# English accent in medieval times



## AE35Unit (Nov 7, 2021)

This is quite interesting, though I've no idea what he's saying lol 



London accent from medieval times


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## The Ace (Nov 8, 2021)

No change there, then.


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## Simbelmynë (Nov 8, 2021)

AE35Unit said:


> This is quite interesting, though I've no idea what he's saying lol
> 
> 
> 
> London accent from medieval times


I’ve followed this guy on YouTube for a while, the development of language and accents, and language use in general, has become an interest of mine… not entirely sure why. I’ve even recently taken an A level in Language as a mature student.


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## Mon0Zer0 (Nov 8, 2021)

Yeah, love that guy's vids. It's fascinating, the travel of pronunciation. In the original shakespearean, Hamlet sounds like he's from the west country...


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## The Judge (Nov 8, 2021)

Did you notice the disclaimer that he had to put in for the London accent one, that the recordings are reconstructions, not actual recordings from the time...  

Apparently there had been "confusion" concerning the recordings from an earlier Anglo-Saxon video. 

Just when you think there's a limit as to how stupid people can be.


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## AE35Unit (Nov 8, 2021)

It does make one wonder how anyone can know how they sounded back then


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## Simbelmynë (Nov 8, 2021)

Mon0Zer0 said:


> Yeah, love that guy's vids. It's fascinating, the travel of pronunciation. In the original shakespearean, Hamlet sounds like he's from the west country...


 Yes I’ve seen a few videos by Ben Crystal and his father, the linguist  David Crystal. So interesting. The Globe have put on whole productions in original pronunciation. Hadn’t seen this one though, thanks for sharing.

It’s that hard “r” in words like “or” and “suffer” which make it sound like a West Country accent. The Irish and most or all American accents pronounce this hard “r” but most of the rest of Britain stopped doing it. I came across some information once saying that it might be because the British aristocracy attempted to imitate the fashionable french accent in court around the 18th century or so, and that this filtered down through the classes in most regions over the next century or so. That’s possibly  why we still think of the West Country folk as sounding like farmers - most of the rural labouring classes held onto this manner of speech for longer. I’d love it if someone could confirm or deny this for me though, about the imitation of the french, because I can’t remember what the source was.


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## Aquilonian (Nov 8, 2021)

Fascinating videos, thanks for linking! Language in many countries has become massively homogenised in the past 150 years ago, initially due to state education, latterly due to radio and TV. I think English-speakers automatically assume that the only purpose of language is to communicate, but in many cultures it has an additional function of distinguishing oneself from others by not communicating. I've read that during negotiations between Macedonia and Bulgaria the Macedonians insisted on having an interpreter (to emphasise their separateness) whereas the Bulgarians made a point of not having one (to imply that Macedonia was really part of Bulgaria). Another assumption of English-speakers is that all languages are clearly-defined as separate, because English is not at all mutually intelligible with any other language (except Scots and Jamaican patois, but the English tend to class these as varieties of English not separate). But in much of the world languages melt into each other at the edges just the same as races inevitably do.


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## Montero (Nov 9, 2021)

AE35Unit said:


> It does make one wonder how anyone can know how they sounded back then


From distant memory, some of it is from rhymes at the end of the line in poetry/plays. You can work your way through all the words that are supposed to rhyme and come to a conclusion as to which way they go.


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## AE35Unit (Nov 9, 2021)

I recently got a copy of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Should be interesting to read...


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## Mouse (Nov 9, 2021)

Mon0Zer0 said:


> Yeah, love that guy's vids. It's fascinating, the travel of pronunciation. In the original shakespearean, Hamlet sounds like he's from the west country...


As someone from the west country, the only part of that that sounds west country is the oh sounds for the i sounds ('moind' instead of 'mind' for example). Rest sounded more Irish to me. Though some of the really old Cornish accents sound Irish-y.


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## Phyrebrat (Nov 9, 2021)

As long as you all understand that velociraptors could make blowy-honk sounds cos of skull cavity stuff… 

My favourite accent has to be Bajan. It’s sort Plymouth/Bristol/West Country depending on region. It’s also mellifluous and friendly. Altho the butt of a lot of jokes.


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## Mon0Zer0 (Nov 9, 2021)

Mouse said:


> As someone from the west country, the only part of that that sounds west country is the oh sounds for the i sounds ('moind' instead of 'mind' for example). Rest sounded more Irish to me. Though some of the really old Cornish accents sound Irish-y.



Haha, I'm from Glozzer, and I hear a lot of old West Coun'ree in it from my neck of the woods - in addition to the rhotic r, and the forest / bristol Z, the timbre of the voice sounds like the old country folk from when I was young (1980's). In cinderford, dursley or one of the other small, working class forest towns they still speak in a similar manner. The local dialect even sounds Shakespearean:

"'Ow bist awld butt?" I exed Feythur.

"Bit Bathered in th'awld Hammocks," zes 'e, "Bin up vurust awl dae, erd awful yowl. Turns owt oss got intuh me oggy. Felt loike a roight nogman."









						Ow Bist? How to speak like a proper Forester
					

As BBC Radio 4 explores the Forest Dialect, here are a few theories and examples of Forest speak




					www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk


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## Mouse (Nov 9, 2021)

Ah, see I'm Zummerzet, so bit different. Also 1980s though. I miss the proper old accents from my great-grandparents, you don't really hear those anymore.


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## Biskit (Nov 10, 2021)

As a kid growing up in Bristol in the 70s, the proper old "Bristle" was pretty common, but I think it's disappearing fast.
(I had to learn to be bilingual - our Welsh grandmother wouldn't tolerate "Bristle" from her grandkids, but the other kids at school had an aggressive downer on "posh" accents.  )


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## AE35Unit (Nov 10, 2021)

Accents are weird.
I originally come from the midlands (well, South Staffordshire) but I never had a strong brummie accent. My family however, who still live down there, in Wolverhampton, do have quite strong brummie accents. I moved up north in 2001 and now I have a bit of a northern twang.


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## Mon0Zer0 (Nov 10, 2021)

Mouse said:


> Ah, see I'm Zummerzet, so bit different.


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## Jo Zebedee (Nov 10, 2021)

There has been a study in the past that came out with the Northern Irish accent iirc. Also the sexiest. Honestly. Haven’t they ever listened to us.


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## Simbelmynë (Nov 18, 2021)

AE35Unit said:


> Accents are weird.
> I originally come from the midlands (well, South Staffordshire) but I never had a strong brummie accent. My family however, who still live down there, in Wolverhampton, do have quite strong brummie accents. I moved up north in 2001 and now I have a bit of a northern twang.


I'm from Brum! Got friends in Wolves. I tend to think my brummie accent is quite soft and people I grew up with thought I sounded posh, but people outside of Birmingham, particularly if they're more middle class, definitely disagree! I actually quite like the brummie accent now but I used to dislike it, and perhaps I deliberately softened my accent when I was young because of that.


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## AE35Unit (Nov 18, 2021)

Simbelmynë said:


> I'm from Brum! Got friends in Wolves. I tend to think my brummie accent is quite soft and people I grew up with thought I sounded posh, but people outside of Birmingham, particularly if they're more middle class, definitely disagree! I actually quite like the brummie accent now but I used to dislike it, and perhaps I deliberately softened my accent when I was young because of that.


Aww bostin ay it


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