Sunday, Sunday.

Monday, November 15th, 2004 12:15 am
caddyman: (Default)
[personal profile] caddyman
Just got back from a long day out.

As mentioned recently in an earlier LJ entry, friend Harv is over from Aussie with the family, and it's the first time I've seen them for about 6 years.

Otherwise unchanged, Harv has developed an accent. More to the point, he now has that inflection which has begun to creep into Estuary English, and which is slowly strangling all other English accents. I speak of the rising inflection that makes the end of each sentence sound like a question thus making the speaker sound profoundly uncertain.

Oh dear. I can cope with the Aussiefication of the accent, but that inflection....

I understand from Julia, his wife, that to her and other pure blood Aussies, Harv still sounds as though he has retained a plummy, well-educated English Home Counties accent. He hasn't. He is in that linguistic limbo that defines him as English to the Aussies, but Aussie to the English.

Bless.

A bunch of us met up for lunch and then retired to the hotel for a chat. All very good to catch up. It's a shame that Australia is 23 hours away by air. I just know that a visit would drive me insane (too late, I hear you cry).

Anyway, after leaving Harv and family, it was a wander around central London for 3 hours before pootling off to booze with Miss Clark and Pat At both sans LJ. This was good, and I have just finished scoffing the gifted dried banana received at this meeting. Most toothsome. Sadly the Head of Steam, our favoured central London watering hole, near Euston, showed every sign of being closed, and so we retired to a local Young's pub - not bad, but a poor substitute for the real ale extravaganza we were hoping for.

Never mind.

Briefly, and in a nut shell, that was the highlight of my weekend. I must now iron a shirt, shower and sleep. Probably in that order.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 01:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com
Oy.

That particular inflection is a real old Essex accent, as performed by my dear old Uncle Freydy, who was 85 when he died and sounded as if he came from Perth.

We're regressing, not progressing...

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 02:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] caddyman.livejournal.com
Nonetheless, Miss Emm, it is a damned annoying inflection?

You can't tell a question from a statement when you hear it?

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 02:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com
I didn't say he wasn't annoying...

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 02:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] caddyman.livejournal.com
Tha's an argumentative sod for a Monday morniong, tha knorst. ;-)

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 02:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com
Dain't ee be a'sivvying me en the time o' day, young Bryly. Ai'd an truckle gel at eny tym.

So nher.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-11-15 09:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bitofstuff.livejournal.com
It has a name. Australian Question Intonation. And yeah, allegedly it comes from old Cockney/Estuary accents - I remember watching a (incredibly boring) programme on it at college. Obviously something to do with all the poor people being Cockneys and criminals and getting shipped over there. Don't tell [livejournal.com profile] erestania though. Funnily enough a big branch of my Nan's family went over there in the 1850s/60s...

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