I met Charlie in a Beccles bookshop 11 years ago, when he did a book signing. He signed my copy of his first book “do yew keep a troshin” and I went on to buy several more of his books. A wonderful man and historian, and a caretaker of the East Anglian dialects

Haven’t we got a brilliant English language so full of history bravo 👏

When I was but a boy, I stayed with my old Grandma on many occasions in Clare, Suffolk. She was born in Poslingford. On one occasion we were out & about in Clare, and I was watching a couple of girls across the the street, she said to me "yew garpin' at the mawthers, boi?". I dont think I'll ever forget that.

I remember once at school a new kid who'd come from Kent made fun of me for saying shew and we had a huge row about it. I was telling her "showed isn't a real word it's shew!" I was baffled when the dictionary didn't agree with me 🤣

@Christopher-ii6tr

Жыл бұрын

T' heck with modern dictionaries and keep ye dialect and accent alive. If people don't like the way a proper Norfolk or Suffolk lass or lad speaks then that's their personal problem. By the way I am American born and raised but my mountain folk had a lot of East Anglian dialect in our speech as well Scots-Irish and so forth.

@acidcat2354

Жыл бұрын

Exactly same thing happened to me as a kid with my step brother from Essex😂

@tobeytransport2802

8 ай бұрын

The other odd thing is that Kentish people often have accents that aren’t conventional English too, especially older people. My family is always told we sound like farmers and essentially the difference is that most peoples accents have been affected by the London influence but some people still retain an old south east accent that was once common from Norfolk all the way to Kent, with differences of course.

@kevingirling8129

Ай бұрын

I’ve lived in Suffolk all my life, I have a Broadlands dialect. It’s amazing how many people ask me if I am from Australia…..most odd

@jayaitch2194

Ай бұрын

Spent many years of my young life in Norfolk, love East Anglian accents x

This guy has so much knowledge. Linguistical and more so.

It astounds me how some of these I never even considered local. I thought everyone said "on the drag"...

I could listen to this man all day long. I’m actually researching the Suffolk accent for a theatrical role, and I’m Scottish, however I got carried away listening to him. I’ve always been fascinated with different dialects and accents, and where words derive from, so I’m absolutely delighted to have found this.

@jusele-ox9rc

Ай бұрын

We say as a greeting Oroight buh. Your welcome

@winterroadspokenword4681

Ай бұрын

Can put you in touch with some people to speak to if you wanna. They are from Essex but have almost the same accent along the border.

@DarrenBigDazRobertson1873

Ай бұрын

@@winterroadspokenword4681 thank you for the offer but I never got the part.

This is absolutely brilliant. My Nana was as Suffolk as they come, if she was still here she would of loved to hear this, you don't hear old Suffolk very often anymore. Absolutely wonderful.

@wiccanwarrior9

Жыл бұрын

It's still here. Just go to an old village pub.

@johnnycombs6570

6 ай бұрын

He's from Essex, not a Suffolk original!!!

What a rich tapestry the English language is. So much history is contained in our words. Words we use without thinking about. Even the names of many of our villages, towns and cities have the language of history embedded in them.

I've watched a talk he gave in our village - not only is he brilliant with words, he's amazing at recognising accents. I spoke just a couple of sentences to him, and he said "You're from Swansea aren't you, or maybe Neath?"... perfectly accurate. Not bad, recognising my (by now) very faint Welsh accent, and getting the locality correct!

@nickyork8901

Ай бұрын

Professor Henry 'Iggins?

"That'll larn yer!" Great! I love the West Country accent too, as shown by Phil Harding in "Time Team". "'Ere's LOADS of arrrrrchaeology there, look!" I'm a NZer and I *love* the wonderful accents in the UK!

Lovely. My old step dad used to say there was four types of 'boats'... boats that you put on your feet, boats that float on water, boats on the back of cars and boats the chemist's 😄

@Kittyscraftcorner-ud6ij

Ай бұрын

I remember my Nan telling us 'Come on, get yer boats on'!

'Alright boh' I remember my Grandad always said this, he was from Bedingfield in Suffolk and was part of The Old Hat, a group of performers from Suffolk. I used to love the summers when the peas were ready....not the same from Tesco, we had them straight from field, keeping a look out for the farm owner....i remember his name for sure!

