Research Catalog

Title

Talking for Britain : a journey through the nation's dialects / Simon Elmes.

Author

Elmes, Simon.

Publication

London : Penguin Books, 2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvii, 333 pages; 23 cm

Summary

"From Geordie to Scouse, and from West Country to Estuary, Britain has an astonishingly rich and varied dialect tradition. And Talking for Britain, which draws on the findings of the BBC's nationwide Voices survey, shows that even now, in the twenty-first century, regional English is very much alive and well - and constantly changing." "How, for example, would you describe someone who is a bit moody? In Barrow-in-Furness you might say that they are narky, while in the Midlands they're probably mardy. In Scotland they might be rabbit, while in Northern Ireland they could well be feeling distinctly thrawn. And while knackered may have become the universally understood word for 'exhausted', you could find yourself jiggered in Yorkshire, where if you're not well you'd be badly or even a bit dowly (or, as they say in Cornwall, wisht). Variety, ingenuity and wit are, in fact, the hallmarks of English today, wherever you go, and Talking for Britain records and celebrates these qualities. At the same time it offers a series of kaleidoscopic views of contemporary culture and a sideways look at society's attitudes and aspirations."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

• Englisch
• Großbritannien
• Great Britain
• Mundart
• English language > Dialects > Great Britain

Note

• Includes index.

Contents

1. Cornwall -- 2. The west of England -- 3. London and the south-east -- 4. Wales -- 5. The midlands -- 6. East Anglia -- 7. Lancashire -- 8. Yorkshire -- 9. Cumbria and Liverpool -- 10. Northumbria -- 11. Northern Ireland -- 12. Scotland.

ISBN

• 0140515623
• 9780140515626

OCLC

• ocm60512461
• 60512461
• SCSB-8863880

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library