːp] the cold out’ll keep [kiːp] the heat [hiːʔ] out (yeah) (yeah); 0:10:52

my aunt Polly had a three-holer [θɹiːhʊulə] for three [θɹiː] sizes of (yeah) well three [θɹiː] sizes of behind

or ages of behind I suppose that was at Hardingham that was (we had one like that))

been, seen, <-teen> (0:05:30 and I was once in that situation there was a gang of students were

helping young kiddies of about seventeen [sɛ tiːn] eighteen [æɪtiːn]; 0:20:10 then you’ve got the

boys who came from down Methwold Hythe and down that way and Brandon Bank down the Fens

uh which well it’s only ten fifteen [fɪftiːn] mile away where there was a distinct Fen accent which

was very much different to the sort of rest of Norfolk; 0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody

say got to hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t they?) no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even

Hampshire ’cause I lived down at Portsmouth there for fourteen [fɔːtɪn] or fifteen [fɪftɪn] years and

even down there they’d laugh at me about hanging my ‘linen’ out; 0:28:50 when I saw him after

Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s your teeth?”

he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen [sɪn]

them since”; 0:29:30 been [bɪn] there once or twice myself but I’d n… not things I’d want to talk

about; 0:37:51 I’d never been [bɪn] out of Norfolk I’d never been [bɪn] on a train I’d never been

[bɪn] out of Norfolk and I was eighteen and had to get to Australia uh with my son; 0:38:05 that was

a nightmare absolute nightmare the only ship I’d ever seen [sɪn] or boat was on the Norfolk Broads

and when I got to Southampton and saw this massive thing stood there I just couldn’t believe it;

0:38:38 when we got to Ipswich and I was looking out of the train window and I was asked some of

the others what those buses were with pulls on the top and I’d never seen [sɪn] a trolley-bus)

FACE [æɪ]

(0:01:57 I think the worst thing is the the people who take [tæɪkʔ] it so seriously we all try and play [plæɪ]

to win but some people you’d think there was a thousand pound hung on the end of the game [gæɪm];

0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work which really was hard work and you

were pitching hay [hæɪ] or corn in August when that was really hot and you just got used to it and you just

carried on; 0:08:01 I saw a chap the other day [dæɪ] and he was doing they were doing some work on our

bowling green and that was quite a cold day [dæɪ])

ain’t (0:05:12 I ain’t [æɪnʔ] had a chilblain for sixty years, you know, but uh you everyone seemed

to have chilblains; 0:11:22 that make you think about though when you th… when you think about it

how these days we m… we ain’t got [ɛŋ gɑʔ] any immunities or anything and the hygiene that was

different years ago; 0:53:46 probably influenced more by the by the kids they go to school with and

such people move from Essex if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it? [ʌnəʔ])

always (0:06:51 my sister always [ɔːɫwəz] used to say in fact she still does what’ll keep the heat

out’ll keep the cold out’ll keep the heat out (yeah) insulation (yeah); 0:17:58 well you know what



they say, “you can always [ɔləs] tell a Norfolk man but you can’t tell him much”; 0:46:28 but years

ago people always [ɔːɫwəz] had a front room what you never used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both

my grannies had a had a front room; 0:46:43 we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always

[ɔːwæɪz] called the ‘back-house’ (and that used to be corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ it’d

be the ‘back-house’) no, we used to call it the ‘back-house’ (my old man always [ɔːwəz] used to call

it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come from obviously ‘back-house’))

<-day>, they (0:11:58 yeah, I can remember when my dad used to have to empty the bucket on the

garden and then we got really modern and the cart used to come round on a Friday [fɹɔɪdi] night;

0:23:29 and ‘rich’ people were always ‘loaded’, weren’t they? [ði] (yeah); 0:30:32 when I went to

school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday [fɹɔɪdi] afternoon was always the

dancing class and the old iron desks used to get pushed back all round the room and they used to go

prancing up and down the middle country dancing, weren’t it?; 1:06:45 her mother and

grandmother’d be washing with the old copper and the mangle and everything else and everyone’d

get in a foul mind and never had really time to make the dinner properly and there was always

lumpy custard on a Monday [mʌndi]; 1:07:54 I always think when you go on holiday [hɑlədi] you’re

just sitting there gawping at other people going about their daily business and then the next thing

you know they’re come over here and they’re gawping at you)

great, waistcoat (0:06:43 well my grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes on

more or less as what he had in the wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat [wɛskət] and

buskins; 0:31:46 did you not like dancing though ’cause you’d got such great [gɹɛʔ] old feet?;

0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you know, great [gɹɛʔ] old uh hob… hobnailed pair of

trainers and old uh jeans with holes in them and uh (yeah) all the colour washed out on them and

they aren’t dressed up, are they?)

PALM~START [aː]

(0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views really who I aren’t [aːnʔ]

getting on too sharp [ʃaːp] with; 0:01:19 and one of the objects of the game of bowls is to get your

opponents annoyed and then you’re half-way [haːfwæɪ] to winning; 0:06:23 whereas years ago when you

had the the old um farm [faːm] work which really was hard [aːd] work and you were pitching hay or corn

in August when that was really hot and you just got used to it and you just carried on; 0:10:52 my aunt

[aːnʔ] Polly had a three-holer for three sizes of (yeah) well three sizes of behind or ages of behind I

suppose that was at Hardingham that was (we had one like that); 0:21:41 yeah, and you would you were

better off at school if you had black ones (that’s it) some of them had old khaki [kaːkʔi] ones like sort of ex-

army [ɛksaːmi] stores; 0:50:38 yeah, a ‘holl’ is a ditch, isn’t it? (a ‘holl’) ditch round a field a ‘dyke’’s

round a marsh [maːʃ] or something)

THOUGHT [ɔː]

(0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work which really was hard work and you

were pitching hay or corn in August [ɔːgəst] when that was really hot and you just got used to it and you

just carried on; 0:08:01 I saw [sɔː] a chap the other day and he was doing they were doing some work on

our bowling green and that was quite a cold day; 0:55:47 people call [kɔːɫ] the bowls ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’

and ‘balls’ [bɔːɫz] and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that but that’s that’s common

throughout the country, isn’t it?)

always (0:06:51 my sister always [ɔːɫwəz] used to say in fact she still does what’ll keep the heat

out’ll keep the cold out’ll keep the heat out (yeah) insulation (yeah); 0:17:58 well you know what

they say, “you can always [ɔləs] tell a Norfolk man but you can’t tell him much”; 0:46:28 but years

ago people always [ɔːɫwəz] had a front room what you never used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both

my grannies had a had a front room; 0:46:43 we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always



[ɔːwæɪz] called the ‘back-house’ (and that used to be corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ it’d

be the ‘back-house’) no, we used to call it the ‘back-house’ (my old man always [ɔːwəz] used to call

it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come from obviously ‘back-house’))

false (0:59:05 when you get a play on the television that’s located in Norfolk or Suffolk come to that

matter and they employ actors from some other part of the country [...] that sound so false [fɑɫs] to

anyone who lives here)

gawp (1:07:54 I always think when you go on holiday you’re just sitting there gawping [gaː ] at

other people going about their daily business and then the next thing you know they’re come over

here and they’re gawping [gaː ] at you)

GOAT [ʊu]

(0:18:41 there’s loads [lʊudz] of jokes [ʤʊuks] about there’s always a posh man coming past in a car

(yeah, that’s right that’s right) and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking the

mickey out the rest of the world (but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it?); 0:23:29 and

‘rich’ people were always ‘loaded’, [lʊudəd] weren’t they? (yeah); 0:39:06 that was his wedding

photograph [fʊuʔʊugɹaf] and that was the only [ʊuni] suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life

and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins; 0:51:21

that all used to overflow [ʊuvəflaʊ] and that so [sʊu] I dug a trench between the soak-away [sʊukəwæɪ]

and the ditch filled it full of old faggots and any old other old rubbish I could find and covered it up again)

(a)go, toe (0:03:51 it’s all right in a bar with a group of men or something like that that sort of

make the conversation a bit I suppose everybody let theirselves go, [gʊu] don’t they, so they’re sort

of relaxed I suppose but it’s not necessary generally; 0:05:21 if you ever want to get really cold you

want to go [guː] in the middle of a field and pick Brussels sprouts in the middle of January; 0:30:32

when I went to school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday afternoon was

always the dancing class and the old iron desks used to get pushed back all round the room and

they used to go [gʊu] prancing up and down the middle country dancing, weren’t it?; 0:35:32 I

never ever knew her dressing in anything other than black [...] from top to toe [tuː] black long

black dress right down to her feet; 0:46:28 but years ago [əguː] people always had a front room

what you never used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both my grannies had a had a front room)

bone, both, froze(n), home, most, only (0:02:09 and the most [mʊst] important thing to do apart

from winning is to learn how to lose (gracefully) that’s right; 0:03:00 (and what do you think about

swearing generally?) well I try not to but uh I’m only [ʊni] human and occasionally I slip up and uh

let one slip; 0:04:47 (well this sort of weather I’d say I was ‘perished’) I’d tend to say I was ‘froze’

[fɹʊz] rather than ‘perished’ although sometimes I say I’m ‘perished’ but more often I think I say

I’m ‘froze’ [fɹʊz] (‘frozen’ [fɹʊzən]); 0:26:26 but there was only [ʊuni] Mrs. Clifford at home

[hʊm] ’cause Mr Clifford was working away for Wimpey’s6; 0:28:43 and one year he got so drunk

that he someone had to take him home [hʊm]; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that

was the only [ʊuni] suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when he was

nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins; 0:42:37 so that’s when I

started to play and that’s the best thing I ever done because there would be a game at half past six

seven o’clock and I’d got to be home [hʊm]; 0:45:04 and we sat there and I couldn’t I daren’t look

at that boy I daren’t meet his gaze because uh I knew we’d’ve both [bʊθ] burst out laughing in

afront of this headmistress; 0:46:28 but years ago people always had a front room what you never

used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both [bʊθ] my grannies had a had a front room; 1:01:21 an old-rag

and-bone [ɹægəmbʊn] man he lived next door to us he was Jimmy Kettle; 1:09:15 and that that ha...