This reminds me a little of Ewan MacColls wonderful "Radio Ballads" Before MacColl, who had already revolutionised British Playwright/production and Folk Music, the voices, accents of the rural, working class were never heard. He invented a radio documentary style which included musical interjections. He featured, the railways, the travelling community, the miners and in "singing the fishing" he featured the wonderful East Anglia, scottish and south Welsh voices of the once mighty fishing fleet. The Fisherman and heavily broad spoken Sam Larner was featured for his tales and songs. He became a reluctant star on the Folk scene during the MacColl lead 'revival' of the 50s 60s. It was wonderful. From that production came songs like "sholes of herring" "North Sea holes" which later became Folk standards for a generation

What an interesting and fascinating man. I could sit and listen to him for hours.

My dad spent his young days in Essex always called a seesaw a teeter totter.

@lordeden2732

28 күн бұрын

Which was taken over to America bÿ the founding fathers. They also call seesaws that on the east coast

Utterly fascinating and what an engaging man Charlie is.

This bloke came to my sixth form around 2006/7, he was brilliant and incredibly knowledgeable. He told some of us the origins of our surnames. Can still remember it well now.

I’m from Suffolk and I knew the ‘on the drag’ one and ‘shew’ which is weird because I feel like I should know more but I don’t, so this has been so insightful!

In Northern Ireland we also say 'That'll learn ye' and 'Haul yer horses'.

@2doright647

Жыл бұрын

My dad says that also from the deep south in America!

@AndalusianIrish

Жыл бұрын

@@2doright647 is he Scots Irish?

@corrinenolan344

Жыл бұрын

@AndalusianIrish the whole south is influenced by the Scots, the Irish, ulster Scots and brits so much that even those without the ancestry say things the same but with that souther accent. The accent sounds different but so many things come from there. The north also does but differently. We say "aboot" instead of about. Or "doont" for don't. Very scottosh sounding but most just do not realize it. We say "woorsh" but the o is really annunciated. Where as a scot would say it gently like "woresh" it's pretty interesting. It's over 100 years for some ancestors voyages here but they're still a huge part of the States.

@Martin-tn5lm

Ай бұрын

I was born in rural Midwest Ireland in the 1950s. Many of the old folks used the term "That'll Larn Ya/Ye" when they admonished/punished subordinates, children etc.

@lordeden2732

28 күн бұрын

That comes from the English Archers who came from Norfolk and Suffolk to try to put down Strong Bow and his Rebels the stay on to settle in Ireland

This is me. It's my history, it's in my blood and these words are the ones that my forebears used every day. I weep because it's now history and is dying out. I try my hardest to keep it going and speak in this way to keep it alive. It's me. Uss roit buh.

@andrewhirst8403

Ай бұрын

Same here, in Yorkshire. My grandma used to tell me many words we've already lost (and I wished I'd written down), and there are many we commonly used, as kids, which wouldn't be recognised, now. 😕

@gaius_enceladus

Ай бұрын

@@andrewhirst8403 - I *love* the Yorkshire accent! I love all of the UK accents but I think the Yorkshire one is my favourite! "Aye - trouble a' t'mill........ " ;)

@Grim1of2

Ай бұрын

Same here, I feel sometimes, sadly that dialectically, we're the last of a dying breed, our lovely dialect being constantly bombarded and polluted with estuary English and American influence via the internet and tv.

I’m American and we always called the see-saw a teeter totter. I always wondered how it got its name. Thanks for sharing. By the way, there’s a pod cast called History of English that talks about the origin of certain words and phrases. It’s fascinating when you learn the back story of our language.

@lordeden2732

28 күн бұрын

You can thank the founding fathers or families for that who brought it a words like fall for Autum which comes from Lincolnshire and Norfolk

My granddad was from Ipswich. He died years before I was born. It’s nice to know how few might have sounded. ❤

I really enjoyed this video Charlie. In the north east of Scotland, we speak Doric which shares a lot of words with Cumbrian and Geordie dialects. We also say 'That'll learn ye' ! With a rolled rrrrr. Our dialect is very germanic in nature and often people will say it's sloppy speech but your video disproved that so thank you

I am from Colchester, my father's family were Colchester-bred through and through and through. Quite a few of these words were totally normal in use in Colchester, amongst locals, amnongst my local family, when I was living there (until 25 years ago, or so). Like so much of the area within commuting distance of London, all manner of non-locals are now living there in large numbers, so the local dialect and accent is being lost. On the drag, on the huh, over Will's (or Wilf's) mother's, load of squit, potchet were all in regular use when and as required. What most people regard as an Essex accent, not least comedians, isn't, it is over-spill London accent, so called estuary English. The actual Essex accent is a less broad Suffolk accent, as Norfolk is a broader sounding Suffolk accent.

