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West Country English is a group of English language varieties and
accent Accent may refer to: Speech and language * Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers * Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a particular syllable in a word, or a word in a phrase ** Pitch ac ...
s used by much of the native population of
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
, the area sometimes popularly known as the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouce ...
. The West Country is often defined as encompassing the counties of
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...
, the City of Bristol, and
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
. However, the northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define. In the adjacent counties of
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
and Oxfordshire it is possible to encounter similar accents and, indeed, much the same distinct dialect but with some similarities to others in neighbouring regions. Although natives of such locations, especially in rural parts, can still have West Country influences in their speech, the increased mobility and
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...
of the population has meant that in the more populous counties of Worcestershire, Berkshire, Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight), and Oxfordshire the dialect itself, as opposed to various local ''accents'', is becoming increasingly rare. Academically the regional variations are considered to be dialectal forms. The ''
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
'' captured manners of speech across the South West region that were just as different from Standard English as any from the far North of England. There is some influence from the
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
and Cornish languages depending on the specific location.


In literature, film and TV

In literary contexts, most of the usage has been in either poetry or dialogue, to add "local colour". It has rarely been used for serious prose in recent times, but was used much more extensively up until the 19th century. West Country dialects are commonly represented as " Mummerset", a kind of catchall southern
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
accent invented for broadcasting.


Early period

* The Late West Saxon dialect was the standard literary language of later
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
England, and consequently the majority of
Anglo-Saxon literature Old English literature refers to poetry and prose written in Old English in early medieval England, from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066, a period often termed Anglo-Saxon England. The 7th-century work '' Cæd ...
, including the epic poem ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...
'' and the poetic Biblical paraphrase '' Judith'', is preserved in West Saxon dialect, though not all of it was originally written in West Saxon. * In the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
period '' Sumer is icumen in'' (13th century) is a notable example of a work in the dialect. * The Cornish language (and Breton) descended from the ancient British language (Brythonic/Brittonic) that was spoken all over what is now the West Country until the West Saxons conquered and settled most of the area. The Cornish language throughout much of the High Middle Ages was not just the vernacular but the prestigious language in Cornwall among all classes, but was also spoken in large areas of Devon well after the Norman conquest. Cornish began to decline after the Late Middle Ages with English expanding westwards, and after the Prayer Book Rebellion, suffered terminal decline, dying out in the 18th century. (Its existence today is a revival).


17th century

* In ''
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...
'', Edgar speaks in the West Country dialect, as one of his various personae. * Both
Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...
and
Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...
were noted at the Court of
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...
for their strong Devon accents.


18th century

* ''
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...
'' (1749) by
Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
, set in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
, again mainly dialogue. Considered one of the first true English novels.


19th century

* William Barnes' Dorset dialect poetry (1801–1886). * Walter Hawken Tregellas (1831–1894), author of many stories written in the local dialect of the county of Cornwall and a number of other works. *
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ...
's (1815–1882) series of books ''
Chronicles of Barsetshire The ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' is a series of six novels by English author Anthony Trollope, published between 1855 and 1867. They are set in the fictional English county of Barsetshire and its cathedral town of Barchester. The novels conce ...
'' (1855–1867) also use some in dialogue. * The novels of
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...
(1840–1928) often use the dialect in dialogue, notably '' Tess of the D'Urbervilles'' (1891). * ''Wiltshire Rhymes and Tales in the Wiltshire Dialect'' (1894) and other works by Edward Slow. * The
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which '' H.M.S. ...
operetta '' The Sorcerer'' is set in the fictional village of Ploverleigh in Somerset. Some dialogue and song lyrics, especially for the chorus, are a phonetic approximation of West Country speech. ''
The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879 ...
'' is set in Devon and ''Ruddigore'' is set in Cornwall. * John Davey a farmer from
Zennor Zennor is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about north of Penzance,Ordnance Surve ...
, records the native Cornish language Cranken Rhyme. * R. D. Blackmore's ''
Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...
''. According to Blackmore, he relied on a "phonogogic" style for his characters' speech, emphasizing their accents and word formation. He expended great effort, in all of his novels, on his characters' dialogues and dialects, striving to recount realistically not only the ways, but also the tones and accents, in which thoughts and utterances were formed by the various sorts of people who lived in the Exmoor district.


