FOREIGNERS who apply to become British citizens will have to know where Scouse is spoken before they are admitted to the country. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16317590%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=scouse%2daccent%2dposer%2dfor%2dprospec tive%2dbritons-name_page.html)

:unibrow:

FOREIGNERS who apply to become British citizens will have to know where Scouse is spoken before they are admitted to the country. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16317590%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=scouse%2daccent%2dposer%2dfor%2dprospec tive%2dbritons-name_page.html)

:unibrow:


Mien Gott!!!, Do they only want to allow Protestant, Beatles loving, single mothers into this country.

Urgh the thought of that!:eek:

Pity they don't have to learn English first. ;) :evil: :lol:

Andrew Hamer is a lecturer in English Language at the School of English, University of Liverpool. His particular interests are dialectology and sociolinguistics. We met up with him to get the expert opinion on why we talk like we do.

And our survery says.....
We've been out and about to ask you what you think! Do you like the way you talk?

79% of people in the North West say they have a moderately strong accent.
16% say they don't like their accent.
Over half of the people asked (55%) like their accent and are proud of it.
43% admit that they change their accent when they meet people for the first time!

The most popular choices for pleasant sounding voices were:

1. Sean Connery

2. Trevor McDonald

3. Terry Wogan

4. Billy Connolly

5. Moira Stewart

The least pleasant voices voted for were:

1. Ian Paisley

2. Cilla Black

3. Paul O'Grady/Lily Savage

4. Janet Street-Porter

5. Jasper Carrott

What is the difference between an accent and a dialect?

‘Dialect’ includes the vocabulary you use, the grammar that you use and lots of local expressions as well. Dialects are defined socially – depending on your social background, and regionally - in terms of the area that you come from.

Accents are basically the sounds that people produce – it can involve the tunes that people use when they are speaking, and also the individual sounds of speech. So ‘accent’ is a more narrow term than dialect.

So what is Scouse? Is it an accent or a dialect?

It’s an accent really. Merseyside speech, which is commonly known as ‘Scouse’ as a kind of cover term, is actually fairly standardised in terms of its dialect features. There are not many non-standard words used – ‘rob’ is one – meaning to steal as well as ‘to rob’ (to deprive) – there are a few others – ‘Lent it off him’ instead of ‘Borrowed it from him’ for example - but those are found widespread over a lot of dialects.

There are a few non-standard dialect words, and there are a couple of non-standard grammar constructions, for example ‘I haven’t seen nothing’ or ‘I haven’t been nowhere’ where you’ve got two negatives in the same sentence. But again, that’s very widespread – it’s not peculiar to Merseyside at all.

In terms of accent features though, Merseyside speech is very different from the standard accent of ‘English English’ – that’s to say English English as opposed to Scottish English or Irish English – which is known as Received Pronunciation. Merseyside speech is very different to that, and actually very different from the accents of the area of the country around it in the North West.

What have been the major influences on the way we speak in Merseyside?

I think there are two main influences, and you can contrast Liverpool with Manchester – another big city only 30 miles away - to see how this has worked. Manchester accents are a lot more like the accents of the areas around it in Cheshire and Lancashire. Manchester took a lot of its immigration in the 19th century from these surrounding areas.

Liverpool took its immigration from two mains areas – Lancashire and the North West, as well as Ireland. I think it’s probably the marriage of features of Irish – both Gaelic and Irish English – and Lancashire speech, which built the foundations of Scouse.

How far does Scouse or Merseyside speech reach? Are linguistic / geographical boundaries clear cut in Merseyside and the surrounding areas?

The boundaries are not clear at all – accents and dialects are both socially and regionally defined. You can’t talk about a single Merseyside accent – there are a whole range of them, depending partly on whereabouts in Merseyside someone comes from, but also who they interact with – who they want to be, basically.

We use our accents as a kind of badge to show people who we are, and where we belong. You could take say two people of the same age, same sex, who look identical, and have grown up in the same part of Liverpool all their lives, but their Merseyside accents might be very different. You have to say that even within the city there are no fixed boundaries. It’s a very mixed, heterogeneous situation.

Outside the city you can see Merseyside accents rubbing up against the Lancashire accents in areas like St Helens and Ormskirk. On its east side the Wirral shows strong Merseyside influence; less strong on the west side or Deeside, which is partly social and partly geographical. You can see Merseyside influence along the North Wales coast; and among young people on the Isle of Man.

Where does that classic ‘blocked-nose Scouse’ way of speaking come from?

Well the sort of folk belief about it is that it was adenoids – that children growing up in Merseyside in the late 19th century and early 20th century, when Scouse as an accent was being forged, listened to older speakers who all suffered from adenoids. If you think about when you’ve got a cold you can‘t actually put air through your nose, so you talk differently. So the idea is that the children were listening to that cold-ridden voice and imitated it.

Another speech type you get in Merseyside is a very breathy sort of voice – with a lot of breathing out as they speak. Young people do that quite a lot, and it seems to be more of a female than a male type of speech.

The third type of voice, which you’ll hear in some speakers – more male than female – is the John Lennon type speech – very down the nose.

Where does that throaty ‘c’ come from? You hear it in words like ‘cream’ and ‘chicken’….

I think it’s carrying to its logical conclusion a change that has been happening for a long time in Merseyside speech. Received Pronunciation would have a ‘k’ sound there, but in Scouse it would come out as a weaker ‘h’ sound.

How can we measure people’s reactions to different accents?

We can test this by playing tape recordings of different accents and asking people to grade them in attractiveness, or by asking them what occupations they think that those users might have. Liverpool always comes near the bottom, along with Glasgow, London and Birmingham. Now those are all big cities. It’s possible that it’s a prejudice against big cities which people are carrying over into their attitudes to the accent.

So basically a broad Scouse accent is not seen in a terribly positive light by people within Merseyside, as well as by people outside Merseyside?

Well I don’t think there’s any such thing as a one-language individual – a person who could only speak broad Scouse, broad Glaswegian or anything else. We all have a telephone voice or a Sunday best voice that we can put on. We do that unconsciously, when the situation demands it.

Telephones are a very good example because we can’t see the other person – we often don’t know the other person and they can’t read our lips. We have to speak a little more clearly, a bit slower and a bit more towards the standard accent when we’re talking to strangers anyway. Partly to help them out; but also partly because we automatically move towards the accent of the person we are talking to. Everybody is kind of bi-lingual.

Although I would agree that a broad Scouse accent is stigmatised - in England, anyway - there’s a lot of telephone sales that goes on in Merseyside among people with perfectly good Merseyside accents. They couldn’t be selling things if their accent was perceived to be that bad.

A lot of these views about Scouse, Glaswegian, Birmingham or any other stigmatised accents are based around what you might call stereotyped images of that accent. These are produced by attitudes to the city itself, but also by comedians making fun of them on television – comedians often not from the area themselves so producing a ‘hammy’ kind of accent. And they [the comedians] often associate those accents with particular kinds of attitudes – of wasters, loafers, thieves or scoundrels, but never with brain surgeons, test pilots or those other kind of prestige jobs. I think people’s reactions to various accents are constantly being reinforced by stereotyping.

Is our accent likely to change with our age?

The period when you are at your most intensively interactive and when you most want to be different from everybody else is when you are an adolescent. Let’s say starting from nine or ten years old through to 17 or 18; it’s very important for young people to establish their own identities.

One of the ways they’ll do that is by rebelling in all sorts of ways – particularly against their parents. They will speak in a different way to their parents, with their own slang. That’s the time of life when people are typically at their least standardised.

Once you reach more than 17 or 18 you’re thinking about settling down and getting a job and sorting out a relationship. As you become part of the whole institutional machinery your voice tends to move with you and you become more kind of ‘main stream’. You will still have your Belfast or Glaswegian or Merseyside accent, but it’ll be less extreme.

People’s accents do change quite a lot in early adulthood. People’s accents change all throughout their lives anyway. Your language is always evolving – that’s one of the nice things about language.

What would you say is the biggest current influence on the way we speak in this region?

I think the biggest single influence now is London speech. What you notice among young speakers – say speakers under the age of 30 – 35, is increasingly frequent use of ‘f’ and ‘v’ for ‘th’. So where some speakers would say ‘brother’ and some speakers would say ‘brudder’, younger Merseyside speakers are saying ‘bruvver’. And where some older speakers would say ‘thick’ and others would say ‘tick’, younger speakers are saying ‘fick’. Now those ‘f’ and ‘v’ sounds are cockney in origin; they are London based. But it is a feature that is spreading all over the country at the moment – in Glasgow they call it ‘Jockney’ – Scottish Cockney. London speech has been influencing the rest of the country for at least four hundred years, so it shouldn’t surprise us.

Is London speech ever likely to take over Scouse completely?

No, language doesn’t work like that. Ultimately it boils down to people’s own views about themselves. You’ll have some people embracing the new influence, and some people rejecting it. I’m quite happy about the future of Scouse – it’s going to continue changing, it’s going to continue developing. But it will continue.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/.../voices_ linguist_feature.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/fun/games/scouse/main_promo.gif

Just a bit of fun....click on the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/fun/games/scouse/index.shtml

and click here for a scouse translator http://www.whoohoo.co.uk/main.asp

not sure if it's really that accurate....

My accent is not the common Scouse.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Not the alright laa sounding that sounds like messed up Irish.

Great interview there, I havent read through it all as of yet but I will do soon!

My accent is all over the place! It is either broad scouse or light scouse. Other times it's lancastrian (too much dinnerladies and Fred Dibnah!). When I am in Wirral though, it is scouse; and sometimes exeedingly broad. Much to my sister's annoyance as she is reasonably well spocken.

I love it really, but I have been told that a broad accen of any ilk can hold you back. I think this is wrong as everyone has the right to take pride in where they come from. Why should an accent get in the way of a promotion?

My dad used to write in "Scouse",and see if anybody could translate it back(His party piece).

My dad used to write in "Scouse",and see if anybody could translate it back(His party piece).


