Investigation

Holiday Showdown, recording one:

(In the Plummer’s apartment, everyone is talking at this moment, introducing themselves)

 

Narrator: ...To take charge and introduce themselves and their holiday

Kim: Hello [who are you? I’m Kim, how are you, and who are you?]

James:       [Hellooo]

Simone: [I’m Simone]

James:   [Yes, we are] it’s going to be a bit difficult, a bit weird (.) but I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun

Danny: If you don’t ‘ave a good time we will check your pulses

[[Everyone laughs]]

Y’know, a laugh and a joke and wha’ever else right ‘cause we really do ‘ave a good time! Can you all [swim?]

Plummer’s: [[yes, yes definitely]]

Kim:             [well that’s good] ‘cause we’re gonna get in the wa’er, we’re gonna do the pool, beach, eat drink. Do you drink?

James: No not a lot really [but I will have a beer, we do say...]

[[Everyone makes noise and laughs]]

Kim:                                       [not a lot? When you say not a lot wha’s not a lot] I mean do [you]

James:                                                                                                           [Not] big drinkers

Kim: (.) Not a big drinker?

James: No

Kim: Oh well you’ll get to know me! Hahaha, so you wanna [sort yourselves out]

Danny:                                                                                              [Does mummy] and daddy let you ‘ave a drink?

Aliah: Hmm?

Danny: Does your mummy an’ daddy let you ‘ave a drink?

Aliah: No!

Kerrie: Don’t you fink you should ask mummy and daddy [that?]

Danny:                                                                                          [Just sayin’!]

Simone: [Yeah, no problem]

Danny: So long as you only ‘ave two a day it’s awight

Kerrie: They might not wan’ that!

Danny: Ah! It’s our [‘oliday]

Kerrie:                       [Yeah but they] might ‘ave different opinions [to you!]

Simone:                                                                                [No she’s not] allowed to drink alcohol

Danny: Not at all? Sorry, [we let ‘er ‘ave two a day]

Simone:                              [because]

Danny: [I see]

Simone: [that’s one] thing we draw the line at

Danny: Oh, that’s fine

Kim: (2) We’re gonna ‘ave a really good time

James: We will, we will definitely will [I’m sure]

Kim:                                                           [We’re going] to show you the best of Minorca!

 

Key:  

[ ] = Interruptions/ overlapping speech

(Number) = Longer pause, number indicating how many seconds

(.) = Very small pause

[[ ]] = Two or more people talking at once

Holiday Showdown, recording two:

(By the pool in Minorca, with both families)

Narrator: ... For the Doherty’s, this is what holiday’s are all about; lounging by the pool, soaking up the sun... and the beer

(Music plays)

Kim: this resort is absolutely wonderful, I can’t, there is nothing I can fault about it

Narrator: But while the boys are getting to know each other, the parents are keeping a distance; The Plummer’s consider sun bathing and drinking unhealthy and have set up a separate camp, in the shade

Kim: It seems so much an us an’ them type situation (.) Like they keep to their four and like we tryin’ to include them and fings, but they don’t seem interested (2) I’ve not ‘eard one swear word come outta their mouf yet, and Danny’s like f-this and f-that, and (laughs) (1) whever they’re finkin’ common tramp I duno

Narrator: Kim has a budget of just fifteen pounds per person for each day they’re here, it’s what her family would normally have to spend, and she’s determined to make it last

Kim: we fill up at breakfast then we don’t tend to eat until evening time, we don’t, I mean we might ‘ave a snack or like a bad of crisps or something (.) snaky food but we don’t ‘ave three meals [a day]

Simone:                                                                                                                                                          [Aliah had a croissant at breakfast with an apple, (1) it’s difficult (.)[To handle]

Kim:                                                                                                 [I mean I’m open to compromise I’m not a complete bitch

Simone: If we could just go to the super market (.) to get some fruit or something (1) just to keep us going to the next meal

Narrator: It’s only half a day in and Kim’s already losing control of her budget and her holiday