20th century

* Several pages of 'Folk-Speech of Zummerzet' in
The Somerset Coast
' (1909) by George Harper, pp168–171 . * ''Songs of the Soil'' by Percy G Stone, verse in Isle of Wight dialect, rendered phonetically, showing similarities with 'core' West Country dialects. * '' A Glastonbury Romance'' (1933) by John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) / contains dialogue written in imitation of the local Somerset dialect. * Albert John Coles, (1876–1965), writing as Jan Stewer, wrote 3,000 short stories in the Devonshire dialect for local Devon newspapers, and published collections of them, as well as performing them widely on stage, film, and broadcast. *
Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy ...
's (1914–1997) works such as '' Cider with Rosie'' (1959) portray a somewhat idealised
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
childhood in the
Five Valleys The Five Valleys are a group of valleys in Gloucestershire, England, which converge on the town of Stroud at the western edge of the Cotswolds. The Five Valleys are notable both for the landscape, which attracts visitors, and their role in industr ...
area. *
John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. Af ...
's '' Daniel Martin'', which features the title character's girlfriend's dialect *
Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), '' The Singing Detective'' (1 ...
's ''
Blue Remembered Hills "Blue Remembered Hills" is the 14th episode of ninth season of the British BBC anthology TV series '' Play for Today''. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 30 January 1979. "Blue Remembered Hills" was written by De ...
'' is a television play about children in the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to t ...
during the Second World War. The dialogue is written in the style of the Forest dialect. *The songs of Adge Cutler (from
Nailsea Nailsea is a town in Somerset, England, southwest of Bristol, and northeast of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the opposite side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea had a popul ...
, died 1974) were famous for their West Country dialect, sung in a strong
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
accent. His legacy lives on in the present day
Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...
and other so-called " Scrumpy and Western" artists. *The folk group
The Yetties The Yetties (John "Bonny" Sartin, Pete Shutler, and Mac McCulloch) were an English folk music group, who took their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster, their childhood home. In 1975, they released an album entitled '' The Yetties of Yet ...
perform songs composed in the dialect of Dorset (they originate from Yetminster). * Andy Partridge, lead singer with the group XTC, has a pronounced
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...
accent. Although more noticeable in his speech, his accent may also be heard in some of his singing. * J. K. Rowling's ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students a ...
''
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
novels feature Hagrid, a character who has a West Country accent. * Berk, the central monster character from '' The Trap Door'', voiced by actor and comedian Willie Rushton.