Ds r fish ds r, rd? rdl oidr. :)

RE above post,lol no i cannot fathom that one out,lol.Personally i love the Merseyside accent i think it has a lot of character to it & i find it quite sexy as well!.As has been mentioned there are the milder & the smoother elements within this accent & neither should be a barrier to getting on in life both socially or professionally.Its only snobby people,some in positions of power who are misguided that have allowed others to use this as an excuse not to employ people.They often use the excuse that someones accent would not be a good selling point,or would be a barrier preventing people from buying this or that which i believe is a load of (wait for this!)CODSWALLOP,LOL.
You hear of surveys that have apparantly been carried out on this issue but i for one would doubt their credability,or maybe i'm biased!.If iam you know you can tell me in complete confidence,lol.

I've warmed to the Bolton accent - because I like Peter Kaye :) :)
Also we had a neighbour from Bolton and I liked the way she talked.

Ds r fish ds r, rd? rdl oidr. :)

Translation.....


These are fish these are, "are they", are they hell, oh aye they are.

:PDT_Piratz_26:

Translation.....


These are fish these are, "are they", are they hell, oh aye they are.

:PDT_Piratz_26:

Oh my goodness... nice one :D

I've warmed to the Bolton accent - because I like Peter Kaye :) :)
Also we had a neighbour from Bolton and I liked the way she talked.

I love Bolton full stop. It's my over true love other than Merseyside. They have a great Town Hall!

It is strange though how in half an hour, you can travel from Broad Scouse to Broad Lancastrian! both of which are great. The Wigan accent isn't that bad either as it now has a slight scouse twang in it as Skelmersdale (just over the hill) folk all talk in scouse accents; probably due to the fact that they were moved out of the city.....

Translation.....


These are fish these are, "are they", are they hell, oh aye they are.

:PDT_Piratz_26:


I will cook you some saltfish and bacon next sundee :D



;)

I will cook you some saltfish and bacon next sundee :D



;)


Oh brilliant , its ages since I've had saltfish, that used to be Sunday morning breakfast in our house when I was young.

:PDT_Piratz_26:

Hi, I lived in Liverpool 'till I was 42 so my accent is well and truly fixed. Despite spending the last 25 years in Florida I am still pure Scouse, when people comment I say "Why get rid of something so good".
I recently retired and moved to the Ozark mountains, so my accent sticks out like a sore thumb. I was at the doctors recently and his nurse said,"Talk to me, anything will do I just want to hear you".
I agree about the Bolton accent, my dad was born in Edgeworth Bolton to a Welsh father, this family were probably the only bi-lingual Welsh speakers in Bolton.
It is amazing how language changes, you don't notice it while you live there but after being away you do when you return. A whole new set of words to learn. The most recent I noticed on my visit last year, everyone who was upset was 'gutted', sounded daft to me I had mever heard of it before. Another one that came into use after I left was 'gobsmacked', now that really sounds daft to me.:037:

Hi, I lived in Liverpool 'till I was 42 so my accent is well and truly fixed. Despite spending the last 25 years in Florida...........

Hi shytalk and a warm (well not really, its quite cold at the moment) welcome from me to you. Glad you've chosen an avatar! Sound to have another member so far away!!

Kev :Colorz_Grey_PDT_16::PDT_Piratz_26::)

Ta kev, I'm no longer in Florida. I retired this year and moved to the Ozarks.

Ta kev, I'm no longer in Florida. I retired this year and moved to the Ozarks.

That's a brilliant number plate :celb (23):

"Why get rid of something so good".

Couldn't agree with you more!

Quote:That's a brilliant number plate
__________________

I no longer use that plate because I moved to another state, On another scouse site I offered it as a souvenier to anyone who would make a donation to The Roy Castle Foundation. Had a lot of hits on the page but nobody coughed up. If anyone wants it as a souvenier make a donation to any cancer charity, mail me the receipt anf your address and I will mail it to you.
It will cost me about £2 to mail it from here so I sugest a donation of a tenner would be about right. If anyone is interested let me know before you make the donation and I will reserve it for the first offer.

I have no wish for the number plate, but £10 is too cheap for a donation to a cancer charity, why not take bids?

I supose it is cheap, just ordinary plates make that on ebay to collectors so a personalised one should be more. I don't want to sell it I just want some money to go to a good cause.

The scouse accent has been voted the 2nd funniest in the country. Here's the full list:

1. Birmingham (20.8%)
2. Liverpudlian (15.8%)
3. Geordie (14.3%)
4. Welsh (10.5%)
5. Yorkshire (9.2%)
6. Cockney (8.2%)
7. Belfast (8%)
8. South West England (6.6%)
9. Glaswegian (3.4%)
10. Mancunian (2.1%)
11. Received Pronunciation (1.1%)

Wot!!! No Lancs Peter Kay!!

I have no wish for the number plate, but £10 is too cheap for a donation to a cancer charity, why not take bids?

I have had a very generous donation made to the Canadian Cancer Sosciety, so the plate is no longer available.

I have had a very generous donation made to the Canadian Cancer Sosciety, so the plate is no longer available.

Well done shytalk. :PDT_Piratz_26:

I hope you got more than a tenner (£10) :)

Well more, more than I ever expected. :)

Great news :shock:

The scouse accent has been voted the 2nd funniest in the country. Here's the full list:

1. Birmingham (20.8%)
2. Liverpudlian (15.8%)
3. Geordie (14.3%)
4. Welsh (10.5%)
5. Yorkshire (9.2%)
6. Cockney (8.2%)
7. Belfast (8%)
8. South West England (6.6%)
9. Glaswegian (3.4%)
10. Mancunian (2.1%)
11. Received Pronunciation (1.1%)

Thats crap, where did that come from?

Acceding to Kev's wishes for us to start a new thread on this subject, here it is. I had posted in reply to Waterways on the Irish famine thread:

Total tripe. It isn't. It is a dish originating from Scandinavia and Northern Germany. Liverpool does not have dialect. It has an accent. Any dope can contribute to Wiki, and one did.

Hello Waterways

Yes it does appear that the dish, scouse, originates from Scandinavia and from Irish stew. But it is now Liverpudlian, which is undeniable even if it came from somewhere else originally.

The late Fritz Spiegl was surely an expert on the Liverpool dialect and this is how one of his books is described in a local bookseller's catalog (http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk/books/DisplayBookInfo.php?ISBN=0901367370) which I would say is authoritative on the matter of the definition of "Scouse"--

"Scouse International: The Liverpool Dialect in Five Languages
by Fritz Spiegl
£2.49 paperback

The word Scouse has three meanings.

1. An inhabitant of Liverpool.

2. The accent or dialect in which he or she speaks.

3. The best-known local dish, which is a variation of Irish Stew.

We hope you will enjoy meeting the local people, hearing them speak, and eating the food with them. This book will help you to understand all three.
Scouse Press (2001) ISBN 0901367370"

Chris

To which Waterways replied--

We don't have a dialect only an accent. With a dialect others can't understand it. An e.g., of dialect is Creole. Everyone can understand a Liverpudlian. Liverpool has some slang words, and some, mainly the working class use them. No different to any other city in the UK.

Spiegel made a lot of money writing more comic books about Liverpool speech. He is no authority at all.

* * *

Waterways, on the other thread, you dismissed Wikipedia as an authority on matters Scouse when Sloyne quoted their claim that "Scouse is the accent and dialect of English found in the northern English city of Liverpool, in some adjoining urban areas of Merseyside and less commonly in northwestern Cheshire and Skelmesdale West Lancashire. Inhabitants of Liverpool are called Liverpudlians but are more often described by the slang term Scouser."

They also list "Scouse (spoken on Merseyside)" as among the dialects of English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language).

The question is also discussed on a
Yahoo question and answer site (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061105143848AArQXh3) where differences in pronunciation between areas of the United States are cited as dialect differences -- surely not much different from, say, Scouse or Brum.

Chris

Hi Chris, we've discussed this issue but posts are all over the show, so thanks for starting the thread. I think from reading posts that the younger generation consider themselves Scouse before Liverpudlian. Scouse is thrown around in the wider media now to identify someone from Liverpool. I know the term Scouse is used before many a insult, 'scouse tw.. scouse git', etc etc....

I don't think in 2007 the term Scouse is exclusively the term describing working class Liverpool, everyone calls 'emselves scouse, scally or posh.

Chris, I'm undecided whether it's accent or dialect. Talking of accents though, I think our Robbie Fowler's accent is almost Lanc/Cheshire. Has anyone else noticed this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse

Saves me typing it all out 'la' :)

Hi Chris, we've discussed this issue but posts are all over the show, so thanks for starting the thread. I think from reading posts that the younger generation consider themselves Scouse before Liverpudlian. Scouse is thrown around in the wider media now to identify someone from Liverpool. I know the term Scouse is used before many a insult, 'scouse tw.. scouse git', etc etc....

I don't think in 2007 the term Scouse is exclusively the term describing working class Liverpool, everyone calls 'emselves scouse, scally or posh.
Kev/Chris
I get perverse satisfaction when I'm called a Scouse t--t/c--t. It means they know where I come from by my accent:PDT_Piratz_26:

Chris, I'm undecided whether it's accent or dialect. Talking of accents though, I think our Robbie Fowler's accent is almost Lanc/Cheshire. Has anyone else noticed this?

I'd agree that Fowler's accent is not as markedly Scouse as are those of say, Gerrard and Carragher.

Chris

Kev/Chris
I get perverse satisfaction when I'm called a Scouse t--t/c--t. It means they know where I come from by my accent:PDT_Piratz_26:

scouseproud mate, scouseproud :)

I'd agree that Fowler's accent is not as markedly Scouse as are those of say, Gerrard and Carragher.

Chris

....becuase they are from north end arnt they? Fowler was from Tocky.

....becuase they are from north end arnt they? Fowler was from Tocky.

Carragher is from Bootle but Gerrard is from Huyton, isn't he? Though perhaps his parents were from Scottie Road way.

Chris

Scouse dialect has always been unique and working class but not exclusively so.