This is brilliant, very interesting. I could listen to this man all day.

I live about a mile n half from the Haylock's farm on the Suffolk Cambridgeshire border near Haverhill earliest memories in the 60s being on that farm hearing the Suffolk twang and old man Haylock probably Charlies father or uncle, as London lad, when dad rewired the farm .

@ChoppyChof

Ай бұрын

Haylocks rings a bell now you mention Haverhill. I lived in Sturmer, Steeple Bumpsted and Haverhill many years ago.

I'm glad you mentioned Scots, sir, cause I feel this dialect still has some influence of the Northumbrian dialects up north, which I believe are legitimate regional languages derived from Old Northumbrian or the true language of the Angles. No wonder the region is called East Anglia! You're a living cultural treasure yourself, sir. What a delightful and truly educational video, thank you so much!🙏🙏🙏

Lovely to see you again. I miss the Laxfield singing afternoons :)

I recognise many of these having lived at Chilton Hall Stowmarket & Ipswich as a child 60 odd years back. And I've a funny feeling I've met this fellow through The Ryes at Sudbury?

My late mother, born and bred in Holborn, central London, used to say a long thing or journey as I bin all round Will's Mum. Also she'd refer to a mess as a Bear Garden

I’m from the Black Country. Parts of our dialect go back to Old English and parts go back to Middle English. People think we are getting English wrong bit we’ve just held on to proper English for a very long time. Technically everybody else changed.

My mum was from Suffolk. We had budgerigars as pets which she taught to speak - all with a Suffolk accent. 😊

@lordeden2732

28 күн бұрын

Nope, Shredded Tweet

Love it. I come from Essex. I crew up on a farm. 1956-72 then moved to Norfolk. I have heard lots of these words. I working in London was a little odd at the start. I keeped a link with several smallholdings.

I live in the Middle East now but used to put up marquees each summer (age 14-22) for a company in North Essex. We used to do lots of work in Suffolk and this video feels extremely nostalgic to me. Little slice of "home" and happy memories.

Im staying in Suffolk right now and my dad, who is a builder, had to go and have a look at some crinkle crackle walls and was telling me all about them 😅

@petergaskin1811

Ай бұрын

Crinkle Crankle. There's one outside Eye in Suffolk. Serpentine we'd call them in Kent. Cos we're stuck up.

@tobeytransport2802

Ай бұрын

@@petergaskin1811 oh nice I’m from Kent too!

Fascinating - I love different dialects, and especially how they came about.

Love this. I always enjoy learning the derivation and origin of words and phrases, and I do to some extent lament the loss of these small differences in speech and phrases across regions of the UK.

Oh Charlie, please please put some of your wonderful stories on youtube : tissue pappy, darkie, and all the other ones which made me cry with laughter ... 😁💯✔ Love your style.

love it

Very interesting, enjoyed that !

Dad, a West Bridgford man, used "that'll larn you", but probably didn't realise the derivation; he also used "black ovva Bill's mothers" (which I used today when I spotted the dark clouds not far away) with the 'o' in "mother's" sounded like the 'o' in "moth". And I was introduced to "shew" by my Saxmundham-born old boss; I eventually got used to it...

Ipswich may be in Suffolk but the dialect is different; born there but never heard "together" at the end of a sentence until i visited my nana in Stoneham.

@kevingirling8129

Ай бұрын

They say mount-in as a 2 syllable word for Mountain, and row-ed for road in Ipswich……

This was glorious.

his accent reminds me of my grandfather's accent, he was from Bedfordshire, a country man

This is fascinating!

We've got two crinklecrankle walls in Pershore

What an amazing chap. What a captivating lesson on the origins of words and phrases embedded the English language . What a brilliant reminder of the richness of English culture. Let’s never forget where we came from. Let’s never allow the currently fashionable suppression of Englishness to prevail. Let’s be proud of who we are, not be made to feel ashamed of our own diverse history in the rush to celebrate the diversity of other cultures.