History and origins

Until the 19th century, the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouce ...
and its dialects were largely protected from outside influences, due to its relative geographical isolation. While standard English derives from the Old English
Mercian dialect Mercian was a dialect spoken in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia (roughly speaking the Midlands of England, an area in which four kingdoms had been united under one monarchy). Together with Northumbrian, it was one of the two Anglian dialects. The ...
s, the West Country dialects derive from the
West Saxon dialect West Saxon is the term applied to the two different dialects Early West Saxon and Late West Saxon with West Saxon being one of the four distinct regional dialects of Old English. The three others were Kentish, Mercian and Northumbrian (the la ...
, which formed the earliest English language standard.
Thomas Spencer Baynes Thomas Spencer Baynes (24 March 1823 – 31 May 1887) was an English philosopher. Life Baynes was born in Wellington, Somerset to a Baptist minister. He intended to study for Baptist ministry, and was at a theological seminary at Bath with th ...
claimed in 1856 that, due to its position at the heart of the Kingdom of Wessex, the relics of Anglo-Saxon accent, idiom and vocabulary were best preserved in the Somerset dialect. The dialects have their origins in the expansion of
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
into the west of modern-day England, where the kingdom of
Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...
(West-Saxons) had been founded in the 6th century. As the
Kings of Wessex This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are gi ...
became more powerful they enlarged their kingdom westwards and north-westwards by taking territory from the British kingdoms in those districts. From Wessex, the Anglo-Saxons spread into the Celtic regions of present-day
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, Somerset and Gloucestershire, bringing their language with them. At a later period
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
came under
Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...
influence, which appears to become more extensive after the time of Athelstan in the 10th century. However the spread of the English language took much longer here than elsewhere. Outside Cornwall, it is believed that the various local dialects reflect the territories of various West Saxon tribes, who had their own dialects which fused together into a national language in the later Anglo-Saxon period. As Lt-Col. J. A. Garton observed in 1971, traditional Somerset English has a venerable and respectable origin, and is not a mere "debasement" of Standard English: In some cases, many of these forms are closer to modern Saxon (commonly called Low German/Low Saxon) than Standard British English is, e.g. The use of masculine and sometimes feminine, rather than neuter, pronouns with non-animate referents also parallels Low German, which unlike English retains grammatical genders. The pronunciation of "s" as "z" is also similar to Low German. However,
recent research The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together ...
proposes that some syntactical features of English, including the unique forms of the verb ''to be'', originate rather with the
Brythonic languages The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; cy, ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; kw, yethow brythonek/predennek; br, yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic ...
. (See ''Celtic Language Influence'' below.) In more recent times, West Country dialects have been treated with some derision, which has led many local speakers to abandon them or water them down. In particular it is British comedy which has brought them to the fore outside their native regions, and paradoxically groups such as
The Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit " I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phra ...
, a comic North Somerset/Bristol band from whom the term Scrumpy and Western music originated, have both popularised and made fun of them simultaneously. In an unusual regional breakout, the Wurzels' song "
The Combine Harvester "The Combine Harvester" is a novelty song which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for The Wurzels in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of Melanie Safka's 1971 hit, "Bran ...
" reached the top of the UK charts in 1976, where it did nothing to dispel the "simple farmer" stereotype of
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
and West Country folk. It and all their songs are sung entirely in a local version of the dialect, which is somewhat exaggerated and distorted. Some words used aren't even typical of the local dialect. For instance, the word "nowt" is used in the song "Threshing Machine". This word is generally used in more northern parts of England, with the West Country equivalent being "nawt".


Celtic language influence

Although the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
gradually spread into
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
after approximately the 13th century, a complete language shift to English took centuries more. The linguistic boundary, between English in the east and Cornish in the west, shifted markedly in the county between 1300 and 1750 (see figure). This is not to be thought of as a sharp boundary and it should not be inferred that there were no Cornish speakers to the east of a line, and no English speakers to the west. Nor should it be inferred that the boundary suddenly moved a great distance every 50 years. During the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, which centred on
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
, many of the Cornish objected to the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...
, on the basis that many Cornish could not speak English. Cornish probably ceased to be spoken as a community language sometime around 1780, with the last monoglot Cornish speaker believed to be Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian ( Dolly Pentreath was bilingual). However, some people retained a fragmented knowledge and some words were adopted by dialect(s) in Cornwall. In recent years, the traffic has reversed, with the revived Cornish language reclaiming Cornish words that had been preserved in the local dialect into its lexicon, and also (especially "Revived Late Cornish") borrowing other dialect words. However, there has been some controversy over whether all of these words are of native origin, as opposed to imported from parts of England, or the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
. Some modern day revived Cornish speakers have been known to use Cornish words within an English sentence, and even those who are not speakers of the language sometimes use words from the language in names.
Brythonic languages The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; cy, ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; kw, yethow brythonek/predennek; br, yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic ...
have also had a long-term influence on the West Country dialects beyond Cornwall, both as a substrate (certain West Country dialect words and possibly grammatical features) and languages of contact. Recent research on the roots of English proposes that the extent of Brythonic syntactic influence on Old English and
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
may have been underestimated, and specifically cites the preponderance of the forms of the verbs ''to be'' and ''to do'' in the southwestern region and their grammatical similarity to
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
and Cornish in opposition to the Germanic languages. Bos: Cornish verb to be The Cornish dialect, or Anglo-Cornish (to avoid confusion with the Cornish language), has the most substantial Celtic language influence, because many western parts were non-English speaking even into the early modern period. In places such as
Mousehole Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ...
,
Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Moun ...
and St Ives, fragments of Cornish survived in English even into the 20th century, e.g. some numerals (especially for counting fish) and the Lord's Prayer were noted by W. D. Watson in 1925, Edwin Norris collected the Creed in 1860, and J. H. Nankivel also recorded numerals in 1865. The dialect of West Penwith is particularly distinctive, especially in terms of grammar. This is most likely due to the late decay of the Cornish language in this area. In Cornwall the following places were included in the
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
: Altarnun, Egloshayle, Gwinear,
Kilkhampton Kilkhampton ( kw, Kylgh) is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilch ...
,
Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
, St Buryan, and
St Ewe St Ewe ( kw, Lannewa) is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which is believed by hagiographers to have been named after the English moniker of Saint Avoye. The village is situated approximately five miles (8&nbs ...
. In other areas, Celtic vocabulary is less common, but it is notable that "coombe", cognate with Welsh ''cwm'', was borrowed from Brythonic into Old English and is common in placenames east of the Tamar, especially Devon, and also in northern Somerset around Bath and the examples Hazeley Combe and Combley Great Wood (despite spelling difference, both are pronounced 'coombe') are to be found as far away as the Isle of Wight. Some possible examples of Brythonic words surviving in Devon dialect include: * Goco — A bluebell * Jonnick — Pleasant, agreeable


