成人快手

THE DEVON DIALECT CHALLENGE

David Stafford tries to pass himself off as a Devonian born and bred

Which accent is most pleasant to your ears?

If you live in the West of England unsurprisingly West Country accents rank highly on the most desirable accents to be had, that's according to a new 成人快手 survey.

So why not try and teach the rest of the country about the wonderful West Country lilt?

With this in mind we challenge David Stafford, a "Brummie" by birth, to adopt a Devon dialect and explore the wonders of rural Devon.

His able coach for the project was John Germon, Chairman of the Devon Dialect Club.

John has been championing the Devon dialect for years as a presenter on 成人快手 Radio Devon, and is keen to try and displace David's Brum tongue.

David's challenge is to go to Holdsworthy Livestock Market in North Devon and mingle with the natives, and make sure they don't get a sniff of his Brummie credentials

Origins

David describes the Devon dialect as;

"An amalgam apparently of Anglo-Saxon, Old French, and vintage cyder"

Indeed, the Devon dialect harks back to a much older variation of English than is spoken today. Much of it was derived from Old English and its Saxon roots.

Parlez-vous Devon? Traces of old French can be heard in the dialect

The various dialects of the West Country are thought to reflect the territorial spreads of various Saxon clans.

Devon saw a slower rate of settlement by the Saxons, which means that traces of the area's previous Celtic settlers can still be found in the dialect.

Devon was one of the last places to speak the Celtic language in England. It is reputed to have died out in Devon in the middle ages, but the traces are still there in current Devon dialects.

Because of the area's relative isolation, dialects were well preserved into the 19th Century, until the growth of Devon's towns and cities started attracting newcomers who dliuted the traditional dialects.

Characteristics

John Germon explains that the pace that Devon speakers talk is slower than other areas of Britain. The characteristic relaxed cadence of Devon speech with its lengthened vowels is however a mixed blessing to some.

There is a popular prejudice that suggests slowness in speech belies slowness in thought.

Indeed the 成人快手's own "Voices" survey into accents and dialects shows how this continues to irk some West Country speakers:

"My accent makes me sound thick and gives the impression that I have straw coming out of my mouth." Anon

"Everyone thinks we are country people and live in a barn." Anon

Over a quarter of the people from the South West who talked to the 成人快手 in the survey said they didn't like, or at least weren't proud of their accent.

However the very same dialect has also been attributed to Devonians being seen as extremely honest.

In another study, this time looking at how trustworthy Britons view each other based on their regional accents, West Country accents ranked highly, with speakers being perceived as an honest lot.

The Devon Windsucker

John schools David on the art of the "Devon Windsucker"

As John coaches David on the finer points of the Devon dialect, he also points out that to pass yourself of as a Devonian you need to do more than simply "talk the talk".

It's the little details such as adopting the "Devon Windsucker" that could help pass off David as a native.

John describes the Devon Windsucker as a quick inhalation of breath. It is also he says, "the answer to everything". It appears up to the person who asked you the question to interpret what the windsucker means in each situation.

Dress to impress

In the market for some Devon smalltalk? David fails to deliver

So all that remains to be done is kit David out in authentic Devon farmer's regalia (a flat hat and green wellies) and it's off to the market.

Here David tries to engage locals with his stock of common Devon sayings but with little success. He is easily spotted as a fake, and some even spot the Brum lurking behind his fake Devon accent.

David concedes defeat, as he says;

"You can put the boy in Devon, but you can't put Devon in the boy."

More from Devon

You can learn more about Devon dialects by visiting the 成人快手's Devon website. John Germon has set his own Devon dialect quiz and compiled an A-Z of Devon dialect words and phrases. The site also has a messageboard where you can submit your own examples of Devon phraseology.

The 成人快手 is carrying out a national survey on accents and dialects. If you would like to get involved visit their website at bbc.co.uk/voices or call our freephone number 0800 056 6787 for more information about how you can become part of history.