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If 'Issix' accent sounds wrong, you're a snob! (From Echo)
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If 'Issix' accent sounds wrong, you're a snob!
12:00pm Friday 12th June 2009
THE Essex accent only sounds unpleasant to the ears of snobbish listeners, a top language expert has suggested.
Critics have long bemoaned the erosion of the county’s traditional rural dialect by the spread of the East London-influenced “Issix” accent from the south of the county.
But Essex University researcher, Dr David Britain, said the harshness of pronunciations like “corta panda” (quarter pounder) may only be in the ear of the beholder.
He said: “Attitude to accent is usually influenced by attitudes towards the people who speak those accents.
“If the listener has formed an opinion that speakers with particular accents are to be looked down on for some reason, they will come to view the accent itself in a negative way.”
Dr Britain added the fame of Essex celebrities like Jodie Marsh and Denise Van Outen might also have affected views of the accent. He added: “Essex is such a diverse region it is a bit unfair to pick on one element and put the label of “Essex girl” on every woman in the county. Certain media personalities happen to have come from Essex and have formed that stereotype.”
The Essex Record Office recently compiled a CD of the more traditional Essex accent, still common in the north of the county, as part of a bid to prevent it being replaced.
Researcher Martin Astell said it was vital to preserve the “unique” dialect.
He added: “Everyone takes the mick out of the Essex accent, but it’s important to preserve it.”
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Your Say YourEcho
springthing, Old Wickford says...
1:16pm Fri 12 Jun 09
APR, Thundersley says...
1:20pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Come to that, is there really a single Essex accent ?, I don't think so.
You only have to listen to someone from Maldon.
Partyboy2, Southchurch village says...
1:21pm Fri 12 Jun 09
springthing wrote:Whateva Minga!
Well I must be a snob then because I think it sounds vile
DannyK86, Leigh says...
1:33pm Fri 12 Jun 09
'Essix' maybe, but nobody says 'issex' !
fairlady, Clacton says...
3:02pm Fri 12 Jun 09
DannyK86 wrote:Australians and South Africans would say "issex"!
Since when did anyone ever pronounce it 'issex'? 'Essix' maybe, but nobody says 'issex' !
Winston Smith, Airstrip One. Oceania. says...
3:34pm Fri 12 Jun 09
pdelaney, colchester says...
3:47pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Mandingo, Southend says...
3:53pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Gerry Atric, Wherever needs be says...
11:02pm Fri 12 Jun 09
“Essex is such a diverse region it is a bit unfair to pick on one element"
kathy, Basildon says...
12:03am Sat 13 Jun 09
Juno, Elmstead says...
8:31am Sat 13 Jun 09
Don't confuse Sarf Essix with the Northern parts on the Essex/Suffolk border!
Try living away from "Cochister" for a long time and then returning to the High Street on a busy day. The old accents are definitely there. I am not so sure about the villages and their distinct ways of phrasing things, because tv and radio, easy transport to other areas etc have had their influence, but I bet there are still more "mature" people who use the old phrases - "time you're there gal" instead of "while you're there" and so on.
Most of us rather treasure the regional accents, and who has not been delighted while in Cornwall to be addressed as "moi loverrr" or "moi 'andsome" according to their sex?
Calling any genuine accent "vile" is rather a disturbed reaction, don't you think?
Sdapeze, sdapeze@aol.com says...
3:02pm Sat 13 Jun 09
blinky, colchester says...
10:32pm Sat 13 Jun 09
blinky, colchester says...
10:35pm Sat 13 Jun 09
perini, Leigh on Sea says...
11:48pm Sat 13 Jun 09
Little Susie, Southend-on-Sea says...
4:49pm Thu 18 Jun 09
Dr David Britain
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Gerry Atric, Wherever needs be says...
12:25pm Fri 12 Jun 09
were propa...lol
(now we get all the Mr angry`s out in force again)...lol