How sad is it that in this day and age, every young person in the uk including our scouse sons and daughters seem to be taking on this national dialect which is portrayed in the media, init? The power of our media knows no bounds.

I remember reading this online Echo article (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14340695&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=scouse-is-still-evolving-name_page.html) saying that if anything, the Scouse accent is getting stronger.

....becuase they are from north end arnt they? Fowler was from Tocky.
North end accent has always sounder harsher compared to the South end.

North end accent has always sounder harsher compared to the South end.

That's a harsh statement, Dave. :)

Chris

I remember reading this online Echo article (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14340695&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=scouse-is-still-evolving-name_page.html) saying that if anything, the Scouse accent is getting stronger.

I would say the accent is being unecessarily exaggerated, almost a contrived accent by some.

That's a harsh statement, Dave. :)

Chris
What a groaner!:)
Mind you, it's better than the one I've just posted (http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?p=24964#post24964):disgust:

I would say the accent is being unecessarily exaggerated, almost a contrived accent by some.

The accent does seem stronger today than ever, at least to my ears. Maybe the influence of the north end over the south?

It was my impression that the Beatles possibly accentuated their accent for the foreign market. Could that have been so? However, having said that, their accents didn't seem as marked as Liverpool accents you hear today, so maybe in some respects they toned it down to be understood. Any thoughts on the matter of the Beatles' Liverpool accents, anyone?

Chris

Any thoughts on the matter of the Beatles' Liverpool accents, anyone?

Chris

I love it.

Hi Kev, Dave, et al

Of course the Beatles being all four of them brought up in the south end, Ringo in the Dingle, Paul and John in Allerton and Woolton, respectively, and George in Wavertree possibly had the less harsh accents compared to north end lads.

I would have thought that Ringo would more likely have the more marked accent being from the Dingle, while John Lennon, being brought up by his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George in a relatively middle class situation on Menlove Avenue and attending Quarry Bank High School, would have less of a Scouse accent.

When, in his late teens, Lennon affected the demeanor of a "hard case" at art school and on the music scene with the leather jacket etc., he could have picked up a more marked Scouse accent and all of them could have developed more of an accent mixing in the beat clubs with other Scouse lads and girls.

Chris

The accent does seem stronger today than ever, at least to my ears. Maybe the influence of the north end over the south?

It was my impression that the Beatles possibly accentuated their accent for the foreign market. Could that have been so? However, having said that, their accents didn't seem as marked as Liverpool accents you hear today, so maybe in some respects they toned it down to be understood. Any thoughts on the matter of the Beatles' Liverpool accents, anyone?

Chris

In 1963 the BBC made a TV film of the Beatles when they were on the rise just capturing the UK - the one where the kids are jumping on the back of the soft top Ford Consul driven by George Harrison. All rigged as I saw it filmed around Ringos house. They didn’t pick John Lennon’s or Paul McCartney’s houses as it they didn’t fit the working class back-to-back terraced Liverpool image the media like to portray.

Each one is interviewed with a stage mirror and lights around it in the background. They spoke with distinctive Liverpool accents, but clear, very articulate and all words pronounced properly. Not once did they say the word “scally” or slur any word whatsoever. Even Ringo, the least educated of them was very articulate. Listen to Liverpudlians being interviewed on the TV these days. We have gone backwards a great deal.

The old working class would try to improve themselves as much as they knew how. They had dignity

Speaking Scouse means a slurred Liverpool accent. I don't speak that way and no ever says to me you speak "Scouse".

The term "SCOUSE" was first used to describe the smell of the cooking couldrons found along Liverpool's waterfront outside of sailors "doss'houses". The couldrons recieved the almost inedible scraps of meat, fish and vegetables that the sailors threw into them for sustenance. Ships within Liverpool's enclosed dock system were banned from having open flame aboard and sailors were paid a per diem stipend for food. Sailors being sailors would, for the most part, spend the money on drink and women and would then have to buy, or beg, the cheapest food available. These vituals would then be thrown into the bubbling couldrons set up outside of the boarding houses and were never emptied or washed. The smell was rank and was described as smelling worse than Labskause or "Scouse", refering to the Germano-Norske dish made from fish heads and entrails aboard Baltic ships. The name synonymous with and generic to Liverpool's waterfront then it's sailors and, after the Irish influx, the accent and now it is also used to identify the people of Liverpool and Merseyside, regardless of how distasteful that might be to at least one subscriber to this forum.

I've heard it before on this forum about Scouse being slurred speech. My school would never allow us to speak slurring words, In the 50's the Bluecoat Grammar School had the harshest discipline. The principal Mr. G.G. Watcyn spoke with a Welsh accent but he was the first to punish us if we didn't speak correctly.
About '64/5 I was staying in Luton whilst on contract to General Motors. The landlady of the digs suggested we go to the Labour Club as this was a good night out. As soon as the steward heard my voice he said, "Sorry, we don't allow scousers in here". Didn't bother me I just went to the pub down the road.
So Mr. Waterways my experience has been way different from yours.

I've heard it before on this forum about Scouse being slurred speech. My school would never allow us to speak slurring words, In the 50's the Bluecoat Grammar School had the harshest discipline. The principal Mr. G.G. Watcyn spoke with a Welsh accent but he was the first to punish us if we didn't speak correctly.
About '64/5 I was staying in Luton whilst on contract to General Motors. The landlady of the digs suggested we go to the Labour Club as this was a good night out. As soon as the steward heard my voice he said, "Sorry, we don't allow scousers in here". Didn't bother me I just went to the pub down the road.
So Mr. Waterways my experience has been way different from yours.


What is your point?

My point is that I was recognised not as Liverpudlian but as a Scouser.

I don't half feel like a midnight snack of a pan of scouse with dollops of HP Sauce!

My point is that I was recognised not as Liverpudlian but as a Scouser.But it won't matter, you see, on this subject, Waterways has a mind like a steel trap. He has argued with and refuted (or tried to) some of the greatest minds on the subject. People who not only teach linguistics/history/sociology but even people who have writen treatise and/or hold a chair on the subject in esteemed teaching institutions like Liverpool University, McGill University, Memorial University, Columbia, Yale, Stanford et al, ad nauseum.
People who have writen books on the subject like Robert McNiel, Robert McCrum, William Cran, Melvyn Bragg and again, et al, ad nauseum have fared no better under the admonishings of Waterways, or his alter ego or nom de plume, City on the Water. But perhaps everyone is wrong and Waterways right, remember King Canute and Chicken Little?:rolleyes:

About '64/5 I was staying in Luton whilst on contract to General Motors. The landlady of the digs suggested we go to the Labour Club as this was a good night out. As soon as the steward heard my voice he said, "Sorry, we don't allow scousers in here".
What? Why?
Surely your landlady was aware of the No Scouser Policy. Do you think she sent you down there out of mischief? At the time, Luton was full of Scots, Irish, West Indians, Pakistanis working in General Motors. The place must have been empty every night.

scouserdave, she probably did although I never gave her any cause to be upset with me in any way.

Sloyne, I know, I should have known better than to reply to him. He is better ignored. He thought he was wrong once, but he was mistaken, :Colorz_Grey_PDT_16: He is fond of calling people nutters too, one other that I know of apart from me. Never had such a fine compliment.:037:

My point is that I was recognised not as Liverpudlian but as a Scouser.

In your mind they are obviously two different things - and you are probably right.

But it won't matter, you see, on this subject, Waterways has a mind like a steel trap. He has argued with and refuted (or tried to) some of the greatest minds on the subject.

I am the greatest mind on this subject. Is is easy. I am Liverpudlian, NOT a Scouser. Simple, they way it has always been.

About '64/5 I was staying in Luton whilst on contract to General Motors. The landlady of the digs suggested we go to the Labour Club as this was a good night out. As soon as the steward heard my voice he said, "Sorry, we don't allow scousers in here".

Effing cheek! Luton???

I am the greatest mind on this subject. Is is easy. I am Liverpudlian, NOT a Scouser. Simple, they way it has always been.


Thats what YOU think... me and the rest of the world think you are a Scouser... probably a plastic one at that.
So there you have it.

I am the greatest mind on this subject. Is is easy. I am Liverpudlian, NOT a Scouser. Simple, they way it has always been.
I couldn't give a toss either way, but if I was a Bluenose Evertonian, I'd feel uncomfortable calling myself Liverpudlian.

BTW "they way it has always been"
Weren't we all Liverpolitans at one time?

Thats what YOU think... me and the rest of the world think you are a Scouser... probably a plastic one at that.
So there you have it.

You are very wrong. A person from Liverpool is a Liverpudlian. It is very simple and always has been. If you want to make up your own lanuage and definitions be my guest.

Liverpudlian:

adj : of or relating to Liverpool or its people; "Liverpudlian streets"; "Liverpudlian street urchins" [syn: Liverpudlian] n : a resident of Liverpool [syn: Liverpudlian]

I couldn't give a toss either way, but if I was a Bluenose Evertonian, I'd feel uncomfortable calling myself Liverpudlian.

BTW "they way it has always been"
Weren't we all Liverpolitans at one time?

Could be. In Liverpool USA, they call themsleves Liverpoolians.

Could be
LOL!:unibrow:

You are very wrong. A person from Liverpool is a Liverpudlian. It is very simple and always has been. If you want to make up your own lanuage and definitions be my guest.

Liverpudlian:

adj : of or relating to Liverpool or its people; "Liverpudlian streets"; "Liverpudlian street urchins" [syn: Liverpudlian] n : a resident of Liverpool [syn: Liverpudlian]

As I said, that's what YOU think.

As I said, that's what YOU think.

Wrong again. The definition was taken from a Cambridge dictionary that I never wrote.

You seem to think people from Liverpool are not Liverpudlians. How strange. Maybe we are all Mancunians then.