Simone: I think they are slightly defensive, which is understandable because they’re probably used to being people who speak said truth about them (1) they probably think oh god, they are snobbish (laughs) which is fair enough, I don’t mind them thinking that

Kim: I know we’re the complete opposite and she’s probably thinkin’ awww god! That we’re full on and she ain’t used to it (3) Uh, but Y’know, by the end of the two weeks she will get used to it (1) I ain’t gonna change jus’ to please ‘er, that ain’t gonna ‘appen 

Holiday Showdown, recording three

(Both families on their second holiday, in Jamaica, in the kitchen and dining room)

Kim:  Snapper?...(3) is that like [cod?]

James:                                           [well we shan’t] go hungry [here that is for sure]

Kim:                                                                                                [Well you might not,] but this ain’t my sorta food I’m afraid

Narrator: As the families sit down for dinner there is more bad news for Kim (.) Now the Plummer’s are in charge, they are laying down the law

James: We don’t drink at home really

Kim: So you’re saying I can’t ‘ave beer in?

James: Well I prefer you [not to...]

Kim:                                    [Can I ask] why?

James: Because we don’t drink=

Kim: =But we do=

James: =But it’s our holiday=

Kim: = But it’s ours too

James: Well (2) I I mean I, look, I personally don’t have a problem with A beer, I just don’t want to get in to the whole drinking thing because I think it’s just about the different experience thing isn’t it? And a lot of the [bars round here...]

Kim:                          [What if I don’t] wanna go out to a bar?

Simone: Okay we can compromise (.) if you want to drink moderately but [umm, not at our]

Kim:                                                                                                                            [Well (1) what is moderately? 

Simone: Two two beers a day (.) throughout the day

Kim: I neva drink in the day ‘nd if I do you neva see me drunk (.) can I smoke in the ‘ouse?

Simone: Not inside the house [no]

Kim:                                             [So I ] can’t drink and I can’t [smoke, well what can I] do then on my holiday?!

Simone:                                                                                                 [You can smoke outside]

Kim: Well I don’t like being told that I can’t

James: [Right]

Kim:     [Tell me] that I can’t and I will out rightly do it (4) if I get a cigarette out nah and she says that I’m gonna smack ‘er (.) ‘cause I am so angry (.) I really am angry, and I can’t look at ‘er right now(2) and I can’t be nicey nicey, and I did bend over backwards in Minorca to try and please you; and you’re jus’ nah finkin’ the shoes on the ova foot to make [me suffa]

James:                                                                                          [Noo no! (.) We don’t think that at all!

Introduction

Aims

My investigation focuses on the variations between London accents – from East end compared to the South of London, within context of the day time television programme Holiday Showdown – two families going on each of their holidays together to experience something different. The aim of my investigation is to compare the two different accents, and to deduce as to whether accommodation theories are used when both are conversing; does the cockney accent converge to RP, or does it diverge to purposefully be different.

The research questions I have chosen to study through research are: Does the cockney accent vary and converge when in a confined situation such as a holiday with another completely different family? And to what extent does accent and dialect affects an individual’s responses to another person/ group of people.

Hypothesis

My initial hypothesis for my investigation is that when confrontation occurs between the two families, the cockney accent will become broader and diverge away from the RP family’s speech. I will mainly be focusing on the accommodation theory, as this will help to approve or disapprove my hypothesis. However I will also be using lexical, phonological and grammatical variations in order to identify other elements of my hypothesis and investigation in general to analyse the differences in accent and dialect of both of my chosen subjects. I will also be using theorists and researches such as: Petyt, Sue Fox, Trudgill, Labov, Marc Sebba, David Rosewarne, Kerswill and information regarding tower hamlets, the Aziz Corporation and Cheshire and Edwards in order to help develop my analysis.

Methodology

I have taken three recordings from the programme, all of which are secondary data. I found them on the internet site, YouTube, therefore I experienced no ethical difficulties in obtaining my data sources as the internet is open to everyone. Each of my data sets are roughly two minutes long each:

·         Firstly showing the initial meeting of the two families and how they begin to interact and respond to each other.

