WORDS! Odd words you use, words you know you say wrong but keep on saying etc.

[Wiggy]

East or West?

Just about everyone i've met in West Sussex has said somewhen somewhen or other!

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Westside, bruv.

[Wiggy]

Ok, maybe it was just my village then.

[gmoney]

I've heard "somewhen" in and around the Chichester area. Much more irritating I find is people saying "thanking you" instead of "thank you". Though this does seem to only done by people over 50 in the seaside villages of the area.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

I have heard a lot of "thanking you".

[HappyTree]

Yeah, and it's just as annoying when the French do it.

"En vous remerciant..."

It always makes me think, ok what else are you doing whilst thanking me in the present participle?

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

This thread has inspired me to learn to talk in a proper old-style Sussex accent instead of RP. I only ever knew one (older) person here that I noticed having a true Sussex accent, which is a bit of a shame really, presumably all the migration and influence from London's eroded it. From now on I'll put a burr on everything and start rambling about how I wunt be druv.

[Baxter]

What!?

A local proverb which asserts that Sussex people have minds of their own, and cannot be forced against their will. Druv is a dialect variant of drove (standard English driven).

Ah, I see.
Well at least it's only a proverb.

[Caroline]

I grew up in West Sussex and my parents still live there and I have never heard "somewhen". I also now want to know what a Sussex accent is as mine is fairly RP.

[Wiggy]

No wonder none of you say somewhen if you're all speaking RP!

Oi be sussex til oi doi

[Joy Nktonga]

I was was brought up on the East/West border (Southwick) and my occasional visits back seem to back up my recollection that the people there are either moderately well spoken, very middle class but not too close to RP, or speak with the Brighton style estuary English. My accent has certainly "lowered" to the more estuary side since I moved away, but it's very dependent on the situation. I can be awfully well spoken when the need arises, but usually sound common as muck!

[tater pie]

This is probably not the right medium to ask this, but what the hell is a Sussex accent anyway?

[Joy Nktonga]

In a roundabout kind of way that's what I was asking too. I should have pointed out that in my experience it was either Brighton estuary English or nice, slightly posh well spoken and I've never experienced this Sussex accent. Maybe it was due to me living virtually on the border between East and West, the distance from the far west and proximity to Brighton.

[Wiggy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWKWusNNBkQ

[Joy Nktonga]

Ah, I have heard that accent! At first I was thinking, "nah, that's just west-country bumpkin," but then I remembered Pirate Pete used to talk like that and so did the dirty paedo old man who played the church organ. I always just assumed they were from elsewhere because nobody else sounded like them. Funny how the guy at the start said the recording was of a man from the extreme east of East Sussex when I'd been guessing that any accent would be from the far west of West Sussex.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/text-only/england/milland/

I've known one guy who had a proper Sussex accent and the rest are either Brighton estuary or RP (well, not completely RP but well-spoken-ish, as Joy Nktonga describes). I wouldn't describe myself as speaking in RP (even though I just did in my above post), more sort of generally-well-spoken but imperfect English with yer occasional dropped Hs and Ts and what have you. Also the very occaisonal drop into Cockney vowels, presumably picked up from my dad, which just sounds weird and unnatural out of my mouth.*

*Interestingly the word 'cockney' actually means 'weird and unnatural', a corruption of 'cock-eyen', meaning a cockerel's egg ie something strange. NEW FACT

[gmoney]

I've heard a few people with a Sussex accent, even one bloke who worked on a cider farm. He used to use odd slag as well, "twitten" for alleyway etc. Nice man.

[rudi]

There's a shared country twang that spreads from east Dorset right along the coastal counties through Hampshire, West Sussex and up to Brighton but it's harder to find now. You kind of have to leave the coastline and head into the hamlets further north.

The towns and cities are all estuary and faux-Landan or jolly nice RP now.

[Serge]

I've heard a few people with a Sussex accent, even one bloke who worked on a cider farm. He used to use odd slag as well, "twitten" for alleyway etc. Nice man.

You've just reminded me that in Derby, the word 'gitty' (soft 'g') is used for alleyways. And tea is mashed rather than brewed. And people who feel the cold are 'nesh', though I have a friend from Sheffield who also uses that word.

Not to mention the dinner/tea thing....

[gmoney]

You've just reminded me that my dad sometimes says mashing instead of brewing and he's from Kent. I think he picked it up from Worzel Gummage though.

[HappyTree]

I picked up the expression "through the room" to mean "in the next room" from friends of my parents. My mum has always disapproved of this for some reason.

[Serge]

You've just reminded me that my dad sometimes says mashing instead of brewing and he's from Kent. I think he picked it up from Worzel Gummage though.

Well, you know, The Gummidge Abides.