6 Reference, presumably, to British construction and company (now Taylor-Wimpey) founded in 1880.



actually had an inside toilet which was most [mʊst] unusual ’cause you generally went to the camp

toilets but this one had its own inclusive one but that was sort of a bit like an internal earth closet

really)

blow, flow, know(n), own, slow (0:11:48 I know [naʊ] one week he hadn’t covered it in too well

and one of the other boys shoved me in and I went into it all; 0:29:38 you had had a few one night

because in all the years I’ve known [naʊn] you I’d or anybody else at the bowls club you danced

once; 0:51:21 that all used to overflow [ʊuvəflaʊ] and that so I dug a trench between the soak-away

and the ditch filled it full of old faggots and any old other old rubbish I could find and covered it up

again; 0:55:03 I think that’s probably ’cause the Norfolk accent tend to be a bit slow [slaʊ]; 1:03:11

that was a great competition in the villages a hundred years ago as to who’d get done first they’d

go trooping through the village blowing [blaʊən] this horn with the old wagons all decorated up;

1:09:15 and that that ha... actually had an inside toilet which was most unusual ’cause you

generally went to the camp toilets but this one had its own [aʊn] inclusive one but that was sort of a

bit like an internal earth closet really)

<-ow>, so, waistcoat (0:06:43 well my grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes

on more or less as what he had in the wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat [wɛskət]

and buskins; 0:18:22 big car drew up and the chap said, “my good man, can you tell me where I

can get bed and breakfast?” and he say, “well yes” he say, “down at the Old Crown they’ve got

good rooms” he say, but I don’t so [sə] sure you’ll get breakfast this time of night”; 0:28:43 and

one year he got so [sʊu] drunk that he someone had to take him home; 0:38:38 when we got to

Ipswich and I was looking out of the train window [wɪndə] and I was asked some of the others what

those buses were with pulls on the top and I’d never seen a trolley-bus; 0:47:08 I never really got

into ‘lounge’ that’s the thing you see in estate agents’ windows, [wɪndəz] is ‘lounges’; 1:02:47 I

found uh I got a little, like, little little post-horn in uh, like, a little hunting horn in my office and I

blew that much to his amusement and that was what my granny used to call her children in off the

meadows [mɛdəz]; 1:09:26 and every couple of nights this old boy with a sort of barrow [bæɹə]

come round he’d knock on the door and say, “anything to declare?”)

GOAL [ɔʊ > ʊu ~ aʊ]

(0:08:01 I saw a chap the other day and he was doing they were doing some work on our bowling ght

[bɔʊləŋgɹiːn] and that was quite a cold [kɔʊɫd] day; 0:10:52 my aunt Polly had a three-holer [θɹiːhʊulə]

for three sizes of (yeah) well three sizes of behind or ages of behind I suppose that was at Hardingham that

was (we had one like that); 0:12:24 some poor soul [sɔʊɫ] used to have to get in there with a shovel and tip

it out on to the tumbril and cart out on the field; 0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you know, great

old [ɔʊɫd] uh hob… hobnailed pair of trainers and old [ɔʊɫd] uh jeans with holes [hʊuɫz] in them and uh

(yeah) all the colour washed out on them and they aren’t dressed up, are they?; 0:55:47 people call the

bowls [baʊɫz] ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ [baʊɫz] and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things

like that but that’s that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it?; 1:04:46 I’d come up the path in my

crowding crowding up the path on my first little bike and this poor old lady was riding I went straight in in

between her legs and bowled [baʊɫd] her over)

plimsoll (0:21:32 ‘plimmies’ (‘plimsolls’ [plɪmsɔʊɫz]) (that’s right) ‘plimsolls’ [plɪmsəɫz] or

‘plimmies’)

GOOSE [uː]

(0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views [vuːz] really who [huː] I

aren’t getting on too [tuː] sharp with; 0:11:22 that make you think about though when you th… when you

think about it how these days we m… we ain’t got any immunities [ɪmuːnətʔiz] or anything and the hygiene



that was different years ago; 0:53:46 probably influenced more by the by the kids they go to school [skuːɫ]

with and such people move [muːv] from Essex if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it?)

room (0:30:32 when I went to school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday

afternoon was always the dancing class and the old iron desks used to get pushed back all round

the room [ɹʊm] and they used to go prancing up and down the middle country dancing, weren’t it?;

0:44:33 and I was sitting in her office which was a massive big room [ɹʊm]; 0:46:28 but years ago

people always had a front room [fɹʌnʔ ɹʊm] what you never used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both

my grannies had a had a front room [fɹʌnʔ ɹʊm])

PRICE [ɔɪ]

(0:10:22 he knew when anybody Ted was in the toilet ’cause his bike [bɔɪk] laid outside [æʉtsɔɪd] on the

ground; 0:10:52 my [mɔɪ] aunt Polly had a three-holer for three sizes [sɔɪzəz] of (yeah) well three sizes

[sɔɪzəz] of behind [bəhɔɪnd] or ages of behind [bəhɔɪnd] I suppose that was at Hardingham that was (we

had one like [lɔɪk] that); 0:29:38 you had had a few one night [nɔɪʔ] because in all the years I’ve known

you I’d or anybody else at the bowls club you danced once; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and

that was the only suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life [lɔɪf] and he died [dɔɪd] when he was

nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time [tɔɪm] he wore britches and buskins)

my (0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your cool, isn’t it,

and I must admit that I do swear under my [mɪ] breath if you like and then um just hope nobody

hear it; 0:10:33 during and shortly after the war one of my [mɔɪ] jobs when I went to my [mə]

grannies was to rip the Radio Times4 up into little squares and hang it up in the toilet […] and of

course Radio Times was the softest paper what she had; 0:10:52 my [mɔɪ] aunt Polly had a three-

holer for three sizes of (yeah) well three sizes of behind or ages of behind I suppose that was at

Hardingham that was (we had one like that); 0:15:56 as soon as I got back here with my [mɪ] mum

and my [mɪ] sisters within a day I was right back to being broad Norfolk again; 0:29:30 been there

once or twice myself [məsɛɫf] but I’d n… not things I’d want to talk about; 0:37:51 I’d never been

out of Norfolk I’d never been on a train I’d never been out of Norfolk and I was eighteen and had to

get to Australia uh with my [mə] son; 0:42:46 and now I spend half my [mɪ] time on the telephone

listening to people saying, “I’m out I’m late I shan’t be home in time you’ll have to get someone

else” half an hour before the game)

CHOICE [ɔɪ]

(0:00:14 and I’m Jim Palmer and they couldn't find anybody else so I came along to join [ʤɔɪn] them;

0:01:19 and one of the objects of the game of bowls is to get your opponents annoyed [ənɔɪd] and then

you’re half-way to winning; 0:59:05 when you get a play on the television that’s located in Norfolk or

Suffolk come to that matter and they employ [ɪmplɔɪ] actors from some other part of the country [...] that

sound so false to anyone who lives here)

boy (0:11:48 I know one week he hadn’t covered it in too well and one of the other boys [bɔɪz]

shoved me in and I went into it all; 0:45:04 and we sat there and I couldn’t I daren’t look at that

boy [bʊɪ] I daren’t meet his gaze because uh I knew we’d’ve both burst out laughing in afront of

this headmistress; 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain time of the year and collect up bags of

stinging nettles you’d put a big old pair of gloves on and you’d get these sacks full of stinging

nettles and some old boy [bʊɪ] used to come round and buy them to make nettle tea with)

MOUTH [əʉ ~ æʉ]

(0:01:57 I think the worst thing is the the people who take it so seriously we all try and play to win but

some people you’d think there was a thousand pound [θəʉzəm pəʉnd] hung on the end of the game;

0:10:04 because we had a big old tank upstairs in the house [həʉs] and you had we had a pump in the

kitchen you had to stand there and do about [əbəʉʔ] five-hundred pumps to fill the tank up for the day;



0:10:22 he knew when anybody Ted was in the toilet ’cause his bike laid outside [æʉtsɔɪd] on the ground

[gɹæʉnd]; 0:18:41 (there’s loads of jokes about [əbæʉʔ] there’s always a posh man coming past in a car)

yeah, that’s right that’s right (and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking the

mickey out [æʉʔ] the rest of the world) but then I suppose that happen in every county, [kæʉntʔi] doesn’t

it?)

back-house (0:46:43 we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always called the ‘back-house’

[bækhæʉs] (and that used to be corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ [bækhəʉs] it’d be the