Yet another point of view! Written in the style of Waterways methinks:)
Source (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=11437932&method=full&siteid=50061&page=2&headline=culture-bid-needs-drop-in-centre-name_page.html)

"I am a Liverpolitan, born and bred, not a Liverpudlian, as I do not live on a puddle, but on the Great Pool of Liverpool. I am not a scouser, I have never eaten scouse in my life, although I am sure it must be a tasty dish. The word Scouser in my book refers to those poor people who lived hear about 100 years ago. Looking into the past will not favour our chances of becoming Capital of Culture, although Liverpool undoubtedly deserves this title. Unfortunately, many of the denizens of the City do not. They decry the City, yet have nothing positive to add to its image. The filth that many of the correspondents talk about is of their own making — it is not the Council who throwl litter on the streets, but the uncouth yobs who have no respect, not even for themselves. Long live Liverpool,the Northern Capital of England!"

Wrong again. The definition was taken from a Cambridge dictionary that I never wrote.

You seem to think people from Liverpool are not Liverpudlians. How strange. Maybe we are all Mancunians then.

Nobody has ever said we wern't Liverpudlians, the whole argument with you is that we are not Scousers.... which we are!

Could be. In Liverpool USA,Which one do you mean Scouse? There a number of Liverpool's in the USA with my favourite being the one alongside the Susquahanna River. But my all time favourite North American Liverpool sit on the River Mersey. Best salmon fishing in the whole of NA, IMO. Guess where?

Scouser, or speaking Scouse = someone with rough working class Liverpool accent highlighted by the slurred speech.

The comparison is in London. A Cockney is a working class east end Londoner born within the sound of Bow bells (can be heard from Highgate Hill, so lots of London), with a distinct accent, a Cockney accent. Yet a middle class person born in the same place who does not have a "Cockney accent" is never referred to a Cockney.

I am not a SCOUSER as I do not speak that way. I am a Liverpudlian as I am from Liverpool. It is very easy and simple to understand.

Also you insult some people by calling them a Scouser. Many just clearly do not like it, irrespective if you do or not.

Also you insult some people by calling them a Scouser. Many just clearly do not like it, irrespective if you do or not.Out of all the people I have met, in my long life, YOU, a person who claims to be born and bred in Liverpool, are the only one I know of who objects to being called a SCOUSER.

I learned on the SSC forum that the best way to deal with you is to point out your abundant mistakes and just ignore your other submissions. Good bye!:disgust:

Out of all the people I have met, in my long life, YOU, a person who claims to be born and bred in Liverpool, are the only one I know of who objects to being called a SCOUSER.


You haven't met many then.


I learned on the SSC forum that the best way to deal with you is to point out your abundant mistakes

I don't make mistakes.

Also you insult some people by calling them a Scouser. Many just clearly do not like it, irrespective if you do or not.

The term Scouser isn't an insult these days, we can call ourselves what we like can't we?

Out of all the people I have met, in my long life, YOU, a person who claims to be born and bred in Liverpool, are the only one I know of who objects to being called a SCOUSER.

I think those that do object, probably left the city many years ago.

I would say the accent is being unecessarily exaggerated, almost a contrived accent by some.

hahahahaha,, you mean 'put on' aye Kev ?... Me Auntie commented upon me Dads and his other tribe of brothers accent, and said they put it on.. whereas she was a post-war grammar school girl, with ambition and a brain ...
And whereas 99.9 per cent of scousers ended up at t&l's, the pools, or the merchant marine....

Tree = three in my tribe :D and Kateedral means Paddys Wigwam ;)

hahahahaha,, you mean 'put on' aye Kev ?... Me Auntie commented upon me Dads and his other tribe of brothers accent, and said they put it on.. whereas she was a post-war grammar school girl, with ambition and a brain ...
And whereas 99.9 per cent of scousers ended up at t&l's, the pools, or the merchant marine....

Tree = three in my tribe :D and Kateedral means Paddys Wigwam ;)

Yessum

I am a Scouser, I speak Scouse and I am proud to be called Scouse.
People stop me all the time and tell me how they love my accent, Liverpool and Scousers alike.

So you Waterways are nothing but a stick in the mud. I have never in all my years heard anyone mutter the drivel you speak on this subject. You stick to your Victor Meldrew attitude on this, I am sure someone somewhere loves you for the way you are. To me you are nothing but cantankerous!

I am not a SCOUSER as I do not speak that way. I am a Liverpudlian as I am from Liverpool. It is very easy and simple to understand.

Pompous!



Also you insult some people by calling them a Scouser. Many just clearly do not like it, irrespective if you do or not.
Like who, never heard this before, ever.

The fun bit is challeging the attitudes of all those who regard scouse as a bad thing. Stand up for your scouse chums John :) :PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Which one do you mean Scouse? There a number of Liverpool's in the USA with my favourite being the one alongside the Susquahanna River. But my all time favourite North American Liverpool sit on the River Mersey. Best salmon fishing in the whole of NA, IMO. Guess where?

Hi Sloyne

I had my photograph taken next to the sign for Liverpool, Pennsylvania (http://www.liverpool.pa.net/), the one you describe on the west bank of the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg. Must post the pic here sometime.

Sloyne, I am not certain of the answer to your query about your "my all time favourite North American Liverpool sit on the River Mersey. Best salmon fishing in the whole of NA, IMO." From the mention of salmon I should say you have to be talking about the Pacific coast. So -- here's a guess -- British Columbia? :snf (41):

Chris

Originally Posted by Waterways

I am not a SCOUSER as I do not speak that way. I am a Liverpudlian as I am from Liverpool. It is very easy and simple to understand.

Well, I don't speak with a Scouse accent either, or at least it might take people a few moments to detect something of a northern accent (a travel writer though said I sound like a Canadian). I do regard myself though as a Liverpudlian, and I am proud to come from Liverpool. Thus, if the current terminology is "Scouser" and it sounds like it is more prevalent than you admit, I would be proud to take that designation and would NOT find it to be an insult.

Chris

Sloyne, I am not certain of the answer to your query about your "my all time favourite North American Liverpool sit on the River Mersey. Best salmon fishing in the whole of NA, IMO." From the mention of salmon I should say you have to be talking about the Pacific coast. So -- here's a guess -- British Columbia? :snf (41):No Chris, they are only hybrid trout:) those things caught on the west coast. I am talking about real Atlantic salmon caught at Liverpool, on the banks of the Mersey in Nova Scotia, Canada. :)

No Chris, they are only hybrid trout:) those things caught on the west coast. I am talking about real Atlantic salmon caught at Liverpool, on the banks of the Mersey in Nova Scotia, Canada. :)

Great to know, Sloyne. I must go up and visit Nova Scotia, being a War of 1812 author. We had a speaker from Halifax, a retired university prof from St Marys U, at the last War of 1812 symposium here in Baltimore. Also General Ross, whom I have written about in my War of 1812 research, is buried in Halifax. He's the man who burned Washington but was shot outside of Baltimore.

All my best

Chris

I am a Scouser, I speak Scouse and I am proud to be called Scouse.
People stop me all the time and tell me how they love my accent, Liverpool and Scousers alike.

So you Waterways are nothing but a stick in the mud. I have never in all my years heard anyone mutter the drivel you speak on this subject. You stick to your Victor Meldrew attitude on this,

I don't believe it!!

Chris, you have been away too long. What I wrote is right...

Scouser, or speaking Scouse = someone with rough working class Liverpool accent highlighted by the slurred speech.

The comparison is in London. A Cockney is a working class east end Londoner born within the sound of Bow bells (can be heard from Highgate Hill, so lots of London), with a distinct accent, a Cockney accent. Yet a middle class person born in the same place who does not have a "Cockney accent" is never referred to a Cockney.

The word "Scouse" is overused by mainly the working class, who say things like I'm Scouse, I speak Scouse, etc, etc. It is getting rather silly. One here was insisting that the word Scouse had replaced Liverpudlian, and that I wasa Scouser not a Liverpudlian.

It is about time this Scouse, this and that stopped and everyone got back to what we are, Liverpudlians. Accepting the the word Scouse is giving in to them.

Didn't you say you were brought up in a Tocky cellar Watership, didn't you say you was workin' Class ?

I wonder if there's a way of typing in Scouse and typing in Liverpudlian?

I wonder if there's a way of typing in Scouse and typing in Liverpudlian?


I think they were both release with some Merseyside wingdings... the only difference between the Scouse and Liverpudlian was the font, the Characters were exactly the same... weird dat aye ? :celb (23):

Accepting the the word Scouse is giving in to them.
And who would we be 'giving in' to der Watership?

I didnt know if to put this in another thread but, what about some of the strange scouse phrases we have?

For instance 'ANTWACKY' , meaning unfashionable or out of date

I didnt know if to put this in another thread but, what about some of the strange scouse phrases we have?

For instance 'ANTWACKY' , meaning unfashionable or out of dateI believe 'ANTWACKY' is a corruption of the word 'ANTIQUE'.

I believe 'ANTWACKY' is a corruption of the word 'ANTIQUE'.

I agree that 'ANTWACKY' is derived from the word 'ANTIQUE'. It occurs to me that a number of those sort of words might have either been invented or at least encouraged by Fritz Speigel in his popular Lern Yerself Scouse pamphlets. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Chris

I didnt know if to put this in another thread but, what about some of the strange scouse phrases we have?

For instance 'ANTWACKY' , meaning unfashionable or out of date

You get that in Newcastle too - got lots of family up there and I'm used to the accent (any geordie lasses on here willing to let me hear your voice? :unibrow: ) but they've got lots of sayings too that you have to learn.

Hi, I lived in Liverpool 'till I was 42 so my accent is well and truly fixed. Despite spending the last 25 years in Florida I am still pure Scouse, when people comment I say "Why get rid of something so good".
I recently retired and moved to the Ozark mountains, so my accent sticks out like a sore thumb. I was at the doctors recently and his nurse said,"Talk to me, anything will do I just want to hear you".
I agree about the Bolton accent, my dad was born in Edgeworth Bolton to a Welsh father, this family were probably the only bi-lingual Welsh speakers in Bolton.
It is amazing how language changes, you don't notice it while you live there but after being away you do when you return. A whole new set of words to learn. The most recent I noticed on my visit last year, everyone who was upset was 'gutted', sounded daft to me I had mever heard of it before. Another one that came into use after I left was 'gobsmacked', now that really sounds daft to me.:037:

Hi shy

You stated, I recently retired and moved to the Ozark mountains, so my accent sticks out like a sore thumb. I was at the doctors recently and his nurse said,"Talk to me, anything will do I just want to hear you".

