Peter Duncanson
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 8:18 pm
Post subject: Re: Shakespeare's pronunciation |
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:51:25 +0000, Phil C. <philstoxicwaste@fsmail.net>
wrote:
| Quote: | On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 23:11:45 -0000, "Mike Stevens"
michael.stevens@which.net> wrote:
I've also heard it claimed that the London/Court speech of Shakespeare's
time finds its nearest equivalent in recent times in the Devon accent. I
have absolutely no way of knowing how true that might be.
To add to all the other claims in this thread I've also heard one for
the southern Irish accent.
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There are many southern Irish accents to choose from.
| Quote: | The reality, I guess, is that beyond
certain broad assumptions we have no way of knowing exactly how they
sounded then. The accent surely varied considerably over short
distances and evolved during the period.
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Having no knowledge of the acting customs in the performances of the plays
in Shakespeare's time I wonder whether the actors used their own accents, or
whether they adopted accents considered appropriate to the characters (in
the context of each play) - high status, low status, Welsh (Fluellen in
Henry V), French, etc?
--
Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from u.c.l.e)
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Si Nicholls
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:44 pm
Post subject: Re: Shakespeare's pronunciation |
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"Matthew Huntbach" <mmh@dcs.qmul.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61.0502241506500.4297@frank.dcs.qmul.ac.uk...
| Quote: | On Wed, 23 Feb 2005, Peter Duncanson wrote:
On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:28:48 -0000, "Si Nicholls" <si@sinicholls.com
wrote:
I read somewhere that if you want to hear Shakespeare's plays being
performed in an accent as near to the original as possible you should
see a performance by a Northern Irish/Belfast theatre company.
As someone living in Northern Ireland, the most accurate comment I can
make
on the correctness of this assertion is "yes, no or maybe".
There are many different accents in Northern Ireland.
Different accents and varieties of English have been brought here over
the
centuries by migrants from England, Scotland, and Wales.
However, there are identifiable features which are common in speech
across Northern Ireland. Those of us with some familiarity with accents
don't find it to detect from their speech when someone comes from the
province.
I guess what was really meant is that Northern Irish speech has kept some
features of English which have changed in English as spoken in England.
In particular, it hasn't had the great shift in pronunciation of vowels
that has taken place particualrly in south-eastern English since
Elizabethan times.
Matthew Huntbach
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So therefore it must be justified to lump all the accents together as
Northern Irish! The reality is that whilst I can identify a Cork accent from
a Dublin or Northern Irish one I couldn't distinguish between a Donegal and
a Ballymoney accent.
A travelling Irishman would undoubtedly find it difficult to tell the
difference between a Coventry, Northampton or Leicester accent whereas I, as
a native of The Midlands, would immediately spot the difference.
Many people here in England wouldn't even be able to distinguish between a
Northern and Southern Irish accent. They would just hear "Irish."
As a travelling musician I have spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe but
would still be hard pressed to separate a Pole from a Czechoslovakian when
they are speaking English. I would know that they are Eastern European,
though.
The further you are removed and the less exposure you have had to a certain
region the more difficult it must be to locate people's accents. Which is
probably why Canadians always stick Maple Leaves on their backpacks when
they come to Europe! Just sounds North American to most people!
Regards,
Si Nicholls |
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