Perfect, heard you loud and clear. My mother was from Norfolk, just over the border from Brandon in Suffolk. I knew a thatcher that went down to that neck of the woods to fetch reed, and he jokingly said, whatever you do, don`t stop to ask the locals for directions, they talk so slowly and deliberately, you`ll be there all day. I knew what he meant, such was the pace of life back then. At Newmarket, a racehorse owner tried to enter his horse as "Norfolk`n`good", but the officials told him to sling his hook.

@PiousMoltar

2 жыл бұрын

"Norfolk'n'good" I love that. I'm from south west Norfolk / north west Suffolk. Not far from Newmarket. Love a Newmarket Sausage.

@jamielee9350

10 ай бұрын

Sorry pal , you are wrong about the horse. The horse in question was called "Norfolk n Chance". It competed in a few Point to Point races, but never anywhere special . There was an incident many years back with a horse called "Wear The Fox Hat", who got as far as the Folkestone racecourse stables for his debut run before it was spotted by an eagle-eyed official. After some hurried paperwork he ran that afternoon as “Noname”.

Interestingly many of these words and phrases were commonplace in the small Northamptonshire village I grew up in during the 1950's and early sixties, albeit with some subtle differences in pronunciation. Sadly those words and even the dialect we spoke have gone. The nearest I have heard to my old native dialect is spoken around the area of Peterborough.

Suffolk =Südvolk...... Norfolk =Nordvolk that's old Saxon and Angles legacy...... I am a native Saxon from Westphalia northwest Germany and a great adorer of England..... our closest in this world..... ❤

@Poorlybobsdad

28 күн бұрын

I have spent quite a bit of time working in Germany and we are very similar indeed. If we stand in a room together we have speak before it’s clear where we are from 👍🏻

@albionmyl7735

26 күн бұрын

@@Poorlybobsdad yes.... Indeed... I've been many times in England.... it's like a second home for me.... we have many things in common..... we are connected with our DNA and ancestry ♥️

Fascinating. I could listen to him forever.

I found this fascinating. Never been to the UK but it’s on my list😬

The way this man says the word 'tide' is exactly the way Newfoundlanders in Canada say it. The Newfoundland dialect is believed to be at least partly influenced by the West Country dialect, and from this video, I'm getting the sense that it might also be influenced by the Suffolk dialect.

This was enjoyable! My dad was from Framingham. So natural curiosity to know how people talk from where he was raised. The one thing that I remember dad saying which was in the video was "a couple of three" instead of saying six. That was cool to hear!

@tomjohnson1054

2 жыл бұрын

The phrase is "a couple or three", it means "few", it doesn't mean 6 to me knowledge. Not in my part of Suffolk anyway.

@paulbarham1038

2 жыл бұрын

@@tomjohnson1054 you know. I was just a little boy at the time. Chances are likely that I misheard him and I may have thot he said "a couple of three" instead of "a couple or three" which makes more sense. Thanx for the correction.

@tomjohnson1054

2 жыл бұрын

@@paulbarham1038 you may well have heard correctly. Languages and accents evolve. My grandfather born 1915 reckoned he could tell what village someone came from as a boy, such was the fact people moved around so little then in Suffolk.

@stevecowham1017

Жыл бұрын

My sister still lives in Fram. We were brought up at Tavern Farm in Bedfield. It's becomming an even smaller world.

@wiccanwarrior9

Жыл бұрын

My Gran used to say the time was, 'foive an twenty past foive'. 25 minutes past five. I can here her now. Bless ya Gran!

Grew up in Bramford Suffolk as a child and even after living in Essex for 40 years people still pick up on my Suffolk accent. But if I go back to Suffolk to visit family.. They say I sound like cockney. Alright Buh! Classic. Don't matter how old you are. Walk into your local and its "You 'right buh?" =' Are you OK mate?'

@PortmanRd

Жыл бұрын

The old primary school next to the church was closed. A new school was built in Duckamere close. We lived there with my Mums Grandad until she got her first house in Flindell drive.