‘back-house’ [bækəs]) no, we used to call it the ‘back-house’ [bækhæʉs] (my old man always used

to call it the ‘backhouse’ [bækəs] that’s where that come from obviously ‘back-house’ [bækhəʉs]))

hour, our(selves) (0:07:13 (I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called

‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan) and I suppose

we all stunk really if we were really honest with ourselves, [əsɛɫvz] you know, if we went back fifty

years (thick fleecy knickers and they usually had a pocket in them what you put your hanky in);

0:27:39 but then we had a boy come to our [æː] school who had come from Hellesdon the village of

Hellesdon not the institution and he got the most terrible bullying at school; 0:42:46 and now I

spend half my time on the telephone listening to people saying, “I’m out I’m late I shan’t be home

in time you’ll have to get someone else” half an hour [haːfənɑː] before the game)

NEAR [ɪː > eː > ɪə]

(0:01:57 I think the worst thing is the the people who take it so seriously [sɪːɹiəsli] we all try and play to

win but some people you’d think there was a thousand pound hung on the end of the game; 0:03:13 I think

it’s unnecessary really [ɹɪːli] that’s just an indication that you lost your cool, isn’t it, and I must admit that

I do swear under my breath if you like and then um just hope nobody hear it [hɪːɹ ət]; 0:06:23 whereas

years [jɪːz] ago when you had the the old um farm work which really [ɹɪːli] was hard work and you were

pitching hay or corn in August when that was really [ɹɪːli] hot and you just got used to it and you just

carried on; 0:15:56 as soon as I got back here [heː] with my mum and my sisters within a day I was right

back to being broad Norfolk again; 0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say got to hang their

‘linen’ out, don’t they?) no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire ’cause I lived down at

Portsmouth there for fourteen or fifteen years [jɪːz] and even down there they’d laugh at me about hanging

my ‘linen’ out; 0:36:28 she’d go cutting up that garden with her knife pull out her knife go up and down the

asparagus bed and she’d get a dozen spears [speːz] of asparagus; 0:57:29 there are people who if they

lose and there are clubs who if they lose that is the end of the world and they have inquests afterwards and

you soon know that if you play a club like that and they lose they’re gone they disappear [dɪsəpɪə] like

lightning)

SQUARE [ɛː > ɛə]

(0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share [ʃɛː] my views really who I aren’t

getting on too sharp with; 0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your

cool, isn’t it, and I must admit that I do swear [swɛː] under my breath if you like and then um just hope

nobody hear it; 0:13:12 (did any of you ever play truant and what would you call it if you did?) I durstn’t

my father was the schoolmaster so I daren’t [dɛːnʔ]; 0:45:04 and we sat there [ðɛː] and I couldn’t I daren’t

[dɛːɹənʔ] look at that boy I daren’t [dɛənʔ] meet his gaze because uh I knew we’d’ve both burst out

laughing in afront of this headmistress)

their (0:59:42 in Hevingham no one was known by their [ðaː] proper name everybody had a

nickname)

NORTH~FORCE [ɔː]


were pitching hay or corn [kɔːn] in August when that was really hot and you just got used to it and you just



carried on; 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed and there was a bloke

put uh pulling the floorboards [flɔːbɔːdz] all up round my bed because he was putting the electric on

’cause we didn’t have electric on in our house until I was about ten I suppose something like that; 0:39:06

that was his wedding photograph and that was the only suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life

and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore [wɔː] britches and buskins)

CURE [ɜː > ɔː]

(0:10:33 during [dɜːɹən] and shortly after the war one of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the

Radio Times4 up into little squares and hang it up in the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the

softest paper what she had; 0:12:24 some poor [pɔː] soul used to have to get in there with a shovel and tip

it out on to the tumbril and cart out on the field; 0:20:55 well everybody s… surely [ʃɜːli] everybody say got

to hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t they? (no, […] I’d certainly say that probably hanging your ‘linen’ out was

more common in Norfolk than than hanging your ‘washing’ out hanging your ‘linen’ out’d be quite

common parlance); 0:48:08 what amuse me now and make you feel right old is when you go to the Norfolk

Show and you’ve got all these rural [ɹɜːɹəɫ] craftsmen and someone’s sitting there making rag mats)

happY [i]

(0:05:21 if you ever want to get really [ɹɪːli] cold you want to go in the middle of a field and pick Brussels

sprouts in the middle of January [ʤænjuɛɹi]; 0:14:58 I had a fiftieth [fɪftiəθ] uh anniversary party

[ænəvəːsəɹi paːʔi] with a load of other chaps from fifty [fɪfti] years when we started at Thetford Grammar

School; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the only [ʊuni] suit he ever had with a pair

of trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly [nɪːli] eighty [æɪtʔi] and uh the rest of the time he

wore britches and buskins)

petty (0:10:44 we didn’t we didn’t call it a ‘toilet’ though uh in them days that was always called a

‘petty’ [pɛʔɛ])

lettER~commA [ə]

(0:13:12 (did any of you ever play truant and what would you call it if you did?) I durstn’t my father [faːðə]

was the schoolmaster [skuːɫmaːstə] so I daren’t; 0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you know,

great old uh hob… hobnailed pair of trainers [tɹæɪnəz] and old uh jeans with holes in them and uh (yeah)

all the colour [kʌlə] washed out on them and they aren’t dressed up, are they?)

granfer (0:33:15 but I never called them ‘grandmother’ that was ‘nanny’ and ‘grandfather’ that

was ‘granfer’ [gɹæɱfaː] never said ‘grandfather’)

<-shire> (0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say got to hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t

they?) no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire [hæmpʃɪː] ’cause I lived down at

Portsmouth there for fourteen or fifteen years and even down there they’d laugh at me about

hanging my ‘linen’ out; 0:48:18 one of the things what Peggy and I done before we got married we

made about three mats not not rag mats they were them um ready-cut ready-cut used to get woo… a

pack of wool from somewhere in Yorkshire [jɔːkʃɪː])

horsES [ə]

(0:10:52 my aunt Polly had a three-holer for three sizes [sɔɪzəz] of (yeah) well three sizes [sɔɪzəz] of

behind or ages [æɪʤəz] of behind I suppose that was at Hardingham that was (we had one like that);

0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the only suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all

his life and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches [bɹɪʧəz] and

buskins)

startED [ə]

(0:14:58 I had a fiftieth uh anniversary party with a load of other chaps from fifty years when we started

[staːʔəd] at Thetford Grammar School; 0:23:29 and ‘rich’ people were always ‘loaded’, [lʊudəd] weren’t

they? (yeah); 0:29:56 and I can remember on your sixtieth birthday (that weren’t ’cause I was drunk I if



you’d drunk you couldn't’ve done it) you carted [kaːʔəd] my wife round the bowls green to prove how

strong you were)

mornING [ə > ]


were pitching [pɪʧən] hay or corn in August when that was really hot and you just got used to it and you

just carried on; 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed and there was a

bloke put uh pulling [pʊlən] the floorboards all up round my bed because he was putting [pʊt ] the

electric on ’cause we didn’t have electric on in our house until I was about ten I suppose something

[sʌmθən] like that; 0:10:52 my aunt Polly had a three-holer for three sizes of (yeah) well three sizes of

behind or ages of behind I suppose that was at Hardingham [haːdɪŋəm] that was (we had one like that);

0:30:23 I’ve always had an aversion to dancing, [daːnsən] you know, I can’t think of anything [ɛnəθɪŋ]

more stupid, you know, than just prancing [pɹaːnsən] about looking [lʊkən] a fool; 0:39:06 that was his

wedding [ ] photograph and that was the only suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life and he

died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins)

ZERO RHOTICITY

PLOSIVES

T

frequent word final T-glottaling (e.g. 0:06:51 my sister always used to say in fact she still does what’ll

keep the heat [hiːʔ] out’ll [æʉʔ ] keep the cold out’ll [æʉʔ ] keep the heat [hiːʔ] out [æʉʔ] (yeah) (yeah);

0:11:04 even when I got [gɑʔ] married which was 1966 I bought [bɔːʔ] a little cottage out [æʉʔ] near

Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy down the garden there and I could tell you where I buried the

bucket [bʌkɪʔ] and the last bucketful [bʌkəʔfəɫ] right [ɹɔɪʔ] now; 0:55:47 people call the bowls ‘woods’ and

‘bowls’ and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that [ðæʔ] but that’s that’s

common throughout [θɹuːəʉʔ] the country, [kʌnʔɹi] isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ]; 1:02:19 they used to go round at [əʔ] a

certain time of the year and collect up bags of stinging nettles you’d put [pʊʔ] a big old pair of gloves on

and you’d get [gɛʔ] these sacks full of stinging nettles and some old boy used to come round and buy them

to make nettle tea with)

frequent word medial & syllable initial T-glottaling (e.g. 0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well

people as don’t share my views really who I aren’t getting [gɛʔ ] on too sharp with; 0:01:27 especially if

you if they’ve got several woods round the jack and you stick one into them a bit sharp scatter them

[skæʔəɹ əm] about a bit that really g… gets them annoyed; 0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little

[lɪʔ ] thing what buttoned [bʌʔ d] up called ‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat [pɛʔikʊut] a

jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan (and I suppose we all stunk really if we were really honest with

ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years) thick fleecy knickers and they usually had a pocket in

them what you put your hanky in; 0:11:04 even when I got married which was 1966 I bought a little [lɪʔ ]

cottage [kɑʔɪʤ] out near Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy down the garden there and I could

tell you where I buried the bucket and the last bucketful right now; 0:21:41 yeah, and you would you were

better off [bɛʔəɹ ɔːf] at school if you had black ones (that’s it) some of them had old khaki ones like sort of

ex-army stores; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph [fʊuʔʊugɹaf] and that was the only suit he ever

had with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he

wore britches and buskins; 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain [səːʔ ] time of the year and collect

up bags of stinging nettles [nɛʔ ] you’d put a big old pair of gloves on and you’d get these sacks full of



stinging nettles [nɛʔ ] and some old boy used to come round and buy them to make nettle tea [nɛʔ ː]

with)

P, T, K

frequent glottal reinforcement of P, T, K (e.g. 0:00:41 what makes m... people [piː ] ratty [ɹætʔi] is

well people as don’t share my views really who I aren’t getting on too sharp with; 0:04:13 doesn’t bother

me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […] particularly when I get in a temper [tɛmpʔə] if

somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really like it particularly the F-word and

particularly [pətɪkʔli] coming from women; 0:05:30 and I was once in that situation there was a gang of

students were helping [hɛɫ ] young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen; 0:07:13 I used to have a vest

(yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a jumper

[ʤʌmpʔə] and then a gym-slip cardigan (and I suppose we all stunk really if we were really honest with

ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years) thick fleecy knickers [nɪkʔəz] and they usually had a

pocket in them what you put your hanky in; 0:09:15 I lived out in the country [kʌntʔɹi] but not as country

[kʌntʔɹi] as you I reckon [ɹɛ ]; 0:11:22 that make you think about though when you th… when you think

about it how these days we m… we ain’t got any immunities [ɪmuːnətʔiz] or anything and the hygiene that

was different years ago; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the only suit he ever had

with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly eighty [æɪtʔi] and uh the rest of the time

he wore britches and buskins; 0:56:33 when I first joined the bowls club twenty [twɛntʔi] years ago there

weren’t [wɑntʔ] all this drink driving business and people [piː ] did used to consume vast quantities of

alcohol [æɫkʔəhɑɫ] after a bowls match)

P-glottaling (0:01:57 I think the worst thing is the the people [ ] who take it so seriously we all try and

play to win but some people [ ] you’d think there was a thousand pound hung on the end of the game;

0:46:28 but years ago people [ ] always had a front room what you never used (well they did, yeah,

yeah) both my grannies had a had a front room)

NASALS

NG

frequent NG-fronting (e.g. 0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views

really who I aren’t getting [ ] on too sharp with; 0:01:19 and one of the objects of the game of bowls is

to get your opponents annoyed and then you’re half-way to winning [wɪnən]; 0:05:30 and I was once in

that situation there was a gang of students were helping [hɛɫ ] young kiddies of about seventeen

eighteen; 0:09:36 no, we had candles didn’t have electricity till I was fifteen nor uh sewers I I don’t think

they went I didn’t have uh running [ɹʌnən] water till I was I think I was fifteen when they put that on;

0:10:33 during [dɜːɹən] and shortly after the war one of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the

Radio Times4 up into little squares and hang it up in the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the

softest paper what she had; 0:30:32 when I went to school uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um

all Friday afternoon was always the dancing class [daːnsən klɑːs] and the old iron desks used to get

pushed back all round the room and they used to go prancing [pɹaːnsən] up and down the middle country

dancing, [kʌnʔɹi dɑːnsən] weren’t it?)

N

frequent syllabic N with nasal release (e.g. 0:05:30 and I was once in that situation there was a gang of

students [stuː ts] were helping young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen; 0:11:04 even when I got

married which was 1966 I bought a little cottage out near Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy

down the garden [gaː ] there and I could tell you where I buried the bucket and the last bucketful right



now; 0:11:58 yeah, I can remember when my dad used to have to empty the bucket on the garden [gaː ]

and then we got really modern and the cart used to come round on a Friday night; 0:13:20 I didn’t [dɪ ʔ]

I mean I was I was often [ɑ ] kept kept away from school when there was something on on the farm;

0:45:04 and we sat there and I couldn’t [kʊ ʔ] I daren’t look at that boy I daren’t meet his gaze because

uh I knew we’d’ve both burst out laughing in afront of this headmistress; 1:05:33 (well not everybody did

we had a Tilley lamp) (yeah, we had one of them) well they were modern [mɑ ] (yeah, we had them);

1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t [kʊ ʔ] hardly see across the r... room and my

grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to

bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the electric, weren’t there?)

syllabic N with epenthetic schwa (0:01:53 oh they do get my back up very often, [ɑftən] yeah; 0:01:53 oh

they do get my back up very often, [ɑftən] yeah; 0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I

quite often [ɑftən] do […] particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to

but and I don’t really like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women; 0:11:58 yeah, I

can remember when my dad used to have to empty the bucket on the garden and then we got really

modern [mɑdən] and the cart used to come round on a Friday night)

FRICATIVES

H

H-dropping (0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work which really was hard

[aːd] work and you were pitching hay or corn in August when that was really hot and you just got used to

it and you just carried on)

LIQUIDS

R

approximant R (0:09:15 I lived out in the country [kʌntʔɹi] but not as country [kʌntʔɹi] as you I reckon

[ɹɛ ]; 0:11:04 even when I got married [mæɹɪd] which was 1966 I bought a little cottage out near

Wymondham [...] and uh I had an old privy [pɹɪvi] down the garden there and I could tell you where I

buried [bɛɹɪd] the bucket and the last bucketful right [ɹɔɪʔ] now; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph

[fʊuʔʊugɹaf] and that was the only suit he ever had with a pair of [pɛːɹ ə] trousers [tɹəʉzəz] all his life

and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest [ɹɛst] of the time he wore britches [bɹɪʧəz] and

buskins)

L

clear onset L (0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I laid [læɪd] in bed and there was

a bloke [blʊukʔ] put uh pulling [pʊlən] the floorboards [flɔːbɔːdz] all up round my bed because he was

putting the electric [ðəlɛktɹɪkʔ] on ’cause we didn’t have electric [ɪlɛktɹɪkʔ] on in our house until I was

about ten I suppose something like [lɔɪk] that; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the

only suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life [lɔɪf] and he died when he was nearly [nɪːli] eighty

and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins)

dark coda L (0:05:30 and I was once in that situation there was a gang of students were helping [hɛɫpʔ ]

young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen; 0:50:38 yeah, a ‘holl’ [hɑɫ] is a ditch, isn’t it? (a ‘holl’ [hɑɫ])

ditch round a field [fiəɫd] a ‘dyke’’s round a marsh or something’ 0:55:47 people [ ] call [kɔːɫ] the

bowls [baʊɫz] ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ [baʊɫz] and ‘balls’ [bɔːɫz] and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the

‘jack’ things like that but that’s that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it?; 1:02:19 they used to go

round at a certain time of the year and collect up bags of stinging nettles [nɛʔ z] you’d put a big old



[ɔʊɫd] pair of gloves on and you’d get these sacks full [fʊɫ] of stinging nettles [nɛʔ ] and some old [ɔʊɫd]

boy used to come round and buy them to make nettle tea [nɛʔ ː] with)

frequent syllabic L with lateral release (e.g. 0:05:21 if you ever want to get really cold you want to go in

the middle [ ] of a field and pick Brussels sprouts in the middle [ ] of January; 0:09:36 no, we had

candles [ ] didn’t have electricity till I was fifteen nor uh sewers I I don’t think they went I didn’t

have uh running water till I was I think I was fifteen when they put that on; 0:30:32 when I went to school

uh the we had a young schoolmistress and um all Friday afternoon was always the dancing class and the

old iron desks used to get pushed back all round the room and they used to go prancing up and down the

middle [ ] country dancing, weren’t it?)

