Obsessed with Harry (was - Re: They are children's books)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 81848

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jeffl1965" <jeffl1965 at h...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sbursztynski" 
> <greatraven at h...> wrote:
> >  I have to admit that I *hear* the 
> > > Weasley's all with Cockney accents, simply because they're more 
> > > country, imho. I know that they are supposedly from around 
Devon, 
> > > iirc, but I'm not that familar with the dialect from that area, 
> and 
> > > JKR makes at least Ron and the Twins sound a bit cockney to me.
> > They 
> > > don't use all the contractions and slang, but I guess its the 
> > > constant use of Oi and bloody hell. ;)
> >


Sue: 
> > Er - Cockney is London, not country. Devon ... well, I have 
friends 
> > from Devon and the accent is - different. Very different. Not 
sure 
> > what I can compare it with. Not London, anyway.
> > 
> > Perhaps a Devon person on the list can describe it?
> 

Geoff:
It may be the movies but I get the feel that Ron is certainly Cockney 
or "Sarf Lunnon" (as my own son always terms his accent). Perhaps 
JKR's use of speech for him suggests that. Strictly, to be a true 
Cockney a person must be born within the sound of Bow Bells. Cockney 
is an urban accent like Brummie (Birmingham), Geordie (Tyneside) 
etc., often developed in times past because of the polluted 
atmosphere and attendant catarrhal problems - Brummies for example 
always sound very nasal. Cockneys also use the glottal stop a lot; 
it's difficult to indicate in ordinary script but "be - ah" 
for "better" as an example.

West Country accents - Devon, Somerset, Dorset to mention but a few 
are very different. in fact, accents are not dissimilar from the 
Southern accents in Susswex or Hampshire but get stronger the further 
west you go. I now live in Somerset and you notice the 
rolled  "r"s, "oi" for "i" etc. To give just a taster, there is an 
old song which parodies this and begins..
"O, vokes cum up fram Zummerzet, where the zoider apples grow.." (In 
translation - Folk come from Somerset where the cider apples grow.." 
In the films (sorry again!), Hagrid has a West Country accent of sorts
(!)