Don't you find though that Americans are unable to distinguish between English accents? They appear to think that the Beatles' scouse accent was as posh as BBC English. People will say to me similarly "Oh I just love the way you talk. Say something." -- not that I am as Scouse sounding as you evidently are, shy. :unibrow: Possibly though they would have a harder time with today's Scouse accent as spoken, for example, by Jamie Carragher or Stevie Gerard. And I do recall that when distributing the film "Kes" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kes_%28film%29) in the United States some years ago, the distributors felt it wise to add subtitles because of the strong West Yorkshire (Barnsley) accent of the local actors in that movie.

Chris

You get that in Newcastle too - got lots of family up there and I'm used to the accent (any geordie lasses on here willing to let me hear your voice? :unibrow: ) but they've got lots of sayings too that you have to learn.

someone throw a glass of cold water over mr jona ! ! hehe :celb (23):

someone throw a glass of cold water over mr jona ! ! hehe :celb (23):

Ah howay man! It's a canny accent that :Colorz_Grey_PDT_16:

Where does the Scouse accent come from?

As I had it described to me on a record I heard some time ago,

It's the wind cummin outa da Mersey tunnel gerrin up der nosis.

And the Mersey tunnel, reputed to be built during the famine when a load of Irishmen came over, took one look at the place and tried to dig their way back :slywink:

The Scouse accent sounds a mix of Irish and bad English!:eek:

I'm glad my accent Isn't that strong.

10. Mancunian (2.1%)

Yet they sound similar!

Hi shy

You stated, I recently retired and moved to the Ozark mountains, so my accent sticks out like a sore thumb. I was at the doctors recently and his nurse said,"Talk to me, anything will do I just want to hear you".

Don't you find though that Americans are unable to distinguish between English accents? They appear to think that the Beatles' scouse accent was as posh as BBC English. People will say to me similarly "Oh I just love the way you talk. Say something." -- not that I am as Scouse sounding as you evidently are, shy. :unibrow: Possibly though they would have a harder time with today's Scouse accent as spoken, for example, by Jamie Carragher or Stevie Gerard. And I do recall that when distributing the film "Kes" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kes_%28film%29) in the United States some years ago, the distributors felt it wise to add subtitles because of the strong West Yorkshire (Barnsley) accent of the local actors in that movie.

Chris

That's true, I can't tell the different regional accents here so I can understand why they can't. I have been asked if I am Australian, my answer to that is"no, they talk funny".
Although I do have a distinctive Liverpool accent I have always sounded my words clearly and never slurred my speech like I have heard a lot of Scousers doing. If ever anyone in my school did this they were corrected immediately.
Subtitles in films can be really necessary, My son had the screenplay for 'Trainspottin' which not only had subtitles but the screenplay came with a translation. :037:

Thanks, Shy. "Trainspotting" is Glaswegian is it not, a film about addicts. I started to watch it but found it a bit too wierd and gave up on it. :(

Chris

Thanks, Shy. "Trainspotting" is Glaswegian is it not, a film about addicts. I started to watch it but found it a bit too wierd and gave up on it. :(

Chris

Right country wrong city Chris - its based in Edinburgh.

Thanks, Shy. "Trainspotting" is Glaswegian is it not, a film about addicts. I started to watch it but found it a bit too wierd and gave up on it. :(

Chris

Edinburgh is correct, I've spent some time in Scotland so I didn't have too much of a problem with it. :037:

Edinburgh is correct, I've spent some time in Scotland so I didn't have too much of a problem with it. :037:

Thanks for setting me right, Steve and Shy!

Chris

The Scouse accent sounds a mix of Irish and bad English!:eek:


It's actually a mix of Irish, Welsh and Lancashire.

Glad to see someone acknowledge the welsh influence - Ma and Da for mum and dad, the guteral ch etc

yes, that's right. There is a Welsh influence with the guteral sound.

[QUOTE=shytalk;38901] Although I do have a distinctive Liverpool accent I have always sounded my words clearly and never slurred my speech like I have heard a lot of Scousers doing. If ever anyone in my school did this they were corrected immediately.


yes, they would correct us in school. They don't do that these days, at least I don't think they do.
My grandmother always used to pick us up for talking 'common' :) .. and I do it now with my son .. I'll correct him. I don't mind a normal Liverpool accent, but I hate 'street talk' - scally speak' ... the lads pick it up at school.
I always pull him up if I catch him trying to copy it.

Where does the Scouse accent come from?

As I had it described to me on a record I heard some time ago,
It's the wind cummin outa da Mersey tunnel gerrin up der nosis.


The record is by Peter Moloney, ex-monk, ex-paratrooper, ex-teacher, after-dinner speaker and erudite Liverpolitan.
Scouse is in fact much closer to "Dublin" than may seem the case at first, and has very little to do with "Lanky" nor Welsh.
I think that in itself it is a very clear accent - CF the "Brookside" actors - but it is marred by the carelessness of speech of so many scousers.

Once upon a time...
a school party of lads from the Dingle started chatting to a school party of girls from Portsmouth at Folkestone Harbour. Eventually, a lad called Delaney said," Ay, girl; yiwze cockneys don' arf tork funny!" ... and to this day he has no idea why the girls fell about laughing.

My friends, this story is true, I Was a teacher involved in that trip.
Gerry.

Once upon a time...
a school party of lads from the Dingle started chatting to a school party of girls from Portsmouth at Folkestone Harbour. Eventually, a lad called Delaney said," Ay, girl; yiwze cockneys don' arf tork funny!" ... and to this day he has no idea why the girls fell about laughing.

My friends, this story is true, I Was a teacher involved in that trip.
Gerry.



Hi Gerry

I must pass this anecdote on to my friend Lyn, who is from Portsmouth. By the way, I thought my cousin Billy, ex-Liverpool, after spending some years in Bournemouth sounded like a cockney so at least to my ear the south coast accent does sound similar to the cockney accent.

Chris

Hi Gerry

I must pass this anecdote on to my friend Lyn, who is from Portsmouth. By the way, I thought my cousin Billy, ex-Liverpool, after spending some years in Bournemouth sounded like a cockney so at least to my ear the south coast accent does sound similar to the cockney accent.

Chris

Interesting hearing you have there!

The cockney accent is quite different from a standard London accent which is indeed dominant in southern England. The difference between a cockney accent and a London accent is the difference between broad scouse and a Liverpool accent.

To illustrate: broad scouse- o d r r d, sof lad?
Liverpool accent - Oh they are, are they, soft lad?

You can still hear Sussex accents in Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset accents seem to be holding their own.

In terms of my own accent. It is a Liverpool accent but I wouldn't call it 'scouse', although I don't have any objection to others calling it 'scouse'. Did anyone hear a radio interview yesterday with ex-owners of pit-bull terriers who had handed their dogs in during the amnesty? I regard that accent as 'scouse'. My accent is not like that. I'm not saying that either is better/worse. In Dublin, too, there are different accents (the geographical split there is also North/South). My accent doesn't sound anything like either main Dublin accents, nor is it Lancastrian. When I'm in London people who aren't used to Liverpudlians speaking in any other accent apart from broad scouse tell me that I have a Cheshire accent! The cheek of it. I speak with a Liverpool accent.

Hi Gerry

I must pass this anecdote on to my friend Lyn, who is from Portsmouth. By the way, I thought my cousin Billy, ex-Liverpool, after spending some years in Bournemouth sounded like a cockney so at least to my ear the south coast accent does sound similar to the cockney accent.

Chris
Accents too are caught up in the North-South Divide;
Londoners tend to consider everywhere north of Luton to be some unknown generic blob of homogenous land called "The North",
whereas to Scousers everyone south of Brum is a Cockney.
Then again, we live in the North - ? Some folk-singers from GeordieLand came to a Wallasey club and said "We think of you here as living in the "Upper Midlands". Depends where you stand. Do the Japanese think of the Cowboy lands of Americs as being The Wild EAST?
Gerry

Accents too are caught up in the North-South Divide;
Londoners tend to consider everywhere north of Luton to be some unknown generic blob of homogenous land called "The North",
whereas to Scousers everyone south of Brum is a Cockney.
Then again, we live in the North - ? Some folk-singers from GeordieLand came to a Wallasey club and said "We think of you here as living in the "Upper Midlands". Depends where you stand. Do the Japanese think of the Cowboy lands of Americs as being The Wild EAST?
Gerry

Hi Gerry

It does depend on perspective. I worked for a number of years for a doctor from Spain as a research assistant and he would take myself and other members of staff to a well-known Spanish restaurant here in Baltimore. Now to me and the other staff, Dr. Navarro had a heavy Spanish accent. On an occasion when I happened to go to the restaurant with another party, I mentioned Dr. Navarro to the waiter. He replied, "Oh, you mean the British gentleman?" The Spanish-speaking waiter could hear the Britishness in Navarro's voice from the doctor attending medical school in Britain which was less obvious to me than his Iberian accent.

Chris

Hi Gerry

I must pass this anecdote on to my friend Lyn, who is from Portsmouth. By the way, I thought my cousin Billy, ex-Liverpool, after spending some years in Bournemouth sounded like a cockney so at least to my ear the south coast accent does sound similar to the cockney accent.

Chris
Drifting a bit from the main topic, but as a handy backlash to anyone who dares do denigrate properly spoken Scouse-
... I want to have a real go at a dreadful obscenity of an accent, becoming more and more prevalent and which I have dubbed "Smiley Girl," as spoken by an air-head bimbo in the meeja who has a permanent inane smile in case of a passing paparazzi, so much so that the production of back vowels has become impossible. This results in such execrations as;....