GLIDES

J

yod dropping with N, T (0:05:30 and I was once in that situation there was a gang of students [stuː ts]

were helping young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen; 0:10:22 he knew [nuː] when anybody Ted was in

the toilet ’cause his bike laid outside on the ground; 0:27:39 but then we had a boy come to our school who

had come from Hellesdon the village of Hellesdon not the institution [ɪnstɪtuːʃən] and he got the most

terrible bullying at school; 0:30:23 I’ve always had an aversion to dancing, you know, I can’t think of

anything more stupid, [stuːpəd] you know, than just prancing about looking a fool; 0:45:04 and we sat

there and I couldn’t I daren’t look at that boy I daren’t meet his gaze because uh I knew [nuː] we’d’ve both

burst out laughing in afront of this headmistress)

yod dropping with word medial S (0:06:51 my sister always used to say in fact she still does what’ll keep

the heat out’ll keep the cold out’ll keep the heat out (yeah) [ɪnsəlæɪʃən] (yeah); 0:56:33 when I first joined

the bowls club twenty years ago there weren’t all this drink driving business and people did used to

consume [kənsuːm] vast quantities of alcohol after a bowls match)

frequent zero yod (e.g. 0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views [vuːz]

really who I aren’t getting on too sharp with; 0:03:00 (and what do you think about swearing generally?)

well I try not to but uh I’m only human [huːmən] and occasionally I slip up and uh let one slip; 0:10:33

during [dɜːɹən] and shortly after the war one of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the Radio

Times4 up into little squares and hang it up in the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the softest

paper what she had; 0:11:22 that make you think about though when you th… when you think about it how

these days we m… we ain’t got any immunities [ɪmuːnətʔiz] or anything and the hygiene that was different

years ago; 0:16:11 well you just have to live down a few [fuː] jibes when you’re in the army and that sort of

thing; 0:22:33 I mean I see no problem with having an accent as long as you can communicate

[kəmuːnɪkæɪʔ] quite happily with the rest of the world; 0:29:38 you had had a few [fuː] one night because

in all the years I’ve known you I’d or anybody else at the bowls club you danced once; 0:48:08 what amuse

[əmuːz] me now and make you feel right old is when you go to the Norfolk Show and you’ve got all these

rural craftsmen and someone’s sitting there making rag mats; 0:54:31 that don’t worry me too much now

but I think probably a few [fuː] years ago I would rather not’ve had an accent although now I’m I live back

here that don’t really worry me too much now; 1:02:47 I found uh I got a little, like, little little post-horn in

uh, like, a little hunting horn in my office and I blew that much to his amusement [əmuːzmənt] and that

was what my granny used to call her children in off the meadows; 1:07:16 but the fact that you didn’t

[dɪnʔ] have a bath every night meant that you’d pick up a few [fuː] bugs and you were immune [ɪmuːn] to

the what you got to catch off that stuff what was out of date)

yod dropping – other (0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […]

particularly [pətɪkli] when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t

really like it particularly [pətɪkli] the F-word and particularly [pətɪkʔli] coming from women)



yod coalescence (0:05:30 and I was once in that situation [sɪʧuæɪʃən] there was a gang of students were

helping young kiddies of about seventeen eighteen)

ELISION

prepositions

frequent of reduction (e.g. 0:01:57 I think the worst thing is the the people who take it so seriously we all

try and play to win but some people you’d think there was a thousand pound hung on the end of [ə] the

game; 0:18:41 there’s loads of [ə] jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past in a car (yeah,

that’s right that’s right) and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking the mickey out

the rest of [ə] the world (but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it?); 0:30:06 drunk men

can’t carry coombs of [ə] corn around bowling greens; 0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you

know, great old uh hob… hobnailed pair of [ə] trainers and old uh jeans with holes in them and uh (yeah)

all the colour washed out on them and they aren’t dressed up, are they?; 0:37:51 I’d never been out of [ə]

Norfolk I’d never been on a train I’d never been out of [ə] Norfolk and I was eighteen and had to get to

Australia uh with my son; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that was the only suit he ever had

with a pair of [ə] trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly eighty and uh the rest of [ə] the time

he wore britches and buskins; 0:45:39 I think you’d perhaps say, “oh, she’s a bit of all right” [ə bɪʔ əɹ ɔːɫ

ɹɔɪt] (‘a bit of all right’ [ə bɪʔ əɹ ɔːɫ ɹɔɪʔ] yeah); 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain time of [ə] the

year and collect up bags of [ə] stinging nettles you’d put a big old pair of [ə] gloves on and you’d get

these sacks full of [ə] stinging nettles and some old boy used to come round and buy them to make nettle

tea with; 1:05:33 (well not everybody did we had a Tilley lamp) yeah, we had one of [ə] them (well they

were modern) yeah, we had them; 1:5:50 used to be dead worried le... lest the dog’d get hold of [ə] the

tablecloth and pull it over; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t hardly see across the

r... room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour

fore they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of [ə] the electric, weren’t there?)

with reduction (0:28:50 when I saw him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with

[wɪ] no teeth and I say, “where’s your teeth?” he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas

Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen them since”)

negation

frequent secondary contraction (e.g. 0:00:14 and I’m Jim Palmer and they couldn't [kʊnt] find anybody

else so I came along to join them; 0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you

lost your cool, isn’t it, [ɪnəʔ] and I must admit that I do swear under my breath if you like and then um just

hope nobody hear it; 0:04:13 doesn’t [dʌnʔ] bother me I’d wish I didn’t [dɪnʔ] swear but I quite often do

[…] particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really

like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women; 0:06:13 nowadays you’ll hear people

saying, “God, isn’t [ɪn] that cold, God, isn’t [ɪn] that hot can’t bear it”; 0:08:38 well I’d generally say, “I

didn’t [dɪnʔ] feel too sharp” (yeah, I sometimes say that or, “I don’t feel too good”); 0:09:36 no, we had

candles didn’t [dɪnʔ] have electricity till I was fifteen nor uh sewers I I don’t think they went I didn’t [dɪnʔ]

have uh running water till I was I think I was fifteen when they put that on; 0:11:48 I know one week he

hadn’t [ænʔ] covered it in too well and one of the other boys shoved me in and I went into it all; 0:18:41

(there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past in a car) yeah, that’s right that’s right

(and then there’s another punchline, isn’t [ɪnʔ] there, that’s really taking the mickey out the rest of the

world) but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it? [dʌnəʔ]; 0:19:32 (I lived in Hevingham

Marsham which is only three mile away) well that join, doesn’t [dɤnəʔ] it? (that’s that’s a different accent);

0:28:50 when I saw him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say,



“where’s your teeth?” he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I

haven’t [hænt] seen them since”; 0:29:56 (and I can remember on your sixtieth birthday) that weren’t

’cause I was drunk I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve [kʊntʔə] done it (you carted my wife round the bowls

green to prove how strong you were); 0:50:38 yeah, a ‘holl’ is a ditch, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ] (a ‘holl’) ditch round

a field a ‘dyke’’s round a marsh or something; 0:55:47 people call the bowls ‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and

‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that but that’s that’s common throughout the

country, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ]; 1:07:16 but the fact that you didn’t [dɪnʔ] have a bath every night meant that you’d

pick up a few bugs and you were immune to the what you got to catch off that stuff what was out of date)

simplification

frequent word final consonant cluster reduction (e.g. 0:01:19 and one of the objects [ɑbʤɪks] of the

game of bowls is to get your opponents annoyed and then you’re half-way to winning; 0:03:13 I think it’s

unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your cool, isn’t it, [ɪnəʔ] and I must admit that I

do swear under my breath if you like and then um just hope nobody hear it; 0:06:13 nowadays you’ll hear

people saying, “God, isn’t [ɪn] that cold, God, isn’t [ɪn] that hot can’t bear it”; 0:06:43 well my

grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes [klʊuz] on more or less as what he had in the

wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat and buskins; 0:11:22 that make you think about though

when you th… when you think about it how these days we m… we ain’t got [ɛŋ gɑʔ] any immunities or

anything and the hygiene that was different years ago; 0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s [æs] really been nice

to meet you, Jim” he said, “when I saw you were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said,

“that Jimmy Graves’s got to be there and he was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh”

he said, “and I was right relieved to say you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed

about that; 0:18:41 (there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past in a car) yeah,

that’s right that’s right (and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking the mickey out

the rest of the world) but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it? [dʌnəʔ]; 0:19:32 (I lived

in Hevingham Marsham which is only three mile away) well that join, doesn’t [dɤnəʔ] it? (that’s that’s a

different accent); 0:27:05 you know, but I expect [spɛkʔ] there were plenty more of all of them but they

didn’t get spoken about; 0:42:37 so that’s when I started to play and that’s the best thing I ever done

because there would be a game at half past [haːpəs] six seven o’clock and I’d got to be home; 0:50:38

yeah, a ‘holl’ is a ditch, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ] (a ‘holl’) ditch round a field a ‘dyke’’s round a marsh or

something; 0:53:46 probably influenced more by the by the kids they go to school with and such people

move from Essex if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it? [ʌnəʔ]; 0:55:47 people call the bowls

‘woods’ and ‘bowls’ and ‘balls’ and the (‘cock’ and ‘jack’) ‘cock’ the ‘jack’ things like that but that’s

that’s common throughout the country, isn’t it? [ɪnəʔ]; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and

couldn’t [kʊ ] hardly see across the r... room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light

on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the

electric, weren’t there?)

word medial consonant cluster reduction (0:13:20 I didn’t I mean I was I was often kept kept away from

school when there was something [sʌθən] on on the farm; 0:17:27 you name it and I was asked if I was it

but not many people recognise [ɹɛkʔənɔɪz] the Norfolk accent)

word initial syllable reduction (0:02:48 the younger generation said would say they were ‘well pleased’

but we we don’t equate [kwæɪtʔ] into that yet; 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I

laid in bed and there was a bloke put uh pulling the floorboards all up round my bed because he was

putting the electric [ðəlɛktɹɪkʔ] on ’cause we didn’t have electric [ɪlɛktɹɪkʔ] on in our house until I was

about ten I suppose something like that; 0:27:05 you know, but I expect [spɛkʔ] there were plenty more of

all of them but they didn’t get spoken about; 0:48:18 one of the things what Peggy and I done before we

got married we made about [bəʊʔ] three mats not not rag mats they were them um ready-cut ready-cut



used to get woo… a pack of wool from somewhere in Yorkshire; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten

and couldn’t hardly see across the r... room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on”

and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the

electric, [ðəlɛktɹɪk] weren’t there?)

frequent syllable deletion (e.g. 0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often do […]

particularly [pətɪkli] when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t

really like it particularly [pətɪkli] the F-word and particularly [pətɪkʔli] coming from women; 0:08:38 well