Characteristics


Phonology

* West Country accents are rhotic like most
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, American and Irish accents, meaning that the historical loss of non-syllable-final /r/ did not take place, in contrast to non-rhotic accents like
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
. Often, this is specifically realised as the retroflex approximant , which is typically lengthened at the ends of words. Rhoticity appears to be declining in both real and apparent time in some areas of the West Country, for example
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...
. * , as in ''guide'' or ''life'', more precisely approaches , , or . * , as in ''house'' or ''cow'', more precisely approaches or , with even very front and unrounded variants such as . * Word-final "-ing" in polysyllabic words is typically realised as . * , as in ''trap'' or ''cat'', is often open , the more open variant fairly common in urban areas but especially common in rural areas. ** The split associated with London English may not exist for some speakers, or may exist marginally on the basis of simply a length difference. In other words, some may not have any contrast between and , for example making ''palm'' and ''Pam''
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...
s (though some pronounce the in ''palm''). For some West Country speakers, the vowel is even the same in the , , , and word sets: . The split's "bath" vowel (appearing as the letter "a" in such other words as ''grass'', ''ask'', ''path'', etc.) can also be represented by the sounds or in different parts of the West Country (RP has in such words); the isoglosses in the ''Linguistic Atlas of England'' are not straightforward cases of clear borders. Short vowels have also been reported, e.g., .Wells, J.C. (1982). ''Accents of English 2: The British Isles''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 343–345. Print. *
h-dropping ''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "''H''-sound", . The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a purely historical developme ...
: initial can often be omitted so "hair" and "air" become homophones. This is common in working-class speech in most parts of England. * t-glottalisation: use of the glottal stop as an allophone of , generally when in any syllable-final position. * The word-final letter "y" is pronounced or ; for example: ''party '', ''silly '' etc. * The
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
found that Cornwall retained some older features of speech that are now considered "Northern" in England. For example, a close in ''suck, but, cup'', etc. and sometimes a short in words such as ''aunt''. * Initial fricative consonants can be voiced, particularly in more traditional and older speakers, so that "s" is pronounced as Standard English "z" and "f" as Standard English "v". This feature is now exceedingly rare. * In words containing "r" before a vowel, there is frequent metathesis – "gurt" (great), "Burdgwater" (Bridgwater) and "chillurn" (children) * In many words with the letter "l" near the end, such as ''gold ''or ''cold'', the "l" is often not pronounced, so "an old gold bowl" would sound like "an ode goad bow". * In
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
, a terminal "a" can be realised as the sound  – e.g. ''cinema'' as "cinemaw" and ''America'' as "Americaw" – which is often perceived by non-Bristolians to be an intrusive "l". Hence the old joke about the three Bristolian sisters Evil, Idle and Normali.e.: Eva, Ida, and Norma. The name ''Bristol'' itself (originally ''Bridgestowe'' or ''Bristow'') is believed to have originated from this local pronunciation.