"There is Gidd Knees abate the keys at Jinction Tee, bat sam raids are clazed in Beetle" (Radio Merseyside Traffic report)

"He's a great mee-zition hee rate many gid cheens."


... and yet they moan about Scouse accent ??

What next? Liverpeel ?
Sorry; but you will now find yourselves noticing as much as I do now.
Thank God for Tom Georgeson, Mark Womack, the McGann brothers, et al.

Gerry.

The record is by Peter Moloney, ex-monk, ex-paratrooper, ex-teacher, after-dinner speaker and erudite Liverpolitan.
Scouse is in fact much closer to "Dublin" than may seem the case at first, and has very little to do with "Lanky" nor Welsh.
I think that in itself it is a very clear accent - CF the "Brookside" actors - but it is marred by the carelessness of speech of so many scousers.

Once upon a time...
a school party of lads from the Dingle started chatting to a school party of girls from Portsmouth at Folkestone Harbour. Eventually, a lad called Delaney said," Ay, girl; yiwze cockneys don' arf tork funny!" ... and to this day he has no idea why the girls fell about laughing.

My friends, this story is true, I Was a teacher involved in that trip.
Gerry.

The Dublin connection is defo there with words like 'youse' or 'yiwze' as you quoted and to side track a bit, interesting that this is also used in New York. Be interesting to know which city it actually originates in as Im sure the accent and use of various words has changed in each city to the same sort of degree over a simillar period.

Have to disagree though about the accent having little to do with the Welsh, another example being and feel free to correct me if Im wrong but I don't know of anyone else who uses the term Ta ra for goodbye. I know word usage is different to an accent but surely with one comes the other. It is hard to ignore the influence of the Welsh people in lots of aspects of our city's development and I don't think this link is celebrated enough.

The Dublin connection is defo there with words like 'youse' or 'yiwze' as you quoted and to side track a bit, interesting that this is also used in New York. Be interesting to know which city it actually originates in as Im sure the accent and use of various words has changed in each city to the same sort of degree over a simillar period.

Have to disagree though about the accent having little to do with the Welsh, another example being and feel free to correct me if Im wrong but I don't know of anyone else who uses the term Ta ra for goodbye. I know word usage is different to an accent but surely with one comes the other. It is hard to ignore the influence of the Welsh people in lots of aspects of our city's development and I don't think this link is celebrated enough.

I agree about the Welsh link not being celebrated enough. Not just in terms of the accent but in the development of department stores, chapels, architectural flourish. The Liverpool Welsh have always been industrious and hard working - just getting on with it rather than making a song and dance about it. Also, Liverpool continues to have real socio-economic links with north Wales in a way that it ceased to have with Ireland a long time ago. In the next ten years we should see the electrification of the Wirral line as far as Wrexham, the reintroduction of the Halton Curve railway link will provide direct train links to coastal north Wales. A large number of passengers using JLA originate in North Wales, and on a daily basis thousands of people travel in both directions. Liverpool's health service acts as a tertiary service for north Wales. On a clearish day I, like most Liverpudlians, can see the Welsh hills. Our links with North Wales are so much part of our daily experience that we take them for granted. We need to celebrate our links with Wales much more than we do.

Well said Jericho. :handclap:
I get tired of only ever hearing about the Irish links in L'pool. Not everyone here has an Irish background!
It's only in very recent years that the Welsh have had a bit of a mention.
Their influence in our city is strong but not at all celebrated.

The Dublin connection is defo there with words like 'youse' or 'yiwze' as you quoted and to side track a bit, interesting that this is also used in New York. Be interesting to know which city it actually originates in as Im sure the accent and use of various words has changed in each city to the same sort of degree over a simillar period.

Have to disagree though about the accent having little to do with the Welsh, another example being and feel free to correct me if Im wrong but I don't know of anyone else who uses the term Ta ra for goodbye. I know word usage is different to an accent but surely with one comes the other. It is hard to ignore the influence of the Welsh people in lots of aspects of our city's development and I don't think this link is celebrated enough.

yes, I've noticed the use of 'youse' in New York (only from films you understand - ha,ha, I've never been there !) :)

Welsh connections , as you say, are certainly not celebrated enough.

Strange really as North Wales is literally on our doorstep. There are bound to be strong influences on both sides.

The Liverpool Welsh have always been industrious and hard working - just getting on with it rather than making a song and dance about it.And, by implication, the Irish are not and, do? When the Irish arrived, destitute, in Liverpool they had very little to sing, or dance, about. They were herded into slums, denied work ("No Irish need apply") in all but the menial and most dangerous of jobs. The Irish were, in the main, peasants who had very little or no command of the English language, no skills, no money and no political clout.

The Welsh, on the other hand, were mainly merchants, professionals, tradesmen and artisans and, all were fluent in English and Welsh Gaelic. The Welsh became teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, superintendants, formen and business leaders. The Welsh were readilly accepted into English (Liverpool) society, the Irish were shunned and excluded.:unibrow:

And, by implication, the Irish are not and, do? When the Irish arrived, destitute, in Liverpool they had very little to sing, or dance, about. They were herded into slums, denied work ("No Irish need apply") in all but the menial and most dangerous of jobs. The Irish were, in the main, peasants who had very little or no command of the English language, no skills, no money and no political clout.

The Welsh, on the other hand, were mainly merchants, professionals, tradesmen and artisans and, all were fluent in English and Welsh Gaelic. The Welsh became teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, superintendants, formen and business leaders. The Welsh were readilly accepted into English (Liverpool) society, the Irish were shunned and excluded.:unibrow:

Irish navvies helped build the railways that made Britain great. :034:

Irish navvies helped build the railways that made Britain great. :034:

And dug almost every canal. :034:

And, by implication, the Irish are not and, do? When the Irish arrived, destitute, in Liverpool they had very little to sing, or dance, about. They were herded into slums, denied work ("No Irish need apply") in all but the menial and most dangerous of jobs. The Irish were, in the main, peasants who had very little or no command of the English language, no skills, no money and no political clout.

The Welsh, on the other hand, were mainly merchants, professionals, tradesmen and artisans and, all were fluent in English and Welsh Gaelic. The Welsh became teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, superintendants, formen and business leaders. The Welsh were readilly accepted into English (Liverpool) society, the Irish were shunned and excluded.:unibrow:

By implication in your mind, not mine. I'm advocating more singing and dancing in celebration of our Welsh heritage! I think we have the balance just about right in terms of our Irish heritage. More work is needed on reclaiming our English heritage, too! Also, the claim that Liverpool historically turns its back on its Lancastrian hinterland is a bit overdone - well, at least until recently when I suspect it was the other way round, and they wanted little to do with us. Up until the mid 60s there were regular trains from Exchange station to Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Preston, Lancaster, Blackburn, Burnley etc. The city was very much connected to what was then the rest of Lancashire and even now Northern accents are common place in the city. You certainly hear them more often than Welsh or Irish accents. In south Liverpool, southern English accents aren't exactly thin on the ground these days. In other words I'm suggestng that we should be making a song and dance about ALL the different threads that add up to make Liverpool's heritage/present day culture.

By implication in your mind, not mine.If I read it wrong then I apologise.

The cockney accent is quite different from a standard London accent which is indeed dominant in southern England.Yet cockney is a part of what is the most prevelant accent in all of English, the South East English accent. Variations of this accent are spoken in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan and in not to few places in the US. On the other hand Scouse is the most unique accent in all of English, the accent being confined to the City of Liverpool and it's metropolitan area.

An excellent book on this subject, and very readable, is the 'Story of English' by Robert Mcneil, Robert McCrum and William Cran.

Jericho, that's what I think too. We need more of a balance with celebrating the various heritages. Why isn't more attention given to Welsh, English and others, and not just the Irish culture as it often sems to be?
It's only fairly recently that 'Little Italy' has gained some recognition - and about time too.

Why isn't more attention given to Welsh, English and others, and not just the Irish culture as it often sems to be?It would seem to me that the question answers it's self. The reason, IMO, is that neither the Welsh or the English are inclined to celebrate their patron saints day. Also, and again IMO, the Welsh and English, for the most part were voluntary emigrants and usually arrived in their new location with the means to make it on their own with minimal aid from any outside source. On the contrary, the Irish were usually very reluctant emigrants and arrived at their destination destitute. Local groups of earlier compatriots would set up social clubs, fraternal organizations, lodges and other support apparatus (in Liverpool the Democratic League was an Irish workers support organisation) to welcome and assist the newcomers. Also the majority of Irish emigrants not only shared a very distinct culture but were also of the Roman Catholic faith and that church, with it's universal reach, had set up support through their clergy for these faithful emigrants. The Irish emigrant, therefor and with the help of their church, remained as an identifiable and cohesive group as opposed to the individual English and Welsh emigrant who, for the most part, had disparate religions and beliefs and, dare I say, cultures (i.e. high church, low church, church, chapel etc.)

Anyone listened to the Canadian Newfie (Newfoundland) accent? Unbelivable. I met a load of college kids from there when they were on holiday in London in the 80s. I honestly thought they were Irish with their accents. Lovely kids too.

PS
Regarding the Newfie accent, LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m-y-qAbpL0
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Abj6cZvuwk&mode=related&search=

Well said Jericho. :handclap:
I get tired of only ever hearing about the Irish links in L'pool. Not everyone here has an Irish background!
It's only in very recent years that the Welsh have had a bit of a mention.
Their influence in our city is strong but not at all celebrated.
All these points made about the contribution of the Welsh to the development of Liverpool and its nearness and familiarity are perfectly true and valid, but this Thread is entitled "Scouse-the Accent!", and I would hope that it could be brought back on track, by contributions helping to show a Welsh input into the accent and vocabulary of Liverpool.
While I still claim that this is nothing like as significant as that of the Irish connections, it really would be interesting to develop a collection of such information and words.
The most obvious one I can offer is the word "Nin" for Grandmother, most widely made known by Billy Maher in his song, "She's me Nin!" I believe this is almost exactly the Welsh word for grandmother.
Having said that, I cannot really think of others at present.
Finally, I would suggest that a possible source for counting a Welsh/Irish comparison in numbers of people would be to try the surnames of class Registers in Liverpool School.
In the 1960's Dingle, my class included Boyo Morgan, John Williams, John Hughes and myself as a Jones. But we were totally outnumbered by Doyle, Creegan, O'Shaughnessy, Murphy, Kilgallon, O'Toole, Gallagher, and the rest.
To say nothing of Franchetti, Goncalves, Rosario, Ako, Umoren, Romeo et al...
Diolch yn vawr.

