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Free firty (3:30) - is this an accent or ignorant speak?

(177 Posts)
giulia Tue 26-Sep-17 06:38:42

On another thread, W11girl told of a British continuity person who spoke like this in order to announce the time of a BBC programme. She said that when many viewers complained, the BBC defended itself by saying it supported the use of "different and varying accents". Now I am asking: is such a way of speaking to be considered as an accent or is it simply "ignorant speak"? I am not referring here to many foreigners who have difficulty with the "th" sound - the French say "zz", for example and this just adds charm to their accent.

f77ms Sun 01-Oct-17 09:23:56

I don`t think `free firty` is an accent , surely it is just a lazy way to speak . Another pet hate of mine is `haitch` for aitch which is being used all the time on the TV .

pollynana Sun 01-Oct-17 09:16:52

Not posted on here before but feel very strongly about the double ff for th. Not a problem for me when it's spoken with a cockney accent because that's how a lot of them speak. My grandmother was a cockney and she spoke like that, although my dad didn't! It's the people from everywhere else that annoy me and I think it's just laziness or watching too much Eastenders. My SIL comes from the midlands and uses ff for th, why? Also don't like wa-er, par-ee (party). What's with dropping t's out of a word? Very weird. I like accents from all over the country particularly the Geordie accent but if I heard the 'free firty' in that accent I'd hate it. Here's a point though I've never heard 'the' mispronounced as 'fee'!!

Greyduster Sat 30-Sep-17 21:32:05

Yous lot. Where does that come from? I haven't heard it since I was in Army training. It was a phrase beloved of our platoon NCO.

Riverwalk Sat 30-Sep-17 13:45:31

yous lot shock

It's not even the 'yous' that's the main culprit here ..... 'you lot' is also no way to address children!

Grandma70s Sat 30-Sep-17 12:54:24

That certainly is unacceptable, harrigran!

harrigran Sat 30-Sep-17 11:38:32

My GD's headmistress speaks in a way I find unacceptable, "yous lot" should never be used when addressing children.

Grandma70s Sat 30-Sep-17 10:55:36

It's ignorant speech but accent comes into it a bit. The 'free firty' mispronunciation seems more common in the south.

I do wish that children were taught how to speak clearly at school, but any kind of attention to good speech seems to be considered snobbish now. Often their teachers speak badly, too, so who will teach them? Very strong accents, as well as careless mistakes, need to be modified if a child is going to be employable outside the region of their birth. Poor speech hampers social mobility.

Moneyboss Fri 29-Sep-17 18:02:15

Why do so many people start a sentence with the word `So` nowadays, it's so annoying. Another annoyance is saying `somefink` instead of `something`, when did `g's` become `k's`.
Oh dear think I'm going into grump mode, perhaps it's time to settle down and have a glass of wine.

Moneyboss Fri 29-Sep-17 17:46:58

Not pronouncing `th`, when perfectly able to, is one of my pet hates. I used to drive my children and grandchildren crazy by constantly correcting them but they all thank me for it now.

Daisyboots Thu 28-Sep-17 21:42:53

My lovely Mum was proud of being a cockney but never once did she say firty free or fink or fort. We certainly were reminded if we spoke sloppily. I had elocution lessons at Grammar school and left speaking very correctly but that eased off with moving about over the years. My DIL once said she couldnt understand why I had given my son a name ending in TH when he couldn't pronounce TH. ???? 1 He was named before he could speak and 2 while growing up he had never said ff instead if th. Must just have got lazy over time.

MissAdventure Thu 28-Sep-17 21:04:59

Yes, I have to concur regarding equality, espee, even though I disagree with the rest of what you've said.

Esspee Thu 28-Sep-17 21:01:56

Yes MissAdventure, if someone cannot do the job properly, for whatever reason, they should not be announcing. That is treating disabled people as equal.

Drummerman Thu 28-Sep-17 20:42:55

Drivin' to Birmin'ham.

MissAdventure Thu 28-Sep-17 18:34:48

Including those with disabilities?
I've recently heard a continuity person with cerebral palsy.

Esspee Thu 28-Sep-17 14:41:31

I love regional accents but free firty is either a speech impediment or sloppiness.
Anyone on radio or TV who cannot use the English language correctly should be given remedial classes or asked to stand down.

Greyduster Thu 28-Sep-17 13:29:57

Gosh, I haven't heard the term "mardy bum" in an age! My mother often had occasion to call me that!

Nannarose Thu 28-Sep-17 12:56:16

Some of you may have caught these on various BBCprogrammes today. They are all on the link, but the one I put first was Tony Campion on 'mardy' as it reminded me of nelliemoser saying Bristolians thought her East Midlands accent 'posh':
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3hV1DPGcFZg9kPMPp9WPTWT/free-the-word-mardy

FarNorth Thu 28-Sep-17 10:07:45

gringringrin. MopTop

Blinko Thu 28-Sep-17 08:49:22

Must admit, I tend to echo the person I'm in conversation with regarding accents. I remember years ago as an employment adviser, speaking with an Australian and being pretty embarrassed to find I was almost mimicking his accent.. you can take empathy too far! grin

Glenfinnan Thu 28-Sep-17 06:25:14

Football commentators who say fret instead of threat! Jamie Redknapp guilty here!

MesMopTop Thu 28-Sep-17 00:19:39

Far north, you have much to answer for. I've been going around saying yes a la PC all morning ???

lemongrove Wed 27-Sep-17 20:07:21

I don't know what causes multiple postings, but it happens quite a bit Maytime so don't let it put you off.?

lemongrove Wed 27-Sep-17 20:05:55

Yeah, them posts need loadsa readin'

MissAdventure Wed 27-Sep-17 19:23:35

Gawd lummy guvna! She musta writ it firty free times!

lemongrove Wed 27-Sep-17 19:22:06

I like accents too, and enjoy identifying them when possible ( covertly)?