Vocabulary

* Some of the vocabulary used relates to English words of a bygone era, e.g. the verb "to hark" (as in "'ark a'ee"), "thee" (often abbreviated to "'ee") etc., the increased use of the infinitive form of the verb "to be" etc. Some of these terms are obsolete, but some are in current use. Some dialect words now appear mainly, or solely, in place names, such as "batch" (North Somerset, = hill but more commonly applied to Coalmine spoil heaps e.g. Camerton batch, Farrington batch, Braysdown batch), "
tyning Tyning is a name-element occurring commonly in north-east Somerset, England - most of all in the Bath area, though also as far as Cheddar in the south-west, and over the borders into Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. It is used of three woodlands, of ...
", "hoe" (a bay). These are not to be confused with fossilised Brythonic or Cornish language terms, for example, "-coombe" is quite a common suffix in West Country place names (not so much in Cornwall), and means a "valley".


Grammar

* The second person singular ''thee'' (or ''ye'') and ''thou'' forms used, ''thee'' often contracted to'' 'ee''. * ''Bist'' may be used instead of ''are'' for the second person, e.g.: ''how bist?'' ("how are you?") This has its origins in the Old English – or
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
 – language; compare the modern German (a literal translation of "How are you?", not used as a greeting). * Use of masculine (rather than neuter) pronouns with non-animate referents, e.g.: ''put'ee over there'' ("put it over there") and ''e's a nice scarf'' ("That's a nice scarf"). * An ''a-'' prefix may be used to denote the past participle; ''a-went'' ("gone"). * Use of ''they'' in conjunction with plural nouns, where Standard English demands ''those'' e.g.: ''They shoes are mine'' ("Those shoes are mine" / "They are mine"). This is also used in
Modern Scots Modern Scots comprises the varieties of Scots traditionally spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster, from 1700. Throughout its history, Modern Scots has been undergoing a process of language attrition, whereby successive generations o ...
but differentiated ''thae'' meaning those and ''thay'' the plural of ''he'', ''she ''and ''it'', both from the Anglo-Saxon / 'they/those', the plural form of 'he/that', 'she/that' and / 'it/that'. * In other areas, ''be'' may be used exclusively in the present tense, often in the present continuous; ''Where you be going to?'' ("Where are you going?") * The use of ''to'' to denote location. ''Where's that to?'' ("Where's that t"). This is something that can still be heard often, unlike many other characteristics. This former usage is common to
Newfoundland English Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of several accents and dialects of Atlantic Canadian English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbr ...
, where many of the island's modern-day descendants have West Country origins — particularly Bristol — as a result of the 17th–19th century migratory fishery. *Use of the past tense ''writ'' where Standard English uses ''wrote''. e.g.: ''I writ a letter'' ("I wrote a letter"). *Nominative pronouns as indirect objects. For instance, ''Don't tell I, tell'ee!'' ("Don't tell me, tell him!"), "'ey give I fifty quid and I zay no, giv'ee to charity inztead" ("They gave me £50 and I said no, give it to charity instead"). When in casual Standard English the
oblique case In grammar, an oblique ( abbreviated ; from la, casus obliquus) or objective case (abbr. ) is a nominal case other than the nominative case, and sometimes, the vocative. A noun or pronoun in the oblique case can generally appear in any role ex ...
is used, in the West Country dialect the object of many a verb takes the
nominative case In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...
.


Social stigma and future of the dialect

Owing to the West Country's agricultural history, the sound of the West Country accent has for centuries been associated with farming, and consequently with a lack of education and rustic simplicity. This can be seen in literature as early as the 18th century in
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The S ...
's play ''
The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 episode of th ...
'', set in the Somerset city of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. As more and more of the English population moved into towns and cities during the 20th century, non-regional, Standard English accents increasingly became a marker of personal social mobility. Universal primary education was also an important factor as it made it possible for some to move out of their rural environments into situations where other modes of speech were current. A West Country accent continues to be a reason for denigration and stereotype: In the early part of the twentieth century, the journalist and writer Albert John Coles used the pseudonym Jan Stewer (a character from the folk song
Widecombe Fair Widecombe Fair is an annual fair in England, held in the Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on the second Tuesday of September. It is well known as the subject of the folk song of the same name, featuring Uncle Tom Cobley and his frien ...
) to pen a long-running series of humorous articles and correspondences in Devon dialect for the ''
Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western ...
''. These now preserve a record of the dialect as recalled with affection in the period. The tales perpetuate – albeit sympathetically – the rustic uneducated
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for exampl ...
as the protagonist experiences the modern world. There is a popular prejudice that stereotypes speakers as unsophisticated and even backward, due possibly to the deliberate and lengthened nature of the accent. This can work to the West Country speaker's advantage, however: recent studies of how trustworthy Britons find their fellows based on their regional accents put the West Country accent high up, under southern
Scottish English Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standa ...
but a long way above
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...
and
Scouse Scouse (; formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English) is an accent and dialect of English associated with Liverpool and the surrounding county of Merseyside. The Scouse accent is highly distinctive; having been influenced h ...
. Recent polls put the West Country accent as third and fifth most attractive in the British Isles respectively. The West Country accent is probably most identified in film as " pirate speech"cartoon-like "Ooh arr, me 'earties! Sploice the mainbrace!" talk is very similar. This may be a result of the strong seafaring and
fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recre ...
tradition of the West Country, both legal and outlaw. Edward Teach (
Blackbeard Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about ...
) was a native of Bristol, and
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
and English hero Sir
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...
hailed from
Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of ...
in Devon.
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which '' H.M.S. ...
's operetta ''
The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879 ...
'' may also have added to the association. West Country native
Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for h ...
's performance in the 1950
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...
'' is credited with popularizing the stereotypical West Country "pirate voice". Newton's strong West Country accent also featured in '' Blackbeard the Pirate'' (1952).