William III wasn't, strictly speaking, a Stuart but his mother was so good enough for me ... brilliant channel by the way. I know a lot of these through my parents, some new ones for me though. This guy is bang on 'Bah' is definitely the Bury pronunciation, however I thought it was short for neighbour, but your argument sounds convincing ... interesting. Crinkle Crankle walls are a fantastic architectural anomaly ... another is Pargeting, mostly Suffolk, some North Essex and I think the North Folk call it Pinking.

very informative! Struggling to hear though, even with my audio on full. thank you for uploading

@Straight_Outta_Hopton

2 жыл бұрын

Thats 'cos hes not from suffolk.

Throughly enjoyed this, what a knowledgeable man.

I recognised words that we use when speaking Afrikaans today. The meanings also match.

What a interesting video and I could listen to him all night ,great

This guy is amazing. Amazing video

What a relief to find someone on KZread who a) actually knows things b) doesn’t shout This bloke should be on the Telly. But it’s not likely on account of his not being shouty and being informed

I'm from Notts, and we say 'It's black oar Bills' but will use it to say rain on the horizon from whatever direction it's from, not just the East. Loved this video.

@stevepayne5965

28 күн бұрын

I'm just down the road in Leicestershire, and for that phenomenon we - older people in particular, but not exclusively; I don't think I'm that old! - say: "It's black uvver Bill's mother's", where mother rhymes with bother.

9:05 Interesting that "frawn" is similar to German "froren", which, when colloquially shortened to "fror'n" sounds more-or-less the same as the way Mr Haylock pronounced "frawn".

This is fantastic-fascinating. I'm from West Yorkshire, but briefly lived in Bury St Edmunds, and could move back. I've family in Norfolk, and the accent here, sounds very similar, to my ears

Fascinating! I grew up in Bedfield, Suffolk. My best mate used to say, "aright bo", that's how we greeted each other. The Crinkle crankle thing, I never understood, however going past, I think Heveningham Hall, with the undulating, (make's sense now as an engineer), wall, I would always say crinckle crankle until we had passed it. One term I never understood was, "Cutt dah Heng". They told me it was just an expression of suprise. Sounds a bit rude to me, but we used it. Any info would be greatfully received.

@clappedoutmotor

10 ай бұрын

Alright boh

Haha, great. I can remember the older ones saying "It's looking a bit black over Uncle Will's pig sty" when it was looking like rain was immenent. It always raised a laugh. The East Anglia accent is one of the finest and very melodic. Such a shame that it has largely disappeard.

Yes! Was waiting for coupla three

Absolutely brilliant! A living treasure - it is fascinating to hear the different influences on regional dialects. I am from Perthshire and going to uni in Aberdeen was like linguistically going to a different country! Now living in Berlin (I married one) - same story with the Berlinerisch and Ossisprache alongside Hochdeutsch. Da keekste wa, Kleene?

"In Australia..." Australian English seems so familiar to me, as an East Anglian. It sounds more familiar than most English accents.

@hayley8715

Жыл бұрын

I find the Norfolk accent sounds Austrailian. I'm from Suffolk

@stevecowham1017

Жыл бұрын

I heard two girls chatting in a Framlingham Chinese takeaway, I could have sworn they were Aussies. It has always made me wonder how many East Anglians were deported to Australia.

Fascinating. Shew makes so much sense now.

I love watching these videos about local dialects, my grandad was from Kent but sounded just like Charlie, thanks mate, we need to protect our language and dialects by keeping them in use. Love from Wiltshire.

Very interesting. It's nice to hear proper Suffolk. I live in the West Country and I miss it, although it sounds strangely foreign when I go back there.

My dad used to use "on the huh" ....born in Lowestoft. When we played marbles at school near Norwich " no squit" was a term used.

My family is from Essex alot of the words and sayings hes coming out with we use in Essex

Lovely. Thank you for putting this together. I didn't know the origin's of many of these words. My father's family were from Sudbury, Suffolk. I'm a Norfolk man ['...and proud of being so'] but, for me, the Suffolk accent is easier on the ear. If I may add a phrase: "Come you here, or I'll sting your lug." [Come here, or I'll clip your ear.]

My dad used to say Crinkle Crankle and the weathers bad over wills mother's way! However, I wished I had taped my grandad and his brother talking to each other.

Crinkle crankle walls were all over the country. To save as he claimed bricks. Over time most were pulled down . We presevered ours.