·         My second set of information for my investigation is a conversation between both women of the families on their first holiday, this set of data shows some confrontation and the development of the variance in accents showing the accommodation theory, and also the responding to one another.

·         Finally, my last set of data is both families of their second holiday, this shows more confrontation between the families and how attitudes change between different comfort zones.

Again, both families are aware of the initial filming and recording taking place, but also other variables including age and race are less likely to influence their speech as both families are British. However different variables that will be relevant to my investigation are the areas they live in – producing different dialects and accents, this will help with my investigation as this is what my aims are based upon:  “My investigation focuses on the variations between London accents.”

Analysis

For this investigation I will be analysing how the different families’ accents vary and converge/ diverge on each of the holidays. I will be taking into deep consideration the phonological, lexical and grammatical variations between the families’ speech, and then applying this to my theorists and researchers.

Cockney family on Cockney holiday

The first holiday is the cockney families, in Minorca. From the beginning of data set one, we see the cockney family (the Doherty’s) taking charge as we see the first meeting. Almost straight away we discover that the dominant male of the family H drops “if you don’t ‘ave a good time…” this shows evidence of open mouthed vowel sounds, a phonological variation of “have”, and also a common feature of the cockney, East end Londoner accent. Malcolm Petyt researched the phenomenon of H dropping in Bradford Yorkshire, and he found that 93% of the lower working class (essentially the Doherty’s) H dropped. This research could potentially mirror that of the London accent, as shown by Trudgill’s research carried out in Norwich closer than the Bradford investigation. Trudgill’s research was in more depth, as he looked at the use of H dropped words in different situations. This is relevant to my investigation as the Doherty’s could potentially be H dropping more in order to diverge away from the other family’s pattern of speech.

In addition to this, in my first data set there is evidence of the velar nasal sound /ŋ/ replaced by the voiced alveolar nasal /n/ with again the dominant male of the cockney family producing this “just sayin’.”  This phonological variation was again studied by Trudgill in Norwich along with the H dropping phenomena. He found that males use more non - standard English in comparison to women, in every type of class however the lower classes are the most likely to use non- standard  English. This theory has been proven through my research and in my data as it is clear that the Doherty’s are of a lower class, and the male of the family is using the most non - standard English variations, therefore my research and data supports Trudgill and Petyt’s theory is true.

 

From data set one, we can see that the Cockney family miss out alveolar plosives “not a lot wha’s not a lot…” this phonological variation creates a word final, also making this a lexical variation in their dialect. Also, H dropping creates word initials, essentially through the mispronunciation of words, therefore creating another form of lexical variation. This variation could also support Trudgill and Petyt’s theories, as they deviate from the standard, which again provides evidence that lower classes use more of the non - standard. Contextually, the Doherty’s live in tower hamlets, where accents such as Jamaican Creole influence not only the cockney accent but also MLE, which results in eventual levelling of the accents. This could be shown through different phonological and lexical variations.

 

Grammatically, it seems that in the beginning of data set one that the Doherty’s are diverging away from the RP family (the Plummers) through the use of phonological variation. “Does mummy and daddy…” here the dominant male of the cockney family uses the present tense participle “does” in substitution for the correct past tense participle “do” therefore creating grammatical variation. However, when the Doherty’s face needs are confronted as data set one develops, they begin to converge “Not at all? Sorry…” traditionally the cockney accent would produce glottal stops here, however the male is converging to the Plummers, relating to the accommodation theory. Again, the accommodation theory and convergence is shown by the dominant female of the family “We’re going to…” Here there is a difference from “gonna” which again suggests convergence.

 

 

Cockney family on RP family

 

The Received Pronunciation family’s holiday is in Jamaica, they have a 5 star villa for both of the families. In data set three, we can see from the beginning grammatical variation from the dominant female of the cockney family: “well you might not, but this ain’t my sorta food I’m afraid”