See also

*
Anglo-Cornish The Cornish dialect (also known as Cornish English, Cornu-English, kw, Sowsnek Kernowek) is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, an ...
*
Bristolian dialect Bristol is a city in South West England. As the largest city in the region it is a centre for the arts and sport. The region has a distinct West Country dialect. Events In summer the grounds of Ashton Court to the west of the city play host t ...
* Cornish language *
History of the English language English is a West Germanic language that originated from Ingvaeonic languages brought to Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-Saxon migrants from what is now northwest Germany, southern Denmark and the Netherlands. The An ...
*
International Talk Like a Pirate Day International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate.Janner * Jan Stewer * Late West Saxon *
List of Cornish dialect words This is a select list of Cornish dialect words in English—while some of these terms are obsolete others remain in use. Many Cornish dialect words have their origins in the Cornish language and others belong to the West Saxon group of dialects w ...
* Mummerset *
Newfoundland English Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of several accents and dialects of Atlantic Canadian English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbr ...
*
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...


References


Further reading

* M. A. Courtney; T. Q. Couch: ''Glossary of Words in Use in Cornwall''. West Cornwall, by M. A. Courtney; East Cornwall, by T. Q. Couch. London: published for the English Dialect Society, by Trübner & Co., 1880 * John Kjederqvist: "The Dialect of Pewsey (Wiltshire)", ''Transactions of the Philological Society 1903–1906'' * Etsko Kruisinga: ''A Grammar of the Dialect of West Somerset'', Bonn, 1905 * Clement Marten: ''The Devonshire Dialect'', Exeter, 1974 * Clement Marten: ''Flibberts and Skriddicks: Stories and Poems in the Devon Dialect'', Exeter, 1983 * Mrs. Palmer: ''A Devonshire Dialogue In Four Parts. To Which is added a Glossary for the most part by the late Rev. John Phillips. Edited by Mrs. Gwatkin. London and Plymouth, 1839. * "A Lady":
Mary Palmer Mary Palmer (née Reynolds; 9 February 1716 – 27 May 1794) was a British author from Devon who wrote ''Devonshire Dialogue'', once considered the "best piece of literature in the vernacular of Devon." She was the mother of painter Theophil ...
:
A Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect
' (in three parts) by A Lady to which is added a Glossary by J. F. Palmer, London & Exeter, 1837 * Norman Rogers: ''Wessex Dialect'', Bradford-on-Avon, 1979 * Bertil Widén: ''Studies in the Dorset Dialect'', Lund, 1949


External links


Sounds Familiar?
isten to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website * Bristol
Bristol Dialect/Glossary
* Cornwall


''Cornish Provincial Words'', by "Uncle Jan Trenoodle", 1845?
*

* Devon


BBC Devon: Dialect (with pronunciation)
* Somerset **
Somerset voices
**Wadham Pigott Williams,
A Glossary of Provincial Words & Phrases in use in Somersetshire
', Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer, 1873 * Wessex


Dialect Syntax in the South West of England (pdf)
{{English dialects by continent English language in England Languages of the United Kingdom English