I’d generally [ʤɛnli] say, “I didn’t feel too sharp” (yeah, I sometimes say that or, “I don’t feel too

good)”; 0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause I laid in bed and there was a bloke put

uh pulling the floorboards all up round my bed because he was putting the electric on ’cause we didn’t

have electric on in our house until I was about ten I suppose [spʊuz] something like that; 0:35:00 my

aunty Gladys in Bedford was was not really talked too much about by the rest of the family [fæmli] be…

uh because for a start she come from London well that was about the worst thing you could have; 0:45:39

I think you’d perhaps [pɹæps] say, “oh, she’s a bit of all right” (‘a bit of all right’ yeah); 0:53:46

probably [pɹɑbli] influenced more by the by the kids they go to school with and such people move from

Essex if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it?; 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain time of

the year and collect [klɛkt] up bags of stinging nettles you’d put a big old pair of gloves on and you’d get

these sacks full of stinging nettles and some old boy used to come round and buy them to make nettle tea

with)

definite article reduction (1:03:11 that was a great competition in the villages a hundred years ago as to

who’d get done first they’d go trooping through the village blowing this horn with the old [ðʊuɫd] wagons

all decorated up)

L-deletion (0:03:00 (and what do you think about swearing generally?) well I try not to but uh I’m only

[ʊni] human and occasionally I slip up and uh let one slip; 0:26:26 but there was only [ʊuni] Mrs. Clifford

at home ’cause Mr Clifford was working away for Wimpey’s6; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph

and that was the only [ʊuni] suit he ever had with a pair of trousers all his life and he died when he was

nearly eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins; 0:46:43 we didn’t have a kitchen

though that was always [ɔːwæɪz] called the ‘back-house’ (and that used to be corrupted not not to be the

‘back-house’ it’d be the ‘back-house’) no, we used to call it the ‘back-house’ (my old man always [ɔːwəz]

used to call it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come from obviously ‘back-house’))

frequent TH-deletion (e.g. 0:00:14 and I’m Jim Palmer and they couldn't find anybody else so I came

along to join them [əm]; 0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods round the jack and you

stick one into them [əm] a bit sharp scatter them [əm] about a bit that really g… gets them [əm] annoyed;

0:08:38 (well I’d generally say, “I didn’t feel too sharp”) yeah, I sometimes say that [æʔ] or, “I don’t feel

too good”; 0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s [æs] really been nice to meet you, Jim” he said, “when I saw

you were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said, “that Jimmy Graves’s got to be there

and he was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh” he said, “and I was right relieved to

say you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed about that; 0:21:41 yeah, and you

would you were better off at school if you had black ones (that’s it) some of them [əm] had old khaki ones

like sort of ex-army stores; 0:24:01 if someone had just won the pools and started throwing it about right

left and centre then that’s then you’d say they’d got ‘more money than [ən] sense’; 0:28:50 when I saw

him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s your

teeth?” he say, “I had them [əm] when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen

them [əm] since”; 0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you know, great old uh hob… hobnailed pair

of trainers and old uh jeans with holes in them [əm] and uh (yeah) all the colour washed out on them [əm]

and they aren’t dressed up, are they?; 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain time of the year and



collect up bags of stinging nettles you’d put a big old pair of gloves on and you’d get these sacks full of

stinging nettles and some old boy used to come round and buy them [əm] to make nettle tea with)

V-deletion (0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s really been nice to meet you, Jim” he said, “when I saw you

were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said, “that Jimmy Graves’s got to be there and he

was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh” [ɔɪ bɛt iə gɑʔ pɑʃ] he said, “and I was right

relieved to say you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed about that; 0:18:22 big

car drew up and the chap said, “my good man, can you tell me where I can get bed and breakfast?” and

he say, “well yes” he say, “down at the Old Crown they’ve [ðæɪə] got good rooms” he say, but I don’t so

sure you’ll get breakfast this time of night”; 0:24:46 when I was younger my mother used to say, “if you

go and get yourself in the family way you’ll have to [æʔə] go in the workhouse”; 0:29:56 (and I can

remember on your sixtieth birthday) that weren’t ’cause I was drunk I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve

[kʊntʔə] done it (you carted my wife round the bowls green to prove how strong you were); 0:45:04 and

we sat there and I couldn’t I daren’t look at that boy I daren’t meet his gaze because uh I knew we’d’ve

[wɪdə] both burst out laughing in afront of this headmistress; 0:49:02 when that’s ‘raining lightly’ that

could be ‘drizzling’ and ‘raining heavily’ that’ve [ðæʔə] got to be ‘pouring’ (well I could think of another

word) yeah, that’s the same one as ‘drunken’)

W-deletion (0:17:58 well you know what they say, “you can always [ɔləs] tell a Norfolk man but you can’t

tell him much”; 1:05:33 well [ɛɫ] not everybody did we had a Tilley lamp (yeah, we had one of them) (well

they were modern) (yeah, we had them))

LIAISON

frequent linking R (e.g. 0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods round the jack and you

stick one into them a bit sharp scatter them [skæʔəɹ əm] about a bit that really g… gets them annoyed;

0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your cool, isn’t it, and I must

admit that I do swear under my breath if you like and then um just hope nobody hear it [hɪːɹ ət]; 0:04:47

(well this sort of weather I’d say I was ‘perished’) I’d tend to say I was ‘froze’ rather than ‘perished’

although sometimes I say I’m ‘perished’ but more often [mɔːɹ ɑfən] I think I say I’m ‘froze’ (‘frozen’);

0:06:43 well my grandfather in [gɹændfaːðəɹ ɪn] the summertime he’d have the same clothes on more or

less [mɔːɹ ə lɛs] as what he had in the wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat and buskins;

0:21:41 yeah, and you would you were better off [bɛʔəɹ ɔːf] at school if you had black ones (that’s it) some

of them had old khaki ones like sort of ex-army stores; 0:39:06 that was his wedding photograph and that

was the only suit he ever had with a pair of [pɛːɹ ə] trousers all his life and he died when he was nearly

eighty and uh the rest of the time he wore britches and buskins; 1:02:19 they used to go round at a certain

time of the year and [jɪːɹ ən] collect up bags of stinging nettles you’d put a big old pair of [pɛːɹ ə] gloves

on and you’d get these sacks full of stinging nettles and some old boy used to come round and buy them to

make nettle tea with)

zero linking R (0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost your cool,

isn’t it, and I must admit that I do swear under [swɛː ʌndə] my breath if you like and then um just hope

nobody hear it; 0:35:32 I never ever [nɛvə ɛvə] knew her dressing in anything other than black [...] from

top to toe black long black dress right down to her feet)

intrusive R (0:00:49 I think the most im... most important thing is when you’re getting annoyed is to not

let anybody know it and to treat all those who are trying to upset [təɹ ʌpsɛʔ] you with the contempt they

deserve; 0:27:39 but then we had a boy come to our [tʔəɹ æː] school who had come from Hellesdon the

village of Hellesdon not the institution and he got the most terrible bullying at school; 0:28:50 when I saw

him [sɔːɹ ɪm] after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s

your teeth?” he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen



them since”; 0:45:39 I think you’d perhaps say, “oh, she’s a bit of all right” [ə bɪʔ əɹ ɔːɫ ɹɔɪt] (‘a bit of all

right’ [ə bɪʔ əɹ ɔːɫ ɹɔɪʔ] yeah); 0:51:21 that all used to overflow and that so I dug a trench between the

soak-away and the ditch filled it full of old [fʊɫ əɹ ɔʊɫd] faggots and any old other old rubbish I could find

and covered it up again; 1:01:21 an old rag-and-bone man he lived next door to us [ʔəɹ ʌz] he was Jimmy

Kettle)

zero intrusive R (0:08:01 I saw a [sɔː ə] chap the other day and he was doing they were doing some work

on our bowling green and that was quite a cold day)

WEAK-STRONG CONTRAST

word final vowel strengthening (0:51:21 that all used to overflow and that so I dug a trench between the

soak-away and the ditch filled it full of old faggots [fægɪts] and any old other old rubbish I could find and

covered it up again; 0:53:46 probably influenced more by the by the kids they go to school with and such

people move from Essex [ɛsɪks] if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it?; 0:57:29 there are people

who if they lose and there are clubs who if they lose that is the end of the world and they have inquests

afterwards [aːftəwɔːdz] and you soon know that if you play a club like that and they lose they’re gone they

disappear like lightning; 1:04:27 that little old tin bath hanging on the shed over there’s the one I had my

feet done in every Friday and my hair afterwards [aːftəwɔːdz])

LEXICALLY SPECIFIC VARIATION

again (0:15:56 as soon as I got back here with my mum and my sisters within a day I was right back to

being broad Norfolk again [əgɛn]; 0:51:21 that all used to overflow and that so I dug a trench between the

soak-away and the ditch filled it full of old faggots and any old other old rubbish I could find and covered

it up again [əgɛn])

(be)cause (0:08:57 I can remember the day I had chickenpox ’cause [kʌz] I laid in bed and there was a

bloke put uh pulling the floorboards all up round my bed because [bɪkʌz] he was putting the electric on

’cause [kʌz] we didn’t have electric on in our house until I was about ten I suppose something like that;

