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SPEAKING
THE NORFOLK DIALECT
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| PETER
TRUDGILL, PRESIDENT OF FOND |
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Once
again there has been a TV drama series set in Norfolk, and
once again local people have been protesting, quite rightly,
about the low standard of competence in speaking the local
accent achieved by the actors.
It
was good to see the beautiful Norfolk scenery, but some of
the actors in Stephen Fry’s Kingdom
did not seem as if they were even trying to reproduce the
Norfolk accent.
Others
did appear to be doing their best, even though they fell well
short of what we would have liked.
So,
in a spirit of gratitude to those who did try – and the
respect for our area their effort implied – I now offer,
for those actors who are prepared to try even harder in any
forthcoming Norfolk-based drama, an educational checklist
to be kept about their persons and consulted before every
rehearsal and every take.
Follow
the links below to receive lessons in ‘Broad Norfolk’.
Firstly, there is the Basic
Level so as not
to sound as if you come from somewhere else, followed by the
Introductory Level
to make you sound like you do come from Norfolk! Then there’s
the Intermediate
Level to have you sounding even more like you come from
Norfolk, and, finally, there’s the Advanced
Level by which time even us locals may be fooled into
believing that you could,
possibly,
even come from Norfolk!
Best
of luck, my ol’ bewties!
Peter
Trudgill FBA President of FOND
Honorary Professor of Sociolinguistics at the
University of East Anglia
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HOW
NOT TO MAKE NORFOLK PEOPLE CROSS
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