I don't know if any of you are acquainted with a TV show by the name of 'Never Mind the Fullstops'? It's on BBC4 I think, and hosted by an affably plummy frontman whose name escapes me- sort of like Robert Robinson but not as good- and a selection of terribly well-spoken guests. A strange little quiz show on the subject of English usage with rounds such as 'correct the punctuation' and the like.
One rather condescending round features a short film of a regional dialect speaker and asks the contestants to 'translate into English' what is being said- Geordie, Brummie, West Country were all examples.
On one occasion, however, the divine Scouse came up- but featured an individual speaking something called 'rhyming Scouse'- exactly like rhyming cockney but purporting to originate in Liverpool. Now, I was mystified, having been born and raised here and never ever having come across such a thing before.
I know we've all got our variations- we from the North End speaking differently from those in L8 for example, but nontheless... The speaker in the film, incidentally, looked to be in his 20s so this is not something 'from the old days' either..
A BBC viewer's feedback forum I visited contains a fair amount of ****ging-off of this show for various reasons and I added my two penn'orth, accusing their researchers of 'making it up'- but was I wrong to do so? Do any of you speak 'rhyming Scouse' or know anybody who does?

Actually, this is a restaurant review, believe it or not:)
You can read the rest here (http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_and_drink/reviews/article2311941.ece)

"Steven Gerrard just drove me to lunch. And then John Lennon came out of the kitchen at the end of the meal to say "hello". And Cilla Black is at the next table. Yes, I am in Liverpool, where everyone sounds like somebody else you know and love. It wasn't Steven, obviously, because he wasn't driving an Aston Martin; and it wasn't John because he's dead; and it wasn't Cilla, although I bet the ageing fur-lined redhead it was would have given Ms Black a run for her money back in the 1960s.

But that's the thing about the Scouse accent. It's so familiar, so likeable. University studies suggest that the Liverpool dialect is perceived by all to have connotations of warmth and humanity, so it's not just me falling for it. Nor is it just a perception. The Scousers I know really are likeable, easy-going and the salt of the earth...."

A good read, cheers SD

There's an interesting article on the BBC web site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2005/01/11/voices_liverpoolaccent_feature.shtml

Not everyone in Liverpool speaks Scouse of course. Many older residents I know speak a northern /Lancashire type accent but have lived in Liverpool all their lives. I also know some other Liverpool born people who have difficulty understanding others when both have been born and bred in Liverpool. The likes of George Melly never spoke scouse. Equally the scouse accent on the Lillies TV programme is incorrect. Garstonians largely didn't speak Scouse in the 1920s.

A very very good post but... je suis perdie!!! :PDT_Xtremez_42:


http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/titanic.gif

There's an interesting article on the BBC web site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2005/01/11/voices_liverpoolaccent_feature.shtml

Not everyone in Liverpool speaks Scouse of course. Many older residents I know speak a northern /Lancashire type accent but have lived in Liverpool all their lives. I also know some other Liverpool born people who have difficulty understanding others when both have been born and bred in Liverpool. The likes of George Melly never spoke scouse. Equally the scouse accent on the Lillies TV programme is incorrect. Garstonians largely didn't speak Scouse in the 1920s.

George Melly doesn't have a 'scouse' accent but you can still hear Liverpool in his voice. I think it's a nasal thing.

but you can still hear Liverpool in his voice. I think it's a nasal thing.

Peter Moloney famously described the "nasal" quality of Scouse as being caused by "the wind from the Mersey Tunnel blowing up their noses."
While this may be true of certain scousers, mainly north of the city centre, it is a mistake to apply this "nasal" tag to scousers in general. I could formerly distinguish at least three varieties of scouse;
Dingle Scouse; a bright shaarp clear sound, slightly high-pitched, with no nasal element at all. Anywhere in the south end.
Kirkdale Scouse; the stereotypical nasal scouse from Scotty road etc.
North End Scouse; with a lot of rise and fall within the sentences, and a tendency to "sing-song", heard anywhere in the Bootle, Litherland, Waterloo region.
I once told a Brummy tour-guide I was from Liverpool; "I could tell that, " says he; "In the Midlands we call you the "Sing-Song Scousers." I suppose that compared to flat monotone Brummy, any other accent could be called sing-song. And the further north you go in Merseyside, the truer he speaks.

Gerry.

I a TV show by the name of 'Never Mind the Fullstops'? the divine Scouse came up- but featured an individual speaking something called 'rhyming Scouse'- exactly like rhyming cockney but purporting to originate in Liverpool. Now, I was mystified, having been born and raised here and never ever having come across such a thing before.
I Do any of you speak 'rhyming Scouse' or know anybody who does?

The only example I have heard of this was in a little book in the tradition of the "Lern Yerself Scouse" series. I think it was by Brian Minard (or am I thinking of "Scally Scouse"). Anyway, this book went on and on about Rhyming Scouse which I,too, have never heard of it anywhere else.
There is just the 1960s canard of "How can you tell an LFC fan from an EFC fan when they are not wearing their match-day gear? Answer; the LFC fan has a slight touch of Cockney in his Scouse accent." (Explanation; this is because LFC fans had to spend so much time in London attending Cup Finals at Wembley.)

Peter Moloney famously described the "nasal" quality of Scouse as being caused by "the wind from the Mersey Tunnel blowing up their noses."
While this may be true of certain scousers, mainly north of the city centre, it is a mistake to apply this "nasal" tag to scousers in general. I could formerly distinguish at least three varieties of scouse;
Dingle Scouse; a bright shaarp clear sound, slightly high-pitched, with no nasal element at all. Anywhere in the south end.
Kirkdale Scouse; the stereotypical nasal scouse from Scotty road etc.
North End Scouse; with a lot of rise and fall within the sentences, and a tendency to "sing-song", heard anywhere in the Bootle, Litherland, Waterloo region.
I once told a Brummy tour-guide I was from Liverpool; "I could tell that, " says he; "In the Midlands we call you the "Sing-Song Scousers." I suppose that compared to flat monotone Brummy, any other accent could be called sing-song. And the further north you go in Merseyside, the truer he speaks.

Gerry.

Very good post here Gerry.. When I was visiting there.. I found it very hard to understand some. Yet, found some of the Dingle lads, easier to understand... Thanks for sharing that info... very informative... ta

Peter Moloney famously described the "nasal" quality of Scouse as being caused by "the wind from the Mersey Tunnel blowing up their noses."
While this may be true of certain scousers, mainly north of the city centre, it is a mistake to apply this "nasal" tag to scousers in general. I could formerly distinguish at least three varieties of scouse;
Dingle Scouse; a bright shaarp clear sound, slightly high-pitched, with no nasal element at all. Anywhere in the south end.
Kirkdale Scouse; the stereotypical nasal scouse from Scotty road etc.
North End Scouse; with a lot of rise and fall within the sentences, and a tendency to "sing-song", heard anywhere in the Bootle, Litherland, Waterloo region.
I once told a Brummy tour-guide I was from Liverpool; "I could tell that, " says he; "In the Midlands we call you the "Sing-Song Scousers." I suppose that compared to flat monotone Brummy, any other accent could be called sing-song. And the further north you go in Merseyside, the truer he speaks.

Gerry.

I still prefer to think about Liverpool accents rather than Scouse per se (variations on a particular Liverpool accent). You can hear 'Liverpool' in the accents of many people from South Liverpool, Sefton, the Wirral, Chester, Cheshire without them sounding particularly 'Scouse'. The accent of Peter Sissons might be a representative of this type of accent. Another variant is the accent of Sir Terry Leahy. People from outside the city and some within it might not recognise these accents as Liverpool accents largely because they have been over-exposed to one particular form of Liverpool accent.

A great place to hear the variety of 'Liverpool' accents spoken within the city is the 24/7 Tescos on Mather Avenue.

Liverpool rhyming slang - I've heard plenty of it. :)
My step father is always coming out with rhyming words.


re Merseyside accents - I can usually tell a L8 accent, a Scottie rd accent, also a Maghull accent has a certain sound to it. Birkenhead has a certain twang - certain words they pronounce. :)


have you noticed that South L'pool people say 'buck' (book) cuck (cook) -

north L'pool we say 'bewk' for book. :)

have you noticed that South L'pool people say 'buck' (book) cuck (cook) -

north L'pool we say 'bewk' for book. :)


I think I say both ? but I lived in Toxteth & Wavertree until I was 12 then Everton/ Kirkdale to date

I'd love to know what you'd think of my accent:PDT_Xtremez_42:

I think I say both ? but I lived in Toxteth & Wavertree until I was 12 then Everton/ Kirkdale to date

I'd love to know what you'd think of my accent:PDT_Xtremez_42:

I live in the Dingle and a lot of us go onto the MSN messenger in the evenings for a natter. If you've got a mike, then you can hear my accent.
On Thursday night, I went with me mate to Shorefields Comp to see their production of Grease. It was brilliant and made me feel proud to belong to this community. Is it any wonder that so much talent comes from the South End.
I am going to send them an e-mail, just to say how much I enjoyed it and what great young people they are.

To celebrate Liverpool’s historic forthcoming birthday, the ECHO is launching a competition to find the person with the strongest Scouse accent. Tony Barrett reports Read (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/07/30/have-you-got-the-strongest-scouse-accent-100252-19542852/)

http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.brice/scouse.htm

I ve found this web very funny Teach yourself scouse I hope that everybody ve got the same humour sense... :)

I cannot understand some jokes... Lilly Savage? Repeats of BREAD? Thomas the Tank Engine? Any old footage of Grange Hill with "Ziggy" in? Stan Boardman videos? Jimmy Tarbuck tapes? Jan Molby? Boys From The Blackstuff? The barmaid from Heartbeat? Craig Charles (Red Dwarf)?