0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say got to hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t they?) no (no) no,

[…] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire ’cause [kəs] I lived down at Portsmouth there for fourteen or

fifteen years and even down there they’d laugh at me about hanging my ‘linen’ out; 0:29:38 you had had a

few one night because [bɪkʌz] in all the years I’ve known you I’d or anybody else at the bowls club you

danced once; 0:29:56 (and I can remember on your sixtieth birthday) that weren’t ’cause [kɤs] I was drunk

I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve done it (you carted my wife round the bowls green to prove how strong you

were); 0:45:04 and we sat there and I couldn’t I daren’t look at that boy I daren’t meet his gaze because

[bɪkʌs] uh I knew we’d’ve both burst out laughing in afront of this headmistress; 0:55:03 I think that’s

probably ’cause [kɔːs] the Norfolk accent tend to be a bit slow; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten

and couldn’t hardly see across the r... room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on”

and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to bed ’cause, [kɑs] you know, there was the cost of the

electric, weren’t there?)

often (0:01:53 oh they do get my back up very often, [ɑftən] yeah; 0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I

didn’t swear but I quite often [ɑftən] do […] particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I

swear I try not to but and I don’t really like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from

women; 0:04:47 (well this sort of weather I’d say I was ‘perished’) I’d tend to say I was ‘froze’ rather than

‘perished’ although sometimes I say I’m ‘perished’ but more often [ɑfən] I think I say I’m ‘froze’



(‘frozen’); 0:13:20 I didn’t I mean I was I was often [ɑ ] kept kept away from school when there was

something on on the farm)

should (0:41:30 what do you think I mean how long has the club been going now?) I should think [asθ

ɪŋkʔ] about forty forty forty-five years now)

GRAMMAR

DETERMINERS

definite article reduction (1:03:11 that was a great competition in the villages a hundred years ago as to

who’d get done first they’d go trooping through the village blowing this horn with th’ old wagons all

decorated up)

zero indefinite article (1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t hardly see across the r...

room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half _ hour

fore they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the electric, weren’t there?)

demonstrative them (0:10:44 we didn’t we didn’t call it a ‘toilet’ though uh in them days that was always

called a ‘petty’; 0:48:18 one of the things what Peggy and I done before we got married we made about

three mats not not rag mats they were them um ready-cut ready-cut used to get woo… a pack of wool from

somewhere in Yorkshire; 1:05:33 (well not everybody did we had a Tilley lamp) yeah, we had one of them

(well they were modern) yeah, we had them)

NOUNS

zero plural (0:19:32 I lived in Hevingham Marsham which is only three mile away (well that join, doesn’t

it?) that’s that’s a different accent; 0:20:10 then you’ve got the boys who came from down Methwold Hythe

and down that way and Brandon Bank down the Fens uh which well it’s only ten fifteen mile away where

there was a distinct Fen accent which was very much different to the sort of rest of Norfolk)

PRONOUNS

frequent that [= it] (e.g. 0:02:26 and that depend who you just beaten (yeah) sometimes you’re more

pleased than others (yes); 0:06:13 nowadays you’ll hear people saying, “God, isn’t that cold, God, isn’t

that hot can’t bear it”; 0:06:23 whereas years ago when you had the the old um farm work which really

was hard work and you were pitching hay or corn in August when that was really hot and you just got used

to it and you just carried on; 0:08:01 I saw a chap the other day and he was doing they were doing some

work on our bowling green and that was quite a cold day; 0:10:44 we didn’t we didn’t call it a ‘toilet’

though uh in them days that was always called a ‘petty’; 0:15:35 there’s so many people who you come

across and that’s obvious that they’re putting it on; 0:49:02 when that’s ‘raining lightly’ that could be

‘drizzling’ and ‘raining heavily’ that’ve gotta be ‘pouring’ (well I could think of another word) yeah, that’s

the same one as ‘drunken’; 1:03:11 that was a great competition in the villages a hundred years ago as to

who’d get done first they’d go trooping through the village blowing this horn with th’ old wagons all

decorated up; 1:09:15 and that that ha... actually had an inside toilet which was most unusual ’cause you

generally went to the camp toilets but this one had its own inclusive one but that was sort of a bit like an

internal earth closet really)

frequent possessive me (e.g. 0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost

your cool, isn’t it, and I must admit that I do swear under me breath if you like and then um just hope

nobody hear it; 0:15:56 as soon as I got back here with me mum and me sisters within a day I was right



back to being broad Norfolk again; 0:42:46 and now I spend half me time on the telephone listening to

people saying, “I’m out I’m late I shan’t be home in time you’ll have to get someone else” half an hour

before the game)

regularised reflexive (0:03:51 it’s all right in a bar with a group of men or something like that that sort of

make the conversation a bit I suppose everybody let theirselves go, don’t they, so they’re sort of relaxed I

suppose but it’s not necessary generally)

relative as (0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views really who I aren’t

getting on too sharp with)

relative what (0:07:13 I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up called ‘stays’



and they usually had a pocket in them what you put your hanky in; 0:10:33 during and shortly after the war

one of my jobs when I went to my grannies was to rip the Radio Times4 up into little squares and hang it up

in the toilet […] and of course Radio Times was the softest paper what she had; 0:46:28 but years ago

people always had a front room what you never used (well they did, yeah, yeah) both my grannies had a

had a front room; 0:48:18 one of the things what Peggy and I done before we got married we made about

three mats not not rag mats they were them um ready-cut ready-cut used to get woo… a pack of wool from

somewhere in Yorkshire; 1:07:16 but the fact that you didn’t have a bath every night meant that you’d pick

up a few bugs and you were immune to the what you got to catch off that stuff what was out of date)

VERBS

present

frequent 3rd person zero (e.g. 0:02:26 and that depend who you just beaten (yeah) sometimes you’re

more pleased than others (yes); 0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you lost

your cool, isn’t it, and I must admit that I do swear under me breath if you like and then um just hope

nobody hear it; 0:03:51 it’s all right in a bar with a group of men or something like that that sort of make

the conversation a bit I suppose everybody let theirselves go, don’t they, so they’re sort of relaxed I

suppose but it’s not necessary generally; 0:04:13 doesn’t bother me I’d wish I didn’t swear but I quite often

do […] particularly when I get in a temper if somebody annoy me I swear I try not to but and I don’t really

like it particularly the F-word and particularly coming from women; 0:11:22 that make you think about

though when you th… when you think about it how these days we m… we ain’t got any immunities or

anything and the hygiene that was different years ago; 0:15:46 I just speak as it come out (yeah); 0:17:48

anyone with a Norfolk accent tend to be regarded as bit of an agricultural fool; 0:18:22 big car drew up

and the chap said, “my good man, can you tell me where I can get bed and breakfast?” and he say, “well

yes” he say, “down at the Old Crown they’ve got good rooms” he say, but I don’t so sure you’ll get

breakfast this time of night”; 0:18:41 (there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past

in a car) yeah, that’s right that’s right (and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking

the mickey out the rest of the world) but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it?; 0:19:32 (I

lived in Hevingham Marsham which is only three mile away) well that join, doesn’t it? (that’s that’s a

different accent); 0:20:55 well everybody s… surely everybody say gotta hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t they?

(no, […] I’d certainly say that probably hanging your ‘linen’ out was more common in Norfolk than than

hanging your ‘washing’ out hanging your ‘linen’ out’d be quite common parlance); 0:28:02 (any stories

about when you had a few too many or whatever you call it?) well it begin with ‘P’; 0:28:50 when I saw

him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s your teeth?”

he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen them since”;

0:46:43 (we didn’t have a kitchen though that was always called the ‘back-house’) and that used to be

corrupted not not to be the ‘back-house’ it’d be the ‘back-house’ (no, we used to call it the ‘back-house’)



my old man always used to call it the ‘backhouse’ that’s where that come from obviously ‘back-house’;

0:48:08 what amuse me now and make you feel right old is when you go to the Norfolk Show and you’ve

got all these rural craftsmen and someone’s sitting there making rag mats; 0:52:19 (what about if

someone’s ‘moody’?) ‘don’t know where his arse hang’; 0:55:03 I think that’s probably ’cause the Norfolk

accent tend to be a bit slow; 0:59:05 when you get a play on the television that’s located in Norfolk or

Suffolk come to that matter and they employ actors from some other part of the country [...] that sound so

false to anyone who lives here)

have – have generalisation (0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s really been nice to meet you, Jim” he said,

“when I saw you were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said, “that Jimmy Graves’s gotta

be there and he was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh” he said, “and I was right

relieved to say you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed about that; 0:32:09

(’cause where he walked all the grass died and there were these massive great footprints) well everything

have to have a good foundation you know that; 0:49:02 when that’s ‘raining lightly’ that could be

‘drizzling’ and ‘raining heavily’ that’ve gotta be ‘pouring’ (well I could think of another word) yeah, that’s

the same one as ‘drunken’)

past

zero past (0:35:00 my aunty Gladys in Bedford was was not really talked too much about by the rest of the

family be… uh because for a start she come from London well that was about the worst thing you could

have; 0:28:50 when I saw him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I

say, “where’s your teeth?” he say, “I had them when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I

haven’t seen them since”; 1:09:26 and every couple of nights this old boy with a sort of barrow come

round he’d knock on the door and say, “anything to declare?”)