Definitely hearing lots of proto-Australian speak in there, and even a little bit of proto-American. East Anglian dialect has influenced a lot of the common varieties of English now spoken, from Cockney to estuary English to overseas varieties. Those East Anglians get about don't they

@wiccanwarrior9

Жыл бұрын

100% correct ole boi!

@steveo726

6 ай бұрын

I often get asked if I’m Australian from foreign people

I have used this word,(A load of squit) so beautiful

Absolutely fascinating.

A genius

I seem to be the last person in Essex to used the verb 'puggle', is that still alive and well up there in Suffolk?

I was at school in Framlingham, easterly, so definitely 'bor'!

My mother - who was, at one point, from Shudy Camps - used to say things like "it's looking a bit black over by Will's mother". She would also say something like "going all round the Wrekin" for going the long way round, or describing something rather circuitously. Something may be as "black as Dick's hatband".

Very clever man!

He deserves better audio ie less wind and background noise.

Also: Bor in Norfolk used still: Bauer and Boer in German and Dutch, meaning 'peasant' or landworker, rural chap. Used in Norfolk like Bor - Used like 'mate' - It was a word still in late Late Middle English also, where one of the spellings was BOWER, a surname also. In Norfolk they do not say: BOW-ER though, it is much more cut. In fact 'BOWER' sounds more like the German ( maybe this is also more Saxon ? ) and in Norfolk it is more like BOER, the Dutch or Frisian way to say it. It is 'buh' in parts like west Norfolk but generally 'baw' phonetically. I think Bor did not fully stay on in Suffolk or was dropped a bit earlier? Or is that wrong ? OR Maybe only became slang in Norfolk ?

in Norfolk 'Hold you hard' is 'Slow you down' well I guess both exist in both places to a degree

"Shew" is used by VC Herschell in the Privy Council case of Bank of England v Vagliano Bros (1900). So, reckon "shew" was used by all for longer than this charming gent says.

A lot of Suffolk and Norfolk is similar ❤️

@andybelcher1767

7 ай бұрын

@yesyes1076 Not really, it depends on the area. The border lands are very similar naturally but North East Suffolk (me) is very different to North West and South Suffolk, and over the border from me, middle of South Norfolk is very different from other areas of Norfolk. I suppose you might say that the dialect and accent changes about every 20 miles.

@steveo726

6 ай бұрын

Norfolk language is best spoken with six fingers on each hand

@user-np8nr5uw3r

Ай бұрын

@@steveo726don’t think you’d be saying that if you were from Norfolk.

So many words my Grandparents used here... 😀

I grew up in north Essex just after WW2 and as children when meeting we always greeted each other with the word "Whoop" where "Hi" might be more appropriate now. I've never come across it anywhere else and don't even know whether it existed over the border in Suffolk. Seems strangely close to the Yorkshire "Ayoop" but seems unlikely. Anybody know any more about it?

@nickyork8901

Ай бұрын

Ay up or Ey oop is the Yorkshire version, could it possibly come from heads up ie. a warning to get your attention, eventually becoming a greeting, like wotcher? View halloo is also interesting, meaning look up, related to hello.

Funny how wavy walls are not so much in Norfolk, they are also said to be stronger, strange how they did not take off more

Strange how it goes from Suffolk to Norfolk but apparently doesn’t go south into Essex.

This was awesome. My great great great Grand parents were from Suffolk .

That explanation of the word Mawther - I do wonder if it's not the origin of the word "mither" - to annoy or pester someone, as its other etymological explanations seem to be rather wanting and uncertain.

I’m from east Suffolk and it was always hayoroit buh, not questioning his knowledge but thats what that was.

Fascinating to hear some dialect words from another county. I'm from the former West Riding of Yorkshire, and in my ignorance, I thought other dialects had all but died out completely (as have most of our words). I live in the former North Riding, nowadays, and it's interesting to me which surviving dialect words we have which are the same, and which are different (a bit like this chap's Sufflolk and Norfolk variations, I imagine). We also have many old Norse words, as you might expect, in the heart of Danelaw. It's also refreshing to hear someone who knows the difference between a dialect, and these idiots who think an accent is a dialect. 👍

@georgina3358

29 күн бұрын

I agree about people who mix up the meanings accent and dialect. Really annoying, grrrr!