Teach yourself scouse
The following is the first in series of "Teach Yourself" workshops issued by the Government Department for National Heritage. We aim to keep alive all the quirky regional characteristics that make up this fine Nation of ours.

Soon to follow in the series are "Brume" "Geordie" and "Jock" all will be available in Hardback, Paperback, Tape, CD, Video & CD Rom.

(Teach yourself Welsh will not be available as the Government dept. do not feel that anyone would wish to look like, or sound, Welsh)

(CD Rom is not available in Liverpool because all the PC's have been stolen)

To teach your self Scouse you will first need to adopt the following criteria.

1) Give up your Job.

2) Steal some Kickers trainers, Jeans,and a Ben Sherman Shirt (Other suitable designer makes can be worn.

3)Commit some trivial crimes that do not harm anyone. (Choose two from the following list)

Steal a Bus to get home from a night out.
Steal a mobile phone from a car.
Joyride and set the car on Fire.
"Steam" an off licence with some friends and sell the loot at a Car Boot Sale.
Fiddle your social security payments.
Steal some freshly laid Turf from a garden.
Steal the railings from outside the local church.
Loiter in Safeways car park and offer to look after peoples cars for £1.00 while they are shopping.
Offer to take a tourist's photo & run off with their camera.

4) Get a Perm and grow a tash (Harry Enfield style)

5) Call everybody you meet "Mate" regardless of Gender

6) Follow either Liverpool or Everton, but not both.

7) Turn up at any major sports event or music gig and tout for spare tickets.

Once you have achieved the above criteria you can move onto the next level.

Speech Therapy:

In order to complete your transition to Scouse complete the following lesson in speech therapy. (Repeat as many times as you feel is needed)

Level 1:

You will find below a list of well known words and phrases that are often used by our cheeky friends from Liverpool. To help you with the pronunciation you will need to "Say what you See" The authors have used phonetic spelling to assist you with your accent. (The Queens English version will be found along side.)

Hay - Excuse me.

Dat - That.

Day - They

Dares - There is.

Oarl Rite Mayt - Hello There, How are you.

Cuum Edd - Come along now.

Soff Ladd - Idiot / Fool

D Aussie - The Hospital.

D Foot E - The Football Match.

On D Bev E - Taking Alcoholic Beverages.

D Soash - The Social Security Office.

Me Owl Feller - My Father.

Ya Skall E - You Bounder.

Mayd Up Me - I'm rather pleased.

Once you have mastered the above simple sayings you can move on to the next level. Do not worry if you cannot grasp the accent straight away as you

can always go back and revise Level 1.

Level 2:

Das Scud Dat.

That is very good.

Me Owl Feller is Down D Aussie for N Oppo.

My Father is in the local Hospital for an operation.

Cumm Ed Soff Lad or wheel miss D Foot E

Come along now you fool or we will miss the Football Match.

Carrm Down, Dares no need to Kik off.

Calm down there is absolutely no reason for us to have a fight.

dya fan C a Bev E ?

Would you like something to drink ?

I'm mayd up me, gota a scam goin down D Soash.

I'm rather pleased with myself, I have been fiddling my Social Security Payments.

Now, if you are getting to grips with the above try to "Mix & Match" a few sayings and phrases to create your own unique witty one liners. Try them out on friends and colleagues for authenticity.

The final part of the "Teach Yourself Scouse" package is the posture and fine tuning of your accent. A general rule of thumb is that the Scouse alphabet is only made up of a few key letters A , D, H, O, T ,K & V. Using just these few letters, and the sounds they make when put together, should have you talking Scouse in no time at all. Posture is all important as the Scouse is considered as a lovable rouge and talks with one's hands, so keep chipper and bouncy as you adopt the "Cheeky Scouser Persona"

It is important that after you have completed the "Teach Yourself Scouse" package that you practice as often as you can, if you cannot get up to Liverpool as often as you like to perfect your Scouse, and commit a few crimes, there are several references that can be used for revision. These have, after extensive research, been approved by the Government Department for National Heritage (Approved material is listed below)

Distance Learning Material:

Brookside.
Liverpool 1
Lilly Savage.
Repeats of BREAD.
Thomas the Tank Engine (Narrated by Ringo Star)
Any old footage of Grange Hill with "Ziggy" in.
Early Paul McCartney / John Lennon Interviews.
Stan Boardman videos.
Jimmy Tarbuck tapes.
Jan Molby (Danish Scouse but rather good)
The Liverbirds (On UK Gold)
Boys From The Blackstuff.
The barmaid from Heartbeat.
Craig Charles (Red Dwarf)

For further information contact the;

Government Department for National Heritage.

House of Commons.

Westminster.

London.

England.

Disclaimer:

The Government takes no responsibility for anyone one who, whilst visiting Liverpool, gets a damm good thrashing because some rather rough looking Scousers think you are taking the piss out of them.

No claims will be accepted either for the loss of your Car, Car Stereo, Car Wheels, Mobile Phone, Leather Jacket & other items of clothing, personnel belongings (Including gold teeth) should you choose to visit Liverpool at any time after undertaking the "Teach Yourself Scouse" package No Refunds are offered and the pupil takes full responsibility for what they may encounter once the course has been completed.

The pupil also takes sole responsibility should he/she use reference material not approved by the Department of National Heritage. Minister for National Heritage.

Stereotypes suck :PDT_Xtremez_12:

If I ruled the world only proper English or Japanese would be spoken.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Surely, isn't it " Lern yersel Scouse" !! These days of course all education is "learning". Yet another dumbed down derogatory phrase for the masses made popular by ever so chic New Labour. No doubt Tony got it from his scouse lass Cherie. Tony couldn't possibly have "learnt" it at Fettes College.

Hi Marie

This is actually a take-off done on the back of the amusing Lern Yerself Scouse books published by Scouse Press by author and musician Fritz Spiegl in the 1970's. You need to get a copy. I believe there was an original Lern Yerself Scouse book and several spin-offs.

Chris

Chris

Stereotypes suck :PDT_Xtremez_12:

Yeah Kev, I am sorry, but personally I think that it is amused, and is not published with the spirit to offend. I think that it is good to laugh of ourselves and to take the things with humor.

If it is certain that in Youtube there are many offensive videos against the city, that has bothered to me enough… for example, Liverpool Capital of the Culture 08 My Ars* and a long etc.

I'm sorry for that!!

Hi Marie

This is actually a take-off done on the back of the amusing Lern Yerself Scouse books published by Scouse Press by author and musician Fritz Spiegl in the 1970's. You need to get a copy. I believe there was an original Lern Yerself Scouse book and several spin-offs.

Chris

Chris

I was looking for web sites about Scouse vocabulary, expressions,... and are a lot for that. I found a traductor also. I dont know about this book. Thanx a lot Chris!!

A guy I used to teach with named Peter Malloney produced a version of the Lern Yerself Scouse. I don't know who wrote the first version. However, I've got to agree with Marie here, I think it is very amusing.

Comedy LPs PETER MOLONEY A Load Of Moloney How To Speak Scouse Proper BigBen BB002 UK EX £15.00,
Avalable fron this site.
http://www.vinylrecords.co.uk/page29.html

Use you have this album in the 70's very very funny,

Especialy when he talks about "welling Jigger rabbits with battys of half chockers" (throwing half bricks at stray cats in the back Entrys)

I do think the two have been confused here.

The book (mentioned above) is a publication that seeks to amuse and inform with tongue in cheek about the scouse accent. There are a few versions for other cities.

The original link to the site posted in the first message is just a pi$$ take made by a know body, drawing on poor, outdated stereotypes for his own amusement.

One of the main reasons why Yo! Liverpool began (as scouseproud), to show to the wider media that Liverpool and its people are better than how we are portrayed.

@Marie, I'm not offended by your post, I'm having a go/rant at the wider issues. :PDT11

Hi Marie

Here is a link for the original How to Talk Proper in Liverpool (Lern Yerself Scouse) (Paperback) by Frank Shaw that Fritz Spiegl and Scouse Press published in 1966:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/090136701X/thelancashireboo/026-2319189-6818224

As you see, you can pick up a copy for £2.49!

Chris

@Marie, I'm not offended by your post, I'm having a go/rant at the wider issues. :PDT11

Thanx u, coz I was feeling a bit bad for that... coz wasnt my intention... Sometimes, I would like to start a post, about Scouse's vocabulary and expressions...

ChrisGeorge, drone_pilot, Steven and taffy, thanx for replay, I ve info for be bussy a time with ur answers.

:PDT11

Ermm, I would like to ask a question... At night, when I ignited the Tv, there was a program finishing. I think that was a program dedicated to the music of Liverpool specially. Hardly I could see the end. I do not know if somebody have watched the programme. I would like to know the title, to try to find it. It wanted to ask for a song that sounded in the end, I suppose that it is easy for Kev, Taffy, Steven, Chris... know that song I am speaking... Say "Thanks u Liverpool" all the time, remember... "Thanx u very much for the family circle" and bit more, sorry.

Maybe I am confused, but the melody remember me a song when I was a child...

Thanx a lot!! :PDT11

the program was the Southbank Show about the Liverpool Poets Roger McGough,Brian Pattern & Adrian Henri

the song was thank U very much by The Scaffold

the program was the Southbank Show about the Liverpool Poets Roger McGough,Brian Pattern & Adrian Henri

the song was thank U very much by The Scaffold

Thank U Very Much!! :PDT11

I found that:
http://www.a2mediagroup.com/?c=176&a=18792

Yeah, eye sore dat meself.

Eh Ged ! you'll be confusing the poor girl !! :PDT10

:D :hug:

Ermm, I would like to ask a question... At night, when I ignited the Tv, there was a program finishing. I think that was a program dedicated t