generalisation of simple past (0:04:47 (well this sort of weather I’d say I was ‘perished’) I’d tend to say I

was ‘froze’ rather than ‘perished’ although sometimes I say I’m ‘perished’ but more often I think I say I’m

‘froze’ (‘frozen’))

generalisation of past participle (0:07:13 (I used to have a vest (yeah) a uh little thing what buttoned up

called ‘stays’ flannelette […] winceyette petticoat a jumper and then a gym-slip cardigan) and I suppose

we all stunk really if we were really honest with ourselves, you know, if we went back fifty years (thick

fleecy knickers and they usually had a pocket in them what you put your hanky in); 0:41:46 I always think it

done me a great deal of good because I used to I used to in in the job I liked my work and I lived for it and

I didn’t let nothing slide; 0:42:37 so that’s when I started to play and that’s the best thing I ever done

because there would be a game at half past six seven o’clock and I’d got to be home; 0:48:18 one of the

things what Peggy and I done before we got married we made about three mats not not rag mats they were

them um ready-cut ready-cut used to get woo… a pack of wool from somewhere in Yorkshire)

be – was-weren’t split (0:06:09 I think that was more so years ago, weren’t it?; 0:16:32 I despised that

kind of an accent I mean uh that weren’t an accent at all, was it?; 0:29:56 (and I can remember on your

sixtieth birthday) that weren’t ’cause I was drunk I if you’d drunk you couldn't’ve done it (you carted my

wife round the bowls green to prove how strong you were); 0:30:32 when I went to school uh the we had a

young schoolmistress and um all Friday afternoon was always the dancing class and the old iron desks

used to get pushed back all round the room and they used to go prancing up and down the middle country

dancing, weren’t it?; 0:56:33 when I first joined the bowls club twenty years ago there weren’t all this

drink driving business and people did used to consume vast quantities of alcohol after a bowls match;

1:05:10 well there, see, weren’t no hip-joint operations; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and

couldn’t hardly see across the r... room and my grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and

that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the electric,

weren’t there?; 1:07:25 (what about holidays?) well there weren’t such a thing, was there?)

alternative past (0:13:12 (did any of you ever play truant and what would you call it if you did?) I durstn’t

my father was the schoolmaster so I daren’t)



compounds

simple past with progressive meaning (0:38:05 that was a nightmare absolute nightmare the only ship

I’d ever seen or boat was on the Norfolk Broads and when I got to Southampton and saw this massive thing

stood there I just couldn’t believe it)

double past with used to (0:56:33 when I first joined the bowls club twenty years ago there weren’t all this

drink driving business and people did used to consume vast quantities of alcohol after a bowls match)

perfective be (1:07:54 I always think when you go on holiday you’re just sitting there gawping at other

people going about their daily business and then the next thing you know they’re come over here and

they’re gawping at you)

zero auxiliary have (0:02:26 and that depend who you _ just beaten (yeah) sometimes you’re more pleased

than others (yes); 0:03:13 I think it’s unnecessary really that’s just an indication that you _ lost your cool,

isn’t it, and I must admit that I do swear under me breath if you like and then um just hope nobody hear it;

0:20:55 well everybody s… surely everybody say _ gotta hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t they? (no, […] I’d

certainly say that probably hanging your ‘linen’ out was more common in Norfolk than than hanging your

‘washing’ out hanging your ‘linen’ out’d be quite common parlance); 0:23:29 I think if you’re ‘lacking

money’ you _ definitely gotta be ‘skint’; 1:02:47 I found uh I _ got a little, like, little little post-horn in uh,

like, a little hunting horn in my office and I blew that much to his amusement and that was what my granny

used to call her children in off the meadows)

frequent invariant there is~was (e.g. 0:12:11 we were I think probably a little before that because we

didn’t have no buckets when I was young in two different places where I lived there was no buckets there

was just a massive cavity; 0:15:35 there’s so many people who you come across and that’s obvious that

they’re putting it on; 0:18:41 there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past in a car

(yeah, that’s right that’s right) and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking the

mickey out the rest of the world (but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it?))

historic present (0:18:22 big car drew up and the chap said, “my good man, can you tell me where I can

get bed and breakfast?” and he say, “well yes” he say, “down at the Old Crown they’ve got good rooms”

he say, but I don’t so sure you’ll get breakfast this time of night”; 0:28:50 when I saw him after Christmas

down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s your teeth?” he say, “I had them

when I went out playing Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen them since”)

NEGATION

multiple negation (0:12:11 we were I think probably a little before that because we didn’t have no buckets

when I was young in two different places where I lived there was no buckets there was just a massive

cavity; 0:41:46 I always think it done me a great deal of good because I used to I used to in in the job I

liked my work and I lived for it and I didn’t let nothing slide; 1:05:10 well there, see, weren’t no hip-joint

operations; 1:06:05 till it’d got till about half past ten and couldn’t hardly see across the r... room and my

grandmother’d say, “Will, will you put the light on” and that’d go on for about half hour fore they went to

bed ’cause, you know, there was the cost of the electric, weren’t there?)

zero contraction with interrogative (0:31:46 did you not like dancing though ’cause you’d got such great

old feet?)

ain’t for negative have (0:05:12 I ain’t had a chilblain for sixty years, you know, but uh you everyone

seemed to have chilblains; 0:11:22 that make you think about though when you th… when you think about

it how these days we m… we ain’t got any immunities or anything and the hygiene that was different years

ago; 0:53:46 probably influenced more by the by the kids they go to school with and such people move

from Essex if you like and then that’s got to rub off, ain’t it?)



invariant don’t (0:52:19 (what about if someone’s ‘moody’?) ‘don’t know where his arse hang’; 0:54:31

that don’t worry me too much now but I think probably a few years ago I would rather not’ve had an

accent although now I’m I live back here that don’t really worry me too much now)

PREPOSITIONS

deletion

preposition deletion – other (0:18:41 there’s loads of jokes about there’s always a posh man coming past

in a car (yeah, that’s right that’s right) and then there’s another punchline, isn’t there, that’s really taking

the mickey out _ the rest of the world (but then I suppose that happen in every county, doesn’t it?); 0:28:50

when I saw him after Christmas down at band practice he come in there with no teeth and I say, “where’s

your teeth?” he say, “I had them when I went out playing _ Christmas Eve” he said, “and I haven’t seen

them since”)

substitution

at + place-name (0:20:55 (well everybody s… surely everybody say gotta hang their ‘linen’ out, don’t

they?) no (no) no, […] they don’t in Hamp… even Hampshire ’cause I lived down at Portsmouth there for

fourteen or fifteen years and even down there they’d laugh at me about hanging my linen out)

on = of [+ pronoun] (0:34:27 I mean now they’ll they’ll wear a, you know, great old uh hob… hobnailed

pair of trainers and old uh jeans with holes in them and uh (yeah) all the colour washed out on them and

they aren’t dressed up, are they?)

in afront of = in front of (0:45:04 and we sat there and I couldn’t I daren’t look at that boy I daren’t meet

his gaze because uh I knew we’d’ve both burst out laughing in afront of this headmistress)

ADJECTIVES

alternative <-en> suffix (0:49:02 when that’s ‘raining lightly’ that could be ‘drizzling’ and ‘raining

heavily’ that’ve gotta be ‘pouring’ (well I could think of another word) yeah, that’s the same one as

‘drunken’)

ADVERBS

complementiser as […] as (0:22:33 I mean I see no problem with having an accent as long as you can

communicate quite happily with the rest of the world)

complementiser do (0:32:53 ‘male partner’ well I never had one do I’d be a queer)

unmarked manner adverb (0:00:41 what makes m... people ratty is well people as don’t share my views

really who I aren’t getting on too sharp with; 0:01:27 especially if you if they’ve got several woods round

the jack and you stick one into them a bit sharp scatter them about a bit that really g… gets them annoyed)

DISCOURSE

utterance internal like (1:02:47 I found uh I got a little, like, little little post-horn in uh, like, a little

hunting horn in my office and I blew that much to his amusement and that was what my granny used to call

her children in off the meadows)

intensifier dead (1:5:50 used to be dead worried le... lest the dog’d get hold of the tablecloth and pull it

over)

intensifier right (0:15:13 he said to me, “that’s really been nice to meet you, Jim” he said, “when I saw

you were on the list I said to my old friend John Mann,” he said, “that Jimmy Graves’s gotta be there and

he was always top of the class,” he said, “I bet he’ve got posh” he said, “and I was right relieved to say

you’re just the same as you always were” and I felt really chuffed about that; 0:48:08 what amuse me now



and make you feel right old is when you go to the Norfolk Show and you’ve got all these rural craftsmen

and someone’s sitting there making rag mats)

intensifier well (0:02:48 the younger generation said would say they were ‘well pleased’ but we we don’t

equate into that yet)

emphatic tag (0:47:08 I never really got into ‘lounge’ that’s the thing you see in estate agents’ windows, is

‘lounges’)

otiose what (0:06:43 well my grandfather in the summertime he’d have the same clothes on more or less as

what he had in the wintertime he’d have a shirt and an old waistcoat and buskins)

© Robinson, Herring, Gilbert

Voices of the UK, 2009-2012

A British Library project funded by The Leverhulme Trust

bbc voices recordings · throw throwing it about, chucking it about (suggested by interviewer);...

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